Growing Up McGee

The Tragedy - Chapter 5

Little bit of a warning, one of the character's does have an emotional breakdown in this chapter, but there are no self-destructive elements. It just gets pretty heavy, so be prepared!

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McGee opened the door to see his coworker, and close friend, Abby Sciuto. Before he could say anything, she had already wrapped him in a hug. McGee just stood there, a little taken aback by the sudden gesture.

"McGee, I'm so sorry." She told him, squeezing him even tighter.

McGee returned the hug, not responding. After a moment, Abby let go, with a determined look on her face. "Let me make you some coffee."

"Oh, Abbs, you don't have to do that." McGee started to say, but she was already in the kitchen plugging in the coffee maker. Both of them didn't notice Morgan standing on top of the stairs.

"How have you been handling everything?" Abby asked him as he sat down at the table.

"Um, not great." McGee admitted. Abby turned and gave him a sympathetic look.

"Do you wanna talk about it?" She asked, as she walked over and handed him his coffee.

McGee sighed before he answered. "Everything keeps getting worse and worse. I keep thinking something good will come up, but it doesn't."

"The whole custody battle can't be helping." Abby blurted as she sat down across from him.

"How do you know about that?" McGee asked.

When she realized what she said her eyes widened. "Gibbs told me. You weren't supposed to know that I knew, sorry."

"No, it's okay." He reassured her. "I should have told you while I was at NCIS this morning."

"It's okay," she said, "I knew you would tell me when you were ready." She paused for a moment. "How do you think that will go?"

"I don't know." He sighed. He leaned towards her a little bit, and whispered, "To be honest with you, I'm scared. I know I'll have a good lawyer, but the Fieldings are powerful people with a lot of influence. There aren't many times they don't get their way."

"Tim, I'm sure if this judge has any common sense, he'd grant you full custody." Abby said, trying to reassure him.

"I'm not so sure." McGee told her. "They have a lot of connections, especially with people in power. I wouldn't be surprised if they have dirt on them, too. I just don't know if our case will be strong enough."

Morgan could hear everything her father was saying to Abby, even the things he was trying to whisper. She could feel sweat accumulating on her back, and her heart starting to race. Breathing heavily, she ran into her room and shut the door. Tears streaming down her face, she started to slide down the door onto the floor. She sat like that for a moment, curled in a ball, until she got nauseous. She crawled into her bathroom, which happened to be connected to her room, and lied on the cold tile floor. She then felt her breakfast from that morning threatening to come back up, and she hovered over the toilet seat, emptying her stomach. She slowly closed the lid and flushed it before standing up, legs wobbly, and walked over to her bed. She sat down, staring into space, until she noticed the picture frame face down on her bedside table. She picked it up and just stared at it. It wasn't even a second before she started sobbing. Memories from the wreck flashed in her mind, and she started to panic once more. Her breathing became rapid and her hands started to shake. Almost involuntarily, she chucked the frame across the room, causing it to collide with the wall, glass smashing into a million pieces. She collapsed on the floor, leaning against her bed, and started sobbing into her hands.