"DiNozzo go get that search warrant and don't come back without it!",Gibbs barked icily. Tempers were frayed in the squad room,since they found a little girl floating in the harbour,she was brutally raped and killed. Her mourning parents trusted in Gibbs to apprehend the monster who stole their little angel from them,Tony could still see her sweet little face as she was lying on Ducky's cold autopsy table.
He rushed into the law office,finding the desk empty of the lawyer who promised them the search warrant,that would lead to catching the monster who ended the little girl's life so prematurely. Tony slammed his fist frustrated into the desk,"Damn !Gibbs is going to kill me!"
A soft musical voice could be heard behind him,he quickly turned around expecting to find a beautiful women behind him,that laugh could only come from a beauty,he surmised.. He struggled not to show his disappointment when he lay eyes on her,the women wasn't ugly,but she was plain and a few pounds too heavy,for his liking. She had big, emerald green eyes that was filled with laughter,her curly brown hair framed her face in a shiny,soft hallow,she had a beautiful skin,satin soft without a blemish."I'm looking for Dan, he promised me a search warrant?"
She walked past him and her perfume touched his nose,surrounding him with the delicious sent of spring flowers growing in a sunny field.
"Yes..mm..here it is,he worked on it this morning."She pushed a few buttons on the keyboard that was resting on the desk and the printer behind her sprung to life.
Tony was always charming and he asked,"To whom do I owe the honour of saving my life?"
She blushed very becoming,"Sorry,I'm Anne Watson."
Tony took the printed warrant from her hand and said,"Thank you,I'm very special agent Anthony DiNozzo."He almost wished she was dating material,but mentally head-slapped himself for the treacherous though,he had a reputation to keep up,he as the famous ladies man could not be seen with a plain-looking girl like her.
"Your welcome." She stared at the very attractive agent leaving the office,but quickly turned away. The last thing she wanted was for any of her colleagues to notice her ogling the hot agent,she knew it would give them ammunition to remind her of her plain looks. The famous Anthony DiNozzo would never look at her twice,but she could always secretly fantasize about him. She knew from office gossip that there was a whole fleet of willing and attractive women waiting to catch his eye,he wasn't considered as marriage material,but he apparently was a great lover and knew how to entertain a lady.
She sighed and went back to work,her whole life she was taunted with her plain looks and being a few pounds overweight didn't help. The cruel taunts of her male and some female classmates still rang in her ears,she knew the only thing she had going for her was her brilliant mind,but not even that was good enough for her parents,they didn't expect an ugly duckling like her to make it far in life. Her parents doted on her beautiful older sister,who was happily married to a rich surgeon ,her law degree from Harvard was never impressive enough for them and working at NCIS only proved their point.
In the squad room the MCRT was swiftly moving to the elevator,their backpacks slung over their shoulders,they were on their way to apprehend the monster who ended the little girl's life so prematurely.
It was Friday night and Tony wasn't in the mood for a date,he tried to persuade Ziva and Tim to join him for a few drinks,but they declined. He decided to rent a few movies and to order pizza,looking forward to a relaxing evening at home, after their hectic week. He was busy sorting through the shelf of new releases in the video store,when he saw the plain girl that worked in the law office. It took him a few seconds to remember her name,both of them reached for the same DVD and it struck him , Anne Watson was her name.
Anne blushed bright red,"Sorry,you take it."
"Now you were first.",Tony said friendly and then he said something he never would have expected,"We could always watch it together?"
Anne could feel her warm face,she knew he didn't mean it and was just being nice,but in her heart she wished that he truly meant the offer,"No,its okay,I can find something else." She gave him a friendly smile.
Tony was taken by how beautiful she looked when she smiled,her whole face lit up and there was sparkles in he expressive green eyes. "No I insist!",Tony blamed the offer on the fact that he didn't want to be alone after the horrible week they had,he could have gone on a date,but he didn't have the energy for it. He could see the hesitation and shyness in her eyes,"Come on I insist,one cannot enjoy a comedy in fullness if you have to laugh by yourself."
She shyly gave in,"Okay,if you really want to.",giving him a slight chance to still retract his offer.
They paid together,Tony gave her instructions on how to get to his apartment and she followed him home. Anne was nervous on the way to Tony's apartment her insecurities once again surfacing,she was sure that the attractive agent was by now regretting his offer,but was too polite to retract it. She knocked softly on his door,it was opened almost immediately and she was invited in. The apartment was smartly decorated and much more clean and neat than she would've expected, the furniture was expensive but tasteful,she sat down on a large comfortable leather couch.
"I ordered pizza,can I offer you some red wine,Anne?",she shyly said yes and then sipped the wine appreciatively. Soon she and Tony started to talk about her childhood ,growing up on a wine farm and the wines that they liked and preferred. She asked about Tony's childhood and he told her about his rich father that was mainly absent in his life and his time spent in a military academy,Tony was surprised about how easy and comfortable it was to open up to her,he told her many things that no-one else knew about himself,he blamed it on the intoxicating red wine.
They ate the pizza in a comfortable silence and then started the movie. Anne just relaxed and took off her shoes,curling up comfortably on her side of the couch,Tony soon joined her and for the first time in his life he just relaxed and enjoyed himself in the company of a women,he had nothing to prove,he could let his hair down and be just himself. He enjoyed the quick,clever wit of his guest and realised that she loved watching movies just as much as he did.
Tony felt at ease in her presence and offered her coffee after the movie,they sat on his couch talking for hours about what was important to them and the way they looked at life. Tony was sure this was what it felt like to have a sister,with which you could share secrets without the fear of judgement,when the evening ended in the early morning hours he felt sad to let her go.
Anne was surprised about how much she enjoyed the evening,after she got over her initial insecurities and shyness. She could relate to Tony and he obviously liked to escape from the realities of life in his movies,just like her. She expected to find him shallow and vain,but experienced the opposite,he really was a nice guy who liked to hide his insecurities behind his playboy mask.
Monday morning Tony walked into the squad room refreshed and happy,he felt as if his batteries was recharged again and he could face the next horrific case,that would come up soon. Ziva snidely remarked that he surely must have shared his bed with some almost under-age bimbo,to be this energetic early on a Monday morning. Tony only smiled secretively,he wasn't going to tell her it was because he spend a relaxing evening with a plain-looking girl,without even a thought of sex.
Anne did her job quietly and effectively as usual,she didn't share the fact that she spent her Friday evening with the delectable ,very special agent Anthony DiNozzo. It was her precious secret to keep and she wasn't going to share it with anyone,it wasn't as if they would repeat it.
Friday evening Tony had a date with one of the attractive girls in accounting and through the office grapevine the gossip reached Anne's ears,she knew she had no right to feel disappointed ,but she did. She chided herself for the stupid emotional response,she never fooled herself that Tony would like her in that way and the fact that she had one precious evening with him should be enough for her.
Tony was disappointed in his date on Friday,everything went perfectly and his date was truly beautiful,but her shallow, egocentric babble bored the socks off,of him. The sex still provided a physical relief ,but it felt meaningless. Tony found himself comparing his date to the relaxed evening he spend with Anne and found his date paled into comparison to the previous Friday night.
Anne was surprised when her phone rang late Saturday afternoon,she wasn't expecting any calls and her parents and sister hardly ever phoned,she was the one who had to initiate the phone calls. She was elated when it was Tony asking her if she wanted to watch a movie with him and she agreed immediately,without playing games like some of the women in the office,pretending to already have plans.
They spend another quiet evening at home,this time at her apartment. They once again talked and laughed as if they knew each other for years,the movie turned out to be boring,but they made up for it by comparing it to other movies,testing each other's knowledge of movie trivia. Tony had to agree with himself,the date of the previous evening could never compared to the simple ,relaxed evening with his new friend.
The next week was one of the more quiet weeks in the history of the NCIS and by Friday morning Tony was really bored,he relieved the monotonous paperwork with a few pranks and by Friday evening he had to take Tim out for a few beers to rebuilt their friendship and to calm him down,after once again super-glueing Tim to his chair.
They met Anne in the lift down to the parking area and after introducing her to Tim he invited her along for a few beers. Tim was instantly suspicious,he was thinking that Tony was setting him up with a date with Anne,as there was no other reason for his interest in the plain-looking woman. Tim stayed confused during the evening as nothing suspicious happened and it seemed as if Tony really enjoyed the other woman's company.
Tim had to agree that she was a kind person ,had a brilliant mind and was very easy to talk to and by the end of the evening has was looking forward to see her again,but Tony never set him up with a date with her,he almost got the idea that Tony was interested in her himself,but quickly dismissed the idea as she obviously wasn't Tony's type. Tony really enjoyed the relaxed evening,he and Anne bantered back and forward and by the end of the evening his stomach muscles was hurting from how much he laughed.
Tim looked at his partner when they were alone,Anne went to the ladies room,"Do you think she will go on a date with me Tony?"
Tony was shell-shocked his mind was instantly proclaiming that Anne was his and Tim had no reason to ask her out,but then he remembered that she wasn't his type and if a decent guy like his partner wanted to ask her out,he had no right to stop it."Sure,I think she would like it."
Tim did see the hesitation,but didn't know what the reason was ,maybe it was because Tony was protective of his friend? His suspicion was confirmed when Tony said,"If you break her heart you have to answer to me Tim,she is a nice girl."
"Of course Tony,I won't hurt her."
The evening lost its sparkle and soon they went home,Tony insisted to drive behind Anne to see that she got home safely. Tim was looking forward to the date he asked Anne on the next day,they were going to take Jethro to the park and have a picnic. Anne was disappointed that Tony wasn't the one to ask her on a date,but reminded herself that he was out of her league ,she accepted Tim's invitation as she really liked the gentle,well-mannered man,but next to Tony he paled in comparison.
Their evening full of laughter together didn't go unnoticed as Dan Williams watched his shy colleague enjoying her evening with the two agents,he didn't like it one bit,they had no right to poach on his grounds. He asked the plain-looking girl out once or twice,but she refused,he liked to go for the less attractive girls,because it was so much easier to score with them sexually. He suspected Anne was still a virgin and there was nothing more enjoyable to him ,than deflowering a virgin,to be the only one who ever had her in that way. He was a very attractive male and Anne should be flattered that he was interested in her.
Anne was lying in her bed still on a high from enjoying her evening with two attractive males,she wished her family could have seen her,and although she was disappointed on how the evening ended she was also elated,it was the first time Tony asked her to accompany him in public,maybe he wasn't so ashamed to be seen with her,although Tim did serve as a buffer. She was happy for the first time in her life,there was nothing as good as a confidence booster as to be asked out by an attractive male. It was starting to happen more often,as her boss Dan also asked her out on a date,but something warned her not to accept his invitation,sometimes she gets a creepy feeling when she is near him,as if he undresses her with his eyes. She stopped the unpleasant thoughts and went back to dreaming about the sexy,very special agent Anthony DiNozzo.