Chapter 33
"Gibbs, I told you. You have got to give my babies to time to…" Abby said as she turned around. She then saw that it was not Gibbs, but Tim.
"Timmy, if Gibbs sent you…."
Tim shook his head. He was down here on his own. He needed to talk to somebody and she was the best person he could think of at the moment.
"I need to talk to you about…."
"…Tony." Abby said finishing his sentence for him.
Tim nodded.
"You wanted him to be professional, serious." Abby stated. "You got, exactly, what you wanted."
"I know, but…."
"But you had no idea how much you would miss the old Tony."
Tim nodded again.
"I just…why does he have to act like that?" Tim asked exasperated.
"Tony has not had things easy in his life, Tim."
Tim shook his head. "Please, a rich kid going to college on Dad's money while the rest of us have to scrimp and save. He doesn't even NEED this job…."
Abby stared Tim down. "I love you, Timmy. You know that. And I love Tony, too. I am going to tell you this ONLY because I don't like you talking about Tony that way. He would never tell you this himself, but you need to know, maybe you'll understand it better. But…" Abby wagged her finger in front of Tim's face. "…you repeat this to ANYBODY and I promise you, they will never find your body."
Tim gulped and nodded uncertainly.
Abby continued. "Tony's dad didn't fund his college. He found out Tony was going for a P.E. degree at Ohio State. He refused to pay for anything. Tony's college was funded through scholarships, athletic and academic. You scoffed at him for getting a Phys Ed. degree. But do you know what his grades were? Do you know what his ranking was in his graduating class?
Tim shook his head. He had no idea.
"It's not what it sounds like, Tim. He would not have just ended up as a high school gym teacher. He could have gone into sports medicine. The university level pays their physician assistants big money. He could have gone that route. Just think how much money college pump into their sports programs. And just so you know, he made 'A's and B's' and he graduated in the top 20% of his class."
Tim was stunned.
Abby continued. "He worked his way through med school. So your images of him driving around campus in a convertible, without a care in the world, are…."
"…grossly inaccurate." Tim said, shaking his head. He was having a hard time believing all this. But he knew Abby wouldn't lie to him.
"Correct, Agent McGee." Abby concluded.
"So…why not just tell people about his education?" Tim asked.
"You mean…brag. The way you do?" Abby said.
"Abby…I…" Tim started. Then he said. "What's wrong with being proud of what you've accomplished?"
Abby shook her head. "Nothing…nothing wrong with it at all, Tim." Abby paused. She chose her next words carefully. "But your pride shouldn't come at someone else's expense."
Tim just stared. He wasn't sure what Abby meant.
"Telling Tony he's not smart enough to figure out something you're showing to Kate." Abby explained. "Come on! Kate's no computer whiz."
Now Tim remembered the incident. "I was in the middle of showing it to Kate when Tony showed up. I didn't have time to start all over again. And it had even taken me a long time to learn it."
"Why didn't you just tell him that?" Abby asked. "And it's not an isolated incident." Abby paused. "Tim, there are few people in this building that know as much about computers as you do. But every time something computer related comes up…."
"He really talked to you about that?" Tim asked. "It bothered him that much?"
"That time…and all the others." Abby stated. "Nobody wants to be made to feel stupid."
"What about all the times he's said things to me, the nicknames, the little jabs.?" Tim said, getting defensive.
Abby nodded. "Yes, Tony teases you. Sometimes it's merciless. But, it's never malicious. It's never hurtful, Tim. He teases. That's all he does, teases."
Tim sighed. "Do you think he'll forgive me for being such an ass?"
Abby sighed. "I don't know. He's a pretty forgiving guy. But still." Abby gave Tim a huge hug. "He thinks of you as a little brother. He knew he would have to take things slow and easy with you in the beginning. That's where the teasing came in, Tim, to get you to lighten up and to be more comfortable. He was tired of seeing you jump out of your skin and hit the ceiling every time Gibbs said, 'Boo.'"
"I wasn't that bad."
"Timmy." Abby said, drawing out his name.
"Okay, I was."
TBC
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