June 8 2013: Paris, France

"Say what you will Timothy, I maintain it is a monstrosity."

"I don't know Ducky, it sure makes a statement, don't you think?"

Gibbs tried unsuccessfully to smother a grin. It was so good to hear Tim gently teasing Ducky, after months of near silence and only speaking in answer to a direct question, a real spontaneous conversation was like a ray of sunshine on a cloudy day.

It was cloudy too, but Paris still looked pretty good, even with its blend of bitter sweet memories. He'd walked this route with Jenny, more years ago that he cared to remember; and now he was strolling across the Cour Napoleon with Ducky and Tim. Personally he thought the pyramid made a spectacular entrance to the Louvre, but Gibbs knew he was never likely to change Ducky's mind, at heart the retired ME was a traditionalist.

They were here as part of Ducky's tour to research his memoirs, at least that was how it had started, but after Tim's breakdown following his trial, it had become more of an attempt to restore the younger man's vitality, to give him a reason to go on. It seemed to be working too…finally there were signs that the AK nightmares were starting to fade. Gibbs and Ducky both knew they were only in the early stages of the process, but at least there were signs of progress.

"Assassin!"

The woman had appeared from nowhere, and before Gibbs was able to react, she stood barely inches from Tim and spat in his face. Tim staggered back, his eyes wide with shock, as the phlegm trickled down his cheek.

Gibbs grabbed Tim's arm and tried to pull him away. The woman was still screaming at Tim and he seemed to be paralysed by her words. Seemingly from out of nowhere two security guards were running across the courtyard, they pinned the woman's arms behind her back and started to drag her away. Tim reacted at last.

"No! Don't hurt her…she's just telling the truth…I've killed people…too many…"

Ducky reached into his pocket for a handkerchief and held it out for Tim, but his focus was solely on the woman, his gaze never leaving her hate-filled face. So Ducky wiped Tim's cheek, and joined Gibbs in trying to get Tim away. Gibbs was struggling to understand how he could have missed her; he was supposed to be watching Tim at all times. He'd let his concentration slip, lulled by the rare sense of calm around Tim; if that woman had been carrying a knife, or a gun…Was he getting slow? Losing his edge? Or was it merely that his delight in seeing Tim so relaxed had allowed him to lower his guard.

They managed to get Tim back to their hotel, and they watched helplessly as he lay on the bed, turned his back to them and whispered. "I killed them, that's never going away...I can never run far enough...they're always there."

Ducky sat on the edge of the bed. "Timothy; we've talked about this."

"I'm tired now Ducky...think I'll sleep if that's okay?"

Gibbs was about to protest, when Ducky silenced him with a glance. "Very well, I'll wake you in good time for dinner, and don't tell me you're not hungry."

Ducky gently covered Tim with the quilt; Gibbs unlocked the door to the adjoining room and they left Tim alone, but Gibbs left the door ajar, he didn't want Tim out of his sight.

"Duck, is this going to put us back to square one?"

"Oh Jethro, I hope not, but I very much fear it is possible."

Gibbs' phone rang, and after a brief conversation he switched it off and sat on the chair by the window. "That was Inspector Danet from Interpol; the woman...her husband, had a stroke, he was on life support."

"Which was terminated under orders from AKCorp...Timothy is right isn't he? Wherever he goes there will be someone who lost a loved one, or who knows someone who suffered a loss...and just when I thought he was on the mend."

The months since Tim's trial had been tough, for all of them. For several weeks after his acquittal Tim had stayed at the US Embassy in The Hague. At first he had been too weak to travel, and then he withdrew almost completely; the only way he could deal with life was to ignore the outside word. Tim would speak to his old team mates, no one else...his world shrunk to the Embassy and the compound.

For a while Ducky was worried that they would never see any signs of recovery. But little by little Tim began the long, slow road back to normality, or whatever could pass as normal for a man who had held the fate of the world in his hands. Tony, Abby, Ziva and Jimmy headed back to the States, back to work, with a promise to return to Europe in the summer if they could.

It had been a hard goodbye; Tim had clung to them and he hadn't been ashamed to let the tears fall. Ducky wasn't prepared to let him withdraw back into his shell, so the very next day they had flown to Edinburgh, and begun the first stage of Tim's rehabilitation into the post AKCorp world.

Their stay in Edinburgh had been quiet, but enjoyable. Ducky was in his element showing his friends around the places that meant so much to him, regaling them with tales of his time at medical school. Both Gibbs and Tim were pleased to see the weariness falling away from their companion. Ducky had almost worked himself into the ground when AK was in power, offering free medical care to those who were struggling to survive under the rule of the global corporation. Jimmy had helped when he could, but he had his studies to complete, and he was only able to snatch a few hours occasionally, so essentially the clinic was a one-man operation. Gibbs had been worried that his old friend had done too much, but since the trial Ducky seemed to have a new purpose in life, and it wasn't writing his memoirs; now he had become one of Tim's guardians, and he was thriving in the role.

They had been standing on the deck of the [i]Lomond Queen[/i] sailing around the loch, enjoying the early summer warmth, revelling in the quiet, the beauty of the outlook - the verdant forest floor scattered with vivid pink and purple rhododendrons, the tumbling waters of Inversnaid Falls, when Ducky had turned to their young companion and asked. "So Timothy, do you think it's time for us to explore a little further afield, I would very much like to see Paris again before it becomes too crowded with summer visitors."

Tim had looked hesitant, as he so often did these days. "I…I'm not sure…" He saw the briefest look of disappointment on Ducky's face, and immediately made up his mind. "Why not? If you dose me up with enough meds, I could even make it to the top of the Eiffel Tower, now that would be something to tell Tony!"

Gibbs and Ducky exchanged a quick smile. It was so good to have Tim showing even the slightest enthusiasm for anything. Despite their best efforts he was still too thin, and his skin was so pale it was almost translucent, but a hint of the old McGee came through every once in a while, in a raised eyebrow, or a rare smile...and Gibbs would glance at Ducky, knowing he was thinking the same thing. 'He's getting better.'

There were still bad days, when the enormity of what he'd done left Tim listless and unresponsive, then there were the nights...it was always worse at night, when he could see the faces of the men and women, some children too who had died because he put his name to that terrible edict. Tim would wake screaming, his body bathed in sweat, his eyes wide and full of pain; they would talk to him, quietly reminding him of all the good he had done, the lives he had saved. But Gibbs and Ducky both knew that for Tim, the one would never balance the other...he would live the rest of his life carrying that burden, all his friends could do was help him carry the load.

That morning in Paris had been one of the good days, until Tim was on the receiving end of a woman's raw grief…now, as they sat together, waiting until they could go in and 'wake' Tim, knowing full well he wouldn't be sleeping, Gibbs and Ducky knew that for the next few days and weeks Tim would need them more than ever.

June 9 2013: Mombasa, Kenya

He was making his way carefully through the workshops, surveying the busy scene around him. The wood carving co-operative made an excellent cover for their operation; no one suspected that the internet connection they needed for overseas orders was being put to any other use…

"That is a fine piece Abdallah, you should get an excellent price."

The old man paused briefly in his work. "I hope so Mr Zubari, trade has been slow…"

Zubari nodded sympathetically. "Very true, but tourism is picking up again; and who could resist a lion such as you have made? I can almost hear him roaring."

A young man came rushing breathlessly into the carver's workshop. "Mr Zubari! There is an urgent call for you."

"Take care Mr Oboya, you will damage the merchandise. I will bid you farewell gentlemen, keep up the good work."

Juma Zubari picked up his pace as he got closer to his office; he knew who would be calling. His calm exterior crumbled as he picked up the phone with a trembling hand, he could barely contain his anger. "What happened? You told me it would be done yesterday!"

"We were close this time, if some crazy woman hadn't chosen that exact moment to confront him…"

"Close is not good enough Kessler, it's high time McGee paid for what he did to us."

"Patience; Gibbs won't be able to watch over him forever. All we need is one lapse of concentration and we will have our revenge…we have waited this long, what is another month or two?"