A new story...shouldn't be as big as Jokes, and hopefully won't take me as long to complete...but then again, if I get distracted, you never know :)

If you looked at my bio and the list of WIP's there, I believe this is #7, and is not for Abby lovers...

Rated T: a few swears, mention of slash (but not slash) No pairing.

Not beta'd; Still don't own...if I did things would've been much different.

Science doesn't lie (S1)

Abby ran out of the elevator and through the squad room. The eyes of almost every person present tracking her movement as their minds wondered what had gotten the hyper Goth more worked up than usual. Looking at the scientist, it was hard to determine if she was upset, happy, angry, excited, or mad. Many speculated that it was a combination of all of those emotions and more; most were also hoping that they were not the cause of her emotional state.

Entering the area where her favorite team worked, she caught sight of her best friend and prey.

"Timmy!" she yelled, even though she was at most ten feet from him, a distance that rapidly diminished as she continued to run. Once at arms length, she wrapped her arms around him and gave him a hug, while at the same time hitting his arm.

"Ow!" he cried as he tried to escape her clutches, while their coworker, Tony, watched and laughed.

"Where's Gibbs? Why didn't you tell me? Where did you go?" Abby continued to talk, asking question after question, none of which Tim heard or understood. "Well?" she demanded as she stepped back from him, hands on her hips. "Why aren't you answering me?"

"Maybe because you haven't stopped talking long enough for me to," he commented dryly. "Gibbs and Ziva are on their way back, they should be here soon. As for your other questions," he paused and shrugged his shoulders, "I'm not really sure what you were asking. It's like you started the conversation without me. I have no idea what you are talking about."

Abby huffed, "I'm talking about you and Gibbs."

Tony perked up at her words, wondering what hot piece of gossip he was about to learn. Did Tim get in trouble with Gibbs again?

Tim frowned, "What about me and Gibbs?"

"I know that he's involved," she gloated.

"Involved with what?" Tony asked, extremely curious about what Probie and Gibbs might have been up to lately.

"That he is who you meant when you said you had help, that you weren't alone."

Those words informed Tim what she was talking about. "Abby," Tim growled a warning, not wanting to discuss in the bullpen, "Not now and definitely not here."

His words caused many sets of ears to tune in closer. Tony was practically on the edge of his seat in anticipation. Because of Tim's reaction, he knew that not only did Abby discover something, but that it must be really juicy for Tim to respond in that way.

Abby ignored Tim's words and paced around the bullpen. "I can't believe you never told me! I would've kept it a secret."

Tony stood up and approached the duo, "You're doing a good job of that right now," he stated sarcastically, looking around the room where every eye and ear was tuned in their direction.

"It doesn't matter now," she retorted, "You can't keep a child a secret,"

"Child?" Tony repeated in surprise. Many things had popped into his mind about Abby's discovery, but a child definitely wasn't one of them. He didn't think he could be more shocked.

"Abby!" Tim hissed angrily.

"Let alone two," Abby concluded, ignoring both interruptions.

Two children? Tony thought. Yeah, definitely more surprised. But how did that involve Gibbs and Probie?

Tim glared at her, "I told you about them," though right now, he sincerely wished he hadn't.

"Yes, but you never mentioned the other parent," she began.

"Because who the mother is didn't concern you," Tim reminded her. "You also promised that you wouldn't say anything about them, remember? I was just telling family and close friends."

"Whoa, Probie, you're a dad?" Tony asked in shock.

Tim looked away from Abby, finally realizing that everyone had heard their conversation. His gaze drifting across the squad room, resting on the elevator right as the doors opened and Gibbs and Ziva appeared.

"Yes, Tony, and everyone else," he said, as the eavesdroppers turned away, not meeting his gaze, "I am the father of three month old twins that I've recently taken custody of."

"And…" Abby prodded.

Tim looked at her with a frown not sure what she meant. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Gibbs stepping back out of view of the room's occupants and pulling Ziva with him.

"And who knows about your children," Abby prompted.

"The entire building now, thanks to you," Tim snapped.

Abby dismissed that with a wave of her hand, "I mean before today."

"What does that…" Tim began before his voice trailed off. No doubt Abby wouldn't let this go until he answered her questions. "Not many people," he admitted as he thought through who he informed and when. "Here at work, HR when I added the kids to my insurance as my beneficiaries. The directo-"

"Gibbs."

Abby speaking the name had everyone, especially Tony, turning around to see if the older man had appeared.

"Wh-" Tony began when he didn't see his boss.

"You told Gibbs," Abby stated, not letting Tim finish his list. "In fact, he was one of the first to know. He had to have been if he made you that custom chair. I can't believe I didn't put it together earlier."

Tim frowned at the tone Abby used. Was she upset because she wasn't the first one of their team to know after all? "I informed my direct supervisor, since he needed to be aware of the situation, especially since it could interfere with my work schedule. The Director was told for the same reasons," Tim admitted. "Other than that, it was a new situation that I was trying to adjust to before I informed everyone else. Only family and a few close friends," he stated, giving Abby another glare, "were informed, in confidence, after I brought the twins home. My family, of course, had the right to know. My close friends, I informed as a courtesy, so they would understand why I might not be available as I was previously and I did not want them to feel neglected or get upset."

"Good job, Abby," Tony snorted before turning to McGee, Tim in disbelief, "Why didn't you tell me?"

Tim sighed, he really didn't want to deal with this right now, yet he also didn't want to lie or create excuses "Honestly, Tony? Because I was not in the mood for your jokes or comments regarding the situation. Things were difficult enough with the challenging pregnancy and the twins being born prematurely and in the hospital for so long, I didn't have the energy to put up with you or your shenanigans."

Tony frowned, "The kids are okay, right?"

"Yeah," Tim said, smiling for the first time since Abby started talking. "They're doing great." He paused and pulled out his phone, his smile growing deeper as he looked at the screen, "Look, here they are."

"Cute," Tony said after he walked over to view Tim's offering. He then stepped back and looked between Tim and his phone. "Are you sure they're yours?"

Abby snorted, but didn't say anything.

Tim, however, shut his phone off and put it away, "And that is why I didn't want you to know," he muttered, tired of this conversation. "Now can get back to work?"

"Wait!" Abby cried as McGee stepped back behind his desk, "You didn't answer my questions."

"I answered enough," Tim snapped.

"My earlier questions,"

"Even if you ignore the fact that I didn't understand them, that you were so worked up that I couldn't understand your words, let alone what you wanted to know, the fact remains that this is none of this is your business, or anyone else's," he pointedly added, looking around the floor.

"Abs? Got something for me?" Gibbs asked, as he stepped out of the shadows, deciding to rescue his agent. From the moment he and Ziva stepped off the elevator, it was obvious something was going on. He stayed out of everyone's site to observe, holding Ziva back to keep her from getting involved as well.

"Gibbs!" Abby cried, his words taking her attention off of the younger agent. "Gibbs, Gibbs, Gibbs!" She continued as she ran over to him and gave him a hug. "Congratulations! Why didn't you tell me? I'm so happy!"

"Tell you what?"

"About Timmy and the babies."

"Need to know," Gibbs replied succinctly.

"Hey," Tony injected, shooting a glare at Tim before leveling his gaze at Abby, "I don't know why you're so upset, McGee did tell you," he pointed out, looking again at his partner.

"About the babies," Abby conceded, turning to Tony. "But he just told me last weekend. They're three months old! He should have told me sooner. Either one of them could've mentioned it."

"Either one?" Ziva questioned, feeling confused. She thought she understood part of what was going on, still shocked at the revelation of a coworker's recent life-changing event. "And why so upset? Timothy is a father, that is a good thing, yes?"

"Either parent," Abby clarified, shooting dark looks at Tim and Gibbs. "And yes, it's a good thing, or should be if we were there to celebrate it with them. We could've had a baby shower or helped with meals when they spent so much time at the hospital. Instead they kept it a secret. Not mentioning anything at all about the babies until they were three months old.

"McGee said nothing about the other parent when he told me about the kids. That's why I'm so mad," Abby explained. "That both of them kept this from me, from us."

"Hey!" Tim yelled, frustrated and upset that Abby not only broke her promise not to talk about with others, but yelled at him for not sharing information that was personal and private, information that she had no right to know. "It's not anybody's business who the other parent is. It is a private matter that does not concern you or anyone else."

"It should," Abby snapped, "Since the other parent also works for NCIS and is in this room."

Jaws dropped, even those who had been pretending that they weren't listening could no longer pretend disinterest. Most eyes went to Ziva. She and Abby were the females closest to Tim and since Abby mentioned that she just learned about the kids, obviously she was not the other parent.

Tim's eyes narrowed, "What are you talking about?"

Tony laughed, "I think we would've noticed if someone was pregnant and had twins three months ago."

"Not if they weren't pregnant," Abby smirked.

"Huh? Then how-" Tony asked, confounded.

"Surrogacy. The DNA from both parents were combined and transplanted into a host body."

"That is one way for a woman to have a family, while still keeping her career," Ziva acknowledged.

Tony however snorted, "That is such a geek way to have a baby, letting it happen in the lab and not the bedroom," he laughed, smirking at McGee, "Not surprised you had to resort to that method."

"Shut up, Tony," Tim barked. "You too, Abby. I don't know what you think you know-"

"It's also a way for two men to have a biological family," Abby informed everyone.

"HA! Knew you were gay," Tony shouted. Of course, with the silence that took over the bullpen, there had been no need to shout.

"Abby," Tim growled, unable to decide how he was feeling.

"I know Gibbs is the other parent," she blurted out, shocking everyone once more. "I knew something was up with Gibbs these last few months. It's like he got a new lease on life. He started acting differently, less grumpy, almost happy, like he received really good news," she shared, causing the team to reflect on that. "And before he went on vacation, which, by the way, coincided with yours and the week you brought the twins home," her words had Tony and Ziva frowning as they realized that she was correct.

They had thought it strange that two members of the team were on vacation at the same time, but with Tim being out for a couple of weeks, realized it was very likely something like that could occur. In fact, Tony was scheduled for vacation next week and they hadn't known until last week when Tim would be returning.

"And it totally explains why he made the rocking chair for you. In all the years we've known him, he has only made boats. It would take him being very close and caring for someone a lot to make them something. He's also the one that helped you move. He is who you meant when you said that you weren't alone, that you had support. It also explains why there is no sign of the mother being around the kids, and that Gibbs has been by your place almost every day after work the last couple of weeks."

After her initial words, Tim fell silent, unable to believe what he was hearing, let alone deny it.

"But what I don't understand is why didn't you tell me, us? I think it's awesome that you guys are together, though I'm still mad you didn't tell me," Abby pouted. "How long have you two been a couple? How did you hide it from us for so long and why? What made you decide to have kids? Are you guys getting married? Ho-"

"Abby, stop," Gibbs commanded, after he overcame his initial shock. "Just stop. I don't know what made you think that, much less what made you think that it was okay to blurt it out in the middle of the squad room and demand answers like you had the right to know." When Abby opened her mouth to reply, he halted her words again. "Nor do I want to know,"

"I do," Tony muttered, he had been looking between Gibbs and Tim since Abby's announcement. The shock on their face was evident, but the cause of it was unclear. Were they surprised at Abby's hypothesis or surprised that she discovered the truth? After all, it was clear that Gibbs did know about the babies, plus there was the way he took Abby's attention off of Tim when it was evident that Probie was getting upset.

"You need to get back to your lab and we need to get back to work," he said, glaring at everyone on their floor, not just his team, "We all need to forget about this and get back to work."

"Wait!" Tim interrupted, he said, not looking at his boss, "How did she know that you made the rocking chair for me? Or that you, Fornell, and Emily had helped me move?"

"Fornell knew?" Tony angrily hissed.

"That you have visited, that you took your vacation to help me? There's a reason why she said what she did, and I want to know what led her to her conclusions."

Gibbs frowned at Tim's words. Instead of creating doubt about Abby's theory, they seemed to support it.

"Science," Abby said as if that explained everything.

"Science fiction, more likely," Tony muttered. After further thinking about it, there was no way Boss and McGee were together. The two had nothing in common, after all, they barely talked when in the same room and working on a case, how could they possibly maintain a relationship, right? No, despite what Tim just let slipped, there was some other reason why the two of them were spending so much time together, some other reason why Gibbs was so involved with the kids and helping McGee. And definitely another reason why Gibbs had changed in the last few months.

"Science doesn't lie," she said with a glare at Tony before transferring that look to McGee and Gibbs.

"Abs," Gibbs began, tired of this conversation.

With a sigh she explained, "I ran the kids DNA samples ag-"

"You did what!?" Tim interrupted with a roar, "How the hell did you get my kids DNA?" he angrily hissed after he walked around his desk and stood in front of her, his eyes never leaving hers.

"-ainst the system," Abby finished before reacting to Tim's anger by taking a step back.

She wasn't the only one who took a step back when Tim spoke. Between the volume of his words, his tone, and the fact that he swore at work, everyone knew that Abby had gone too far and that Agent McGee was pissed.

Gibbs's sharp whistle had everyone look towards him. "Conference room, now," he ordered as he began to walk away, Abby quickly following. Tony and Ziva not too far behind. Tim however, remained in place as he wondered if it would be best to just quit now.

"DiNozzo, David, get to work," Gibbs called without looking back.

7-11-19

Well, there's chapter 1 of a new story. I hope you guys like it, let me know what you think and if you want more...

And if you have suggestions for the kids' names, let me know...I have so many in mind I am having a difficult time narrowing it down.

If by chance, you do not like Slash, I ask, no, implore you to give it a chance, it might not be what you think (and now that you aren't thinking slash, maybe it is what you think-LOL)