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The team caught a particularly nasty homicide that afternoon and none of them stopped to come up for air until Friday afternoon when they finally broke the suspect in interrogation. Gibbs went to go get coffee before spending a few hours catching up on his paperwork. He realized, much to his chagrin that he hadn't tried to call Claudia all week. He flipped his cell phone open and hit the latest speed dial he had programmed into the phone.
Claudia smiled when she number on her caller id, recognizing it from the business card that Jethro had given her. She had wondered when he was going to call, and in reality had expected it earlier in the week, but figured that he might have had something come up at work so she had just put it out of her mind.
"Hello?"
"So how many Cosmo rules have I broken by not calling ‘til now?" he teased lightly. The folks going in and out of the coffee shop got treated to the odd sight of him hanging outside the door, kicking his boot against the bricks nervously and acting for the world like a teenager asking a girl out for the first time. He really hoped he hadn't screwed up by not calling.
She chuckled at his obvious attempt to apologize, "Lucky for you I don't read Cosmo, Jethro. Another rough week?"
He let out a sigh of relief and ran his hand through his hair, "Lately I don't seem to have any other kind. I did mean to call, Claudia, I just got wrapped up in a case. I'm sorry."
"Nothing to apologize for. The bad guys need catching."
"You know with an attitude like that I'm really going to have to go out of my way to impress you with dinner."
"You'll have to go some to outdo last Saturday, Jethro."
He teased back, "I think I can do better than hotdogs from a pushcart."
She laughed, "That's not what I meant."
"I know. It was a great day. So, when can you pencil me into your calendar?" He suspected that as a waitress her schedule might be a little odd.
She thought for a moment, "Looks like Tuesday is my next free night and gives me time to get a sitter for Joshua."
"Tuesday it is then. Seven o'clock okay?"
"Perfect."
"Great. Well, I guess I'll let you go then."
"Okay, I'll see you Tuesday."
With a familiar motion he closed his phone, but stood there smirking at it for a moment before heading in to get coffee.
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Tony enjoyed sleeping late on Saturdays. It was one of the things he enjoyed most about moving out on his own so many years ago, being able to set his own schedule was something he cherished. He finally cracked an eye open to see the red numbers on his alarm clock telling him that it was almost ten o'clock. He yawned and stretched and planned his next moves. He needed to hit the dry cleaners and go to the grocery store and he really needed to get an oil change in his car. He decided that he had plenty of time to do it all before he had to pick up Claudia and Joshua. That thought made him smile as he headed off for a shower.
Tony raised his hand to knock on Claudia's door a few minutes after two. He found himself a little nervous, not because of Claudia, but because of Joshua. He didn't have a great track record with children and he had the feeling that hitting it off well with Joshua was going to be the deal breaker with Claudia. He let out a deep breath and knocked, figuring he only lived once.
She opened the door with a big smile but before either of them could say anything her phone rang, "Ahh. Tony please come in, let me just grab that." She turned and zipped off into the other room leaving Tony to enter at his own pace. It was a little weird walking into an apartment that was situated exactly like his but not his. He closed the door behind him and walked into the living room. He immediately saw that Claudia wasn't even close to being unpacked and decorated yet, there were moving boxes tucked here and there, and the walls and windows were bare save blinds. His eye was drawn to the sandy haired little boy playing at the coffee table with some action figures. Tony fervently prayed that Claudia would come back before the little boy noticed him. Tony wasn't that lucky.
"You wanna be the Hulk?" Joshua asked Tony, looking right at him.
Tony almost spun around to see if there was someone else in the room that Joshua could possibly be talking too. Sensing he was on his own he stepped over to where the little boy was playing and settled himself down on the floor across the coffee table from him. "I can be the Hulk," he said taking the offered action figure from the small hand.
"I'm Spiderman. Mummy hates being the Hulk. She doesn't like growling like him."
"I can growl." Tony said and proceeded to demonstrate much to Joshua's delight. Joshua had built a complicated lump of blocks that he proclaimed was a house that the Hulk was supposed to stomp, so Tony growled and stomped and clashed with Spiderman when he swooped in. There was a lot of giggling in the living room and it wasn't all from Joshua.
Claudia had finished the phone call and peeked around the corner to see what the commotion was all about. Seeing Tony playing with Joshua, and the two of them both obviously having fun made her glad that she had accepted Tony's movie offer. She stepped into the room almost hesitantly, not wanting to disturb the boys. "Hi. Sorry about that. It was my college professor."
Tony stood up and stepped closer to her, "No problem. Joshua and were just ah…"
"Playing?"
He cleared his throat, a little embarrassed, "Yeah. Playing."
Tony felt a little tug on the back of his shirt and turned around to see Joshua holding the bouquet of flowers that Tony had laid on the floor when they started playing, "You forgot the flowers, Tony."
He took the flowers from Joshua and turned to Claudia very red in the face, "I didn't really forget the flowers, Claudia, I just put them down so the Hulk wouldn't smash them. Anyway, these are for you. I don't know what you like but these seemed like happy flowers."
He handed her the bouquet of mixed flowers, pleased to see her smiling. The flowers had been an impulse buy at the grocery store. They weren't fancy, weren't expensive, and were certainly weren't the DiNozzo first date special that he normally bought. But then again, this first date included a Disney movie and a five-year-old, two other things that had never been included on a DiNozzo first date either.
"They're beautiful, Tony. Thank you. Um, now let me just find a vase. As you can probably tell, I'm not exactly unpacked yet."
He teased lightly, "I was hoping that was the case, because if not you really need to fire your interior decorator."
After frantic five minute search she finally found a box with a vase and had the flowers safely displayed on the kitchen table.
Flowers settled, Claudia grabbed her purse and a knapsack, seeing Tony's questioning look she stated simply, "Never leave home with a five-year-old without a change of clothes for said five-year-old."
He laughed and took the knapsack from her and the three of them headed down to the car.
They ended up in Claudia's car to save the aggravation of transferring Joshua's booster seat to Tony's. Once at the theater it was mayhem. Wall to wall children and teenagers.
Claudia latched onto Joshua's hand for dear life, it would entirely too easy for him to get lost in the crowd. As they waited in line to get their tickets she saw a sign that the three o'clock show was sold out. She pointed it out to Tony who just grinned, "I planned ahead and bought the tickets on Monday, we just have to pick them up."
"Phew, I wasn't looking forward to explaining that one."
They got their tickets and braved the line at the concession stand for popcorn. People were cutting in and out of line and the teenagers were just obnoxious. Tony could see Joshua hanging onto Claudia, a little nervous about the crowd and Tony wasn't entirely surprised when he felt a little hand sneak its way into his. He looked down and gave Joshua a wink. When Joshua winked back, Tony felt ten-feet tall and bulletproof. He could do the kid thing. Maybe it just had to be the right kid.
They found some seats not too close to the screen and Joshua insisted that Tony sit in the middle. And Tony laughed when he heard Claudia gripe something about "Dear old mom getting kicked to the curb".
Tony found that watching a children's movie with an actual child made him see things in a whole new light. Joshua kept whispering to him what he thought was going to happen next, and what he liked and what wanted to do to the bad guy. Tony couldn't remember enjoying a movie more.
When the movie ended they followed the horde out of the theater and made it back to the car. On the way to the pizza restaurant Joshua didn't stop talking the entire trip. Tony and Claudia just couldn't get a word in edgewise. Parking at the restaurant Tony teased Claudia, "Are you sure we should re-fuel him?"
"Are you kidding? He's not going to sleep for days now. All I'm going to hear about is that bad guy. The fuel's for us."
The waitress seated them and Tony was surprised, she didn't even try to flirt with him. Then sitting there across from Claudia and Joshua it hit him, the waitress thought they were a family. Oddly that thought didn't freak him out quite as much as he thought it should have.
He and Claudia finally got a chance to chat a little while Joshua was preoccupied with coloring on the placemat. They talked about where they grew up and went to college. He was surprised to find out she had been in the Navy, and she gave him the summary version of why she left. Their conversation flowed easily and was punctuated with teasing back and forth. It was comfortable and they definitely had chemistry.
By the time they got home fighting traffic it was after seven and past Joshua's bedtime and he was getting a tad on the cranky side since he didn't have a nap in the afternoon. Claudia had Tony make himself comfortable on the couch with the remote for a few minutes while she got Joshua into his pajamas. A few minutes later Joshua came zipping into the living room in his Hulk pajamas with his mother not too far behind. He gathered his action figures from the table, intent on bringing them to bed with him. He stopped in front of Tony and said, "Thank you for taking me to the movies."
Claudia prompted, "And?"
Tony could see Joshua thinking hard, "And for playing Hulk."
Claudia just shook her head, she had been looking for pizza as the correct answer. Tony smiled warmly at Joshua, "You are very welcome. I'm glad you had fun today. Are you going to bed now?"
Joshua nodded and Tony said, "Well good night, Joshua, sleep well." Joshua's blue eyes regarded Tony seriously for a moment and Tony wasn't expecting it when Joshua launched himself at Tony and gave him an action-figure filled hug. He didn't know what to do at first then finally he went with the flow and gave Joshua a big squeeze in return. Joshua ran off to bed and Claudia took a moment to tuck him in.
Claudia found Tony on the couch with his head leaned back on the back of the couch, his eyes closed. He heard her approach behind him and asked, "You do this every day?"
She chuckled, "All day, everyday."
He looked up at her with a lazy grin, his head still on the couch, "You deserve a medal."
She reached down and gently stroked his temples then expanded her fingers outward to give his whole scalp a massage. He moaned and teased, "Definitely a medal."
She chuckled at him and asked him if he wanted coffee, at his affirmative nod she abandoned him and went into the kitchen to make it. Once it was brewing she was putting together the tray to bring into the living room when he snuck up on her in the kitchen. Surprised, she backed up until she hit the counter, and with a playful glint in his eyes he stepped directly into her personal space.
He made a show out of putting his hand to his ear and pretending to listen for Joshua then put his finger to his lips in a "shh" gesture. Then he kissed her. It wasn't a lets-rip-all-our-clothes-off-and-fall-into-bed sort of kiss. It was more of a hi-I'm-Tony-and-I've-wanted-to-do-this-since-you-folded-my-underwear-and-I-really-want-to-get-to-know-you-better sort of kiss.
When they came up for air they both just said, "Wow." They had definitely had chemistry.
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