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Tony woke the next morning and made coffee. As he sat with the mug of steaming brew on his couch he smiled as the memory of playing with Joshua superimposed itself over his living room. The little boy had been very receptive to him and he hadn't expected it. Joshua definitely had his mother's outgoing personality.
Tony's smile broadened as he thought about Claudia. He knew her life couldn't have possibly been easy since her divorce, yet she stayed a happy, optimistic person. He had been leery about sharing anything about his family with her, afraid she would view him as a rich kid. But she hadn't. She just accepted it as part of who he was without judgment. Then again, he wondered how many people made snap judgments about single-mothers working as waitresses that she had had to tolerate.
Then there was that first kiss. He had heard about the whole "getting weak in the knees" thing but had never actually experienced it for himself until last night. And the funny thing was that sex wasn't the first thing that came to mind when he thought about it. He was definitely attracted to her in that way but the kiss hadn't been about that. It had been comfortable and welcoming. It was as if she were inviting him in, not just to her bed, but to her life. And that thought was a little staggering, but the more he thought about it, the more right it felt.
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Claudia was frantically ripping through her closet looking for something to wear. Nothing seemed right. She finally found something in the back of the closet that was perfect. Or as close to perfect as she was going to get in her closet. She had this urge to be pretty, pretty and feminine, not sexy and sultry, just pretty. Jethro was a true gentleman, and he had what she liked to call an old soul, and she wanted to appeal to that part of him. The pale yellow flowered dress was sleeveless and flowed to her calves. Topped with a soft rose-colored cardigan it was perfect.
She walked out into the living room where Joshua was playing with his blocks. Her friend Betsy, a pretty black woman in her late sixties that also worked at the diner, was in the kitchen making a cup of tea. She loved babysitting Joshua and hadn't hesitated when Claudia had asked her.
He looked up when his mother entered the room and smiled, "Mummy, you look pretty."
She bent down and gave him a kiss on the cheek, "Thank you munchkin, just remember when you get older that girls like hearing that."
There was a knock on the door precisely at seven. Claudia chuckled, wondering if he were really that punctual or if he had been loitering in the hallway waiting.
She opened the door to the sight of Jethro adjusting his tie, and if she were reading it right, a little nervously or maybe anxiously would have been more accurate. She smiled and teased, "So how long were you loitering in the hallway?"
He tilted his head and smirked, "Caught me again. A couple minutes."
She chuckled, "Please come in, there is some waiting to say hello."
They stepped into the living room and a little voice piped up loudly, "Jethro!" as Joshua flew across the room to be scooped up by Jethro.
"Hi Joshua."
"You're taking Mummy out for supper?" he asked seriously.
Jethro smiled, "Yup. That okay with you?"
"Yeah. But how come she has to wear a dress?"
Jethro looked past Joshua to see Claudia standing there with both hands clapped over her mouth to keep from laughing. Betsy, from her perch in the chair in the living room, showed no such restraint. She laughed heartily and then said, "Well answer the boy, Jethro."
Somehow he wasn't surprised to see Betsy here, she had worked at that diner as long as he could remember and had teased and mothered him on more occasions than he could count. She had raised five sons and had a slew of grandchildren, and brooked no nonsense. And she was known for adopting "lost sheep", so seeing her here made perfect sense.
"Well Joshua, some restaurants are fancy and you just can't wear your blue jeans. Besides, girls like to dress up. So it's up to us guys to take them places were they can wear pretty dresses."
Joshua thought that over for a moment and said, "I think Mummy looks pretty."
Jethro met Claudia's eyes and said, "Yes she does Joshua, she really does."
Claudia blushed splendidly and broke the eye contact, because it just too intense. But apparently the outfit was perfect. She said to Josh, "Okay skipper, a little while longer then its bedtime okay? And listen to Betsy."
He laughed as Jethro put him down, "Mummy, I always listen to Besty."
She grabbed her purse and caught a wink from Betsy. Somehow she didn't think the wink had anything to do with Joshua.
On the way to the car both of them were praying that they didn't run into Tony.
Claudia had spent a lot of time on Sunday thinking about Tony and the entire situation. They had definitely clicked and there was great chemistry between them, but… What sort of relationship was he looking for? What sort of relationship was she looking for? They hadn't talked about that at all. And then there was Joshua. He and Joshua had hit it off well, but Tony had admitted that his experience with kids was normally not so good. If they ended up in a long-term relationship, would he be up to the fatherhood thing? Would he want to? But in all honesty, that kiss had been something else, and it negated a lot of doubts. But then again, she had enjoyed the day at the marina with Jethro equally. After giving herself a headache, she had decided to go back to her go with the flow philosophy and see what happens.
Gibbs hadn't mentioned his date at the office. It just wasn't anyone's business. But he had realized mid-day that he didn't know where she lived and called her. When she had told him the address, he had recognized it immediately as Tony's apartment building. He assumed that cleared up the mystery of who the other NCIS employee was that she had mentioned meeting, she must have met Tony in their travels in and out of the building. He couldn't put his finger on exactly why he didn't want Tony to know that he had a date with someone from his building, knowing Tony though, he would hassle poor Claudia for all the details and she didn't need that aggravation.
Jethro had a hard time deciding which restaurant to take Claudia to; there were certainly enough of them in the greater Washington area to make his options almost limitless. He went back and forth between something really elegant that would impress most women and something that while elegant was also fun and wouldn't impress a lot of urban women. He opted for the latter, his gut telling him that she would enjoy it.
Set outside the city, the restaurant was literally built into the surrounding countryside. Post and beam construction gave it a natural, open feel and the interior was decorated with rich, warm woods and wrought iron. Crisp white linens and antique lanterns decorated each table. Jethro was watching her carefully as they entered, really hoping his gut was right. The wide smile that crossed her face as she looked around with curiosity dispelled any doubt that this was a good choice.
They were seated by an efficient hostess and presented with the drink and wine list. He saw her smirking and asked, "What's so funny?
She looked at him over the drink menu and gave him a playful grimace, "I don't know if I should tell you. You'll think I have absolutely no life."
He chuckled, "Given what you've done for the last few years, I think if you got any more of a life you would drop dead from exhaustion."
Laughing, she conceded, "Good point. I just realized that I haven't had any alcohol in about three years. I either end up driving or I have Joshua with me. Pathetic huh?"
"No. Responsible. But since you're not driving and Joshua isn't here what are you in the mood for?"
"Hmm." She said as she looked at the menu. "I'm not really fussy, but I do like fruity red wines."
He teased, "I can do fruity."
That got him a smile and a laugh. He ordered a bottle of shiraz and chatted about food as they perused the menu. He saw her get a vague look and realized she was listening to the background music being softly piped through the restaurant.
She caught his eye and stated, "That's Hank Williams." She had a look of almost awe on her face. She kept listening and her eyes crinkled in delight as the next song started, "Tammy Wynette."
"You like country music?"
"The old stuff, yeah. I learned to two-step almost before I could walk. I can remember dancing with my Granddad to ol'Hank…"
And their conversation was off like a racehorse. They talked about their families and how they grew up, both had country, family oriented roots. They talked about books they enjoyed and their hobbies. When he brought up his boat he waited for the inevitable question, but it never came. It finally bugged him enough to ask, "Aren't you going to ask me how I'm going to get it out of the basement?"
She took a sip of her wine and replied, "No. You're an intelligent man. I'm sure you have a plan."
He just looked at her for a moment with his mouth hanging open then laughed. They talked all through dinner, and the occasional lag in conversation wasn't uncomfortable. It seemed all too soon that their plates were cleared and waiter was asking them if they wanted dessert. When she declined, saying that she couldn't eat another bite, Jethro insisted she get it to take home and share with Joshua. They did linger over coffee, neither of them really wanting to leave.
The drive home took them past the Washington Monument. And in the dim light Jethro could see the little smile playing on her face. On a whim he found a place to park and answered her questioning look, "Want to go for a walk around the mall?"
She nodded, "Yeah. I haven't done that at night in years."
As they started walking towards the monuments Claudia slipped her hand in his. It surprised him and it didn't all at the same time. She had just beaten him to it. As they walked their conversation picked back up and he asked, "So made you join the Navy?"
"I was twenty-two and I was working full time and trying to pay rent and take a couple of college classes when the Oklahoma City bombing happened. And I don't know, it just struck a cord in me I guess. Anyway I decided that I wanted to serve my country and it was a toss up between the Navy and the Coast Guard, but the Navy won out. I could see more places. And besides, they have bigger boats." She laughed.
"That they do. Do you miss it?"
"Every day. I think if I didn't have Joshua I would re-up."
He was surprised by her conviction. She had indicated that she liked being in the Navy but he hadn't realized how strong the feeling was.
They stopped in front of the Washington Monument and were able to see the Capital in the distance. The breeze blew her hair into her face and before she could fix it, Jethro deftly tucked it behind her ear. His hand lingered there for a moment and he ran a calloused thumb along her cheekbone. And then one Leroy Jethro Gibbs kissed her right there in front of the Washington Monument. And he was good at it.
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