Gibbs swore and slammed the door behind him as he entered his house and stormed into the kitchen. At the table Timothy McGee was making sure he had everything he needed for work safely in his briefcase. He looked up, rather mystified, as his partner stormed into the room.

“Jethro, what’s wrong?”

“My car won’t start.”

Gibbs slammed his hand down on the counter then sighed.

“I’ve been trying to figure out what’s wrong with it for the passed thirty minutes and as far as I can tell it should work perfectly, but the damned thing won’t start.”

McGee close his briefcase and picked up his coat.

“You can ride with me to work then.”

Gibbs hesitated running his fingers through his hair.

“Do you think that’s safe?”

“It’s just this once, Jethro, who will see?”

Gibbs sighed

“Well, I don’t really have much choice, do I?”

It was Ziva who saw them arrive together that morning. She was on her way in to work herself when McGee’s porsche pulled up and both McGee and Gibbs climbed out. Ziva stood there, staring for split second then moved, fast, into the hall and then the elevator that connected the parking garage to the NCIS offices. She was pretty sure they hadn’t seen her, and her mind was working over time trying to decide what this could mean. About forty minutes later she managed to corner Tim in the elevator while on their way to get a report back from Ducky in Autopsy.

“I saw you and Gibbs come into work together today.”

She didn’t look at Tim but she felt him stiffen beside her.

“His car was broken.”

“And you just happened to be at his house, which is no where near your apartment, that early in the morning and thought you might do him a favor? Or maybe you were already there. For a different reason.”

She looked at Tim who seemed to have become even paler then he normally was. Tim swallowed. Think, his brain was screaming, you’re a trained agent, lie, do something. He cleared his throat.

“I mean, it makes sense.”

Ziva continued a slight smile now touching her lips.

“I had begun to wonder why neither you nor Gibbs ever looked twice at me. Not to mention all those little looks and touches, and you still have not told me I am wrong yet.”

She looked up at him again.

“Please, please don’t tell anyone. Gibbs could get into so much trouble.”

Her face softened.

“I understand, Timothy. I know what it’s like to be with someone, other would not approve of.”

Tim blinked and tried to figure that one out, but before he could open his mouth to ask her the elevator dinged and the door opened.

“Ok so how come nobody told me about this!”

Tony DiNozzo stormed into the forensic lab. Abby looked up from her microscope and then turned to face the irate special agent.

“Tell you about what?”

“Gibbs and Pro. . . umm. . .err, McGee”

Abby smiled.

“You know Tony, for a investigator you aren’t very good at noticing things are you?”

“Hey, I don’t think anyone could have seen this coming. I mean Gibbs? He’s always going out with women, and then there’s all the wives.”

Abby rolled her eyes.

“Oh please, Tony, that should have told you something right there. Always getting divorced, never sticking with a girlfriend. I mean classic closet dweller. He just never could find satisfaction with a woman.”

Abby grinned at him. Tony turned slightly green at the mental image, and then stared hard at her.

“Wait, you knew?”

Abby gave him a, don’t be stupid, look.

“Well yeah, Gibbs told me. Which reminds me, who told you anyway?”

“Ziva told me.”

“Really? I wonder if someone told her, or maybe she’s just more observant then you are.”

Tony glared at the forensic expert.

“I don’t know. Why don’t you ask her?”

Abby smiled,

“I think I will.”

Jen watched her agents move around the bullpen from the stairs. Something was going on, something big and no one was telling her anything as usual. She knew there was something going on, she could practically feel the rumors fly through the air. The whole thing was not putting her in a good mood. So she did what she had to, and paged Gibbs. Gibbs swore as his pager went off and swore again when he saw who it was. Normally he would have let her wait, making the point that he wasn’t at her beck and call, but he had just spoken with McGee and had a bad feeling he knew what their conversation was going to be about. So after swearing silently one last he got up and made his way to the Director’s office.

“Sit.”

She really wished Gibbs would nock before just walking in. Jen frowned at him for a moment, reflexively rolling a pen between her fingers.

“Gibbs, what is going on?”

Gibbs stared at her then shrugged.

“That would depend on what you’re referring to.”

Her found deepened.

“Don’t play games with me. Something’s going on. Tony and Ziva are spending more time talking and less time fighting and Abby keeps walking around looking like a cat who’s just eaten the canary. There’s something going on with all of you and I want to know what it is.”

Gibbs sighed.

“It’s personal and frankly none of your business.”

Her eyes narrowed.

“If it concerned my agents it is my business, Agent Gibbs.”

Gibbs’ eyes narrowed too.

“Alright then. If you really want to know. It’s about my relationship. My relationship with agent Timothy McGee. My romantic relationship with Timothy McGee. Is that enough information for you or would you like me to go into details?”

She stared at him; all the color had drained from her face.

“You’re joking.”

He stared back

“Do I look like I’m joking, Director?”

“No”

She shook her head.

“No, you’re not gay, you’re not. You can’t be.”

Suddenly he’s face softened.

“Yes”

He told her quietly almost gently

“Yes I am, Jen.”

He reached out to touch her hand and she jerked it away before he could touch her. Instead she folded them on the table in front of her, they were shaking and she clenched them to make them stop. He stood up.

“I can give you my letter of resignation if you want?”

Her gaze snapped up to meet his.

“No.”

She took a breath.

“No it’s alright. I’m not being one of the only NCIS female directors and the one who fires her agents for being homosexual, in direct violation of their human rights.”

She looked back down at her hands.

“How long. . . how long have you two been. . . together.”

“Do you really want to know that?”

She bit her lip. That would explain why he had never returned her flirting.

“No, I guess I don’t.”

He sighed

“Are you going to be ok?”

Her eyes snapped back up to his.

“I’ll be fine. I am capable of taking care of myself.”

He nodded then turned and leaves without looking back. For a long time she sat and stared at the door. So it was over. It was really over, and Paris was just that. Paris. In some ways, she discovered, she was relieved.

When Gibbs came back down from the Directors office and without saying a word stormed through to the elevator and down to Autopsy, McGee decided he needed to talk to Abby. He had been avoiding Abby, not because of anything she’s done but because since Gibbs told her about their relationship he’d had no idea what to say. He knew this was exactly why Gibbs had a rule against dating coworkers, but nobody seemed to be paying attention to that these days and at least with him and Abby the damage had already been done. The truth was he missed Abby, missed her as a friend, as someone to talk to, someone who took him seriously, and even if she was cool with it he needed to know he was cool with it too.

Abby was playing her music so loudly it makes Tim’s teeth ache. Since there was no way she could hear him when he came into the lab so he waited quietly by the door for her to notice. Abby was pipetting something focused completely on her task while the music pulsed around her. McGee felt a deep sense of affection towards the goth scientist. He missed her and cared for her and truly hoped she agreed with him that they made far better friends then lovers. Their relationship had been complicated at best, her inability to commit had not meshed with his inability to have anything but a committed relationship. She had needed freedom he couldn’t giver her and he had needed, well, Gibbs. Putting her pipette down Abby turned and spotted Tim standing by the door.

“McGee. Haven’t seen you down here for a while. What can I do for you this afternoon?”

He walked over to stand next to her.

“Hey Abby, I think we should talk.”

“Yeah, you and Tony.”

McGee frowned.

“What about Tony.”

“Oh nothing he just wanted to talk too, earlier.”

Abby smiled and placed the test tube she’d been working on onto a tray. Tim let the earlier comment go.

“Abby I would like to talk to you about me and Gibbs.”

He stopped then sighed.

“Look you’ve been really great. Really, really great, and you made Gibbs very happy.”

She turned to look at him leaning against the counter.

“I just want to make sure you’re happy.”

He touched her arm briefly and she sighed.

“What do you want me to say McGee, I’m not even a little upset with you? Of course I’m a little upset. You didn’t tell me, about you and Gibbs, and it’s taken you all this time to come down and talk to me, yourself. And ok so maybe I’m a little jealous. I mean it always hurts a little when a lover moves on, but I can’t be too jealous, or mad because it’s you and it’s Gibbs and I love you both, and I want you two to be happy and besides the idea of you two together getting all sweaty is kind of hot.”

She paused for a moment as if to consider.

“Or really, really hot.”

He blushed.

“Abby!”

She laughed. Then grew serious and reached forward and to hug him.

“So you’re really Ok?”

He held her at arms length and studied her face.

“Yeah.”

She sat on the floor and he sat beside her

“There are tiny, microscopic, moments when I wish you and me were still together, but for the most part I’m glad things turned out like they did. I like you with Gibbs and it would have never worked without us anyway. Besides I really, really like Gibbs with you. You’re good for him, well better then his wives anyway.”

Tim smiled

“I’ll try to take that as a compliment.”

“And if you ever want to take video footage of you two, you know, all horizontal, and post it on the internet. . .”

“Abby!”

“Oh what are you going to do McGee, Gibbs-smack me?”

He laughed and pulled her into a hug

“Maybe I’ll have Gibbs come down here and smack you.”

“Tim you know he wouldn’t do that. That would be using his powers for evil.”

She leaned her head against his shoulder and they just sat there enjoying each other’s company.

McGee unlocked his car and both him and Gibbs got in.

“So how do you feel?”

Gibbs glanced over at the younger man as they pulled out of the parking garage.

“Like I should be calling Tobias up and confessing my deepest darkest secretes. Why how did you think I was feeling?”

“Would you like to go out and get dinner?”

Gibbs glanced over at Tim again.

“No. I think I’d rather stay in.”

Tim didn’t look at him but a small smile touched his lips. Gibbs reached out and ever so slightly let his knuckles brush against Tim’s thigh.

“After all, since we’ve already done the punishment, we may as well commit the crime.”