taps 6 -


Tobias had recovered from the shock he had received two weeks ago, that his friend Tim was bisexual and had put it out of his mind. Gibbs had dropped the subject like a hot potato, too. Which was a blessing for Tobias. Tobias wasn't ignoring it, or in denial either. At first, he had been worried when he'd found that Tim had liked men and had met someone. He worried that Tim would suddenly stop having time for him. But he didn't.

If anything, Tim was happier and more cheerful. He would always have a smile on his face and a bounce in his step. He like seeing the Tim he knew, like this. It made the older man realise that when he thought he'd seen Tim happy in the past. It was nothing compared to this. Tobias did worry that his young friend had looked and leapt, with both feet and prayed that his friend wasn't falling too fast.

He had been tempted to run a background check on Tim's new boyfriend. But he didn't. That would be illegal. But he did search the internet for anything about him, things that were free for any member of the public to find. All he found out was that the man was the founding president of the Astronomy club in Camden, Maine. The astronomy club that formed part of the local community center. The Kennedy family were heavily involved in their local community. But even that wasn't a surprise with a surname like Kennedy.

When he had confessed to Tim that he had searched Pete Kennedy on the internet, Tim just chuckled and said he had done the same thing. Finding out what Tobias already had. That was also something the Pete had confessed to Tim, on their first date. He had been relieved, more than he thought he should be, that Tim'd had the foresight to search him on the internet. But then if he had the dating history Tim's, that he was aware of, he'd be cautious too.

"You got a minute, Fornell?" Director Thomasson, knocked on his office door. He had never entertained a Director in his office before and he had been curious as to what his Director had wanted. Very few things ever took Director Thomasson from his own office, or from their SVCC - Secure Video Conference Centre. The FBI's very own version of MTAC. "Wanted to talk to you about this job proposal you want to put forward for Agent McGee."

"Yes Sir, I want to try to lure him away from NCIS." Tobias explained as succinct as possible. "We both know that Agent McGee is good at his job. He is an honest agent. He is highly trained with deadly weapons, something I personally oversaw. He is a great marksman, he is a highly skilled interrogator, he even has a Doctorate in Justice and Criminology from Georgetown University. Let's face it, he has a unique set of skills in the cyber world, too. He would be a wonderful asset to the Bureau."

"He is a wonderful asset to NCIS." Thomasson reiterated to Tobias. Tobias had a trump card and didn't want to play it, unless he had to. "Leon Vance sings the man's praises. But the man is Navy; through and through. The McGee family, they're navy royalty, Fornell. What makes you think that McGee would be willing to leave NCIS, his naval legacy to come play with the big boys? Greater men have tried to recruit McGee over to us, and have failed to recruit McGee. What makes you think that you are going to be the one to lure him over?"

Tobias grinned wide like a cheshire cat, unnerving Thomasson a little bit. Which delighted Tobias, he always like having one leg up on everyone else. It was time for him to play his trump card . "Because he told me he wants to join our side." Thomasson felt his jaw hit the floor. He slumped into the chair in the opposite side of his subordinate 's desk. "He has been unhappy with NCIS for some time now and expressed his wish to accept a formal offer of employment from us."

"You're yanking my chain, right?" Thomasson asked his subordinate. He had wanted to make sure that Fornell hadn't misunderstood the younger man. Mike Thomasson knew that he would be crazy to walk right on by, at a chance to swindle NCIS out of their beloved Agent McGee. It would be a real coup for the Bureau, as a whole and a feather in his career cap, personally. It would look good on paper, when he made his next planned, carefully construed unilateral move to either Homeland Security or into the seedy world of politics. "Really?"

"Scouts honour." Tobias swore, holding his fingers up, like he was a weblos making his first promise. "Tim and I, you know we're friends away from work, Sir. He told me he is ready for a new challenge and a chance to be taken seriously, as an agent. Not just be the plucky comic relief for Agent DiNozzo."

"Well if that's the case, do what you have to." Thomasson ordered Fornell. "I want him."

As soon as the Director had left Fornell's office, Tobias unlocked his desk drawer, to retrieve his personal cell phone and sent Tim a text message, asking if he could possibly meet him for lunch. Tim replied immediately telling him that they were on cold cases, he'd be at Andrew's Park coffee cart in an hour. Fornell read the message and let a wide smile grace his face, before he snatched up his keys and headed for the Talent Acquisition Department on third floor. He had dotted all of his I's and now he needed to cross all of his T's. With that done and the formal job offer in hand, he raced out of the Hoover Building to meet Tim at the designated spot.


By the time that Tim arrived, Tobias was just stepping up to the cart to order their coffees and seeing Tim approach, ordered his as well. He was about to make the highly sought after cyber extraordinaire, federal agent Timothy McGee, a formal offer of employment with the Federal Bureau of Investigations. The least he could do was buy the man a cup of coffee.

"Hey." Tobias called out to Tim, who was heading down the steps to meet him. Tobias had to bite back a grin at the thought that Tim would soon be his subordinate, in lieu of Gibbs'. he found himself actually excited at the prospect. To have Timothy McGee be his golden boy, not Gibbs. Both Tobias and Tim had already proven, time and time again that they both had what it took to keep their friendship out of the office. Neither man had alluded to either of their teams that the two men were good friend's.

Tim hated running late and today was no exception. He had told Gibbs he had an appointment over lunch and ended up having a horrible time losing Ziva and Tony, who had been suspicious of his destination and had attempted to follow him. Tony and Ziva not caring for his health or well-being, but looking out for more canon to add to the fodder. Just something else to haze him with. But Tim was done. At least Gibbs didn't give him a second thought, as he waved Tim off.

Tim had managed to lose them in the parking lot when Abby stopped the three of them and invited them to a concert tonight for her friend Seth, who was the lead singer of the Killer Robots. Tim had outright lied, something he hated doing, but it had been necessary. He told them he had to go and see his stepmother. She was in Norfolk visiting friends and it had been a while since they had seen one another. But he didn't want anyone knowing what he was actually going to be doing. That he would be moving this weekend, into his new place. One where no one from NCIS would know where he lived. That on Saturday morning, he would get the keys to his new place in Glenarden, Maryland. It wasn't an apartment, but a house. Thanks to Tobias and his negotiating skills. He had been planning to rent an apartment, but Tobias had talked him into renting a small, yet affordable house, on the outskirts of Glenarden and he signed the contracts and collected the keys on Saturday morning at 0800 hours. Tim had leased it up for an absolute bargain too, allowing him to save more money than he currently was, towards the beginning of the down payment on his first home.

"Hey." Tim said, as he took the offered white cup from his friend and the two men walked, side by side over to the table on the far side of the park.

Once the two men were seated, Tobias handed over the thick yellow legal envelope tucked inside a manila folder with a large blacked printed logo belonging to the FBI on the cover. "A formal offer of employment to come play with the big boys." Tobias grinned at him. "You will start off as a Senior Field Agent and an increase in your security clearance. You will be paid the Senior Field Agent award wage, as set by our Enterprise Bargaining Agreement, plus ten percent in the first year and fifteen percent each additional year, provided you undertake and complete at least one DoD seminar and train a probie in your first year. You will also get a signing bonus and an additional four weeks a year leave, as per clause seventeen, section three, part five, published works clause to undertake book tours. What do you say?"

"It's very generous." Tim smiled in return at his friend. Tim had been banking on the fact that Tobias would come through for him. "I will have a read through all of this and have my lawyer check it over. If it looks as good as it sounds ..." Tim was careful not to verbally accept the offer, even though a verbal contract was not binding in the state of the District Of Columbia. Under the same law, Tobias could be terminated if he was heard making a verbal offer.

"Good." Tobias said, taking a large mouthful of his hot coffee. "Now what time are we meeting Saturday?"

"The movers will be at the apartment at 9am, say an hour and a bit to load up and thirty minutes to drive over there. 9.30, sound ok?" Tim asked, as he too, wrapped his hands around the tall, white paper cup and took a decent mouthful.

"I'll bring coffee and donuts." Tobias confirmed, before hesitantly asking. "Will Pete be joining us?"

"Nah, he is on an active duty assignment at the Pentagon, all weekend." Tim replied. Tobias was surprised, he didn't know that Pete worked at the Pentagon. He knew Pete was military, either Navy or Marine because he had worked too many cases with NCIS. Now, he was all too familiar with the stance of the military personnel. He just wasn't sure if he was marines or Navy. If he was a betting man, he'd guess Navy because the man doesn't think much of Gibbs and most of the Marine's he'd met thinks that the sun shines out of his friend's ass. "We have a date tonight, though."

"How is it all going? You know, with Pete?" Tobias asked, genuinely caring about Tim's answer. He and Tim had had a long conversation about Tim and his sexuality. Tim had admitted to Tobias, that he was the first person he had ever come out to, that wasn't bisexual or homosexual themselves. His family didn't know and Tobias had the impression that he was scared of their reaction. Especially scared of his father.

"Good." Tim grinned and blushed at the question. He had to give Tobias credit, he didn't flip out or question Tim. He didn't tease him or make fun if him. He seemed to genuinely care that Tim was making safe choices. He stayed calm and rational. "Our fourth date, which is actually a redo of our third date that I got called out to a scene and had to leave. Only fifteen minutes into our date."

"So, it's a third date...?" Tobias teased his friend good-naturedly. In the straight world, most third dates generally lead somewhere, although it had been a while for Tobias. He wondered if it was the same.

"Use protection, I know." Tim retorted in jest. "Seriously though, we're actually taking it slow. We're just not there, yet. Something, we both agreed on."

"No details." Tobias reminded him, playfully. "But I am serious. Use your brain and be cautious. He pulls anything your not comfortable with, I've got your back."

"Thanks Tobias, you're a good friend." Tim said sincerely. "In all seriousness, he liked you, that time you met. He said your only flaw was that he didn't know what you saw in Gibbs, as a friend."

"Gibbs has met him?" Tobias asked, surprised. The two men stood up and prepared to head over to the sandwich cart for a Bute before heading back to their respective offices. "I wasn't aware they had met."

"Pete was a witness to an embezzlement case in '02. Before my time at the yard. He met Gibbs in the course of the investigation." Tim explained, as they ditched their paper cups and Tim's cell phone rang and he excused himself to answer it, seeing who was calling. "Agent McGee." he answered politely and Tobias bit back a grin.

Tim gave no clue to Tobias, as to the caller's identity and Tobias didn't ask, either. Tim disconnected call and apologised to Tobias for the intrusion. "That was JAG. I have to go."

"JAG? What is that?" Tobias asked, automatically. "I'll never ever get all those acronyms straight in my head."

"It's like the ADA for military folk." Tim simplified for Tobias. "It stands for Judge Advocate General."


Tim made a beeline for Bud's desk, as soon as he arrived. Bud was smiling and expecting him. "Hey McGee." he greeted him with a handshake and a smile.

"Hey." Tim replied. It had been a while since he had seen Bud, face to face. "How's the family?" Tim asked. Something his Admiral father had always taught him to do in any situation.

"Fine, and yours?" Bud replied. He and McGee went back a long way. He had known the strapping young man standing tall in front of him since he was a small boy.

"The Admiral is at sea. Sarah is at sea and Penny is in the UK." Tim told him.

"So basically, everyone is right where they are supposed to be." Bud grinned at him.

The two men settled down. Tim and Bud had been exchanging emails for a few weeks now, discussing his legal options with DiNozzo, as well as leaving NCIS. Bud had offered to look over the offer from the FBI, too.

Gibbs called McGee, wondering how far away he was because he needed something done on the computer, for a cold case. Tim reminded him that he was off the clock in unpaid leave time. That he would take a look when he returned to the office.

"I see Gibbs is still as demanding as ever." Bud chuckled, when Tim returned from taking the man's call. "Some things never change."

"Precisely! That's why I want out. For my own mental health." Bud gave him a knowing glance. He knew it was more, too. That perhaps there was some hurt there too. That Gibbs had never had McGee's back, the way Gibbs had Tony's. The way he crowed that he ran his team.

Bud knew that Admiral John McGee and his son didn't always see eye to eye, but he also knew the Admiral had an attitude, when it came to raising his son. No one had ever actually told Bud that, nor had he actually seen it with his own two eyes, you could see it as clear as you can see the sky on a sun filled day. You could hear it in the senior McGee's voice, when he spoke of his family. Which had made Bud ... And Rabb, because Bud had discussed the issue at length with him, wonder what the young McGee had ever done wrong by his father. Any man would be proud to have a son like Tim. The man is a certified genius; four degrees and a doctorate. Rabb had made a very valid point to Bud, at the time. That the McGee family is naval royalty and he'd bet his last dime that this was all over the younger man's refusal to join the navy. If it was, it was very petty on the senior McGee's part. Despite all of that, Bud always had time for the young McGee man. The late Admiral Nielson McGee's wife, Penny, she had done a wonderful job in raising him and his sister.

"These both look good, Tim." Bud told him, handing back the FBI offer and his resignation letter. Before he slid over a scribbled on, piece of yellow legal foolscap paper. "This is what you can push for with each of them, that's reasonable within the EBA. Any questions, you give me a call?"

"Of course." Tim said, genuinely thankful for the older man's help. "Please say hello to Rabb, for me?"

"Will do." Bud waved the young man off, before reminding him. "Don't forget to come say hello, when you're a big shot over at the Bureau." That made Tim laugh, as he left the JAG office for perhaps the final time as an NCIS agent.


By the time he returned to the squad room, Tim was the only left, everyone else had gone home, including Gibbs. Which was rare. Gibbs had left three files on his desk with sticky notes on them. Things that he had wanted Tim to get done before he left for the evening. Which was not rare. Quickly, he got the tasks done, luckily they were easy and Tim was actually sure that Tony or Ziva would have been capable to do either of them. But he did them without complaint because it was part of the job. But first, Tim sent Tobias a text message telling his friend, requesting the additional clauses into his contract that Bud had recommended. By the time he was done, Tobias replied that he was on his way to NCIS with new contracts, that the Bureau had approved the changes that Tim had requested.

Tim's phone dinged and Tim locked his workstation and his desk and made his way downstairs. Leon was watching this with interest from above. he wondered what the young agent was doing. he had been surprised when he was on his way from his office to MTAC for a conference, only to see him arrive at his desk. Long after Gibbs had dismissed their team. He had come out of MTAC, just in time to see Tim lock his workstation and leave, returning two minutes later with a file. He leaned over the balustrade, watching from his vantage point as Tim read through the file and signed it. Before stowing it in his work bag and getting back to work on his computer.

Tim opened up his resignation letter that he had already written and made the suggested changes that his friend Bud had recommended. After doing that, he emailed Gibbs and the Director a copy and printed the hard copy for Gibbs, that he preferred. Retrieving the letter from the printer, he signed it with his loopy scrawl that resembled his signature. Tim turned around to return to his desk, to find the Director standing there, his hand reaching out for the paper. "What's that, McGee?" Leon asked, holding out his hand for the said paper, his tone making it clear, he wanted the paper.

Leon wasn't normally a suspicious man, especially of McGee. But since the undercover operation last month, Tim's attitude had stirred something in him. Leon had seen changes he couldn't ignore in the young man. He wasn't about to bury his head in the sand and ignore them, further. "My resignation letter, Sir." Tim answered him, succinctly. There was no point beating around the bush, Leon had taken the paper from his hands. "There is a copy for you, in your inbox."

Leon took a cursory read at the document in his hands. He couldn't believe what he was reading. Agent McGee was resigning from NCIS with five business days notice due to repeated invasions of privacy from his co-workers, bullying and harassment. He was leaving to accept a position at the Federal Bureau of Investigations. The FBI, he couldn't believe it! "McGee? Ah, ... Tim? You're leaving NCIS?" Leon asked in disbelief. He felt like he had been sucker-punched.

"Yes." That was the only explanation that Tim offered. Leon had read that Tim had been reluctant to resign, but after going to his team leader and his team leader failing to rein his colleague in, the young man had been left with no choice.

"Is there anything I can offer you to make you stay?" Leon asked, sitting on the edge of Tim's desk. "You're a good agent and an asset to our agency. Both personally and professionally."

"Nothing. But you should also see this." Tim said in earnest, as he cued up the latest video that had been saved to his thumb drive of DiNozzo breaking into and rummaging around his apartment. On the plasma in technicolour, Leon Vance watched as Agent DiNozzo broke into the younger man's apartment. He rummaged through Tim's personal belongings, ate his cereal and leftovers, helped himself to three beers, riled through Tim's personal papers in his study, before emptying the contents of the brown paper bag he had been carrying onto the kitchen counter.

"What was in the bag, McGee?" Vance asked, but he had a fairly good suspicion. He had thought he could have deciphered an image off the cover of one of the magazines. The image had depicted a scantily dressed man in a provocative pose. He could see from the video, there had been several magazines and what looked like three or four DVD's that if Leon had to guess, would be of the same nature.

"Something that is highly inappropriate for one colleague to gift another." Tim said, finally. "Something, that I consider to be prejudice. I know I said I would come to you or Gibbs, but I have video evidence of other incidents. Not to this extreme of course, but of Agent DiNozzo's actions. This is not an isolated incident. I followed protocol and approached my team leader, with the good faith that he would deal with this, but as you can see, he has not."

Leon Vance was seeing red. He had warned Gibbs. Now, they were all going to pay the price. "I see." Leon said calmly, through deep breathes.

"Remember the mission to Iraq, in which you reamed me out so vocally in the bullpen, not giving me a chance to explain. Before ushering me into your office and berating me further?" Tim asked, laying all of his cards on the table. "I was following the instructions of my senior field agent."

Leon felt like he couldn't get any lower. He had remembered the incident because McGee's actions didn't align with the verbal praise that he had heard from multiple sources, regarding the shy, young agent in the MCRT. "I see." Leon said and he was man enough to admit his mistakes. "I am sorry. For both the public reaming out and for not allowing you to explain yourself. I wasn't aware of Agent DiNozzo's actions. May I have a copy of the evidence against Agent DiNozzo?"

"You can formally request a copy from the FBI. Ask for Agent Tom Stewart he is in charge of the investigation. As of this afternoon, it is now an active case." Tim advised him and the Director winced. He now knew that Gibbs would be losing more than just his JFA, he'd be losing Tony and there was nothing that anyone could do about it. Although with how livid Leon was feeling, he wanted to be the one to personally slap the cuffs on Agent DiNozzo. "I would also like it noted that when I went to my team leader, following NCIS protocol, he all but told me that I was in the wrong for installing cameras in my apartment. Something I only did after the first incident and that because I know what Agent DiNozzo is like, I should have expected it. Director, this is not an isolated incident."

"I see." Leon huffed in a low and angry voice. He was scrambling, he knew he had to do something to make McGee stay at the agency. "Do you have somewhere you need to be? Perhaps we can get some carryout and discuss this further? My treat."

"I am terribly sorry, but I have said all I wish to say on the matter." Tim said, keeping his tone professional. He refused to let the Director know that this decision had eaten him up inside and that he had been teetering back and fourth on it for months, before he asked his friend to put together a formal offer. Tim thought about giving the Director a heads up that he was moving, but something deep inside of him, told him not to mention it. To keep it a closely guarded secret. "I have dinner plans, that can not be delayed. Have a lovely evening and weekend, Director."

Leon stood there, as he watched Tim collect his belongings, including his personal drives. He cleared out his desk, which was already void of anything personal, with the exception of his drives and a legal notepad. Agent McGee locked his workstation and shut down his computer. He holstered his weapon and pocketed his creds, before nodding at the Director and heading to the lift. Leaving a shocked Director Vance in his wake.