STOP! PLEASE DON'T READ! THERE ARE ONLY TWO CHAPTERS OF THIS STORY READY AND IT WON'T EVEN BE UPDATED UNTIL AT LEAST TWO OF MY OTHER STORIES ARE FINISHED! I AM ONLY POSTING THIS BECAUSE MY COMPUTER IS ON THE FRITZ AND IT IS ALREADY TYPED UP. I WILL BE POSTING ALL THAT I HAVE ON MY COMPUTER SO IT ISN'T LOST.-YES, I KNOW THAT I CAN GET SOMETHING TO BACK UP MY WORK BUT PLEASE REMEMBER THAT I HAVE BEEN OUT OF WORK FOR MONTHS NOW AND WON'T BE RETURING FOR THE FORESEEABLE FUTURE. EVEN THAT SMALL AMOUNT IS BEYOND ME RIGHT NOW.

DISCLAIMER:I DON'T OWN ANYTHING!

"He very well may never forgive you for this." Sarah McGee warned as she paced back and forth in her brother's kitchen. Sarah was a very pretty young woman in her early twenties, with long, straight dark brown hair and eyes. She wore dark wash jeans and a pretty slate blue top that went well with her light olive complexion. She was, while not tall, not really short either.

Tim sighed wearily and ran a hand through his dark honey hair. It had been a long day and promised to be an even longer night. "I know, Sarah, I know." This was a familiar argument that had started when he had come back from his Mexico trip with an unwanted—as far as his sister was concerned, at least—guest in tow.

"He would want to know." She insisted stubbornly. "He deserves to know."

Tim closed his brilliant green eyes. "I know, Sarah." He repeated tiredly. He knew that his sister was just as tired as he was and while she was jealous of the time and care that his guest required, Sarah didn't really resent her, just the position she had put Tim in.

"Then tell him!"She exclaimed, spinning around to face him. "You have to tell him, Tim."

Tim sighed again. He was so tired. So very, very tired. He hadn't got a decent night's rest since going to Mexico months ago. His guests' nightmares were wearing on both of them. Not to mention a few of his own nightmares. Weariness had set in long ago and it was starting to affect his work. All he wanted to do was go to bed and sleep for a week. "I couldn't tell Gibbs even if I wanted to, Sarah. It's to late. It's already gone to far." He laid his head in his hands, his elbows resting on his thighs. Tim tried to force patience he didn't have to deal with his cranky little sister. "There's nothing to do now except to let this play out."

Sarah seemed to deflate a little then. "You should have told him before it got this far! You should have told him the minute you got back from Mexico and both of you were safe!" She yelled at him angrily, fear for her brother and the life he stood to lose all but consuming her.

"You should have called Gibbs from Mexico the very moment you found her!"

Tim bristled at her tone, straightening in his chair. "I couldn't do that! She was scared! She didn't know who to trust or what to believe! Paloma had did to good of job turning her against Gibbs! So I told her I wouldn't tell him!" He ran his hand through his honey colored hair agitatedly. "I promised!" He exploded. "I gave her my word!" He stood up, towering over his sister with his over six foot frame. " He wasn't there! I was! She needed help! I did what I thought Gibbs would do!" His voice got quieter when he heard rustling from the bedroom. "I did what I hoped Gibbs would do if our positions would have been reversed!" He hissed.

Leaf green eyes stared into chocolate colored ones and he realized that Gibbs wouldn't see that. All Gibbs would see was that she had been kept from him and Tim was the one who had did it. Tim slumped back into his chair. Tim's and Gibbs relationship had never been what Tony's and Gibbs was, but it was closer now then it had ever been. After years of uncertainty, Tim was finally sure of his place on the MCRT. But this changed things. She changed things. It wouldn't matter how much good he had done. It wouldn't matter how many times Tim had obeyed Gibbs without thought, without hesitation, without reservation. All that would matter was that Tim had not told Gibbs something that Gibbs deserved to know. Needed to know.

Gibbs would never trust him again.

Tim felt the breath leave his body as if from a physical blow. He had never thought about it before, everything had happened so fast, all he had had time to think about was getting her out of Mexico and keeping her safe while trying to keep the knowledge of her existence secret. And trying to keep the truth of the ordeal he had suffered at the hands of Paloma Reynosa secret. Tim would be forever thankful that, for whatever reason, Abby hadn't gone and called Gibbs as soon as he had been taken by Paloma. Thankful that he had been given time to make his own escape—something he was still suspicious about being able to accomplish on his own—taking with him a lost and frigtened fellow prisoner. He had been able to convince Abby not to tell and whatever reasons she had for keeping this a secret he hadn't had time to think about. He hadn't had time to think about the consequences of his actions these past few months, with trying to deal with his guests' physical and mental wounds—and his own—and keep up with his job. There just hadn't been time to consider what would happen when this all came out. How Gibbs—and everyone else—would react.

Sarah started to pace again, furious with her brother. She couldn't understand how such a smart man could do something so incredibly stupid! "I can't believe that you would do something so—so stupid! I can't believe that you would let someone that was so terrified, so traumatized, make such a monumental decision!" She hissed angrily at her brother.

"You just said it yourself! She was terrified! Not only of Gibbs but of Paloma, too! Paloma was already targeting Gibbs! She had already went after Jackson! She was terrified of Paloma finding her and taking her back! I couldn't risk that! I couldn't risk her!" Tim exclaimed, trying to keep his voice down so he wouldn't disturb his guest. "Gibbs would never have forgiven me for that!"

"He's never going to forgive you anyway!" Sarah almost yelled, brown eyes flashing her anger at her brother.

"You—you just don't understand!" Tim pushed out through gritted teeth, his anger at the whole hopeless situation threatening to overwhelm him.

Sarah laughed mirthlessly. "And you think Gibbs is going to?" She asked in disbelief. "Admittedly, I don't know him that well but he just doesn't seem to be that kind of man to me!" She finished sarcastically. She took a deep breath and blew it out. "How do you see this ending, Tim? Do you really think that you'll still have a job once Gibbs discovers the truth?"

Tim slumped down in his chair in despair. He knew that his boss wouldn't understand why he had kept this from him. Hell, his reasons seemed weak to him—now—at the time the reasons he had kept this from Gibbs had seemed sound. Tim had to get her out of Mexico, without help, without proper documentation. All she had was the papers that Paloma and her brother had provided her with. Even if he had known the information about her birth, it wouldn't have done him any good. She was dead here. The only way to even get her into the U.S, without trying to sneak her in or having to wait for the endless piles of red tape, had been too... Tim shuddered. Another thing Gibbs wouldn't be pleased with when he found out. Would he think that Tim had taken advantage of her? Would Gibbs even listen to Tim's reasons for not only keeping this a secret but for doing the only thing he could think of so he could bring her into the country? And what about the little 'surprise'? What would Gibbs think about that? Would Gibbs take it as proof that Tim had taken advantage of her? No one would ever know the truth of that. Even when this farce ended, that would remain their secret. Tim had given his word. As had Sarah. Neither McGee would break their word. Once given, it would never be broken. It just wasn't in their nature.

Sarah sighed. "It can't go on like this, Tim. You're exhausted. I'm exhausted. And she isn't getting any better." She didn't mention the other innocent person in all this. The only truly innocent person as far as she was concerned. But she didn't have to. He was never far from Tim's mind. "I know that it isn't only your desire to help someone in need that is motivating you. I also know it isn't only that you wanted to save her for Agent Gibbs. You also want to give him something back. Something that he thought gone forever. And I know why." She said gently. "But you can't keep this up. Something has to give."

Sarah was, unfortunately, right. His guest needed more help then Tim could provide. More help then he knew how to give. She was scared of her own shadow. She refused to leave the apartment unless he was with her. She refused to stay by herself, even though she was terrified of staying with anyone who wasn't him. She only stayed with Sarah because he had to work. She didn't trust Sarah and would refuse to even stay in the same room with her if Tim wasn't there. She refused to even consider talking to someone. It was a miracle in itself that Tim had been able to get her to go to an actual doctor. There was no one he could go to for advice on the situation. Tim's nerves were shot, his neck stiff and tension had set up permanent residence in his shoulders. And he was still dealing with the aftermath of his own trauma. His sister was right again. Something had to give, because if something didn't give, Tim was afraid that he would.

Sarah looked at her brother. She could see the tension in his shoulders. He looked up at her and she saw the tired lines on his face, the exhaustion etched there. Anger surged in her. And jealousy. She was angry at her brother for always having to do what he considered the right thing. She was angry at that—that woman for taking advantage of her brother's kind nature. And Sarah was jealous at her for taking over a part of her brother's life. Something that had wholly belonged to her from her first memory. Sarah had to share her beloved brother with someone else now and one thing that Sarah McGee did not do well was share.

Sarah heard a rustle and looked up to see an obviously pregnant woman with long, straight brown hair just a couple of shades lighter then her own dark chocolate locks and a pair of hauntingly familiar ice blue eyes that stared out of a pretty face with high cheek bones and an angular jaw that was just as familiar as her eyes were. This was the woman that Tim had found held prisoner in Mexico and had brought back the only way that he could, by marrying her. The woman who was supposed to have died years and years ago. The jealousy and anger got stronger as Sarah stared at the woman who had latched onto her brother and refused to let go.

The woman her brother had to marry in order to be able to bring her to Washington.

Kelly Gibbs...McGee.

The daughter of Leroy Jethro Gibbs. The daughter he thought was dead.