"Timmy! I missed you!"

Tim stumbled back as Abby enveloped him in one of her famous hugs. Once he regained his balance, he wrapped his arms around her, returning it at full force. "Thank you, Abby. Nice to know I was missed."

"You were gone, Probie?"

"Come on, Tony. You can admit that you missed me."

Tony nodded. "Yeah, the day isn't half as fun if I don't have you to torture." Tim laughed, knowing that Tony meant this in the best of all possible ways.

His time spent as Thom E. Gemcity had come to a close, at least for the time being. While he was a bit sad that he had to abandon his literary alter ego and return to being plain old "Timothy McGee," he was relieved to be back in a setting that he knew and loved. Same old Ziva, needlessly cleaning her gun as she watched Tim in amusement; same old Tony, smiling impishly as he tried to come up with new, devious ways to annoy Tim; same old Abby, high on caffeine and bouncing up and down while bombarding Tim with questions.

"So what did you see? What did you do? Did you meet anyone famous?"

"Abby," he said, smiling at her childlike curiosity, "I saw a lot of things, I did a lot of things, and I met a lot of people…though no one famous." He pulled out his digital camera and offered it to her. Abby snatched it and began looking through the gallery of pictures. Tony and Ziva crowded around her intrigued to see what their little Timothy McGee had been up to while he was gone.

Tim took the moment to settle in at his desk and start his computer while the trio was distracted by pictures. He had taken a red eye back and had only stopped at his apartment long enough to drop off his suitcase before coming in, so Tim decided to quickly check his e-mail before having to give Abby the detailed account of his trip. 20 new messages. He opened the box and scanned down the line of e-mails. Spam. Spam. Memo from the Director. Spam. Forwarded list of pay dates. E-mail from mom. Spam. Memo. And so on.

Near the bottom of the line of unread e-mails was one with the subject line "To Thom/Tim from Nora/Dorothy." Tim grinned as he clicked it open.

Hey, Thom…or should I call you Tim? I guess I should go with Tim since right now I'm Dorothy. Sorry it's taken me so long to e-mail you. I had callbacks for a production of Anything Goes :crosses fingers: so I've been really busy, what with that and the club and waitressing…:sigh: The life of an actress really isn't so glamorous.

I just wanted to make sure the rest of your trip is a good one. While Chicago is more or less the coolest city on the earth, I'm sure you'll have a great book signing tour and see lots of great sights. Maybe you'll meet another jazz club singer and Thom will once again emerge. Or maybe you won't…but Thom will still emerge. Or maybe you'll just be Timothy McGee for the rest of your trip. Personally, I hope it's the latter of the three. Really, I'm glad that we ran into each other (even if I looked like I wanted to disappear when we did). Not only am I glad to find that you're a great guy (not that Thom wasn't a great guy, mind you) but it was nice to not have to pretend, you know? It's fun and it gives me confidence to become Nora, but at the end of the day I can't deny the Dorothy that I am, just as you can't deny the Timothy that you are. I guess our aliases are good outlets for our other sides now and then and to avoid having life become so humdrum and predictable. Maybe that's why I became and actress. Maybe it's why you became a writer. :shrugs:

That about covers it, I guess. If you're planning to come back to Chicago let me know. I'll show you the rest of the city (yes, there is more to Chicago than just the museums and The Green Mill). Maybe, though, I should come to D.C. sometime and let you show me around (if I wouldn't be in the way, of course).

I should go now and let you get back to whatever you were doing when this darn e-mail popped up. I hope to hear from you!

Yours truly,

Nora/Dorothy (Norothy?)

P.S. I was just thinking what it would be like if Tim and Nora met or if Dorothy and Thom met. Or if Nora, Dorothy, Tim, and Thom went on some kind of crazy double date! Not that I'm asking you to ask me out on a date or anything! It was just a thought.

P.P.S. Maybe in your next novel you can have the McGregor character meet a jazz singer based on someone you know… ;) Kidding…sort of.

"Who is Nora Dorothy?" Tony asked as he peered over Tim's shoulder.

Tim swatted at the man like one would swat at a fly. "DiNozzo, I don't think I invited you to read my private e-mails." He quickly closed the e-mail to keep Tony from reading any further.

"Is this Nora Dorothy?" Ziva asked as she turned the camera screen toward the two men. On the screen was a digital picture of Tim and Dorothy standing before the huge dinosaur that stood in the Field Museum.

"Yes," he told her as he gently took the camera back, "and she is just someone I met when I was in Chicago."

"Someone you met or someone you met?" Abby asked with a mischievous smile.

"Someone I met, Abby," he told her honestly. "I can promise you, Dorothy and I did nothing together except see the museums. Now Thom E. Gemcity and Nora Delphi, on the other hand…Tim's mind trailed off and he grinned as he recalled the night, fraught with flirtations and sexual tension. But that would just be Thom E. Gemcity's little secret.

"I believe him," Tony said. "I mean, this is McGeek we're talking about. Now if it had been me on the other hand…"

"Believe me, Tony, we are all very familiar with your porny pick-up lines."

"The term is 'corny,' Ziva."

"I like my word better."

Tim half-listened as his colleagues argued. His mind, though, was on his other self. Thom E. Gemcity. The cool, confident novelist who wouldn't bat an eyelash if a busty woman were to fall into his lap. The kind of man who didn't discuss sexual conquests, but would smile in a way that would let everyone know just how good and satisfying it had been. The stone-faced writer who never let on exactly what he was thinking. While it was true that he enjoyed the "Timothy" that he was, he still couldn't forget how wonderful it had felt to have that one change of pace, that one moment of unpredictability. But why did it have to end there? Just because there was no longer a Nora to serve as a catalyst for Thom didn't mean that Thom couldn't still be in the forefront now and then. Perhaps he should go out that night…not Timothy, but Thom. Someplace where he knew no one and could let Thom run wild and free.

Tim grinned a grin that was very unlike him. Sometimes having an alias was a wonderful thing.

AN: And thus our story comes to an end! I must admit that I quite like Nora/Dorothy, so maybe I'll have her make an appearance in a later story. At this point, though, I should focus on a couple of WIPs I still have floating about and leave her be for a while.

Thanks for reading!