Tim hid in the bathroom,he wedged himself into the small space under the basin. The door was locked and he couldn't help whimpering now and again. He held the compact cellphone in his hand,clutching it desperately like a lifeline.

The three men were outside on the deck busy grilling steaks ,while they were drinking beer. Alcohol was never a good idea and in his experience as soon as the men got drunk they would come looking for him. It was then that all the bad things would start.

He stroked the kitten softly,"Its okay,Jimmy,I won't let them hurt you!"

If he could just stay out of their way,they would forget about him soon and if they drank enough they would pass out and forget about him. Tim shivered,his intelligent mind looking for a way out,but he knew he couldn't defend himself against three men,two of them could be really scary if they got angry.

He remembered that Jimmy Palmer told him that he could phone if he ever needed help and he scrolled through the numbers on his phone. Jimmy was just finished washing his few dishes when his phone rang,he hoped it wasn't Dr. Mallard.

A small frightened voice talked ,before he could get out a greeting. "Jim...my...!"

"Tim is that you?"

Jimmy could hear the sobs on the other end and got really worried. "Timmy are you okay?"

"They...they are ..drinking and I'm afraid!"

Jimmy's own heart started to beat in fear,he knew all too well what could happen when your parents got drunk. He forced himself to calm down,Gibbs would never hurt the boy. At least he hoped so. "Tim , Gibbs would never hurt you! Do you want me to come and help you?"

There was a long pause on the other end,"He is going to be angry,I don't want him to hurt you also!"

"No,no,Tim he won't hurt us,I am going to be there in a few minutes,just stay where you are!"

"I'm so afraid Jimmy!"

Jimmy grabbed his keys,"Its going to be okay,I promise Timmy!"

Jimmy took a deep breath and then phoned Gibbs,his heart was beating so fast that he was sure it would be bruised against his ribs. He couldn't help feeling like a scared ten year old again and he could almost smell the beer laced breath of his father.

Gibbs was just going to look for Tim when his phone rang. He groaned,hoping that they weren't called out to a crime scene. His voice sounded more gruff than he intended when he answered.

"Gibbs..!"

Jimmy froze on the other end,Gibbs didn't sound very friendly. He hesitated before he answered,"Agent...Gibbs...hmm...ummmm!"

"Palmer is something wrong?",Gibbs answered worried.

"Yes...yes...Sir! Um...um...!"

"Jimmy take a deep breath and tell me slowly what is wrong." Tony and Jack was standing near Gibbs,both were worried about Jimmy.

"It isn't me,its Tim!"

"Jimmy ,Tim is fine he is in the house!"

"No,no Gibbs he is hiding in the bathroom,he is scared!"

Gibbs was already rushing to the bathroom,when he heard Jimmy's frantic voice on the line."Gibbs,Gibbs leave him alone. You were drinking and he got scared,it reminded him of his father and his friends. I'm going to be there soon,please let me talk to him first!"

Gibbs stopped in his tracks and held out his arm to stop the other men."Okay Jimmy,but please hurry!"

The three men sat ashamed on the couch in the living room. Gibbs explained what happened and they felt guilty. Tony could relate to how Tim felt,his father was always worse when he was drunk and it was then that he really did the bad things to his son.

Jimmy rushed to the door and only hesitated briefly before he knocked softly. Gibbs felt even worse when he saw the fear in Palmer's eyes,knowing that this experience brought some bad memories back to the younger man. He had to clamp down the anger when he saw how carefully,Palmer slipped past him into the hallway. This was really a big mess and he hoped Tim could trust them once again,the three men only had one beer each.

Gibbs returned to the living room,"I'm sorry Tony,I didn't think this would happen."

"It isn't your fault,Boss! I can understand why Tim got afraid,my dad was worse when he had a few drinks."

Jack put his hand on the younger agents shoulder,"Ow Tony,I'm sorry your father didn't know what a wonderful son he had."

Tony blushed and quickly tried to hide his scars."Its his loss Jack. Gibbs will Tim be okay?"

"I hope so Tony,I really hope so!"

Jimmy knocked softly on the closed bathroom door,"Tim its me!"

After a while he tried again,"Timmy its okay ,you can open the door now."

The door open slightly and Jimmy could see the frightened boy still shivering and sobbing. "Ah Tim,they won't hurt you ,I promise!"

Jimmy led the frightened boy down the stairs and could feel how the small hand shivered in his own,for some reason his own eyes were filled with tears. They walked slowly into the living room and sat down on the comfortable love-seat,side by side. Tim held desperately onto the fabric of Palmer's shirt,needing the comforting contact.

Tony was the first one to break the silence,"I'm sorry if we frightened you Tim,we only had one beer each. I know your dad used to hurt you when he was drunk,my dad did the same thing,but Gibbs would never hurt you even if he had more than one beer. You are really safe here!"

Tim blushed,maybe he was worse than a scared cat,"I'm sorry...!"

Gibbs frowned,"No,no Timmy,it isn't your fault,you did nothing wrong. I'm proud of you, you had enough common sense to phone Jimmy,which is good. You are part of our family now and Jimmy is one of us,you can always come to one of us when you are scared or hurt. Families look out for each other and we might not be a normal family,but we still care about each other."

Tim looked at the adults,his eyes moved from one face to the next and in everyone's eyes he saw the same thing. He was truly safe here and maybe,just maybe they cared about him.

Jack stood up,"Come on everyone,dinner is getting cold. Jimmy you have to join us,I have made another delicious pie this afternoon."

The group gathered around the kitchen table and soon Tony had everyone laughing with his antics. Despite his original fear and apprehension ,Tim enjoyed the meal although he only said a few words.