A/N: This is a short story (for me anyway) dealing with a topic which has, for the last few years, been one I've tried and failed to write: Tim being crazy. I've had Tim suffer mental breakdowns before, but I've been wanting to write a Crazy!Tim story for a while. I even have about five snippets of stories on my hard drive where I've tried and failed to get one going. This is the story that finally saw completion. It's not very deep. It's just...how things could go if Tim suddenly went crazy. It's actually kind of on the order of an episode (although we'd never see this on the show...unfortunately). I've taken some liberties but it's because of a lack of information that I could track down.

Disclaimer: I do not now, nor have I ever, nor will I ever own NCIS and I am not making money from this story.

The Fine Line
by Enthusiastic Fish

There's a fine line between genius and insanity. I have erased this line.
~Oscar Levant

Chapter 1

"Come on, McGee! We need to get in here!" Tony said.

Tim muttered under his breath, "You want to do this, Tony? Fine. Do it."

"Enough talk! We only have two hours to find where Gibbs and Ziva are being held," Vance said. "Need I remind you that their oxygen runs out after that?"

"No, sir," Tim said.

"Then, stop bickering and find them!"

Tim suppressed a retort. He was stressed. This stupid website was the only link they had to where Gibbs and Ziva were. ...and he was the only one who could break into it and find its source. ...and he didn't need the backseat hackers to tell him how to do his job. That included Vance.

All those thoughts ran through his head, but he didn't say anything. He just focused his anger on the computer, focused on getting through to them, on finding where they were. He would do it. He would do it! He could...and he would.

One hour later, he was through.

"There they are!" he shouted. He got the address and sent it to his phone. Then, he and Tony and Vance ran out of the building.

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

Quietly, they approached the house.

"You in position?" Vance whispered.

"I'm ready at the back," Tim said.

"Ready on the side."

"On my count. One. Two. Three!"

Abruptly the quiet house erupted into chaos. Shouts of "NCIS!" and "Freeze!" were nearly drowned out under the shouts of their targets. In seconds, the only noise in the house was coming from the kitchen.

The man in the kitchen must have had some sort of clairvoyance because he was ready right when Tim came in, ramming Tim in the shoulder and taking him to the floor. Tim wrestled with the man and finally got him under control, putting the cuffs on him while he could hear Tony and Vance breaking open the box where the drug dealers had stashed Gibbs and Ziva. He was breathing heavily as he read the man his rights.

"Drew Arnold...you're under arrest for possession and distribution and for kidnapping and attempted murder. You have the right to an attorney. If you can't afford an attorney..." He hitched his shoulder painfully. The guy had hit him really hard.

"You okay in there, McGee?" Tony's voice came.

"Yeah, fine. Gibbs? Ziva?"

Tim heard movement behind him and turned around. Ziva, looking wan and tired, was leaning against the wall. "We will be fine, McGee."

"Good." He looked at the man on the floor. "Lucky for you." He pulled him to his feet, accidentally kicking what looked like a futuristic syringe in the process. He paid it little mind, assuming that it had been knocked to the floor in the struggle and dragged Arnold to the front to join the other two men Tony and Vance had arrested. Tony was covering them while Vance helped Gibbs out of the room. Ziva sank down onto a couch, clearly exhausted.

Vance took control, letting Gibbs sit next to Ziva and calling for backup and for an ambulance. Tim couldn't get his shoulder to stop hurting and massaged it.

"What's up, McGee?" Tony asked.

"Arnold," Tim said. "He hit me. I'm okay. Just bruised. Knocked the wind out of me."

"That's because you're too scrawny, McSkinny. You don't have any padding anymore."

Tim rolled his eyes. "Thanks for the compliment, Tony."

By the time the ambulance got there, Tim was ready to go. He was starting to feel antsy and he just wanted to get back to NCIS and get everything back to normal. He'd started seeing things, as if there were people hovering just out of his line of sight. No one noticed because of the focus on Ziva and Gibbs. Vance was helping them out to the ambulance (or rather forcing Gibbs to go with the EMTs).

It had been a long two days. Tim didn't think he'd slept the entire time. No one had, but for the last six hours, he'd been trying to hack that internet signal and now he was ready to relax...except that he couldn't relax. Instead, he could feel his heart racing and he was sure there was something else going on. He was sure of it. They'd missed something. Arnold had...

Then, Tim looked over at Arnold and found him grinning at him as if he knew some big joke.

"What are you smiling at?" Tim demanded, suddenly furious. "Huh? What are you smiling at, dirtbag? You think this is funny?" He stormed across the room and screamed while shoving his gun in Arnold's face. "Do you think this is funny?"

"Whoa! McGee! Back off!" Tony said, grabbing Tim and pulling him back.

"Let go! He thinks it funny!" Tim said, pulling to get away. "He thinks this is all hilarious!"

"Stand down, Agent McGee!" Vance ordered, coming back into the house. "I said stand down!"

Tim threw off Tony's restraining hands. Vance and Tony...both trying to keep him away. They must be a part of it. He laughed.

"Fine. Fine, I will." For now.

"You take the car back to NCIS," Vance said. "We'll get these guys back ourselves. Then, you can take the rest of the day off. You need to wind down."

Tim just laughed again and stalked out of the house.

As he crossed the lawn, he was suddenly struck momentarily by a dizzy spell. Everything swirled around him, the whole world distorting in his view and he felt as though his skin was crawling...no, it wasn't his skin that was crawling. It was...

Then, the sensation faded and Tim looked around, making sure no one had seen him...especially not Tony and Vance. Couldn't trust them. They were in on it. He yanked open the car door and revved the engine before pulling away.

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

Getting the three men put in holding cells, the evidence collected and checking on Ziva and Gibbs took time. By the evening, Tony was finally able to wonder if Tim had really gone home. A quick check of the parking lot and the garage said told him that Tim must still be around. ...but where was he? And if he was still at NCIS, what was he doing?

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

Tim sat on the steps in the emergency stairwell, rocking back and forth, simmering with rage.

"It's all their fault," he said. "You're right. It's them. They did this. It's because of them. And I have to stop them. Right...you're right. I have to... It's the only way. Tony's easy. He's just...just a low man on the totem pole. It's Vance. Vance has all the power. He's the one I have to stop. That's right. That's right. He's the one...and..." Tim stopped and began to shake, his respiration increasing dramatically as the stairwell began to distort, the walls dripping and no longer the boring matte gray, but conduits to horror. They slowly faded after a few minutes but didn't go away completely.

The voices returned.

"Yes... That's right. I agree." Tim stood up. "I'll do it. Now. I'll stop him now. If I stop now...if I do, then...yes...then, it will stop. Put them back where they belong. Yes. That's right. Okay. Okay. I'm...going." He drew his gun and then paused. "No. Not yet. People will stop you if you pull the gun now. You have to to to wait. Yes. Wait. Okay."

He stood, unaware of having returned to the stairs beforehand. He braced himself on the wall as his head started to spin in tandem with the spinning walls. The spell passed and he climbed back to the bullpen. Tony was there.

Get him later. He doesn't need to be taken out now. Later. Get the head first.

It was dark outside. When had that happened? Another ploy. Another trick. That's what it was.

"McGee! What are you still doing here?"

"I have to see Vance," Tim said.

"He's in his office. What's up with you? You're acting really weird."

Tim didn't bother to answer. He just laughed and shook his head. Weird. As if he didn't know. He threw back his head and laughed loudly and then walked to the stairs.

Tony walked up behind him and grabbed his arm.

"Yo, McGee...you're really not looking so hot."

Tim began shaking again and Tony wasn't going to stop him. Oh, no. He wasn't.

"You're not...I won't let you."

"Won't let me what?" Tony asked. "McGee...what's going on?"

Tim turned around and punched Tony as hard as he could, a solid whack across the face. Tony staggered backward...and they were up a couple of stairs and so there was nothing for him to stagger backward onto. He tumbled to the floor of the bullpen and lay still. Tim smiled and then laughed again.

"Easier than I thought. So strong. Yes, that's really easy. Got him. One shot. Down. Right. Now, Vance." Tim ran up the stairs.

Pamela was at her desk, late...but it looked like she was leaving. Good.

"Agent McGee...what are you–?"

Tim pulled out his gun and pointed it at her.

"Take a long lunch. Go. Now."

Pamela raised her hands in defense. "Agent McGee...I..."

"I have have have a...I have business with Vance. Get out of here...or should I help you?"

Eyes wide, she backed slowly away from him and then ran away. Tim laughed.

"Scared little rabbit."

Again, the dizziness overwhelmed him for a moment and the monsters came oozing out of the walls as they dripped down in front of his eyes. He backed away from them until he ran into the door to Vance's office. Then, he remembered what he was doing and pulled open the door.

"Yes, I understand," Vance said on the phone, facing the window.

"You won't ignore me. Not anymore," he said and fired his gun right into the phone.

Vance spun around in shock and stared at Tim as he would an alien.

Tim closed and locked the door.

"We have...have...Yes...And I'm going to stop you," Tim said, smiling. "You're going to stop. Now."

Tim aimed his gun right at Vance's head.

"Understand?"