Heh, I'm a McGee fan and I found nothing here to be offended by. Both the boys have their good and bad moments, I can accept that. THis was a very well written story, and I could see it as a scene in an episode, always a good thing. Nicely done.

I just read this for the first time and I thought it was sweet. I like Tony and Tim's characters being friends and you write that pretty well. Keep up the good work and write more please!

GREAT READ...Loved the open and honest Tony...I don't get the 'beef' with the 'Timmy Fan' you could have did some real damage, considering Tim can be a real 'tool' at times. 'SMUG ANYONE'

Hunting through older fics of authors I'm reading current fics of now and found this gem.

Loved it. Angsty and wonderful.

How did I miss this? I see it was posted more than 5 months ago! Egad! Anyway, I really loved it. I love the vibe of the boys having a private moment after work. I love this mentorship/friendship. Oh how I wish we saw more of this on the show. More bonding. More brotherly/mentoring moments. They're good for each other. The closest they've come I can remember was the flashback scenes in TOC. Tony has some great advice and some great insights born of living and evolving with the hand life has dealt. Mostly I love seeing them stripped down a bit and more low key. It's sad, the reasons, but there manages to come from the shared meal and circumstances, a hopefulness as well and an acknowledgement that, while we may not be solely the captains of our ship due to circumstances beyond our control, we do have some steering privileges, even if it is just in choosing the attitude with which we sail and the lens we choose to navigate by. And it really is true that best way to change your perspective is to volunteer your time and talents to those grateful to have them. Wisely handled.

Good how to say who has the worse dad,some now think it tim

Good job. After his talk with Tony. Tim realizes he and Tony have thing in common about there fathers. And he now knows what Tony felt like when ever his father showed up. He was lucky to have a good friend in Tony to help him see things from a different point of view.

Awesome story. I wanted to write something about how Tony never teased McGee about his dad, but they all tease Tony every time his father shows up. It bothered me the entire episode, especially with all the neglect/borderline abuse Tony has refered to in previous episodes. You touched on it a bit in this story which made me happy because I wasn't the only one to notice.

What a nice, low key story about two guys who act like brothers, hurting each other sometimes and helping each other out at other times. Oh yeah, and sometimes bonding over food.

I came in late here, but if my understanding of your author notes is correct: if any fandom should be entitled to object to this nice story, surely it should be Charles Dickens fans protesting the use of that "Expectations" title. Have you heard from any? No? Good.

Please keep writing. I esp. liked the way that McGee's perception of Tony and Gibbs' relationship is quite different than Tony's perception of it. Thanks for the story.

Loved this fic. I don't get it. It's not a bashing fic and I don't get why they are being mean to you. Loved that Tony was there for McGee like he always is. Tony may be a jokester and a prankster, but he's a good guy. Tony has been there for McGee when Kate died and when he shot that cop. When has McGee ever been there for Tony? Never has he been there for Tony. He's too busy being egotistical thinking that he's so much better than Tony.
Just ignore those McGee lovers who think their boy could do no wrong. They don't think that being egotistical is wrong, not having a partners back is wrong(Dead Air), not obeying your superior is wrong and not caring about your teammate's feelings(Boxed In). Tony may tease him, but he's a better friend to McGee than McGee is to him.

reread and it's still awesome. much more character developement and growth for Tim then in the episode.
this reminds me of how Tony helped (in his highly surreal way LOL) Tim in "Probie". and how i was hoping there would be a moment or two like this in the epie but we got shafted by the writers and PTBs. *sighs*

"get real"? the nerve of some cowardly reviewers! sign in, a*s. and write your own fic if you can't lump it.

Binkey, have I told you yet that I'm so incredibly thrilled that you reposted this!

Two disclaimers, I'm neither anti nor hopelessly pro McGee, so I dare say I have a different opinion to the naysayers, and I've yet to see the eps with his dad...

That being said, I really enjoyed this. My only complaint, actually, is that you could use a beta or maybe just one last careful read through to catch a few typos, but yeah, besides that, I thought it was... Rather lovely, actually.

I think you have Tony in particular down pat - I picked out a few bits that seemed very Tonyesque, but they were by no means the only bits. I love writing him, it's a lot of fun!

Anyway, my favourite three snippets:

"Ohh, but I do understand, McNavyBrat. Waayy more than you think. Come on, out we go, this way, and we're walking..."

The 'and we're walking' bit, I can just hear Michael Weatherly saying that...

"Tssht, I got it, McGee. I get a discount, anyways."

I can't even tell you why for this one, it just feels right...

"Good to know, Timmy. Now let's figure out what movies I should buy for the youth center. Goes without saying, Lord of the Rings trilogy, right? Now what else..."

This was just plain old DiNozzo cute :-)

As a Tim fan, since I'd heard about all the problems you were having with this story, I wanted to come and read it to see what all the fuss was about.

And I don't see where the issues are. It's not my favorite story, but it's fine, and it doesn't come off as bashing at all. Not all Tim fans are nuts. :) I'm sure, when I write Tim and Tony friendship stories, that there might be the occasional Tony fan who doesn't care for how I write Tony. However, we all have our writing styles. Even if you were bashing (which I don't think you were, if that means anything to you), it's still your right. I wouldn't read it, but you can still write it.

Anyway, it's not a bad story and I hope you keep writing as long as you enjoy it. Fanfiction should be fun.

I'll say this one last time. I write for my own enjoyment. Yes, I DO have a blind spot for Tony, just as McGee lovers have one for him, and Ziva for her, and so on. I don't leave reviews telling the writers of these fics to 'get real', stop writing about Tony, or any of the other rude things that have been left in anonymous reviews. I have never said that Tony did not tease or behave petulantly. I seem to remember every NCIS character behaving this way at times. Gibbs is the most petulant and 'get my way' of them all. Please do not tell me to 'get real'. THIS IS FANFICITON. FICTIONAL WRITING, further based on FICTIONAL characters. Where in any universe it it 'real' ? It's for fun. Enjoyment. Relaxation. I cannot believe how seriously some folks take this past time. Let's chill out and stop wasting time being mean about it. Or better yet, for the ones who have spent so much time slamming this fic, take that time to write your own and see what if feels like to have that kind of review directed at you.