Tap 18
That first night with Tim, Pete and Emily around the dinner table had gone better than Tim had expected it to. Pete had gotten along with Emily just fine. Emily hadn't been as shy and reserved as Tim had expected, but that whole night they had spoken. After dinner, Emily had excused herself to make a start on her homework and Tim had promised to poke his head in shortly and see how she was going.
When the two men were finally alone, Pete cornered Tim in the kitchen, washing up by hand for a change. "Hey Gorgeous, how are you doing? Suddenly being a guardian to a pre-teen girl?"
"Em's fine, Sweetheart." Tim murmured to his boyfriend, as he placed the final glass in the dish rack to dry and drained the sink of the dirty water. "But Victor Stirling, her stepfather, what a piece of work!" He hissed in anger. Tim was sure to keep his voice low, he didn't want Emily to overhear him cursing Victor.
"What did he do?" Pete seethed out loud, a little higher than Tim had in volume. Pete still didn't know the story of how Emily had come into Tim's care, or what had happened at the school and Tim was about to let him know it all.
"Let's go into my room and we can talk in there." Tim offered Pete. "The walls are thin between the guest room and the living room. I just want to check on Em first, though."
As Tim led Pete down the hall, the couple made a pit stop at the guest room, while Tim knocked on the door and waited for Emily to allow him entry. Pete lingered outside of the bedroom door, in the hall, unsure of his welcome. She acknowledged him, but didn't say anything further as she and Tim spoke in low voices. Less than a minute later, Tim was kissing her forehead and closing the door over behind him, before taking Pete's hand and leading him into his bedroom, closing and locking the door behind them with the newly installed lock.
"Take a seat and let me tell you everything that happened today." Tim then launched into the recap of the day, about his phone call from the lecherous lady principal and then told him how everything had unfolded at the office with the principal, before handing him the letter to read, that Tobias had left for him. Pete had been laughing at Tim throughout the story of the woman coming onto him, he'd even made some less than helpful comments regarding her behaviour.
"So, did you call the lawyer yet?" Pete finally asked, still keeping his voice low. "I mean we managed to distract her enough. Enough not to phone her mom tonight."
"I've got an appointment with him, straight after I drop Emily off at school in the morning." Tim muttered as he stood in front of Pete's open legs on the bed, toying with the top button on the collar of Pete's shirt. Managing to get it undone, Tim grinned at him widely. "I have missed you."
Pete's hands found Tim's hips easily enough and Pete looked up at Tim, into his bright green, emerald eyes and he smiled at him. Tim's pupils were widened slightly, like they did when Pete touched him. "Timmm." Pete moaned quietly against Tim's soft and pillowy lips as he took Tim's lips between his own and kissed the man. Pete's lips massaged Tim's as his tongue caressed Tim's lips enticingly, begging for entry.
Tim rested his knee on the bed, in an effort to get closer to Pete, as Pete wriggled back giving Tim more room to move on to the bed and move on top of him. He had grinned internally when he heard the lock of the bedroom door snip behind Tim. Tim never locked the door behind them, unless Tobias was spending the night too. Clearly, he had been sending him a message, by leading Pete into the bedroom and locking the door.
By the time that Tim was on top of Pete, the two sets of lips had begun battling for dominance. Pete rolled Tim to his side so he could work on the younger man's shirt. Tim had managed to get Pete's shirt untucked and unbuttoned. His bare chest open between the front of his shirt, as Tim's nimble fingers found his nipples.
With Tim's shirt also untucked and now unbuttoned, both men opened their shirts wider in an effort to get closer to one another before they resumed their kissing and light over the top petting. "Pete" Tim moaned against his hot mouth when a jolt of want had coursed through his body. "Need to be quiet." Tim hissed again, reminding him that they weren't alone in the house.
Tim wasn't sure how noise travelled through his house. He didn't want to scare Emily or scar her either. When Tobias had spent the night in the spare room, Tim had never heard any complaints from his friend that he had been able to hear Pete and Tim, but Tobias probably wouldn't mention it. Tobias was only just beginning to get comfortable enough to tease the two men. Tim and Pete still hadn't had sex, either, not even oral. They had been taking it slow and hadn't gone much further than kissing and heavy petting. Both men were still content to take it slow. But Tim was beginning to get anxious. He knew that they needed to have the talk. He wanted to further their relationship, he felt like they were ready. He had even admitted to himself that he loved Pete. He had told Tobias he thought he might have loved him, holding back a little, not wanting to terrify him. But Tobias had surprised him, and it was time Tim took his friend's advice.
Tim broke off the kissing and pulled back from Pete slightly, so he could look into his blue eyes. "Tim? Is everything ok?" Pete asked, getting a little worried. Tim didn't often break off kissing him and look so serious all in one fell swoop.
"We need to talk, Pete." Tim sighed, sitting up and unbuttoning his own cuffs, preparing to slightly roll up his sleeves. Tim's chest was void of any chest hair and the tautness of his stomach rippled as a nervous chuckle escaped his mouth. "It's not a bad talk. I just think that we should talk for a moment."
"You're thinking about us and sex, right?" Pete asked directly, with a nervous chuckle of his own and he couldn't help but smile at his shy boyfriend. "Tim, honey, I love you and although I am not ready to go screaming it to my whole family yet. I have told my sister because I am so deliriously happy to be in love with you, and I am incredibly close with her."
"I love you, too." Tim grinned at him and kissed his boyfriend hard. It was a kiss that Tim poured all of his feelings into. All of his love, his want, his desires. Pete gave as good as Tim did, but eventually broke off the kiss, knowing that there was more that needed to be said.
"I still think we need to take things slow." Pete sighed in frustration, seeing Tim look devilishly wanton right in that moment. His shirt undone, his bare-naked chest on display, his sleeves rolled up, pupils dilated, and his hair all messed up. A little knullruffed, as the Swedish would say. "We've both been hurt before, and I think we've been doing really well at not rushing into things."
"You're right." Tim sighed and Pete knew exactly what that sigh of Tim's was for. They were both feeling like they were ready to take the next step in the physical aspect of their relationship.
Pete took Tim's hand in his own, before taking it to his groin and pressing it against his firm manhood beneath his denim. "Don't think for one moment that I don't want you as much as you want me, or that I don't find you attractive because I do." Tim could feel his boyfriend's firm manhood beneath his fingers. He and Pete had always had a more natural flowing relationship, than just taking someone's hand and placing it on their own body. But he understood the point Pete was trying to make, too. "I think I fell in love with you the first moment I saw you. I know I was definitely attracted to you, that very first day I saw you on base in your NCIS windbreaker and cap, photographing the scene of the crime."
"I must admit, it wasn't until I saw you in the marketplace that I felt something." Tim blushed profusely at his own admission. "I remembered you from the scene. Which is weird because when I am working, I am in work mode and not looking at men. Or women, for that fact." He chuckled, making Pete grin at him.
A knock at the bedroom door interrupted the men and Tim immediately climbed off the bed and opened the door. "Em, honey. Is everything ok?" He asked, seeing the twelve-year-old looking very worried and unsure of herself.
"Sorry to interrupt you guys." Emily blushed. She had never seen her Uncle Tim in anything but a long sleeve tee and sweats or jeans and suits. She had never seen him in this state of undress before and she hadn't even noticed his unbuttoned shirt and bare-naked chest, her eyes were zeroed in on the rolled-up sleeves. "But I need help with some my health homework."
"Sure, come on." Tim grinned and threw Pete a wink over his shoulder as he followed Emily down the hall, buttoning his shirt back up. Tim had to smother his own grin, Emily hadn't even noticed that neither of the men's shirts were buttoned up and had been in a locked bedroom. She had been distracted by Tim having his sleeves rolled up, seeing his forearms. Something she had never seen before.
"Uncle Tim? Why don't you ever wear a tee?" She asked as they went over to the desk in her room. "I mean, I have seen the scars before and they're not that bad now. Mostly, they've faded."
"Oh Em, we all have something we don't like about our bodies." Tim told her truthfully. "Yes, even men do. Body image is real. It's not just young women like you, but the boys in your health class that have problems with it. It can even happen to men like me, Pete, even your Uncle Gibbs, women our age too can struggle with it. Whether it's a scar, a hair colour, eye colour, a person's weight or height, that they have grey hair, or even no hair." That made Emily laugh, as she thought of her dad and his half bald head.
"I miss Dad, Tim." She whispered to him softly. Tim just pulled her into a hug and held her close. Unfortunately, there wasn't a lot that Tim could do about that. But be there for her and help her through his absence.
"I know honey, but he will be back as soon as he can." Tim told her truthfully, as he held a now quiet, but sniffling Em to his chest carefully. He looked up at the doorway and saw Pete give him a wry smile. They slowly got back to the homework at hand, before Emily was finally done for the night. Emily ended up crying herself to sleep and Tim left her in her sweats and tucked her under the covers and muted the bedroom light, leaving the hallway light dimmed on low, just in case.
"She is finally asleep." Tim sighed, coming in to the bedroom where he found Pete lounging on the bed in a pair of Tim's old sweats and the remote control in his hand, flicking through the channels on the tv. "This is strange, because every time that Tobias has gone under in the past, she has always had her mother. There's going to be a period of adjustment around here for a little while."
"It's Ok, Tim." Pete chuckled, patting the bed beside him. Tim had closed the door, as he changed into his sweats too. "Nothing quite says slow a relationship down like a twelve year old knocking on the bedroom door."
"Earlier on, I promised her that I would talk to you about the two of you getting to know one another." Tim grinned, as he unlocked the door and opened it. He wanted to be able to hear if Emily woke up or needed anything.
"I think that's a great idea." said Pete, enthusiastically. "She didn't seem as cocky and full of bravado as what she did the first time I met her, tonight."
"Like I said, there's going to be a period of adjustment for everyone around here." Tim reiterated, as Pete tossed the remote control gently on the bedside table beside him.
"Which is why, like I told you earlier, I won't be spending the night with you, at first." Pete kissed Tim chastely. "Emily needs to be eased into getting to know me, not fully submerged and hope for the best. This is Emily's home for the time being and she needs to feel comfortable in it. I am still a stranger to her; we have only met twice, and she hadn't had time to adjust to me being in this particular role in your life. I need to respect her and her feelings on this, she is at a delicate age where everything that happens, has the potential to shape how her life turns out. Plus, she needs to know that your home is a safe space for her."
"You are a wonderful man, Pete." Tim praised him. Tim had suggested it when he had spoken to Emily and Emily had been fine with Pete staying when he had checked on her, but Tim thought that they needed to be cautious whilst Emily was in his care.
The two men kissed at the front door as Pete headed home, with a promise that he would text Tim when he got there. Since the attack on Tim, the two men had been big on texting when they arrived home and checking in with one another, especially Pete. Tim guessed with him not being out to his family either, that maybe he was slightly worried someone might find out and hurt him for his sexual preference, like Tim's father had.
Tim was surprised when he ventured out of his room at 0600 that Emily was already at the table in the kitchen and the coffee pot was brewing already. The two of them exchanged greetings as Tim tied his tie in the reflection of the glass on the door of the wall oven. He had the monthly meeting with Assistant Regional Director today, since he was filling in for Tobias, in his absence. "Breakfast?" He asked Emily, as he poured his coffee and poured Emily some apple juice.
"Just cereal." Emily answered, absentmindedly. "I am too nervous about this health exam to stomach anything heavier."
As the two of them ate in silence, Tim tried to coax Emily into conversation by getting her to focus on anything but the upcoming exam, which he knew she had been stressing her out when she had been doing revision last night.
It wasn't until they were almost at her school, that Emily had spoken again. "I appreciate you letting me stay with you. For taking care of me. Thank you."
"No thanks necessary, Em. We're family, it's what we do." Tim said to her, as they were pulling into the drop off zone at Emily's school. "Have a good day, learn stuff." Tim called out, wishing her well, as Emily kissed her Uncle's cheek and exited the car. His well wishes had done exactly what Tim had set out to do, they had put a smile on her face.
Tim made good timing to Tobias' lawyer's office. In that meeting he learnt that Tobias had serious concerns about Emily being in Victor's care, for long-term. Finally, the lawyer handed him all of the paperwork and he signed the guardianship paperwork, as the lawyer had it promptly notarized. Tim now had full medical, financial and physical custody of Emily, as well as power of attorney over her. The lawyer reminded him that in the event of Tobias' untimely death that the paperwork also meant that he would retain full custody of Emily but would also give Diane opportunity to contest the guardianship, if she wished.
Tim had managed to finally get Diane on the phone. He had learnt that Diane had been a car accident on the way to the airport in Las Vegas and her broken her leg in five places, requiring surgery and a stay in hospital. Victor had flown out to be with her, totally leaving and forgetting Emily in the process. Tim had reassured her that Emily was fine to continue staying with him and that he could continue to care for her until Diane or Tobias returned to their home. Which was a relief to Diane, she too was beginning to question her current husband's ability to care for their daughter. Furious at Victor because he had left Emily behind, not remembering that Emily had been in his care. Not that he had stayed long by her side. Less than twenty-four hours and he was already gone, flown on to New York to a seminar. The seminar apparently being more important than her, and Diane had suspected that her husband may be having an affair with a work colleague of his because he wasn't normally one to look forward to work seminars and now, he suddenly couldn't miss one. Tim reminded Diane that he would have Emily call her when she got home from school and reminded her that the school knew to call him, instead of the two of them.
Finally, Tim made it into work and into Tobias' office, the desk he was temporarily using. Locking his weapon away he found the now cold cup of coffee that Agent Mac had left on the desk for him this morning. A knock at the door revealed Agent Mack. "Got a minute, Tim?" He asked, as he came in and took a seat opposite Tobias at the desk and closed the door. While Tobias was away on assignment, Agent Mac was his number two, his second in command. "Everything ok with you, McGee? Leave early yesterday and late today?"
"I am fine, Mac." Tim told him, tilting the cold coffee cup towards him in thanks. After the morning he had had and what he had learnt, both at the lawyer's office and from his phone call with Diane, he needed the caffeine, even if the cup was cold. "Appreciate the coffee, Mac. It's just Tobias is undercover, and Diane got injured and is stuck in Las Vegas for a long time now. Guess who just got guardianship of Emily?"
"Yikes, living with a twelve-year-old girl." His friend grimaced. He didn't have a twelve-year-old child, his wife had not long given birth to their first child, and he had been thankful it had been a son. But he did have sisters, six of them and the youngest being only fourteen years old. "You have my deepest sympathies, McGee. I'll keep the caffeine well stocked around here."
"Em's not a bad kid, which I am thankful for every single day." Tim grinned proudly, as he spoke fond of his niece. "I have known Emily since she was only a small, not yet five-year-old little girl. I have been Uncle Tim for just as long."
"As long as she isn't the devil like my youngest sister is." Mac told him. "Just wanted to check in and see if you were doing ok. It's not easy stepping into the boss' shoes when you're still the new guy."
The ringing of Tim's desk line disrupted the two men as Tim lunged for the phone, ripping it from the cradle. "Agent McGee." He answered politely. Tim scribbled the details on post it notes and disconnected the call. "Grab your gear." He called out, grabbing his own gear, as he watched his team grab their gear and they all headed off to their respective vehicles.
Arriving on scene, he grimaced, as he saw the NCIS MCRT van roll up behind their van and the NCIS ME arrive on scene too. He shuddered, today was not a good day to go toe to toe with Gibbs, squabbling for jurisdiction. "What have we got?" Tim asked the local LEO, determined to beat Gibbs to the briefing, as he held up his FBI credentials to the LEO.
It was a mob hit, in which a Lance Corporal had been caught in the crossfire. A case that Tim and his team had been working on and off for a couple of months now, since before Tobias had gone undercover. "McGee." Gibbs greeted him, as he joined McGee and the local LEO in the briefing.
"Gibbs." Tim returned the greeting, as the three of them worked the scene. Tim noted to himself that it was just Gibbs and Ziva on scene, that the MCRT were lacking manpower and grinned internally. On manpower alone, he had the upper hand tho get control of the investigation, plus he knew every dirty trick Gibbs had ever pulled on another agency before.
"It's ours, McGee. You can go home." Gibbs grinned at him, believing that he could convince Tim to give them the case. But the McGee that Gibbs encountered was a McGee that Gibbs had never met before.
"It's ours. We have been chasing these hits for weeks. Plus, you seem a little shorthanded." Gibbs looked up and saw that Ziva was struggling with all of the gear, while Tim already had his team at work. "Since the body is a US Lance Corporal Marine, Ducky can have the body." Tim conceded, knowing that was the right and fair call.
"Ducky has all the bodies and I take point on the case to catch our shooter." Gibbs counter-offered, naively thinking that Tim would roll over.
"Ducky has the bodies and I take point on the case, with your team assisting us on the case. Working cohesively with no underhanded tactics and no dirty moves behind my back." Tim stated firmly standing tall, making sure his frame towered the inch taller than Gibbs that he was and looking the MCRT team leader square in the eyes.
Gibbs felt like he didn't know the McGee that stood before him. The tall standing, confident team leader, calling the shots and going toe to toe with him. It definitely wasn't the meek and mild-mannered team probie that had left his team in disgust with him and the agency. "Done." he grinned at the FBI team leader and current Acting Supervisory Special Agent in Charge. "I really am an asshole when you stipulate it like that, Tim."
"Just remember I know all your moves. Follow me." Tim warned him. "What have you got, Mac?" Tim asked, with Gibbs trailing behind, giving Ducky the ok to examine both of the bodies.
"The Marine was collateral damage, best we can tell, an innocent bystander." Mac grinned at Tim, knowing that Tim had already had a horrible morning and now had to deal with Gibbs too. "We think the Camarillo's were here, that's Lou's signature trademark and the Castiello's were over here."
"Bloody Daniella Figoni!" Tim muttered and Gibbs looked at Tim closely as he scrubbed his hand down his face in frustration. He looked really stressed all of a sudden. "Let me bring you up to speed, Gibbs." Tim finally said, turning to face Gibbs and now Ziva. The two exchanged a pleasantry before Tim explained that the two rivalling families were fighting over this woman because she had promised both men that she would marry them and now the two young men were locked in a war. A war that was perpetuated by both men's fathers, in a disagreement that went back to their respective grandfathers' time in charge of the families.
"Been on this case a while then, hey Tim?" Gibbs joked, seeing how Tim hadn't consulted his trusty notebook or his PDA that he used to take notes on. "Good, we're all caught up."
Approaching Ducky, Tim smiled at Ducky and Jimmy as the three men exchanged hellos. "Time of death, Ducky?" Tim asked and he didn't miss the raised eyebrow that Ducky had sent Gibbs' way.
"Don't look at me, this is Tim's case, he is on point." Gibbs explained to his ME. "They've been working these hits for a while now."
"I apologise Timothy, the time of death for both men are approximately 0400 hours this morning." Ducky stated and sent Tim a comforting smile.
Thanking Ducky, Tim turned to his men. "Get me Lou Camarillo in interrogation two, Cooper and Harper. Saunders and Anderson, I want Daniella Figoni in interrogation one and Mac and Coombes, I want Stewart and Sawyer on video conference in the SVCC, as soon as we get back to Headquarters, move it!"
Ziva and Gibbs were following Tim back to the Hoover building in their NCIS MCRT truck. Gibbs was surprisingly being patient, following Tim within the speed limits for a change. "McGee surprised me today." Ziva muttered, seeing if Gibbs would talk to her. "Taking charge like that and barking orders."
"He was good, wasn't he?" Gibbs smirked, not taking his eyes off the road. "I heard a little bit of me in him today."
"Yes, I thought that too." Ziva agreed, before gently broaching the topic that she most wanted to discuss with Tim. "Are we really letting the FBI take over our case? It is very unlike you. Or is this because McGee is in charge?"
"Ziva, it's just you and me. We need their manpower to catch our killer. It is an advantage that they all know the players already." Gibbs explained his reasoning to her, as they turned into the guest lot of the FBI building. They weren't used to running a case out of the FBI office. In the past, they had always run joint cases out of the NCIS building. "McGee knows every trick I have to get control and he is like a dog with a bone. He isn't going to give up the lead."
"Where is Fornell? I thought he was the boss." Ziva griped and Gibbs just grinned at her. Gibbs knew that Ziva didn't want to take orders from an agent who is less experienced than her. "You are always able to get Fornell to give you the lead. Go above McGee's head."
"Fornell is working on his own case. McGee is the lead agent on the case and the current acting SSAIC. We need to respect that." Gibbs chastised her. "Are we clear, Officer David?"
"Crystal." She snapped, not liking how the tables had turned on her and Gibbs since arriving on scene this morning.
