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It was early on a Saturday morning and Timothy McGee would rather be in bed. Or playing one of his MMORPGS. One of his friends was head developer of a brand new one and had signed Tim on to alpha test yesterday. Tim was dying to immerse himself in the Dark Elf’s world, not spend Saturday with Gibbs.
Tim juggled the coffee and bag of breakfast sandwiches and knocked once before entering. Gibbs had told him to come over, and Gibbs’ front door was always unlocked. But Tim was a gentleman and even though he was allowed entry, he wanted to announce himself first. There was always a possibility that Gibbs had slept in.
Yeah, right! If the sun was up, so was Gibbs.
“Door’s unlocked, McGee!”
For some reason, Gibbs sounded less gruff today.
“Hey, Boss. Brought breakfast.”
Gibbs grunted and Tim made his way through the entry hall and into the kitchen where he found Gibbs dressed casually and leaning against the counter, a mug of coffee in hand. He was dressed in a T-shirt and jeans, freshly showered and shaved but his hair was a bit more messy than it would have been on a workday.
“Good.”
Gibbs peeled himself off the counter and sat at the table and McGee joined him, handing over the double strength Jamaican blend thirty-two ounce coffee. Gibbs sniffed appreciatively.
“Okay, so you’re using an Iphone now. Why?” Tim asked. Gibbs had enough trouble with the Motorolas they replaced regularly.
“Vance,” Gibbs said and McGee waited for the other man to continue. “Remember the Michael Arnett case?”
McGee nodded, paling slightly, gulping down his own coffee. He’d remembered his terror as the man had stood on the ledge high about the streets of DC and how that fear had paralyzed him.
“Vance read the case notes, saw that your phone helped ID him. Thinks it’ll be a good idea. Abby put some stuff on it but I want you to teach me how to use it.” Gibbs held the phone out to McGee.
“I get the distinct impression you've never done this before,” McGee said quietly.
“Never played with this phone thing?” Gibbs asked, biting into his sandwich.
“No. Asked for help on how to use something on your off hours.”
Gibbs shrugged. “Lot of things changed. Every minute out there counts.”
McGee nodded, turning his attention to the fancy electronics.
“Eat first,” Gibbs said quietly.
McGee dived into his own English muffin and fried egg sandwich. Instead of being unnerved by being at Casa Gibbs without the rest of the team here, McGee was relaxing. There was a softer edge to Gibbs today and even though he looked grimly determined about the phone, he wasn’t as stern and unapproachable as usual.
McGee finished his sandwich and washed his hands in the sink, drying them on his T-shirt.
“Got towels for that,” Gibbs remarked, a small smile quirking the corners of his mouth.
“Live dangerously,” Tim replied before he flushed. He was obviously getting too comfortable here. “I…I mean…”
“It’s okay, McGee,” Gibbs assured, smiling enigmatically. “Now what do I do with this thing?”
McGee dragged his chair closer and ran Gibbs through the basics of unlocking the phone, answering calls, and even accessing the Internet and email. Gibbs was completely silent the entire time but every time McGee looked up, Gibbs was concentrating and seemed to understand what he was being told.
“Still with me?” McGee asked after he trailed off. They’d been at it for a couple of hours now and though McGee had been trying to be patient, he knew that he’d given Gibbs a lot of information.
“Want to try calling me?”
Gibbs nodded. He turned the phone on, slid the unlock bar to one side, scrolled to the McGee speed dial button, and clicked. When McGee’s phone began playing the Star Wars theme, he blushed a little, shrugging.
“I’m going to call you now, Gibbs.” McGee dialed the other man and grinned when the Marine Hymn came up. “Abbs hit you up with some ring tones, huh?”
“Guess so,” Gibbs replied.
McGee wiped the fingerprints off the screen before he continued. “And look, there’s a weather program, a place for note taking…”
“I’m not using that thing to take notes.”
“Why not?” McGee asked, confused.
Gibbs held up his hand, motioning to his large fingers. “Think I can get the letters to work, McGee? My notebooks are fine. They made me use a PDA a long time ago. Hated it. This is different.”
McGee nodded. He couldn’t see Gibbs using a PDA though he remembered Tony and Kate talking about the Sony Clies that had screens that flipped around. Apparently Gibbs had broken two of them before giving up and going back to his notebook.
Tim shrugged, refusing to pass judgment on the technology that had gone before. “But this is different, isn’t it, Boss?”
“Guess so.”
Tim stood, stretching his aching muscles and tugging at the light sweater that was feeling constricting and too hot all of a sudden. Spring had bypassed DC, and it was pushing eighty degrees today. “Take five, McGee. You’ve been working hard. When you get back, you can show me how to take pictures.”
Tim nodded and Gibbs picked up the newspaper, immersing himself in the day’s headlines and Tim slipped out.
He let himself back in soundlessly and meandered toward the kitchen, opening his mouth to say something before he realized what was happening. Gibbs was completely immersed in the little screen, the metallic sounds of a game reaching Tim’s ears. He recognized the tones.
“Bejeweled, Boss?” Tim came around, looking over Gibbs’ shoulder at the score. Fifty-two thousand points? Fifty-two thousand points???
“Think I’ve been had,” McGee muttered.
Gibbs shrugged, enigmatic smile turning into a grin. “Don’t like technology. Didn’t say I wouldn’t learn. Sometimes ya can teach an old dog new tricks, McGee.”
Tim grinned in reply. “You play that thing all night or something?”
“Or something, Tim.”