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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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