TAP 25


Pete, Emily, and Gibbs had eaten lunch and returned to the waiting room, still not having heard anything from the clinic about Tim's wellbeing. It was almost another hour before Gibbs was fed up and went to the reception desk himself. Asking after his son felt strange to him at first, until he realized it only felt strange because Tim and he had been at odds the last time they had been in the same room together and it had been all over Ziva and a case. "Mr. Delaney," the receptionist said, "we apologize for the miscommunication. I have paged Dr. Habib; he will be out momentarily to give you an update on your son."

Taking a seat, frustrated that it had been almost four hours since they had seen Tim last, Gibbs huffed quietly. "The doctor is on his way to speak with us." He announced, taking his seat on the right-hand side of Emily.

"It's about damn time," Pete muttered in reply. Emily didn't seem to hear him. But Gibbs shot him a dirty look. The snide comments weren't helping, and honestly, Gibbs felt they were unwarranted.

Dr. Alex Habib looked tired. He looked rundown, and honestly, he looked a little stressed. "Sorry for the delay," he began, taking a seat. "It's been crazy in here today; I apologize for not coming out sooner. Daniel did beautifully; he is in the recovery lounge now, where he will be monitored, and in about half an hour, you can take him home."

"Was it his appendix?" Pete asked, the relief not yet having left his body. His body was still taut, in fight mode, ready to take on an invisible battle. Emily took Pete's hand and squeezed it gently, reminding him that she was there for him.

"It was indeed," said Alex, answering the worried man with a reassuring smile. "It was enlarged and full of infection. Another twenty-four hours and we might have been looking at a very different ballgame. Would you like to see him?"

Looking at Em, he didn't verbally ask the question. He wouldn't try to get between Tim and Emily; they shared a special bond, and it was only this situation that was forcing him into total submission. "Go on, Pops. Give Dad a kiss for me," Emily said, encouraging him. She released his hand and immediately moved into Gibbs' space. Although she trusted Gibbs and completely trusted Tim, she was beginning to trust Pete, and she wouldn't feel fully safe until Tim was back with her and they were in the RV.

Pete grinned at Em. "That I can do, stay with Grandpa." Gibbs smiled at Pete's edict. He never thought anyone would ever make him a grandpa. Even though this had been pretend. It had felt all too real, with the real worry over Tim sitting in the pit of his stomach. Helping Pete hold it together and supporting Emily had been a good distraction, but not enough to ease it completely. Gibbs found himself constantly reminding his brain that this was pretend, like an undercover operation, designed that way, in order to keep them all safe.

Pete followed Dr. Alex Habib through the double doors. Gibbs let out a sigh of relief. "He's a bit of a worrywart, hey?" He asked Emily, looking down at her. She was sitting back in the hard plastic chair, her ever-present novel in her hand and her head resting on his shoulder. "Are you doing okay? How are you holding up?"

"As long as Dad's okay, I am okay." she smiled up at him and Jethro thought about her answer and the double meaning behind it. He prayed Tobias was okay too. At least when Tim was in the office, if anything happened with Tobias and he needed help, he knew Tim would come to him. Now with Tim away from the FBI office, they didn't have an insider anymore. Gibbs was unsure how else or what else to do. He just hugged Emily close to him and kissed the top of her head.

Gibbs answered her cryptically. "I am sure he is."


Pete felt anxious as soon as he followed the doctor away from Gibbs and Emily. But after following the hallway, he was led into a room. There were ten recliners, with a less comfortable chair between each one. The room was divided up into cubicles. Tim was in the third cubicle. "Hey," Tim greeted him warmly.

Pete felt the relief leave his body in spades. "Hey, you." He said, smiling widely at Tim. Pete crossed the cubicle in two large footsteps and cupped Tim's face in his hands. "God, I am so glad you're feeling better." Pete whispered, as he leaned down and kissed Tim softly on the lips.

"He will be." Alex Habib smiled from the doorway. He had been curious to the relationship between the men. The paperwork had said that they were married, but Alex had done extensive work with law enforcement before and many times in don't ask questions times. This was one of those times. "He will need to come back and see me in a week. I understand that you will have moved on by then. If it is easier, you can see me at my clinic in Gallup, New Mexico. He will be restricted to no lifting for possibly up to four weeks. No vigorous exercise, light walks only. Keep the wound dry and dressing clean for the first seventy-two hours and the stitches will come out in a week when you see me. Stick to a light diet for the next day or so, until your appetite returns. I will be at the clinic all night, if you start having any complications or the pain becomes unbearable. Daniel, your recovery time might be lengthened by being too active too soon. Please heed this warning." Alex took a step closer and lowered his voice to a whisper. "Ducky will be most upset if you lengthen your recovery. He is not a man to be on the bad side of. Am I clear?"

Tim laughed, before gripping his side. "Yes," he managed to get out. Everyone at NCIS had been chastised or admonished about something by Ducky before. It was comical. He was a kind, caring, gentle man, but when it came to admonishing others, he could be ruthless.

"Other than that, there isn't anything else to add." Alex grinned at the men. "I am sure that your husband will keep you in line. As for bedroom activities, please use your best judgement. But do not partake in anything that will lengthen your recovery time."

"Don't worry about that, doc," Pete said, chuckling. "Tim gave me quite a scare, though. He's going to have to put up with being pampered for a while, yet. Luckily, all he has to do is homeschool Em for the next week, then she will be on summer vacation. He isn't going to be doing anything but relaxing and taking care of her. My father in law is staying with us; I am sure he can help me when it's time to hitch up and move on."

Alex looked over Tim's chart and saw that the man had managed to keep down a sandwich and a cup of coffee. "Well Simon," she said, smiling at the two men, "how would you like to take your husband home?" She turned to Daniel. "Daniel, let him spoil you. You gave him and your family quite a scare. I'll get him into a wheelchair and meet you at the entrance."

"I'll go get Em and Dad, and bring the truck closer to the entrance." Pete said, as he kissed Tim's lips and went to give Gibbs and Emily the good news. Seeing Pete return to the waiting room, Gibbs and Emily stood up to greet him.

"What is going on?" Gibbs asked. When the doctor had offered Pete the opportunity to see Tim, he had almost wanted to barge forward and go in his place. But he didn't. Seeing the relief on the face of the man who returned, knowing that the man who had been so tense and stressed out before was now relaxed and at ease, assured him that he had made the right decision.

"Let's get the truck and take him home," Pete said, his smile wide. Emily smiled back, and Gibbs privately worried to himself that perhaps Tim should be staying a few hours longer, just to make sure he was okay. But the worry that had been on Pete's face was gone, replaced by a huge, wide grin.


Settling Tim back on the sofa in the RV, was easy. He was walking, mostly under his own feet, which was good. He couldn't shower yet and Pete knew he was going to be hearing about that, much later on.

Emily was practically vibrating with smiles while Gibbs and Pete helped Tim up the four steps into the RV. There were another two steps up into their bedroom, Pete promised himself that he would carry Tim up those and into bed. There was no need for Gibbs to help him get his boyfriend into bed.

As soon as he was settled, Gibbs was scrolling through the local guide, looking for a pizza place to deliver. At least the three of them, who were well, were hungry. Tim screwed his face up at the thought of pizza, before Em tactfully suggested they get Chinese instead, so that Tim could have the soup.

Pete offered to go out to collect the order, before Gibbs suggested that they get it delivered. That although Tim was OK now, the coast wasn't clear. They should all stick together still. Safety in numbers.

After they had all eaten some dinner, Tim tasked Emily with the job of clean up. Gibbs offered to help and together they put all the leftovers into separate containers and stored them in the fridge. Before Gibbs took the trash out to the main bin on the park grounds. "Leftovers for lunch tomorrow." Emily winked at Tim.

Emily was tired, it had been exhausting for the young girl sitting in those hard plastic chairs most of the day. Even though she had taken her book with her to read, she hadn't been able to focus her attention and energy on the story, she was worried about her uncle Tim.

"I might turn in, too." Gibbs advised them. "Want me to help you get Tim into the bedroom and into bed?" He offered, but he saw both Tim and Pete shake their heads no.

"I am more than capable of getting Tim into bed by myself." Pete retorted, before Tim smothered his laughter at Pete's words. "Not like that, I just meant that you've had a huge day too, go on to bed, Gibbs. I've got him."

Gibbs turned and wished them both a good night, before heading to his designated room. Smirking to himself, he had to bite his tongue to stop the witty retort from coming out of his mouth. He had no doubt that Pete needed no help getting Tim into bed and vice versa. Jethro Gibbs had seen the love the two men share on display for the world to see, firsthand, that day in the hospital bed.

Once Gibbs had found out about what had happened to Tim, at the hands of his father and he had met Pete, he kept his ear to the ground in Naval circles. He wanted to see if he could get the lowdown on Pete Kennedy. But every time anyone mentioned his name, they only said good things. Gibbs had even gone back over the old case where he and Tony had thought he was a suspect, long before Tim had joined his team and the two of them had met. He had pulled the man's service record and read through it thoroughly. The man was squeaky clean. Well not squeaky clean, but polished. He was an accomplished sailor with commendations, accolades and awards. He was smart, like Tim level smart. Which had made Gibbs smile. Tim could never be with anyone who he couldn't share an intelligent conversation with. He had seen action, as had Tim, from the other side. He had seemed so similar, yet different in many ways. Enough to keep their relationship interesting.

Ironically enough, had Admiral McGee been accepting of his son's lifestyle, Pete Kennedy would be the kind of man the Admiral could have been proud to have as Tim's partner. He just never respected Tim enough, long before he discovered his son's lifestyle. As soon as the Admiral had known that Tim wasn't going to be his mini me, he no longer had a use for Tim and didn't treated Tim like he deserved to be treated, as a treasured and loved son.

Seeing the other side of Pete and getting to know him today, had been enlightening for Gibbs. Watching him try to comfort his friend Tobias' daughter, while worried out of his mind for his boyfriend had been interesting. Over lunch, while Emily had read her book, Pete and Gibbs had made small talk about fishing. Where Gibbs had grown up in small rural town, fishing for brown trout in the stream that ran through town. Gibbs already knew, but feigned surprise when Pete mentioned that he was from a small town in Maine, called Camden. That he too had spent his childhood fishing in the Megunticook River, Megunticook Lake, Penobscot Bay and the Gulf of Maine. He had felt he had gotten to know Pete better than he thought he would have. He just hoped he could keep getting to know Pete, and that Tim might eventually forgive him and let him in. That was all he had ever wanted from Tim. Something he had never been able to achieve.

Smiling at Tim, as soon as Gibbs was clear from the room, Tim gave his boyfriend a wicked grin. "You can get me in to bed, anytime you like. But I think I need a raincheck, right now." Tim murmured at Pete with coy smile.

"Come on, babe. Let's get you into bed." Pete helped Tim off the sofa and over to the steps. Standing on the left-hand side of the man, Pete scooped Pete into his arms and carried him sideways up the steps and through the narrow doorway, before sitting Tim on the end of their bed. "Let me help you change for bed." Pete whispered, looking into Tim's eyes with a wide smile. "But first, let me double check the locks and close the lights, don't move."

Quickly returning, he closed and snipped the lock over on their bedroom door. Not that anything was going to happen, but he wanted to be safe in the knowledge that Gibbs wouldn't come barging into their room. He had heard enough stories from Tim and Tobias about Gibbs and his attitude of just barging into places. Tim gave Pete one of those saucy grins, seeing that although he couldn't do anything, incapacitated by emergency keyhole surgery, Pete had locked the door anyway. "Now that we're all locked up tighter than Fort Knox, are you going to help me into bed?"

"First, I am going to undress you." Pete said, in his bed impression of his bedroom voice. Pete knew that they were playing. He had no intention of doing anything untoward with Tim, just as he knew that Tim was not as foolish as to overdo it on the same day that he had emergency surgery. Pete took a seat beside Tim and began unbuttoning the man's oxford shirt. It was the dusty grey one that Pete loved seeing Tim in so much. Once it was unbuttoned, his chest bare between the open shirt panels, Pete unbuttoned the wrist cuffs. Kissing Tim's scar on his neck and shoulder, where he had been attacked by the naval drug dog all those years ago, he slipped the shirt off Tim's shoulders and tossed it onto the ottoman under the tv on the opposite wall. Pete requested he stand, as he delicately removed Tim's belt and jeans from the man's body. Leaving Tim standing there, in just his cotton shorts, he slipped them down over Tim's hips and down his long legs as well.

Tim excused himself, strutting naked to the bathroom. Seeing his naked form allowed Pete to see the three small white dressings that covered the incisions from today, as he made his way to the bathroom. Pete stripped off his clothes, so that he was naked too. As soon as Tim was done, Pete took his turn in the bathroom, before joining Tim in bed. Pete made sure that Tim was comfortable, not putting any undue strain or pressure on his surgical wounds. Before he curled around his boyfriend and kissed back of his neck. "Mmmm." Tim moaned softly, reaching his top arm back to hold Pete in a half hug. "I love you."

"I love you, too." Pete grinned against the nape of Tim's neck. "But can you please stop trying to scare me? First you get attack and hurt your head and now your appendix. My heart can't take seeing you in pain like this. Don't you realise that when you hurt, I hurt? That is how much I love you."

"I'll try not to get hurt." Tim yawned. He was feeling comfortable, enjoying the feeling of just being with Pete, without any of the heat or wanton desire that had been simmering beneath the surface. Yet it still made him feel like he was loved, cared for and cherished by the older man, as he let himself be lulled himself to sleep by the sounds of their breathing.


A knocking on the bedroom door woke Pete the following morning. He had had broken sleep, getting up to help out, when Tim had been in pain and needed more pain relief in the middle of the night. "It's Gibbs, can I come in?" The voice from behind the locked bedroom door asked. Pete looked over at the clock and saw that it was near on half seven, long after their usual wake up time of 0500 hours.

"Just a sec." Pete whispered, as he found his shorts and an old tee. He quickly made sure Tim was covered by the duvet, the sleeping man still naked beneath the covers. "Is everything ok?" Pete asked, opening the door to Gibbs.

"I was going to ask you that." Gibbs quipped, seeing Tim was asleep and shirtless. He had hoped that Pete hadn't pressured Tim into anything his body wasn't recovered for. "I thought I heard you up a few times last night. Is Tim, ok?"

"Pain relief." Pete supplied, keeping his voice low as he looked over at the sleeping man in the bed. Pete could see that Gibbs was closely scrutinising him. He wondered if Gibbs suspected that Tim was naked in bed. That he had been naked in bed with Tim. Not that they had done anything wrong. Just after the fright yesterday, Pete had wanted to keep Tim close to him, to savor having his boyfriend back in his arms. That sleeping together, naked had been a way for the two men to feel closer to each other and be intimate, without doing any damage to Tim's surgical wounds.

"Can we talk?" Gibbs asked, indicating that Pete should join him in the kitchen area, away from Tim's ears. Pete nodded as he followed, closing the door behind him gently. "I am not usually one to pry into relationships, Lord knows I am far from an expert. But with Tim, I feel protective of him. If anything were to happen to him, I .."

"I don't know what you think happened last night Gibbs, but I can assure you that nothing untoward happened." Pete snapped, sternly at the MCRT team leader. He was annoyed that Gibbs would think that he would have such disregard for Tim and his physical wellbeing. "I don't have to explain anything to you. You don't know the dynamics of our relationship and quite frankly, it isn't any of your business. But be rest assured that I love Tim, with all my heart. I will do anything to make sure that he recovers, to the best version of himself. You think I like seeing Tim in pain? That I would deliberately make things worse for Tim? Delay his recovery? You don't know me at all, if you believe that. If you could stop assuming the worst about me and my intentions towards Tim, that would be good. I thought you had a rule about assumptions. Besides, isn't it kind of hypocritical to try to protect Tim now? Where was this protection when Tim was being harassed and bullied by DiNozzo? Or blamed and torment by that lab rat of yours?"

Gibbs didn't have a reply for Pete, too stunned that the man had the balls to stand up to him. To defend Tim. Gibbs wasn't even aware that Pete had known about what had happened between Tim, Tony and Abby. "Just looking out for my man." Gibbs finally muttered.

"That would be my man, Gibbs." Pete grinned at him. "He was simply your former agent. Maybe if you had of stood up for him on occasion, you could have called him a friend. Yes, I know all about Tim's experience working for you. Do you think we just met and immediately started dating? We were friends for a bit, first, you know met for coffee, played basketball, went hiking, or tossed the football around. I bet you didn't know that Tim is actually quite athletic. We didn't rush into this relationship, Gibbs. We've been taking our time, getting to know one another on every level. It was a big change for both of us."

Even Gibbs knew that. Prior to the undercover assignment he had put Tim on, Tim had only ever shown an interest in women. It wasn't until he had watched Tim closely during the undercover operation at the LGBTI club, that he suspected that Tim might actually be bisexual. He recalled to himself the conversation that he and Leon had had about Tim at the time.

Gibbs and Leon Vance watched on as Tim attracted half a dozen men or so, before finding one they could use. Both men had been surprised to see that Tim was actually really good, both at the undercover art and at attracting and picking up men. "Looks like McGee just needed a little push and he was good to go." Leon muttered and Gibbs sat back in silence and stared at the screen as his youngest agent, allowed their mark to buy him a beer.

"Looks like McGee might have done this before." Gibbs muttered, as Tim began pumping his mark for information in such a subtle way that he didn't know he was giving them the information they needed to find Ensign Chris Ryan's killer.

"Homophobe now, Gibbs?" Vance asked in amused tone. "I wouldn't have taken you for the type of man to be threatened by a gay man."

"Not threatened, just surprised." Gibbs explained to the Director, succinctly. Gibbs was positive that McGee and his lab tech had been getting together for at least a year, after he transferred McGee onto the MCRT. "Besides he's not gay. He and Abby had a thing, on and off for a while before he transferred to the yard and again during his first year, here."

"Whatever he is, is not our business." Vance added. He was pretty sure that he had heard the same story and come to think of it, he had heard that the source of the story was DiNozzo. "I certainly hope that you've made it abundantly clear that there is to be no harassment from anyone, especially DiNozzo or Miss Sciuto towards Agent McGee for this operation. Heads will roll, Gibbs."

Gibbs highly doubted that Tim had made the decision lightly, even if Pete was out. The fact that Pete wasn't out either, made Gibbs realise that there was truth in Pete's words. He also recalled his conversation with Tobias about it.

"OK, Gibbs what's crawled up your ass?" Tobias asked his friend, as soon as his ass hit the seat of the booth with a thud. He was not in the moos to put up with Gibbs' crap today. It had been the day from hell and all Tobias wanted to do was lay down and relax.

"McGee." he barked, as he glared at the menu even though he knew what he wanted to order. He always ordered the same thing from Elaine's. A club sandwich, no egg and no lettuce. "Had McGee undercover two nights ago, just finished wrapping up the case. It was at one of those same sex clubs. Never seen McGee like that before. He was confident, debonair, suave, sophisticated. He was attracting men by the dozen. Tobias, I've never seen that side of him before. He's worked for me for six years, already."

"So, what's the problem?" Tobias asked, taking a long sip of his tea. He didn't like tea, he liked coffee, but he was planning on going home to bed. He didn't want the caffeine keeping him awake all night. He wasn't like Gibbs or Tim. His body had a reaction to too much caffeine and it kept him up at nights. "You sent him undercover, he completed the op satisfactorily. You got your killer and McGee got a chance to show you that he does know how to do his job."

Tobias knew that Tim knew how to do his job. He wasn't the green, shy, bumbling little probie that Gibbs first met six, almost seven years ago now. No, he was well trained and highly skilled. Tobias had personally taken the young man under his wing and taught him, shared his wisdom. In turn, Tim had taught him some things on the computer and installed some programs on his computer, that made his job a lot easier. He and Tim had even taken a trip down to Baltimore one weekend, when he didn't have Emily and the two of them had played tourist, with a twist. They had backstories and whole new identities. They practiced and practiced. When McGee screwed up, they tried and tried again. Until McGee had it down pat, a second nature. Gibbs had always told Tobias that McGee couldn't lie and for the most part, in his day to day life, that was true. It was in his DNA to be honest. But he could lie when he wanted to and he could do it flawlessly. He had even heard the man lie to his own Grandmother and sister one time, when they had called him and begged him to take a trip. He had lied and told them that he was swamped at work, when in fact Tony was in New York visiting his father, Gibbs was away somewhere, doing something and Ziva was visiting with her father in Israel. Tim had just wanted to enjoy the peace and quiet in his bullpen. To enjoy the silence and get some work done without any of his team, hovering over him or annoying him with juvenile games.

"It's not that." Gibbs denied, as Elaine bought their food out to them. "It's just ... I know McGee. He can't lie. If someone could get an A in honesty, it's McGee every time. I'm not a homophobe, either. But I think perhaps, the man has been lying to us all these years. Maybe, he really does ... swing that way."

Tobias couldn't believe Gibbs. He used to think that Gibbs didn't have prejudiced bone in his body. Despite his vehement denial. "Even if he does, so what?!" Tobias snapped. "One, you shouldn't be gossiping about him behind his back, especially about something so private as someone's sexuality. Two, it's not your place to care whom he sees in a romantic manner. Three, why do you even care? It's not like he is hurting anyone if he is that way inclined. His sexuality holds no frame of reference for his job, it doesn't impact his security clearance or hinder his ability to do his job."

Gibbs was taken aback at his friend's abrupt message. He thought that Tobias was old school enough, like him to get the bigger picture. "I don't care if McGee is gay, or bi or any other letter of the alphabet, I just don't like being lied to, Tobias."

"What exactly did he lie about?" Tobias said, angrily. "You didn't ask him and he didn't tell. All you have is speculation and a possible theory."

"It doesn't matter." Gibbs sighed, in defeat. "It's McGee, he has as much luck with finding a partner, as we do with women." Bitching to Fornell in usual manner tonight, had definitely backfired on him.

It hadn't been until after Gibbs had discussed the topic with Tobias that Gibbs had realised that it wasn't any of his business who McGee had chosen to get involved with in his personal life.

Now, standing before Pete locked in a stalemate over their relationship, Gibbs realised something. Pete had been around before that op. He recalled seeing Pete's name flash up on McGee's cell phone while he was undercover in that club. Despite what he had told DiNozzo at the time, the twelve times his cell phone had rang, Gibbs did look at the screen and mentally noted who had called and how many times. He was just like DiNozzo in that respect. Nosy. But unlike DiNozzo, he didn't want to or have any intention of hazing or interrogating McGee. He respected the young man's privacy. He'd only had McGee's best interest at heart and had been just looking out for his agent.