Work Text:
Tony’s knee bounced under his desk. His hands would’ve been tapping if they weren’t busy filling out form after form. So many sailors got themselves into trouble at a bar the previous night that the entire office had been filling out paperwork since 7am. They should make the sailors fill out the paperwork. It might discourage them from being morons.
A cramp started in the middle of Tony’s hand and he dropped his pen.
“Stupid petty officers,” he grumbled.
The other agents ignored him. They wanted to be done just as badly as he did and the end of the day was creeping nearer. A bit of banter would’ve cheered the place up but then it would take longer.
Back in DC, Kate would’ve rolled her eyes and said it wouldn’t kill him to actually work once in a while. McGee would’ve commiserated with both of them. If Gibbs was in a good mood he’d say something to make Tony laugh.
His chest ached worse than the cramp.
Tony shook out his hand and got back to work. He just had to get through it. Then he could go to the beach for a while. But something told him that was going to be enough tonight. Maybe he’d find a bar—not the one the idiotic petty officers went to—and find himself some company. He was in Florida. There had to be at least a few beauties in the area.
“DiNozzo,” Agent Blake, the Agent in Charge, called from his office.
Tony held himself back from replying, “yes, boss?” Instead, he rose and went to see him. “You called?”
“Come in, close the door,” Blake said, gesturing him in.
Tony sat, hoping Blake would for some reason say he didn’t need to do any more paperwork.
The Agent in Charge spent half a minute studying Tony. His knee was still bouncing and he tried to stifle it. The longer he looked, the more Tony wanted to crawl out of his skin.
Finally, Blake spoke. “Miss Mae Kincaid called. Does tonight work for you to meet with her? She’s planning on driving here to the office.”
Tony thought about offering to drive there, but he probably shouldn’t go to Niceville until it was time for the op. “I’m free tonight.” He was free every night. The only ‘friends’ he’d made were the regulars at the beach. But then, he wasn’t trying very hard.
“Great. You can take off now to have a break before she gets here. Be back by 6:00.”
Tony wasn't sure what to say. He couldn’t remember ever getting an offer like it before. Was it a trick to see if he was a hard worker? Blake didn’t seem the type to do that.
“I haven’t finished all the paperwork from—” Tony began, but Blake waved it off.
“It’ll keep until tomorrow. Be back by 6:00,” he repeated. “And be ready to learn everything there is to know about missiles.”
“Yes, sir,” Tony said respectfully. It felt strange in his mouth. Sarcastic or snarky were more his style. He hadn’t felt like himself much lately.
Tony returned to his desk and felt a weight drop off his shoulders as he shoved all the paperwork in his desk drawer. He grabbed his backpack and left without saying goodbye to anyone.
His first stop was home for an early dinner, then he went to the beach. He felt restless. A yearning was building in him, but for what exactly he wasn’t sure. His team? A date? A good case he could sink into? He wanted all those things.
He wished he could run, really run. His lungs still hadn’t recovered, and the last time he ran hard he was running for his life. He could feel the key biting into his fingers as he held it perfectly still. His heart pounded as he prayed the car bomb would have enough delay for him to run out of the blast zone. Kate and McGee’s pale, shocked faces turned as he pulled rank and ordered them to leave him behind. As soon as they were far enough to be safe he ran.
It was the right thing to do. He couldn’t have done anything else and been able to live with himself. He’d pushed himself too far, but no one had been injured by the blast. That had been the goal. The stabbing pain in his side, the trip to the hospital, and the two days of observation had been the unintended consequence.
What else could he have done?
Tony checked the time on his watch. He slowed to a stop for a moment, watching the waves roll in and crash on the beach. It was windy and the tumbling was louder than usual. He wished it was loud enough to drown out his thoughts. He wished he could go far enough to leave them behind.
He turned back toward his car.
—
Tony held back a whistle as Mae Kincaid walked into the building.
Instead of slacks and a short sleeve blouse like last time, Mae was wearing linen pants and a tank top that fit her exceptionally well. Tony was glad for the change. She was gorgeous. She also looked annoyed enough to vaporize Tony with a look if he got too mouthy.
He might be in trouble.
“Miss Kincaid,” he greeted, standing from his desk. “Thanks for making the drive.”
“I don’t mind,” she claimed. Her short tone suggested otherwise.
Tony gestured to a conference room. “Let’s get started.”
They sat at one corner of the table. Mae put her messenger bag in her lap and her expression softened as she looked around the plain room. Tony waited for her to say something but she didn’t. The silence grew until it was uncomfortable and she looked at him.
“Hi! I’m Tony. My favorite color is green and I like long walks on the beach.”
Well, if she murdered him, at least it was in a place with security cameras.
To his surprise, she smiled. And what a smile. Her whole face changed. She brightened and he couldn’t help brightening with her. Hers was the kind of smile that was contagious.
“Hi, I’m Mae. My favorite color is also green, but I prefer running to walking.”
“I’m not opposed to running,” he heard himself saying.
He shouldn’t flirt with her. She was a witness and she was supposed to teach him about missile engineering.
Her laugh was just as enjoyable as her smile.
“I brought a book I thought would be helpful.” She pulled a thick textbook from her bag. “It has a lot of detail about design and a chapter specifically about some of the challenges with missile and rocket design.”
The case. Right. Focus.
“That…looks intimidating. You’re going to explain it, right?”
She smiled again. It was a good thing she hadn’t smiled at him like that in front of Agent Blake and Captain Kincaid. They would’ve taken one look at him and kicked him off the case.
“Yes, of course. You don’t need the details. The project managers are more focused on the overall progress, but I’ll point out the important things.”
Her smile fell and the annoyed face came back. But on second glance, he realized it wasn’t annoyance. She was focused. Her resting expression was just intense.
He wanted to bring the smile back.
He was in trouble.
But what would it take to make it come back? Was she the type to enjoy bantering during a conversation?
“Are you listening?” she asked sharply.
He nodded, repeating back what she said about the guidance controls of the missile being one of the most important sections.
She pursed her lips, then continued with her lecture.
It was a good thing Tony could multitask. He couldn’t stop thinking about her smile, but he was equally impressed with just how capable she was. Once he got a handle on the basic facts he started asking questions. She had an answer for each one, and spent almost an hour describing the teams Tony would be working with. It was incredibly helpful information. She knew not only what the teams were working on, but every person on each team and their roles.
“How do you know all this?” Tony finally asked, letting some awe show on his face.
Mae paused. Even a small smile lit up her face. “I’m in quality control. If there’s something wrong with a missile, I need to know who’s responsible for it.”
“Quality control? That’s gotta be fun!”
She laughed, and he resisted leaning closer. “We’re at the range every Tuesday. Best day of the week.”
If he got to blow up missiles every Tuesday, he’d call it the best day of the week too. “Will I get to do that?”
She was amused as she told him no. “I doubt it. You’ll be working with the design, modeling, and testing teams I think. Your job will be to make sure they’re on schedule, which they never are.”
“I’m being set up for success I see.”
Her full smile dawned and he matched it. “Well, I found the log of downloads in the design team’s office, so you’ll have to risk it.”
“Some things are worth the risk,” he agreed.
Like maybe Mae herself? Whoa. He needed to put on the brakes. He’d made some questionable decisions in his personal life, but he tried not to date witnesses. A small part of his brain reminded him trying didn’t always mean he was successful.
Mae sighed softly. “I should probably go. I still have some work to do tonight.”
Tony limited his surprise to a single raised eyebrow. “Work? This late?”
Her forehead creased in confusion before her whole face cleared. “Oh, not my job. I meant my PhD. I’m working on my dissertation.”
She was beautiful, good natured, and way smarter than the women he usually dated. That should probably be a warning.
“Impressive.”
She shrugged, giving him an adorable half smile. “It mostly just makes me super busy.”
“I’ll bet. Maybe next time we can go to a beach. We can run and talk so you can multitask.”
She laughed as she gathered up her things. “Sure,” she agreed doubtfully.
But he meant it. His usual beach wasn’t very busy. It could work.
She stood and Tony opened the conference room door for her.
“Thanks,” she murmured. Her face had clouded and she paused abruptly right next to him. She was so close he could feel her warmth. “Do you think you’ll get him? Whoever is doing this?”
“Yes. I’ll find him. You don’t have to worry,” Tony promised.
Her smile warmed him from the inside out. He would’ve said anything to get that smile back. This was one promise he needed to keep.