Tony DiNozzo came in early on Thursday morning, national singles day. He didn't want to watch the last minute, frantic rush for gifts and candy any more than he had to. Especially since Valentine's had never been his specialty. This early in the morning, the lights hadn't been fully powered on and Tony figured on working at least half an hour with mostly the light of the sunrise. He'd barely gotten settled in and redistributed the piles of cold case files, smiling smugly at his work, when the elevator dinged again.
"Geez, McGee," Tony said, honestly startled at his partner's appearance. "You look awful."
McGee's face was haggard, showing lines Tony had never seen before. Even his clothes were uncharacteristically disheveled, tie crooked, jacket rumpled as if he'd slept in it. He dropped heavily into his chair, not noticing the the stack of cold case folders he'd dropped on the floor. "Thanks, Tony."
Tony got up, came around to hitch a seat on Tim's desk. "Seriously, you okay?"
McGee's jaw moved. "Honestly?"
Tony raised his eyebrows in real concern. "Umm, yeah."
"She says she's pregnant."
Well, that stopped Tony pretty thoroughly. "Oh wow." He got up and pulled over his own chair next to Tim's, checking to make sure the office was still relatively empty. No one was paying any attention to the two of them, strange behavior from the members of the MCRT nothing new. Tony leaned closer to Tim anyway. "I thought you were going to break up with her," he hissed.
Tim ran both hands through his hair, in a gesture that looked like he'd become more than familiar with it. "I am, I was!" They both looked around to make sure the outburst hadn't brought them more attention.
Tony didn't know what to say to that. He'd had a few scares sure, but not for years. "Sooo..."
"I don't know." Tim's voice dropped again. "I can't... I can't stay with her, but if Gibbs thinks I'm abandoning my child—" here his voice almost broke altogether, "he'll kill me! But I don't know if I can get custody even if she is crazy what with the schedule we have, and this job is dangerous. What if I have to quit?" Tim dropped his head onto his desk.
"Woah, slow down." Tony said, alarmed at how far ahead Tim had actually considered. Although, maybe he shouldn't be surprised either. "Don't you think you're getting a little ahead of yourself?"
"You think she's lying?" Tim looked up with some hope.
"Uh..." Actually, Tony hadn't thought of it yet, but given what McGee had told him about this woman, it probably should have. "Okay. Do you think she would?" he asked carefully.
"Maybe," Tim sounded uncertain. But it wasn't like Tim to assume the worst so early, so Tony marked that as a good indication of untrustworthiness. Time rubbed his mouth. "I just—"
The elevator sounded and they both turned to see Ziva get off and greet Sherry from accounting.
"Nevermind," Tim muttered, and turned to his computer, only to start looking around like he'd forgotten what his desk was supposed to look like, and he saw the folders on the floor.
This wasn't the time to push it, so Tony scooped up the files before Tim could and dropped them on his desk. "Later," he said, and dragged his chair back to his own desk.
Author's note: I have quite a bit written that still has to be typed out. This was conceived (as it were) to be released on Valentine's Day proper, but there's quite a bit of work it needs so far. Anyone willing to beta? I'd love to work with someone who's willing to work on some plot/character development. Hope you enjoyed!