一笑軒

  He was halfway down the hallway when he became aware that someone was calling to him. He turned, to find Agent Morris running after him.

當他準備走回辦公室時，半路有人叫住了他。他轉過身，發現Morris探員跟在他身後跑了過來。

"Director McGee? I was wondering if I could have a word with you?" she asked.

「McGee處長？請問我能和你談談嗎？」她問。

McGee paused暫停, trying to get his irritation惱怒 under control. He wanted to go after Tony and calm him down, but he suspected that Tony was long gone by now in any case － he'd probably taken off somewhere to punch his fist into a wall in private. He'd likely reappear再出現 in a couple of hours with a badly bruised hand and a dark look in his eyes that would take days to fade褪色.

McGee停下了腳步，並試著控制住自己的怒氣。他很想就這樣追上Tony並讓他冷靜，不過他懷疑Tony現在早不知跑那兒去了。每次在案子結束後—他就會私自跑到某個地方去，並用拳頭對著牆一頓亂揍。而當他隔兩小時再出現時，通常都是帶著一雙嚴重瘀青的手，以及一雙陰暗的眼神直到這天結束。

"What is it, Agent Morris?" he asked, more curtly草率地 than he'd intended計畫. She was a tall, elegant端莊 woman, with thick dark brown hair, cut into a bob, and intelligent有才智的 brown eyes. She always reminded him of someone but he could never quite place who.

「什麼事，Morris探員？」他反問，聲音聽起來比他想像的還要草率。她是個外貌高挑端莊的女人，有著一頭柔順的深褐色髮並綁成鮑伯頭，還有一雙看起來充滿智慧的眼睛。她總是讓他想起某人，卻從來都想不起來是誰。

"I wanted…look, this is difficult困難, but I want to make a complaint against Agent DiNozzo," she said.

「我想要…聽著，我知道這很不同，但是我想要申訴DiNozzo探員。」她說。

"Did he say something inappropriate不適當的?" McGee sighed.

「他騷擾妳了？」McGee嘆了口氣。

"What? No…nothing like that." She looked surprised, and McGee realised實現 that it had been a long time since Tony had been inappropriate around women in *that* way. "Look, I don't want to make a formal正式的 complaint － I just thought that if I spoke to you about it, off the record紀錄, then maybe you could do something."

「什麼？不…不是那樣的事情。」她看起來很驚訝，然後McGee才想起來，Tony會用〝那種方式〞去騷擾女人已經是很久以前的事情了。

「聽著，我不是想做正式的申訴—我只是想說如果我可以和你談談，不做紀錄的那種談，或許你能做些什麼。」

"What’s your complaint then, Morris?" he snapped, impatiently. Complaints against Tony were commonplace － dealing with them had become a major part of his job since he became Director.

「所以妳想要申訴什麼，Morris？」McGee打斷她並不耐煩地問。針對Tony的申訴已經是家常便飯了—自從他成為處長之後，這幾乎是他的日常工作之一。

"It's just that Agent DiNozzo treats me differently to the other agents on his team," she said. McGee raised an eyebrow. "I could understand it if I wasn't as good as they are but I am! I'm excellent出色的 at my job but he consistently一貫地 passes me over for dangerous fieldwork. I get all the babysitting assignments功課, the stuff塞滿 any probie could do － but I'm not a probie, Director. I'm the senior agent on his team!"

「只是因為DiNozzo探員讓我在小隊裡變得和其他人不一樣。」她說。McGee揚起了眉毛。「如果是因為我不夠好的話，我可以理解這個；可我不是！我在這個工作上非常出色，但是對於那些危險的偵查工作他總是一貫地跳過我。我得到一堆足以塞滿我所有時間的菜鳥功課—但我可不是個菜鳥，處長。我是這小隊裡的資深探員！」

McGee nodded, suddenly realising who she reminded him of. "You know why Agent DiNozzo does this?" he asked. She frowned蹙眉.

McGee點點頭，然後想起她讓自己想起誰了。「妳知道DiNozzo探員為什麼這麼做嗎？」他問。她皺起了眉頭。

"I've been thinking about it － but all I can assume is that it's some kind of chauvinism沙文主義. Maybe he doesn't think a woman can do the job as well as a man."

「我想過這問題—但所有我假定的答案都是這是一種沙文主義。也許他只是認為女人在工作上不能像男人一樣好。」

McGee laughed out loud and she looked at him, curiously好奇地.

McGee大聲笑了起來，而她好奇地看著他。

"Oh, he doesn't think that, trust me," McGee chuckled輕笑. "This is the man who worked with Mossad officer Ziva David for many years. So I can assure向…保證 you that he *really* doesn't think that."

「噢、他絕對不是那麼想的，相信我，」McGee輕輕笑了起來。「這男人可是和摩薩德事務官Ziva David 一起工作了許多年。所以我可以向妳保證，他〝真的〞不會那麼想。」

"So why then? Is it me? Does he think I'm not good enough?" she asked. She was a confident有信心地 woman, but McGee could see just a hint暗示 of insecurity不穩定 flitting掠過 through her dark eyes.

「那為什麼現在是這樣？是因為我？他覺得我不夠好？」她問。她是個很有自信的女人，可McGee可以看見她的眼中閃過了一絲的不確定。

"No, that's not it. It's more complicated than that," McGee told her. "He probably doesn't even know he's doing it － not consciously自覺地 anyway. Did he ever mention提到 the name Caitlin Todd to you?"

「不，不是因為這些。比那些更複雜多了。」McGee告訴她。「他也許根本不知道他這麼做了—總之，是不自覺地。他曾經向妳提過Caitlin Todd這個名字嗎？」

She shook her head, frowning. "No － why?"

她皺眉搖頭。「沒有—有什麼關係嗎？」

"Well, she was someone he worked with, a very long time ago," McGee murmured.

「那個，她是他曾經一起工作過的人，很久以前。」McGee輕聲說。

"What happened to her?"

「她發生了什麼事？」

"She was shot dead while out working on a very dangerous case," McGee told her tersely. Her eyes widened. "She was a lot like you," McGee added增加.

「她在一個很危險的任務裡中彈身亡。」McGee簡潔地告訴她。她張大了眼睛。「她有點像妳。」McGee補充說。

Morris looked outraged憤怒. "Well just because she looked like me doesn't mean…" she began hotly激烈地. McGee held up his hand, interrupting her.

Morris憤怒了起來。「不能因為她看起來像我就表示我也…」她的語調變得激烈。McGee舉起手，打斷了她。

"Did he ever mention Ziva David to you?" he asked. She shook her head again. "Well, he and Ziva were close － they worked together for years until she was killed defusing去掉….的雷管 a bomb. It was another dangerous case and he was covering her while she worked because there was a good chance the people who planted it would return to ensure確定 it went off. She was good － very good － but there wasn't enough time, and it exploded爆炸."

「他向妳提過Ziva David嗎？」他問。她再次搖了搖頭。「那個，他曾經和Ziva很親近—他們一起工作了好幾年，直到她被炸死為止。那是另一個危險的任務，她負責拆除炸彈，而他在她背後照看著，直到確定所有人都已經撤離。她很棒—非常棒—但是時間不夠，所以炸彈爆炸了。」

"Is that where he got that big scar on his arm?" Morris asked, looking a little shaken. McGee nodded.

「這就是他手臂上那個大傷疤的由來？」Morris眼神中帶了點震撼地問。McGee點點頭。

"He was trapped阻止 under the debris殘骸 for three hours before we managed控制 to cut him out. Bits小塊 of her were all around the place. Can you imagine what that was like for him?"

「在我們控制場面並找到他之前，他被困在那些殘骸中三個小時。她的身體碎片散落在他四周。妳能想像那對他來說像什麼嗎？」

Morris nodded slowly. "I understand, but just because he's lost…"

Morris緩緩地點頭。「我了解，但僅僅只是因為他的失去…」

"And you know about his wife?" McGee said. Morris took a deep breath.

「那麼，妳知道他的妻子嗎？」McGee說。Morris深呼吸了一下。

"Yes, sir," she said quietly靜靜地.

「是的，長官。」她靜靜地說。

"She was killed right here, under his nose, down in the forensics lab, and he couldn't do a damn thing to stop it," McGee told her.

「她是在這裡被殺的，就在他的眼下，就在樓下的鑑識實驗室，他卻該死的無法阻止它。」McGee告訴她。

"It wasn't his fault," Morris said.

「那不是他的錯。」Morris說。

"You try telling him that," McGee replied wryly. "Maybe you're right, maybe he *is* a chauvinist, but he always says we lost the best of us and he was right. These women － Kate, Ziva, Abby…" his voice choked阻塞 a little as he said that last name. "They were the best of us, Agent Morris. And we lost them － we lost all of them, and if Tony is trying to keep you out of the firing line that's the reason why. It's not that you're not good enough － it's that you're too good and he doesn't want to lose you."

「妳應該試著這樣告訴他。」McGee挖苦地回應。「也許妳是對的，也許他〝就是〞沙文主義，但他是對的，他總是說我們失去了我們之中最好的。那三個女人—Kate，Ziva，Abby…」他在說到最後一個名字時，聲音有些哽咽。「她們是我們之中最好的，Morris探員。可我們失去了她們—我們失去了她們全部，如果Tony試著讓妳離開火線的話，那麼這就是為什麼。不是因為妳不夠好—而是因為妳太好了，而他不願意失去妳。」

"That's nice to know － but it still doesn't make it fair or right, sir," she said softly.

「很高興知道這些—但這仍然不應該是公平或正確的，長官。」她輕輕地說。

"I know." McGee nodded firmly. "I'll have a word with him. Agent Morris － Felicity幸運 - just…cut him some slack鬆懈, okay? He might be a bastard but he's a good man."

「我知道。」McGee堅決地點頭。「我會和他談。Morris探員—得體一點地說—就是…讓他放鬆一點，好嗎？他也許是個渾球，但他是個好人。」

She bit on her lip嘴唇, her dark eyes full of empathy移情作用. "I know that, sir. You couldn't work with him and not know that, even if he is as scary as all hell."

她抿著唇，深色眼睛中充滿著同情。「我知道他是，長官。你不可能和他一起工作卻不知道這點，即使他兇得讓我們像是在地獄裡。」

"Good." McGee turned to go, and then felt her hand on his arm.

「很好。」McGee轉身欲走，接著卻又被她拉住手臂。

"Sir…people say…it's just…I heard that he used to be very different?" she asked.

「長官…人們都說…就是……我聽說他曾經是個很與眾不同的人？」她問。

"Yeah." McGee nodded, turning back. "He was. I've worked with him for years and he was a very different person back when I started out. He was kind of an idiot, always goofing傻瓜 around, playing stupid jokes, teasing戲弄 us and driving us all insane."

「沒錯。」McGee點點頭，並轉身回來。「他曾經是。我曾經和他一起工作過幾年，直到我離開小組前，他都是個很與眾不同的人。他像是某種白癡，總是傻傻地跑來跑去，弄些蠢笨的玩笑，戲弄我們讓我們顯得愚蠢。」

"I can't imagine that," she said, shaking her head.

「我很難想像那些。」她搖著她的頭說。

"No, well － events事件 can change a person," McGee sighed.

「是啊—許多事情可以改變一個人。」McGee嘆息。

"Is that why you don't fire him?" she asked. McGee raised a warning eyebrow. "Just…he's been investigated調查 by the FBI more times than I can count計算," she said hurriedly. "And it's no secret that his methods方法 are considered考慮 unorthodox非正統的. He's a loose鬆散的 cannon火炮."

「這是你沒有辭掉他的原因？」她問。McGee警告地揚起了眉毛。「就是…他曾經無數次的阻擋了FBI的調查。」她有些急躁地說。「而他所使用的那些非正統的調查方法也早已不是秘密了。他可能隨時會擦槍走火。」

"And he gets results," McGee growled. "He's the best agent I have." He shook his head, seeing the look in her eyes. She wasn't the only one who wondered why he kept DiNozzo around when he had the potential可能的 to be such a massive大而重的 liability傾向. "Listen," he said. "There was once a young probie who made a big mistake － he shot an undercover cop, and couldn't sleep for second-guessing himself and what he'd done. He was on the verge邊緣 of handing in his badge and giving up放棄 his job - and it was Tony who went to his apartment and spent half the night talking him out of his funk驚恐."

「而他得到了結果。」McGee咆哮說。「他是我最好的探員。」他搖搖頭，看進她的眼裡。她不是第一個想知道為什麼他始終讓DiNozzo這個可能是個大負擔的人留著。「聽著，」他說。「曾經有個年輕的菜鳥犯了一個大錯誤—他射殺了一位臥底警察，這讓他晚上夜不成眠，不停地懷疑自己以及自己所做的。那個菜鳥幾乎就在放棄的邊緣，放棄他的工作—是Tony跑到他的公寓去，並花了大半夜的時間和他談，讓他走出這種驚恐。」

"You were the probie?"

「你就是那個菜鳥？」

"Yeah － and Tony's many things, a lot of them not very pretty I agree, but the one thing he is now and always has been is loyal to a fault. He's also a brilliant agent － he's the second best field外勤 agent I've ever known."

「沒錯—他們所提的有關Tony的那些事情，我並不是很同意，而唯一一件他現在所擁有、總是沒有改變的，是他能夠坦然面對錯誤。他是個神奇的探員──我所知道的第二好的外勤探員。」

"The first being Gibbs?" she asked. "He seems to be a legend around here."

「第一個是Gibbs？」她問。「他似乎已經變成這裡的傳奇了。」

"He is," McGee grinned. "With good reason. Look, Felicity, I know Tony's a bastard of a boss to work for, but all I can say is that you should have tried working for Gibbs. Now *that* was tough牢固的."

「他的確是。」他咧齒笑著。「這有個好理由。瞧，得體一點地說，我知道在工作上Tony是個混帳上司，但我只能說你們該試試為Gibbs工作。那絕對是無法比擬的。」

"But Mr. Gibbs is always so nice when he comes in with Louis," she said. "He's a real sweetheart."

「但是Gibbs先生和Louis一起來時總是看起來很和善，」她說。「他真是個甜心。」

McGee laughed out loud, and patted輕拍 her arm. "How you feel about Tony － that's how we all felt about Gibbs," he told her. "Now, if there's nothing else I have someplace I need to be."

McGee大聲笑了起來，並輕輕地拍了拍她的手臂。「你們對Tony的感覺是怎麼樣的—那就是我們對Gibbs的感覺。」他告訴她。「現在，如果沒什麼事了，我還有個地方得去。」

He was about to turn and leave when she touched his arm again.

當他正準備轉身離去時，她又拉住了他第二次。

"You lost all those people too," she said quietly. He looked at her sharply銳利地.

「你也失去了這些人。」她靜靜地說。而他用銳利的眼神看她。

"Yes I did," he murmured.

「是的，我的確是。」他輕聲說。

"I'm sorry, sir," she told him. He swallowed吞下, hard. She smiled at him. "You're a good man, sir," she told him. "And he's not the only one who's loyal - you always stick by him, no matter what."

「我很遺憾，長官。」她告訴他。他困難地嚥了嚥。她對他微笑著。「你是個很好的人，長官。」她告訴他。「無論如何，他不是唯一一個忠誠的人—你也是。」

"You had to know him," McGee said, his voice sounding a little hoarse嘶啞的. "You had to know him back then. You had to know them too － all of them. Kate, Ziva, Abby…it's, it's been hard for us, Felicity, losing them. Tony's right - they really were the best of us. I wish you'd known them. I wish they were here now so that you *could* know them. If they were, things would be very different around here."

「妳必須了解他。」McGee說，他的聲音帶了點嘶啞。「妳必須從他的歷史去了解他。妳也必須了解她們全部—他們全部。Kate，Ziva，Abby……這是、這對我們來說很困難，得體一點地說是，失去她們對我們來說很困難。Tony是對的──她們是我們之中最好的。我希望妳能知道她們。我希望她們現在能夠在這裡，那麼妳就〝能夠〞了解她們。如果她們還在，這裡的－件事都會變得完全不一樣。」

She squeezed擠 his arm. "I know *you*, Director," she said softly. "And I know what a good job you do here, juggling評斷 a hundred different problems at once － at least half of them caused by Agent DiNozzo." She smiled again, and then drew描寫 back. "Sorry － just…I should probably get back to work now."

她捏了捏他的手臂。「我知道〝你〞，處長，」她輕柔地說。「而我也知道你在這裡做得有多好，處斷上百種不同的問題，即使那可能有一半都是因為DiNozzo探員而來的。」她再次微笑，然後又恢復了表情。「抱歉—只是……我想我現在最好回去工作了。」

McGee nodded and watched her go, feeling suddenly winded. The past never failed to make him smile and make his heart ache疼痛 in equal相當地 measure測量. It was hard seeing these new people, so bright and full of promise, and remembering himself, the way he'd been back then, before time and events had taken their toll敲 on him － on all of them.

McGee點點頭並看著她離開，卻突然覺得喘不過氣。那些逝者在讓他微笑這件事上從不失敗，卻也總是讓他的心感受到相當難以測量的疼痛。那讓他很難去看待這些新進的人員，他們是那麼樣的有活力、充滿熱誠，這總是讓他想起自己從前，他自己從前走來的那個樣子，在時間及那些事件改變了他──改變了他們之前。

McGee made his way back to the squad room but Tony wasn't there － he hadn't expected期待中的 him to be. He probably wouldn't return for a couple of hours. Even so, it wasn't worth leaving anything to chance where Tony was concerned不安的, so McGee pulled out his cell phone and put through a call to security保安.

McGee走回了小組辦公室，可Tony不在那裡──他也不期待他在。他大概兩個小時內都不會回來了。即使如此，他擔心的是Tony離開之後人在哪裡，所以McGee拿出他的手機並打了通電話給保安。

"This is Director McGee," he told the chief. "I want you to put two men outside Interrogation Room One. They are not, under any circumstances情況, to let Special Agent DiNozzo in there without my express authorisation授權."

「我是McGee處長。」他告訴保全主任。「我要你將兩個人帶離一號審訊室。除非有我的許可，否則他們不能，即使是任何情況下也不能讓特別探員DiNozzo進去。」

That done, he thought he deserved應得的 some lunch.

做完這件事後，他覺得自己應該得到一份午餐了。

Louis was finishing off his ice-cream by the time McGee made it to the restaurant. It was a warm day so he was sitting on the restaurant's back patio露臺 with Gibbs and Ducky, smears塗抹 of green all around his mouth, and he was slowly but happily sucking on his spoon.

當McGee到達餐廳時，Louis正好吃完了他的冰淇淋。這天天氣很溫暖，所以他與Gibbs、Ducky坐在餐廳後方的露臺上，他的嘴巴周圍塗滿了綠色，而他正緩慢並且開心地吮著他的湯匙。

"Hey － pistachio開心果 right?" McGee said, grinning at him as he took the empty seat opposite相反地 him, next to Ducky and across from Gibbs.

「嘿—開心果口味的，對嗎？」McGee說，在咧齒笑著的同時拿過了一張空椅子坐在他對面，就在Ducky的旁邊、Gibbs的對面。

"Uncle Tim!" Louis's face lit up. "Is Daddy with you?" he asked. McGee shook his head.

「Tim叔叔！」Louis的臉亮了起來。「爹地跟你一起來嗎？」他問。McGee搖了搖他的頭。

"No, he…uh, had to do some work," he said lamely.

「沒有，他…嗯，他還得做些工作。」

"Did he kill that man?" Louis asked. McGee winced.

「他殺了那個男人嗎？」Louis問。McGee畏縮了下。

"No － that was just a joke, Louis," he said quickly, crossing his fingers as he spoke. Gibbs raised an eyebrow at him. McGee grimaced.

「沒有—那只是個玩笑，Louis。」他迅速地說道，並在說話的同時十指交握。Gibbs揚起了一邊眉毛看著他。McGee露出了痛苦的表情。

"You know, Louis － why don't we go over to the play area?" Ducky suggested, glancing from Gibbs to McGee and back again. There was a jungle亂七八糟的 gym體育館 and a slide滑動 over in the corner街角 of the restaurant's yard庭院.

「你知道嗎，Louis—我們何不去那邊的遊樂區玩玩呢？」Ducky提議道，並一邊將視線從Gibbs轉到McGee，再轉回來。在猜餐廳的庭園裡，靠近街角的地方，有著一個叢林似的遊樂場。

"Can I, Boss?" Louis asked, his chin下巴 dripping ice-cream.

「我可以嗎，Boss？」Louis問，他的下巴還滴著冰淇淋。

"Sure － let me just clean you up."

「當然—先讓我把你清乾淨。」

Louis grinned happily as Gibbs grabbed抓 a napkin餐巾, spat吐 on it, and wiped擦 it over his face, and then Ducky took Louis's hand and led him away. Ducky had retired a few years ago but McGee thought he never seemed to grow a day older. His hair was thinner變稀薄 now but he was still lively and vigorous精力充沛的 － of them all, McGee thought that maybe he’d changed the least. He still came into NCIS one day a week to take newbies剛上路的新手 on a tour巡視 of Autopsy驗屍, or look over Palmer's shoulder and comment on his work while regaling款待 him with various不同的 long and sometimes improbable未必會發生 anecdotes趣聞. Jimmy didn't seem to mind － everyone loved Ducky and they all enjoyed having him around, even if it was just for one day a week.

當Gibbs抓過餐巾幫他擦著時，Louis笑得很開心，接著Ducky就牽著他的手帶著他離開了。Ducky在數年前退休了，但McGee總覺得他從未變老。他的頭髮可能變得更稀薄了，但仍是他們之中最活力旺盛、精力充沛的—McGee最後在想可能是他自己變了。他－周會來一天NCIS，去看看那些剛上手的新人，巡視驗屍的過程，或是用他各種不同的、卻是未必會發生的趣聞來款待Palmer並觀察他的工作。Jimmy看起來似乎是不介意—每個人都愛Ducky，並樂於有他陪伴，即使一周只有一天。

"So － what's going on?" Gibbs asked, stirring his coffee. His hair was now completely silver, but his blue eyes were as sharp and formidable令人畏懼的 as ever. Retirement － or maybe it was looking after Louis - suited him. He looked more relaxed these days, and, if anything, he looked younger now than when he'd been at NCIS. The lines on his face were softer, and he smiled more often. He had an air of contentment滿足 about him and that was something that McGee had never seen in him before. He could still be as focussed焦點 and demanding as ever though, and whenever McGee was with him he felt he regressed退回 to being a young probie again, even now, as a forty-something man in charge of a federal law enforcement強迫 agency.

「所以—發生了什麼事？」Gibbs問，啜了一口他的咖啡。他的頭髮已經全部變成銀白色了，但他的藍色眼睛仍是一如既往地銳利及令人畏懼。退休後的生活—又或者是照顧Louis之後—裝扮了他。這些日子以來，他看起來更輕鬆了，以及，可能有任何原因，他看起來甚至比他在NCIS的時候還年輕。他臉上的皺紋變得柔和，他也更常笑了。有一種滿足的氛圍環繞在他周遭，那是McGee以前從未在他身上見過的。他仍能維持著一針見血的態度，每當和他在一起，都讓McGee覺得自己又是那個年輕的菜鳥，即使是現在，在他面前的仍是一個強勢的聯邦探員。

"Tony thinks he's found one of Jonssen's lackeys僕人, Mark Stackton, but I don't think that guy is going to talk. He's more scared of Jonssen than of Tony － even if Tony did have him up against the wall with his hand around his throat," McGee sighed. "You were right, Boss. I only just got there in time to pull him off."

「Mark Stackton，Tony認為他是Jonssen的僕人之一，但我不認為這傢伙會說任何事。比起Tony，他更害怕Jonssen—即使Tony掐著他的脖子把他按在牆上逼他吐實。」McGee嘆了口氣。「你是對的，Boss。當我到達那裡時，只剛好來得及把他拉開而已。」

"Where did he go?" Gibbs asked.

「他去哪裡了？」Gibbs問。

"Wherever it is he goes when he's feeling like this," McGee shrugged. "He'll be hitting something right now － the wall, the punching bag in the gym － we just have to hope it's not, you know, a person."

「他去他此刻心情最適合的地方。」McGee聳肩。「他現在會揍向某個東西—像是牆，健身房的沙袋—我們只能希望那不會是，你知道的，某個人。」

Gibbs grunted哼. "Christ. He'll be hell when he gets home."

Gibbs哼了一聲。「老天保佑。當他回家時肯定就是副鬼樣。」

"Do you hide the bourbon or just leave it beside his bed to get it over with?" McGee asked. It was no secret that Tony turned to drink when things got bad.

「你把他的波本藏起來了？還是它就在床頭邊？」McGee問。這不是個秘密了，當情況糟糕時，Tony總是會把自己灌醉。

Gibbs glared at him. "He knows better than to drink in the house when Louis is around － or to come home drunk for that matter. I made that damn clear to him," he growled. McGee was glad that he hadn't been there when the two of them had had that particular conversation. "If he wants to get drunk in a bar then he can sleep it off in the office or find a hotel room," Gibbs added.

Gibbs瞪著他。「他最好知道Louis在家時禁止喝酒—還有絕對不準喝得爛醉回家。如果這樣，我會該死的親自清理他。」他咆哮著。McGee很高興當這兩個男人在辯論時他不會在現場。「如果他在酒吧裡喝醉了，他可以回辦公室過夜或是找間旅館。」Gibbs補充說。

"I just had a conversation with Agent Morris and it got me to thinking…" McGee said, and then he paused猶豫. Gibbs took a sip啜 of his coffee. McGee hesitated吞吞吐吐.

「我剛剛和Morris探員有過一番談話，那讓我思考了一些…」McGee說，然後又猶豫著。Gibbs啜了一口咖啡。McGee仍是吞吞吐吐的。

"Well spit it out, McGee," Gibbs ordered.

「那麼，吐出來，McGee。」Gibbs命令道。

"Do you think we're doing the right thing?" McGee asked anxiously焦急地. "I mean, we rush奔 around after him, we cover for him, we smooth進行順利地 things over for him - maybe we shouldn't."

「你覺得我們做的事是正確的嗎？」McGee焦急地問。「我意思是，我們追在他的後面，掩護他，讓他順利進行想做的事—也許我們不該這樣做。」

"What's the alternative?" Gibbs asked.

「還有別的選項？」Gibbs問。

"I don't know. I just feel, sometimes, like we're his enablers動力 or something," McGee sighed. "I mean － you look after Louis for him and I protect him at NCIS. We all make it possible for him to carry on being like this."

「我不知道。我只是覺得，有時候，我們就像他的動力或是什麼的，」McGee嘆氣。「我意思是—你幫他照顧Louis，而我在NCIS保護他。我們都盡己所能的去照顧了他。」

"No." Gibbs shook his head. "We do what we have to do, Tim."

「不。」Gibbs搖了搖他的頭。「我們做了我們必須做的，Tim。」

"Well, with all due合適的 respect尊敬, Boss, I do sometimes wonder if either of us thinks objectively客觀地 about this situation處境. I mean…Abby meant the world to both of us, and you…" He broke off. Gibbs glared at him.

「那個，站在合理且尊敬的角度，Boss，有時候我會想，我們都不是站在客觀的角度去看他的處境。我意思是…Abby對我們來說也意味著一切，而你…」他中斷了話。Gibbs瞪著他。

"Say it," he ordered.

「說。」他命令道。

"Well, you empathise移情 with him too much, Boss!" McGee said forcefully強有力地. "You know you do! Your wife was killed too and you know how that feels so you cut him a lot of slack because of that."

「那個，你對他移情太多了，Boss！」McGee加強了話中的力道。「你知道你是！你的妻子也是被殺，你知道那是什麼感覺，所以你因此特別放縱他。」

"You think that's it?" Gibbs shook his head. "Yeah － I know what it's like, Tim. I know how he feels every single damn day he gets up, and yeah, I do put myself in his place. I do wonder how I'd feel if I hadn't put a half dozen一打 bullets子彈 through the bastard that killed Shannon and Kelly. At least I got some kind of － what's the fancy愛好 word they use for it? Closure打烊? Yeah, I got that and Tony hasn't, and I do understand what drives him, and why he's so obsessed著迷的 with getting Jonssen."

「你認為是這樣？」Gibbs搖搖頭。「沒錯—我知道這看起來像這樣，Tim。我知道他每天該死的起床時是什麼感覺，而且沒錯，我讓我介入他的生活。我知道如果當初我沒把一打的子彈都打進殺了Shannon和Kelly的那個混帳身體裡的話會是什麼感覺。而最後我得到的是一種感覺—他們愛用的字是什麼？收工了？沒錯我有這種感覺，可是Tony還沒有，而我知道是什麼在驅使著他，是什麼讓他如此沉迷於抓到Jonssen。」

"And all this time Louis is growing up and Tony hardly sees him!" McGee said, in a heated voice. "Maybe, if we made Tony face up to reality, he'd get his priorities優先考慮 right and realise he has a son who needs him and his revenge isn't as important as that poor kid over there." McGee glanced over to where Louis was hanging from some monkey bars.

「但與此同時Louis正在長大，Tony卻沒認真看過他幾次！」McGee用一種激烈的語調說。「也許，如果我們讓Tony面對現實，他就會優先考慮那些對的事情，他就會面對他有個兒子正需要他、他的復仇甚至沒有這個在這裡的可憐孩子重要。」McGee的視線投向遠處正抓著猴子形狀的單槓的Louis。

"You think that if we stepped back that's what'd happen?" Gibbs asked, in a tone of disbelief.

「你覺得我們停止做他的後援，這些就會發生？」Gibbs用一種不相信的語調問。

"It might!" McGee protested斷言.

「它可能會！」McGee斬釘截鐵地說。

"No." Gibbs shook his head. "Tony's father died a couple of years ago, Tim － did you know that?" he asked.

「不。」Gibbs搖了搖他的頭。「Tony的爸爸幾年前死了，Tim—你知道嗎？」他問。

"I was vaguely含糊地 aware of it. What does that have to do with anything? I know he and Tony weren't close."

「我對這不是很清楚。這表示什麼？我知道他和Tony並不是很親近。」

"He left Tony a fortune財富," Gibbs told him. "And I mean a serious fortune. Tony doesn't have to work ever again if he doesn't want to, and if I said I wasn't going to look after Louis any more, I know that Tony would just hire雇 someone to take care of the kid and I *won't* let that happen, not to Abby's son. You tell him you're not covering for him at NCIS, and he'll just go off on his own, follow up his own leads, outside the law, and end up either dead or behind bars for the rest of his life."

「他留給了Tony一筆鉅款。」Gibbs告訴他。「我所指的是一筆真正的鉅款。如果Tony不想工作了，他可以就不用工作；而如果我說我不再照顧Louis了，我知道他只會另外雇個人來照顧這孩子，而我〝不想〞讓這件事情發生，我不想讓它發生在Abby的孩子身上。如果你告訴他你不再在NCIS裡照應他了，那麼他只會用他自己的方法出去，跟蹤每條他所擁有的線索，遊走在法律之外，而最後他的人生只有兩條路，死亡或是倒在某個地方的酒吧裡。」

McGee gazed at him, aghast驚駭地.

McGee驚駭地看著他。

"We do what we have to do to keep Tony contained從容地, to try and help as best we can, to stop this mess混亂 getting any messier混亂, and, hopefully, to keep Louis's dad alive for long enough for the kid to at least have his dad around, even if he's not in his life as much as we'd like. We lost Kate, and Ziva, and Abby. We're not damn well losing Tony too," Gibbs said firmly.

「我們做了我們能做的，讓Tony無後顧之憂，盡我們所能的去幫助他，去阻止這團混亂變得更加混亂，然後帶著期望，希望Louis的爸爸可以活得夠久直到他擁有他，即使他在他的生命中所佔的比重不如我們預期。我們失去了Kate，還有Ziva，還有Abby。我們最好該死的也別失去Tony。」Gibbs堅決地說。

"What if we screw up鼓舞 though?" McGee said quietly. "Tony is out of control, Gibbs － you know it and I know it. One of these days he *will* get himself killed. I'm sure of it."

「如果說這一切是因為我們的鼓舞呢？」McGee靜靜地說。「Tony已經失去控制了，Gibbs—你知道這點，我也知道。這些日子以來，他〝幾乎〞就要殺了他自己，我很確信這一點。」

"He's not out of control," Gibbs said firmly. McGee glanced up at him sharply. "Not yet anyway, and I won't let it happen," Gibbs snapped. "You're right though － he's close to it and he needs a few slaps upside the head. You keep him tethered拴 at the office and I'll slap some sense into him at home. Between us we'll contain him. That's the best we can hope to do though － because unless he finds Jonssen and either kills him or puts him behind bars, I can't see him changing."

「他還沒失去控制。」Gibbs堅決地說。McGee銳利地盯著他。「總之、還沒，而我也不會讓它發生，」Gibbs猛地說。「不過你是對的—他已經接近了，所以他需要一些拍頭。你在辦公室裡拴住他，而我在家裡巴他。雙方面加起來我們就能安撫他。這是在我們的期望中所能做到的最好的—因為除非他真的找到了Jonssen，或是他被某人殺了，或是他把自己丟在某個酒吧裡了，否則我看不到任何改變的可能。」

"And what if he does?" McGee asked. "What happens after?"

「那如果他真的報仇了呢？」McGee問。「在那之後他會變成什麼樣子？」

Gibbs sat back in his seat, a muscle in his jaw twitching使痙攣.

Gibbs在椅上坐了坐，下巴上的肌肉痙攣著。

"Don't say you haven't thought about it," McGee hissed嘶嘶聲. "What is he after the burning desire for revenge has gone? *Who* is he? Do we get Tony back? The old Tony? Or does he not have anything to live for any more?"

「別說你沒有想過這個。」McGee嘶聲道。「當他燃燒完他的復仇之火後呢？〝他〞會是誰？我們能讓Tony回來？以前的那個Tony？又或者在這之後，他再也沒有生存的目標？」

"He's got Louis," Gibbs stated指定 firmly.

「他還有Louis。」Gibbs堅決地指出。

"He hardly spends any time with the kid! To all intents意圖 and purposes目的 you're Louis's dad. You've raised him."

「他甚至很難花時間在這孩子身上！從所有層面來看，你才是Louis的爸爸。是你撫養他！」

"I wanted to," Gibbs said softly, and McGee knew that and he knew why. Gibbs was great with kids － always had been － and while McGee knew that Louis was in no way a substitute替代品 for Kelly, the little boy did fill填滿 a least some of the gap缺口 that her loss had left in Gibbs's life. McGee was glad of that － Louis adored his "Boss" and Gibbs loved the child with all his heart in return, but Gibbs wasn't Louis's father － Tony was.

「我希望我是。」Gibbs輕聲說，而McGee知道他為什麼會這麼說。Gibbs和孩子處得很好—總是很好—McGee知道Louis就像是Kelly的替代品，這個小男孩填滿了Gibbs生命中那個關於失去她的缺口。McGee很高興它是這樣—Louis喜愛他的〝Boss〞，而Gibbs也全心愛這個孩子，但Gibbs終究不是Louis的父親—Tony才是。

"I know," McGee said. "I know, Boss, but I'm just saying － I don't know how much longer we can all keep doing this. Something has to give."

「我知道。」McGee說。「我知道，Boss，但我只是說—我不知道我們能這樣做多久。必須再有別的東西。」

"I'll talk to Tony," Gibbs said grimly可怕地, and McGee grimaced at his tone. He wouldn't want to be in Tony's shoes when Gibbs got hold of him. "We'll do what we have to do, Tim," Gibbs told him. "To keep Tony safe. We'll do whatever it takes."

「我會和Tony談。」Gibbs用令人害怕的語氣說道，而McGee聽了後做了個痛苦的表情。當Gibbs想要掌握住Tony時，他絕對不會想要在那個位置上的。「我們會做到所有我們能做的，Tim。」Gibbs告訴他。「想辦法讓Tony安全。無論要付出什麼代價。」

"Even if he hates us for it?" McGee asked.

「即使他因此而痛恨我們兩個？」McGee問。

Gibbs gave him a terse grin. "Hell, if he doesn't hate us for it then we aren't doing it right!"

Gibbs給了他一個簡潔俐落的笑。「見鬼，如果他不痛恨我們，那就表示我們沒有做對！」

At that moment they were interrupted by a squeal, and they looked around to see Ducky kneeling in front of Louis, showing him a magic trick that was clearly delighting the small boy. He giggled傻笑 and then launched himself at Ducky, throwing his arms around his neck and giving him a big hug. The way he moved was so familiar that it made McGee's throat constrict束緊. He looked at Gibbs to see him looking at Louis in the exact嚴格地 same way.

與此同時，一個尖叫聲打斷了他們，當他們轉頭望去，Ducky正跪在Louis的面前，秀了一個小魔術並讓小男孩的臉開始發光。他開始傻笑並鑽進Ducky的懷裡，接著伸手環住他的脖子給了他一個大擁抱。他做的這個熟悉的動作讓McGee的喉嚨忍不住一陣發緊。他看向Gibbs，後者也用同樣的眼光在看著Louis。

"I still miss her so much," McGee murmured.

「我仍然非常思念她。」McGee咕噥著說。

Gibbs cleared his throat and finished his coffee in one gulp大口地飲. "Yeah. That's why we have to do our best for that boy over there," he said grimly.

Gibbs清了清喉嚨並一口喝乾了他的咖啡。「沒錯。那正是為什麼我們在這裡為那個男孩盡一己之力的原因。」他帶著痛苦的表情說。

"I suppose there's one good thing in all this," McGee mused沉思, watching as Ducky got to his feet and held out his hand to Louis.

「這所有之中我只支持一個理由。」McGee一邊沉思地說，一邊看著Ducky手腳並用地抱住Louis。

"Which is?" Gibbs raised an eyebrow.

「哪一個？」Gibbs揚起眉毛。

"That Louis takes after Abby and not Tony," McGee grinned. "Because otherwise you really would have your hands full, Boss!"

「Louis比較像Abby而不是Tony。」McGee笑得咧出了牙齒。「因為前者才是你比較想抱滿懷的，Boss！」

Gibbs managed a little chuckle at that, and they both turned as Ducky and Louis reached the table.

Gibbs壓下了自己因為這句話的笑容，然後他們一同看著回到桌邊來的Ducky和Ｌouis。

"It's your turn to amuse our young friend now I think, Uncle Timothy," Ducky said, with a meaningful smile in McGee's direction. Louis was great fun but he had the combined聯合的 energy of both Abby and Tony, who were two of the most high-octane高純度 people McGee had ever known, and that made the child exhausting使人精疲力竭的 company sometimes.

「我想現在該換你來娛樂我們的年輕朋友了，Timothy叔叔。」Ducky邊說邊意有所指地看向McGee的方向。Louis玩得很開心、但他可是擁有著相當於Abby與Tony所加起來的精力，而這兩個人是McGee有生以來見過最活力旺盛的人，而這導致有時候陪伴這孩子成了使人精疲力竭的工作。

"You're a hard act to follow, Ducky," McGee complained, reaching out to tickle呵癢 Louis and pulling a mock-scary face扮鬼臉 at the same time. The little boy immediately直接地 dissolved into感動 a fit相稱 of giggles.

「你是個很難讓人跟上腳步的演員，Ducky。」McGee抱怨著，然後在同時間邊對著Louis呵癢養邊扮了個鬼臉。小男孩則是直接格格笑著回應了他。

Ducky took his seat at the table. "I take it we have more problems with our mutual彼此的 friend?" he murmured to Gibbs, with a glance at Louis to make sure he hadn't picked up on who they were talking about. The child threw himself at McGee who picked him up and hung him upside down so that his soft dark hair brushed the ground.

Ducky在桌邊找了個位子坐下。「我想我們的年輕人有了更多的麻煩？」他低聲對Gibbs說著，並且瞄了眼Louis以確保他並未聽見他們所討論的對象。那孩子正將自己投進McGee的懷裡，而後者則抱著他上下晃動著，讓他柔軟的黑色頭髮飛舞著。

"Yeah." Gibbs nodded. "He's got a lead on Jonssen."

「沒錯。」Gibbs點點頭。「他得到了一個關於Jonssen的線索。」

"Another one?" Ducky sighed. "I wish he'd just let it go."

「又一個？」Ducky嘆氣。「我希望他能就這樣讓它過去。」

"He can't, Duck, and I can understand that," Gibbs said.

「他不能，Duck，而我理解他的感受。」Gibbs說。

"But you've seen what he gets like whenever this happens. It's not good for him － for any of us," Ducky said. "I remember the last time － he drank himself into the ground for weeks, and then there were all those mysterious神秘的 injuries傷害 he sustained支撐 and which he made me treat款待." He gave a little wince. "All those bruised knuckles and black eyes － either from bar fights or over-zealous過度熱心的, work-related與工作有關的 encounters遭遇(敵人). It was all very dispiriting使沮喪."

「但是你也見識過當這一切發生時他會變成什麼樣子。這對他來說並不是好事—對我們來說也是。」Ducky說。「我還記得上一次—他整整醉了一周，這些會造成他健康上損害的東西支撐著他，導致我最後不得不好好的照顧他。」他給了個小小的畏縮表情。「所有那些指關節上的瘀青及黑眼圈—要不是來自於酒吧裡的打架，要不就是來自於他的雞婆，或是工作上的遭遇。這些都非常讓我難過。」

"Like I said － we're his enablers," McGee muttered. He flipped Louis back onto his feet and sat down at the table again.

「就像我說的—我們助長了他。」McGee咕噥道。他抱著Louis走了回來、並再次坐在了桌邊。

"McGee isn't sure we go about this the right way," Gibbs explained to Ducky. "But I don't think we have a choice."

「McGee不確定我們是否用對了方法。」Gibbs對Ducky解釋說。「但我不認為我們有選擇。」

"Well, Jethro, he long since stopped listening to me I'm afraid － and, I'm sorry to say this, Timothy but I don't think he listens to you, either. That just leaves you, Jethro. Now he *does* still listen to you."

「Well，Jethro，我很害怕、他已經很久不聆聽我說話了—而且，我很抱歉這麼說，Timothy我不認為他同樣會聽你的。他同樣遠離你了，Jethro，現在他〝只〞仍然聽你的。」

"I know," Gibbs snapped. "I've told McGee that I'll have a word with him."

「我知道。」Gibbs猛地說。「我告訴McGee我會和他談談。」

"Who are you talking about?" Louis asked, curiously.

「你們在討論誰？」Louis好奇地問。

"A friend of ours, my dear Louis," Ducky told him, brushing his untidy不修邊幅地 dark hair into a semblance外貌 of neatness整潔 with his hand.

「一個我們的朋友，我親愛的Louis。」Ducky告訴他，並用手將他雜亂的黑髮順成看起來整潔的樣子。

"Is he okay?" Louis asked. "Your friend? Why are you all talking about him in whispers? Is he dead?"

「他還好嗎？」Louis問。「你的朋友？為什麼你們都用悄悄話說他？他死掉了嗎？」

McGee gave a little laugh. Louis had a kind of morbid病態的 fascination魅力 with death, although he didn't really understand it. Maybe that was just his mom coming out in him again.

McGee小聲笑了起來。死亡這件事對Louis來說有種病態的魅力存在，雖然他並不真的知道那是什麼。也許那只是證明他的媽媽在他身上出現的又一件事。

"No he isn't dead, Louis," Ducky replied gently. "He's just…lost his way."

「不他沒有死掉，Louis。」Ducky禮貌地回道。「他只是……迷失了他的方向。」

"He's lost?" Louis's eyes glowed anxiously焦急地. "You have to find him! I got lost last week － in the shopping mall. I was really scared. A nice lady found me and they called for Boss over the loudspeaker thing."

「他迷路了？」Louis的眼睛焦急地瞪著。「你們必須找到他！我上周也迷路了—在一個購物中心裡。我那時真的很害怕。一個好心的小姐找到了我，而且他們還幫我用擴音的東西呼叫了Boss。」

"I only turned my back for a second," Gibbs grunted. "I hate shopping malls. Although I did tell you to stick close by as there were so many people there that day," he said to the child. Louis nodded.

「我只不過轉身幾秒鐘而已。」Gibbs哼道。「我痛恨購物中心。即使我已經告訴他那天會有很多人，一定要緊跟著我。」他對著孩子說。Louis點點頭。

"I know. Boss yelled at me and hugged me a lot when he found me," Louis said. "He said I scared him but I was scared too when I couldn't find him. I was really scared."

「我知道了。當Boss找到我時不僅對我大吼，還抱著我好久。」Louis說。「他說我嚇到他了，可是當我找不到他時我也嚇到了。我真的很害怕。」

He bit on his lip, gazing at Gibbs, and then put his arms up, looking upset憂慮地 by the memory. Gibbs lifted him up onto his knee obligingly親切地 and kissed his hair. That seemed to reassure使確定 Louis because he stuck his finger happily in what remained留下 of his now melted融化 ice-cream.

他嘟起嘴唇，然後看向Gibbs，接著他抱起手臂，像是這個回憶又讓他煩惱了起來。Gibbs將他抱到了膝上並親吻上他的頭髮。這像是要幫忙Louis開心地將手指頭給伸進先前留下的已融化的冰淇淋裡。

"I told Boss I got lost because I saw a puppy and went to stroke her. I want a puppy," he said wistfully希望地, sucking the ice-cream off his finger. Gibbs raised his eyes heavenward朝天國地 and McGee wondered how many times Louis had been asking him for one since that day in the mall.

「我告訴Boss我會迷路是因為我看到了一隻小狗，我想去抓她。我想要一隻小狗。」他滿是希望地說，並吮著手指頭上的冰淇淋。Gibbs朝天翻了個白眼，McGee猜想Louis究竟已經說了幾遍有關於那天在購物中心的事情。

"McGee! Where the hell are you hiding, McGee?" a loud voice rang out from the back door of the restaurant. They all looked up, in surprise, to see Tony striding towards them.

「McGee！你見鬼的躲在哪裡，McGee？」一道響亮的聲音從餐廳的後門處傳來。大家都轉頭望去，帶著令人驚訝的表情，看著Tony大步走向他們。

"Daddy!" Louis scrambled爬行 off Gibbs's lap and charged緊張地 over to him but Tony brushed擦過 him aside without even looking at him, almost knocking碰撞 the child over in the process.

「爹地！」Louis從Gibbs的膝上爬下並緊張地跑向他，但Tony僅僅就是擦過他的身邊、甚至都沒看他一眼，在行進間還差點撞倒了他。

"You put security on the damn door? Security? To keep *me* out?" Tony shouted, looking as if he was about to explode.

「你把嫌犯帶走了？我的嫌犯？排除了〝我〞？」Tony大叫著，看起來像是快氣炸了。

"Oh hell," McGee muttered under his breath. "Here it comes." He stood up. "You weren't in control of your temper back there, Tony － you're not in control of it now, either, by the look of it," he pointed out. "I don't want anyone dying in our custody監管."

「噢見鬼。」McGee吐了口氣並咕噥道。「事情發生了。」他站起身。「你在那裡失去控制了，Tony—你現在也是，你自己看看，」他指出。「我不想要有人死在我們的監管下。」

"I wasn't going to kill him. I was trying to scare him!" Tony growled. Louis shrank畏縮 back against Gibbs and McGee winced － the last thing any of them wanted was for Louis to see Tony in one of his rages.

「我沒有要殺了他。我試著著恐嚇他！」Tony咆哮說。Louis躲回了Gibbs的懷抱裡，McGee也因此而畏縮了下—他們最終最想要Louis看到的，即使一次也好，是Tony不再失控的樣子。

Gibbs got up, and handed Louis to Ducky.

Gibbs站起身，並將Louis抱給了Ducky。

"Duck － please take Louis to the restroom. Tony and I are going to have a little talk."

「Duck──麻煩把Louis帶到休息室去。Tony和我有些話要談。」

"No we're not － McGee and I are going to go back to NCIS where he is going to call off his security detail so I can do my job," Tony seethed騷動.

「不、我們沒有—McGee和我要回去NCIS，而他要同意帶給我嫌犯這樣我就能繼續我的工作。」Tony躁動著。

"Shut up and sit down," Gibbs said, in a low, dangerous tone. Louis's eyes widened. Ducky took the child's hand and led him away.

「閉嘴、還有坐下。」Gibbs用低沉且危險的聲音說。Louis瞪大了眼睛。Ducky牽起了孩子的手並帶著他離開。

Tony glared at both Gibbs and McGee but McGee held his ground, staring Tony out.

Tony瞪著Gibbs和McGee兩個人，但McGee只是毫不動搖地看了回去。

"I said, sit down, Tony," Gibbs growled. "Don't make me say it again." Tony looked as if he was about to go off like a firework. His body was tense and his eyes dark, flashing angry sparks無線電通訊師 at them both. Gibbs put a hand on his shoulder. "Easy," he said softly. The effect was instantaneous瞬間的, and, McGee thought, a little surprising. Tony inhaled吸入 sharply, and then, with a glare at McGee, he sat. McGee relaxed.

「我說了，坐下，Tony。」Gibbs咆哮。「別讓我再說一次。」Tony看起來就像是外面發生了火災似的。他的身體緊張僵硬而眼神陰暗，對著他們兩傳達著憤怒的訊號。Gibbs將手放在了他的肩上。「放輕鬆。」他輕聲說。那影響幾乎是瞬間的，McGee這麼想著，並帶著點驚訝。Tony尖銳地吸了一口氣，然後，再次瞪向McGee，接著坐下。McGee鬆了一口氣。

"Go wait over there," Gibbs said to McGee, gesturing手勢 with his head towards the doorway. "I'll handle this." McGee turned and went to stand by the door, waiting for Ducky and Louis to return from the restroom.

「去那裡等著。」Gibbs對McGee說，並用頭示意了門的方向。「我會搞定這裡。」McGee轉身走向了門邊，並等著Ducky和Louis從休息室回來。

He glanced back at the table. Tony was sitting down, facing him, every muscle in his body still screaming叫喊著 his rage盛怒. Gibbs was standing behind him, both his hands on Tony's shoulders, clamping限制 down tight牢固地 and talking into his ear in a low, urgent堅持要求的 voice.

他接著瞪回了桌子這邊。Tony正坐著，看著他，身上每塊肌肉仍在盛怒之下叫囂著。Gibbs站在他身後，兩隻手都放在Tony的肩膀上，在牢牢地壓制著他的同時並用著堅持且低沉的語氣對他說。

"I don't give a damn who you've found － don't ever talk like that in front of Louis again. He doesn't need to see you like that. And I don't care how angry you are - you damn near knocked him over when you charged in here and there's no excuse for that."

「我該死的不關心你找到了誰—以後別再在Louis面前這樣說話。他不需要看到你這個樣子。而且我也不關心你到底有多憤怒—你大步走進來時幾乎就要撞倒了他，這沒有一個理由足夠解釋你的行為。」

"McGee is behaving行為 like an idiot. Carter won't get what we need from Stackton. I need to talk to him again!" Tony protested angrily.

「McGee的行為像個白癡。Carter根本沒辦法從Stackton口中問出我們要的。我需要再跟他談一次！」Tony憤怒地反對著。

"According to McGee, last time you talked to him you nearly choked him."

「根據McGee的說法，上一次你跟他談的時候氣得差點掐死他。」

"Well, I've calmed down now."

「好吧，我現在冷靜了。」

"I can see that." Gibbs's tone was so dry面無表情地 that McGee couldn't help but smile. Gibbs squeezed Tony's shoulder, and McGee was surprised to see Tony's anger evaporate消失 visibly明顯地. His entire body seemed to deflate抽出…中的氣, and he glanced up at Gibbs with a desperate極度渴望的, pleading懇求 expression in his eyes.

「我看得出來。」Gibbs回答的語調太過平板、導致McGee除了微笑也不知道該做什麼動作。Gibbs壓著Tony的肩膀，接著McGee驚訝地發現Tony的怒氣明顯地消失了。他全身像是被抽了氣似的，接著他用絕望的、帶著懇求的眼神看向Gibbs。

"I need to speak to Stackton, Boss," he said in a quieter voice.

「我需要對Stackton說些話，Boss。」他用平靜的語調說。

"I know － but it's Tim's call. He's in charge, Tony. And he's not going to agree to it if you keep yelling at him. You might want to think about making nice instead作為替代."

「我知道—但這是Tim的命令。他處斷的，Tony。而如果你繼續對著他吼，他不會同意的。你要嘗試用良好的態度去面對他。」

"When did you ever make nice to anyone?" Tony muttered. Gibbs slapped the back of his head.

「你什麼時候有過良好的態度了？」Tony咕噥道。Gibbs巴了他的後腦勺一下。

"When I had to," he growled.

「當我必須這麼做的時候。」他咆哮道。

Then he sat down beside him, sliding滑動 one arm around his shoulders as he sat, keeping in continuous連續的 physical身體的 contact接觸 with Tony. He leaned傾斜 in close and whispered something straight into Tony's ear. McGee watched, frowning, wondering what was going on here. Tony listened though － he and Ducky had been right about that; Tony was listening to Gibbs, even if he wouldn't listen to them. As Gibbs spoke he moved his hand, stroking Tony's shoulder insistently堅持的 the entire time. McGee was aware that he was watching a master class in bringing Tony down, and he wished he knew what the trick was.

接著他坐在他身邊，將一隻手環上他的肩膀，並對著Tony持續著這樣的身體接觸。他傾斜著靠近他、並直接對著Tony的耳朵悄聲說著些什麼。McGee看著，並皺眉著，想知道那裡是怎麼回事。很顯然Tony聽進去了—對於這件事他和Ducky的想法是對的；雖然Tony聽不進去他們所說的，但他還是會聽從Gibbs的話。當Gibbs正在說話時他移動著他的手，在這段時間內他不停地摩娑著Tony的肩膀。McGee發現在自己正在看一堂大師如何馴服Tony的課程，他同時也希望能夠知道那技巧到底是什麼。

"Yes?" Gibbs said, drawing back a little. "Can you do that?"

「對嗎？」Gibbs說，並稍微坐了回來。「你能做到嗎？」

Tony bit on his lip, and then, eventually, he sighed. "Okay. I'll try," he muttered.

Tony嘟起嘴，然後，終於，他嘆了口氣。「好。我會試試看。」他咕噥道。

"Good boy." Gibbs moved his hand and ruffled使生氣 Tony's hair as if he was Louis and not a grown man in his forties.

「好男孩。」Gibbs將他的手移到Tony的頭上弄亂著他的頭髮，好像他是個像Louis一樣大的孩子，而不是個已經長大的四十歲男人。

At that moment Louis and Ducky emerged浮現 from the restroom and came over to where McGee was sitting.

此時Louis與Ducky也出現在了休息室的門口並往McGee坐著的方向走來。

"Are Daddy and Boss still fighting?" Louis asked McGee anxiously.

「爹地和Boss還在打架嗎？」Louis緊張地問向McGee。

"I don't think so. And they weren't really fighting earlier, Louis. They were just…talking loudly," McGee told the little boy, hauling拖 him onto his lap膝部 and cuddling親熱地摟住 him. Louis was a great cuddler and he nestled舒適的安臥 in close, reaching out to play with McGee's tie in a distracted way, still keeping one eye on his father and Gibbs.

「我不認為他們有在打架。剛剛他們也沒有真的打起來，Louis。他們只是…說話比較大聲了點。」McGee告訴這個小男孩，並將他抱到膝上親熱地摟住他。Louis非常擅長這樣的舉動並且舒適的貼著他，他一邊分心玩著McGee的領帶，一邊仍是用著一隻眼睛偷偷看著他的爸爸和Gibbs。

"Why was Daddy mad with you?" Louis asked, his eyes still worried despite不管 the reassurance of the cuddle. Like his mother, he hated it when the people he loved were on bad terms把…稱為 with each other.

「爹地為什麼要對著你生氣？」Louis問，不管那個擁抱有多確定，他的眼睛仍是充滿著擔憂。就像他的媽媽，他討厭他所喜愛的人們互相怨恨著。

"I did something that upset him but it's going to be okay. It's kind of like when you ran after that puppy at the mall last week and Boss was mad with you," McGee said. "It was okay after though, wasn't it? Boss hugged you and it was okay."

「因為我做了某件把他排除在外的事情，不過沒事了。這就像是你上周在購物中心因為追著小狗而迷路時，Boss對著你生氣那樣。」McGee說。「等事情過去之後就沒事了，對嗎？Boss擁抱了你，然後一切就都好了。」

"Yes." Louis nodded solemnly. "Will you hug Daddy?"

「對。」Louis嚴肅地點頭。「那你會抱爹地嗎？」

"Maybe not," McGee grinned. "I don't think your dad likes being hugged that much."

「可能不會。」McGee咧齒笑著。「我不認為你的爸爸是那麼樣的喜歡擁抱。」

"Boss hugs him and he likes that," Louis said.

「Boss抱著他的時候他喜歡那樣。」Louis說。

McGee frowned. He'd never really thought much about the day-to-day lives Gibbs and Tony must lead, living under the same roof with Louis, even if Tony did seem to spend every waking hour at the office. Gibbs had never exactly been a huggy kind of man though － only Abby had ever really been able to give him hugs. He couldn't exactly see him hugging Tony so maybe Louis had got that wrong. He glanced back at the table, to see that Gibbs had moved his arm back so that it was around Tony's shoulder again, and had pulled him close and was talking to him, saying something McGee couldn't hear in soft but firm tones. So maybe Louis hadn't got that wrong after all, he thought, with some surprise.

McGee皺起眉頭。他從未認真的去想過什麼有關於在Tony與Gibbs這日復一日的生活中，和Louis一起的生活中的事情，即使Tony看起來像是把所有清醒的時間都花在了工作上。Gibbs看起來很顯然也從不像是個會擁抱人的人—也只有Abby會給他擁抱了。他無法想像Gibbs擁抱Tony的畫面，所以這可能是Louis說錯了。他又看回了那張桌子，Gibbs將手移回來、放回了Tony的肩上，將他拉得更近並繼續對他說話著，說一些輕得讓McGee聽不清、語調卻很堅定的話。所以這些可能Louis沒說錯，他想著，帶著點驚訝地想。

"Me and Boss play a game － we try and make Daddy smile," Louis told him. "When it works we high five － but Daddy mustn't see us doing that," he added with a grin. "It's cheating欺騙 if I hug or kiss Daddy or Boss hugs or kisses him though because that always makes him smile."

「我和Boss會玩一種遊戲—我們會試著讓爹地笑起來。」Louis告訴他。「當成功時我們會擊掌—但是不能被爹地看到。」他補充說，並笑得咧出了牙齒。「我們對著爹地惡作劇，由我去抱著他或是親他，或是Boss去抱他或親他，因為這樣總是能夠讓他笑出來。」

McGee frowned, and glanced up at Ducky, who raised an intrigued好奇的 eyebrow at him. McGee thought he was seeing a whole new side to whatever domestic家庭的 arrangement Tony and Gibbs had going on between them.

McGee皺著眉頭，然後看向了Ducky，後者則是揚起了一邊好奇的眉毛回應他。McGee感覺自己像是看到了在Tony與Gibbs之間一種新的、姑且稱之為家庭關係的樣子。

"Well, trust me － your dad definitely明確地 wouldn't smile if I hugged him right now," he told Louis.

「那個，相信我—如果我現在抱住他，你爸爸肯定不會想微笑的。」他告訴Louis。

"I don't like it when Boss and Daddy yell at each other," Louis confided. "When I went to my friend Nathan's house his mom and dad yelled at each other the whole time. I hated that. I'm glad Boss and Daddy don't do that."

「我不喜歡Boss和爹地他們互相大吼著。」Louis憂愁地說。「我去我朋友Nathan他家時，他爸媽總是對著彼此大吼。我討厭那樣。我喜歡看到Boss和爹地不那麼做。」

McGee chuckled to himself at the likeness Louis was drawing between what he clearly saw as the dynamics of two different sets of married couples. Then he glanced back at Tony and Gibbs again. As he watched, Gibbs pulled Tony over, pressed a kiss to the side of his head, and then released him with a little push and a grin. Tony shot him an oddly古怪的 affectionate充滿深情的 smile in return, and Louis laughed.

McGee暗笑著自己，他感覺Louis像是看見了另一種形式的結婚夫妻的婚後生活。然後他把視線又看回了Tony和Gibbs。就他所看到的，Gibbs拉近了Tony，在他頭上親了親，接個給了他一個帶著鼓勵的笑容。Tony回以一個充滿深情的古怪笑容，然後Louis笑了開來。

"See － there － Boss cheated騙子!" he said. "He always cheats!"

「你看—那邊—Boss又在惡作劇了！」他說。「他總是在惡作劇！」

"I can see that," McGee murmured with another puzzled困惑的 glance at Ducky. He wouldn't have said that this was normal behaviour for either Gibbs or Tony but then, as he'd told Agent Morris earlier, a lot of things had changed over the past few years.

「我看到了。」McGee咕噥地說、並用困惑的表情看向Ducky。他不會說這樣的事情在Gibbs或是Tony身上是很常見的、但是就像早先他告訴Morris探員的，或許在過去幾年中許多事情都改變了。

Tony got up and walked over to where they were sitting. McGee braced支撐 himself, but Tony's earlier towering rage had dissipated沉迷於酒色的, although that darkness was still there, in his eyes. Whenever Tony got a lead on Jonssen that obsessive darkness always came back. He just hoped Ducky hadn't been right earlier about the drinking and bar fights. It was hard enough handling處理 Tony when he was sober認真的.

Tony站了起來並走向他們。McGee強迫自己面對他，不過看起來早先Tony滿腔的怒火似乎都消失了，雖然那些陰影還在，還在他的眼中。無論何時、只要Tony得到有關Jonssen的線索那些陰影就會重新出現。他只希望方才Ducky所說的那些有關酗酒及酒吧打架之類的事情不會是對的。沒喝醉的Tony已經夠難應付的了。

Tony gave McGee a grudging不情願的 nod and then crouched down in front of him, so he was at eye level with Louis.

Tony給了McGee一個不情願的點頭，然後在他面前蹲下身，讓視線與Louis齊平。

"Hey, Lou. Look - Boss just told me I was kind of mean to you when I pushed past you earlier. I'm sorry about that. So…why don't you, me and Boss head out前往 for the park and throw a ball around?" he suggested. "That's if Uncle Tim will give me the afternoon off?" he asked, glancing up at McGee. Louis glanced up too, his eyes alight with hopeful happiness at the thought of spending an entire afternoon with his father.

「嘿，Lou，聽著—Boss剛剛告訴我，我剛剛冷落你的行為很不對。對於那個我很抱歉。所以…你，我和Boss何不到公園去玩玩丟球遊戲呢？」他提議說。「如果Tim叔叔可以給我一個午休時間的話？」他問，然後把視線投向McGee。Louis也把視線投了過來，他的眼睛裡因為他整個下午都可以和他的爸爸一起玩而充滿了快樂的期望光芒。

"Tony － you have about three months vacation time stacked up. I'd be delighted if you took the afternoon off," McGee replied. "So would your team I suspect. I think we'd all enjoy the peace and quiet."

「Tony—你有將近三個月的假還堆在那。我會很高興看到你下午休假的。」McGee回應道。「你的隊伍我會幫你照看著。我相信我們都能享受今天下午的寧靜與祥和。」

"Okay then." Tony nodded. He stood up and looked McGee in the eye, his expression a little shame-faced. "When Carter's done with Stackton, and we've gone over the tapes, will you let me interrogate審問 him again, Probie?" he asked.

「當然可以。」Tony點點頭。他站起身並與McGee四目相對，眼中有著些微的愧疚。「當Carter結束對Stackton的審訊，我們再檢查錄影內容，你會讓我再一次審訊他嗎，菜鳥？」他問。

"Only if I'm there with you," McGee replied firmly. "So the security detail stays on the door until I'm ready to go in there with you － and I'll need to know exactly what angle角度 you're going to take with this, Tony, because right now we're holding a man on suspicion懷疑 of working for someone you don't like very much － and that's not actually illegal."

「只有當我也在那裡和你一起的時候。」McGee堅決地回答。「門口的保全會堅守命令直到我和你一起去為止—而且我要知道這次你審訊的立場，Tony，因為我們現在所扣押的這個男人只是因為你懷疑他為一個你不喜歡的人工作—而實際上那並不合理。」

"Should be," Tony grinned.

「當然是這樣。」Tony咧嘴笑著。

McGee grunted. "And Carter might do better than you think with him, Tony. He's a good agent."

McGee哼了一聲。「也許Carter對他的審訊會做得比你想像中得好，Tony。他是個好探員。」

"I've taught him well," Tony replied, with an offhand shrug.

「我把他教得很好。」Tony回應道，並攤手聳了個肩。

"Yeah － and he's desperate to impress you so maybe he'll have something for us if we let him do his thing."

「沒錯—而且他非常想要讓你對他有個好印象，所以也許我們放手讓他去做，他可以給我們一些東西。」

"He's desperate to impress me?" Tony raised an eyebrow. McGee rolled his eyes.

「他非常想要讓我有個好印象？」Tony揚起了眉毛。McGee翻了個白眼。

"They all are, Tony, but yeah, him in particular. He reminds me a lot of you － and of how you used to be, around Gibbs, back in the old days."

「他們都想，Tony，不過對，他是最渴望的那個。他讓我有些想起你—還有你以前的樣子，繞著Gibbs，就像是回到了從前。」

Tony's jaw tightened - he always got antsy坐立不安的 whenever McGee reminded him of the old days.

Tony繃緊了下巴—每當McGee提醒他從前時他都有些坐立不安。

"They're nothing like us," he snapped.

「他們一點也不像我們。」他猛地說。

"Yeah － they are － they're good people," McGee told him. "You should try letting them in, Tony. Treat them like a proper完完全全的 team － the way Gibbs did with us."

「沒錯—他們不像—他們都很好。」McGee告訴他。「你應該試著讓他們參與，Tony。—帶領他們成為一個完完全全的隊伍—像Gibbs帶領著我們的那樣。」

"The way Gibbs *sometimes* did with us," Tony commented sourly, with a glance in Gibbs's direction as he walked towards them.

「像Gibbs〝有時候〞帶領著我們的那樣。」Tony酸酸地評論，並看了一眼正朝他們走過來的Gibbs。

"The way I sometimes did what?" Gibbs asked. Tony grinned at him.

「像我有時候的怎樣？」Gibbs問。Tony咧嘴笑看著他。

"Nothing, Boss! Come on, Louis - let's wait outside while Boss gets the check."

「什麼也沒有，Boss！快點，Louis—Boss結帳時我們先去外面等著。」

He swung Louis up and hauled the kid easily onto his broad shoulders. Louis squealed尖叫聲 with delight and held onto Tony's hair, making Tony grimace theatrically戲劇化的. Ducky went ahead and opened the door for them and McGee watched them go.

他抱起Louis並讓他坐上他寬闊的肩膀。Louis的臉因此而亮了起來、並為了坐穩而伸手抓住了Tony的頭髮，這讓Tony戲劇性的做了個痛苦的表情。Ducky走在他們的前方為他們開了門、而McGee看著他們離開。

"Looks like you worked some magic there, Boss," he said to Gibbs as they went into the main interior內部 of restaurant and over to the bar to pay the check. Gibbs got out his wallet, and fished out some twenty dollar bills.

「看起來像是你在那裡施了點魔法，Boss。」他對Gibbs說的同時並與他一同走向了餐廳內部的結帳吧台。Gibbs拿著他的皮夾，並拿出了些20美金的鈔票要付帳。

"It's like putting a band-aid on a gunshot wound纏繞," he muttered. "He’s still a bomb waiting to go off. Do *not* let him interview Stackton alone," he added, glancing at Tony's disappearing back, Louis perched棲息 atop頂上 his shoulders, laughing as they went.

「這就像是拿個ＯＫ蹦纏住槍傷的傷口一樣，」他咕噥道。「他仍是個不定時炸彈。千萬〝不要〞讓他獨自會見Stackton。」他補充說，並瞪著Tony消失的方向，Louis仍像隻鳥似的棲在他的肩頭上，笑得無比開心。

"I had no intention of it," McGee replied grimly. "I already told him that."

「對此我完全無異議。」McGee咧齒笑著回應道。「我已經這麼告訴他了。」