𝐑𝐔𝐋𝐄 𝐓𝐖𝐄𝐋𝐕𝐄 ━━ 𝐭𝐨𝐧𝐲 𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐨𝐳𝐳𝐨

FORTY SIX | jealous much?

"Good morning, sleeping beauty."

Tony balances a pancake on the top of a towering stack next to him. His lips graze my own before focusing on breakfast.

"Last time you woke up this early was when I surprised you with. . ." My cheeks flush red from the recent incident.

"Or the morning after when I surprised you in return." He bumps my hip. "But I have that meeting with the director, and you know how strict she is with punctuality."

"Believe me, I know."

My cellphone beeps with a new text message.

"Who is it?" He looks over his shoulder as I situate myself at the dining table.

"Just Ziva. Wondering when I'll get to work." I snap the device shut as he brings two plates of hashbrowns. "Tony, did you invite the entire team for breakfast? Because this is way too much for just the two of us."

He nods his head shyly. "I might have gone a little overboard."

"I guess we'll have to have pancakes every meal for the rest of the week." A small giggle escapes between my lips. "Thank you for making breakfast."

"Thank you for eating breakfast."

As we eat our breakfast in silence, our phones chime at different points in time. The sound becomes disturbing rather quickly before we finally pick them up.

"Evaline?" His sultry voice speaks from the other end. "Sweetheart, I thought we were going to meet for coffee."

"Sorry. I decided to stay home this morning." I catch Tony's eye as he talks into his cell.

His tongue clicks against his teeth. "That's the third time you've cancelled this week. I'm beginning to think you don't want to go out with me at all."

"No, no. Of course I do." I bite the tip of my tongue. "Does Friday night work for you?"

"Stop by the hospital at 7:00. I'll make reservations at La Grotta."

"I'll be there."

Tony sets aside his cellphone. "Who was that?"

"Just a friend." Syrup drizzles down the pancakes. "You?"

"No one important."

I leave a little later than Tony seeing as he has an early morning meeting to get to. But rush hour hits the second I'm on the road, making me even later.

"Grab your gear." Gibbs shuts his cell. "We're heading out."

"Great. Can't even catch a moment's peace." I huff under my breath.

Tony tosses me my hat. "Could've come into work with me."

"And miss an extra thirty minutes of sleep? I think not."

With Gibbs back, he assigns us to our usual tasks when he was still our boss. I stand behind the abandoned vehicle and wait for Tony to pop open the trunk.

"Who were you talking to this morning?" I speak over the snaps of his camera.

He peers in to take close-ups. "Oh, just McGee. Wanted to remind me of my meeting with the director, that sly, little. . .agent."

"I see."

A part of me wants to believe him. . .but the rest of me just can't.

Mostly because I myself feel guilty.

Gibbs sends me and Tony off to Lieutenant Sullivan's home to see if we can find anything there. Her door is ajar when we arrive, warning of us any uninvited guests.