Abby and Tim left right after they took Tony up to his room, Gibbs and Ducky both following behind the stretcher. Tim and Abby were off to Tony’s place to fetch a few things for Tony and to grab the bag McGee had made for Gibbs.

As he drove, Tim was quieter than usual; the reason was he was thinking about what Tony had said about him going through Gibbs’ drawers and the warning to stay out of them.

"Okay, McGee, out with it," Abby said, turning in the seat so she could look at him.

"What? I’m just driving."

"Nope. Something is eating at you, I can tell. The last time you got this quiet was after you found out about sleeping in my coffin."

"Abby, nothing is wrong."

"You are so lying."

"How can you tell?" he asked curiously.

"Your lips are moving," she said with a smile.

McGee chewed on his lip a bit, then asked, "Are Gibbs and Tony, um…?"

"Shacking up? Banging? Boning each other? Doing the horizontal mambo?"

"I get your point. So, are they?"

"I sure hope so after this. If you ask me it’s about damn time."

McGee looked at her quickly. "What do you mean? I thought with the way Tony talks about all the dates he has and with Gibbs having three ex-wives…"

"You heard Tony tell you to stay out of Gibbs drawers, right? Well, Tony has had a thing for Gibbs since they began working together, and Gibbs has had one for Tony. Neither one of them thought the other one even noticed him in that way. It’s kind of sad if you ask me, both men trained to pick up on subtleties yet missing these great big clues."

"Like?" McGee questioned, curious as to what he, too, had missed.

"Like last year Tony sent Gibbs Honey Dust."

"He said it was a shipping mistake," McGee reminded her.

"Yeah, right, dream on. It was so deliberate. Ducky and me have been trying to get them to see the light, and I guess this finally did it. It almost killed Gibbs after Tony got sick last time."

"You’re telling me they’ve been after each since Tony joined NCIS?"

"Yup."

"What about all the ladies Tony talks about?"

"All talk, McGee. Jeez, you’re dense as well."

"Not that dense. I picked up on the fact that you wanted me."

Abby just smiled as they pulled up to Tony’s apartment complex. Tim punched in the code, and they parked next to Tony’s car.

Both went up to Tony’s apartment, finding it unlocked. They didn’t think either Ducky or Gibbs would have left it unlocked. As they entered the living room, they heard a noise coming from the kitchen. Tim pulled out his gun and motioned for Abby to stay back. He slowly moved towards the kitchen, turning the corner quickly to have the element of surprise.

"Hold it right there!"

The figure standing in front of the open refrigerator door was a young girl. She was putting something inside the refrigerator, other dishes on the cabinet next to her. When she saw the man with the gun pointed at her she screamed and dropped the plate, the plastic-wrapped glass shattering with a dull sound.

Abby came running and saw the little girl and Tim pointing a gun at her.

"Christ, McGee, scare the poor girl to death, why don’t you."

Flushing, Tim put his gun back in the holster.

"Hey there, kid," Abby said with a smile, "what are you doing in this apartment?"

The girl looked at the goth chic and the man who had just held a gun on her, her eyes wide. She couldn’t have been more than ten years old.

Licking her lips nervously she said, "Mom sent me up here to bring Tony some food. She always complains he never eats right."

"How’d you get in?"

The girl’s eyes darted about. "I have a key. Tony gave it to me."

Tim exchanged a look with Abby before asking calmly, "Where do you live?"

"Right down the hall. Who are you people?"

"We work with Tony."

"Oh. You’re…NCIS I think he said?"

"Yeah, I work in the lab, and this geek works in the field with Tony."

"Tony is a nice guy," the little girl said. "Sometimes he does stuff to help out my mom and me. He even has me come over and watch old movies with him when Mom has to work late."

"How nice. My name is Abby, and this guy is McGee."

"McGee?"

Tim shot Abby an irritated look. "It’s my last name. My first name is Tim."

The girl smiled. "Hi, Tim, hi, Abby. My name is Jennifer, but people call me Jenny. Where’s Tony? Is he okay?"

"He’s in the hospital."

"Again?" Jenny questioned, sounding distressed. "Mom said he was really sick a few weeks back. Is he that sick again?"

"I don’t think he’s that bad, but it is serious," McGee said.

"Mom is going to be mad at him. She’s always on him about taking better care of himself. After he got sick Mom started to send food over when she could afford to."

"That’s sweet of your mom. Tell her Tony is in Mercy General in room 432. I’m sure he would like to see you guys. The doctor said he can have visitors as long as he doesn’t get stressed out."

"Thanks, Abby." Jenny looked down. "Guess I better get this mess cleaned up."

"Don’t bother. It was McGee’s fault. He can clean it up and put away the rest of the food while I pack Tony an overnight bag."

"Okay, thanks."

"Sorry for pointing a gun at you."

Jenny just smiled as she left the apartment, going to her own.

"Nice one, McGee," Abby said, hitting him.

"What? I didn’t know Tony was a baby-sitter."

"Shut up, McGee and clean up the kitchen and put the rest of the stuff away while I get Tony’s stuff."

Abby had been there a few times. She grabbed his backpack from where he kept it next to the door and emptied the few items that were in it out on the sofa. Then she went to Tony’s room.

She opened up Tony’s underwear drawer and started grabbing a few pairs of boxer briefs when something fell out and hit the floor. She stopped, looked down and started laughing aloud. Bending down, she picked up the item as McGee was walking into the room

"What?"

"Look," Abby said, holding up a pair of fuzzy handcuffs. "This is too cool."

"Abby put those away."

"Why? You didn’t bitch when I used some on you."

"Yes, but these are Tony’s," Tim said, feeling a bit uncomfortable, especially if he let himself think they might be used on Gibbs.

He went back to the kitchen to finish up there as Abby found Tony some socks and a few old T-shirts that were folded rather than hung up. She also found two pairs of flannel house paints and a pair of sweats. She grabbed Gibbs’ shoes and was bounding out of the bedroom as Tim was walking out of the kitchen.

"All done. Tony’s all packed."

"Here’s Gibbs bag, still next to the front door."

Taking the bags and Gibbs’ shoes, they left the apartment, locking the door behind them, then went back to their car and drove to the hospital.