Tony sat in silence, except for the sound of his keyboard keys tapping. He loved the mornings when no one else was at work. Ziva was an early riser, but spent her mornings running.
But it made him miss Kate all the more. They had some of their best conversations in the mornings before everyone else arrived in the office; except when he was running late because he’d been out the night before. He chuckled to himself. Dating wasn’t fun anymore, without torturing Kate about it the next day. He’d realized too late that he loved her. Oh, he always knew he wanted her, but didn’t know it was the real thing until she was gone.
Now, he wanted a life with her more than anything, and she wasn’t here. Life and death weren’t fair sometimes. When he first lost her, he imagined she was still there. Then he stopped feeling her. He supposed, now, that was the reason he was so easily drawn into Jeanne. When he first met her he thought she was so much like Kate. But when she started pushing him into a commitment he wasn’t ready for, he saw his infatuation for what it was: misplaced.
Kate was it for him. Now she was gone. He felt cheated; condemned to live without the love of his life. She had been taken away by a cruel, vengeful man before he ever got a chance to realize the depths of his feelings, let alone share them with her. He rose from his chair and began to pace around the empty office.
“Kate, I miss you so much,” he said aloud to the empty room.
“I miss you too, Tony,” she replied, desperately. “I wish you could hear me.”
“Kate?” Tony said, spinning around. Kate could hardly believe what she was seeing after all this time…
“I’m here, Tony,” she said, a single tear falling down her cheek. “Can you see me?” she asked.
“Kate?” he questioned again, unable to trust his senses. “How…?”
“Ask Abby or Maggie, they’ll explain it, I just want a hug,” she said, so happy and not willing to waste even a moment of their time.
“You mean, I can touch you?” he asked, incredulously.
“If you’re willing,” she said, holding her hand out to him. He reached out, carefully at first, still not wanting to trust what he was seeing. When their hands touched, Kate’s face flooded with all the love she felt for him. She smiled at him, her heart in her eyes.
“Oh dear Lord,” Tony said, pulling her into his embrace.
“What took you so long?” Kate asked, into his ear. “I’ve been here every day, just willing you to believe.”
“I’m here, now,” he said quietly. “Good luck getting rid of me.”
* * *
Running was so exhilarating, Ziva thought, as she continued her run. Her mind kept wandering back to her date with Noah the night before. Talk about exhilarating. She smiled. She had suspected for some time that he was a vampire, and was very pleased that he had opened that part of his life to her. He had told her everything, and then promised her he had not and would not try to use his mind to seduce her. She didn’t know what to expect when he took her home with him the night before, but the truth was much different than what she had expected.
Noah lived in a mansion in the countryside, almost an hour outside the city. He had stables and horses, as well as servants. But the atmosphere was very bright, almost cheery; not at all what you would expect from a creature of the night. She knew about the role companions would play in his life, but was surprised that they lived more like house guests. He had explained to her that his house had fifteen bedrooms, and most of them were used. He provided for them, and they “provided for” him. He even had a cat in the house. That was about as far from the stereotype that she could imagine. She chuckled to herself, although she didn’t slow her stride.
She hadn’t gone home with him intending to sleep with him. She chuckled. I guess you couldn’t call what they did sleeping. Last night broke about every record she could think of sexually, at least all her personal records. She smiled, remembering his smile, the feel of his hands on her body, his skin against hers, his mouth… She shook her head, breaking the memory. She was beginning to understand why Gibbs made Rule #12. At this rate, she had no idea how she could work next to him. This was going to be an interesting adventure, but one she very much anticipating.
* * *
Maggie swung into the elevator, on her way up from seeing Abby. Just as the elevator doors closed, Gibbs hopped on.
“Going up?” he asked, smiling. Maggie returned his smile, and continued to watch him after he turned back to face the elevator door. Gibbs reached down and hit the emergency stop. He turned around, leaning one arm against the wall behind her. His face was only inches away. She could smell his soap, the coffee on his breath and beneath that… him. She met his eyes.
“Let’s get one thing straight,” he said, seriously. “I think you’re a great agent. You have been a lot of help on these last cases. But if we are going to work together you are going to have to stop looking at me like that.”
Maggie swallowed. She had so hoped he hadn’t noticed her interest. “Like what?” she asked, feigning innocence.
Gibbs smiled, knowingly. “Like you’re hungry, and I’m dinner,” he answered, almost flirtatiously. Her face flashed red. Gibbs started to feel a hint of guilt, thinking he had embarrassed her, until he noticed the anger in her eyes.
Maggie ducked under his arm and turned to face him, full of fury. “I will never understand people! You find out someone is a little bit different than you are, and you immediately think they want to eat you?! What kind of person do you think I am? So, I can change into a wolf, and suddenly I’m scary?? I find that very insulting, Agent Gibbs! And I will have you know, the only thing I was thinking about was SEX!!” Maggie shouted, her eyes flashing and her chest heaving with breaths.
Gibbs took a step back, confused. When he realized what she had said, he threw his head back and laughed out loud. Maggie shot him a sideways glance, her long eyelashes almost hiding her huge, green eyes. “Wait… you didn’t know?” she asked him, softly.
“No,” he answered, chuckling. He reached out to tuck a lock of her long red-gold hair behind her ear. “I would never hurt your feelings on purpose.” He met her eyes. “But I’m serious about you needing to find a way to work with me without the heavy sighs and long glances.” He turned and restarted the elevator. “I have a rule about that,” he added.
“Yeah, I know, Rule #12, never date a co-worker,” Maggie recited, exasperated.
Gibbs smiled, “Yep.”
Maggie hesitated a moment, then said, “I don’t need to date; a one-night stand would be fine for me.” She gave him a sexy grin. Gibbs laughed out loud, again, just as the elevator doors opened.
At the sound of his laughter, NCIS Director Jenny Shepard turned and watched as Gibbs stepped aside and let a mischievous-looking Maggie step off the elevator before him. Her thoughts drifted back to the days when he was so much more to her. Paris. Her memories were bittersweet. There is no time in her life that even comes close to how happy she was with Jethro. And then, the betrayal. She grimaced. If only she could have told him what was going on… Now she began to wonder if she would ever get the chance.
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