----------

"What the hell happened to your eye?" he demanded without preamble as she opened the door.

She put the ice pack back up to her eye and teased, "I walked into a door?" She stepped back so he could come in.

Annoyed he replied, "I know you're a klutz but I'm not buying it. Try again and I want a name."

"Low flying pigeon?"

That got her a raised eyebrow.

"Hailstone?"

"Laura. Who gave you the shiner?" he asked through gritted teeth.

She could see he was getting angry and confessed, "I did." She headed for kitchen with him following behind her.

He noticed that she was wearing workout clothes and had her wrists and hands taped for some reason.

She pulled a pair of boxing gloves out of her knapsack and laughed. "I zigged when I should have zagged and the speed bag caught me in the face."

He was thoroughly confused, "Since when do you box?"

She laughed again, and now that he knew she was really okay he let it wash over him. Her playful laugh was on his list of the top ten things he loved best in life, she just didn't know it.

"This was my third lesson. A couple of my guys decided that I needed to learn how and are teaching me. But I think I flunked."

"Lemme see your eye." He gently took the ice pack from her and studied her growing shiner. He could see her eyes dancing. She had the same zest for life that he had and could find humor in everything. It got them both in trouble more than once. "Well when you do something you do it right, that's going to be a grade A black eye tomorrow."

"Hopefully it will fade a little by Monday or it's going to be miserable trying to explain it to everyone."

He chuckled, "So you still up for going out tonight or would you rather just rent a movie and stay in?"

"Isn't that new spy movie opening tonight that you wanted to see?"

"Yeah. It's going to be good."

"Well why don't we catch that and then grab some fish and chips later?"

"Sounds good to me."

"Let me shower and change. Grab some coffee its fresh. I'll just be a couple minutes" She headed down the hall to her bedroom and he headed into her small kitchen and poured himself some coffee and settled himself on her couch.

"I know."

----------

He knew many things.

He knew that this was his favorite corner of her couch.

He knew that he was drinking coffee out of his favorite of her coffee mugs.

He knew that she would come out wearing a faded pair of jeans and a white t-shirt with her little silver dolphin pendant flashing against it.

He knew that she would grab her favorite navy blue denim jacket to put over the t-shirt.

He knew that the scarf she would grab to top it all off would be the ocean printed silk one that he had given her for her birthday.

He knew they would enjoy the movie even if it stunk and critique it together in the car on the way home.

He knew they would get fish and chips from the little take out shack near the beach and that they would find a spot to sit in the sand to eat and laugh and enjoy the sound of the waves lapping at the shore.

He knew he would bring her home and he would walk her inside and make sure she locked the door behind him, and that he wouldn't kiss her goodnight.

He knew they weren't dating.

He knew they would do this all over again next Friday night, and the next, and the next.

He knew they weren't dating.

He knew that the eight months that they have known each other have been the most contented of his personal life, ever.

He knew they weren't dating.

He knew that this was the healthiest relationship he had ever had with a woman.

He knew they weren't dating.

He knew that he wanted her in his bed, wanted to sleep curled up around her after making love to her, wanted to wake up with her and see the sun make her copper hair catch fire on his pillow, and that he dreamt it every night.

He knew they weren't dating.

He knew that she didn't see him that way, they were just friends in her eyes.

He knew they weren't dating.

He knew that if he kept telling himself long enough that they weren't dating that he might actually believe it eventually. Or not.

What he didn't know and couldn't figure out was why exactly they weren't dating. It just didn't make sense.

Tony was sitting at his desk after lunch with the rest of the team trying to catch up on some paperwork odd and ends, it was a Thursday and they had had a surprisingly slow week. Gibb's phone rang and Tony heard him tell the person on the other end to "send her up".

"DiNozzo. The front desk is sending up a woman who claims to have been sent evidence relating to a missing Marine. Meet her at the elevator. Let's see what she's got."

"On it Boss."

Tony headed over to the elevator and waited for the doors to open. When they did his interest was instantly peaked and he somehow guessed that Gibbs would be handling this particular interview. She was a red head. Her auburn curls cascaded gently around her face to her shoulders and emphasized her creamy complexion marred only by a sprinkling of light freckles. She was on the shorter side; Tony guessed about five four or maybe a little less. She wasn't a tiny woman; he guessed the term that the women's magazines would use to describe her would be average sized. Her age baffled him a bit, he didn't think she was as young as she looked but couldn't be more than thirty-five. She was dressed casually in a pair of khaki pants and a white button-up shirt that accented her full bust nicely. But although he took notice of all the rest, it was her eyes that absolutely captivated him. Light green and accented with a just a hint of makeup they were conveying a range of emotions from worry to curiosity, and a hint of a question as she asked when she saw him, "Agent Gibbs?"

Laura took in the man standing before her who looked like a poster child for being a federal agent. His navy suit was impeccable and he had an air of casual self-confidence. Tall and broad shouldered there was no question that he was amazingly good looking. And sexy too if she were willing to admit that to herself which of course she wouldn't, at least she wouldn't until he smiled at her when she asked if he were Agent Gibbs. Then she was done in, he had a smile that lit up his entire face, and it was genuine smile, something he did often she sensed. She had a feeling it was going to be a long day if he turned out to be the Agent Gibbs she needed to work with.

"Ah no, I'm Special Agent Tony DiNozzo, Special Agent Gibbs asked me to meet you here and escort you."

She extended her hand, "Nice to meet you Agent DiNozzo, Laura Paquette."

----------

Tony escorted her over to their desks and introduced her to Gibbs. She was floored all over again; did they make it a requirement for all agents to be unbelievably handsome? Was it some sort of interrogation trick to put women off? She had never seen eyes that blue before, and had never been the subject of such an intense gaze before either. It was totally disconcerting. Then he smiled and extended his hand. And she felt a headache coming on. It was only her worry for Daniel that kept her wits about her.

"So Miss Paquette you told the guard that you have evidence regarding a missing Marine?" Gibbs asked pleasantly as he took in the woman in front of him.

"Yes Corporal Daniel Castille, he went UA three days ago and I'm afraid something has happened to him."

"Why do you think that?"

"Because of this." She reached into the briefcase she carried and pulled out a hardcover book that was in a plastic zipper bag and a handwritten letter.

"Daniel visited me Monday telling me he was on leave and gave me the book. Then the letter arrived at work in this morning's mail."

Gibbs quickly slipped on gloves and took the letter which was dated Monday.

He put the letter down and regarded Laura for a moment then picked up the book.

She offered, "We're always giving each other books. I didn't have time to even look at it since he gave it to me on Monday afternoon. But I pulled it back out today when I got the letter and noticed that there is a lump along the spine that shouldn't be there. I didn't mess with it at all, just put it in the baggie and brought it here."

Gibbs ran his finger down the spine and felt the little square lump she was talking about.

"McGee, take this down to Abby and find out what's in the book, tell her I need it yesterday. Kate find out about the status of Corporal Castille. Tony please take Miss Paquette to Interrogation Room One, I'll be right in."

Laura could see the tension in the man, and was relieved that he was taking the letter seriously.

He sat back and watched Laura for another moment as she followed Tony, collecting his thoughts. It was obvious from the letter that she and Corporal Castille were close, but what was their relationship? And what was in the book? And what kind of trouble was he in? Too many questions. Time for answers.

Kate had quickly pulled up Daniel's service record along with Laura's personal information. Daniel's photo showed a handsome twenty-six year old Marine with an exemplary eight year service record. He was two years into his second six-year hitch and from all indications intended to be a career Marine. With the exception of the current UA status he had never even received a reprimand before. On paper he was the perfect Marine.

What threw Gibbs momentarily as he read the information file was that listed as Daniel's next of kin was one Laura Paquette, mother. There was obviously no way that she was his biological mother given their ages so the relationship intrigued Gibbs.

----------

Tony had gotten Laura situated in the interrogation room and went into the attached observation area. He noticed her rubbing her temples a little like she had a headache and she spent some time rubbing and wringing her hands together with a worried expression on her face, not worried like a suspect would be worried about being caught but worried like a parent about a child.

She interested him, interested him like no woman had in a very long time. He wondered if she was seeing this Corporal Castille. He hoped that she wasn't involved with the case in an adverse way. She seemed like a nice normal person and he would certainly like the opportunity to get to know her more. Then he sighed, remembering the unspoken rule in the office about Gibbs getting the first shot at all available red heads. It was so unfair.

----------

Gibbs sat down across from her and handed her a bottled water. His gut was telling him that she was just a bystander to whatever trouble Corporal Castille had gotten into.

"I'd like you to tell me all you can about Corporal Castille. And I think a good place to start would be why you are listed as his mother on his service record."

Tony's eyes grew huge in the observation area at that question; he couldn't wait for the answer.

Laura shook her head and smiled, "I met Daniel ten years ago Agent Gibbs. I was working at one of the public libraries in downtown Washington. And this teenager came in one day, he was dirty and skinny and scared to death that I was going to throw him out. But he had this look, I guess it was a hungry sort of look. When I asked him if he needed help he wanted to know where the books about the Marine Corps were kept. Daniel spent four hours that first day going through books. And what really surprised me was that he put them all away perfectly when he was done with them. He came in day after day looking at those books. He was always respectful and polite. And one day I watched him for a while and realized he was just looking at the pictures, he couldn't read. So I started giving up my lunch hour to teach him. He worked so hard."

She paused for a moment then continued, "He didn't want to tell me about his personal life, but given his appearance I didn't think his home life was great. I started packing an extra sandwich and apple for him every day and you never saw someone appreciate bologna that much. I finally asked him why he was so interested in the Marines and he said that he had seen some Marines at the Memorial Day parade and he liked how people treated them. And he wanted to know what he had to do to be able to become a Marine."

Gibbs eyes softened a bit, he knew the impression Marines in full uniform could have on a kid, "Marines are impressive Miss Paquette." There was a subtle innuendo there that both she and Tony picked up on instantly. Tony sighed again as Laura laughed at Gibbs' comment.

"Depends on the Marine Agent Gibbs."

Gibbs smiled, he just couldn't help it, it was the perfect comeback and they both knew it. So did Tony.

"Anyway, I took a day off and Daniel and I went to visit the local recruiter to get some information. The recruiter was great, spent a long time with Daniel answering questions and gave him all sorts of literature and loot. But I think the best thing he did for Daniel was to offer his hand to him as we went to leave. And when Daniel took it and the recruiter realized that Daniel didn't know how he showed him the proper way to shake hands and he told him to always stand straight and be proud of who he was. You have never seen anyone stand as straight as Daniel did when he shook that recruiter's hand goodbye and said ‘Thank you Sir'. It was the first time in his whole life that anyone had treated him like a man."

Tony's voice broke into the interrogation room to tell Gibbs that Abby needed him.

Gibbs excused himself and headed for the lab with Tony right behind him.

----------

Abby was in overdrive when they reached the lab. She had found a digital camera flashcard hidden in the spine of the book along with a letter from Corporal Castille.

According to the letter written in the same handwriting as the other letter Castille had been asked by his CO Monday morning to use the office digital camera to take photos of the damage done by a falling tree branch to one of the buildings on base. Castille had discovered a series of photos on the camera depicting the rape of a young blond woman by what appeared to be three marines in fatigues wearing ski masks. After seeing the photos and realizing that it had to have been someone in his office that took the pictures he didn't know who to trust. So he swiped the flashcard and hid it in the book until he could find someone safe to report it to.

Gibbs looked at the photos in disgust and recognized the young woman; it had been all over the news a week ago. She was an intern to a Senator who was found raped and murdered.

Gibbs' gut was telling him that Corporal Castille was indeed in big trouble. And this evidence would have to be turned over to those handling the murder case but right now he was more concerned with finding a Marine that could still be alive. But he needed more information about the man to try and locate him. And right now, until he could interview others in Castille's office, Laura was his best source of intel.

----------

"So where were we?" Gibbs asked as he sat back down.

"I was telling you how I became Daniels mother without giving birth at the age of nine."

He smiled, he liked her quick wit.

"After Daniel and I met the recruiter he worked even harder on his reading and I found out some other things about his home life. Or lack of one I should say. He had lived with his grandmother who died and somehow he fell off the radar at the Department of Children and Families. By the time I met him he had been living on the street alone for two years. He didn't want to get put into the foster system. Well to make a long story short I contacted a social worker and through a legal circus was able to be appointed his legal guardian and by the time he was seventeen I legally adopted him, I was twenty-seven. But he didn't have any family and neither did I and it worked out well for us both. He worked hard and got his high school equivalency diploma, scored an almost perfect score too. And he started taking a couple of community college courses. He was just a great kid Agent Gibbs. When he turned eighteen he enlisted, and didn't even hesitate to sign up for a six year contract. Proudest day of his whole life was when he graduated from basic training. He got a kick out of telling everyone I was his mother. And just to make it perfectly clear Agent Gibbs Daniel and I have a brother/sister sort of relationship. We care about each other very much and support each other like any other family would."

"So he has no other family?"

"No, just me."

"Friends?"

"His best friend is a kid named Ryan Thompson, he's a Private First Class. I'm not sure where he is stationed at the moment. He and Daniel served in Iraq together for six months. Daniel sort of took Ryan under his wing and watches out for him. He's only nineteen. Other than Ryan I don't know. Daniel liked all the guys in his unit in Iraq. It wasn't until he came back here that he didn't seem to always fit in."

"How so?"

"Daniel is extremely polite and what we women like to call a perfect gentleman. And he's not afraid to tell the other guys to mind their manners if he thinks something is too obnoxious. His grandmother instilled some wonderful values in him before she died. But there are some guys that think he's just putting on an act, trying to butter up to his superiors and stuff. They don't realize that's just how he is."

"Any problems with anyone in particular?"

"A couple months ago when he first got back and took this new assignment he invited me on base for lunch and to meet his new CO, a Sergeant O'Neill. I really like the Sergeant, he's got a great sense of humor and I've become friendly with his wife Helen since then, they're just really nice people about my age. Anyway we were walking to lunch when another Marine in the office was, well leering I guess would be the word. He made me very very uncomfortable. And apparently after I left that afternoon he made some extremely sexual comments to Daniel about me that were not well received. Daniel reported him to Sergeant O'Neill and from what I understand disciplinary action was taken against him because it wasn't the first time this Marine had done something like that."

"Do you remember the Marine's name?"

"Hanson maybe or Hanely? No, it was Hanson I remember now."

"Any other problems or any incidents stick out in your mind?"

"Not that he mentioned to me. But I'll tell you Daniel believes strongly in procedure and the chain of command, if he had a problem he would have brought it to Sergeant O'Neill."

"Does he have a girlfriend?"

"He dates casually but no one steady. He keeps telling me that he wants to wait until he finally gets the assignment he really wants to settle down."

"What does he want to do?"

She laughed, "He wants to be a recruiter."

Gibbs chuckled, "That's not for everyone."

"I think he wants to try and help other at-risk kids. Show them that they can have a life to be proud of. I think the recruiter we visited so long ago made a huge impression on him."

"Does he like what he's doing now?"

"Agent Gibbs I love Daniel and you can't tell him I said this but the Marine Corps could have him fixing toilets the rest of his life and he would be happy with someone telling him he's doing a good job. He just wants to be a Marine. But to answer your question I don't think he minds it. Building and facility maintenance is a good fit for him while he finishes his college degree. He's not stuck behind a desk and he gets to work with his hands doing repairs which he likes. And without getting him in trouble, Sergeant O'Neill will sometimes give him a little time to study during the day if he knows Daniel has an exam."

"Any issues when he was deployed?"

"No, nothing other than complaining about the heat and the sand getting in everything. His unit seemed like a pretty tight group that really looked out for each other."

"Okay so tell me about Monday. Was he acting any differently did he say anything peculiar?"

"He popped into the library maybe one thirty in the afternoon, nothing unusual he would generally stop in and say hello when he could. He told me that he only had a few minutes because he had errands to run and that he wanted to give me a book he thought I would like. Because I was short handed, I had two people out with the flu, I didn't have a lot of time so he told me he would put in my desk drawer for me to look at later. I honestly forgot all about it until I opened the letter this morning. I've just been swamped."

"Where do you work?"

"I am the Director of the Newton Public Library."

Gibbs recognized the sleepy bedroom community but was still finding it hard to believe that she was a librarian. Tony could though. In fact he was having inappropriate mental images of the things they could do hidden in between the library shelves. He really wanted to get to know her better.

Gibbs was quiet for a minute and she could almost see the gears spinning he was thinking so hard.

"Agent Gibbs is Daniel in trouble? Did you find something bad in that book? Please tell me."

"There was a flashcard from a digital camera in the spine of the book and a note in the same handwriting as the other letter you gave me."

"Daniel doesn't have a digital camera. I was getting him one for his birthday in a couple months. Why would he have a flashcard?"

"That's what we have to find out. There are some incriminating photos on that card of a crime in progress. We need to talk to Corporal Castille and find out how he came into possession of it."

He didn't tell her that he thought Castille was in danger. His gut was telling him that Castille was already dead they just hadn't found him yet. The other part of the equation was Laura's safety. If they in fact had already killed Castille they might suspect that she would have the flashcard.

He saw her rubbing her temple, "Headache?"

She gave him a weak smile, "Missed getting my coffee fix all day, caffeine withdrawal."

He laughed, "That I can fix. How do you take yours?"

"Black is fine and the stronger the better."

Tony was glowering in the observation area. He had come to the same mental conclusion about her safety as Gibbs. He was trying to figure out how to connive his way into being her protection detail. It would be the perfect opportunity to get to know her. And maybe get her away from Gibbs before he proposed to her.

Gibbs stood up to set some things in motion but something else crossed his mind as he reached the door, "What did Corporal Castille mean in his letter when he said ‘Even if you're not a Marine'?"

She rolled her eyes and smiled, "He tells me all the time that my only flaw is that I'm not a Marine. He thinks I should have been a Marine, he says I'm tough enough and have heart and he couldn't ask for a better person to watch his six."

Gibbs was chuckling as he left the room. God he loved red heads.

----------

Gibbs sent McGee for coffees and headed for the Director's office, he needed to be briefed on the evidence. The Director agreed with Gibbs' assessment that the needs of a Marine that could possibly still be alive outweigh the needs of an intern that was already dead. He promised to speak with those handling the other case and inform them of the situation.

Getting back to the bullpen Gibbs took his coffee from McGee and quickly filled everyone in on the interview and the game plan.

"DiNozzo, you and McGee take Corporal Castille's quarters. Tread softly though I don't want anyone to know that we have those photos until we can figure out who they are. Right now we're just looking for a UA Marine. Plain and simple. Kate, you pull up info on Castille's current CO Sergeant O'Neill and anyone else in that department. You and I will head over there."

Tony didn't like the fact that there was no mention of the potential danger to Laura so he piped up, "Boss shouldn't Miss Paquette have some sort of protection? If anyone suspects that she has that flashcard she could be in real danger."

Gibbs stood up and gave Tony an amused raised eyebrow, "One step at a time DiNozzo, right now I'm going to convince her to spend the rest of the afternoon here then we'll see about the rest." He took a second cup of coffee and headed for the interrogation room.

----------

He sat across from her and handed her a coffee and he chuckled when she groaned in obvious delight at the first sip, "Did I ever need that. I'm such an addict."

He sipped his coffee and gave her a serious look over the top of the cup, then asked casually, "If I bribe you with all the coffee you can drink can I convince you to stay here the rest of the afternoon until we get back from interviewing Castille's co-workers?"

She looked at him and he could see her trying to put together the puzzle pieces in her head, "Agent Gibbs is Daniel in danger?"

"I believe so."

"Because of what was in those photos?"

"Yes."

She thought for a moment then said matter-of-factly, "You think I'm in danger if anyone thinks that I have that flashcard."

"Yes."

She closed her eyes and rubbed her temples and when she opened them she looked directly into his eyes and asked, "You think Daniel is dead already don't you?"

He decided to be honest, "I hope I'm wrong, but yes."

She nodded and replied, "I'll stay here Agent Gibbs."

He stood up and headed for the door, "I'm going to do everything I can to find him Laura, that's a promise."

----------

----------

Tony and McGee made it back to NCIS before Gibbs and Kate, and after dropping his bag at his desk he headed for the interrogation room to see Laura. He slipped into the observation area and smiled as he saw her playing solitaire.

His smile became wider as he noticed the book on the table next to her. It was a three inch thick movie trivia encyclopedia. He was jealous, it was the new edition and he didn't have it yet.

And then he realized that she was humming to herself and he recognized the tune, it was the song "Shall We Dance" from The King and I. He decided in that moment that she was going to play a big part in his future. She just didn't know it yet.

He stuck his head into the interrogation room, "Hi. Bored yet?"

She smiled, "You have no idea. Any news on Daniel?"

"Nothing yet sorry. But I'm heading back to my desk to see if the others are back yet. Do you need anything before I go?"

"No, thank you though."

Tony headed back to the bullpen just in time to see Kate and Gibbs exit the elevator.

Gibbs barked out an, "Okay what have we got?" and Tony and McGee reported that Daniel's quarters had been trashed. And that the really bad news was that Daniel had framed the newspaper article where Laura was named the new library director and it appeared that someone had punched it. They knew where she worked. And most likely where she lived as they also found letters from Laura to Daniel scattered around with her return address on them.

Kate and Gibbs shared that most of Daniel's co-workers checked out, with the exception of PFC Alan Hanson. He had been dishonorably discharged four days ago and hadn't been seen since.

Gibbs ordered Kate and McGee to gear up for a night of protection detail at Laura's. And he and Tony headed towards the interrogation rooms. Tony tried pressing Gibbs about doing the protection detail. But he just got glared at.

The two men entered the room and Laura immediately looked to Gibbs hopefully and he felt bad that he had to say, "I'm sorry Laura we haven't found him yet."

He explained about putting her under NCIS protection, and that Kate and McGee would stay with her overnight. "And tomorrow you're going to get a new employee at the library."

When Laura gave him a raised eyebrow he grinned, "What? You can't see Tony here as a librarian?"

Internally Laura was groaning, it had to be him. Tony on the other hand was thrilled.

----------

The evening passed without incident, Laura found Kate and Tim to not only be very competent in their duties but were also friendly and companionable. The sleep she lost was due to worry and not a reflection of the way they did their job.

The next day Kate dropped her off at work a short while after the library opened and three of her female employees descended on her wanting to know why she had been keeping the new hire a secret. They were practically drooling and Laura knew it was going to be an impossibly long day.

She headed for her office where Tony was waiting and she had to work very hard to stifle the giggle that threatened to escape her. He had taken it upon himself to dress ‘nerd'. He had on khaki pants, which were fine, but he topped it with an ugly plaid shirt and a tie that didn't quite match and if that weren't bad enough he added a sweater vest and a tweed jacket. His hair was actually slicked down, but it wasn't behaving and he had little bits sticking up here and there. And he was sporting a truly hideous pair of black plastic rimmed eyeglasses. If the situation weren't so serious it would have been comical because even a nerded up Tony was still leaving a trail of interested women.

He could see the amusement in her eyes but she wouldn't show it, wouldn't let it out. He teased, "So do I meet the dress code?"

She quipped back, "No, you're missing a pocket protector."

And before he could reply she headed back out to the main area leaving him no choice but to follow with his mouth hanging open.

Gibbs was in the car watching and listening to the entire exchange and he laughed, DiNozzo didn't know what hit him.

----------

It was a nerve-racking day for Laura. She kept hoping Daniel would show up, and praying that the unknown danger to her didn't. Tony was blending in well, and he kept trying to bait her and get her into a conversation. If she didn't know better she would almost think he was hitting on her.

Gibbs, still listening, knew that that was exactly what Tony was doing.

----------

Laura decided to stay at the library until its closing at eight o'clock and just before seven Gibbs spoke solemnly into Tony's earwig, a body had been found matching Daniel's description. He was taking Kate and McGee to process the scene and wanted Tony to take Laura to NCIS immediately when they closed the library. He told Tony not to worry Laura until they could confirm that it was in fact Daniel. He also told him that he was going to have local law enforcement do some heavy drive by surveillance until closing time.

Eight o'clock rolled around and Laura evicted all of her staff leaving just her and Tony. They had gotten their stuff together and after Laura set the alarm they walked out to the car parked at the curb.

When she saw that they weren't heading towards her apartment she questioned Tony, "Where are we going?"

"The Boss told me to bring you to NCIS."

"Why? Did they locate Daniel? Is he okay?"

He hating lying to her but did, "I don't have any info Laura, I'm sorry."

She looked at him for a moment and saw that he was clenching his teeth and staring straight ahead with a death grip on the steering wheel and knew he was lying, and not by choice. She wanted to tell him she understood, but didn't.

----------

She was staring out at the Washington skyline and didn't hear him approach but her nose caught an odd scent of wood a second before he spoke, "Laura?"

She didn't say anything she just dropped her head, his tone was grave and that could only mean one thing, Daniel was dead. She asked in a low voice, "Is he…?"

"I'm sorry Laura. Sergeant O'Neill identified Daniel's body."

He watched her carefully wondering if she were going to faint or hyperventilate. She did neither.

She lifted her eyes and tried to focus on the skyline again but the tears simmering in her eyes just blurred it beyond seeing. She wanted to howl at how unfair it was. She wanted to let the sobs take her until she fell asleep exhausted. It was what she had done when she buried her parents at twenty. The car accident that had taken them was just as unfair. She now had to bury someone else she cared about and was alone again. But she wouldn't cry, she would be strong for Daniel.

"How did he die?"

Gibbs took a breath, and met her eyes in the reflection on the window, "His neck was broken. He died instantly."

He went to put a caring hand on her shoulder but could almost feel her pulling into herself so he didn't.

"They're going to kill me too aren't they?" she asked quietly.

This time he didn't hesitate and took her upper arms in his hands and gave a gentle squeeze and her resolve broke and she turned into his chest and let him hold her. And she realized once enveloped in it that the gentle wood smell was coming from him, and for some reason it made her feel safe and secure.

"We're not going to let anything happen to you Laura."

"If they can kill a Marine do you really think a librarian will be a challenge?"

"Actually yeah, because we've got your six. And you're tough."

She sniffed a couple of times, "Not so tough."

Tony had watched the entire exchange peeking over the divider at his desk, and sighed. What was it that Gibbs had that he didn't?

----------

Gibbs told Tony to take Laura home and that Kate and McGee would meet them there.

Tony snuck a glance at Laura sitting next to him in the silent car. She seemed to have folded in on herself and he was angry. Angry about the circumstances that caused her pain and a little angry that she wouldn't accept any comfort from anyone other than Gibbs.

As they drove Laura's thoughts were of Daniel and the grief she felt pouring out of her. Tony had tried to console her at the office and she retreated behind her steadfast emotional wall. Afraid that if she let his gentle concern in, she would start crying and not stop. And she needed to be strong right now and clearheaded. The hug from Gibbs had been unexpected and she was surprised at how comfortable she had been. He just exuded a sense of calm and security that she craved right now. She felt a little bad about that knowing full well that Tony had seen the entire thing. Tony really was trying to be nice, and she suspected that his interest in her was genuine, but her common sense was telling her that he just wasn't the long haul type, especially with a woman like her. And she wasn't about to let anyone in for a here today, gone tomorrow fling.

When they reached her apartment building and started walking inside they both stopped in their tracks when the sound of a gun being cocked rang through the parking lot and a deep voice telling them to freeze. Laura felt the cold steel against her temple and froze, as did Tony. His quick assessment of the situation was that there was just no way that he could take out all three before they killed him and Laura both.

The gunmen recognized Tony as being a cop and pulled his cell phone and gun. They threatened to shoot Laura if he tried anything and that they just wanted the flashcard Daniel had given her. Laura tried to play dumb but they wouldn't listen.

They were dragged into a van and the men, dressed in fatigues and ski masks, kept demanding the flashcard. Laura looked to Tony for how to handle the situation. He started talking, using all the hostage situation techniques he knew. He received several punches to the face and gut for his efforts.

They drove to the library and the gunmen forced Laura to reopen the library and disable the alarm. Once in the library the gunmen ordered them into Laura's office. The mouthpiece of the three gunmen kept screaming in Laura's face that he wanted the damned flashcard. No matter how many time she told him that she didn't have it he just wouldn't believe her.

They ransacked her office looking for the flashcard. The ringleader was getting louder and more frantic as time went on. He finally put his gun to Tony's head and made another demand for the flashcard. His two accomplices both started shouting that they weren't going to be involved with killing anyone.

Seeing the gun to Tony's head Laura broke, she cried out that she had turned the card over to NCIS.

The men argued for quite a while about what to do with them, the mouthpiece wanted to kill them, the other two just wanted to lock them up somewhere and get away. Luckily for Laura and Tony the majority rule won out and they were shuffled off to the supply room off behind the main desk of the library.

It was a small room, a large closet really, that had only one door and no windows. They were ungracefully thrown inside and the two men left. A moment later the mouthpiece entered the room and snarled some obscenities. Tony had put himself between Laura and the gunman and she screamed when he fired point blank at Tony. Tony fell immediately and Laura found the gun aimed at her. She felt the white-hot pain and realized she had been shot, and as she lay on the floor bleeding the last thing she remembered was hearing something being dragged up against the door. They were trapped.

----------

"Hey. Stay with me. C'mon open your eyes." She heard him say through a fog.

"Just five more minutes mom."

"Very funny Laura. No sleeping on the job."

"Okay okay. I'm awake."

Tony took a good look at her face in the harsh fluorescent light of the room they were locked in and didn't like what he saw. She was extremely pale and her eyes wouldn't focus. And she was having major problems staying awake. He knew she had lost a lot of blood before he was able to get the gunshot wound in her shoulder bound and he was afraid of her losing consciousness. His chest was killing him, the vest stopped the bullet but the impact still did a number on his ribs.

He had to keep her talking, keep her awake until his team found them, "So what do you like to do on the weekends Laura?"

She tried to focus on his face, and hesitated before answering him. She didn't consider herself to be all that normal a person and for some odd reason his opinion of her mattered and she didn't want to appear to be the total nerd that most people thought she was.

When she didn't answer he prompted, "Laura?"

She decided to use her handy self-defense mechanism, humor. But nothing witty came to her. Damn. So she used honesty instead and in a quiet voice said, "I like movies."

"Hey now that's something I know all about. I drive my team nuts sometimes with my movie trivia…" he rambled on. Tony was very pleased to find something to talk to her about that they had in common. She intrigued him. He had been trying to charm her from the first time he met her and she seemed immune. She was friendly and polite but she just wouldn't let him in. Wouldn't give him anything of herself, and it surprised him because he had seen how she was with Gibbs and how open and almost flirtatious she had been. He thought it was odd that there was something about himself that made her put up a wall. But he was Tony DiNozzo and would find a way to win her over. He always did.

He made her talk about movies for a long time, they had similar tastes but their approach to movie appreciation differed. And he liked that she actually argued a few points with him, he had the feeling that when she was a hundred percent that she would give him quite the run for his money and he was oddly looking forward to it.

They moved onto other topics and they were surprised at how much they had in common. And what they differed on still complemented the other.

"So do you get to travel a lot for your job Tony?" she asked.

"Some, but most of the time there's not enough time for sightseeing." He told her about some of the places he had been to recently, and some of the places he had been on vacation. She shared some of her travels and again they found that they had similar tastes in vacation fun, although she was adamant about hating being out in the sun something that he really enjoyed.

"What's your dream vacation Tony? Everybody's got one." She asked. She was getting very weak and it was a struggle to keep her eyes open, but she was enjoying the conversation very much and just wanted him to keep talking. He was so animated and seemed to find enjoyment in just about everything.

"I keep thinking about South America. Rio would be a lot of fun." He went on and on about it and she smiled as she listened. He was so animated and alive.

"I can picture you, just sitting at some outdoor cantina in a linen suit with a glass of some local wine and your sunglasses on, just soaking up the sunshine and the music and watching the pretty girls." She teased.

He gave her a big smile and nodded, "Yeah, would be a rough vacation wouldn't it? So how about you, where would you go?"

She looked down a little embarrassed, and he caught it but didn't say anything. He could see that she was getting very tired and when she spoke her voice was weak, "Its silly but I would love to go to Tuscany. Go see all the little out of the way places and just soak it all in. The food, the wine, the people, the countryside, just all of it." He could see something like regret flash across her face as she said it and she still wouldn't meet his eyes.

"Mmmm that sounds good too, not silly. That would have to be a two-weeker though. Wouldn't want to rush it."

She murmured, "Yeah." softly and her head dropped off to the side unconscious.

"Laura?" He called trying to wake her back up. He tried several more times to revive her but couldn't. All he could do was hope that Gibbs and the team found them soon or she might not make it.

----------

When she opened her eyes it took her a moment to realize that she was in the hospital. And when she made the mistake of moving the stabbing pain in her shoulder reminded her why.

"Son of a…" she started to curse until her eyes came to rest on the smirking face of Tony DiNozzo who was sitting in a chair in the corner.

"Yeah we all say that our first bullet wound, just try not to move around too much. I'm glad to see you're awake. You had me worried." He teased.

Her throat was bone dry and croaked out, "How long?"

He got up and found a cup of water and a straw and held it for her to take a sip, "Two days."

She took a good look at his face, he looked tired and like he hadn't shaved in a few days, "Tell me you haven't been sitting there for two days staring at me."

He gave her a little sideways grin and teased, "Well not the whole two days, but I did get to see you drooling in your sleep quite a bit." He didn't tell he that it was very close to the whole two days, with only a couple of quick trips home to shower and change. He was out on a medical leave because the bullet to the vest had cracked two ribs. Gibbs would also never tell either of them that he had come into the room yesterday to see Tony asleep in the chair near the bed holding Laura's hand while she was unconscious, he just smiled and left.

She groaned and tried to swat him with her uninjured arm but he was too quick and she winced at the pain the movement caused.

"Do you want to hear about our glorious rescue?"

She shifted around a little to get comfortable and nodded. His team had been busy. It turned out that PFC Hanson and his two friends did in fact rape the intern and photograph it, but it was Hanson alone that killed the girl and also killed Daniel. All three were currently in custody. The team had been frantic when they found Tony's car at Laura's apartment building with no sign of them. The library was one of the first places local police searched and didn't see anything out of place. It wasn't until four o'clock in the morning when Gibbs was in his car scouring the roads leading away from Laura's apartment that his gut really kicked in and he went to the library. Looking in the main door nothing looked out of place, scouting around the outside he looked in the window of Laura's office and saw that it was trashed. Walking back to the front entrance he glanced in another window and saw a sliver of light from underneath a door. He moved quickly and picked the lock and went in. He shoved the desk blocking the supply room door out of the way to find an unconscious Laura and an injured Tony trying to throw himself against the door to move the desk blocking it.

"We were both lucky to be alive. And I found someone that likes movies more than I do, didn't think it was possible."

He chuckled, "Well maybe as much as you do. I think it's a tie." He gave her a more serious look and a gentle smile that made her feel warm all over as he said, "Seriously Laura I'm glad you're okay. You gave me a good scare."

She almost couldn't keep up the eye contact, his gaze was so intense. She smiled back at him, "Thanks for taking such good care of me Tony."

"Anytime."

The nurses then arrived and Tony was shooed out of the room. He decided to head into the office although it was late; he knew Gibbs would still be there.

----------

Laura didn't see Tony again during her week long stay in the hospital. But he did send her a large bouquet of flowers with silly balloons which had all the nurses giggling. The card simply read, "Tony", no message. She didn't know how to take it. She finally decided to just stop analyzing it. He sent flowers, it was sweet but it didn't necessarily mean anything. She tried calling him at his office to say thank you but ended up getting his voicemail. She left a quick message thanking him for the flowers and let him know that she was getting discharged the next day.

Tony had argued with himself about the flowers, wondering if the gesture would make her close him off again being too forward. He felt like they had bonded somewhat while locked in that room and when she woke up in the hospital she hadn't put that wall back up.

When he ordered them he didn't realize that Gibbs was standing behind him and when he turned and saw him he expected to get a head slap, but instead the boss just shook his head and grinned, a knowing sort of grin. Tony didn't know if that was a good or bad sign.

----------

Laura had a co-worker pick her up at the hospital and drive her home. She was glad to be home. She was padding around her kitchen in her sweatpants with her arm in a sling attempting to chop some vegetables for stir fry one-handed when her doorbell rang.

Not expecting company it surprised her. She was even more surprised when she looked out the peephole to see Tony standing there. She opened the door and gave him a quizzical look, "Tony? What are you doing here?"

"I ah, well ah, I figured you might be bored so I brought over something to entertain you," he held up the dvd he was carrying and she could see it was The Sting, "and yes the pun was intended."

She smiled and groaned, "That was bad, SO bad. Come on in. I was attempting to cook dinner, have you eaten?"

He followed her into the apartment, "Shouldn't you be resting?"

"I have done nothing but rest all week. And I want real food for dinner, not that food-wanna-be that the hospital serves."

He laughed, hospital food wasn't his favorite either and he offered, "I can spring for Chinese."

"Nah, that's what I'm making in the kitchen. It's just slow chopping one-handed. But if you chop we can eat in no time." She counter offered.

He followed her into the apartment's tiny kitchen and they worked side by side and made dinner. Surprising to both they worked well together and the kitchen was full of teasing and laughter. He was glad to see that the wall hadn't been put back up.

They ate in the living room and started the movie. He was very impressed with her collection, seeing a lot of dvds that he had but even more that he didn't. He figured that between them they had enough to open their own rental business. He was also secretly pleased with the fact that his bouquet was in the center of her coffee table.

They watched the movie both settled into opposite ends of the couch with their feet up on the coffee table. They paused it midway for a bathroom, hot chocolate, pain pill for Laura break then resumed their spots on the couch.

Tony couldn't remember the last time he was this relaxed at someone else's home, he always felt like he had to keep up some sort of front, a mask of sorts. But for some reason with Laura he felt like he could, no should just be himself. Let his guard down and relax. His mind wandered a bit from the movie and he tried to figure out what it was about her that made him so comfortable. Something niggled at his brain about it but he couldn't pin it down.

Laura was getting very tired and the pain pill wasn't helping. She thought it was very unlike herself to have someone, especially a man, scratch that, a gorgeous man, in her apartment spending time with her because he wanted to and that she was comfortable letting him. It must be the drugs.

As the credits rolled Tony could see that Laura was wilting and needed to go to bed. They stood up and she walked him to the door, "Thank you for the company tonight Tony. It was nice."

He gave her that same intense gaze he had given her in the hospital and tucked a stray curl that escaped from her hair clip behind her ear, "It was really nice. You gonna be okay here by yourself?"

"I'll be fine. I've been taking care of myself for a long time." She said matter-of-factly, trying to put that wall back up unsuccessfully. His playing with her hair had unnerved her a bit. And that intensity in his eyes, what was that all about?

"I left my cell number for you. If you need anything, anytime, call. I mean it." He sensed her trying to put some distance between them but couldn't figure out why.

"Yes mom. Now scoot so I can go to bed."

It was on the drive home that he figured out what it was that made him so comfortable with her, it was the fact that she wasn't all over him like a cat on catnip. She wasn't flirting with him, wasn't lacing her words with innuendo, wasn't looking at him like a prize to be won. When she talked to him she was really interested in what he had to say, and when she smiled at him it was genuine and honest.

Then it hit him, and his stomach knotted, she wasn't interested in him. As a friend maybe, but nothing more. Damn. He hoped he was reading this situation all wrong.

----------

Kate was watching Tony. He hadn't exactly been himself since they had found him and Laura. She kept catching him lost in thought, seemingly a million miles away. And he wasn't gawking at every woman that passed by, he even declined a phone number from the waitress yesterday at lunch. Something was definitely not right with Tony.

Today his behavior reached new levels of weird as he kept picking up his phone and putting it back down without dialing. Even Gibbs noticed his bizarre behavior but just smirked at Tony from his desk, again giving Tony that knowing look.

----------

The next day was Daniel's funeral.

Laura, as Daniel's next of kin, was shown all the respect and support that entailed and she held her head high as they presented her with the folded flag knowing Daniel would have wanted her to be strong and honor the traditions of his beloved Marine Corps. She was amazed at the number of people that turned out for Daniel. She had no idea he was so well liked and it made the sting of his death all the more potent.

Tony and Gibbs were standing in the back of the crowd and from his view point Tony could see her startle at each of the rifle reports, and it took a lot of self control for him not to go to her side.

Laura's apartment was too small to hold any sort of reception so Sergeant O'Neill and his wife had offered to host it at their home. Laura was trying very hard to put on a strong front, but she was honestly tired and her shoulder was throbbing. She stepped outside to get some air and try and collect herself a bit. It did not go unnoticed. And she somehow wasn't surprised to hear a concerned voice say behind her, "Here this will help."

She turned to see Tony extending one hand with a couple of ibuprofen and a glass of soda in the other. She gave him a weak smile, "Thanks." She took the pills and washed them down with the soda, grateful for the sugar and caffeine boost.

He gave her a little wink, "What are friends for?"

She gave him a questioning look, "Is that what we are Tony?"

"I'd like to think so."

"Me too."

----------

Gibbs noticed PFC Thompson sitting off to one side by himself. Gibbs had read the young man's file. He came from a similar circumstance as Daniel, the son of two dead drug addicts that ended up in the foster care system. Daniel had met him while home on leave and showed the young man that he could in fact have another life. With Daniel's help he enlisted and by all reports he was good Marine. Gibbs observed him for a moment and saw that he kept looking at something in his hat. He went over to the young man who instantly snapped to his feet. He introduced himself to Ryan and found him to be very respectful, not the most eloquent or educated, but respectful and worthy of his uniform.

"How are holding up Thompson?"

"Honestly sir today was harder than I thought it would be."

Gibbs eyes softened, "I know son. And I wish I could tell you it gets easier but it doesn't. All you can do is honor the ones you lose, and honor that uniform you're wearing and what it stands for."

"Thank you sir. I think Corporal Castille would have liked to see how many showed up today for him."

"He was a good man, a good Marine. He would be proud of how you are conducting yourself today."

"Thank you sir."

"Can I ask what's in your cover that you keep looking at?"

The young man blushed and glanced over at Laura who was now sitting by Tony on a loveseat speaking with a couple of Marines that Daniel had served with in Iraq. "Dan, I mean Corporal Castille, used to get letters from Laura, I mean Miss Paquette and he would share them with me since I didn't have anyone sending me anything. Well there was this one letter that she wrote him when we were in Iraq about the big Fourth of July celebration that she went to and she talked about the parade and stuff and how proud she was of all of us. And I don't know sir, it just made me feel good to know that somebody was proud of us. Daniel gave me that letter sir and that's what I keep in my cover."

Gibbs knew this young man's background and knew that he probably never had anyone in his whole life tell him that they were proud of him. Gibbs found himself almost choked up, and that didn't happen often. He pulled out one of his cards and gave it to him, "If you ever need anything you call me. If you need to talk, or if something hits the fan you call me. Got it?"

"Yes sir. Thank you sir."

"And I think you should go talk to Miss Paquette. I'll bet she would like to know that you liked her letter."

Gibbs walked over with the young man to where Laura was sitting, seeing Gibbs Tony stood up and the other Marines excused themselves. Laura looked at the shy young man and had him sit down next to her. Gibbs and Tony moved off to another corner of the room while she talked to him.

Gibbs asked quietly, "How's she holding up?"

"She's tired and her pain meds wore off hours ago. I got her to take some ibuprofen but she needs to go home soon. But she's being stubborn; I think she's trying to be a Marine today."

"Go Laura."

"Boss."

"Something against Marines DiNozzo? Or are you just getting a little protective of a certain redhead?"

Tony just glared at him.

Gibbs chuckled, "Guess that answers my question."

----------

Laura regarded the shy young man sitting next to her. Daniel had told her how he had taken him under his wing. She listened as he told her about the letter Daniel had given him and it made her smile, it was something Daniel would do.

"Ryan I know you were good friends with Daniel and its going to be hard for both of us without him here, but maybe you and I could keep writing. And maybe sometime you'll find somebody that needs you to give them one of your letters. What do you think?"

His eyes lit up and she knew that she had said the right thing, "I would be honored Ma'am."

That being settled Laura made another quick round of the crowd and made her excuses and goodbyes. She was about to ask Sergeant O'Neill to bring her home when she saw Tony standing there with her coat, her purse and Daniel's flag.

She shook her head slightly as she walked towards him, she wasn't used to having anyone looking after her and she didn't know how exactly to take it, but it felt nice, really nice actually. When she reached him he asked simply, "Need a ride home?"

----------

When they reached her apartment she invited Tony in for coffee which he readily accepted. He made her take a pain pill and they settled in on the couch. He could see that she was lost in her thoughts and staring at the folded flag that she had placed on her bookshelf near Daniel's picture. He wasn't surprised when the sobs came, she had been holding them in all day. He just pulled her gently to him mindful of her shoulder and let her cry against him. He stroked her hair and murmured soothing words.

Eventually her sobs subsided and he realized that she had fallen asleep. Not wanting to disturb her he made himself as comfortable as he could and put his feet up on the coffee table. Grabbing the afghan from the back of the couch he covered her and closed his eyes enjoying the feel of her against him. He rubbed his cheek against her hair and realized Gibbs was right, he was getting protective. But was that a good or bad thing? He didn't know.

----------

In the months that followed Daniel's death Laura noticed that her quiet solitary life had become quite different.

One major change was that she became a ‘big sister' to a whole bunch of Marines. PFC Ryan Thompson had taken her message to heart about reaching out to others and she found herself with a couple dozen pen pals that she adored. And the men of Daniel's old unit all kept in touch as well. She never lacked for volunteers for any of her library events and several of the men who were particularly touched by Daniel's story actually volunteered in the literacy program trying to help other at-risk teens.

Her social life also changed. She was adopted into the Marine Corps family. She got invitations to picnics and parties from all different levels. She was welcomed at softball games and boxing tournaments. She found herself invited to weddings and christenings and all manner of family events. She was liked, respected, and popular, something she had never been before.

The biggest change in her life however actually came from outside of the Marine Corps in the form of a new fixture in her life by the name of Tony DiNozzo.

----------

Since the night of Daniel's funeral he had become a constant for her. She wasn't sure exactly how or when it happened. They just started showing up on each other's doorstep, movies in hand. They would cook dinner, watch the movie, dissect it over coffee and part ways. They were just friends.

They evolved into doing other things, going to shows and museums, nightclubs and movies. Most of the time just the two of them but sometimes with others. He also became her escort to the many functions and parties that her Marine Corps family invited her to. They were often wrongly identified as a couple and it made them both laugh. They were just friends.

There were nights that they would fall asleep together on the couch watching movies, neither ever mentioning how they would fall asleep on either end of the couch only to wake up with Laura lying in front of Tony with his arms around her and the afghan covering them both. They were just friends.

They also never talked about the nights that Tony would show up after a nasty case and lay with his head in her lap and let the hot tears fall as she stroked his hair murmuring soothing words as he clung to her trying to let go of the horrors that he had seen. They were just friends.

She hadn't had an active dating social life before but she was quite sure that Tony did and when she questioned him about his lack of dating he got a weird look in his eye and just shrugged it off by telling her that he was just going through a dry spell. She wasn't buying it but didn't press. They were just friends.

His teammates readily accepted her and she found herself invited along when they went out. It was one of those evenings out about six months after Daniel's funeral that Tony would look back on repeatedly as he tried to figure out their whole ‘just friends' thing.

----------

Laura met up with McGee, Abby, Kate, and Tony at a bar near their office. The team had just closed up a messy case and they just wanted to have a few drinks to relax. The bar was a quiet neighborhood sort of place, with a couple of pool tables and small wooden dance floor in the corner next to the jukebox that held everything from Jimmy Buffet and Garth Brooks to ‘NSync and Hoobastank. A few drinks turned into a boatload of tequila shots. And about the time they were all feeling very loose Gibbs walked in.

He hadn't intended to join them. He was going to go home and work on the boat in peace and quiet. But truth be told the last case had left a bad taste in his mouth and he hoped that the lightheartedness of his team when they cut loose would rub off on him a little. Seeing the amount of empty shot glasses on the table he shook his head.

He shook his head further when he realized that the group was having a drunken philosophical debate over ‘types'. He almost didn't want to know. But Laura summed up the conversation for him fairly succinctly, "Basically we're arguing over whether or not people have particular ‘types' of people that they are attracted to. I say that everyone has a ‘type', and that everyone is a ‘type' and that the real trick is knowing if you are the right ‘type' for the person you might be interested it. Cause there is no point in trying if you're not, much less disappointment that way." She toasted Gibbs with her shot and downed it.

What he thought was interesting was that during her little summary that Tony sat there playing with his shot glass and not looking at anyone and that Laura had made a particular point of glancing at Tony towards the end of what she was saying. He also realized that Laura wasn't near as drunk as the rest. She had known exactly what she was saying and he knew whose benefit it was for. He wondered how Tony interpreted what she said. He knew how he interpreted it, but somehow he would wager that Tony's own insecurities would force him to make an incorrect assumption.

A pair of women passed their table and Kate, Abby and Laura all snorted. One was blond, the other brunette. Both were tall and leggy with short skirts, tight tops and the best busts money could buy. Abby laughed, "There we go, we can get rid of McGee and Tony in one fell swoop. Gibbs you can hook up with Laura, she's a red head with attitude and is totally your type. Then me and Kate can go hook up with those two hunky firemen in the corner."

Five out of six people at their table laughed knowing it was all in fun, Tony just stared at his shot. When he felt everyone's eyes on him he finally downed it and stood up heading for the men's room without saying a word to anyone. Gibbs caught the slightly raised eyebrow that Laura gave Tony as he walked away, and she turned back to the table meet his eyes.

She lowered her eyes and zoned out for a moment just looking at some random point on the table. Before her brain had even registered what she wanted to do she was on her feet and moving towards the restrooms.

She reached the hallway to the restrooms just as Tony was coming out of the men's room. Neither of them saw Gibb's standing at the end of the bar getting another drink, able to hear everything they were saying.

Laura leaned up against the wall of the hallway, "Hey. You okay?"

Tony mirrored her position on the other wall and answered in a quiet voice, "I don't know."

"You know everyone is just teasing."

"Yeah. I guess. It just hit too close to home tonight."

"What did?"

"Just… everything."

"Well that's all encompassing. Can you be more specific?"

He suddenly took the two steps to close the distance between them and wrapping his hands in her hair whispered, "This." And he kissed her. It wasn't a gentle, romantic kiss. It wasn't a soul-searing kiss. It wasn't a make-her-curl-her-toes kiss. It was raw and fierce and full of longing and possession.

He didn't notice that she was trying not to kiss him back, he just pressed himself closer. She could feel his erection pressing up against her and when he moved his mouth down to her neck she was able to find her voice and said quietly, "Tony please don't." He heard the break in her voice and it brought him back to reality. He looked into her eyes and saw the tears threatening to fall and she whispered again, "Please let me go." And although it almost killed him he did.

She turned away from him and without a word to anyone grabbed her purse off her chair and headed out the door.

Gibbs had heard and seen everything, he saw Tony hit his knees in the hallway a poster child for abject misery, and he also saw Laura leave the bar. He had to make a quick decision on who needed him more at the moment. Given that Tony was here and drunk but safe, he stood up and barked to McGee to get Tony home and to stick him in a cold shower and get him sobered up pronto. He threw some cash on the table and ordered them all to take cabs.

Then he headed out the door to find Laura. He saw her about a block ahead, walking with her head down. He jogged and quickly caught up with her. "Hi."

"Hey."

"Do we have a destination in mind?"

"Yeah away from that bar."

He chuckled in spite of the situation, "I'll buy that."

She took a deep breath and let it out as she lifted her head, "You were standing at the bar."

"Yeah."

"You saw everything?"

"Yeah."

"He's just drunk."

"I think we both know there's more to it than that."

"Nothing that won't go away tomorrow." He saw her wipe away the tear that snuck out on her.

He thought about what she had said earlier and decided that he wanted clarification although he was pretty sure of what her response was going to be, "So is he not your type or do think you're not his type?"

She stopped walking and turned to face him, "What do you think Agent Gibbs?"

He didn't answer her. He just looked down at her and nodded gently.

She looked away, "I just don't want to be caught in the wake when he realizes it. It hurts too much."

He asked softly, "This doesn't?"

He heard her bite back a sob and she managed to whisper, "I never said that."

Crying women were a Gibbs' specialty and he just pulled her into a tight hug and let her cry. He finally loosened his embrace when he felt her wiggling. She stepped back from him and dug a tissue out of her purse and blew her nose.

"C'mon let's get you home." He said gently and hailed a cab.

He got her to her apartment and walked her inside, having the cab wait for him. Once she got her door open she turned to him, "Please just let tonight go Gibbs."

"Do you really want me to?"

"Yes. There isn't anything anyone can fix. It is what it is."

"Okay on two conditions."

"What?"

"One – if you need me you call me. Anytime. Got it?"

"Got it. What else?"

"Try and talk to Tony. And sort this mess out before you two implode."

"I'll try."

Once he was back in the cab he called McGee to make sure he got Tony home okay and he checked on Abby and Kate. And once he was sure that all his kids were home safe he had the cabby drop him back off at the bar to get his car. Then he went home, poured a healthy dose of bourbon and spent some quality time with his favorite lady and some sandpaper.

----------

Tony woke the next morning to a killer hangover and a snoring McGee on his couch. He swore off tequila for the umpteenth time in his life and swore this time that he meant it. He put coffee on and took a steaming shower while it brewed. He stood there in the fogged up bathroom with a towel around his waist, he swiped the mirror and hated the man looking back at him.

He took one look at his shaking hands and gave up all thoughts of putting a razor anywhere near his face. He would have liked to blame it on the hangover but he knew that would be a lie. What was making his hands shake and his gut churn was the memory of what he did last night and the look in her eyes. In one stupid moment he not only lost the woman that was his best friend, but any chance of ever having anything more with her.

He got dressed in jeans and t-shirt and headed to the kitchen for coffee. A blurry eyed McGee was already there working on a cup. Tony fixed himself one and stood there looking out the window trying to figure out how to fix everything. Tim said quietly, "Your cell buzzed when you were in the shower, I think you got a text message."

"Thanks." And he added softly, "And for last night too."

"That's what friends are for Tony."

Tony picked up his cell and scrolled to his text messages, he was surprised to see it was from Laura, wanting to know if they were still on for breakfast at the beach like they did every Saturday.

He stood there and stared at the phone, then typed back a quick message but hesitated before hitting the send button. He finally did and went to find his shoes and wallet.

It was his turn to bring breakfast and he stopped and got large coffees and a couple of bagels and headed for her favorite spot along the beach.

He found her sitting on the low railing between the parking area and the beach. He stepped over it and sat next to her and handed her a coffee. Both of them sat looking out at the water and didn't even glance at each other.

"Hey." She said softly.

"Hi."

"How bad is the hangover?"

"Better than average. It's getting better."

"Repeat after me, tequila is not my friend."

"Tell me something I don't know."

"I think we need to talk about some things."

"Yeah. I kinda figured."

"If it's okay with you I don't want to talk about last night. I want to talk about where we go from here."

"Where do you want to go from here?"

"I was going to ask you the same thing."

They sipped their coffee in long moment of silence that Laura finally broke, "Tony your friendship has been the most amazing gift I've ever had and I don't want to lose it."

He knew she was going to say that. He was glad that he wore sunglasses to hide the pain in his eyes, because he knew that friendship was all she wanted while he wanted so much more. He could also hide the lies he was about to tell her to keep her in his life. He was at the point where he would say anything. "Me either."

They talked for a long while, setting some new boundaries, and each of them dying a little inside. He could feel her putting that damn wall back up. He found himself promising to start dating again and having a social life that didn't solely revolve around her, and she promised to do the same.

They finished talking, both feeling a little hollowed out. They stood up and faced each other for the first time that morning and she took in his haggard appearance, knowing it wasn't all from the hangover. She couldn't help herself and impulsively hugged him, sensing that he needed it. And she was right. He wrapped his arms around her and buried his face in her neck. She felt his tears and heard him whisper, "I'm sorry about last night. I would never hurt you. I'm so sorry."

She squeezed him tighter realizing the implications of what he said and whispered back, "Hey. I know that. It's okay. Really. I didn't even think that. Would never think that. I'm sorry I can't be what you want. But don't you dare stew about last night. I mean it. Okay?"

"Okay." But he would. And they both knew it.

----------

They settled into a routine of sorts in the following couple of months, they had a standing Friday night movie date unless Tony was working a case and they somewhat curtailed the amount of time they spent together during the rest of the week. All in all it seemed to make their relationship stronger, and their time together more meaningful.

He tried dating, but found it had lost its luster. He kept expecting his dates to know him, and to have the easy conversation he had with Laura but it didn't work.

He even tried the casual sex route just to see if he could take the edge off, and it was an unmitigated disaster. The leggy brunette flight attendant was beautiful and an enthusiastic lover, but his body for the first time in his life betrayed him. Mortified he wanted to crawl under the bed and die of embarrassment. But the woman was understanding and just asked, "Married?"

And it was that question that cemented a lot of the random thoughts about Laura in his head together and he answered honestly, "No, but I think I should be."

He finally gave up trying to deal unsuccessfully with these other women so he started fabricating some encounters out of whole cloth just so Laura wouldn't think anything was remiss. He hated lying to her.

----------

He was lost in thought when she came out of the bedroom, and when he realized that she was standing in front of him he did a double take.

She wasn't in her normal baggy faded jeans and white t-shirt. She had on jeans but they were tighter and more form fitting and a little pale yellow cotton blouse with what seemed like a hundred buttons down the front. She had left her hair down and soft around her face and her makeup was light. She looked ten years younger than she was and it almost took his breath away. Even with her shiner.

"Earth to Tony." He finally realized that she was talking to him and that he had been staring.

He snapped out of it quickly, "Hey. Sorry was zoning." He stood up and stretched and tried to be very casual when he said, "You look great. That new?"

She smiled, "Yeah, Sergeant O'Neill's wife Helen and I went shopping and I was yelled at for buying things two sizes too big. She beat me up so bad I finally just let her pick stuff out for me. So you like?" She giggled and spun around to show off.

He teased, "You realize in those jeans all the guys are gonna be staring at your…" she didn't let him finish his sentence before throwing a pillow from the couch at him.

They enjoyed the movie and had settled onto a favorite bench at the beach with their fish and chips when he asked her what she was doing the rest of the weekend.

She didn't answer right away and he could see a faint blush staining her cheeks, "I um, well have a date tomorrow night. A blind date."

He tried not to let that feel like a sucker punch to the gut. It didn't work. But he had to play along, "Who fixed you up?"

"Helen. It's a friend of her husbands that he served with in Kuwait." She tried to brush the whole thing off as just casual, "Its just dinner. He just got stationed here and doesn't know anyone."

He knew it wasn't casual. Laura didn't date much and generally only went on first dates, second dates just didn't happen.

"Oh god my eye, I can't go with a black eye!" she suddenly exclaimed.

He teased, "You went out with me with a black eye."

She turned to him and gave him an exasperated look that got both of them laughing.

"Oh well it will be a disaster anyway black eye or not."

"Why do you say that?"

"You know I'm not all that normal a person Tony, most men can't understand why I would want to see The King and I a hundred and forty-five times."

"Actually I think you are up to a hundred and forty-eight since I met you."

"You know what I mean."

"Yeah I do." And he really did.

And because he knew he wasn't surprised to see her standing on his doorstep at midnight the next night with two pints of their favorite ice cream in hand. Her dates went about as well as his did lately. And ice cream and a romantic comedy made them both feel better.

----------

The following week Tony had to fly to New York to interview a witness and saw this silly floppy woman's summer hat from Italy in the duty free shop at the airport. It was ridiculously expensive but he didn't even hesitate to buy it for Laura. She liked hats to keep the sun off her head, she claimed it was one of the joys of being a red head.

The hat got him to thinking about their talk about dream vacations and her wish to see Tuscany. A plan hatched in his mind and he couldn't wait to get home to surprise her.

That Friday he planned his surprise down to the last detail. He had made a wonderful Italian dinner, uncorked a bottle of a really nice Italian wine, and bought a copy of Under the Tuscan Sun for them to watch. He also had a big gift wrapped box full of travel brochures.

When she got to his apartment the first thing he did was plunk the floppy hat on her head and hand her a glass of wine. She saw something simmering behind his eyes and knew that he was up to something. "What are you up to Tony?"

Without hesitation he zinged back, "Six two, give or take a quarter inch."

She rolled her eyes, "Everybody's a comedian these days."

They ate dinner and chatted about their weeks. Laura could see that Tony was almost vibrating with excitement over something.

She finally cornered him in the kitchen as they waited for the coffee to brew, "Okay spill it already. You're making me twitch."

"Okay okay." He laughed and went and got the wrapped box. He handed it to her and said, "This is your birthday and Christmas present."

She shot him a questioning look then proceeded to open the box. She looked at the brochures then raised her eyes to meet his, "I want to take you to Tuscany. We can see it all. Look at this stuff. There is so much to do. We've got to plan."

She looked down at the brochures but didn't see them through the tears that filled her eyes. "Tony this is incredibly sweet but I can't accept this."

"Oh c'mon it will be great. It's like you said, we'll eat and drink our way through it and find all those little out of the way places."

Her voice would only come out in a whisper, "Tony when I told you it was my dream vacation it wasn't exactly true. It's not my dream vacation it's my dream honeymoon. I'll go anywhere else on the planet with you but I can't go to Tuscany. I know I'm getting older and I'll probably never have the wedding and the husband and kids and the white picket fence but I can't give up the dream, it's all I have left. I'm sorry."

She put the box on the counter and went to walk out of the room. He was quicker though and snaked out a hand and pulled her into a tight hug. He hated the fact that she sounded so defeated and so accepting of the fact that she would never have any of those things. And sounding almost like she didn't deserve to be loved and have all those things. And he ached to be the one to give them to her. He held her and stroked her hair. After a few minutes she pulled back a bit and gave him a peck on the check and squeezed his hand and left. And she hoped he realized it was her own demons that upset her and not him.

----------

She stopped at the liquor store and bought a bottle of eighteen year old bourbon and called Gibbs' cell phone.

"Gibbs."

"If you've got some time I've got a very expensive bottle of bourbon that I'll share."

He and Laura enjoyed each other's company and they went to lunch when they could and caught coffee after work fairly often. It was a flirty friendship that they both valued and guarded. He didn't like the catch that he heard in her voice and wondered what exactly Tony had done now. He gave her directions to his house and told her that the door was open.

She got there a half hour later and went inside. When she called out he answered from the basement but warned her to grab glasses from the kitchen on her way down.

If ever Gibbs had seen a look on anyone's face that indicated a need for bourbon it was the look on Laura's.

She smiled and handed him the glasses and bottle and he cracked it open and poured them each three fingers worth.

She took the glass he offered and clinked it to his, "Cheers." She turned and looked inquisitively at the boat skeleton, "So this is the infamous boat."

They stood there sipping their drinks and she explored the in's and out's of the boat with almost a reverence. He watched her as he leaned up against his workbench. He knew she would tell him in her own time what was wrong.

She finished looking over the boat and made her way over to where he was standing and climbed up on the stool he offered. "It's going to be a beautiful boat Gibbs."

He winked at her in reply and refilled their glasses, "So what did DiNozzo do now?"

"He wants to take me to Tuscany on vacation."

Gibbs wasn't often speechless but this beat all, what was Tony thinking? "I thought you two had worked everything out."

She took a deep breath and told him everything. He listened without comment and when she was finished he scratched his head and refilled their glasses. "Look Laura, I'm not the best person to give relationship advice. But I gotta ask. Why are you so afraid of letting him in? Everyone can see that he's crazy about you."

"Because men like Tony don't end up happily ever after with frumpy, weird, almost middle-aged, librarians Gibbs." She replied flatly as she picked up the bottle and poured them each more.

So that was it in a nutshell Gibbs thought to himself. He wondered who had placed that huge kernel of self-doubt in her mind. Father? Past lover? Someone had. And she had built a pretty sturdy wall around herself because of it, very sturdy in fact if Tony's unfettered charm hadn't been able to breech it. Or maybe it had and that was her problem.

He met her gaze over his glass and asked gently before taking a sip, "Are you speaking from experience or just supposition?"

She didn't answer right away and got off her stool to walk to the other workbench and examined the tools lying there. She sighed and turned around leaning back on the bench, "Experience. My junior year of college I worked as a tutor and was assigned in the spring semester to tutor a fellow junior named Marcus Bastina. He was a frat boy and a jock and drop dead gorgeous and everybody loved him. He was the life of the party. But he was also flunking two major classes and was going to lose his scholarship and get pulled from sports so they got me to tutor him."

She laughed at a memory and continued, "You have to keep in mind I was the quiet one that lived in the library and did a lot of volunteer work, a nerd of the highest order. Anyway Marcus was charming and he did work hard to get his grades back up, but he also took it as a personal challenge to get me to loosen up and have fun. Somehow he managed to convince me to start going out with him as a friend to things outside of the tutoring. He discovered that I do in fact have a sense of humor and that I have other interests outside of my books and he dragged me everywhere."

She paused and took a big sip of her drink, Gibbs standing there fascinated by the story, "Everything was going great, he was passing his classes and the semester was wrapping up. He invited me to party at his Frat house the weekend after classes broke and when he insisted on walking into the party holding my hand I realized that we had become more than friends. I should have run the other way." She chuckled.

"I said that after my second divorce." He commiserated raising his glass in salute.

"Things went really well after that though; at least I thought they did. I was staying on campus during the summer to take a couple of the master's level classes I was able to take early and Marcus took a couple summer classes so his class load would be lighter in the fall. We were happy, in love, and just living large I guess you could say. We got an apartment together and he proposed just before classes started in the fall and I said yes. I really, really should have run the other way."

"To ex-wife number three." He snorted.

She teased, "Should I remind you of this if you ever decide to find an ex-wife number four?"

"Please. Or just shoot me. So back to your story what happened?" he splashed more amber liquor into their glasses.

"Time marched on and I met his parents over Christmas, it was a disaster. They were used to him dating the homecoming queen and being the local hero, and here he was bringing me the frumpy little bookworm home as his fiancée. It got ugly and we left a few days early because of the arguing. I noticed he was a little withdrawn after that for a long time but I just chalked it up to him not liking to fight with his parents. Boy was I wrong."

She took a sip and shook her head, "I guess I should have seen it coming or maybe I just didn't want to but I had traveled to Washington for a special symposium at the Library of Congress for three days, and through a fluke was able to catch an earlier flight home and walked into our apartment to find him having sex with the president of one of the sororities in my bed. She was this blond, graceful, beautiful thing that was everything I wasn't."

Gibbs didn't say anything but he went over and stood shoulder to shoulder with her leaning up against the bench to offer his support.

"So needless to say I broke the engagement and he found someplace else to live. And I decided that I would never be taken in again by a good-looking, charming man." She ended with a wry little grin and belted back the remaining bourbon in her glass. She could feel that she had a really good drunk coming on and welcomed it.

"So you are putting Tony in the same category as Marcus?"

"No, I am putting myself in the category of being too much of a coward to even think of trying."

He stood up and shook his head gently and grunted, "Hmpf." He went over to the other bench and put down his glass and picked up a sanding block. He plied it gently to a rib of the boat. He was also feeling the effects of the almost whole bottle of bourbon they had consumed and was trying to put his thoughts together.

She meandered around the basement and picked up a handful of wood shavings and sawdust, closing it gently in her hand she brought it to her nose and inhaled gently, "Mmm, they should bottle that smell and make it cologne. Women would go nuts for it."

She heard him stop sanding and when she looked over he was standing there with the silliest expression she had ever seen on his face, and she suspected that not many people ever had, "What's so funny?"

"Just remembering a conversation I had with Abby once about cologne, I told her that the women that I date like the smell of sawdust."

They had a good chuckle over that and he went back to his sanding and her meandering. She stopped at the back wall of the basement where a large rectangular sheet covered object hung on the wall.

"Hideous family portrait Gibbs?" she teased.

He dropped the sanding block and walked up behind her and reached around her with both hands to grab and lift the sheet off. What she saw took her breath away. It was a mirror. The frame was made up of hundreds of small pieces of wood in all different colors and grains. They had been painstakingly sanded and fit together with small dowel pegs. Layer upon layer it was built up into a heavy frame. It was stunning.

Gibbs was watching her in the mirror as she gently ran her hand over the frame. Her face was luminescent and her smile wide as she took in the mirror's details with her auburn curls cascading around her face. She suddenly felt his stare and she met his eyes in the mirror, somewhat intimidated by the intensity of it.

He stepped a bit closer to her and murmured, "Beautiful."

She broke the gaze and looked at mirror's frame, "It is a beautiful piece Gibbs."

She met his eyes again in the reflection and shivered as he traced a finger along the line of her cheek, "I wasn't talking about the mirror Laura. You are so beautiful here," he traced her cheek again and trailed the finger down her neck and followed her sternum to stop above her heart, "and in here. And any man that doesn't see that doesn't deserve you."

She felt a huge lump rise in her throat and she didn't know what to say. And she couldn't bear the intensity of his gaze any longer. She dropped her chin and closed her eyes. She felt his hands on her shoulders turning her gently around and it wasn't a surprise when he crooked a finger under her chin and lifted.

It also wasn't a surprise when she felt the warmth of his lips pressing to hers. She opened her eyes to meet his and felt his tongue teasing for entry. She felt his hand slip around her neck to tangle in her hair and she found her hands holding onto the front of the unbuttoned denim shirt he wore over his t-shirt trying to find something solid to hold on to since she felt like Alice falling down the rabbit hole.

He let them catch a quick breath before fusing his mouth to hers again. His hand on her back pulled her in closer, and she could feel the heat of his body. Everything felt so right, his mouth and tongue were waking up all sorts of sensations she had been trying to forget she wanted. His mouth left a trail of fire in its wake as it moved down to her neck where he knew just where to nip and lick.

Everything was so right, but so wrong and a vision of Tony's green eyes and warm smile flashed before her and she felt herself pulling back from Gibbs, "Gibbs, wait. Please."

He pulled back and met her eyes and she whispered, "You're going to hate me but I can't do this."

His eyes softened and he tilted his head to one side and replied softly, "Why?" Already knowing the answer.

She rolled her eyes to the ceiling and he could see the tears forming and she was biting her bottom lip fiercely, "Because I'm in love with Tony." And the tears started in earnest.

He pulled her into a tight embrace and tucked her head under his chin and stroked her hair, "I know."

"What am I going to do?"

"Tell him."

"I don't know if I can."

"Then just don't push him away when he tries to get close to you, let him in. You know he's going to keep trying. Let him in."

She looked up at his face and saw the caring in his eyes, and reached up and stroked his cheek, "I'm sorry about this."

"Just tell me that Tony is really the only reason we're not rolling around in the sawdust." He asked with a glint of humor in his eye.

That got him the smile he was looking for and she chuckled, "I like sawdust remember?"

He planted a gentle kiss on her forehead, "Things will work out Laura just have faith."

----------

She woke with a start the next morning and it took her a second to realize what woke her up, her cell phone beeping with an incoming text message sitting on the coffee table. Not her coffee table. Not her couch. Gibbs'. She sat up and let the soft blanket that had been covering her, fall. The instant stabbing pain in her head brought back all of the previous night's events and she groaned as she rubbed a temple.

She flipped open her phone to see a message from Tony asking if they were still on for breakfast at the beach. She looked at her watch and realized what time it was.

"Damn."

"Something wrong?" said a low voice from the kitchen doorway.

"I'm supposed to meet Tony in an hour for breakfast, we do it every Saturday." She walked towards him.

"Coffee?"

"Oh you are a god among men, how is your head by the way?"

He chuckled, "Fine. You're just an amateur."

Sipping the coffee he poured for her she found him staring at her over his own mug with a little grin playing at the corners of his mouth, "What is so funny?"

"You're cute in the morning, not very graceful, but definitely cute."

She laughed then groaned softly, "Does that line work for you often?"

"I don't know you tell me." He countered.

She doubted that very many people got to see this side of him, this caring and playful man that he kept such a tight reign on. She stood up from the chair and made her way towards the door, stopping behind him where she impulsively snaked an arm around his chest and leaned in to give him a kiss on the cheek, "Thank you for last night, for everything."

He reached up and rubbed the arm she had pressed to his chest, "Just remember that if he hurts you I know how to get rid of the body without leaving any evidence."

She giggled and made her way to the bathroom to try and freshen up a bit before meeting Tony, she just didn't have time to go all the way home. She was looking at the horribly wrinkled disaster that was her linen blouse when there was a gentle knock on the bathroom door.

She opened it and Gibbs handed her a neatly folded t-shirt and he said simply, "Clean shirt." And gave her a wink. She laughed when she saw that it said Property of the U.S. Marine Corps and she laughed even harder when she put it on and realized it smelled like sawdust.

----------

Thankfully the aspirin that she had taken at Gibbs' house was kicking in by the time she pulled into the parking lot at the beach. Keeping her sunglasses on against the glare she made her way over to where Tony was sitting on a blanket he had spread out.

"Hey." She said as she walked up behind him and sat next to him.

"Morning." He handed her a large coffee that he had safely tucked in the sand.

He could see that she wasn't at her best. And he noticed a couple of other things too but didn't mention any of it. Yet.

"Tony I'm sorry I reacted that way last night. You were being incredibly thoughtful and I was jerk. I should have told you about all that long before now. I hope you can forgive me for it. It wasn't you, it was just me being me."

He looked out over the water and said very matter-of-factly, "You and I seem to be apologizing to each other a lot lately."

"Yeah." Was her reply in a low voice.

"Maybe we can wipe the slate clean and call everything even. But I have to know something first." He said still not looking at her.

Confused she asked, "What?"

"Did you sleep with him?"

She choked on her coffee and when the coughing subsided she asked, "What are you talking about?"

"Gibbs. Last night."

She sat there just staring at him.

He decided to elaborate, "After you left my house I drove over there to get some advice but I saw your car there. And now you show up here in yesterday's jeans wearing Gibbs's t-shirt, hung over, and smelling like sawdust. Not to mention your lips are bruised from being kissed."

He sighed and continued in a lower voice, "And your car was still there this morning when I drove by. So please just tell me."

Honestly being her policy and not wanting to hurt him she took a breath and without hesitation said, "I didn't sleep with Gibbs Tony. I went over there for the same reason you did, advice. We drank, I finally got to see the boat, we talked, we did kiss but we stopped because it wasn't right. And the reason my car was there this morning was because after we drank an entire bottle of bourbon driving was out of the question so I crashed on his couch which did no favors for my back or my linen shirt hence the borrowed t-shirt."

The relief spread through him like a drug. He knew she wasn't lying.

"How's your head this morning?" he said with a little grin, finally looking at her.

"Better than average." She teased.

"Repeat after me, bourbon is not my friend."

They had a good laugh and all the tension was gone. They finished their coffee and muffins and decided to take a walk down the beach together.

He was dying to know so he asked, "So was Gibbs a good kisser?"

She punched his arm playfully, "I am so not going to answer that, if you are curious kiss him yourself."

He laughed and they walked a bit further and his expression grew thoughtful, "You know Abby was right about something. You really are Gibbs' type. You've got the red hair, brains, you're beautiful, sexy, and have an attitude. Match made in heaven."

"I may be his type but you forgot the other half of that equation, which asks is Gibbs' my type?"

"I'm starting to wish we had never had that ‘types' conversation at the bar."

----------

Monday around lunchtime Laura was at work with her back to the library's reception counter trying to look something up on the computer on the back table when a familiar scent of sawdust permeated the air and she turned to see a smiling Gibbs standing at the counter. "Got time for lunch?" he asked.

They went to a little deli around the corner and got sandwiches and ate near the fountain in the courtyard of the library.

"So did everything go okay with Tony?" he asked, and she told him all about it.

They had finished their sandwiches and were sipping coffees when she said, "I have decided to take your advice about just letting him in. Just go with the flow so to speak. I'm really not good at talking about my feelings."

"Me either. Probably explains the three ex-wives."

"Oh by the way, if Tony kisses you at some point its all my fault."

Gibbs almost spewed his coffee but managed to contain it, "What?"

"Well he wanted to know if you were a good kisser so I told him if he were that curious to kiss you himself."

They shared a warm laugh and he walked her back inside. And as he was turning to leave he leaned in close to her ear and whispered, "Its comments like that one that show just how my type you really are Laura." He snickered and left. And she spent the afternoon trying to figure out what sort of bizarre friendship their relationship had morphed into.

----------

The following Saturday Laura called Tony late in the morning to find out if he was free that afternoon, they hadn't met for their normal breakfast as Tony had worked really late the night before. When he told her he was free she asked him to meet her at a strange address.

He pulled up to a neat little house in a nice neighborhood; he noticed the realtor sign out front and was confused. He saw Laura's car and another that he didn't recognize. He parked and got out heading for the door when it opened and an impishly smiling Laura appeared.

She pulled him in and he saw that the house was empty except for the gentleman in a suit with a realtor's badge hanging from the pocket.

Laura led him through the empty house chatting at him a mile a minute. He managed to discern that she wanted to buy it. The house was in great shape, and the price was a bargain and well within what she could afford. It had a nice back yard and had been planted heavily with shrubs and flowers. She was so excited that he thought she would burst.

He gladly sat beside her as she filled out all the paperwork with the realtor. He had never seen her so happy. Both of them were so distracted, he watching her and her taking in the nuances of the house that they didn't even correct the realtor when he started talking about how perfect the little three bedroom house would be when they wanted to start a family. He just assumed they were a couple.

As she finished up with the realtor Tony wandered a bit. He was mentally trying to place her furniture in the house and smiled. Then he frowned as images of his own furniture tried to join the picture. This was going to be Laura's home. Not just an apartment, not just a place to keep her stuff, but a home. Permanent.

Nothing in his life was permanent. He hadn't had a home since he was a child. He had apartments and places to live, but not a home. The closest thing to a home that he could envision was Laura's apartment. It was the only place he felt at home. Then he realized it wasn't the apartment that made it a home, it was Laura. And a fresh wave of regret washed over him.

Tamping down those feelings he put back on a happy face for her and they finished up with the realtor. He told her he had errands to run and they parted ways for the day. He didn't really, he just wanted some time to try and sort out his feelings again and try and compartmentalize them again.

----------

He drove for a long while trying to do just that when he found himself at Gibb's house. The Boss' car was in the drive and Tony knocked then entered, being careful to make some noise and call out as he went.

He found Gibbs as expected, in his basement working on the boat.

He got a simple, "DiNozzo." as a greeting and he sat on the stairs watching Gibbs work.

"Boss do you really think people have ‘types'?"

Gibbs paused his sanding and looked over at Tony, "Yeah. But I don't think they are necessarily set in stone. What about you, do you think people have ‘types'?"

‘I don't know. I used to think I was everybody's type. Now I'm not sure." He said in a quiet submissive voice.

Gibbs knew he was talking about Laura, "Did she ever say you weren't her type DiNozzo?"

"Yeah." Was the reply from Tony, who wasn't surprised that Gibbs knew who he was talking about.

Gibbs wasn't buying it though and he pressed, "She said those exact words?"

Tony looked at him and thought hard for a moment, "No, she said she was sorry she wasn't what I wanted."

"Did you listen to that she said DiNozzo?"

"Yeah, I can take a hint that I'm not her type."

Gibbs sighed, "Repeat what she said again."

Tony did and then mouthed the words again and the light bulb of understanding flared over his head.

"She thinks she's not my type Boss?"

"Monday I am signing you up for a remedial listening course DiNozzo."

----------

Tony had a plan. Well not so much a plan but a mission. A mission to try and show Laura that she was in fact his type. He just didn't know if she would believe him, but he had to try.

That Friday on their normal night out Tony volunteered to cook even though it wasn't his turn. He just needed her at his place so he could be nonchalant about showing her some things.

They worked side by side in the kitchen and he had a flashback to the first night they did this when she had gotten out of the hospital, there was teasing and laughter and no tension. It was a nice feeling.

He purposely steered the conversation to suit his needs and when they crashed in the living room with a couple Irish coffees he put his plan in motion.

They were laughing about bad pictures from the past and how they always turned up.

"I doubt you ever had a bad picture taken of you Tony, I really do." She teased.

"Ha! How little you know." He teased back and was extraordinarily pleased with himself for steering the conversation in exactly the right direction. He stood up and went to the bookshelf in the corner and pulled down a stack of yearbooks.

He settled back on the couch right next to her and opened the first one.

"This is my junior high school yearbook. Welcome to the 80's have a nice day." He chuckled and proceeded to show her not only his awful formal picture but some of the candid shots as well. There was a girl beside him in most of the candid shots, and he ran a gentle finger over the picture and there was genuine affection in his voice when he said, "That's Megan. She was my girlfriend for all of junior high. She was so smart and funny and she got me into more trouble."

Laura looked at the pictures of Megan he was pointing out and was a little surprised, by anyone's standards the kindest thing that anyone could have said about the little girl was that she was homely. She had big owlish glasses and wore braces on her teeth. Their prep school uniforms weren't exactly stylish but hers just seemed to make her ganglier.

"She went to a different high school than me and we had to split up. But I still get Christmas cards. She's a teacher and got married to a great guy and they've got three beautiful little girls." The gentle smile on his face was a testament to his affection for her.

He pulled out his high school freshman yearbook and she was treated to pictures of a young Tony starting to look like the handsome man sitting beside her. He played football and basketball and she was surprised to see that he was a member of both the Spanish and Home Ec clubs. He pointed to a girl that was in both club pictures and said, "That is Anna. I met her the first day of school and decided about two minutes after meeting her that she was going to be my girlfriend."

Again she was surprised, the girl wasn't prom queen material, she was plain and a little chubby but she had an amazing smile and there seemed to be a glint of a trouble maker in her eyes. "She wouldn't go out with me at first, said I was too much of a jock. So I joined her two clubs to show her I wasn't. Took six months but finally she decided I was worthy enough to be her boyfriend." He laughed and dug out the next yearbook.

This one had lots of Tony playing sports, even as a sophomore he had been extremely talented. He flipped to the candids in the back and stopped on one in particular. "This is my favorite picture of us and I bribed the yearbook committee photographer to put it in." The picture showed Tony in jeans and his football jersey sitting on the ground leaning back against a tree with Anna wearing a copy of his jersey sitting between his legs with Tony's arms wrapped around her and his chin tucked on her shoulder. Both of them grinning like fools.

They went through the next two yearbooks and saw more pictures of Tony and Anna. They were together all through high school. Laura saw a flash of pain in his eyes when he said, "We ended up going to two different colleges, and it was too hard to do the long distance thing. We tried for a while but it just didn't work. She's married now and works as a translator in Houston. I guess she's doing okay, we haven't kept in touch really. It just hurt too much."

There was a catch in his voice and Laura put her arm around him and he dropped his head to her shoulder.

"Sorry I got so maudlin on you." He said quietly.

"You're allowed. You've haven't told me very much about you growing up. I'm glad you shared it with me."

He sat up and took a deep breath, "Laura I have to be honest with you about something. I have been going over every conversation I have ever had with you in my head trying to figure out why I wasn't your ‘type' and then I finally replayed your words in my head again and realized that somehow, someway you came to believe you weren't my ‘type'. And I just don't get it. You're smart, you're funny, you're beautiful, and you're sexy as hell. So please for the love of all that's holy tell me why you wouldn't be my ‘type'."

She looked at him for a long moment and decided that the moment of truth had arrived, "Because of a man named Marcus Bastina…" She told him the whole story, same as she had with Gibbs and wasn't surprised at his reply.

"So you're lumping me in with this jerk Marcus?" he asked a little coldly.

"No! I'm lumping myself in as a coward who's afraid of being hurt again by anyone."

"So is that why you stopped kissing Gibbs and didn't sleep with him, afraid he was going to hurt you in the end?"

She glared at him and for a moment he thought he might have pushed her too far and he was totally unprepared for her quiet response, "No Tony, I didn't sleep with him because it would have been wrong since I am totally in love with you. And I've got to tell you that letting you in scares me to death because what I feel for you is a thousand times stronger than anything I felt for Marcus."

She sat there staring at her hands in her lap waiting for him to say something, anything. She couldn't believe that she had blurted all that out, so much for not being able to talk about her feelings.

Tony was dumbfounded, his mouth opening and closing as he tried to find words, but none would come. His brain was spinning as he tried to process everything. She was in love with him. She was afraid of being hurt again. He needed to kill Marcus, well okay maybe just maim him a little bit. She was in love with him. She was in love with him. She was in love with him. Screw remedial listening, he got her point loud and clear. But he still felt like he needed to reassure her.

"You know when Anna decided to call it quits it hurt so bad I almost couldn't stand it, and then right after that my parents wrote me off and it just felt like I had lost everything. And I didn't have anything left but a big empty hole in my chest. And I decided that it hurt too much to really care about anybody. So I didn't. I wouldn't let anyone in. And I put on this mask of a frat boy player. And I hated it. I just wanted to find someone who would care about me like Megan did, like Anna did. Someone who cared about me. Not the jock, not the frat boy, not my looks, just me. I want someone I can laugh with, and cry with, and someone who needs me just as much as I need them. And I've been alone for so long Laura, waiting for you. Because you're it for me. You're everything I want, everything I need. I love you."

She looked over at him to find that intense stare that he had given her a few times since she had known him but this time she wasn't intimidated by it, she finally understood what it was, what he was trying to say and do with his eyes. It was as if he were trying to memorize every line of her face in case he never got to see her again, if she left him like everyone else that he loved had. So this time instead of shying away from it she smiled. A smile just for him, one that she hoped let him know that she finally got it, finally understood. And when he tilted his head and squinted one eye at her with a little smirk playing up the corners of his mouth she knew that he knew that she got it.

And with a gleam in her eyes she asked, "So are you going to ask me out on a date or what?"

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By midweek the entire team was willing to wait in line to kill Tony with Gibbs at the front of the line. Tony's body was practically vibrating with energy as he waited for Friday to roll around. He had the whole evening planned and was just praying that they didn't snag a case to throw a monkey wrench into his plans.

Finally it was Friday at about four-thirty in the afternoon and Tony was impatiently trying to countdown the remaining minutes until he could leave. He was driving everyone in the bullpen mad with his constant stream of inane babble. And Gibbs had had enough.

"DiNozzo."

"Yes Boss."

"Do you have any comp time accumulated?"

"About a hundred hours or so at last count Boss."

"Good then spend thirty minutes of it and get the hell out of here before Ducky has you on a slab in the very near future."

Tony was stunned, Gibbs was not known for letting anyone leave early. Little did Tony know however that Gibbs had gone to lunch with Laura on Tuesday to find out what had transpired between them after Tony had started acting so strangely at the office. Gibbs' friendship with Laura was a rarity and it was something he was coming to value more and more. And he was happy that she and Tony had finally sorted things out and admitted their real feelings for each other. But he still felt protective of her.

Tony had quickly grabbed his stuff to head out and was surprised when Gibbs joined him in the elevator. And was even more surprised when he hit the emergency stop switch. He looked at Gibbs questioningly, "Boss?"

Gibbs didn't even turn around just said in a very matter of fact way, "Just keep in mind DiNozzo that I know how to get rid of a body. Do not hurt her." And he flipped the switch to get the elevator moving again.

Tony heard the meaning in Gibbs' words but had to reply flippantly, "Gotcha Boss. But just keep in mind that that's my redhead you're getting overprotective of."

Gibbs couldn't help the smile that appeared on his face as he looked sideways at Tony. And the two of them were chuckling as Tony exited the elevator.

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He had told her to dress formally, and that peaked her curiosity. Not that they hadn't gone out in formal wear before, they had for a couple of weddings and special events, but they hadn't really dressed up for just a night out. She wondered what he was up to.

She was just putting her lipstick in her evening bag when the doorbell rang. Looking out the peephole brought a smile to her face that grew wider when she opened the door. Tony was looking very suave standing there decked out in his black tuxedo and holding a single red rose.

When she opened the door Tony's mouth fell open. He had seen her dressed up before but this was different, she was dressed up for him and she was exquisite. She wore a very classy plum colored crepe sheath dress with a slit up one side to her mid thigh. Its neckline ensured that he would be a little distracted all night. Her hair was pinned up loosely and she had little errant curls escaping here and there. Her makeup was perfect and made her creamy skin flawless and the dramatic eye makeup made her eyes seem to glow.

What gave him a warm and fuzzy feeling though was the silver filigree butterfly necklace she had on. A few months earlier the library had held a craft fair fundraiser and Tony had surprised her by showing up. They spent some time together walking through the vendors and she had spotted the necklace and had picked it up admiring it. As they walked away with Laura in the lead Tony mouthed to the vendor to hold the necklace. And when Laura was distracted by something he had gone back and paid for it and hid it in his pocket. He left a while later but it meant a lot to Laura that he had shown up. And later that night when she got home she found a gaily wrapped little box with a big bow in the middle of her coffee table with a note that read, "Nice job on the craft fair Madam Director", and when she opened the gift and saw the butterfly she laughed. It had become one of her favorite pieces of jewelry and she looked for excuses to wear it. And when she got dressed for the evening there wasn't even a question as to what necklace she would wear.

When his brain finally caught up with his eyes he told her, "You look amazing." And he nervously leaned in and gave her a little kiss on the cheek that she thought was incredibly sweet, not so much the kiss itself but the fact that he was nervous about doing it.

Laura laughed that playful laugh he loved so much and teased, "Thank you. But you have seen me dressed up before Tony."

"Yeah but tonight I can gawk and get away with it." He quipped back with a suggestive wag of his eyebrows.

Tony had called in several favors for his special date with Laura. And when they pulled up to a little theater in an older part of town she had no idea what he was up to. Formal wear for a movie? Then she realized the theater had a sign hanging in the door, ‘Closed for Vacation'. So she thought it was a little bizarre when they walked up to the doors that they were met by an usher in full old-time regalia, the bright gold-trimmed red suit and hat and wearing white gloves.

"Welcome Mr. DiNozzo, your seats are right this way." Tony didn't give anything away to Laura, he just offered her his arm and they followed the usher.

He led them into the theater and Laura was surprised to see a small table elegantly set for two in the middle of the theater's wide aisle, at the perfect viewing distance from the screen. The usher held her chair out for her and she sat down looking around in awe at the old theater. The usher left them giving Laura a little wink as he left.

"What is all this Tony?" she asked with a big smile.

"Nothing." But he couldn't contain his grin as he poured them each a glass of their favorite Chardonnay. He raised his glass in toast, "Here's to the last first date you and I will ever go on."

"Now you've jinxed it, you know how my first dates generally go." She teased.

"Yeah, but I get why you'd want to see The King and I a hundred and fifty times."

She laughed, "It's only a hundred and forty-nine by the way."

He didn't say anything but gave her a knowing grin as he sipped his wine. The usher returned with the first of many courses and they shared a delightful dinner. When the last of the plates were removed Tony edged his chair a bit closer to her and gave a little wave to the projection booth.

He looked at Laura and with a mischievous twinkle in his eyes said, "On with the show."

The lights dimmed and her eyes grew huge as the movie started, it was her beloved The King and I in all its glory on the big screen.

He leaned over and teased, "By my count this should be a hundred and fifty."

She turned to meet his eyes and he saw that she was biting her lip trying not to cry, and he said softly, "Hey no crying now."

She smiled and sniffed, "I can't help it. This is the sweetest most romantic thing ever."

He rolled his eyes and teased some more, "Women."

She took his face gently in her hands and kissed him. And they both got lost in it, full of promise and anticipation it sealed what they both wanted, each other.

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Tony woke to have one of his little fantasies come true, the sun was gently streaming through the curtains and Laura was curled up next to him with her hair spread out over him and the pillow. He squeezed her a little closer and rubbed his cheek in her hair, and thanked whatever deity decided that he deserved her. Last night, from start to glorious finish, had been perfect. And now this morning he was right where he wanted to be. He was lost in his thoughts of the future when Laura lifted her head with one eye opened and teased, "You're thinking too loud."

He chuckled and teased back, "You are so not a morning person are you?"

She sort of grunted in response and kissed his chest then snuggled back in against him to go back to sleep.

Perfect he thought as he drifted back to sleep, everything was just perfect.

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All the paperwork finalizing the sale of the house to Laura was completed just a couple of weeks before Christmas. And Tony met her at the house following her meeting with the attorneys. They were walking through the house talking about paint colors and who they knew with a truck that could be bribed into helping her move. They plunked down on the bare floor in the living room in front of the fireplace and talked about the best location for the entertainment center. Tony was off on one of his animated verbal romps and Laura sat there, enjoying just listening to him. She knew he liked the house almost as much as she did, and it was a good thing given what she was about to do.

Reaching into her purse she pulled out a little box wrapped in festive holiday paper with a red bow on top, "Merry Christmas Tony."

"Starting early Laura? Christmas isn't for a couple weeks yet."

"So it will be the fourteen days of Christmas. Just open it."

He smirked and gave her a questioning eyebrow as he opened the gift. He pulled out a silver keychain with a single key hanging from it. He looked at it and then met her eyes, "Laur?"

"I want this to be your home too." She said biting her lip nervously.

It really wouldn't be a stretch for them, he practically lived at her apartment anyway. Half his clothes and movies were there and he got so many telephone calls that she finally put his name on the answering machine. But making it official was just huge, for both of them.

He stared at the keychain with his breath being held captive by her words, your home. He gently ran his finger over the key. A home. A home with Laura. A real home. A home with love and laughter.

"Tony?" she said quietly when he had been quiet for a long time.

She suddenly found herself dragged into his lap in a tight embrace and he whispered in her ear, "I love you. This is the best present I ever got."

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Laura gave Gibbs the grand tour the next day over a long lunch. It was a sturdy, well laid out house and he approved with a craftsman's eye the quality of workmanship. She was babbling a mile a minute and he had known her long enough to know that she had something important to tell him.

They were in the kitchen leaning on opposite counter when she caught the little smirk on his face, "I'm babbling aren't I?"

"Yep."

"You are a very patient man Jethro has anyone ever told you that?"

"My divorce attorney." he replied with a chuckle.

She smiled and shook her head gently. There were times like this that she wished with all her heart that that he would find someone to love, to share his life with. He was her friend and she wanted to see him happy, and to never see that haunted look that was in his eyes at times.

"Tony is moving in here with me." she said simply.

His smirk returned and he nodded, "That's a big step for you two."

"It's the right step."

"I know."

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Laura and Tony spent their evenings painting and getting the house ready to move in and were almost finished. They had grabbed some Chinese on the way to the house to finally finish painting and found a surprise when they went into the living room. Propped up against the fireplace was a large rectangular gift-wrapped object. Laura looked at Tony who threw his hands up and said, "Don't look at me."

She went over to it and took the little card tucked into the ribbon, and in Jethro's familiar handwriting she read, "It remembers what I said, make sure you do." She gently ripped off the paper to find the exquisite mirror from Jethro's basement.

Tony ran an appreciative hand over the frame, "Its beautiful Laur, who's it from?"

A little lost in her thoughts of what had transpired in his basement it took her a moment before replying, "Jethro".

"Nice housewarming present Boss." Tony said with a chuckle to a suddenly empty room. He hadn't realized that she had left the room. He found her in the kitchen staring out the back door into the yard.

He walked over to stand behind her and put his hands gently on her shoulders, "Laur, you okay?"

She had no secrets from Tony. She didn't want to have any secrets from Tony. He knew the gist of what had transpired between her and Jethro but not exactly what was said. She handed him the card to read.

He knew that there was a bond between her and Gibbs, something that transcended friendship but that he couldn't name. And he knew that something important, and private had happened the night she spent over there, he knew the basics but sensed that there was something deeper. "Laura if you don't want to tell me its okay, but what did he say that he wants you to remember?"

She hesitated for a moment then told him something that even Jethro didn't know, "We were standing in front of the mirror and he told me I was beautiful. And...um...it was the first time in my life that a man had ever said that to me."

He wrapped his arms around her and whispered in her ear, "He's right you know. You are beautiful."

She reached up and rubbed one of his arms, "I'm starting to believe it the more you say it."

"That wasn't all he said was it?"

"No."

"Will you tell me?"

"Someday."

"Promise?"

"I promise."

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Laura and Tony settled into a semblance of domestic bliss as the months went by. They got the house situated and the eclectic blend of their furniture and belongings gave the house a homey, lived in feel that they both enjoyed and it made their friends and co-workers feel welcome. Work was crazy as ever for the both of them and their home became a sanctuary for them both. The folks that knew them best saw that they were happy and relaxed. It was as if all of their pieces had finally come together.

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Laura stood over Daniel's grave on the one-year anniversary of his death. She had laid the red roses near his headstone and thought about the past year. So many things had changed. Some good some horrible. Lost in her thoughts she didn't hear him approach behind her. It was the faintest wisp of sawdust that caught her nose that gave him away.

"Hi Jethro."

He stepped to her side and looked sideways at her, "You okay?"

"Just thinking. It's hard to believe it's been a year already."

"It has gone by fast."

"Tony tell you I was coming here?"

"Yeah. I figured I would check on you."

She looked back to Daniel's headstone, "It's not fair Jethro, he had his whole life ahead of him. He worked so hard. He could have ended up just been another statistic, another juvenile delinquent, but he didn't. He wanted a life to be proud of. And it was stolen from him."

He put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her close and said softly, "I know Laura. I know."

They stood there for a long time lost in their own thoughts, she didn't cry, and Jethro saw that inner strength Daniel had admired.

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Tony was a very content man. It was the only word he could use to describe himself. Work was work, and it was crazy and stressful, but now he had someone there for him when he went home. Someone that cared if he was stressed, someone that cared if he ate real dinners, someone that would hash things out with him if he couldn't turn his brain off, and someone that would just hold him if he needed to cry or stare at the carpet to get a case out of his head.

He would chuckle to himself when he thought about the few arguments they actually had, it was generally over some petty insignificant thing, but it generally meant they weren't paying enough attention to each other and it called for a night of snuggling on the couch watching a movie with the phones turned off.

He loved waking up next to her every morning and he finally understood what people were talking about when they said there was a difference between having sex and making love. When they came together it was as if they were the only two people on the planet, and every touch, every whisper, and every gaze meant something. It brought them closer and intertwined their souls a little bit more. And they were so entwined at this point he almost didn't know where his started and hers began, and he decided in a moment of clarity that he never wanted to.

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If Laura had thought her social life was busy before, it seemed to reach new heights once the word got out that she and Tony were officially (and finally) a couple. Laura found herself looking forward to the warm spring weather, she wanted to host a party, something fun and festive, for all the people that had so generously taken her into their inner circle. One of the biggest selling features of the house for Laura was the wonderful backyard and its deck and landscaping. It was perfect for entertaining. And as soon as the weather broke she started planning. So did Tony.

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The party was in full swing in Laura's backyard. She had been looking forward to it for weeks. There were tiki torches burning and she had strung little white lights into the shrubs. The food was great and Jimmy Buffett was playing on the stereo. All of her favorite people on the planet were in attendance. There was a lot of laughter and teasing and just a great atmosphere.

Tony was mingling and trying to help Laura when she needed him, he was getting a kick out of watching her play hostess. It came naturally to her and she enjoyed it. Tony was standing with Bruce O'Neill, his wife Helen and Laura had become the best of friends and the two men found themselves often in each other's company. Tony liked the man, he was a good Marine, and had a great sense of humor. At the moment they were watching Helen and Laura dance with a couple of Bruce's Marines. Bruce took in the look on Tony's face as he watched Laura and said casually, "You know Tony I'm not one to give advice about women but you really should marry that one. The good ones are hard to find."

Tony turned to Bruce who was waiting for a smart remark in return, and was surprised when Tony laughed and said, "You know I've been thinking the same thing myself." And he walked off towards Laura leaving Bruce standing there with a very confused look.

He fiddled with the stereo for a minute then walked up to the enormous Marine dancing with Laura asked to cut in. The Marine bowed out gracefully knowing who Tony was to Laura, everyone knew who Tony was to Laura.

When the song changed it wasn't the next Jimmy Buffett cd that she had originally cued up, instead the soft chords of an old Dan Fogelberg song, Longer, one of Laura's favorites, filled the backyard. Tony pulled her close and danced very slowly with her. She whispered in his ear, "And just what are you up to now Tony."

"Nothing." But she could sense the grin on his face.

They finished dancing to the song and when the same song started back up again she really knew he was up to something, and he didn't disappoint.

He pulled back to arm's length holding her hand and fished in his pocket. And it all made sense when he actually went down on one knee and held out the engagement ring. Neither spoke for a long moment and then he found his voice and asked, "Let me take you to Tuscany?"

She couldn't speak. She just bit her bottom lip to keep from crying and nodded.

He slipped the ring on her finger and stood up and was immediately latched onto by Laura.

The crowd of people at the party all gathered around Laura and Tony to offer congratulations. Hugs and happy backslapping abounded.

Things were so crazy that no one noticed Jethro had arrived late, well, late for the start of the party but just in time to see Tony propose. He watched from the corner of the house, never coming all the way in to the back yard.

He watched with mixed emotions. He was honestly happy for them and said under his breath, "Nice job DiNozzo". But there was another part of him that wanted to throw something. It was the part of him that had so freely flirted with her when they first met. It was the part of him that had kissed her in his basement knowing full well that she was in love with another man, hoping to change her mind. It was the part of him that still got overprotective and the part of him that tortured himself by staying close to her under the guise of friendship. He hated this part of himself.

He watched Tony and Laura for a minute, both beaming and never happier, and he turned and left.

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Laura had managed to convince Tony to inform his father about their engagement. She knew they had a very strained relationship but she at least wanted to meet the man that would be her father-in-law. Anthony DiNozzo, Senior took the news fairly well over the phone but didn't give Tony any indication as to whether or not he was happy for him.

They planned to take a shuttle flight up to New York and meet him over Tony's next stand-down weekend.

In the cab Tony could see that Laura was nervous, she was quiet and kept fidgeting with her clothes. Clothes that were the tenth or eleventh choice, Tony had lost track as she had flung things around their bedroom. She had finally decided on an old standby, her favorite hunter green wool jacket with a pair of black wool dress pants and a snowy white silk blouse. The ocean print scarf he had given her accented it nicely. She looked very put together and classy. He smiled as she retied her scarf for the hundredth time, "Laura you look perfect." She flashed him a wane smile but kept fidgeting.

Laura was trying to figure out why exactly she was so nervous. She was a woman with two degrees and held a fairly prestigious position in her affluent community, she regularly had lunch with the mayor and was on a first name basis with several Senator's and Congressmen, and she counted many Marine and Naval officers as friends. And the handsome man sitting next to her loved her to distraction. So why did meeting Tony's father intimidate her so much?

Tony knew. The beginning of the end of her last engagement started with Marcus' parents not liking her. He had tried reassuring her last night as he saw the insecurity creeping into her. He had seen her barely pick at her dinner and seemed a thousand miles away. She mumbled something about taking a bath and left him to his own devices. And an inspired Tony had taken the opportunity to turn off the lights and light candles throughout the house. He put on some soft music and waited for her to get out of the tub. And when she walked out of the bathroom with her hair in a clip and wearing just an NCIS t-shirt she saw him standing there waiting for her. And when he opened his arms she willingly folded herself into his embrace. And he told her that his father didn't matter, that she was his future. He told her not only with words but with his eyes, and then he burned it into her skin as he told it to her with his touch.

The cab pulled up to the restaurant and he squeezed her hand and quipped, "If he's a jerk we'll bail and go to little Italy."

That got him a real smile, "You'd do it too wouldn't you?"

"Yep."

They were laughing as they got out of the cab and headed into the upscale restaurant.

Tony gave their name to the hostess and she informed them that his father was already seated. They were escorted to the table and Laura was able to see the older man for the first time. He was impeccably dressed, not that she expected anything less, she saw parts of this man in Tony but he favored his mother more. The older man looked tired, and she suspected that the flush on his face wasn't caused by the sun but most likely by many years of single-malt scotch. She put on her best politicking smile and heard Tony introduce her.

They sat and no one said anything for what seemed like a very long time. And the elder DiNozzo just stared at Laura. It was very discerning. Finally he spoke, "So Miss Paquette you are going to marry my son."

Laura had a flash of making love to Tony the night before and him planting little butterfly kisses all over her repeating "Mine." between each feathery kiss. And suddenly she got it. He was just as afraid of losing her as she was of losing him. And he really did mean it when he said his father didn't matter. The thought gave her a little steel for her backbone and permission to just be herself.

"That is the plan Mr. DiNozzo." She said with a little smile as she sipped her white wine.

He regarded the woman sitting in front of him. His private investigator had put together a very thorough file on her and although her family was working class she had worked hard to become a well-respected and valuable member of the community. Her education was top-notch and her personal life was squeaky clean. He might have wished that Tony would have married someone from a more affluent or influential family but Laura certainly wouldn't bring any shame to the DiNozzo name. He was surprised though, she was not the type of woman he had heard his son associated with, she was grounded and intelligent and not just a piece of fashion fluff. It intrigued him.

Tony was watching with his stomach tied in knots worried about Laura, and then with that one little half-flippant remark she managed to put him at ease and totally disarm his father. He watched in amazement as the two of them spoke of many things, from her work at the library to her family. She also asked his father as many questions as she answered and Tony found himself learning things about his father and his family that he didn't know.

Halfway through dinner Tony felt confident enough with how things were going between Laura and his father to leave them alone while he visited the men's room. When he left the table Laura could sense a change in the elder Anthony and waited, knowing there would be an uncomfortable question coming. And it did, "Miss Paquette do you love my son?"

Somehow it wasn't the question she was expecting, she had expected something about trust funds and inheritance or some other money related nonsense that she could give two figs about.

She answered honestly, "More than he knows."

"Laura I think I like you. And I think you are good for my son."

"We're good for each other Mr. DiNozzo."

He gave her a nod and saluted her with his wineglass.

Tony sensed something important had transpired in his absence but didn't know what exactly. But Laura was still okay and in fact had given him a warm smile when he returned to the table.

Anthony let out a dry chuckle when he asked, "So have you given any thought to the wedding?" and got deer in the headlights looks from both of them.

It was a question Tony was dreading, not because he didn't want to think about his wedding but because he didn't want to think about the type of society wedding his father would want him to have. He hadn't even thought to warn Laura.

Thankfully Laura diffused the situation again, "Ah, well, the honeymoon is sorted out. We just haven't even started thinking about the wedding yet Mr. DiNozzo."

Tony replied to his father's raised eyebrow, "We're going to Tuscany Dad. Laura's always wanted to go."

Anthony looked at Laura and laughed, "I knew I liked you."

Later that evening Tony treated Laura to something she had never done before, a trip around Central Park in a horse-drawn carriage. She snuggled next to him under his arm and they tried to make sense out of the day. "So is that how your father normally acts? Or was he putting on a show for me? And what was with the look on your face when he offered us a week at his house in the Hamptons. Don't you go there?"

"I don't know how to answer that. He wasn't putting on a show, I think he was sincere. But I wouldn't call it normal. I think he really likes you. I mean really likes you. And for the record he hasn't invited me out to the house in the Hamptons since I was in high school so him giving it to us for a week sorta blew me away. I think you reeled him in."

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Tony got home from work actually on time for a change and wanted to take Laura out to dinner, their schedules had been a bit hectic the past couple of weeks and they hadn't really had any down time. He was surprised when he got home to see current issues of all the bridal magazines strewn on the coffee table with Laura no where to be seen. He popped into the kitchen, no Laura but an open bottle of wine sat on the counter, he paused and poured himself one then grinned and headed for their bathroom. Sure enough there was Laura up to her pretty neck in a bubble bath with a washcloth over her eyes and glass of wine at hand.

She heard him come in and smiled.

"Want some company?" he asked.

"Love some."

He stripped quickly and stepped carefully into the tub. The tub was one of the few changes they had made to the house. The old tub was just old and small, and the new oversized clawfoot was heavenly and they both enjoyed it.

"So what brought this on?" he asked lightly trying to remember if he had done or said anything stupid in the last few days.

"Helen stopped by, did you see the coffee table?" she said wearily.

"Ah." He wanted to be as far away from the wedding planning as humanly possible without annoying Laura.

"Your father's assistant called yesterday with the names of several wedding planners he would be happy to pay for."

"Ah."

"Actually he wants to pay for the whole wedding. Whatever we want he said."

"Ah."

Laura lifted one corner of her washcloth and saw him at the other end of the tub biting his lip trying not to laugh.

"I'm giving serious consideration to you, me and an Elvis impersonator in Las Vegas."

Tony couldn't help it, he just started laughing, "Can you picture the society page now? My dad would have an aneurysm."

"Yeah he would, considering his guest list is three hundred people give or take that reads like a Who's Who."

That brought Tony up short, "Three hundred? Are you serious?"

She lifted the cloth, "Do I look like I'm kidding?"

He got a little serious, "You know we never talked about this. What do you want for the wedding? Forget my father, forget work, just think about you and me."

She took the cloth off her eyes and studied him for a moment. "I can't think of anything nicer than being surrounded by our family and friends. I just don't want a big fuss."

"Yeah me too. We'll figure it out, I promise. Just not tonight. I have other plans for you tonight."

She arched an eyebrow, "Really. Lascivious plans?"

"Hmm well I was going to feed you first but if you insist we can move right on to dessert." He teased with a suggestive grin.

----------

NCIS was fortunately having a slow week and the team found themselves able to work on some old cold case files. Tony found himself having to fly to Chicago to conduct a follow up interview leaving Laura to fend for herself for a couple of days.

Gibbs rolled his eyes when Tony told him to watch out for Laura while he was gone, "DiNozzo you are going to be gone one night. I'm sure she's not going to pine away."

"I know Boss its just that this is the first time I've had to travel for the job since…"

He silenced Tony by hitting a speed dial on his cell, "Laura I've been informed that you need a babysitter tonight."

Tony could only hear one side of the conversation but he cringed, he would get an earful about this when he got back from Chicago he was sure. And Gibbs had Laura's number as a speed dial?

He heard Gibbs tell her he would pick her up for dinner and he hung up.

"Satisfied DiNozzo?"

Tony grimaced, "Yes. And no. On so many levels Boss. Thanks."

Gibbs just snickered as Tony headed for the elevator.

----------

When Gibbs arrived to pick Laura up for dinner she was on the phone. And he caught part of what he suspected was a conversation she had had before and wasn't enjoying. She wrapped it up and hanging up dropped her head to the doorjamb.

"My future father-in-law." She said in a tired voice turning her head towards him with a little grin.

"Ah." He said sympathetically and nodded.

He took her to his favorite sushi restaurant, shocked that she had never had sushi before. They enjoyed their dinner immensely. They hadn't been out just the two of them since Tony proposed. Not even for their normal lunches or coffee. And they missed each other.

They got some coffee and walked for a bit, enjoying the night.

"So is there a particular reason Tony decided I needed a keeper tonight, something I don't know?" she asked.

"It really is just a witness interview Laura, nothing dangerous. I promise." He replied hearing the concern in her voice.

They walked a bit further, in a companionable silence. One of the things they liked about spending time together was the fact that neither felt the need to fill in the quiet breaks with chatter.

When he brought her home and walked her inside, he was quiet. He gave her an odd look and smiled.

"Oh now I'm curious. What's that grin for?"

"I was just thinking that Shannon would have really liked you." He said with a grin and a faraway look.

She pulled him into the living room and pushed him into sitting on the couch. She curled up on the other end and prodded, "Tell me about her." She knew about Shannon and Kelly. And the three ex-wives that came after. But he never said anything like that about Shannon before and she was intrigued.

"You're a lot alike. Smart, funny. She could laugh at anything. Me especially." Once he started talking it was like a floodgate of happy memories had been opened for him. They talked for a long time and when they were talked out and she walked him to the door she impulsively gave him a hug, sensing he needed one although his mood was light and cheerful. He gave her a tight squeeze and said in a low voice, "Thanks."

"For what?"

"Just being you."

"Don't know how to be anybody else Jethro."

After he left she again wished for someone to help patch the huge holes in Jethro's heart. A more deserving person she had never met.

Tony called from his hotel as she was getting ready for bed.

"Hey."

"Hi."

"Miss me?" he teased.

"No."

"No?"

He sounded so honestly hurt at that remark that she took pity on him, "Well maybe a little. You sound tired."

"I have literally been running all day. I hate Chicago. Officially."

"You shouldn't have any trouble sleeping."

"Can say that again. I barely had the energy to take a shower."

"It was a long day."

"You and Gibbs have fun?"

"Yeah. We went for sushi, which the jury is still out on by the way, and talked for a while just getting caught up. I haven't seen him much lately."

He knew. And that was why he prodded Gibbs earlier, knowing that neither of them would take the initiative. "I know."

"I talked to your dad about the wedding."

"I'm sorry."

"Yeah. But I had a brainstorm earlier that I want to check out this weekend if you end up not working."

"Anything for you." He murmured sleepily.

"Tony?"

"Mmm."

"Go to sleep. I love you."

"Love you too you know."

"I know."

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They went that weekend and looked at the location Laura had in mind for the wedding and they both loved it. With that cemented Laura completely took control over their wedding telling Tony, "If I can run an entire town department and organize black-tie fundraisers I should be qualified to handle a wedding."

Tony had been sharing stories about it at the office and to hear him tell it she was like a General getting ready to storm the beaches at Normandy. Truth be told, Laura was tired.

He stood in her office door taking in the comical scene before him. Laura was on the phone arguing with what sounded like one of the bean-counters in the town hall but she had her eyes closed and her forehead on the blotter of her desk. Hanging up the phone she put the handset back in the cradle without lifting her head.

Laura caught a whiff of sawdust and coffee and knew that she had company, "Hello Jethro."

He chuckled, "You look like you need this," he said as he put a coffee down on the desk.

She sat up and opened the coffee with a look of surrender to her addiction. "So, to what do I owe this honor?"

"Can't a guy just buy you a cup of coffee?"

"Depends on the guy. Some guys I know used to visit all the time, now not so much." She chastised lightly.

He dropped his eyes down to his own cup, "Yeah. I know."

"Sorry. I'm just…" she waved her hand in a vague gesture and shook her head. "Anyway, what brings you here Jethro?"

"Tony asked me to be his best man."

"You sound surprised." She teased as she sipped her coffee.

"It wasn't something I expected."

"Since when has Tony ever done the expected?"

He laughed, "Good point." He stood to leave and said, "About the not stopping by thing…"

Her eyes grew soft and she said gently, "I know Jethro, I know."

And she knew, or at least she thought she did, thinking that the reason he was distancing himself was that she reminded him too much of Shannon. And part of her wondered if that semblance of the personality of his first wife was what drew him to her in the first place and kept him coming back. What she didn't know was exactly how wrong she was in that assumption.

----------

Laura sensed that something was a little out of kilter with Tony. He was watching an old John Wayne western but he didn't seem to be paying attention to it. She curled up next to him on the couch and prodded, "You're awfully quiet, normally you quote right along with the Duke."

"I talked to Troy and Rob earlier."

Laura knew that Gibbs had happily turned over the planning of Tony's bachelor party to Tony's two frat brothers, "Are they tormenting you?"

He looked at her with a halfhearted little grin, "Why? Would you beat them up for me?"

"Hey I spar with Marines, think I can't take two frat boys?" she teased with a giggle.

He got serious again, "They want to plan something obnoxious."

"By obnoxious you mean a lot of booze and a bunch of strippers?"

"Yeah, how'd you guess?"

"I have seen the movie." She tried teasing again.

"I just don't want to do anything stupid."

"So don't."

"Laur…"

"Well what do you want me to say? You are a grown man who makes his own decisions. If you don't want to do anything stupid then don't put yourself in the position to do anything stupid. Make them take you out on the town instead of a party if it bothers you that much."

He looked at her with a furrowed brow for a long moment then smiled, "You are a genius."

"Really? Because I reminded you that you possess free will?"

"No. Going out on the town instead. That would satisfy the heathens."

Laura laughed, rolling her eyes and shook her head.

He frowned again but didn't say anything.

"What?"

He sighed, "They're still going to want to see strippers."

"Um. Okay. And the problem with that is?"

He looked at her like she had four heads, "You don't have a problem with that?"

"Tony I know my self-esteem isn't always the highest but you going out with the guys to a strip club to see a bunch of naked twenty year olds doesn't really phase me."

He sat there with his mouth hanging open, not knowing what to say.

"Close your mouth its catching flies."

"Laur are you serious?"

"Have I ever said anything I don't mean?"

"No."

"Well then, there's your answer."

"I still don't want to do anything stupid."

"Didn't we cover this already?"

"I've just seen guys do stuff at their bachelor parties that they would never have done any other time. And I would rather not have one if it means I hurt you."

She stood up and took his hand and dragged him off the couch, "C'mere."

They went to the entranceway of the house where the mirror Gibbs gave her was hanging. She stood in front of it with Tony behind her. Placing her hand on her cheek she said, "He told me I was beautiful here," and she placed her hand over her heart, "and in here. And that any man that didn't see that didn't deserve me." She locked eyes with him in the mirror, "I'm not worried about you doing anything stupid because you love me, all of me, inside and out. And I trust you. And the fact that you are worrying about this makes me love you even more."

Tony put his arms around her and pulled her tight against his chest, "You are beautiful."

She got a little whimsical grin on her face and teased, "I know."

He laughed, "You know? How do you know?"

She reached up and stroked his cheek, "Because your eyes don't lie."

----------

Tony emotions were running hot and cold from nervous to excited. Excited because tonight was after all his bachelor party and nervous because tonight was his bachelor party and he didn't want to do anything that would hurt Laura. He had seen too many of his college buddies do things at their bachelor parties that they really shouldn't have.

He was glad they decided to make it a night on the town instead of a party somewhere, less chance to get into trouble in public. And he smiled knowing the girls were taking his girl out on the town too.

And then it hit him, he, Tony DiNozzo, was getting married a week from tomorrow. After that he would be referred to by his college friends as "one of my married buddies". He actually liked the sound of that.

The girls had informed the guys that if by any chance they ended up at the same bar that they were going to pretend like they didn't even know them. Tony thought this had some great potential as a couple of his college friends flying in hadn't met Laura and he could really pull one over on them.

He was getting dressed when Gibbs arrived to pick him up. They were meeting the rest of the guys at a steakhouse for dinner to start things off. Laura had let him in and was laughing in the living room with him when Tony came out of the bedroom.

He saw her standing next to Gibbs and for the umpteenth time since she had walked into NCIS thought about how well suited for each other she and Gibbs were. And he knew that they had an unusual friendship, and he knew that they had kissed and almost slept together, and he knew that Gibbs would personally kill him if he hurt Laura, and he suspected that Gibbs was at least half-way in love with Laura. And all that made her loving and choosing him even more precious to Tony.

She kissed him goodbye and told him to have fun and the two men left.

It was at the steakhouse when the guys were waiting for their food that Gibbs pulled out a small gift wrapped in black paper with a black bow and handed it to Tony.

Tony looked at it and smirked, "Gee thanks Boss you shouldn't have."

"I didn't. It's from Laura." He grinned back when Tony's eyebrow shot up in question.

There where hoots and catcalls from the rest of the men telling him to open it so he did, and blushed. Inside the box was a neat stack of dollar bills topped off by a card that was good for one lap dance at the high price strip club the guys had planned on visiting. Laura also included a note,

He sat there shaking his head, only Laura he thought. Only Laura. He tucked the note away safely in his wallet. The whistles and teasing began in earnest and laughed along with them but his thoughts were on that conversation he had with her.

Their next stop was a cigar bar where they enjoyed some fine cigars and cognac, this was a treat from Tony's father who didn't feel comfortable attending but wanted to do something for Tony. Then it was on to the strip club. Tony was working very hard at staying out of trouble. He was gawking as much as the rest of them but he turned down many offers of more than looking. He wondered if the Vice squad watched this place because they really should.

They were all feeling very loose as the evening continued and Tony insisted that they head for the small out of the way bar that had been such an unmitigated disaster for him all those months back. He knew the girls were ending their night there and he wanted to play.

Sure enough when they got there the women were already there and well ensconced at a tall table, and had already collected some admirers. He watched as they all headed off for the small dance floor, except for Laura. She headed for the restroom. And when Tony saw what she was wearing, he and certain other parts of his anatomy were instantly interested. She had on a pair of skintight black pants and high heeled black boots with a low cut black knit top that clung to all her curves. He had never seen her wear anything like that. Where was his librarian? As she walked to the restroom she looked their way and gave the group a shy little grin.

Tony's two college buddies that didn't know that she was Tony's fiancée were instantly making typical drunk guy comments about her and who could snag her. Gibbs shook his head and looked at Tony who gave him a little smirk and said to his friends, "Okay wise guys, twenty bucks from each of us for the first guy to get her to dance, fifty from each to the one that gets a real phone number, and a hundred from each if you get her to play tonsil hockey. Deal?"

They all agreed and Gibbs leaned in close to Tony and whispered, "She's going to kill you you know."

Laura returned from the restroom and seeing her companions still dancing stopped and climbed up on a stool at the end of the bar to watch. She glanced occasionally over to the other end of the bar where the guys were hanging out. She smiled; they looked like they were having fun.

Suddenly there was one of Tony's friends in front of her, Rob or Troy. She thought it must Rob but she wasn't positive, she hadn't met a couple of them yet. He was drunk and leering at her chest. And trying to be cute and charming but it just wasn't working. For Tony that flirting thing came naturally, this guy just didn't have it. When he asked her to dance she politely declined. And when a tall blonde passed them that smiled at him he followed her and left Laura to her own devices. She rolled her eyes and shook her head with a laugh. She didn't see the gales of laughter this exchange caused at the end of the bar.

A few minutes later Gibbs decided it was time to play too and stood up, "Hitting the head." He told the guys. And Tony honestly thought that's what he was doing, because Gibbs didn't play, didn't have a frat boy sense of humor. Boy did he realize he was he wrong when Gibbs sat down on the empty stool next to Laura. The groans from Rob and Troy rang out behind him. Tony egged them on by saying, "Sorry guys he never loses with red heads."

Laura looked over at Jethro when he sat down and teased, "Hey sailor come here often?"

He looked at her with a little sideways glance and grin, "I would if I knew you put into port here."

She laughed, "Should we stop with the cheesy lines now?"

He smiled, "Ah yeah."

He waved the bartender over and ordered two top shelf sipping bourbons, as they sat there sipping their drinks she could see Tony and friends watching them intently and she realized that they were up to something, something sophomoric without a doubt. "Okay Jethro spill it, what are they up to." She taunted with a grin.

He looked at her and laughed, he knew she was too perceptive to miss the obvious so he told her about the bet.

"Oh its time to play Jethro, its too good an opportunity to pass up. Ask me to dance."

"Would you like to dance Miss Paquette?"

"Love to Gunny." And she hopped off the stool. Gibbs stood up and raised his glass in salute to the guys and took her hand and led the way to the dance floor. Tony groaned along with Rob and Troy. But a part of him wondered how far Gibbs intended to take the bet. Phone number he could have but he wouldn't dare go for the kiss would he? Would she? Nah. He trusted them both. But then again they had been there and done that before. And Laura still had the t-shirt. Ugh.