Title: Adaptation, a Torchwood/NCIS Crossover (9/?)

Author: Emma

Characters: Jack Harkness, Ianto Jones, Tim McGee, LJ Gibbs, Ducky Mallard, others

Rating: Starts PG, but hey, it’s got Jack and Ianto in it (not to mention Tim & Jethro!)

Disclaimer: Oh, please. If I owned them, would I let some of those idiots write the scripts? And if I were making any money off them, would I be where they could find me?

Summary: Tim McGee’s worlds collide as Torchwood is drawn into an NCIS case

Author's Note: This is part of an AU where Gwen and Owen were killed by Gray. So if you want to know why Martha is married to Rhys, why Jack and Ianto have a CP, two sons and two adopted daughters, and why Andy and Ianto are Kings of an alien race that settled on Earth millennia ago, you may want to read Evolution and Bred in the Bone first

Part One is here; Part Two is here; Part Three is here; Part Four is here; Part Five is here; Part Six is here; Part Seven is here; Interlude is here; Part Eight is here
 

I stayed out of Gibbs's way all morning, or perhaps he stayed out of mine. I gathered my people and we went down to the high-security computer lab I had convinced Gibbs to install in the basement across from the forensics lab. We're not a field team, though we all keep up our ratings as per regulations and can deploy when necessary, but our primary job is to do all the electronic research needed by the other teams. It was an innovation, both the team and the lab, and it wasn't long before the entire NCIS structure started calling us Gibbs's Geeks – but I noticed none of them were reluctant to use our services.

Right around lunch we got our first hit. GeeGee crowed and punched the air as he put the record he was looking at up in the large screen in the front of the room. On top there was the driver’s license of a rather pretty brunette with big green eyes. Underneath was a copy of a personal check.
 

“Anne Baker Wolf. Wife of Petty Officer Second Class Michael Wolf. She just bought a brand new car.”
 

“So?” Ellen challenged. “I did too, just last month.”
 

“You paid cash for a brand new Hyundai Genesis with the full package? Whoa, Ellen. I didn’t know you made that much.”
 

“Maybe her family is wealthy,” I said, more to be argumentative than because I believed it. “Or she inherited from a maiden aunt.”
 

“Her daddy is a high school teacher, her momma a home maker. Mrs. Wolf hasn’t inherited any money, unless it was delivered to her house in crisp bills by UPS. She has, however, been depositing large single sums into an account under her maiden name for the past three years. The deposits coincide with the Truman’s return to port, except for two times where the money was wired from Naples, where the Truman happened to be at the time.” He punched in a command, and the screen showed the first page of a legal document. “Mrs. Wolf lived a very quiet life until last month, when she filed for divorce from Petty Officer Wolf. It turns out he was not exactly faithful during his travels.”
 

Ellen gave him a feral smile. “Maybe she’s chomping at the bit to make him pay.”
 

“Yeah. Boss…”
 

I waved him on. “Go ahead. Ellen, go with him. See what you can get from Mrs. Wolf. I’ll take over…”
 

The phone at my desk rang. The caller ID window said Director. I took a deep breath and picked up the phone. “Yes, sir?”
 

“Come upstairs.”
 

The dial tone in my ear left no opening for argument. I turned to the only person left in the room. “Quint, I have to…”
 

“I figured.” Quinton Rowman, the team’s anti-hacking specialist, waved me away. “I can multitask.” He snagged control of Ellen’s and GeeGee’s terminals with his usual efficiency. “All cool, bossman. Go play office politics.”
 

Having delivered himself of what he considered the ultimate insult, Quinton popped his headphones back on and kept working. When I had brought him in for an interview, half the office had been aghast at the skinny, dread-locked kid with the Jamaican accent and the disregard for anything resembling authority. Gibbs, maybe remembering his own experiences with Abby, had given him a chance. Quinton had turned out to be quite an asset, decorated several times for his work in international counter-terrorism, and Gibbs loved to rub the fact in the noses of those who had disparaged his “crazy” hire in the beginning.
 

“Call me if anything comes up.”
 

“Boss issues, boss?” Sometimes I think Quinton sees more than it's comfortable, and sometimes, like now, I'm certain of it. “Sure.”
 

When I arrived at the Director's office, Lily waved me through with her usual cheeky grin. I noticed the bent door handle had been replaced with a scanning touch plate. I placed my palm on it and waited. A few seconds later I heard the lock snick open. I pushed lightly and the door opened.
 

“I see you let them talk you into modernizing,” I said more to try to regain some distance than out of any desire for conversation.
 

“Come in, Tim.” He was standing by the window, the perennial mug of coffee in his hand. “Jack and Ianto called. They're on their way back with some information. I've ordered some lunch and I've told Abby and Ducky that I'll call them as soon as they're here, but I needed to talk to you first.”
 

“I don't have much to report yet. GeeGee got a promising...”
 

“Tim.”
 

The soft tone made my anger boil over, for some reason. “There's nothing to talk about, Jethro. You accused me of using a love philter on you as if I were a lovestruck teenager in a second rate romance novel. Which, in case it has escaped your notice, implies that you feel something for me that you desperately want to deny. Your prerogative, but you don't get to keep your heterosexuality intact by believing that those feelings were forced on you from the outside.”
 

He stared at me for a very long moment. “Have you ever wondered why I seemed to favor Tony or Ziva over you when I was your team leader?”
 

“I assumed it was because their personalities and skill sets were much closer to your own than mine was. Like calling to like.”
 

“Then how do you account for Abby?”
 

I shrugged. “Very few people can resist Abby.”
 

”I brought you to NCIS because I needed a computer expert. You were so green and so out of your depth that I thought you would ask for a transfer back as soon as you could come up for air. Instead you fought your way into the team. Little by little, until finally even Tony had to admit he was your friend as much as your colleague. I watched it happen every day, and I couldn't take my eyes off you.” He raked the fingers of his free hand through his hair. “I had never felt that way about any man, not even Ducky, and if you had met Ducky when he was younger you would realize exactly how heterosexual I was being. So when I found out about you... well, I thought I had an explanation.”
 

I barely managed to keep the grin off my face. “Sorry.”
 

“Tim... I don't think I can change. This, whatever this is, goes against everything I am, everything I was taught to be. And then, there's Abby. You and her are a couple, divorce or no divorce. I wouldn't hurt her for the world.”
 

This time I couldn't stop the laughter. “You are the most conventional human being I've ever met, Jethro. You wouldn't hurt Abby at all, unless you didn't invite her to join us.” The look on his face sobered me right up. “We love you, Jethro. Nothing would make us happier than to share ourselves with you.”
 

He put the mug down on the credenza and came around the desk to stand in front of me. “You are insane. You and her both. It would never work, Tim. Things like that...”
 

He was interrupted by the buzzing of the phone. He moved back to the desk and pressed the button. “Yes, Lily?”
 

“Captain Harkness and Mr. Jones are here, sir.”
 

“Thanks, Lily. We'll be right out.” He looked at me and shook his head. “Tim...”
 

“Let it be for now, Jethro. We all have decisions to make sooner or later, but it doesn't need to be right now.”