Cynthia Sumner smiled up at the tall, lean man who was gracious enough to hold the door for her. "Thank you, Agent DiNozzo."
"It is always a pleasure, Ms. Sumner, to offer any assistance I can to a lady as lovely as yourself." Both his tone and smile were just a little flirtatious as he let her precede him into the building.
She knew it annoyed the Director that Tony flirted with her, but Cynthia always found it flattering. He made her feel attractive without being creepy about it like some guys could be. It wasn't like he undressed her with his eyes or anything sordid. It was just harmless fun.
"That fiance of yours treating you the way he should?" Tony's smile warmed as he waggled his eyebrows a little. "I mean, it's not like you are fully committed to him yet, right?"
She laughed, low and throaty. "But I am."
He sighed, hand moving to cover his heart. "Pity."
She eyed him appraisingly. The light gray suit looked good on him. But then the man knew how to dress, no doubt about that. In his case, clothes didn't make the man---no, Cynthia had long since decided, he would look good in a gunny sack.
What she noticed more than his clothes and good looks this morning, was the fact that Tony was definitely in a good mood. Green eyes sparkled with life, his stride loose and easy as he walked next to her. He didn't bounce the way Abby Sciuto was prone to doing, but Tony was just as obvious about it when he was happy. It was nice to see him so openly?joyful?there was no other word for it.
She breathed in his unique fragrance, wondering again if she should risk asking him what cologne he wore. It was a tantalizing blend of musk, spice and something earthy that reminded her vaguely of sawdust.
Instead of asking, she gave him a little flutter of her eyelashes, lightly brushing his arm with her own. "Rumor has it you've got someone special of your own."
To her surprise, he ducked his head, a delicate blush adding color to his cheeks. "Shouldn't listen to gossip, Cynthia, they get most of it wrong." He nodded to the security guard. "Isn't that right, Tom?"
"Isn't what right, Tony?" Tom asked, waving Cynthia through the metal detectors with a polite smile. Unlike the field agents she didn't carrying a gun or badge that might set it off and routinely breezed through without a problem.
"Gossip." Tony unclipped his gun, laying in one of the small plastic boxes before adding his badge and watch to the pile. "It's rarely accurate and always a waste of time."
"Well, I don't know about that." Tom grinned, waving Tony through the metal detector eyeing the x-ray as the items passed through. "They got it right when they said you were a hero yesterday."
"Hero?" Tony rolled his eyes, chuckling dryly as he picked up his things. "A tale full of daring do no doubt." He pointed his finger at Tom, wagging it. "Shame on you for listening to all that crap, Tom."
Cynthia had heard the story as well. She knew about Tony saving Jimmy Palmer from a knife wielding maniac. She'd been in the break room when the call came in from Agent McGee. She'd seen Gibbs set a coffee mug down on the counter with so much force it shattered. The man's expression had been as hard as she could ever remember seeing it. It had made her more than a little uneasy to be in the same room with him. She had been relieved when he stormed out only seconds after taking the call.
"It was the truth, not gossip," Tom defended himself mildly. "I saw you when you came in with that whack job, remember?"
Tony grimaced. "Guy ruined a perfectly good jacket."
He smoothed out his tie with one hand, but Cynthia noticed it was more like he was checking for something underneath. Maybe he was just unconsciously making sure the man hadn't really hurt him. Cynthia knew she'd have been as shaken and twitchy as everyone claimed Jimmy Palmer had been yesterday. It made sense that Tony might still be a bit unnerved by the attack, just less obvious about it.
"Better he got the jacket than you," Tom retorted with an understanding look.
"Amen, brother." Tony high-fived Tom. "The paperwork when I had the plague was a nightmare."
Cynthia discretely rolled her eyes. Oh yes, like the paperwork would have been the biggest worry. She knew better than that. Tom probably did too.
Gibbs would have been the biggest worry; the man was just insane when it came to the welfare of his people. She'd been very grateful for that character trait when the Director was being held hostage by a drug dealer. Shepard wasn't his subordinate or even really a teammate any more, but she was NCIS, and that made her one of his by default.
Cynthia knew it was hard for a woman to take a job traditionally held by men, and that Jenny would probably make a few mistakes along the way, but she liked her. Gibbs bringing Jenny home safe and sound had justified the faith and loyalty Cynthia knew the former Marine commanded so easily. And it made his high handed approach to just strolling in unannounced a little easier to take.
Cynthia knew some sort of spark had existed at one time between Jenny and Gibbs. A blind man could see that, but she wondered if either of them really believed the other was still interested. Their interactions always seemed like a game of one-upmanship to Cynthia. They were as competitive as Tony and Officer David seemed to be.
Having used her own feminine wiles to level the playing field a time or two, Cynthia didn't fault Jenny for doing what likely had come naturally. Except that it wasn't exactly professional. She figured it was one first of the mistakes Jenny made when she took the job. She knew Jenny wasn't going to be able to play with the big boys if they thought of her as a woman first and director second. Correcting that one would take some time-- especially with a man like Gibbs who seemed to sniff out weakness without even trying.
"Would you like an escort to the lift, M'Lady?" Tony asked. His affected accent sounding more like something from a favorite film than anything she'd ever heard come from Dr. Mallard. It earned him a smile as he no doubt had intended.
She took his arm with a gracious nod of her head, willing to play along. "Thank you, Sir."
Cynthia decided whoever captured Tony's heart got themselves quite a prize. There weren't a lot of men who could balance being funny and charming with being strong and capable. No woman wanted a wuss, but she didn't want a caveman either. It wasn't an easy thing to get right.
Gibbs was clearly the strong, silent type; definitely leaning more toward the caveman in her mind. As reassuring in a crisis as he might be, Cynthia was fairly confident the man had no ability to really offer much in the way of emotional support on a daily basis. He'd been divorced three times. It was probably more him than them when it came right down to it. She had no trouble imaging him forgetting birthdays, anniversaries, and the like. Sentimental and supported he was not, at least not that she'd ever seen.
When the doors opened, Cynthia executed a neat courtesy. "Thank you, Mr. DiNozzo."
He smiled raising her hand to his lips to kiss the back of her knuckles. "Any time, Ms. Sumner."
"Be sure this new love of yours treats you right." She lightly patted his arm. "You are quite a catch."
She was rewarded with another glimpse of one of those delicate blushes before he gave her a coy look, eyes sparkling. "Not as committed to that fiance as you claim then? Perhaps this is hope for me yet."
She laughed. As she strolled away, Cynthia made sure to give him a nice view of her swaying backside. He really was a lot of fun to play with.
She heard Gibbs bellow out 'DiNozzo, we got a case so get your ass moving and grab your gear' as she headed up the stairs. Cynthia shook her head, stopping to watch as Tony headed back to the elevator, following hard on Gibbs' heels. She was guessing the cell phone he had out was to call the rest of the team. At least she hoped so. Given what had happened yesterday, having the full team at the crime scene made a lot more sense to her now.
She didn't worry any less knowing Gibbs would be there. Oh the man certainly seemed indestructible...he'd survived being shot at and blown up--but that trait didn't carry over well to the people around him. She'd heard one team member had been killed while standing right next to him. And having read the files on his current team, prepping for her new assignment as personal assistant to the director of the agency, she knew Tony had been injured more on the job than any other agent they had.
Cynthia shook her head, as she unlocked her office door. The man didn't seem accident prone or like he had a death wish. Tony had to be tough to have made it this far. From what she'd read in Gibbs' file, no one else seemed to have the staying power Tony had when it came to working with the man. Very few made it a year, and even less made it more than two.
She'd noticed that Tony was the only one who seemed to make Gibbs smile with any frequency. She thought it a shame he didn't smile more often. The man really was easy on the eyes when he didn't look quite so stern and forbidding.
She wondered if Tony's ability to lighten Gibbs' mood was the reason he also seemed to take the brunt of abuse from the senior agent. The head smacks were definitely unorthodox. From any one else she'd label them abusive, but from Gibbs they were almost complimentary, like he wouldn't smack Tony if he didn't care.
She grimaced. Just how dysfunctional did that make NCIS' top team? But if Tony wanted to transfer any team in the agency would have taken him; she'd seen the commendations in his file and knew if he wanted he could ask for his own team and would probably get it. Or if Gibbs wanted someone else on his team, the list of eager candidates, in spite of his reputation of being a real bastard to work for, was huge. Their strange relationship clearly worked, so it wasn't really her place to judge.
They appeared to be well matched. Their styles of dealing with people were diametrically opposed---Gibbs harsh and unrelenting, Tony easy going and friendly...but it worked well. Tony made for a good second, filling in where Gibbs needed, making up for whatever the senior agent lacked.
She suspected they were a far better team than Jenny and Gibbs ever were as partners. But that could be the result of a gender bias. Gibbs was a chauvinist. Not nearly as much as his retired boss, Franks, but he still tended to think of women in terms of them needing protection or being better suited to jobs that didn't require them to get their hands dirty. He clearly thought men should lead and women follow. Cynthia snorted delicately as she sat down at her desk; one more reason the man was divorced three times.
For all his flirtation and reputation as a womanizer, Tony obviously regarded women as being more on equal terms than Gibbs saw them. Tony might want to sleep every pretty woman he met, but there was no mistaking his obvious respect for a woman's intelligence and ability. That he'd worked so well with Ziva David, Paula Cassidy and several others neatly showcased his opinion of their capabilities as fellow agents. If it wasn't for his obvious commitment issues, Tony would probably make someone a great husband.
She checked her watch. Jenny would be in soon. Shaking her head, Cynthia realized even with regards to the Director, Gibbs and Tony seemed to be at opposite ends. It wasn't as though Tony showed a lot of respect or deference, but Gibbs didn't seem inclined to give any at all.
Although, given the mixed signals Jenny had sent Gibbs, respect and deference weren't likely to be high on his list of priorities. She'd set the tone for a more familiar relationship, so it wasn't really fair to blame Gibbs for following it. It's a little too much to expect him to take the high road, she thought to herself with a small laugh. It wasn't exactly his forte.
Still--if she was ever in trouble, Gibbs was definitely the man she wanted to come to her rescue. Cynthia had no doubts on that score. He could be a pain in the ass, but he was damn good at what he did. He didn't get to be Agent of the Year more than any other agent in the history of the agency without good reason.
Deciding she'd wasted enough time thinking about the two men, Cynthia powered up her computer and checked her e-mail. A lot of the Director's e-mail from lead agents, other departments and government agencies funneled through her first. It made Cynthia's job as gate keeper so much easier to handle even if it meant her electronic inbox was almost always full.
Her eyebrows rose when she saw a leave request for Gibbs' team. Not one or two of them, but all of them---Gibbs, DiNozzo, McGee, and David. There was even a request for members not exclusively assigned to his team---Sciuto, Palmer and Mallard.
Ordinarily, Gibbs would approve leave for those in his chain without bothering to ask for the Director's signature. Her input wasn't typically required unless---she checked the forms again--the entire team was requesting time off. That would certainly need more than his stamp of approval.
She looked at the dates. The request covered the Friday after Thanksgiving and the following Monday. It would make for a nice long holiday weekend.
Cynthia knew last year Gibbs and Tony had both worked Thanksgiving and Christmas weekends. They were very nearly the only people in the building. The grapevine had it that Tony wasn't close to his family, and everyone knew Gibbs lived for the job, so it hadn't seemed all that odd for them to work the holidays.
It was probably just as well neither man had family to worry about since they were also working active cases at the time; Gibbs was famous for ignoring normal convention when it came to sticking with a case and seeing it through to completion. And for all Tony's goofing off and playing around, Cynthia knew he was every bit as dedicated as his boss. It was probably the only reason they could work together at all.
She wondered if maybe the team was doing something together to celebrate. Cynthia knew other teams did. Many of them did little stuff to bond over?dinner, ball games, that kind of thing. She rather doubted Gibbs' team needed anything to bond them tighter. Life and death experiences cemented things pretty good, or so she'd been told.
She sighed, reminding herself it wasn't any of her business what they'd planned to do with their leave time. They'd all earned a little vacation. There were other teams, with less seniority who could and probably should work the holidays. Assuming there wasn't anything pressing, like an on going investigation, there was really no reason for Gibbs' request for time off in for approval.
Jenny wouldn't review the requests directly anyway. As long as each agent had time on the books to use and the building was staffed appropriately, she'd sign off on whatever Cynthia presented. This sort of mundane stuff was just part of a Personal Assistant's job, and freed the Director to focus on more important things like what was happening in MTAC.
Cynthia printed the forms and added them to the pile of paperwork that would need Jenny's signature. It was the least she could do for the team that brought home her friend in one piece.
Author's Chapter Notes:
Cynthia's thoughts. What she sees and fails to see.