Chapter 4
Tony woke with a start. He had no idea where he was but he had a headache that gave him the impression that his head had recently been cut clean in two. Tony began to wonder exactly how much alcohol he had knocked back the previous evening as he assessed his surroundings through blurry vision and fought to remember something more recent than his twelfth birthday party.
As his eyes regained focus he realized that he was behind his desk in the NCIS squad room and, as had become routine in the past few months, a steaming hot cup of coffee had mysteriously materialized beside his keyboard as he was sleeping.
Tony took his head off of his desk with a jolt that shook the entire surface, causing the coffee to spill over his keyboard and make the keyboard hiss and spit in protest as the hot liquid made its way towards the electrical circuits. Tony ignored it. It had been a dream. It had to have been. He had merely gotten exceptionally drunk the previous night and had been too inebriated to make it all the way back home There could be no other possible explanation as to why he had woken up at his desk with a throbbing headache, blurred vision and partial memory loss.
That had to be the answer. He had not been kidnapped and held in an overly mahogany filled mansion. The drink, not the repeated bringing down of a heavy gardeners shovel on his skull, caused the menace of a headache. He had not yet asked Jeanne to marry him. In fact, he couldn't even be sure that this Jeanne girl was not a figment of his imagination. Yes. She had to have been, because really, could a girl perfect enough to cause Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo to consider settling down truly exist?
Tony stood up with the intention of making his way to the head to splash some ice cold water on his face as a small solid something wriggled out of the inside pocket of his suit jacket and fell to the floor. Bending down to pick up the white velvet box, Tony's head exploded with possible explanations: ‘Okay, so she's not imaginary. But you still have the box so obviously you haven't asked her to marry you yet.' was the most convincing of the justifications. Tony's panic subsided as he opened the box and registered that, laying on the shiny azure silk, the white gold, diamond and sapphire ring rested securely inside.
Tony breathed a sigh of relief as he collapsed slowly back into the chair behind his desk and turned the engagement rings case over and allowed the ring to fall into the palm of his hand. At that moment all feelings of relief and security left Tony as he held the ring closer to his eye. He was sure he had seen it, only for a second as the ring had made the mere centimetres drop into his hand: a glimmer of deep browning red.
Chapter End Notes:
i know its a short chapter but its better than nothing right? lol