Happiest Day

4.

It was Abby who answered the door the second time he banged on it. When she saw him she crossed her arms over her chest and gave him a long look.

“I love you dearly Gibbs but you have a hell of a lot of explaining to do.”

He sighed.

“I know Abby, I know. Can I talk to Tim.”

He took a step toward the door and she grabbed it firmly blocking his way.

“I’m tempted to say no.”

“who is it Abby?”

Tim walking out the apartments kitchen drying his hands off on a dishcloth jethro along side him. Tim stopped dead when he saw Gibbs and jethro began frantically wagging his tail. Abby glanced back behind her.

“Tim you want me to let him in or should I just take him out for coffee?”

Tim’s face hardened.

“I think coffee seems like a good idea.”

“Tim please. . .”

Gibbs took another step towards the door eyes locked on Tim’s face. Abby stuck out her arm and placed one hand firmly on Gibbs’ chest.

“come on Gibbs don’t make me use my ninja moves on you.”

He transferred his gaze to the goth blocking the door.

“Abby. . .”

“alright Abby let him in.”

Gibbs gaze snapped back up to Tim and Abby stepped away from the door. He took a few steps until he was standing inside the apartment. Abby shut the door behind him then stood looking from one to the other.

“you boys are going to play nice right? ‘Cause I don’t think there’s much I can do about it if you don’t.”

“we’ll be fine Abby.”

Tim’s voice still held ice and steel and Gibbs told himself firmly that he disserved it.

“right you want me to stay?”

She glance between the two of them again.

“Alright then, me and jethro will just be in Tim’s bedroom, so one of you scream if you need me or anything.”

She grabbed jethro by the collar and gently led him into the bedroom, closing the door. In the silence that followed they stood there. Finally Gibbs squared his shoulder, he’d come here for a reason, after all.

“Tim.”

McGee had his arms folded across his chest and a look on his face Gibbs had almost never seen and never directed towards him not even after he’d come back from Mexico.

“I’m sorry.”

A totally different look moved a cross Tim’s face and one hand can up to cover his mouth, but Gibbs wasn’t done saying everything he’d come there to say.

“It was always different with you. with all my marriages. . .they were always replacements for the first and it never worked.”

He stopped staring down at his hands, then looked up at Tim

“can we sit down?”

Wordlessly Tim nodded then led him to the couch and they both sat, carefully not touching. Gibbs wet his lips steeling himself to go on and get it all out in the open.

“It was never like that with you though, you were never just a replacement for. . .for Shannon. It’s just when we got engaged. . .”

He sighed and closed his eyes.

“when we got engaged if felt like all the others, like you were a replacement for something I didn’t have anymore.”

Beside him Tim stiffened and when Gibbs opened his eyes he saw pure raged written plain across the other man’s face. For a moment he thought Tim would actually hit him, but instead Tim stood and walked to the other side of the room, back to Gibbs. For a moment there was silence and Gibbs forced himself to keep going.

“I’ve been sitting there in my basement thinking about Shannon and Kelly and how much I loved them. Trying to make myself paint your name onto my boat, make it really be over.”

Tim moved, even with as good reflexes as Gibbs had it happened so fast he didn’t realize what Tim was doing until Tim had already done it. There was the sound of breaking glass and Gibbs was on his feet taking in first the shattered glass and water running down the wall then Tim who had sunk slowly to his knees staring blindly at the blood pooling in his hand. Gibbs moved scooping up the dishcloth Tim had left lying on the coffee table and moving over to Tim crouching down beside him, pressing the dish clothe to the gash in his hand.

“Tim. Tim look at me. I couldn’t do it.”

Gibbs reached out and took Tim by the shoulder half turning him towards Gibbs.

“I couldn’t do it, because I love you. Even with loving Shannon and Kelly the way I do the way I always will, I still love you. And I couldn’t make it really be over, couldn’t really let you go, I need you and I love you and I am sorry, so very sorry.”

He pulled Tim until the other man was pressed against Gibbs’ shoulder Gibbs’ fingers pressing into the back of his neck. Tim’s eyes close and he draws in a long shuddering breath.

“God damn you.”

Gibbs couldn’t have even begun to express how relieved he was to hear Tim’s voice.

“God damn you Gibbs, why do you have to do this? Why do I have to love you.”

Tim pressed his face into the curve of Gibbs’ neck and they just stay there huddled together.

“Um.”

Gibbs looks up to see Abby standing by the door. He watched as she took in first the glass and water on the floor and spattered up the wall then Gibbs crouched on the floor holding Tim to his chest with one arm and a bloody dishcloth to Tim’s hand with the other.

“you two ok now?”

Tim moved making a noise half way between a laugh and a sob, and Gibbs allowed himself to press a cautious kiss to the top of Tim’s ear.

“yeah, Abbs I think we’re going to be.”

“well that’s a relief I wasn’t sure what I was going to do if you two killed each other. Speaking of which we might want to get Tim to a hospital that’s a lot of blood.”

Gibbs glanced down at the dishcloth then removed it and all three of them, plus jethro stared at the gash on Tim’s palm.

“It’s not that deep really. Tim do you have a first aid kit?”

Tim nodded

“In the bathroom.”

“well I think between myself and Abby we’ll be able to get you patched up.”

Gibbs unbent himself then helped Tim off the floor and they all started en-mass for the bathroom.