Epilogue

One year later...

It had been a long time coming. There had been so many little steps that Tim had lost track of how many he'd taken. Even now, things weren't the same. They never would be the same as they were, but he was at the stage where he could accept that.

This wasn't a full return, but it was a huge step.

One deep breath and Tim stepped inside NCIS. He walked over to Henry.

"Agent McGee, nice to see you in the morning instead of at night."

Tim smiled. "Thanks, Henry."

He pulled his ID and badge out of his pocket and showed it to him.

"Nice and shiny," Henry said.

"They're new," Tim said. "Never could find the old ones."

Henry nodded solemnly. "Sometimes, though, it's better to accept the new stuff than to hold on to the old anyway."

"Yeah. You're right."

Henry passed him in and Tim got on the elevator. As it rose, he thought about what he was doing, what he had done, and how much he could now appreciate knowing those things. He tried to think about a different memory every night, savoring all the details he could recall. They weren't all happy memories, but they were all memories that made up who he was. That made many of them important. Some were silly. Some were happy. Some, sad. All of them were his.

The doors dinged open and Tim got off the elevator. He was here early, hoping to be at his desk before the others got there. He walked over and sat down.

He looked around his space.

Yes, this was right. This was where he should be. It would take time to be really easy here, but he was ready to work on it.

Then, he was no longer alone. Gibbs came striding in as he usually did. He paused when he saw Tim at his desk and he smiled.

"You ready?"

"I think so. It's only desk duty."

"It's not only. You need help. You ask for it."

"I will."

"Good." Then, Gibbs' expression softened a little. "It's good to have you back, Tim."

Tim smiled. "Thanks, Boss."

The elevator doors dinged again.

"No, Tony. I'm telling you that I am cursed when it comes to the weather. If I plan on doing something outside because it's beautiful and there's no rain in the forecast, there will be a thunderstorm," Ellie said.

"Oh, come on, Bishop. You can't weasel out of it that... Tim! I didn't know you were back today."

Tony looked nothing short of thrilled.

"Thought it would be better to have a couple of days and then, the weekend off, in case I need it," Tim said.

"Excellent!"

"Desk duty?" Ellie asked.

"Yeah. Indefinitely, right now. We'll have to see how it goes."

"Great! I've never been able to figure out how to explain the computer stuff," she said.

"I never did, either," Tim said, and thought about all the times he could remember getting cut off in the middle or at the beginning of a computer explanation.

"Then, I'm glad you're here to not know what to do."

Tim laughed.

"Me, too."

Then, it was time to work. Tim knew that his workload was light right now, and he knew that he needed it that way. He had to ease his way back into the stress of being here, and he wasn't being given a free ride, either. Gibbs expected him to do his job. It was just that he was more understanding about what Tim couldn't yet do.

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

"We're celebrating, Tim," Tony said, in the evening. "No arguments. This weekend. Saturday night. Doesn't have to be big and loud, but we're going to have a party since you're back."

"Okay," Tim said. "Not big and loud."

"Okay. It won't be, but you might have to convince Abby of that."

Tim smiled. This felt so normal. So right.

He gathered up his stuff and headed out of the building.

"Tim?"

He turned back and saw Gibbs.

"Yeah, Boss?"

"How was it?"

"Good," Tim said.

"No problems?"

"There were some. I had some bad moments, but no flashbacks. It was a good day, Boss."

Gibbs nodded and headed on his way.

Tim paused before he walked to his car. He looked back at the building. He had paid a heavy price to protect it and the people working in it. He was finally at the point where he could say that, even if it wasn't quite worth the price, he would still have paid it, if he had known the cost.

"And now, I'm back," he whispered.

With a nod, he headed home for the night.

FINIS!