Rule #12 (Kind Of Broken)
Fandom: NCIS
Pairing: Timothy McGee Ă Female Reader
Summary:
Working in the depths of NCIS as a quiet, brilliant tech specialist, you were never supposed to be noticedâlet alone fall in love with a field agent. But somewhere between late-night cases and shared coffee runs, you and McGee became something real⌠and secret. When an unexpected pregnancy collides with one very broken rule, the truth comes out in the most NCIS way possibleâchaotic, loud, and somehow⌠full of family.
The basement of NCIS wasnât glamorous.
It hummed.
Servers, wires, monitorsâyour world lived in a constant buzz of electricity and quiet anonymity. You liked it that way. No interrogations. No fieldwork. No pressure.
No rules to break.
WellâŚ
Except one.
You stared at the screen in front of you, but the code blurred together, meaningless. Your hand rested unconsciously over your stomach, fingers pressing lightly like you could confirm it again just by touch.
You were pregnant.
And the father?
Special Agent Timothy McGee.
Your boyfriend.
Your secret boyfriend.
The irony wasnât lost on you.
You had spent years being invisible in the basementâjust another tech, another name in the system. And somehow, somewhere between late-night cases and shared coffee runs, you had become this.
Something real.
Something risky.
Something very, very against the rules.
âHey.â
You jumped slightly at the voice, spinning in your chair.
There he was.
Timothy McGee, standing at the bottom of the stairs, looking a little sheepishâlike he always did when he came down here just to see you.
He had grown into himself over the yearsâconfident, capable, steady in a way that made people trust him without question.
But with you?
He still softened.
Still hesitated.
Still looked like the same guy who used to linger just a second too long after handing you coffee.
âHey,â you echoed, trying to keep your voice steady.
He stepped closer, lowering his voice instinctively.
âYou didnât answer your texts,â he said. âI got worried.â
Your stomach twisted.
You hadnât meant to ignore him. You justâ
Didnât know how to say this.
That was enough.
His expression shifted immediately, concern sharpening his features.
âWhatâs wrong?â
Your throat tightened.
This wasnât how you wanted to tell him.
Not here. Not like this. Not with fluorescent lights buzzing overhead and a dozen government systems blinking behind you.
But it was happening anyway.
âI⌠took a test,â you said quietly.
He blinked. âOkayâŚâ
Your voice dropped to almost nothing.
âIt was positive.â
Silence.
The kind that stretches just long enough to feel like everything might fall apart.
For a split second, your brain raced aheadâworst-case scenarios stacking up:
He panics.
He pulls away.
You lose him.
You lose everything.
Thenâ
McGee exhaled.
Not sharp. Not panicked.
Just⌠steady.
âOkay,â he said again, softer this time.
You searched his face desperately. âOkay?â
His lips twitched slightly, like he didnât quite know what to do with the wave of emotion hitting him.
âI meanâitâs not exactly in the NCIS handbook,â he admitted, letting out a quiet, almost disbelieving laugh. âBut⌠weâll figure it out.â
Your chest tightened.
âTogether,â he added firmly.
And just like thatâ
The panic cracked.
Not gone.
But manageable.
âTimâŚâ you whispered.
His hand found yours, grounding, warm.
âWeâve handled worse,â he said softly. âOkay, maybe not this, butââ he smiled faintly ââweâre a pretty good team.â
You let out a shaky breath.
âYeah,â you said. âWe are.â
Then reality hit again.
âTim⌠Gibbsââ
That did it.
He froze.
Ah, yes.
Rule #12: Never date a coworker.
And you werenât just coworkersâyou were both NCIS.
And Leroy Jethro Gibbs did not take rule-breaking lightly.
McGee rubbed the back of his neck.
âYeah⌠Gibbs.â
You both winced.
---
Three Days of Denial
You managed to keep it quiet.
For exactly three days.
Three days of pretending nothing had changed.
Three days of avoiding eye contact in the bullpen.
Three days of whispered conversations and stolen glances.
Three days of McGee bringing you snacks like that somehow solved everything.
âYou need to eat,â he insisted one afternoon, placing a granola bar next to your keyboard.
âI am eating,â you muttered.
âThat was coffee.â
âCoffee counts.â
âIt does not count.â
You sighedâbut you ate it anyway.
Because thatâs how this worked.
Always had.
Small things.
Quiet care.
The kind no one noticed.
Untilâ
âWhy are you smiling like that?â
You both froze.
Tony DiNozzo stood at the top of the stairs, arms crossed, eyes narrowed in suspicion.
McGee immediately stepped back.
âIâm not smiling,â he said too quickly.
Tony leaned forward.
âYou are absolutely smiling.â
You turned back to your computer. âHe does that sometimes.â
Tony pointed between you both.
âI donât know whatâs happening here, but I will figure it out.â
âPlease donât,â McGee muttered.
Tony grinned.
âOh, Iâm definitely going to.â
---
The Abby Incident
It started, like most disasters at NCIS, with Abby Sciuto.
She came bouncing into the basement, arms full of Caf-Pow, already mid-sentence.
âOkay, so I ran the fibers andââ
She stopped.
Mid-step.
Stared at you.
Tilted her head.
âYouâre glowing,â she said.
You froze.
âIâm always glowing,â you said weakly.
âNope,â Abby said, narrowing her eyes. âThis is different glowing. This is likeââ she gasped dramatically ââlife-changing glowing.â
Your heart dropped.
She stepped closer.
âAre you sick? Did you eat something weird? Is it radiation? Waitââ
You held your breath.
ââare you pregnant?!â
Silence.
Your silence.
Her gasp was deafening.
âOh my God you are!â
âAbbyââ you tried.
Too late.
Because right thenâ
Tony walked in.
âHey Abs, I needââ He stopped. âWhy are you vibrating?â
Abby spun toward him.
âSheâs pregnant!â
You closed your eyes.
Tony blinked.
Once.
Twice.
Then slowlyâ
A grin spread across his face.
âWell, well, well⌠McGeekâs been busy.â
âTONY!â
âOh, come on,â he said, already backing away. âThis is critical information. The team deserves to know.â
âTony, donât you dareââ
He was gone.
Of course he was.
---
Fallout (or⌠Not?)
It spread like wildfire.
By the time you made it upstairs, the entire bullpen knew.
You braced yourself.
Judgment.
Whispers.
Consequences.
Insteadâ
âYou will be a strong mother,â Ziva said simply, giving you a firm nod.
Ducky beamed. âAh, new life! A beautiful continuation.â
Jimmy looked like he might cry.
Abby hugged you so tightly you nearly lost your balance.
âIâm going to make the baby tiny goth outfits,â she announced.
âThatâs⌠slightly terrifying,â you said.
âIâm doing it anyway.â
Your chest tightened.
This wasnât what you expected.
This wasnât what you were afraid of.
This wasâ
Support.
Then you looked at McGee.
He looked just as stunned as you felt.
But thenâ
Footsteps.
Heavy.
Measured.
Familiar.
The room went silent instantly.
Gibbs.
Your heart slammed against your ribs.
McGee straightened beside you.
Gibbs stopped in front of you both.
His gaze flicked from youâ
to McGeeâ
and back again.
Silence stretched.
Thenâ
âIs it his?â Gibbs asked bluntly.
You choked.
âGibbsâ!â McGee sputtered.
You nodded quickly. âYes, sir.â
Another pause.
Longer.
Then Gibbs sighed.
Actually sighed.
âWell,â he muttered, âguess Rule 12âs been broken before.â
Your brain stalled.
Waitâwhat?
Gibbs turned to McGee.
âYou gonna step up?â
McGee didnât hesitate.
âYes, sir.â
Gibbs held his gaze.
Then nodded once.
âGood.â
And just like thatâ
He walked away.
No explosion.
No lecture.
Just⌠acceptance.
Tony leaned over immediately.
ââŚDid Gibbs just approve your relationship?â
âDonât say it like that,â McGee said.
âIâm absolutely saying it like that.â
---
Later
Back in the basement, the quiet returned.
Familiar.
Comforting.
You sat side by side, the chaos finally settling.
âI really thought we were dead,â you admitted.
McGee laughed softly. âYeah⌠me too.â
You leaned into him slightly, your hand finding his.
âWeâre okay, right?â
He squeezed your fingers, steady and sure.
âYeah,â he said.
Then, softerâ
âWeâre more than okay.â
You rested your head briefly against his shoulder.
For the first time since you saw those two pink linesâ
You let yourself breathe.
Because maybeâ
Just maybeâ
Breaking one ruleâŚ
Led you exactly where you were supposed to be.
And for onceâ
That felt like the right call.














