Rekindle

by channeld

written for: the NFA Women of NCIS challenge
rating: FR13
WARNING: SEASON 8 SPOILERS
genre: character study, humor
featuring: Ruby Rae

disclaimer: I own nothing of NCIS.

May 2011

"Tell me, Ms. Rae, about your course of actions on the morning of April 13."

"Yes, ma'am." Ruby smoothed down the lines of her skirt; an old nervous habit. "I had the day off work. And I decided to do something, to get out of town, and see something different. So I drove up to DC."

"That's not exactly a drive to the ice cream parlor."

"No, ma'am. It's a couple of hours. But I really wanted to make the trip. There was…"

The man in the small room leaned across the table, and spoke kindly. "Go ahead, Ruby. As I said before, anything you tell us here today will be held in strictest confidence."

She swallowed. "Yes, sir. You see, I had a sudden notion to go see someone I met a few years ago."

"Which year, Ruby?"

"It was…" she thought. "2007. January of that year, ma'am."

"Four years ago, then."

"Yes'm. Anyway, I guess I'd been thinking of him lately, and so I decided to go see how he was doing. I'd only been in Washington that one time, before."

"In 2007."

"Yes, sir. He'd been so nice to me, and told me it was okay even when I flubbed something."

"And this person was…?"

"Special Agent Timothy McGee, ma'am. He's very nice and kind…" Ruby's eyes took on a dreamy look.

"Had you been in touch with Agent McGee recently?"

She shook her head. "No, sir; I had not. Oh, after the case we worked on was cleared up in early 2007, we exchanged emails for a little while…just chatty stuff, you know. I asked him if he wanted to talk on Skype with me, but he kept saying his work schedule was so random that he couldn't promise a time when he'd be free. So, we stuck to emails and after a few months, that sort of…" She made a motion of something being brushed away.

"So you suddenly decided to pay him a visit, unannounced."

Ruby lowered her head. "Yes'm."

"Well, don't fret, child. You're hardly the first person who has run after love."

Feeling her face growing pink, Ruby averted her eyes and went on with the story. "This was on a Wednesday, you know. Middle of the week. I was pretty sure I'd find Tim at work..."

She'd told the guards at the main entrance her name and hometown, and that she was here about a case. (Which was sort of true, since if it hadn't been for that case four years ago, she never would have met Tim. She crossed her fingers behind her back as she said it.) She was here to see Agent McGee.

Ruby must have looked trustworthy, for without further questions, the guards made up a visitor's badge for her. A friendly passing agent offered to escort her to the squad room, and gulping, she nodded and took his arm.

As soon as they got off the elevator, Ruby's eyes darted around the room, looking for Tim. She didn't even know what she was going to say when she saw him. She figured she'd wing it. She figured…where in the world was he? If he had taken the day off, too, she'd go home and beat a pillow to death. She'd…

"He's over there; that desk," said her escort, smiling. "Nice meeting you, Ruby."

"Yes, a pleasure," she said, remembering her manners. Tim was where…?

She looked, and her eyes bulged. "Oh, my stars! Tim; you're so thin!"

He looked up from his computer then, as did the others on his team. He then smiled and stood up. "Ruby? What brings you here?"

Oh, no! What was she going to say, particularly with DiNozzo and Ziva and that tough Agent Gibbs around? "Oh, my; you're probably so busy, Tim…"

Tim looked around her. "Boss? I'll take my break early," he called out, and then took her arm. "Let's go somewhere where we can talk."

"Oh, McGee; I could really use your help right now. Agent Cade isn't in yet, and you have such a way with computers…"

The woman's voice was like a purr. Ruby's hackles rose as the blonde approached them, hips swinging.

Tim only looked nonplussed. "Can it wait, EJ?" he asked.

"I'll wait for you," she mouthed.

Ruby was now terrified. The first place she'd looked once Tim had stood up had been his left hand, but there was no ring there. (Major, silent sigh of relief.) But she hadn't expected to now have a rival for his affections…right there in his office!

"Come on, Ruby, let's see how much catching up we can do in 15 minutes!" Tim grinned, and led the way back to the elevator, to head outside to the park.

"Boss, can I take my break now, too?" Tony was heard to say.

"No. Sit back down," Gibbs snapped.

At that, Ruby felt Tim squeeze her hand a little, and that made her a tiny bit les stressed.

"So far, so good, it sounds like to me."

"What happened with the hussy? There must be more than that!"

"Yes, sir. Yes, ma'am. It was a fine, spring day. Those pretty cherry blossoms we always hear about were past peak in blooming, but there were still some on the trees. It was really pretty there in the park…even with those cannons and anchors and stuff around…"

"It's so nice to see you!" Tim said with a big grin when they were seated on a bench in the sun. "You look great!"

She'd worn a new skirt and blouse, and was pleased with his reaction. "You, uh, look a little…you look great, too," she said, trying to mean it with a smile.

He laughed. "I've lost weight—yes, intentionally—since you last saw me. I'm in better shape, and decided to go for more stylish clothing."

"It's, ah, very nice. The dark colors…are flattering on you." She didn't say that his pencil-thin pants would be stared at in her town, nor that there was anything about a man that a nice light-blue button-down shirt couldn't make better. Or so her father had always said.

"Thanks! So what brings you our way? Do you have another case?"

"No, I just was in the area, and…I wanted to say hi. So…how've you been?"

They chatted (she let him do most of the talking, smiling at everything he said) for some minutes before Tim looked at his watch and announced it was time for him to go back in.

Fifteen minutes! She'd driven hours to get here, only to have only fifteen minutes with him?

"I think I saw this movie," the man chuckled.

"Oh, you," the woman snorted. "Go on, Ms. Rae. What happened next?"

Ruby smoothed down her skirt again, looking like she wanted to cry. "And then…she came out of the building. Just when I was hoping that Tim might ask me out to dinner…"

"McGee! I really need you! Like, now!" Like a blonde, screeching harpy, flapping her wings, er, arms, that EJ person came flying out of the NCIS building…well, striding quickly. Not exactly flying. But she would've, if she could've.

"EJ; I'm just coming off break, and I was talking with a friend," Tim said mildly. "Whatever it is, it can't be that urgent."

"I don't know how Gibbs has you working, but when I ask for assistance, I expect to get it!" EJ snapped. Then perhaps having Ruby's presence register in her mind now, she turned sweet. "I can make it up to you," she said sugar in her voice, and cupping his chin in her hand.

Tim looked a little breathless. "Oh, yeah? How?"

Tony came out, frowning. "Break time is over for you, McTardy," he said. "Come on, Eedge. Let's go get coffee."

So that was it. Tim had an office romance going on with a sophisticated harpy woman. "Nice talking to you, Tim," Ruby said, turning away so he wouldn't see the newborn tears that tried to escape her eyes.

"There are people like that everywhere, Ms. Rae."

"Oh, please call me 'Ruby', ma'am. I should've said that earlier. Everyone calls me 'Ruby'. Even Tim; he called me 'Ruby' right from the start, when we first met. He was smiling and he had a look on his face like I was the first person he'd ever met with that name, and I guess I probably was."

"It's a good name. I had a cousin named that."

"I was named for a great-auntie. Ruby Dillwater. Anyway…"

"I hope you didn't let that blonde woman get to you. Or that you turned around and drove right back home without a fight."

She looked surprised. "You think that fighting was a good idea?"

"They do say that all's fair in love and war," the man chuckled. "If he's the man you want, you might have to work to stake your claim."

"Well, I'll tell you what happened next…"

She had parked on the street, outside the Navy Yard. She hadn't known if she'd be allowed to drive in, and she hadn't minded the walk to NCIS. But going back would be painful; just trying to put one foot ahead of the other. Ruby sat back down on the bench for a minute, trying to gather her strength. She felt like such a fool.

Then someone called to her. "Ruby! I just wanted to say hello. Do you remember me? Ziva David?" The dark-haired woman sat down beside her, smiling.

"Nice seeing you again, Ziva," Ruby said, while fumbling in her purse for a tissue. Finding two, she blew her nose on one and dabbed at her eyes with another.

Ziva looked at her astutely. "Ah, spring allergies. I do not have them myself, but I know many who do."

"Uh, yeah. Bad this year," Ruby replied, grateful for the out.

"You are here on a case?"

"Well…no, not exactly. Well, not at all. Men!" She said that last word under her breath.

"I think McGee was glad to see you." Ziva said, smiling again.

"Oh, he was just being nice and all."

"No, you were a pleasant interruption in a dull week."

"But he has a girlfriend!" Ruby wailed before she could stop herself.

This startled Ziva, who looked around, as if expecting to see this mystery woman in the bushes. "No, he does not. I would know if he does." He smile was wry now. "He gets this little look on his face when he gets a second date with a woman…which does not happen often. A proud little smile. It is…endearing." She then hastened to add, "Not that I find him otherwise endearing. But he is a good friend, and for that, I am glad. I like seeing my friends happy."

"But that blonde woman…EJ, I think her name is…"

Again Ziva looked startled, and she then snickered and finally laughed. "She is…something else. EJ is a team leader, reassigned to Washington. She is definitely not McGee's type. But she and Tony are having a, a fling, is that the word? She only wanted McGee's technical help, and she can be, ah, bossy. You must have misread her intentions."

"Then he's not…"

"No. No," she added, with more emphasis, and patted Ruby's arm. "You did not really drive up from Virginia on a case, did you?"

"No…just between us gals, Ziva, I just wanted to see Tim again. See if he was as nice as I remembered him. You know something, Ziva? Tim did me a really big favor when I met him, four years ago."

"What was that?"

"Remember, I screwed up a bit of that investigation. But he helped me figure it out, and we solved the case. And he made me feel special, and worthwhile. Not the way that city folks sometimes look down on us who live out in the country."

"You are special and worthwhile. You are very talented, and any LEO would be proud to have you on their staff, Ruby."

"Aw, you don't have to say that, but thanks. But it felt so important and meaningful coming from Tim. We emailed each other for a while after that. And then we just…"

"Drifted. It happens. And so you came back to see if there might be a spark?"

"I know the spark still burns in me," Ruby sighed. "My stars; those beautiful eyes of his…" Then she put her face in her hands. "And now I've blown my chance, Ziva. He must think me…silly, or something."

"I do not believe so."

"I don't have one good scrap of a reason to go back inside and talk to him."

"Well, you must go in to return the visitor's badge to the guards. But…hmmm; are you planning on staying overnight?"

"Yes'm; I have a reservation at a nice little motel in Maryland."

"Fine." Ziva pulled out her cell phone. "Do you have a mobile phone? Give me your number."

"It's, ah, 276-555-4041."

"I am texting you the name and address of an Italian restaurant that McGee likes a lot. Be there by 7. I will see that he is there."

Ruby looked stunned for a moment. Then she squealed and hugged Ziva fiercely.

"So, how did your dinner date go?"

Ruby clasped her hands. "Oh, it was beautiful! Simply beautiful! We had the funnest time! We talked and talked for hours."

"So, you think he's your special someone?"

"I think so. Yes, I'm sure of it. He makes me come alive. I am ten times more confident, more cheerful, more optimistic knowing that when he looks at me, he sees something of value. I never had anyone make me feel that way before."

"Then, what's the problem? You love him. He seems to love you."

"Oh, Tom," said the woman. "You are such a man."

"Is the pot roast burning, Lila?" he asked. That got her running for the kitchen.

He turned back to Ruby. "You asking for our blessing, Ruby, or what?" he said with a twinkle in his eye.

"Well…sorta. Not exactly. I wanted to be upfront with you, Sheriff. In case I start to take long weekends from work. If I decide to do that, that is. And if it's all right with you. So I wanted to know if you and Mrs. Barrett thought I was being a fool or not. Long distance romance. Heh."

Her boss studied her face. "This McGee fellow invite you to come back?"

She brightened, sporting a delighted smile. "Yes, sir! Weekend after this one. And other weekends to be named."

"Well, then, I only think you'd be a fool if you don't get that old car of yours checked over at Nate's Garage before you drive back up there."

"And also if you don't invite him to spend some weekends down here," said Mrs. Barrett, bringing a platter of foot in each hand. "Now enough jawing. Let's have supper!"

-END-