JF10
Sunday morning, Tim was the first one up, he had barely slept a wink. Thoughts of what he had done last night, and the guilt of his actions plagued his mind. He set the coffee pot to brew before removing the pool cover. Going back into the kitchen he poured himself a cup and stripped his sweats off, planning to work his guilt out of him.
He downed half of the scolding hot coffee and then dove in; the cold water was an unpleasant jolt to the system very early in the morning. He was swimming freestyle up the pool, turning on the wall and backstroke back and repeat.
Gibbs was surprised to see the door open, and the coffee made. He poured himself a cup and wandered out onto the deck in his sock clad feet, to see who swimming in the pool as the sun was peaking over the horizon.
'Tim' he thought to himself. Gibbs knew that the young man was troubled, struggling to move on from Delilah. He had overheard snippets of different conversations, this weekend. Apparently, he had made plans with Kelly this Friday, some kind of function for her work. All Gibbs could think was, he was relieved he didn't have to go.
Gibbs sat on the edge of the pool, his legs dangling, his socks sat beside him on the pool's edge. He dipped a foot in the water. The water was cold, freezing cold at the very early hour of the morning, and he wondered how Tim could handle the cold water. He watched as Tim smoothly glided through the water, his long strokes propelling him forward. The execution of the turn to Gibbs, looked as if he was tumbling through the water, like a human cannon ball. He considered himself a good swimmer, but nothing like the skills Tim was displaying in the pool.
After twenty minutes, Tim came to stop at the end of the pool and finished his now cool coffee, before hoisting himself out of the pool. Instead of going to his towel on the sun lounger, he reached under the first lounger and pulled out his long board. Gibbs looked up and realised that Tim was going to catch a wave or two, as well. Clearly swimming hadn't eased whatever had befallen Tim this morning. He pulled on the wetsuit over his speedo and nodded a good morning to Gibbs as he made his way down the sand and into the water.
He attached his leg rope and began paddling out. Gibbs was surprised, he had no idea that Tim was actually that sporty. He knew Tim had wrestled in high school and college, Tim liked to hike and camp with the webelos, and enjoyed a good run for a workout, but he never realised that he swam and surfed too. This weekend had been enlightening for him, peeling back all of the layers and discovering that there was much more to Tim than met the eye.
"Uh oh." Penny muttered as she came to stand beside Gibbs on the sand, watching Tim. "Something is seriously bothering him. He only surfs when he can't shut his mind off."
"Delilah." Gibbs murmured, surmising that his dead girlfriend was what had caused Tim to lose sleep.
"Perhaps, or he is troubled over his growing and changing feelings for your daughter." Penny hypothesised, sounding Gibbs out.
"I guess we just wait and see." Tony told them both, as he approached them, not giving Gibbs a chance to answer Penny. He actually hadn't wanted to eavesdrop, but he had made plenty of noise as he approached them, they'd both been so focused on Tim, they hadn't heard him. "We spoke last night; boss and he can't see it. He doesn't have the slightest clue that his feelings are changing. Tim can't lie, especially to you or me, Gibbs."
The weekend drew to a close and Tim found himself riding back to DC with Kelly and her dog. Her and Tim made plans to meet Gibbs at his apartment in Silver Spring to look at his antique desk. Gibbs had reminded the young man, whom he held in high esteem, that his offer to restore his beloved antique desk was indeed, genuine.
The trip seemed to take no time at all as Kelly and Tim shared a steady stream of conversation; mostly discussing their mutual love of books, poetry, science fiction, music and dance. Kelly had been amazed to find that Tim loved and enjoyed music and dance. She admitted to him it was something she enjoyed, but only if she had someone to share it with. Quickly the two of them made plans to find a school and take some classes.
Laughter could be heard from the hallway as Gibbs approached the familiar apartment of his young friend, his toolbox in hand. The two of them were sitting side by side on the sofa, both hovering over McGee's laptop, Kelly's dog by their feet when he let himself in, as per Tim's instructions. "What's going on?" he asked, curious to the laughter that he had heard.
"Tim's sister uploaded some of his old dance recitals onto his secure server for him. Come take a look." Kelly encouraged her dad. "He's so good."
Gibbs leaned over the back of the sofa and watched the laptop screen, his head between Tim's and Kelly's to get a good view. On screen, a fifteen-year-old Tim was dressed a pair of jeans and a bottle green plaid shirt, half buttoned from the bottom upwards, decked out in cowboy boots and a Stetson hat. Suddenly the music started and there was Tim with what looked like his class, line dancing to an upbeat country song with a southern twang. The trio watched the video and halfway through the song, Tim and a few of the other boys broke off and partnered up with a few girls. "You weren't kidding, you were good." Gibbs told his agent with a chuckle as they watched the video to the end of the song.
"I know, right?" she asked, thoroughly impressed with Tim's dance skills. "One type of dancing I've never done is line dancing."
"Well, I'm pretty sure I've still got it, it's like riding a bike. Let's go." Tim offered with a warm smile to Kelly. "There's a bar over on Bleaker St, in Anacostia, that has a country night on Thursday's."
"I don't know..." Kelly began, unsure. Sure, she wanted to learn, but not in a bar full of strangers. "Learn in a bar full of strangers?"
"After my appointment with my doctors on Tuesday night, come to Penny's for dinner and I'll show you some of the basics. I promise it's super easy to pick up." Tim offered her, making a plan. "I promise no fancy footwork. If you pick it up easy enough, we'll go Thursday. If not, we'll keep practising and we can go when you're ready."
Kelly considered what Tim was offering and it truly sounded like a good idea. She had done jazz, ballet and tap dancing as a child, line dancing and two step shouldn't be that hard to pick up for her. Tim quickly closed the laptop after it finished, before Kelly could show her dad any more of the videos of him. Hurriedly, Tim ushered Gibbs over to his study nook, to show him his family heirloom desk.
Gibbs swallowed hard. They had literally made two sets of plans in front of him. He had been waiting for an invite to the bar, at least. But it never came. "This is a beautiful desk, Tim. You weren't kidding when you said it's old." Gibbs said as he admired it, running his hands over the late eighteenth century desk that belonged to the infamous Admiral Farragut McGee like a prized racehorse before a big race. "I think a full sand and re-finish will be all the TLC it needs. It so old it doesn't even have the metal braces or supports, it should have."
"Will you need to add those?" Tim asked, tentatively. He'd allow Gibbs to add them in if he needed them, but he'd prefer it if it didn't need them.
"I can, but I'd rather not if you prefer." Gibbs said. "I'll need to check how sturdy it is, though. Can't have it falling apart on you. Without the peeling varnish, it'll be more serviceable too. Maybe Gemcity can write his next best-selling novel from that desk."
"The first two were written there." Tim quipped in a low hush. "As well as the less the popular Mental as Anything series; all five books, The Vineyard, Globally Sourced & Locally Killed and Love in Blue. All my books were written at this desk, even the ones that didn't make it to publication."
Gibbs gave him a wan smile. "Really?" Gibbs hadn't known that Tim had written more than the one best-selling novel and just added a trip to his favourite bookstore to the list for this afternoon, as well as the hardware store. Luckily for him, they were near one another. "You mean to tell me that there is more Gemcity novels floating around that are unpublished?"
"Unfinished and unpublished. Rock Hollow is one; the novel that almost had Abby killed. Deep Six is supposed to be a trilogy." Tim explained to his mentor.
"And we will not be letting Gemcity out of his contract until it is fulfilled." Kelly told them both with a pointed look at Tim. "We will continue to hold Gemcity's contract until he gets his head out of his ass and picks up his damn craft again."
"If I were Thom E Gemcity, I'd consider myself told off, right about now." Gibbs quipped with an unrepentant grin to Tim. He knew that tone of voice, that was her tough as nails, do as I say tone, it always meant don't mess with me. "Besides I can't wait to see what L.J Tibbs gets up to next."
"Rock Hollow more focused on MacGregor than Tibbs, the third book was supposed to follow the relationship of Tommy and Lisa, but with Ziva now gone ... I just can't, boss." Tim began. "Believe it or not, I actually started writing Deep Six before we met, it wasn't until after we met, I realised that the character I had been writing had the same characteristics as you do. By then, it was too late to change him. He was based on much kinder version of the Admiral."
"We share the same traits? Oh Tim, I've been a utter bastard to you, sometimes, actually a lot of the time, especially when we first met. Especially in those earlier years and you're telling me that Tibbs is supposed to be a much kinder version of your father. The character Tibbs is a right, royal bastard, and I haven't been much better."
"Yeah, but your saving grace is that you realised what you were doing and began treating me better. You think before you act now, and we have a better relationship than we did back then." Tim admonished Gibbs lightly. "We've both put in the time and energy into our friendship, the same can't be said for the Admiral's relationship with me. Oh, I've put in the time and effort and all I have to show for it, is a toxic familial relationship with my father and a sister who is borderline between loving and hating me, depending on her mood."
"Abby, she had a heck of a lot to do with how I treated you." Gibbs admitted, patting Tim on the back in a comforting manner. "She had a lot of crap to answer for, but it wasn't until Vance came along and I began to see things more clearly. My biggest regret with Jen; was not listening to her. My biggest regret with you; was not listening to Jen. She had been on my case, repeatedly, about the way I treated you, from almost the moment she met you."
"Ah boss, she wasn't exactly friendly to me either." Tim reminded him, trying to cheer up his friend and mentor. What Tim had said was true, there were a lot of times that the late director of NCIS hadn't been warm, friendly or even polite to him. She had short and frustrated at him a lot of time. "Don't beat yourself up, too much."
"She was intimidated by your smarts, Tim." Gibbs confided in him, breaking Jenny's confession to her ex lover. "She was actually how I knew about your Deep Six novel before Sarah mentioned it to the rest of the team. Jen slipped up and gave me your book. She didn't tell me it was you, just asked me to read it and see who I thought wrote it was at the agency, who wrote it. Read the whole thing over that weekend, as soon as I had read the first chapter, I was hooked, but I just knew in my gut, it was you. She was in awe of you and actually held you in a high esteem. From the moment she met you, she could see your worth and your potential, as an agent. She had easily seen how Abby had been manipulating me and playing you and I, against each other. Jen had a real problem with it and took up the fight several times on your behalf. Especially with that whole Butch/Jethro fiasco. She believed in and believed you have a bright a future ahead of you at NCIS. "
"Really? I am surprised." Tim said as he moved to the kitchen, hearing the coffee finally brew. "She seemed to have little regard for me during the whole Sarah incident, and the Benedict one, for that matter. Not to mention, a hundred other times, in between, Gibbs."
"She was waiting for; what I was waiting for." Gibbs admonished lightly, gently tapping the back of Tim's head. "For you to realise you belonged at NCIS and stand up for yourself. To use the backbone, we knew you had buried, somewhere inside of you."
"A lifetime of not being allowed to stand up for myself, made that really hard for me to do, Gibbs." Tim stated, flippantly. He tried to pull off nonchalance, but it hadn't quite come off that way. "Penny tried, but the Admiral ruled with an iron fist."
"Took me a while to work it out. Believe it or not; it was Tony and his movie reference to the Great Santini, that made me realise why. Why you needed my guidance." Gibbs told him, taking the coffee pot from Tim's hands, to stop him from distracting himself with it. He wanted Tim to hear his words and take them in. Gibbs knew that Tim had a lot of regrets when it came to his father. "I know that your relationship with him was that difficult, I didn't realise how difficult it was until I met the ass-hat, in person. If I ever start to slip up again ... please, call me on it."
"I like to think you've learnt your lesson, Gibbs."
Monday morning saw Tim meeting Vance, this time in the Director's office. It was an official meeting. Leon Vance remarked on the change of his subordinate, as soon as he saw Tim. "Look at you, Agent McGee. You're looking better than the last time I saw you." he beamed. The Director, the widower and the father within the man allowed him to see that is agent was now sleeping, most likely the whole night through now. The air of oppressive grief didn't cling to him like a bad smell. It wasn't like he was faking it or forcing himself to be happy, he just seemed more at peace with the world. "How was the weekend in Norfolk? If my mother didn't arrive earlier than planned, we would have joined all of you."
"The weekend went fine, we all had plenty of relaxation. Be sure to ask Gibbs how he is feeling after his impromptu dip into the pool." Tim laughed and Vance could see a little bit of the old Timothy McGee lurking underneath, which saw the older man letting go of a breath he hadn't realised that he was holding on to.
"Gibbs?" The director asked, surprised. Then he realised it had to have been one of the boys, most likely DiNozzo and asked the young agent before him as such.
Shaking his head, no, Tim smirked at the Director. "Ducky" which prompted Leon Vance to let an almighty chuckle at the image that one word conjured up in his head of Gibbs flying through the air into the water.
"Oh my?!" he exclaimed. "Looks like we missed all of the fun. Tell me, how you are doing? I can see how much better you're looking, but how's everything else going?"
"I won't say good, but definitely better." Tim confessed to the big boss. He was appreciative that Director Leon Vance and himself had such a good relationship; both in and out of the office. "Had another good talk with Gibbs after a hiccup this weekend. The bruises and cuts are still there, but healing. Haven't had to take any kind of pain relief in 6 days now, not even an aspirin or ibuprofen. Penny and I have come to an arrangement about moving from Silver Spring. That's still a big hurdle for me. I was at my apartment yesterday and even though, Gibbs and Kelly were there too, it felt suffocating just visiting, I need a fresh start. Can't keep crashing at Gibbs or at Penny's for the rest of my life."
Leon Vance filed that little tid bit of information away for later. He hadn't realised that Kelly Gibbs and Timothy McGee had become such close friends. He remembered almost four weeks ago now, when DiNozzo had return from the hospital and let the bombshell drop that Kelly had been keeping Tim company in his room. He recalled how he and Gibbs had exchanged grins at that. "That's understandable, Tim. If you're cleared for desk duty by your docs tomorrow, are you interested in a limited duty assignment. It's called KIT days. Keeping in Touch. You'd start at half days on Monday, Wednesday and Friday's and build it up from there. By the time you're at five days a week, you'd probably be cleared for full duty. "
"Sounds like heaven. I have been bored out of my skull." Tim said with a wide grin. That news was just the shot in the arm that he needed. "Everyone has been really careful not to mention anything case specific to me, but I could tell from Tony and Gibbs that they've got a tech case stuck in their claw, that I could definitely be some assistance on."
"That they do." Vance smiled at him. It still amazed the Director just how well the MCRT knew one other, especially Gibbs and his two boys. "I am going to put in one stipulation, though. I don't want you in the lab with Miss Scuito unless there is another MCRT team member present. Do I make myself clear?" At Tim's nod, he continued. "She is still undergoing some additional sensitivity training on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Normally that's only for agents, but that failing is on me. I should have made it mandatory, agency wide. It is a mistake that is currently rectified. Please accept my apology for the oversight, Agent McGee."
"Apology accepted, Director." Tim said, standing at parade rest, ready to be dismissed from the older man's office.
"Ms Cooke will have the forms for both of your doctors to fill out. As soon as you get the forms filled out you can return to your duties, within the parameters we discussed. Dismissed."
Tim left the inner office of the Director and took a seat in the outer office where Ms Cooke's desk was and settled in to wait for the forms. Forms in hand, he left the Director's office suite with a small grin on his face and stood up on the catwalk. Looking down into the bull pen below, he could see Gibbs glaring at Tony, as he played paper ball with his trash can and distracted Ellie with inane questions from his desk, while Ellie looked frustrated at Gibbs for not reigning him in some more.
Gibbs could feel someone's eyes boring into him, he looked around at his team, well two thirds of it and for a change both of their heads were down. Instinctively, he looked up on the mezzanine level above for Vance and was surprised to see Tim standing there, papers in his hand. He hoped that the young man wasn't doing anything drastic. He sent a small smile his way and was surprised when the young man in question returned it. With a tilt of the younger man's head, he nodded at the unspoken question. "Going for coffee, that paperwork better be done by the time I get back, DiNozzo."
Meeting Tim on the elevator the two nodded to one another, as if it was a random meeting between the two. They both exited the elevator and strolled over to the coffee cart, just off base in Andrew's Park. "What's going on, Tim?" Gibbs asked, keeping his voice low.
"KIT days, light duties, starting Wednesday, if both Rachel and the hospital quack give their OK." Tim beamed at him, and Gibbs couldn't help but share the grin. Tim was pleased, he finally felt like he was getting things back in order, since the attack. Work was a major hurdle, and he was pleased to see himself making progress, there.
"That's great news, Tim." Gibbs smiled proudly, patting him on the shoulder in support. "I look forward to welcoming you back, officially. When are you moving apartments?"
"Saturday morning." Tim said as he picked up their order and handed Gibbs the tall white paper cup. "Now you've got the desk safely out of there, I might see if I can get some of it done, on my days off. My clothes at least."
"Can I take a look at the place?" Gibbs asked, "if there's any maintenance that needs doing, might be easier to get that done while the place is empty."
"Thanks, I haven't vetted the apartment building maintenance crew yet." Tim rattled off the address and Gibbs wrote it down, before the two of them made plans to meet there at 1800.
Back at the office, Vance summoned Gibbs upstairs and filled Gibbs in on what to expect with Tim's return to light duties and the added stipulation he was imposing on McGee. The two men briefly discussed the remarkable change in Tim, since his grandmother had returned stateside to help him heal. Both men, of course snickering over the word Grandmother, especially Gibbs who could hear the older woman's words as if she was in the room with them.
Leaving Vance's office, he headed down to autopsy to arrange for Ducky to look Tim over tomorrow and discreetly give the team leader his opinion. It wasn't that he didn't trust the doctor at the hospital, he just trusted Ducky more. He also knew that Tim wouldn't be able to lie to Ducky, unlike the hospital doc, who didn't know him like his NCIS family.
Tony thought he had seen Tim on the mezzanine level, right before Gibbs went to get his coffee, but decided it was wishful thinking. Vance hadn't seemed surprised that Gibbs had just happened to leave for coffee at that particular moment. When he had informed Tony, that he wanted to speak with Gibbs, he struggled to smother the grin that the team leader was gone. Of course, Gibbs would have been anxious to know what he and his young protégé had discussed, especially since Vance had made it a point not to tell Gibbs until he had assessed Tim for him himself.
Ellie still hadn't seen Jake since he left the McGee beach house In Norfolk at 0100 Saturday morning. She arrived home and with the exception of Jake's briefcase being gone, she would have thought that her husband hadn't been home. She hadn't even had a text message, when she had called him, his cell had been switched off. she had called his office and his PA had told her he was busy and would call her back. Something about that didn't sit right with Ellie."
At 1800 hours, on the dot, Gibbs was handing his ID and his NCIS creds to the security officer at the lobby to McGee's new apartment building. "Top floor, Agent Gibbs. When the elevator stops, press the doorbell Agent McGee will open the elevator doors from his end." the security guard said, sending Gibbs on his way as he reached for the phone to alert McGee of his visitor.
Gibbs grinned stupidly to himself when he got in the elevator alone. He liked that McGee had such tight security at his new place. It was definitely more upmarket than he had been expecting; and he knew the McGee family dabbled in real estate, too. Once he reached the top floor, pushed the buzzer and instantly the elevator doors were opening. "Hey Gibbs." Tim called out and he followed the sound of Tim's voice, finding him in the kitchen, making coffee. "I'll get your own code, then you won't have to wait on me. I'm just doing the coffee, feel free to look around."
"This place is really something else." Gibbs commented in awe, looking around the spacious apartment. It was a three-bedroom apartment, with a dedicated office space and a large open plan kitchen, living and dining room, with a media room off the far end of the hall. There were two hallways, the shorter one led to the master suite: with an extra-large bedroom, roomy his and her walk-in robes and a large marbled ensuite with a deep spa bath and double shower. The other hallway was lined with a European laundry and loads of storage closets. Off the hallway, was two spacious guest bedrooms a full functional bathroom and a half bath, as well as the media room and office. "I can just see you in that office, sitting behind your desk, your bookcases lining the walls. Or worse; leaning back in your chair, getting lost in that view."
"This used to be the main bedroom." Tim said, coming up behind Gibbs and handing the older man his coffee as he looked out the window over the view to the leafy green suburb below. "When Penny and my grandfather bought this place when I was a kid, they gutted the entire place and did a full remodel. That's why my office has its own powder room. The Admiral used this apartment when he was in DC on business. Penny said they used to sneak away here, to steal a night or two when their lives were extra crazy than usual, just before he passed. It's just been sitting unused since he passed nine years ago."
"He passed, when you were already working for me?" Gibbs asked, he hadn't known that. He couldn't even recall seeing the man grieving for his grandfather, nor taking any time off for the funeral. "When?"
"He passed the night of Kate's funeral. We made it back in time for me to say goodbye. Penny knew we had the week off and pushed for Grandpa to be buried on the Saturday before we went back to work." Tim said, as he recalled that pain-filled week. "She knew we were all out of sorts after Kate died and I needed the structure of work to calm my mind. I was prepared for him to let go; he had been sick for a long time. He had been begging to die when ZNN announced an NCIS agent's death in the line of duty the week beforehand. He was convinced it was me. No one ever knew how close that came to being a reality. When we were hunting Ari, you ordered Tony and I to go back to his place and get some sleep. Tony knew what was going on, we had been working the crime scene when I got the call from Sarah. He took me to the hospital to see my grandpa. Nelson McGee was Navy, through and through. He was hell proud of me, that I joined NCIS. Tony got to meet him, in that last lucid moment he had. A week later, he slipped away."
"You should have told me, Tim." Gibbs said. Although he had been softer with Tony and Tim that week, he remembered a few times, that Tim had tried to talk to him, just as he had tried to speak with the Director. "Was ... Did you tell Tony when he passed?"
"Several hours later and very drunk, in the middle of the night, I called him. He came and got me from Penny's, took me back to his place and looked out for me. He said he was going to talk to you later that morning, but the manhunt for Ari intensified and we focused all our energies on that. I had made my peace with his fate, months before, when the diagnosis was terminal."
"Not good enough, Tim. That's on me." Gibbs said. He was angry that, at the time he had been blinded by his revenge, unable to see Tim's grief at losing his grandfather, as well as Kate. He had chalked it all up to Kate's death and being awfully green, still.
"It's done Gibbs, like I said, you've learnt from your mistakes." Tim told him and Gibbs got the unspoken message. Case closed!
Together, the two of them walked through the apartment. It wasn't overly furnished. Tim had chosen to keep a few pieces of the furniture already there, like the guest beds and the dining table that serviced 8, but could be extended to service 12 if needed, the dining room chairs. The sofas were gone, but he had kept the rugs. Gibbs loved the hardwood floors and took note to tell Tim that they were in great condition and of the highest quality. Gibbs looked at all the pipes in the wet areas and checked the plugs before Tim grinned at him. "Plugs are good, Gibbs. I did them ten years ago, not long after we met."
"You did them?" he asked, surprised. "Don't tell me, qualified electrician."
"Fully licensed in DC, Virginia and Maryland. I needed a hobby after FLETC, waiting for my NCIS position to start." Tim smiled at him.
"Good, I need a light over my workbench." Gibbs quipped at him. "I'll do your desk; you do my light, and we'll call it even?"
"I'll check over your safety switches and upgrade your switchboard too." he promised Gibbs. "A house the age of yours, probably still has the porcelain fuses, instead of the newer safety fuses."