𝐑𝐔𝐋𝐄 𝐓𝐖𝐄𝐋𝐕𝐄 ━━ 𝐭𝐨𝐧𝐲 𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐨𝐳𝐳𝐨

TWENTY TWO | elevator rides

"Hi." I step onto the elevator, seeing Tony standing in the middle of the lift.

He glances up in surprise, his eyes softening slightly. "H-Hey."

I stand closer to the doors, not wanting to invade his space and vice-versa. The elevator seems to be a bit slower than usual since it takes longer for the doors to close.

"Thanks for the, um, coffee you brought me yesterday." He clears his throat.

"Of course."

From behind me, I can feel the tension radiating off of his body, matching up with my own.

And just like that, he has me pressed against my wall, his hand cradling the small of my back as support. The elevator dings each time we pass a floor.

One.

"We really shouldn't be doing this." I mutter against his lips.

Two.

He flips us around so he's against the wall. "You didn't seem to mind the elevator rides back when we were still hooking up."

Three.

We pull away just as the doors open back up. I fix my hair a little before stepping out, rubbing my thumb against my bottom lip.

"Any updates, Kate?" I walk to my desk, dropping my bag on top.

"Gibbs sent McGee to a crime scene. Alone."

Tony beams brightly for some reason. "Probie got his first solo assignment? Gibbs just wants to see him screw up."

And there it is.

"I'm sure he'll be fine."

Gibbs comes in, commenting on Kate's root canal and how she better keep the dental appointment this time.

"DiNozzo." The boss hangs up the call with McGee. "Get the truck."

"Looks like we've got a case."

We arrive at the supposed crime scene where we're greeted by McGee and the young woman who witnessed the murder.

The five of us walk into the second-floor apartment. "You made the call." Gibbs turns to McGee. "What were you basing your decision on?"

"The, uh. . .credibility of the witness." He answers. "MIT graduate. Phi Beta Kappa. Builds computer models for DOD."

"We've all seen the credentials."

I nudge Tony in the ribs for that comment.

"That's it?"

"No. No, uh, to get a closer look at the assault, Erin used a camcorder with a 200-to-1 zoom lens."

Now we're getting somewhere. "Well, let's see the video."

"Well, she didn't actually, uh, start recording until after the men had moved away from the window, but it does show that the lights were on. When Metro Police got here, they were off."

Damn it, McGee.

McGee finally lets out a breath. "Boss, the truth?"

"That would be good." Gibbs nods his head.

"If there's one thing I've learned from you," McGee starts, "it's that sometimes an agent has to go with their gut."

"Okay." That seems to be enough for him. "What would you do now, McGee?"

When the junior agent struggles to come up with orders, Kate, Tony, and I just resort to our usual tasks at a crime scene: prints, shoot, observations.