Chapter 1
Tony grinned as he bounced into the bullpen. In fact he had grinned the whole way to work.
"Good morning Ziva, McGee," he said happily.
"Hot date last night?" Ziva asked him as she fired up her computer.
"Yup," he said sitting down at his desk.
"Blonde?" McGee asked, knowing Tony's grin.
"Yup," came the reply.
"Yup what DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked as he came storming in, coffee in hand.
"Yup I'm happy to be here?" Tony tried tentatively, flinching for the expected head slap. He wasn't disappointed.
"Good," replied Gibbs, even though he knew his agent was lying, "Cause we got a case."
"What is it?" Ziva asked as the team geared up.
"Wife woke up and found her husband dead next to her," Gibbs answered tersely. Tony gave a low whistle.
"Ouch."
"Ya think, DiNozzo?" his boss called from the elevator.
Minutes later they arrived at the scene of the crime.
"Tony sketch, Ziva shoot, McGee bag ‘n tag," Gibbs ordered before going to speak to Carrie Johnson, the deceased's wife.
"John Johnson," said Ziva as she took the crime scene photographs, "What kind of name is John Johnson?"
"The kind given by very unoriginal parents," Tony replied laughing. Ducky walked in a moment later.
"What have we here?" he murmured to himself as he began to examine the body, "This reminds me of the time back in..." Everyone in the room rolled their eyes as Ducky began another of his long winded stories.
"Mrs. Johnson?" Gibbs asked as he entered the small suburban kitchen.
"Yes?" older woman looked up, eyes full of tears.
"Special Agent Gibbs," he introduced himself, "I need to ask you a few questions…" There was a commotion from the bedroom and Gibbs held up a hand before excusing himself.
"Miss, you can't go in there," a policeman called after her, but she ignored him. She ran into her parent's bedroom. When she caught sight of her father's body she sank to her knees, pretending not to notice the special agents or the elderly ME who had all frozen at the sudden arrival of the young woman.
"Uh… who are you?" Tony asked, breaking the shocked silence. He too had been surprised by the sudden arrival of the fairly attractive young woman. The woman appeared not to have heard him, but instead looked as though she was fighting back tears.
"What the hell's going on in here?" Gibbs asked angrily when he entered the room, seeing the woman and the team frozen. Tony was speechless under Gibbs' icy stare, but was saved by the mystery woman.
"I'm sorry," she said, standing up, holding out a hand, and introducing herself, "Melissa Johnson. That's my…father." Tony felt a twang of sympathy for the woman.
"We're sorry for your loss, Miss Johnson, but if you could please step behind the police ta-" Gibbs began, but the sudden appearance of Mrs. Johnson interrupted him.
"You! You bitch. You killed him," Melissa exploded at her mother, "How could you?" The taller woman quailed under her daughter's accusations. Gibbs intervened quickly, placing himself between the two women.
"Stop," he yelled over the screaming. They froze. "Tony go take Miss Johnson's statement, Mrs. Johnson stay here." Tony gestured for Melissa to follow him out of the room.
"Murder's a pretty big accusation," he asked once they were in the hallway and the door was closed, "What makes you say she did it?" He tried to keep his eyes off of her thin figure, but instead got lost in her bright blue eyes.
"Well Agent…" her discreet way of asking his name caught him off guard. He was falling for her, hard and fast.
"DiNozzo, Tony DiNozzo," God, that sounded so James Bond he thought embarrassed, but his well trained tongue continued without hesitation, "But call me Tony." That was a little better at least. Her eyes were so damn beautiful.
"Right, Tony, my father and I were close, really close, and after I moved out she's been doing everything to make my life miserable," she continued. He shot her a questioning look, trying his best to stay focused, but her hair, it was stunning.
"She wanted me to stay, to live with them and be their ‘caretakers'. She really just wanted a maid. So I moved out, went to Duke, became an architect, but she hated me for it. She cut me of financially, wouldn't let me see Dad, you know how it is," she explained looking sad.
"Yeah," he agreed forcefully, "I do." They already had something in common, inadequate parents, "So you think she did it, just to hurt you?"
"Yeah, that and cause she's a bitch," she replied tersely.
"Right." Hard and fast.
"I'll need your number," he said quickly before amending, "for the investigation, I mean." Wow, he thought, could he have messed that one up anymore? Probably not, but she took pity on him.
"Here," she said, after writing her name and number twice on a slip of paper and ripping it in half, "One for you, one for the investigation." She handed him both the pieces of paper.
"Uh...well...uh," he stuttered. She was so damn hot, and now he had her number. He couldn't even form a coherent sentence.
"Your welcome," she said laughing at him.
Story Notes:
Disclaimer: I don't own these characters. Just like everyone else, I'm borrowing them for a story or two...or three...five...twenty...
Author's Chapter Notes:
Tony falls for a girl, but is she the one for him?