Tony took a deep breath as he knocked on the apartment door. He knew that he would probably get the door slammed in his face but it was worth trying. He wasn't hoping to get her back but if she could accept his apology he would be happy because he felt terrible about what he had done. He knew he had been stupid and selfish to get so caught up with this girl, to fall in love, to have her fall in love with him, and then he went and broke her heart. She never knew what was going on. She thought she'd found Mr Right but it turned out that he was just some jerk who lied and hurt people, hurt her. The door opened and Tony found himself fighting back tears. Here in front of him was the woman he had loved, he still loved and she had tears streaming down her face, eyes red from the constant crying from the hurt.
"Jeanne..." he whispered. He wanted to pull her close and tell her that everything was going to be ok, but how could he do that? He couldn't, it was that simple.
"Why are you here?" Jeanne asked as she wiped away the tears.
"I wanted to apologise," Tony said, a bit surprised she hadn't slammed the door in his face already. "I know that I've made it difficult for you to forgive me, but if I can at least know that you will forgive me someday then...Then maybe I'll be able to try and forgive myself for what I did to you," Jeanne stared at him for a moment before walking back into the apartment, leaving the door open for Tony. He walked inside and closed the door, finding his way easily to the kitchen where Jeanne was putting on the kettle.
"Tea? Coffee?" she asked.
"Have any of that hot chocolate left over?" he asked, trying to lighten the intense feeling in the room. He watched her as she opened the cupboard and pulled out the tin of chocolate mix and sat it on the countertop. She opened another cupboard and grabbed the pink polka dot mug that she always used. She placed it near the kettle and went back to get another mug, this time one with lime green stripes, and Tony remembered how that had become his mug. By accident Jeanne fumbled and dropped the mug. It spilt into several pieces as it hit the wooden floor below her feet. Tony quickly stepped into the kitchen and bent down with Jeanne as she began to pick up the shards. As she reached for another piece she nicked herself on a piece she hadn't seen. Snatching her hand back she looked down to see blood trickling down her hand and sat back on her heels.
"Let me see," Tony said and she could hear the concern in his voice. She hesitated but then held out her hand. Shivers ran down her spine as he gently took her hand and examined it before standing up and running to the bathroom. He wet a washer than grabbed a couple of bandaids from the medicine cabinet and ran back to the kitchen. For some reason he had expected her to be gone but she was still there. He wiped away the blood to reveal only a small cut. He placed a bandaid over it before gathering the broken mug and throwing it away. Jeanne stood up, tears in her eyes. She had told herself she wouldn't get emotional in front of Tony again but it just seemed to happen. She could see that he was holding himself back from reaching out to hold her. She glanced up and met his agonised gaze, that's all it took for her to begin crying. She stepped forward and fell into his embrace. She knew that she shouldn't be doing this. She was well aware that he had lied to her, that he had betrayed her, yet they had grown to be friends, to be lovers, they had been on romantic evenings to fancy restaurants, taken walks through the park, cuddled up on the couch and watched films, and the good things seemed to out number the bad things, she knew that what he had said wasn't all true but she believed some of it was, so she let him hold her. They stood there in each others embrace for some time. Finally Jeanne stepped back and wiped her face again.
"Sorry..." she said shakily.
"You don't have to apologise," Tony said. Jeanne nodded a little then went back to the cupboard and grabbed another mug. She boiled the kettle again and made two hot chocolates. She handed one to Tony then took her own and walked into the living room. Tony followed her and sat at the opposite end of the couch. "I never wanted to hurt you,"
"I know you didn't...You were just doing your job," Jeanne replied quickly.
"I could have said no to the job... I could have ended it before I fell in love with you, before you fell in love with me..." Tony said. He needed to tell her that this was all of his fault, even though she already knew it.
"But you didn't..." Jeanne started.
"No, I didn't...And now look what's happened, I've hurt you, you've been betrayed, you've lost your father..." Tony said.
"Yes...But that's how life is, Tony...You gain something, you loose something," Jeanne said. Tears glazed her eyes but she never let them fall. "Yes, I've lost my father...But if I get to know you, the real Tony DiNozzo, then maybe I'll have gained something,"
"What?" Tony asked confused.
"Tony I'm willing to give us another go...I want to get to know you," Jeanne said, placing her mug on the coffee table. She slid closer to Tony and took his mug and put it next to her mug before taking his hands. "I forgive you,"
"You..." Tony whispered as he closed his eyes bent his head down, resting their foreheads against one another. "You were always so sweet, so caring..."