Contains a spoiler for the finale of Highlander: The Raven.
Chapter 6 – Learning Curve
"So are you going to tell me what's going on?"
Ziva barely managed not to roll her eyes and let out an annoyed sigh. She should have known that Tony could not let his teammate's strange behavior pass without some sort of investigation. Still, she would do her best to steer him away from the truth.
"What is going on with what?"
She noticed Tony's grip on the steering wheel tighten. "You. McGee. Abby. All of the above."
"I do not know what is going on with Abby, other than she is apparently still angry with McGee."
"Yeah, I figured that out for myself, Ziva. I'm wondering why he did what he did to make her angry in the first place, and what you know about it."
"I do not follow."
"Don't be cute. There's something seriously wrong with Probie. He's been that way ever since the two of you made that trip to the boondocks. What happened? What did he do?"
"McGee did not do anything… except his job."
"OK, fine, what did you do?"
"Nothing. Except my job."
Ziva struggled to keep her tone even. She knew that Tony would continue to pry until he figured out what had happened and she really did not want to think about how he would handle it. The only alternative was that she would have to give him something to distract him. A partial truth…
"Come on, Ziva. Something must have happened."
She sighed. "Fine. I will tell you, but you must swear that you will not tell anyone else."
"Not even Gibbs?"
"Not even Gibbs." She decided that telling him Gibbs already knew would set off a whole new set of questions. "As Director Shepard says, what Gibbs doesn't know can't hurt us."
Tony pondered that for a few moments before he responded. "OK, fine. So what is it? What's the big secret?"
"McGee discovered that he… was adopted."
"Adopted?" There was a brief moment of silence as Ziva waited for the inevitable. "Ha! I knew he and Sarah couldn't be related. She's way too hot to be—OW!"
He turned to glare at her as he reached up to rub the back of his head. "Do NOT hit the driver!"
She merely stared at him and he quickly returned his attention to the road. A few more moments of silence, and then…
"Seriously?"
"Yes. The people who raised him are not his biological parents, and they never told him anything about his origins. He has no idea who his real parents might be."
"Oh, man. But that means…?"
"Yes. You know how much family means to McGee. To find out your whole life has been a lie? It is devastating."
Tony glanced at her again, his expression surprisingly serious. "Yeah… I guess it would be." He lapsed into silence for the next few miles and Ziva tried to prepare herself for the next round of questions.
"Is he going to try and find out?" Tony suddenly asked.
"Is who going to try and find out what?"
Tony huffed in annoyance. "McGee. His parents. Is he going to try and find them?"
"I do not know," Ziva admitted truthfully. "He has not mentioned it."
"Maybe we should—"
"No, Tony. This is McGee's business. He does not want anyone else to know." She sent him a threatening look. "And if you tell him that I told you, I will—"
"—kill me with office supplies, I know."
She nodded stiffly and Tony lapsed back into silence for a few more miles.
"I don't get it."
"You do not get what?"
"Why doesn't he want us to know? I mean, it's not that big of a deal. Besides, it kind of makes him fit in with the rest of us. You know, screwed up families…" He caught her expression and fell silent again.
Ziva decided it would be better to settle Tony's question now, rather than to let his curiosity build to the point where he would let something slip to McGee.
"I believe he is embarrassed. No doubt he feels that his birth parents did not want him, and that there is something wrong with him. His self esteem was not all that high before all of this happened, so…"
"Yeah, I get it." Tony shook his head. "Man… This is something I never expected to happen to McGee. I mean, he's so… normal."
"That has not changed," Ziva replied, a bit too quickly, and winced at her mistake. Tony shot her a strange look but he didn't comment. She took a deep breath and continued.
"This has not been easy for McGee. It is best if we leave him alone. He needs time to adjust to his new status."
"OK, OK, I won't bug him about it, but… Can you let him know—"
"You have his six."
Tony grinned. "Always. He's my Probie."
Ziva nodded and breathed a soft sigh of relief. Crisis averted, at least for now. She would just have to warn McGee about what she had told Tony, just in case he forgot his promise. Better safe than sorry.
Finally they arrived at the crime scene and started to unload the equipment. Gibbs was speaking to the officer in charge of the scene security, a younger-than-expected man who was looking a little ill. He pointed Gibbs towards a small group of men standing near what appeared to be an abandoned vehicle, and Gibbs motioned for Ziva and Tony to follow.
They approached the group of men who soon noticed them and one separated from the group to meet them.
"Agent Gibbs?"
Gibbs nodded. "Detective Davis?" The man nodded in return. "What do we got?"
"A mess. Hope your team has a strong stomach." Gibbs just stared at him until Davis continued. "The night watchman noticed the car hadn't been moved and called us. Ran the plates on the car and found out it was registered to Corporal Owen Harris, USMC. Came out to investigate and found…" He shook his head. "All yours. I hope you catch this one, Gibbs. We really don't want this type of scary running 'round D.C."
"I'll bet." Gibbs droll comment held an edge Ziva hadn't heard before and she felt a chill creep down her spine. Tony must have noticed it as well because a worried look crossed his face as his usual grin faded.
"Boss?"
"Get to work, DiNozzo."
Ducky and Palmer arrived just as Gibbs gave that order, with Ducky doing his usual grumbling about the assistant's poor sense of direction. Gibbs pulled him aside to speak to him briefly before the M.E. followed Tony and Ziva to the car.
The group bit back a collective curse when they saw the contents of the vehicle. There was a body of a man in camo khakis and an olive green t-shirt in the back seat, with three holes in its chest, and its head was missing.
"It appears our killer used a very sharp instrument and a single blow to the neck, based on the lack of tearing," Ducky stated when he recovered from the initial shock. "And from the amount of blood present at the wound, the blow was post-mortem."
"Is this a thing, now? Shooting people and cutting off their heads?" Tony asked, almost to himself and winced when Gibbs' hand connected with the back of his head. "Sorry, Boss."
Ziva was struggling to remain calm. She now knew why Gibbs had insisted that McGee stay behind and she couldn't help thinking that this could have been McGee if she hadn't distracted Keane back at the cabin.
"What are you waiting for? Get to work," Gibbs snarled and headed off to speak to the first officer on the scene.
"Something tells me this one is going to get ugly," Tony muttered as he moved to check the trunk, which was unlatched. He lifted the lid and let out a startled yelp, then swore loudly when he got a better look at the object in the trunk. It was the victim's head, set so it was looking up at anyone who lifted the trunk lid. It wasn't the head itself that had garnered such a reaction. It was the fact that the person whose head it was bore, at first glance, an uncomfortable resemblance to McGee.
XXX
McGee watched as the Immortal paused just outside the elevator doors to look around, then walked through the bullpen and stopped in front of his desk. The man gave him the barest hint of a smile before speaking.
"Agent McGee. Where's your boss?"
"He's, uh… out. On a case. I don't think it's FBI related, though, Agent Fornell."
"And he left you behind." Tim could only nod. "My sympathies."
"I can ask him to call you… when he gets back."
"You do that. In the meantime, I think you and I need to have a talk. Why don't we step into his office?"
McGee paled and Fornell chuckled. "Relax, McGee, I don't bite. I promise. I just want to talk."
"Oh. OK." McGee stood and when he was sure his legs would hold him he followed Fornell to the elevator. Once inside, Fornell waited for the doors to shut before he flipped the switch and turned to McGee.
"My condolences, McGee. How did it happen?"
"How did what happen?" McGee asked and Fornell snorted.
"Leave the playing dumb to DiNutzo. You died. Recently, I would guess, and I can tell you know at least a little bit about why you're still breathing by how you reacted to me. Now, tell me what happened."
"I was… uh… shot. I was following a lead in a case and the guy… got the drop on me."
"Who was with you?"
"Ziva."
"How much does she know?"
"Pretty much all I know at this point."
Fornell did not look happy about that bit of information at all. "And does Gibbs…?"
McGee laughed weakly. "He's the one who figured it out first. Wait, does he know-?"
"About me? No, and I'd prefer to keep it that way, if you don't mind."
"Oh. I won't tell him then."
Fornell gave him a look that clearly showed he doubted that. "So how much do you know?"
"I, uh, know how we're… activated. That we're always adopted and we can't have kids…" McGee's eyes widened as something occurred to him. "Wait. You have a daughter. How?"
Fornell let out a rueful chuckle. "First indication Diane cheated on me. Figured the kid still needed a father, and I knew I wouldn't get a chance otherwise, so..."
"Oh. Sorry."
"I'm over it. What else do you know?"
"I know how we can die. Uh, holy ground is safe. And I know about…" He grimaced as he remembered the big down-side of Immortality.
"The Game?"
"Yeah."
Fornell chuckled. "I take it you're not interested in participating."
McGee shook his head vehemently. "No, I'm not. Not at all."
"Relax, kid, neither am I. Doesn't hurt to be prepared, though. Did Gibbs find you a teacher?"
"Yes. Even before he told me, actually."
"Who?"
"Amanda."
"Amanda Darieux?" McGee nodded and Fornell let out a derisive snort of laughter. "What in the hell was he thinking?" Tim bristled a little and Fornell grinned. "Calm down, kid. I'm not going to besmirch her honor… at least not any more than she would do herself, but how did he manage to stick you with that wildcat?"
"She was available, from what I understand."
"Yeah, well, that makes sense. Don't get too attached, though. She's really not one for staying in one place… or with one person for too long." Fornell patted McGee's shoulder. "If you ever do need a new teacher, let me know. It's been awhile but I do love a challenge."
"How long… sorry, I keep forgetting. We're really not supposed to ask one another's age, are we?"
"Only for the oldest of us, and I don't quite fit in that category, but it never hurts to be discrete. I can give you a hint, though: my first 'boss' was Constantine."
Tim sputtered. "Emperor Constantine? Constantine the Great?"
"That's the one. Never thought he was that great myself, but… Time changes perspective, I guess."
"Right…"
"Don't worry, McGee, you'll have time to find out… as long as you don't lose your head."
"I'll keep that in mind."
"Good. Now, for why I was here in the first place. NCIS transferred custody of an IRA terrorist to us yesterday. The transport didn't make it."
Tim's eyes widened. "Isn't that something you should tell Gibbs right away?"
"Nope. We found Flynn about an hour ago. Shot three times in the chest. Seems like his partner Keane didn't like him talking to the feds." Fornell studied Tim's shocked expression. "You wouldn't know anything about that, would you?"
"No, but…" Tim lowered his voice as he recovered. "Keane is one of us."
"What? Wait, was he…?"
"The one who activated me? Yeah."
"What the hell? He's not supposed to…"
"Yeah, I know. Wait… You knew about me before. Why didn't you say anything?"
"Not allowed. Sorry, kid."
McGee sighed. "It seems like Im… Like we have almost as many rules as Gibbs."
Fornell grinned. "Glad to see you've kept a sense of humor about the whole thing."
Tim sighed. "It's either that, or…"
"Go insane?"
"Yeah." A horrible thought crossed Tim's mind. "Does that happen? To us?"
"It has, sorry to say. Less often than you'd think, though. We learn to adjust."
"OK. Good to know." Another question popped into his head. "Are there any others in…any federal agency. That you know of, at least?"
"There's a couple more in the FBI. Matthew's been in law enforcement for quite a long time, although not as long as me. Nick is pretty new. He was a cop before he became one of us, and Matthew took him on as a student. They're partners in the Bureau, so if you run into one, chances are the other will be around. They're not interested in the Game, either, so you have nothing to worry about."
"No others?"
"Not that I've encountered, but there's always a chance of a new one showing up," Fornell replied with a wink. He turned and flipped the switch and the door opened again. "Tell your Boss I stopped by."
"OK."
"And remember what else I said. If you need me…"
Tim just nodded and went back to his desk. He sat down and flinched when he realized what he had seen before Fornell showed up. Their newest victim looked a hell of a lot like McGee himself. Tim wondered if it was at all possible to believe in coincidences this time…
XXX
Gibbs heard Tony's cry of surprise and hurried over to see what had caused it, biting back a curse when he saw what lay inside the trunk. A quick glance at Ziva told him she had made the same connection and he felt a twist in his gut. Was this a threat, or a mistake? He wasn't sure he wanted to take a chance on it being the latter.
"Boss, what…?"
"Photos, DiNozzo. Duck, we've got something else for you."
Ducky walked back to the trunk and sucked in a breath when he saw what held their attention.
"Oh, my…"
"This was Keane, wasn't it? It's his M.O." The tension in Tony's voice was palpable. "Did he mistake this guy for..." He turned to Ziva. "What happened when you and McGee went to search for Keane?"
"We never saw him. I do not know why he… I do not know why Corporal Harris was killed, and we do not know if this was, in fact, Keane."
"You know we don't believe in coincidence—"
"No, we don't. What we do need to do is get back to work," Gibbs snapped. "I need to make some calls." Gibbs walked back to the sedan, far enough away so he wouldn't be overheard, and pulled out his phone. After quickly dialing a number he raised the phone to his ear and waited.
"Hello?"
"We have a problem."
"Jethro? What happened?"
"Got a dead Marine, same M.O. as the bastard who attacked McGee." He heard Amanda curse and smiled stiffly at her rather unique vocabulary. "Guy looks a lot like Tim. You're going to need to keep a close eye on him. Step up his training, too."
Amanda sighed. "All right. Thanks for letting me know, Jethro. Where is he now?"
"Still at work."
"Call me when he's ready to leave, I'll make sure I stay with him."
"Thanks, Amanda."
"No problem. I just hope we find Keane before he finds Tim."
"Yeah, me too." Gibbs ended the call and then pressed a number on speed dial.
"McGee."
"Do you have anything on Corporal Harris?"
"Uh, not much, Boss." Gibbs immediately noticed the tension in McGee's voice. "Unmarried. Clean service record. Enlisted straight out of high school six years ago. Looks like the Corps was a family tradition. Father and both uncles served, too." McGee paused. "No indication that he was adopted. Is there anything else you need me to check?"
Gibbs winced as he realized McGee had noticed the resemblance between Harris and himself and had attempted to explain it, to himself at least.
"Financials?"
"Oh. Uh, no unusual activity, seems to be living within his means. A small amount of credit card debt, but he makes… made regular payments. Looks like most of his purchases were for games, X-Box and PS2. His only other debt was a car loan. He had 5 payments left on that."
"Anything else you want to tell me?"
"That's all I have so far."
"Not about the case, McGee."
"No, Boss. Oh, wait. Fornell stopped by." Gibbs noticed the nervousness in McGee's voice had increased, but figured that visits from Fornell usually had that effect on the junior agent. "He said Flynn's prison transport was hijacked. Flynn's dead."
"Keane?"
"Maybe."
"Been busy," Gibbs muttered.
"Boss?"
"Harris' killer: same M.O. as Keane."
"You mean Harris was…?"
"Yeah."
"Oh, God…"
"Do not leave the building. Amanda will pick you up tonight after work. Do not leave her sight. Do you understand me?"
"Yes, Boss."
"Good." Gibbs lowered his voice and allowed the sympathy he was feeling for the terrified young man to show through. "We'll get you through this, Tim. Nothing is going to happen to you on my watch."
"Thanks, Boss."
Gibbs ended his second call and sighed. It looked like the FBI was going to be hunting Keane, too. He needed to make sure they didn't learn things they really didn't need to know.
XXX
Tony watched Gibbs leave and when he was sure the lead agent was out of earshot he turned to Ziva.
"Who do you think he's calling?"
"No idea," she replied and moved to the front of the vehicle where she began the documentation process. Tony joined her in the task and remained silent until Ducky and Palmer removed the body from the scene.
"You don't think that was a long-lost relative of McGee's, do you?"
Ziva shot him a dirty look. "What did I tell you about—"
"Yeah, I know. Don't tell McGee I know his big secret. But you have to admit…"
"Yes, there is a similarity, but there are unrelated people who do look alike. I have seen it many times. You do not need to give McGee anything else to worry about. Clear?"
"OK, fine, but if he asks…"
"Then we will look into it."
Tony noticed that Gibbs was headed their way and lapsed back into silence. The team finished dealing with the scene and headed back to NCIS. They discussed the basics of the case and Gibbs told them what McGee had found about Harris—which answered at least one of Tony's questions.
After checking in the evidence, Tony returned to the bullpen to find Fornell and two other agents he hadn't met before in the bullpen. Fornell and Gibbs were heading for the elevator, arguing over jurisdiction so Tony sidled up to Ziva to find out what was going on. She told him about the FBI transport and Flynn.
"One of their agents was killed, so naturally they want control of the search for Keane."
"And Boss wants control since Keane might have killed two Marines. Great. This is going to get ugly."
Tony saw McGee emerge from the stairwell and stop, his eyes on the two dark-haired men waiting patiently by his desk. Tony saw the fearful expression on his Probie's face and moved to intercept him, but the two men beat him to it.
"Agent McGee?" the elder of the two asked, and McGee slowly nodded. "Special Agent Matthew McCormick, and this is my partner, Special Agent Nick Wolfe. We're here to help with the hunt for Doran Keane."
McGee seemed to relax slightly. "Agent Fornell mentioned you."
"I must have missed that," Tony interrupted as he stepped forward. "Special Agent Tony DiNozzo."
"Yes, we've heard of you, too," Agent Wolfe replied, his tone indicating that none of it had been complimentary. "I understand your boss may be reluctant to accept our help, but we have a special interest in Keane." Tony glanced at McGee, who was nodding in understanding. He caught Tony's gaze, blushed, and ducked his head as he returned to his desk.
"And what might that be?"
"Serial murder."
"Flynn wasn't lying?"
"No."
"So why did Keane go after Harris?"
"We're working on that. Regardless, it is part of our case, and the fact that he also killed a federal agent when he killed Flynn, I don't think even Agent Gibbs can argue the case away from us."
"I wouldn't be too sure of that." Tony nodded towards the catwalk and everyone looked up to see Gibbs and Fornell—still arguing—heading for the director's office. "Yeah, I was right, this is going to get ugly."
While the group was waiting for their respective bosses to emerge from the office above them, Wolfe crouched down next to McGee's desk and said something to him that Tony wasn't able to hear. McGee nodded slightly, his expression telling Tony that whatever it was, McGee was not happy about it at all. Wolfe said something else, then reached in his pocket and handed McGee a card. McGee nodded again as he took the card from Wolfe and gave him a brief smile of gratitude before the FBI agent rose to his feet and joined his partner.
Ten minutes after they had entered the office the two lead agents emerged, with Gibbs angrier than Tony had ever seen him. He stomped down the stairs, followed by Fornell, who did not look nearly as smug as Tony expected, and headed for McGee's desk.
"Give them everything you have on Harris. DiNozzo, accompany Agent Wolfe to the evidence lockup. We're turning everything over to the FBI."
"Yes, Boss." He headed for the elevator, Wolfe on his heels. Once they were inside, he turned to the other agent.
"I really hope you know what you're getting yourselves into, here."
"We do." Wolfe studied him for a moment. "You were a cop, right?"
"Yeah, so?"
"I was, too. I remember how much I hated letting the feds take over, but trust me, we're better equipped to handle this one."
"You better hope so, 'cause if this guy does decide to go after… someone else, you'll answer to me."
Wolfe chuckled. "He won't touch your partner. We'll make sure of it." Tony raised his eyebrows in surprise and Wolfe smiled. "See? We're not as clueless as you think."
"Good to know." When the elevator doors opened, Tony headed for the lab with Wolfe following close behind. He wasn't looking forward to explaining this one to Abby…
XXX
Ziva kept a close watch on McGee for the rest of the day, but he seemed to have calmed down and was completely focused on his work. She had seen his reaction to the two FBI agents, and had wondered if they, too, posed a threat to him, but he had assured her they were just doing their job and that there was nothing to worry about.
Tony had bugged McGee about his interactions with Wolfe, demanding to know what the agent had said to him, but McGee had managed to deflect the questions. Tony began to comment on McGee's willingness to work with the FBI, speculating that he was looking for a change of scenery, only to receive a harder-than-normal headslap from Gibbs and a barked order to get back to his desk and get to work. Things had quieted down after that, but Ziva knew she'd be doing some damage control in the near future where Tony was concerned.
Just after 20:00 she saw McGee stiffen and glance towards the elevator and was unsurprised when Amanda arrived a few moments later. When she asked McGee if he was ready for their 'date' Ziva could almost see the wheels spinning in Tony's head and she silently thanked Amanda for the distraction that would keep Tony's mind off the FBI's interaction with McGee.
After they left, Tony started to gather up his belongings, clearly intent on following but was stopped by Gibbs, who dropped a stack of folders on his desk.
"But Boss, I-."
"—have case reports to correct and get back to me by tomorrow morning."
"But…"
Gibbs leaned down into Tony's personal space and said something which Ziva could not hear, immediately stopping Tony's protests.
"Yes, Boss. By tomorrow morning."
Gibbs returned to his own desk and grabbed his coat before heading for the stairs. "G'night, Ziva."
"Good night, Gibbs." Taking his cue, she grabbed her own coat and bag and dashed to the elevator. Several minutes later she found Gibbs waiting by her car.
"You know where we're going?" She nodded and he smiled. "Then I'll see you there."
Fifteen minutes later she arrived at the warehouse where Amanda and McGee had their training sessions. She was not surprised to find Gibbs waiting for her and they silently made their way into the warehouse where they were greeted by the clanging of swords. They stayed in the shadows, watching Amanda school McGee, and Ziva could tell right away that his mind was not on the fight.
"Keep you sword up!" Amanda yelled as McGee struggled to comply. "Protect your neck. Don't take big steps. Don't leave your legs unprotected."
"I'm trying," McGee gasped as he barely dodged a blow.
"Try harder! This isn't a game, Tim."
McGee said nothing but Ziva could see he was getting frustrated. Finally, after several more near misses he backed away and lowered his sword. "I can't do this!"
Amanda turned and glanced towards the shadowy corner where Gibbs and Ziva stood. She raised an eyebrow and Ziva saw Gibbs nod out of the corner of her eye. Amanda smiled and turned back to McGee.
"Fine. I guess I'll take your head myself. Save someone else the trouble."
McGee snapped to attention. "What?" Amanda advanced on him, clearly now in 'kill' mode. McGee raised his sword just in time to block her first strike and started backing away as she came at him again. "What are you doing?"
"Putting you out of your misery. You can't fight, you die. Might as well make it sooner than later."
Ziva started to move forward but Gibbs put a hand on her arm. "Just wait."
McGee continued to block her blows, not fighting back but defending himself better than he had before. Finally, after she had backed him into a corner, Amanda's sword connected with his right arm, drawing a line of blood and McGee yelped in pain. Ziva started to move forward again but stopped when she saw the expression on McGee's face. It was like a switch had been thrown, and he started to not only parry her strikes but make strikes of his own, driving her back across the floor. His technique was not as polished as Amanda's, and Ziva got the impression that she was still being a bit easy on him, but whatever she had been teaching him seemed to have finally sunk in.
After another minute of fighting, McGee managed to knock Amanda to the ground, her sword flying from her hand, and he stood above her with his sword at her throat, breathing heavily. Amanda looked up at him and smiled.
"Not bad, Tim. Not bad at all. Just one thing…" One of her feet shot up and she kicked him, hard, in the groin. McGee let out a strangled cry and dropped his sword as he bent over, gasping for air. Ziva saw Gibbs cringe in sympathy as Amanda got to her feet and patted McGee's shoulder. "Chivalry is dead, my friend."
"You… Why… did… you… do… that?"
"To show you that you can do this, Tim. It's simply mind over matter."
"Great…"
"And now that we got that little lesson out of the way…"
McGee gulped. "No… more. Not right… now."
"OK." She looked over at Gibbs and Ziva, dropping a wink as she smiled at them. Ziva saw Gibbs smile in return and he gestured for Ziva to follow him. After they slipped out the door she turned to him.
"Was that necessary?"
"You'd rather him give up and die?"
"No, of course not, but—"
"Ziva, even though they call it a game, it's not. It's a life and death. I know what one I'd choose. McGee just needed to see the reality. He needed to see he could choose. Understood?"
"Yes… I understand."
XXX
McGee sat down at his desk, exceedingly grateful that Immortals did indeed heal quickly and the pain that normally would have still been with him had faded. He winced as he thought back to what had happened in the warehouse and the sheer terror he had felt when he thought that Amanda truly was going to kill him. He understood, now, at least, why she had done it, but that feeling would be staying with him for a long time.
He quietly slipped into his bedroom, careful to avoid disturbing the woman sleeping in his bed, and retrieved the bag he had thrown into the back of his closet less than a week ago. He returned to his desk and removed the object from the bag. The shirt was now stiff with dried blood but McGee managed to flatten it enough to see the three dark-rimmed holes, evidence of the bullets that had ended his mortal life. It still seemed unreal to him that this was his and he wondered if he would ever forget what it was like to be mortal, to fear death from a multitude of ways as opposed to just one. He wasn't sure if he was ready to let go of that very human feeling.
With a sigh, McGee rose from his chair and crossed the small space to retrieve a box from the stack in the corner. He carefully folded the shirt and placed it in the box, deciding to preserve that reminder for just a little longer. He planned to get rid of it, eventually, but for now…
Tim grabbed the CD containing the pictures Ziva had taken of him after his death and added it to the box. He would destroy those as well, when he was ready. He closed the box and carried it into the bedroom where he set it on the top shelf of his closet and then carefully moved it to the far corner. He knew he wouldn't forget it, but it was unlikely to be noticed by anyone casually nosing around.
McGee returned to his desk once again and sat down to think. After the fight, he had begrudgingly admitted that he would have to learn to protect himself, even though he hated the idea of killing another person. He could only hope he wouldn't have to do so anytime in the near future. He had a lot of work to do to prepare for a genuine fight to the death.
He yawned, stretching to relieve the kinks in his muscles, and leaned back in his chair. He knew he should get some sleep, if for no reason than to be able to defend himself from the questions he was sure would be aimed at him by Tony, but he couldn't get his mind to settle.
McGee's gaze finally landed on his typewriter, somewhat neglected in the past few months. It was true that he still had a deadline to meet, and he was having a hard time with his second novel, but nothing he had tried seemed to work.
Maybe's it's time to try something new…
He rolled a piece of paper into the carriage and raised his hands over the keys, trying to clear his mind and free write. He glanced at the open bedroom door and quickly moved to shut it, not wanting to disturb Amanda. After the door was closed he let his hands hover over the keys. Nothing was coming to him and he groaned in frustration.
Come on. Think. What is it they always say? Write what you know.
What did he know? Pain? Confusion, having his whole world upended? Feeling lost and adrift?
He looked down and to his surprise saw that he had started to type: words, sentences, feelings…
Maybe I can do this after all… It's a kind of therapy, right?
McGee took a deep breath and let the words flow.
TBC…
A/N: For those not familiar with Highlander, Matthew McCormick is a canon character from the TV series. Nick Wolfe is a canon character from Highlander: The Raven, although his position as an FBI agent is not canon. Thanks to DinaLori for her suggestions on adding them to this story
The next chapter is Suspicions Arising, which takes place about 6 months after the end of this chapter, and directly after the NCIS episode Stakeout.