A/N: I'm graduated. I'm married. I'm at a new, full-time job. I'm finally back in the swing of things! I'm fortunate that so many of you continue to wait for updates. I cannot thank you enough for your patience.
Review Replies:
Crawcolady: I'll hint that Tim will eventually return to DC, but that's it. Nothing about the team. Any other details are spoilers! I'll continue to update so you find out what I mean. :)
Momcat: I always thought Gibbs was more accepting of genuine accidents, so he wouldn't go all Papa Bear on a rampage for answers like he would when teammates have been purposely hurt or murdered. Being told Tim's death is a genuine accident would have deflated any anger before it began because who could Gibbs rage against? You're also correct in Drawer 107 being Kate's drawer. It's foreshadowing for later, though, too. You'll see.
With reviews replied to, on with the chapter!
Event Ten
"You let him live in this hellhole?" Edmund cracked at Alice as the group of them sprawled out in Tim's living room, open pizza boxes scattered between them.
"The FBI lets him live here. Personally, I would have picked a home in St. Francis or Greenfield," Alice replied.
Tim slowly shook his head as he kept his eyes on his new TV's user set-up guide. Personally, he understood how and why the FBI selected its safe-houses. Most of it was cost, sure, but the functionality of the house was also something that needed to be considered. He was just a single person who now had limited hobbies. It wasn't like he needed a house loaded with luxury extras.
"Bah. It ain't that bad here, Eddie. Sure, the lack of bedroom doors is a little unorthodox, but the place is nice nonetheless," Regan mused.
"Is it anything like your place back home?" Portia asked, pulling Tim's attention away from the set-up guide.
"I had a small, one-bedroom apartment. Can't exactly compare the two places," Tim said.
"I agree," Jade spoke up around a bite of pizza. She quickly swallowed before continuing. "Houses have a lot of emotional energy in them. If a house has been the home for the same family for multiple generations, it's a swamp of memories and energy that's difficult to wade through. Apartments, however, are almost like blank slates with each new tenant. People rarely stay in a single apartment long enough to have the same effect on them as families do with houses. I'm willing to bet the emotional energy of Tom's former apartment wouldn't even hint at his existence in there in another month or two."
"Oh, you mean like my ex-girlfriend after we broke up," Edmund said.
"Eddie!" Regan chided as everyone else exploded in laughter.
"What?" he replied.
Tim rolled his eyes in amusement and returned to the set-up guide. It was a Smart TV, and he wanted to have an understanding of this one's specifications before plugging it into the cable and internet. It was a different brand than the one he had back in DC.
"How are you going to keep yourself occupied once we're out for the night, Tom? Unlike the rest of us, you don't exactly have to wake up early tomorrow," Clark asked.
"Alice is going to be staying here as I set up my computer so she can verify the tracking software is installed and activated before she leaves," Tim answered. He gave up concentrating on the TV set-up guide and tossed it aside. "I got arrested for hacking, remember? I'm not allowed to use a computer without the FBI getting to see what I do with it."
"Ah, yes," Clark said. Alice gave him a look for already forgetting such a major detail.
"Do you mind if I stay behind? Watching you set up a basic computer will be a great way to judge your skills before allowing you to touch my office equipment," Jade said.
"Sure," Tim replied, ignoring the look Alice was now giving him. "Like Clark said, it's not like I have anything better to do."
"Speaking of," Portia trailed off. She got up from her cross-legged position and walked over to the table where the new TV currently sat. "Tom, we need more entertainment than each others' personalities. How are you hooking this thing up to your cable box?"
Tim smiled as the others burst into laughter again, getting up to help Portia.
"Give me a moment and I'll have the cable box booting up."
"Alice, we need to take Tom to Leon's the next time we're all out. It'd be a shame if he went too long without having their custard," Jade said before another bite of pizza.
"I was considering the same," Alice replied.
"Woman, it is the middle of winter," Tim said, turning to give Alice an incredulous look.
"You'll understand once you try it. I promise. Leon's is worth it, even if it's 50 below," Alice said with a grin.
"Oh, don't tell us you're a freeze baby," Edmund said.
Tim gave them both a glare before going back to connecting his cable.
"I believe that's an affirmative, Eddie, my boy," Clark mused loudly, causing more laughter.
"You should have seen his reaction to the weather when I picked him up from the airport. Poor soul was clearly not prepared," Alice said.
"I'm right here," Tim spoke up.
"I know!" Alice replied with enthusiasm as the others continued to laugh.
Before Tim could reply, a loud bang came from the kitchen and caught everyone's attention. Tim and Alice were up and walking out of the room to investigate before the others registered their actions.
"You locked the back door, correct?" Alice whispered over Tim's shoulder.
"Yes," Tim whispered back.
He slowly looked around the edge of the doorway between the kitchen and the dining room to see if there was any movement in the corner in his blind spot, but he saw nothing. He stepped fully into the kitchen to look for the source of the noise just as everyone else came up behind Alice.
"Did something fall in a cabinet?" Portia asked.
"I still have bare basics. There's not much that could fall," Tim replied.
Tim twirled slowly in place to look at everything in the room, yet he saw nothing that would explain where the noise came from. He gave Alice a confused look, hoping she'd have a better idea. She would have been informed about everything in the house before he was moved in.
"We could check the attic or the basement," Alice offered. "Well, Scooby Gang, wanna split up?"
"Splitting up is our specialty," Jade replied, earning an elbow to the side from Regan.
"I doubt there's anything upstairs or downstairs," Tim said before anyone could do anything. He wasn't going to have a ghost hunt in his own home, borrowed it may be. "The noise didn't sound like it came through the floor or the ceiling."
"I'll put in a request to have a contractor come and do an inspection, then. Maybe something was missed in the inspection we had performed before you moved in," Alice said.
"Right..." Tim trailed off, still eyeing different parts of the room. He was going to be paranoid for a while now. He could feel it.
"Well, then!" Portia said loudly, making it obvious she was purposely changing the topic. "Back to setting up the cable."
Portia turned around and headed back to the living room, the others slowing following after until it was just Tim and Jade in the kitchen.
"Your home doesn't feel haunted, if it's any consolation," Jade quipped.
"But no guarantee on that?" Tim asked, not really sure if he actually wanted to know the answer.
"It is entirely possible for singular spirits to hide their presence from me. It gets harder for them to hide as two, three, or more begin to group together, but my 'Ghost Radar' isn't sensitive enough to pick up a single spirit one hundred percent of the time. Especially if they move quickly. I usually use aids when I'm tracking a single spirit on a job site," Jade replied.
"I'll take your word on my home not being haunted," Tim decided.
Jade patted him on the arm lightly and returned to the living room with the others, leaving Tim alone in the kitchen.
Tim looked around the room one last time, still confused on where the noise could have come from. He was sure it came from this room and not up- or downstairs. Yet nothing seemed to be out of place. Letting out a sigh, Tim gave up and headed back to the living room to join the others. He was already convinced that Jade was the 'real deal'. If she claimed his home was clear, then he just had to trust her.