Chapter 7
Tim and Ziva both arrived at 9 p.m. the next day, only to be called up to Vance's office. They were then informed they were temporarily being sent to other teams. Gibbs was taking leave so he could be at the hospital. He had requested Tim be sent to Cybercrimes and Ziva be assigned to anther MCRT. His gut told him that they needed to be separated. Gibbs didn't want to give them any more time to 'get their stories straight.'
Gibbs was not taking his usual steps when a case came along that involved his team. He knew people thought he wasn't involved. He had turned the crime scene over to another team. He was aware of the scuttlebutt. But THAT was not his case. He knew Tony had been shot outside the building. He knew Tony had been shot by one of the men who now lay on the metal tables in Autopsy. But the issue, the problem, lies elsewhere.
There were problems on his team. Things had happened that he had not been made aware. Things had been intentionally kept from him. Things, he felt, he needed to know. Things that, as it turned out, were of life or death significance. He looked over at Tony. And he was angry with Tony, he couldn't lie to himself about that. But he also knew Tony well enough to know Tony would not have withheld things from him without a damned good reason. But what was that reason?
NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS
"Talk to me, Timmy." Abby asked as she sat across from him at the open-air café, where Abby had requested they met for lunch. So far, Tim seemed to be very distracted. "Talk to me, Timmy." Abby repeated before finally getting his attention.
"It's nothing." McGee stated.
"No, it's something." Abby replied. She had noticed the uneaten plate of food in front of him. "You call me, tell me you're starving, but you don't eat." She studied him for a moment. "He's going to be fine." Abby stated. "Thing will be back to normal soon."
Tim sighed and muttered under his breath. "Things will never be normal again."
"What?" Abby asked.
"Tony's getting better?" Tim asked, hoping. He had not been to see Tony in the week since the shooting because he couldn't face Gibbs. He was afraid he would spill everything. He kept telling everybody that Cyber crimes had him busy, and it did, but not nearly as busy as he had made it out to be.
"No change." Abby said, shaking her head sadly. "But I send him positive thoughts all the time. I know he will be. He has to be."
Tim nodded, but didn't speak. He then signaled a waitress over and asked for a to-go-container. When the container arrived, he dumped his sandwich and chips in and closed the lid.
"Gotta get back, Abby." Tim said, and started to stand.
Abby had been dropping little hints all through the meal to try to get Tim to talk. She now used the direct approach. She put her hand on his arm, and he sat back down.
"What happened between you and Tony?" Abby asked.
"Who…what...what are you talking about?" Tim said. He knew he was not fooling her, but he had to try.
"You know exactly what I'm talking about Special Agent Timothy McGee. What happened between you and Tony?" Abby asked again.
And for just a brief moment, Tim considered telling her. He considered unburdening himself from the massive weight he had been carrying for this past week. He had not realized how heavy it was until Abby had given him a chance to unload it. But he knew he couldn't. Abby couldn't take that weight of that burden. She couldn't take what he and Ziva had done to Tony. He would lose her. He would lose her friendship. He would lose her love and respect. He would lose her, and he was not willing to take that risk.
Seeing he was not going to respond, Abby pressed a little harder for answers. "Tony has been acting a little different towards you. No more Probie. And he hasn't been correcting Ziva's English. Something is going on Timmy. Don't tell me it's not. I may not be an investigator, but I can detect anomalies, changes in pattern. That is what I do. That's what makes me good at my job."
Tim stood to leave. Abby stood up also.
Abby looked Tim square in the eye. "I promise you, Timothy McGee, if you had anything to do with this…whatever this is. If you are the reason he's hurt. You won't' have to worry about a funeral." Abby looked Tim dead in the eye. "They won't find enough of you to bury."
"Abby!" Tim said, unable to hide his shock.
"You know Abby's #1 rule, Tim." Abby paused. "And you're lying to me."
TBC
END NOTE: Abby does not know that it was Tim's fault Tony got shot at the warehouse. Gibbs wanted to keep that information from her until he found out what was really going on. So, as you can see…Tim's as good as dead. And the fun is just beginning….
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