A medicated slumber might not be perfect, but both McGee's felt more confident about facing the day after a good night's sleep. Tim woke at his normal time and then reset his alarm for his late day at NCIS. Sarah was just starting to wake up when he left for work.
"Are you going to be out in the field today?"
He understood that she was easily frightened and tried not to make it worse. "We've got a stakeout this afternoon, but it should be pretty routine." When she didn't seem convinced, he came over and sat on the bed. "I'll be in the van with all of the equipment, around the corner from the suspects. It will be safer than in the bullpen when Ziva's in a bad mood." Usually a comment like that would have her laughing, but the slight smile Tim saw was enough for now. A friend from the dorm was on her way over, so he slipped out the door.
---NCIS---
"Good morning, Probie. Looks like you're feeling better."
McGee forced himself to give DiNozzo a smile in return. "I'm better, thanks, Tony." He ducked his head and started immediately into his work, not noticing the concerned glances exchanged by the rest of the team.
An hour into their late day, Gibbs sent McGee down to the lab to check with Abby that the equipment was ready to be loaded in the van. When McGee picked up the phone, Gibbs shook his head. "I said go check on the equipment. Make sure everything is there that you'll need."
For a moment, McGee looked like he was going to object, then he kicked his chair back and moved to the elevator. Once he was moving, Gibbs headed the other directions for coffee before they left to run the surveillance. As soon they were alone in the squad room, Ziva turned to Tony.
"Why did Gibbs make him go down there to double check something that is already done?"
Tony was already on his feet, planning to follow McGee. "Something is wrong with McGee and if anybody can get him to talk about it, it'll be Abby. He tells her everything."
"So, where are you going?" Ziva stood to follow him.
"We can't help him if we don't know what's wrong, Ziva." Instead of the elevator, Tony headed for the stairs. Ziva grabbed his arm and stopped him.
"He is telling Abby, not you."
"Yeah, well, normally, I'd just wait for Abby to tell me, but we're leaving soon, so I can't wait." He tapped her cheeks before resuming his path. "Besides, if it's really private, he'll talk to her in her office with the door closed. You coming or not?" She glared at him, but she followed him out the door.
---NCIS---
"Hey, McGee, long time no see. Tony said you were sick, why didn't you call me? I'd have come over and hung out with you." Abby was on her fifth Caf-Pow of the day and she was buzzing, enough that she didn't pick up on anything unusual when McGee sidestepped her hug.
"I just need to check on the equipment for the van, Abby." McGee checked over everything carefully, much to Abby's amusement.
"What? You don't trust me all of a sudden, or are you hiding from Gibbs? Oh, are you in trouble?"
"Abby..."
"Oh, come on, Timmy, you can tell me."
"Abby!" Even thought his voice was low, this time his tone was sharp enough to stop her in her tracks. "Gibbs asked me to check on this, so that's what I am doing."
"Well, you don't have to get all pissy about it. I just wanted to know if you were feeling better so the four of us could go out. I got us all tickets to go see the Talking Heads." Abby was loading the mass spectrometer and didn't see the look on his face. "Sarah had a good time at the club, right?"
"Is this all some sort of sick game to you?" Tim shoved away from the table and turned to leave.
For the first time Abby really looked at him and saw how upset he was. "I'm not playing any games, McGee. What is your problem?"
"You've got to be kidding me. Just stay the hell away from my sister, and stay away from me." As he stormed out of the lab he passed Tony and Ziva, not even noticing them in his haste to get away from Abby. When the elevator doors closed behind him Tony marched into the lab. Not one to back down, Ziva was only a few steps behind him.
"Hey, Abs, whats up with Probie? He seemed kinda upset when he left."
She shrugged and turned back to her machines. "Guess I'm not his favorite person anymore."
---NCIS---
The noon to midnight shift of surveillance was always the hardest, which was why it was usually assigned to Gibbs' team. Usually the four of them would rotate through the positions, but there was an extra technical aspect to this case which meant that McGee spent the entire shift in the van and the other three rotated. Two outside, watching the apartment, with one in the van with McGee. Gibbs took the first shift inside, still not convinced that all was right with the brooding man.
"Pretty quiet today, McGee."
Tim checked all the equipment again, even though it had just been three minutes since his last check. "I'm all right, Boss, just got a lot on my mind."
Gibbs took a sip of his coffee as he studied the other man. "Need help with anything?"
The offer was sincere, he knew that. At least it would be sincere until Gibbs knew that Abby was under suspicion. He couldn't count the many times he'd seen where he was in the pecking order of Gibbs' world. Jeffries was right, it was better to let Metro handle it until they had a definitive answer regarding Abby's involvement in the attack on his sister. "Thanks, but no, I need to do this on my own."
When Tim's back was turned, Gibbs allowed a moment of pride to show on his face. McGee had come so far since those first years. Now he was a strong, independent man capable of so much. If he needed to work something out on his own, Gibbs would give him the space to do it. "All right, if you change your mind..."
"Yeah, thanks, Boss." Tim carefully regulated his breathing to not give his anguish away as he continued to watch the screens in front of him. Only another two hours and then DiNozzo would be in with him. Tony would tease, but that he could handle in his sleep.
The first hour with DiNozzo was surprisingly quiet with little teasing and not a single prank. Just as McGee was letting his guard down, Tony leaned close. "So what did Abby do to get you so upset?"
"What?" Tim froze, then forced himself to act natural. "I don't know what you mean."
"You're a lousy liar, McGee. We heard you arguing with her. If you'd done something to make her mad, we'd all know about it by now, so it's got to be the other way around. So, what did she do?"
Having someone agree that Abby wasn't always perfect lifted the weight just a little, but he knew that if push came to shove, Tony would side with Gibbs who would always side with Abby. "Let's just say that she forgets that she has no right to affect other people's lives." He couldn't quite hide the pain in his voice.
"Sounds pretty serious." Tony tried to watch McGee's face reflected in the screen, but the images weren't dark enough to act like a mirror.
"I don't want to talk about it, Tony."
"McGee..."
"No. There's an innocent third party involved that didn't ask to get involved."
Seeing the determined look on his partner's face, DiNozzo let it drop until the end of his shift in the van. Picking up his coat and preparing to brave the evening chill, he leaned close and rested a hand on McGee's shoulder. "I know I've given you a lot of crap all these years, but I thought when we went to Somalia you knew that I'd have your back. That hasn't changed just because we're home, Tim."
---NCIS---
"Here," Jeffries handed Thompson a cup of coffee as he sat next to her. "Any luck?" He looked past the stacks of video tapes to see the black and white images on the small television set up on the table. Karen gratefully drank half of the cup as she rubbed her eyes.
"I think I now know every goth within a hundred miles of DC, but yeah, I've identified her at the scene of three of the rapes. There's a guy with her, but he seems to know where the cameras are." Karen shook her head. "All I can tell is that he's big, taller than the woman and heavily built, and has dark hair."
That fit with the descriptions they'd gotten from the victims. Sarah McGee was able to give the most details, but even she was limited by the dark room she was attacked in. "So what are you looking at now?"
"The rave was held in an abandoned building."
Jeffries knew where that was headed. "No security footage."
"Bingo, but I'm checking security and traffic cams from the surrounding area. Maybe we can find something. Three sightings and we bring her in for questioning. Four and the DA will get us an arrest warrant.
---NCIS---
"Ziva?"
"Yes, McGee?" Other than a gentle smile and the delivery of a nice meal instead of fast food, Ziva David had acted normally during her time in the van. He recognized the silent support, and was grateful for the space she was giving him.
"If you don't want to tell me, I'd understand."
"I appreciate that, McGee, but I cannot refuse a question I have not heard." The gentle smile was back and even McGee had to smile a bit in return.
"Sorry, Ziva, umm, how did you get over what happened to you in Somalia?"
The question stopped her in her tracks, but before McGee could stammer out an apology, she was able to find her voice. "Some things you do not get over, but I have come to terms with what happened and have moved on." She reached out and squeezed his arm. "Having the support of good friends helped a great deal. Does that answer your question?"
"Yeah, it does, thanks."
She waited until the next shift was arriving before she speaking again. "McGee?" He didn't answer, but he did look up at her. "You have always been a good friend to me. I hope the reverse is also true."
Ziva's words rang in his ears all the way home. He quietly came in the door and patted Jethro on the head. Sarah was asleep in the bed, while her friend from school, Lisa, was curled up in his computer chair, surfing the net.
"Hey, Lisa, thanks for staying with her."
She stood and picked up her backpack and coat. "No problem, Tim, I'm just glad I could help."
After what had happened to Sarah, he was uncomfortable sending the young woman out alone in the middle of the night. "It's pretty late, do you want to crash here? You can set the inflatable bed up in the bedroom."
"It's okay, my boyfriend is picking me up. I was online with him when I heard your car pull in." She looked out the window and waited for a familiar car to pull in. When it did, she went to the door. "I'll see you tomorrow. Same time?"
"Same time, thanks." He stepped out onto the landing and waited until she was safely in the car before returning to the apartment and locking the door.
Author's Chapter Notes:
When McGee finds it necessary to protect his sister from people he though were his friends, the consequences are far reaching.