emerald_green37 | Catalyst 17/?

While Tony stared off into space, Vance herded everyone else out of his office and informed Pamela that he wasn't to be disturbed. Then, knowing Team Gibbs, he locked his door for good measure before pulling out the sealed, hard copy file on the incident as it was known among the current and former directors.

Vance broke the seal and pulled out the original report. "Here, at this point, you might as well know it all."

Hesitantly, Tony took the offered pages and started to read. It could almost be a regular case except for the name of the victim and the name of the first suspect. He looked up at Vance in shock. "Gibbs was a suspect? Someone thought Gibbs was capable of this?"

"Several witnesses heard Gibbs yelling at McGee moments before he was attacked. Of course he was a suspect, but Morrow held off on arresting or even questioning him until the physical evidence was examined."

Tony was forcing himself to read through the case file as an investigator. "Moments? How long?"

Vance flipped through the pages and found the diagram of the crime scene. He pointed out the various spots as he explained. "Gibbs and McGee were standing here. McGee was still in the same spot when he was hit from behind. Patterson then dragged him around the corner of the dumpster to be hidden from view while he attempted to mutilate McGee. Gibbs went through the main gate after McGee was discovered."

Since the diagram had been drawn out before Gibbs had been cleared, the location of his car had been marked. "If the Boss had looked in his mirror or turned around..."

"McGee's injuries might not have been so bad and the fall-out would have been much different. Tom Morrow would not have been able to intimidate Gibbs into a cover-up like he was able to do with McGee."

Frustrated, Tony raked his fingers through his hair. "But why cover it up at all? Why all the secrets? Morrow barely tolerated me, he wouldn't have gone through all this to protect me."

"Nope, he was protecting himself." Vance waited and let Tony put the pieces together on his own. It didn't take long.

"He was already being vetted for the assistant directorship over at Homeland Security, right?"

"Morrow got the promotion because it looked like he ran a clean house here. Having one of his brand new agents beaten and almost castrated because of a rumor that he was gay – a rumor that his attacker believed because it came directly from the new man's training partner..."

"Damn it." Tony buried his head in his hands. "It was just a joke, a stupid, stupid joke. I never would have hurt my partner."

---NCIS---

Gibbs wasn't one for fancy coffee, but he knew Tim liked them, so he went through the drive-thru and ordered Tim's favorite plus a plain black coffee for himself. Tim had been silent up to this point, but he leaned over and added to the order, knowing that the plain coffee at this chain was weaker than Gibbs liked to drink. "Change the plain black coffee to a Shot in the Dark, please, same size."

Tim waited until Gibbs took his first sip and gave an appreciative nod. "I thought you might like that."

"What exactly is this?" Gibbs took another sip before pulling out of the parking lot. It was as strong as he liked, but with a smokey, caramel undertone that gave it added depth.

"A Shot in the Dark is their brewed coffee with an added shot of espresso. For a large, it's a double shot."

"I'll have to remember that for the next time Fornell's in the mood for a fancy drink and drags me here. Thanks." The way Tim's face lit up at that simple thanks gave Gibbs a warm feeling in the pit of his stomach.

Wanting nothing more than to take the younger man home and claim him, Gibbs knew they needed to talk first. He compromised by pulling into a park and tugging Tim closer. "All I could think about this weekend was going back out there, spending the weekend exploring the countryside..." He shrugged and confessed the truth. "Exploring every inch of you."

Tim ducked his head down. "This was the first weekend I was lonely out there. I... uh... I bought some antique woodworking tools, thought you might like them."

"Yeah? I started working on some furniture for the front porch – one of those Adirondack style chairs big enough for two."

"Perfect for morning coffee." Tim shared a smile with Gibbs. "We'll need a little side table to go with it."

"I think we can swing that." Gibbs' smile grew wider as future plans came easily.

---NCIS---

Lonely in her lab, Abby crept back upstairs, a drink for Ziva in hand as an excuse for being there. With no Tony or Vance in sight, she pulled a chair up next to Ziva and plopped down. "Did you know about Gibbs and McGee? How long have they been together? Why didn't you tell me?"

It was only a long sip of CafPow that let Ziva get a word in edgewise. "That was a surprise for me as well, Abby."

"Really?" The confession made Abby feel a little better.

"Tony thought Gibbs was giving McGee strange looks over the weekend. I thought it was more like..." Ziva broke off smiling as she thought about it.

Abby poked at her. "Like what?"

"Like a lion, ready to devour his prey."

Clapping her hands over her mouth, Abby tried to stop the giggle. "I guess you were right after all." The two women looked at each other and dissolved into helpless laughter.

---NCIS---

Vance laid his hand on Tony's shoulder. "He's come to terms with what happened back then and he forgave you a long time ago."

"How? How could he forgive me for this?" Tony picked up one of the pictures and shook it at Vance. "That animal tried to bash his head in,then he damn near cut Tim's balls off – and it's my fault. It's all my fault." Tony was shouting by the end and dropped the photo to bury his face in his hands. "He's the best friend I've every had and all of this..."

Remembering his promise to McGee, Vance tried to cut the self-hatred off at the bud. "He's been planning on dealing with Patterson on his own to protect you. What does that tell you?"

"That he's too soft-hearted for his own good. I get why Morrow didn't can me, but what about Director Shepard? Hell, why haven't you?"

Recognizing the need for blunt honesty, Vance settled back in his chair, his fingers steepled under his chin. "I didn't know about any of this until McGee last surgery while he was down in Cybercrimes and you were assigned as an Agent Afloat. The first time I read that file, I saw red. I was more than ready to send out a chopper to bring you back just so I could can you in person."

Tony asked again. "Why didn't you?"

"In case you hadn't noticed, when McGee digs his heels in, he can be just as stubborn as Gibbs. He fought tooth and nail to keep you here and to get your team back together when the hunt for the mole was finished."

The other man didn't look convinced and Vance stood, pointing at him. "Stay right here; I've got something you need to see."

Sighing, Tony slumped down in his seat and watched as Vance stood up. There was a large closet off of the main office. Director Shepard had used it as a dressing room, but when Vance took over, it had been converted back to storage. He heard the clicks of tumblers as Vance unlocked whatever was inside. While he waited, Tony looked at the pictures of McGee after the attack. He felt sick as he tried to remember what about his plan he'd ever thought was funny.