A/N: Yay! New chapter! Thank you, thank you, thank you to those who are still following this story. My winter break for school is coming up in a couple weeks, so I'm about to have a lot of time for writing! Good news for everyone...
This chapter will definitely be more heartfelt than the previous chapter, not to mention a hell of a lot longer. I know I had set the routine of going back and forth between the team and Tim with the chapters, but Part I and Part II just need to be together. I will be going back to the routine after this one until the plot calls for me to deviate from it again.
On that note, enjoy!
The Funeral Part II
"Kate, what are you going with my camera?" A younger looking, chubbier McGee laughed on the television screen. He was sitting at his desk in the Bull Pen, obviously more comfortable speaking one-on-one with the woman behind the camera than he appeared to be with everyone back then.
"I am documenting your first days as a member of Team Gibbs in the event you accidentally piss him off the wrong way and he kills you. A video is far better than a character witness." The camera shook slightly as Kate Todd giggled through her explanation.
"Then shouldn't you be filming me interacting with Gibbs?" McGee gave the camera a 'gotcha look', a grin slowly forming on his face.
"I'm still trying to figure out how I can do that without him noticing..."
Kate's voice faded out with the picture, a new video clip fading in. The scenery changed from Tim's desk in the Bull Pen to a park in Silver Spring. This time, he was glaring at the person holding the camera.
"Recording this isn't going to get you out of trouble, Sarah." Tim snapped with the usual big brother tone he used when his baby sister said or did something that greatly irritated him.
"Oh, I'm not recording this to save myself. I don't need to work to do that. I'm recording this for future generations to prove that you are capable of negative emotions!" Sarah's dramatic tone pulled an eye roll from her big brother.
"I am perfectly capable of destroying the evidence, but that's beside the point. You are such a blabber mouth. The team is going to be riding my ass about Deep Six, now. There's a reason I didn't tell them about it, Sarah!"
"You should be proud, Tim!" The young woman protested. "Deep Six has made the New York Times best seller list. If your coworkers can't be bothered to be excited about the fact that people adore characters based off of them then the lot of them can shove it."
"You're lucky I love you..." Tim muttered, reaching for something off camera. The video faded away to a slide show, a collection of surprise photos at crime scenes and large grins during team nights.
Ziva stood slightly off to the side of the television, eyes glued to the screen, completely oblivious to the various people who were making their way into the church the McGee's had picked for the memorial service. That last video clip had Ziva zoning out to memories of how she and Tony reacted when they found out about Tim's book. She acted out in anger and irritation back then since it seemed to be expected of her, but now Ziva was regretting not telling Tim what she actually thought about the book. A well worn copy sat in the drawer of her bedside table, heavily annotated with notes from when she would recognize details that came from cases and noticed things Tim had changed about the characters so they wouldn't be carbon copies of the people they were based off of. In hindsight, Ziva was amazed by Tim's ability to craft a story and felt honored that he viewed her worthy enough to be included in one of them. She really should have pushed him to finish Rock Hollow, regardless of what Abby had said about McGregor and Amy.
"What are you thinking about?" Ziva jumped slightly from Tony's sudden appearance, grabbing a hold of his arms as they wrapped around her waist.
"We should have been more considerate of his writing career." Was all Ziva said. Tony sighed, burying his face in the crook of her neck for a few moments as he thought over how he was going to respond to that.
"Tim knew we liked his book." Tony finally said as he lifted his head. "He has seen your copy of it when you've left it out on your coffee table. He's seen it on my own, understocked bookshelf. We are not book people, Z, so that we are even keeping a copy told Tim that we like it."
"We should have encouraged him to keep writing after the Landon incident." Ziva hissed over her shoulder.
"I know, Z. We..." Tony tried to placate her.
"It was wrong of Abby to say what she said to Tim. He was quite adamant that he was only using us for inspiration. She should not have told him what he could or could not do with his own characters." Ziva continued as if Tony had said nothing.
"Ziva, hindsight is not going to help at this point in time." Tony got out in a stern tone before she could start a full-out rant. "Tim had multiple reasons for not finishing Rock Hollow. We will never know all of them, but what Abby said is not the sole reason."
Ziva frowned at the television screen as a picture of Tim proudly holding a copy of Deep Six in his editor's office came up. It was obviously taken by Lyndi's assistant as the woman in question could be seen in the background at her desk, only a sliver of her remaining after someone cropping the photo cut her out to put more focus on Tim.
"We hope not." Ziva muttered, turning around in Tony's arms. "Mrs. McGee has said that there will be an open mic for people to share stories about Tim, but she would like those of us on the team who wish to say to something to be the formal speakers at the beginning. She, Mr. McGee, and Sarah have all made the decision not to do it."
"Is that all I missed?" Tony asked. He had volunteered to run and get Jethro from Gibbs' house for Sarah, leaving the meeting with the coordinator a bit early to do that so he would be back before the ceremony officially began.
"Yes. The rest of the discussion was about the cost of things not covered by the savings Tim had set aside, but Gibbs stepped in before Mr. and Mrs. McGee could agree to anything. The donation basket that has been going around the Navy Yard and the Hoover Building more than covers the rest of the bill."
"That's good. They really shouldn't have to worry about something like that right now." Ziva nodded in agreement, letting out a sigh and pressing her forehead against Tony's chest.
"Will you be going up?" She asked in a tiny voice. She had not spoken at Ari's funeral back in Israel after escorting his body back, but she was considering doing it here. Tim was...different.
"Yes. I'll let the rest of you go first, though. I don't think I could do it if I went first." The vibration of Tony's chest as he spoke was a minor comfort to Ziva. It was slightly better than hearing a heart beat.
"Very well. Ducky has already agreed to go first. Palmer will be going after him. Gibbs, surprising, has agreed to speak as well. Abby turned down the offer."
"And you?" Ziva looked up at Tony's question.
"I am considering it. Tim was the first one to welcome me to America. I did not come at the most opportune time, but he did not take it out on me." Tony lifted a hand to the side of her face, lightly rubbing her cheek with his thumb.
"Do not feel like you have to, Z. Tim would understand."
"I know. But...Tim is the brother I wish I had received. I owe it to him." Ziva insisted. Tony nodded in understanding, knowing exactly what she meant. Tim had become the brother he never got, as well.
"Guys. We'll be starting soon." Sarah appeared a few feet away, her eyes focused on the television instead of the people she was talking to. A picture of her and Tim at his MIT graduation had appeared on the screen, the both of them wearing matching grins and MIT tshirts.
"We are coming, Sarah." Tony pulled away from Ziva, turning his head to address the younger woman. He wordlessly handed over one of the many pocket packets of kleenex he was carrying when she sniffed loudly and turned away from the television.
"Thanks." Sarah croaked as she quickly took a tissue out to wipe her eyes. Tony was mentally glad she decided not to try speaking. She wouldn't make it past the first two or three sentences.
"Come on, Sarah. I am sure your mother is waiting for us in the front pew." Ziva stepped forward to wrap an arm around one of Sarah's, guiding her into the main part of the church. Eying the television screen one last time, which had switched to showing a picture of him, Tim, and Kate that was taken shortly before the plague incident, Tony slowly followed.
"I must admit, my first impression of Timothy blended in with many of the other first impressions I have of the nameless agents who pass through my workplace." Ducky started,carefully wording his sentences. "I did not originally expect Jethro to request his transfer to the team from Norfolk. Jethro clearly saw something I had not during those first few cases we worked with young Timothy before his transfer."
Tony couldn't help but let a small smirk slip out. Even now, he couldn't believe Tim had actually listened to him and stayed with the crime scene the entire night. An elbow in the side had him turning to a confused looking Ziva. He waved her off, giving her a look that promised an explanation later.
"But after a few more cases, I quickly became glad of Jethro's decision. Not only did Timothy's abilities balance out the rest of the team, but so did his personality. I have always been amazed by Timothy's latent ability to always see the best in everyone, even after everything he has witnessed during his tenure with NCIS. He was a stark reminder to the rest of us that the world is not entirely made of bad people. That good people still exist and that we shouldn't let ourselves group them with the bad."
"His loyalty and love for his friends and family seemed to set the bar for the rest of us. I cannot remember how many times a short pep talk or words of encouragement from Timothy had made the rest of us reach out to loved ones we had strayed from. We all are certainly better from knowing Timothy McGee."
It was certainly different from his usual lengthy stories, but no one on Team Gibbs felt the need to point it out just yet. As Ducky returned to his seat in the front pew with the others, Jimmy made his way up to the podium with a small note card he had made ahead of time. He pulled his glasses off to rub his face before letting out a heavy sigh and putting them back on.
"I was just a temporary worker at NCIS when I first met Tim. Dr. Mallard's previous assistant was out of commission from an incident at work and I was called in to help Dr. Mallard until he could return. Gerald ultimately decided not to return, leading to me becoming Dr. Mallard's permanent assistant. It wasn't until then that I really began to interact with the members of Team Gibbs." Jimmy nervously fiddled with his note card, not really looking at it.
"I admit that I was terrified of Gibbs those first few years. Actually, I still am..." That pulled chuckles from the various NCIS agents in the audience. "But the irony of it all is that my most terrifying experience with an agent at NCIS wasn't with Gibbs. It was with Tim."
A few of the agents in the audience exchanged confused looks. Timothy McGee was one of the nicest people they had ever met. What could he have possibly done to scare someone?
"I accidentally got myself stuck to Abby with superglue during a case and Tim walked in on us before we could detach ourselves from each other." Watery giggles erupted from Abby as she remembered that event. The initial anger on Tim's face was just as clear as the abject horror that appeared on Jimmy's when Tim yelled at him. "He, of course, apologized later. Didn't change the fact that I was only afraid of Gibbs on principle and Tim had given me a real reason to be scared of him. Needless to say, I made a mental note to never let myself end up on the wrong end of Tim's irritation again."
Jimmy's lips pursed as he smothered a smile. So many people took Tim's niceness and manners for granted that they never considered what it would be like to have him angry at them. It was enough for Jimmy to realize that he needed to focus more on keeping the members of Team Gibbs happy over keeping Gibbs, himself, happy. An angry Tony was a close second to an angry Tim.
"Despite that, though, I ended up spending a lot of my free time with Tim. I spent a lot of time with members of Team Gibbs, but mostly just Tim and Tony. I used to always get chided from Dr. Mallard for spending too much time with Tony outside of work because it was affecting my behavior at work. He never realized that I picked up most of my mannerisms from hanging out with Tim, not Tony." Jimmy threw an amused look in Tony's direction when the Italian man gave Ducky a pout for putting all the blame on him for corrupting the Autopsy Gremlin. "But I gotta say, I'm glad that that happened. My boost in confidence from hanging out with Tim and Tony ultimately led to me meeting my girlfriend, Breena. It probably says something about the two of them that I managed to get a girlfriend with their advice while they remained single, but I'm not going to get into that right now."
Sarah joined in on Abby's giggling. She knew more about Tim's dating history than the rest of them, with the exception of probably Tony, and knew that Jimmy's experience with Tim's dating advice was most likely accurate. He could always help others get into a relationship with someone but it never worked for himself.
Jimmy gave the audience a grim smile as he stepped away from the podium, deciding to end his speech with that finally comment. Tony looked towards Gibbs in expectation as Jimmy returned to the pew, wondering if Gibbs really would go up to speak. The man wasn't a public speaker. But Tony was proved wrong as Gibbs stood up and took Jimmy's place at the podium. The silence before Gibbs began talking was longer than it had been with Ducky and Jimmy.
"McGee always said he thought I requested his transfer to the team because I needed someone with computer skills to help with cases. Never could get it through his stubborn mind that I could have just requested a TAD from Cyber Crimes if that was all I needed." Short, sweet, and to the point. Typical Gibbs, when he was talking. He glanced at the framed picture of Tim that was being displayed in place of the usual casket, a ghost of a frown appearing on his face. The chosen photo was taken shortly after he pseudo retired and Tim became Tony's SFA. The excited grin on Tim's face was a drastic contrast to the morose feeling everyone in the church was exuding, and it brought up feelings of guilt in Gibbs that he wasn't even there to see Tim take on a SFA position. "It was his tenacity, though, and his intuition that made me interested in recruiting him to the team. The rest of us are experts in dealing with people and body language but we can't hold a candle to McGee's ability to see patterns and significant details in the mass amount of information each case collects. Even when they weren't plain as day to see, he instinctively knew where to look for them."
Gibbs shifted his weight from one foot to the other, giving in to the temptation to set his arms on the podium. It had been a while since he had spoken at a funeral and he couldn't say he was all too pleased that it was McGee's, of all people, that he was doing it again at. If anyone had to die to make him speak up, it should have been someone like Mike.
"McGee was becoming quite the prowler in the interrogation room, as well. We never did admit it to him, but both Agent Fornell and I have been impressed by some of the work McGee has done in there. It's not often that an agent has a disposition that makes nearly everyone underestimate them. Even fewer know how to use that to their advantage. McGee is one of the few who took it one step further by turning that underestimation around on the other person by getting them to do things with a little manipulation. DiNozzo, David, and even myself tend to use brute force and stubbornness to make our way through an interrogation but McGee was blessed with a silver tongue, nearly turning the dang thing into an art."
Ziva and Tony choked on air as they attempted to stifle a laugh, earning a few odd looks from others. If they were at work, they'd probably be asking Gibbs if it were painful for him to admit such a thing. But they couldn't exactly argue with Tim's abilities in the interrogation room. There was, after all, a reason they trusted him to stay behind to do the bulk of the interrogation work while the three of them were out in the field. It was fitting that Gibbs was the one to praise Tim's work instead of them.
"Those who know me know I have an open door policy for anyone who needs to talk. Hell, I don't even lock my front door. McGee, probably without even realizing it, ended up with a similar situation. For every time a member of my team came to my house to talk, I can think of a time where they went to McGee's apartment instead. It was a rather...unique experience seeing that happen. It wasn't until recently that I figured out why it was happening since McGee didn't exactly invite everyone over like I do." Tony's head cocked slightly at the admission. He knew he was going to McGee's more often than Gibbs' lately. He hadn't realized that the others were doing the same thing. Now he was curious as to what Gibbs came up with for the reason. "McGee and I had a lot more in common than anyone really realized. I've heard agents laugh at the mere idea of he and I having anything in common, considering McGee's affinity for technology and my clear dislike for it, but they focused on the wrong things. Out of my three agents, McGee was definitely the most stubborn. While DiNozzo and David are willing to break more rules to get the job done, McGee was more willing to break the bigger ones. And the rest of us definitely learned quickly to rue the day any of us messed with Sarah McGee."
A dark blush appeared on Sarah's face as she slightly sank in her seat, both of her parents giving her knowing looks. She was still embarrassed that Tim had gone so far as to offer his resignation from NCIS to protect her. Sarah went to her big brother to save her in her moment of need, but she never expected him to go the lengths he did.
"So, really, it became quite obvious why everyone was going to him for advice just as often as they came to me. Once McGee labeled you friend or family, he'd go to the ends of the Earth to help or protect you when you needed him. It's definitely been an honor to have him on my team."
Ziva quickly wiped the tears off her face as Gibbs returned to the pew. She still hadn't decided whether or not she would go up to speak. Tony turned his attention to her, noticing the slightly panicked look in her eyes. He began to stand up to take the pressure off of her, but Ziva made the snap decision to pull him back down and stand up instead. Taking a deep breath, she slowly walked up the podium to give her as much time as possible to think of something to say. Ziva looked back and forth between the photo of Tim and the audience as she figured out how to start, finally setting her eyes on the audience just before she began to speak.
"On May 24th, 2005, Special Agent Caitlin Todd was shot down by rogue Mossad officer Ari Haswari." Ziva began, getting a tense reaction from her team. "My brother."
Abby looked on in horror at Ziva's admission, a more sever reaction than the simple shock Ducky and Jimmy were showing at this new piece of information. Gibbs shook his head slowly, realizing what Ziva was doing, while Tony looked on intently. Ziva had long ago told him that Ari was her older half-brother. His gut told him that this was going to be more than a mere admission of disappointing family members. The rest of the audience were caught up in morbid curiosity on why Ziva would start out her speech like that.
"Only a few minutes before shooting Agent Todd, Ari made an attempt at McGee's life. Had Tim not ducked for cover from shots from a separate source, Ari surely would have met his target and we would not be here this day. I discovered this piece of information after I was made a liaison officer for Mossad at NCIS shortly after the aforementioned event. The team did not know of my blood relation to Ari but they knew I was his control officer, so the initial greetings were certainly not the best they could have been." Ziva let out a shaky breath as she began to get on a roll. The words were coming, finally, and she wasn't going to stop them. "Tim did not let Agent Todd's death dictate his actions, though. He welcomed me to America without hesitation. He helped me figure out what the best route would be to take to get to the Navy Yard from my new apartment. He was very accommodating of my misunderstanding of American culture. I was very fortunate to have Timothy McGee be there during such an upheaval in my life, especially when I had to shoot my brother to save Agent Gibbs' life."
Tony sat up straighter in his seat, throwing a glare at Gibbs. He had been there for many of the nightmares Ziva had about Ari and Tali. That she had been forced to kill her own brother instead of Gibbs doing the deed, like the report had said, explained a lot of those nightmares. The rest of the audience had various expressions of pity, shock, and horror at what Ziva had done. The lack of understanding of the difference between American culture and how Ziva was raised was quite clear.
"Timothy McGee was no ordinary partner. Once, during a case, he had hypothetically asked what I would do if he and I had lost contact for a few years and he got his throat slit by a serial killer." The glare on Tony's face dropped as he turned his attention back to Ziva. He remembered the case she was speaking of. As he thought about it, Tony couldn't remember much of what the others had done during that case. It was...oddly disappointing. "I, without hesitation, replied that I would hunt the killer down and make him regret the day he was born. When he was released after the riot at the woman's prison in Maryland, I even asked if anyone in there had hurt him so I could kick their ass."
Ziva let out a burst of laughter, wiping the new stream of tears off her face as memories kept on coming to the surface. No one outside the team would really understand why she was laughing since they didn't know about her assassin training, but she didn't care. That was the meaning of family. Those who could laugh together when the rest of the world looked on in confusion.
"I cannot remember how many times Tim and I have ganged up on Tony in our teasing. Nor how many times Tony and I ganged up on Tim. But regardless of how often that happened, I always knew Tim would be there if I called. I never got that from my own brother as I was growing up. I marveled at that knowledge and have often thought that that must be what it feels like to be Sarah. To know that someone would always be on your side, no matter what you did. It made me feel secure about my place here in America. I have changed since I first met Timothy McGee and I do not regret a single thing about it." Ziva fell silent then. The train of thought providing her with material finally ran out of steam, leaving her emotionally exhausted. She carefully stepped around the podium, a bit unsure about her ability to keep her composure, before rushing forward to Tony's outstretched arms to begin bawling.
Tony rocked Ziva lightly as silence fell over the church. He knew everyone else knew he was next to speak, but no one was in a hurry. They sat silently as Tony took the time to calm Ziva down enough for her to breathe properly, thinking over their own memories that had been triggered by what they had heard so far.
Once he was satisfied that he had calmed Ziva enough, Tony inhaled sharply before standing up and making his way to the podium. All the law enforcement officers in the room instantly focused their attention on Tony, knowing that they were about to learn more about his relationship with Tim than had ever been let on before. Every single one of them, at one point or another, had seen the loyalty between Tony and Tim. They did not question it. They did not doubt that it was stronger than the loyalty the team members felt towards Gibbs. And that Tony was going last meant his speech was most likely going to be the most significant.
"The first case I ever worked with Tim, a submariner had been found in a barrel of acid at Norfolk Naval Base." Tony started. "He was the greenest of the green and gullible to boot. Poor guy believed me when I said someone needed to stay with the crime scene overnight. I got scolded by Agent Todd, but I told her that he was a newbie. It goes with the territory."
That got a twittering of laughter going through the audience. No one was surprised by Tony's abuse of his authority. He still did it.
"Of course, he completely shocked me in that same case by getting a Mom tattoo on his ass to impress Abby. I must say, when Tim McGee wanted to impress someone he didn't half-ass it." Most of the audience groaned at the pun, but Sarah and Ziva were shoving their hands at their mouths to stop the laughter from coming out. "If I had been asked back then if I had realized that I had just met someone who would quickly become an important person in my life, I probably would have laughed in the person's face. I seem to have that habit. Jinxing myself. I mean, in the very case where I met Gibbs when I was still working in Baltimore, I had told my partner I'd rather get the plague than be a Navy cop. Now look at me. I'm the Senior Field Agent for the DC Major Crime Response Team for NCIS and a footnote in every single future journal article about Y. Pestis."
"So when I immediately started hazing Tim in that first case, I was most likely jinxing myself. I expected him to become just another agent who's name I would forget as quickly as I had learned it. I didn't think Abby would actually go on a date with the poor bugger." Abby threw Tony a rude gesture, glad that being in the front pew kept it hidden from everyone else. Tony gave her a smirk in return, wondering how many others were going to do such things at him during his speech. He wouldn't be surprised if they did.
" We saw him a few more times after that and Tim's fate was sealed the day Gibbs looked at him to say 'You belong to me, now!'. And thus began my long career of corrupting the poor Probie." Tony leaned forward on the podium, letting off a casual feeling. "Tim had the patience of a saint. I'll give him that. Between myself, Agent Todd, and Ziva, the man has had countless pranks and jokes done on him. I lost count of how many bottles of acetone he went through because of us supergluing him to his various office supplies. I know he didn't get Ziva back because she threatened to kill both of us with said office supplies if we tried, but with me and Agent Todd he began to give back as much as he got."
Tony paused to take a few breaths, feeling slightly guilty that he planned to go down a more emotional path for the rest of his speech.
"I never hesitated to be there for him when something happened at work, though. When Agent T...when Kate died, he and I searched the roof tops for hours in the rain to find that bullet jacket. Anything to nail that bastard." Tony threw an apologetic look towards Ziva, who simply nodded in acknowledgment. She couldn't argue against the sins her brother had committed. "Tim had a difficult time of going to see Kate in autopsy after that and I eventually found him talking to her, alone. I joined him for the last part of the 'discussion' and proceeded to get him thoroughly smashed that night. I did the same thing when Tim inadvertently shot an undercover cop from Metro. We were unable to identify which bullet was the kill shot, Tim's or the other shooter's, and it was just tearing him apart. It wasn't often that something from work would affect him as much as those events did, but I sure as hell didn't let him fall."
Tony's gaze dropped to the podium as he twiddled his thumbs, trying by force of will to stop the tears that were beginning to build in his eyes.
"This is the first time since Gibbs' declaration of ownership that Tim hasn't been there for me. No one else can make that claim. None of my ex-partners from my previous jobs. Not Kate. Not Abby. Nor Ducky. Or Jimmy." Tony stubbornly rubbed away the single tear that managed to escape. "Not even Ziva or Gibbs. Everyone else, at some point or another, has either left or failed to realize the significance of the situation I was in. But not Tim. We mourned over Kate together. When Gibbs left, he stepped up as my Senior Field Agent. When Ziva left, he gladly picked up the extra work and took up the job as my primary partner. He was the only one to maintain constant communication with me when the team was broken up for a mole hunt. Tim was even there when my old partner from Baltimore was discovered murdered."
Various looks of guilt or sadness appeared on the faces of the rest of Team Gibbs. They all knew the history of the team from the past ten years. None of them, though, considered looking at each event through the eyes of someone else on the team. Their ignorance led to Tony explaining his and Tim's loyalty to each other in a very succinct manner. Tim was there when no one else was.
"Tim definitely took the meaning of family to a whole different level. Everyone always talks about the incident with Sarah when we first saw his brotherly wrath as the prime example of his loyalty to his family, but they haven't seen any the other events or completely disregard them. Jimmy superglue incident comes to mind. When a deranged fan of his threatened to kill Abby, Tim lied right to the man's face to save her life. He let himself go sleep deprived in his effort to assist Gibbs when the man got injured on the job. And no one else was there to hear the sailor-worthy obscenities Tim was spewing at the terrorists in Somalia before we found out that Ziva was still alive."
"So I am unquestionably proud to call Tim my closest friend and a brother. Because that is what he was. A brother. He..." Tony gasped as a sob half escaped, slapping his hands up one his mouth to prevent any further noise as he closed his eyes tightly. Ziva partially rose from her seat in anticipation, sensing that she would have to do for Tony what he had done for her at the end of her own speech. The rest of the audience watched on with deep frowns, finally understanding the pain Tony must be feeling if he was unable to reign in his emotions. He was a man known for witty remarks and scathing humor when faced with the death of someone he knew. Not for openly weeping in front of a crowd that he only knew a small percentage of. They all jumped slightly when Tony suddenly slammed his hands back down onto the podium as he turned to directly address Tim's photo. "I love you, Tim, and I wish to God you had just come to that damn ship with the rest of us."
That was Ziva's cue to stand up the rest of the way and rush to Tony as the man succumbed to his emotions for the first time since his initial reaction the day of the accident. Sarah was quick to follow, getting pulled into a tight grasp by Tony as Ziva hugged the both of them. Swallowing hard, Mrs. McGee stood up and began to whisper to the people that there would be a short break with refreshments in the church basement before they continued on with the open mic. Seeing how Sarah, Tony, and Ziva were handling themselves was making her consider the idea that her and her husband's pain at losing their son was not the worst pain being felt by Tim's death.
As everyone began to slowly get up and wander either out into the main entrance area or down into the basement as ordered by Mrs. McGee, Abby sat stock still in her seat. A hollow feeling was beginning to grow in the pit of her stomach. Tony and Ziva had known Tim better than she did. They didn't go into that much detail, but it was quite obvious to anyone who knew the team. And she knew the team. Tony and Ziva breaking down in the middle of the Bull Pen, surrounded by coworkers, was understandable. They knew everyone to some degree. But that the two most emotionally closed off people she knew, after Gibbs, were letting themselves bawl in front of complete strangers told Abby something that had never crossed her mind before. Not only did they know Tim better than her, but they were closer to Tim than she was. And his death was hitting them a hell of a lot harder than it was her.
"Abbs?" Gibbs whispered to her, wondering why she wasn't moving yet. Jumping at the sudden interruption of her thoughts, Abby inhaled sharply and stood up.
"It's nothing, Gibbs." She could handle this. Tim may have no longer felt as close to her as he once had been, and it had certainly been years since either of them were romantically attracted to one another, but he had been her geek. That was one claim Abby had above the others. Tim was Her Geek. It was the one thing he had been the entire time they had known each other and Abby was going to cherish the thought.
"You sure, Abbs?" Gibbs towered over her with her lack of platform boots and Abby couldn't help but feel reassured that, while it may not have been Tim, she was fortunate enough to still have what Tony had lost. Someone who'd be there for her, no matter what.
"I'm sure." Abby nodded, hugging herself. She felt a bit out of place, not being in her usual goth clothing, but her current outfit had been one of Tim's favorites. It was one of her darker toned business outfits she had on hand for when she was called in as an expert witness in a trial. Abby had often wondered if Tim had only liked it because the flats put her at a height disadvantage when she usually wasn't, but it was now a moot point.
"Alright..." Gibbs looked at her with a bit of concern, not entirely believing her. He didn't push her to talk, though. He knew she would talk when she felt ready to do so. Deciding to afford his agents as much privacy as they could get in the middle of a filled church, Gibbs put a hand at the base of Abby's back and started prodding her towards the doors to head downstairs.