Catalyst 19/?
Mar. 15th, 2013 06:55 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
emerald_green37
Jimmy stood when Vance entered Autopsy, expecting to be sent out to clean the van, but the Director didn't send him out of the room. "Dr. Mallard, if I might, I'd like to have a moment of your time. Mr. Palmer, you might as well stay since you saw what happened earlier upstairs."
"By earlier, I assume you mean the discovery of the relationship between Jethro and Timothy? I will admit that did catch me a bit off-guard."
"Is Gibbs going to be able to handle Patterson getting out of prison?"
"You mean, how will he react?" Ducky bit back a smile as he thought about the kiss they'd all witnessed in the bullpen. "For Jethro Gibbs to lose control like we saw, it must be something he feels very passionately about."
Jimmy giggled before he could stop himself. Turning red, he tried to explain himself. "I'm sorry, but that was a lot of passion we were seeing up there... I'm going to shut up now."
"That would be an excellent idea, Mr. Palmer." Ducky didn't let his smile escape until Jimmy had scurried off to find something less embarrassing to work on. Only then did he turn back to Vance. "In all the years that I've known Jethro, and that includes two of his marriages, I've never seen him so honest with his feelings. If Patterson is a serious threat to Timothy, I'm afraid that he will react as a worried lover and not as a trained agent. The question then becomes, exactly how real is this threat?"
"Actually, Dr. Mallard, I'd like for you to do a psychological assessment of the man for me. Read through his files, tell me exactly what kind of threat we're up against."
"Of course, Director, I'll get started right away."
---NCIS---
Catching his breath, Gibbs tenderly kissed Tim's shoulder as he pulled back. "Come on, let's go upstairs."
They tugged up their pants, Gibbs grabbing his shirt to wipe the wall. Tim looked slightly embarrassed as he looked around, but Gibbs just led him up the stairs, leaving the rest of their clothes behind.
In the bedroom, clothes were completely shed and Gibbs took a good look. "Beautiful and all mine." He led Tim to the bed and laid him down, the younger man trembling as calloused hands ran up his legs.
"Jethro?"
Gibbs settled between Tim's legs and instead of answering, he lifted Tim's knees up and rolled his legs out. Once Tim was fully exposed, Gibbs reverently kissed each and every scar, gently lifting and moving his penis and scrotal sack to examine every inch. Once he was done, Gibbs laid next to him and drew Tim into his arms.
"Tell me, tell me all of it."
The words came haltingly at first, before the dam was breached and the memories tumbled out faster. Not of the attack so much, but of after. The pain and the shame and the lonely hours in the hospital. The first reconstructive surgery to give him enough blood flow to achieve an erection. The humiliation of being handed a Viagra to have strangers in medical garb test his body's ability to react. The further repairs before full success on that front was achieved. Then came the additional attempts to repair the scar tissue that blocked his sperm from ever leaving his testicles And finally came the complicated microsurgery that tried to piece together one functioning Vas Deferens from the two scarred ones, the last hope – at least until advances in medicine caught up with the needs.
Rubbing his cheek against Gibbs' chest, Tim next told of his emotional struggles. How angry and hurt he'd been. Then came the support he'd received from DiNozzo after the Benedict shooting. How he'd stood up to Tony when Gibbs went to Mexico and McGee had been DiNozzo's senior agent, gaining respect from the other man. The grief they'd shared at the loss of Paula Cassidy's team. The respect he'd earned while Ziva was gone and it had been just the two of them. How facing his own insecurities had helped him understand Tony and his.
Gibbs knew that Tim's was a gentle soul and as they talked through the night he learned the path he'd walked as he'd come to terms with what he'd lost and DiNozzo's part in it. Gibbs wasn't ready to fully forgive DiNozzo, himself. Not until he saw how Tony was going to treat him now that he knew, but he understood how Tim was able to do so.
---NCIS---
Another cup of coffee in front of his face drew Tony from his thoughts and he realized that it was light outside. He took several swallows of the hot brew, needing the jolt of caffeine.
"You read all night?" Vance had offered his sofa before he'd left last night, but the folded blanket hadn't been disturbed.
Tony rubbed at his gritty eyes as he stretched and straightened his back. "Yeah. Seeing all these years through his eyes was really... it..."
"Opened your eyes?"
Nodding, Tony leaned forward and rested his chin on his folded hands. "It did. I can remember days that it seemed like he was mad at me for no reason, but those would be days he got bad news from his doctor or had a rough therapy session. It all makes sense now, even Gibbs' reaction with the pizza kid the other day."
When Vance gave him a questioning look, Tony shrugged, voicing his own sadness at what his actions had caused. "Of all of us, McGee's the one I could really see with kids. Always figured he'd have these really smart kids that would keep him on his toes and we'd all laugh about it. Isn't there anything they can do to help him?"
"Not yet." Vance shook his head sadly. "His doctors are up to date on all the research and advances being made, but the technology isn't there yet. There's one possible option where the sperm is surgically extracted from the body and the mother undergoes in vetro fertilization but both he and the potential mother would have to undergo probably multiple surgical procedure, the success rate is pretty low and it's not covered by medical insurance."
"But he was attacked because of the job... because of me."
"The Agency has absorbed all of his other medical expenses, but that option is too expensive to be part of our discretionary spending budget. I wouldn't argue against an official settlement, but that would require a record of what it was for and why."
"Which means a public record of what happened to him and why it happened."
Vance could hear the guilt creeping back into his voice. "Go home, DiNozzo, and get some rest for a few hours." He could see the objection in Tony's face and raised his hand. "You're not going to get added to McGee's protection detail until I know that you're rested and functioning one hundred percent, so go home."
"Yeah, okay." Tony stood and handed the journals back to Vance, who locked them back up before following Tony down to the bullpen.
Ziva was just sitting down at her desk when they arrived. Not giving her a chance to say anything to DiNozzo, Vance spoke first. "Patterson is being released today, McGee's protection detail starts this morning."
Tony felt a surge of fear for his friend. He'd thought they had more time. "Sir..."
"No, DiNozzo. Go home and get some rest. Think about how you're going to cope with all of this." Vance stood and waited while Tony gathered his things and walked to the elevator, not speaking again until the metal doors closed. "Agent David, are you going to be able to be objective in light of what you saw yesterday?"
"Of course, Director Vance." She'd spent much of the evening trying to determine how she'd missed the relationship and finally decided it didn't matter. "No one deserves a second chance at happiness more than Gibbs, and after what happened to him, I am glad McGee is finding happiness as well."
Vance was pleased that one possible crisis was averted. "Patterson is getting out of prison today. If you're comfortable being on protection duty while they're practically on their honeymoon, then take Dorneget with you and get over to Gibbs' place."
Ziva stood and gathered her weapons. "Perfectly comfortable, sir."
"Good." Vance thought of one more thing as she was almost to the elevator. "Give them as much privacy as possible, but keep them safe."
"Understood." Ziva pressed the button to call the elevator and turned back to smile at Vance. "And I will leave it to you to explain to Abby why there will be no pictures."
By the time her words registered with Vance, he was alone in the bullpen. "Wait a minute, how'd I get stuck with the hard job?"
---NCIS---
Tony wasn't sure if it was an accident or his subconscious giving him a nudge, but he pressed the button for the sub-basement and not for the lobby. After being delivered to his new destination, he paced in the hallway for at least ten minutes before he worked up the nerve to walk into the lab.
"Wondered how long you were going to stomp around out there." Even though she acknowledged him, Abby wouldn't look up at Tony as he stood behind her.
"Abs..."
"Was she worth it, Tony?"
He frowned in confusion. "Who?"
Abby finally turned to glare at him. "Whatever woman you were so hot to hook up with. Whatever woman you thought was worth throwing Timmy to the wolves over."
"It wasn't any one woman, Abby." Tony tried to explain his actions all those years ago, cringing at how lame it sounded in the light of reality. "I was afraid he was going to attract more women than I was. I was stupid and childish and jealous and what it cost him is going to haunt me for the rest of my life."
Tearing up, she slapped his chest. "He got hurt."
"I know."
Another slap. "He was alone."
"I know."
"No, you don't." Another slap, but there was not strength behind it as she gave into the tears. "You don't."
"Tell me." It might have been a previously unrealized masochistic streak, but Tony needed to hear all of it.
"I yelled at him, Tony. I said awful things to my best friend because he wasn't helping you. I told him he wasn't worthy of being your friend, that I wasn't sure if I'd still call him a friend. I was so mean to him, Tony, and he had to take it, he just had to take it. I wouldn't really even talk to him until after Kate was killed." Tears running down her face, she looked up at Tony. "Don't you get it? I was so busy taking your side, I never saw how badly he had to have been hurting."
"He's forgiven you, Abby." When she started to shake her head, he pushed. "He's forgiven me, Abs. If he can do that... Listen, I spent all night reading his journal. He asked Vance to give it to me to understand what he'd been through. He's never been mad at you, Abs. If anything, he feels guilty for lying to you all these years."
"They didn't give him a choice, Tony."
"Yeah, I know." Tony gingerly tugged Abby closer, but she went willingly and wrapped her arms around him."It sucks – almost as much as what Patterson did to him. If I could go back in time and change it, I would, but all I can do now is to be a real friend to him and to do everything I can to protect him from Patterson. So, can you forgive me, Abby?"
She leaned back to give him a long, careful look. "If you hurt him again..."
"You'll let Gibbs kill me and then make all the evidence disappear. Counting on it, Abs. I'm counting on everybody to remind me when I get too close to that edge. Keep me on the straight and narrow, okay?" Tony held up one finger. "Pinky promise?"
Abby held up her corresponding little finger, but she didn't move it closer. "What about Gibbs being with McGee? Are you going to be able to handle that?"
"As long as it's what McGee really wants, then I'm okay with it"
She thought it was an odd way to put it, but she hooked her finger around his before giving him a hug.
---NCIS---
The guard watched as Ted Patterson signed for his personal effects. "Don't do anything stupid, Patterson. You've served your sentence, you've got a chance to start clean."
The muscular man didn't say anything, just grunted as he swung his pack up onto his shoulder and walked out of prison. There was no one to pick him up so he started walking to the bus that would take him into town.
Once the day's releases were done, the guards gathered to check the odds on what they laughingly called the parolee pool – their bets on which recent release would make it in the outside world and who'd end up back inside before the first six months was up. Patterson's odds were evenly split between being killed in the commission of a crime and being rearrested. Only one newbie had put his money on Patterson keeping his nose clean, and he'd only risked a buck. If he won, he'd be the richest winner in the history of the prison pool, but he wasn't making plans for his winnings just yet.
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Date: 2013-03-15 02:17 pm (UTC)Oh boy, the excrement will soon hit the air mover!
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Date: 2013-03-15 04:46 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-03-15 06:21 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-03-18 02:02 pm (UTC)