A/N: Oneshot originally written March 2010. I can't remember what the purpose was...ah, just checked. It was a gift for a member of the NFA. Just a little bit of a plot, some worried!Tim and some big brother!Tim. Stuff like that.

Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS and I am not making money off the stories I write. More's the pity. I could use the money.

The Unseen Garment of Silence
by Enthusiastic Fish

Tim gave a long-suffering sigh. Tony laughed.

"Everyone loses their car some time, McGee."

"I didn't lose my car, Tony. I was rear-ended! It won't be repaired until next week."

"As I recall, you were quite a fan of the bus system," Ziva said, grinning.

"I had to be. I couldn't afford anything else. I've gotten used to the car," Tim grumbled.

Thwack!

Thwack!

Thwack!

"Are you finished with the scene?"

"No, Boss."

"No, Gibbs."

"No, Boss."

"Then, stop chatting."

Tony cleared his throat and lifted the camera while Tim began doing sketches and Ziva continued to bag and tag.

"McGee, get started... on the car," Gibbs said, almost smiling.

"Thanks, Boss," Tim said with a grimace. They hadn't let him forget it ever since his minor accident. No physical injury, but he had mourned the damage to his car...and made the mistake of mentioning it.

They heard a faint rumble in the distance after about an hour of work but didn't take much note of it.

...not until Tim's phone rang. He answered it while sealing a bag with a sample of the fibers from the floor mat.

"McGee."

"Tim! You've got to come!"

The bag dropped to the ground.

"Who is this?"

"It's Noel. Tim, Sarah is..."

"What's going on?"

Tim didn't notice Tony, Ziva and Gibbs coming over beside him. His whole attention was now on the panicked voice of Sarah's roommate.

"Tim, the dorm is on fire! Sarah's still inside!"

Tim felt suddenly ill and he stood up, looking around as if he could somehow find his sister. "Where? Where is she?"

"I don't know! There was this loud boom. We were studying in the common room when the alarm went off! There was all this smoke in the halls and...and when I got out...Sarah wasn't there! I've looked all over for her. She's not out here!"

It was surreal. It couldn't be happening. Tim couldn't even see...until he felt a hand on his arm and blinked, staring into Gibbs' concerned eyes.

"Okay. Okay, Noel. I'm coming. I promise. I'm coming."

"Hurry, Tim! I don't know what to do!"

"Just..." Tim strove to remain calm. The comforting presence of his coworkers helped immensely. "Just find one of the emergency workers and...and tell them what you told me. I'll come as soon as I can get there. I promise."

Tim hung up.

"What's wrong, McGee?" Gibbs asked, his voice calm.

Tim swallowed and took a deep breath. "It's Sarah. That was her...roommate. There was a fire or something in the dorm. Sarah is...still inside. I have to...please, Boss. I have to get there. I have to know if she's okay."

"Tony, Ziva," Gibbs began.

"We'll finish the scene. Go, Probie," Tony said.

"Yes...but let us know."

Tim blinked at them all.

"Really?"

"You don't have a car to drive, McGee," Gibbs said gruffly.

"And you probably should not be driving anyway."

"Thank you," Tim said. He couldn't think of anything else to say. "Thank you."

Gibbs directed him to the car and they set off for the university.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

"She'll be okay, right?" Tim whispered. "Right, Boss?"

"It's possible, McGee."

Tim was holding his phone tightly in his hands. He had tried calling Sarah's phone but it had gone straight to voice mail...and he was trying not to think of what that might mean.

"That sound...it was like thunder. Maybe it was the dorm."

"It's possible."

"I feel so...so helpless, Boss. I want to save her. She's my sister."

"I don't think you can save her, McGee, but you can be there when they get her out."

Tim smiled weakly. "Can you go any faster?"

Gibbs nodded. "I can do that."

The car accelerated.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

They reached the university, but were stopped by traffic, emergency vehicles and news crews.

"It'll be faster to walk," Tim said and took off his seatbelt.

"Whoa! Wait a second, McGee."

Gibbs pulled over as quickly as he could and parked. Tim was out of the car and headed for the dorm. He wasn't really paying attention to anything but finding out if Sarah was all right. That was all that mattered. People were shouting, talking. Sirens wailed. As they neared the burning dormitory, they could hear the flames, the sizzling as the water hit them and evaporated. Tim began looking around, through the chaos, searching for the one person that could slow down his heart, that could remove the lead weight from his chest, that hand squeezing his heart, keeping him from taking a full breath.

There were four fire trucks. Four. Four hoses spraying down a raging inferno.

"Oh, no," Tim whispered. "She can't be in there. She can't be in there."

He felt Gibbs' hand on his arm again, holding him back in case he tried to run inside to find her.

"She might not be, McGee. Just wait."

"I can't wait. I have to find out. I have to know." Tim pulled from Gibbs' grasp...but not to run into the building. Rather it was to prowl around the edges, trying to find the survivors, trying to see anything, anyone who might be able to relieve the growing ache inside his soul.

All of a sudden, the firefighters shouted and began to pull back. There was another minor explosion and the building seemed to fall in on itself.

Tim's motion was arrested. He watched. If Sarah was in there, she was dead. He knew that...and that was why she couldn't be in there.

"Come on, McGee."

The hand on the arm again, not restraining...guiding. The sounds all around him seemed to be growing louder and louder, the chaos pressing in on him until he was sure he'd scream just to relieve the pressure in his mind.

"McGee."

The tone was different. Even through all the mayhem, Tim picked up on the difference in Gibbs' voice. He stopped and looked back at him. Gibbs was looking forward through the crowd.

"Look."

Tim turned. At first, all he could see were the masses of people shifting like waves on the shore. Then, he caught sight. A young woman standing, with a blanket around her shoulders, her clothes blackened, her face smudged with soot. Alive.

"Sarah," he whispered.

The hand disappeared from his arm as Gibbs let him move forward. The sounds, the chaos all faded away. Sarah turned slightly toward him, did a double take and then smiled in total relief at the sight of her brother approaching.

"Tim!" she shouted.

That broke through the hesitancy and in a moment, Tim was hugging his sister tightly in his arms, not paying attention to anything else. In his world, all was silence. He was focused only on the sound of Sarah's heart beating, her breathless tears as she wrapped her arms around him.

"Tim. I'm so glad you're here."

Tim couldn't speak. He couldn't do anything but hug her, so happy that she was alive, that she was all right.

"I got lost in the halls and...and it's so stupid," she said, tears running down her cheeks, onto his jacket. "I forgot how to get out of the building and there was so much smoke. I had to climb out a window."

Tim rested Sarah's head on his shoulder.

"Oh, Sarah," he whispered. "I'm so glad you're all right."

"Thanks for coming."

"Always."

Tim looked up once and met Gibbs' gaze. Gibbs smiled and nodded, making it clear that he could wait.

Eventually, reality would catch up again and the sounds and craziness would encroach on the bastion of calm, but for now, Tim heard and saw only that his sister was safe, that she was alive.

That was all that mattered.

There I look into the eyes of shadow, and listen to the rustle of invisible wings, and feel the soft touch of the unseen garment of silence, and withstand the terrors of black darkness.
from "O Night" by Khalil Gibran

FINIS!