Growing Up McGee

The Tragedy - Chapter 16

The next day, Morgan went to school and informed Mrs. Holland of her plan.

"Great!" Mrs. Holland exclaimed. "Now I can finally make the list for the show."

"All right, I'll see you tonight!" Morgan told her, walking out of class.

"Okay, good luck!" Mrs. Holland shouted.

The day went by really fast, and before she knew it, she was back at the Fielding's with her guitar, waiting for Cormac to pick her up. After a few minutes of going over the lyrics in her head, she saw the big black car pull into the driveway. "Sorry, kiddo!" He shouted out the window. "There was a lot of traffic."

"It's alright, I don't have to be there right at 6:00." Morgan assured him as she hopped in the back seat.

"What you got there?" Cormac asked as he pulled out of the driveway.

Morgan was confused for a moment, until she realized she was holding the guitar case. "Oh, it's my guitar for the showcase tonight."

"Electric?" He asked excitedly.

"No, acoustic." Morgan informed him. "It's a slower country song."

"Kiddo, you made a mistake!"

"I did?"

"Ye!" He shouted. "You need to be singin' some rock in roll!"

Morgan laughed. "I don't think I have the voice for that."

"Oh, sure you do!" He exclaimed. "I hear you beck there all the time, singin' to Led Zeppelin."

She felt her face becoming hot, not realizing that he could hear her all those times. He usually had the volume turned way up, and she sang pretty softly. "Well, I'll keep in mind not to do that anymore."

"Nah, yer good at it!" He assured her. "Trust me, I'd tell you if you weren't."

Morgan laughed out loud. "Thanks, Cormac, I appreciate that."

"Anytime."

A few minutes later, they arrived at the school. "I'll just wait here until yur finished."

He told her, retrieving a newspaper from the glove compartment.

"Alright, thanks!"

"Have a good time!" He shouted as she closed the door.

There was a separate entrance that led to the chorus room, so Morgan decided to go in that way. When she entered the room, there were at least twenty kids hanging out, either talking or practicing. There wasn't anyone she really knew, so she sat in the corner and got out her guitar, practicing the chords. She was the second to last person performing, which gave her plenty of time. However, the minutes went by really fast, and soon enough, it was her turn. "Morgan!" Mrs. Holland yelled. "You're up next."

Morgan grabbed her guitar and walked backstage, where another student was just finishing up their magic tricks. She started to get nervous and was considering bailing, but that wasn't an option, because the student was already walking off stage. 

"Next up, we have Morgan McGee!"

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6:45 (45 minutes earlier)

McGee, Bishop, Torres, DiNozzo, and Gibbs were all sitting at their desks in the bullpen filling out paperwork. They had just arrested a suspect earlier that afternoon, so they were swamped with reports. That was the only thing McGee didn't miss about NCIS. Other than that, he had enjoyed being back at work with everyone. It felt normal.

He heard the elevator open, and saw Tony's daughter, Tali, emerge with a brown paper bag that read Zaxby's. She was now sixteen and could drive, much to Tony's dismay. However, it seemed that he found a way to use it to his advantage.

"Here you go, Dad." She said, placing the bag on his desk.

"How much do I owe you?" He asked her, digging around in the bag for his chicken sandwich.

"$7.50."

Tony reached in his wallet and pulled out some cash. "I'll round up to $8, the rest being your tip."

"How generous." Tali sighed, stuffing the money in her bag. "McGee, how's Morgan doing?"

Tali and Morgan had been friends since Morgan was born. Tony had stayed to raise her and work at NCIS, so everyone pitched in to help him out, and that meant Delilah offering to watch her. The two girls would hang out multiple times a week, until Tali got older and didn't require a babysitter. They had become a little distant, but when they would reunite every few months, it would be like no time had passed.

"She's doing good." He responded. "She's been keeping herself pretty busy, but I think she's ready to come home."

"I don't blame her." Tali said. "Tell her that I wish I could have seen her at the showcase tonight, but I have a study group that I have to go to."

McGee scrunched his face, confused. "Showcase?"

"Yeah, Oakville Middle is holding a talent show tonight. They posted the set list on their Instagram this morning, and I thought I saw her name. I could be wrong though, let me check." She pulled out her phone and scrolled for a moment. "Her name is on here." She walked over and showed it to McGee. His eyes scanned the screen until he saw Morgan McGee towards the bottom.

She told me she had a choir rehearsal. McGee thought, confused on why she would lie. He realized that everyone was staring at him, and he started to feel embarrassed. This is something that he should know about. "Oh, shoot, that's tonight? I thought it was tomorrow. What time does it start?"

"It started at 6:00 and ends at 7:45." She answered. "The list is in order that they're performing, so since she's second to last, I'd say she'd be performing at about 7:30. If you leave now, I bet you could make it."

"Yeah I probably can." McGee responded, packing up his stuff. "Thanks, Tali. I'll see you guys tomorrow."

Everyone muttered their goodbyes as McGee rushed into the elevator.

"He had no idea, did he?" Tali whispered to her father.

"Nope." Tony responded, a worried expression on his face.

McGee spent the next thirty five minutes swerving through traffic to get to the middle school. He didn't want to just assume that she lied to him, because usually there was more to the story, but he couldn't help feeling a little betrayed. They had stayed in touch very well throughout the past couple of months. She would always inform him of everything that was going on in her life, so why was this any different? It was only a talent show, so why would she be so secretive about it?

Finally, he arrived at the school, running through the main entrance into the auditorium. He opened the door quietly and walked in, scanning the area. The place was packed and there were no open seats that he could see, so he just stood in the back.

"Next up, we have Morgan McGee!"