She was standing at and leaning over his desk when he came into the room. She wore a simple black dress that accentuated her curves in ways that made his fingers twitch. McGee and Bishop were bickering over something on their way in the door and Gibbs, well, he was sure to be here somewhere.

Clearing his throat, Torres said, "Can I help you?"

He lost his breath when she turned around. A petite brunette with sparkling green eyes and a smile that lit up her face, she was a vision. "Hello, Agent Torres. I'm Monique. I work downstairs. I'm a tech working the polygraph. I hope you don't mind, but I've come to ask you a favor. I hear that you were under cover for a long period. I'd like to have you sit for me – it helps to have people experienced in facades and controlling emotions as guinea pigs, so to speak." She finished the last with an even wider smile.

His tongue was tied. He couldn't get actual words to come out of his mouth. "Uhh-"

"Oh! I forgot. I come bearing gifts to entice you." Her voice was full of life and laughter as she turned around and grabbed a cup from his desk. "It's the best coffee in 10 miles. Once you try it, you'll either rue the day I came into your life or thank the heavens above, depending on how addicted to coffee you are."

She handed him the cup and their fingers touched briefly. He still hadn't managed to get a word out and it was going to become obvious here in a moment.

"Grab your gear. We have a body." All attention was diverted to Gibbs and Torres breathed in slowly. Gibbs to the rescue.

"Agent Gibbs, I wouldn't come empty handed for you, either." With a winning smile, Monique gave Gibbs a cup of coffee, too. Looking back to Torres, she said, "Please think about it? I know you are busy, but you'd be helping so much." With that, she walked to the back of the room. The light from the windows along the wall shone on her hair and it appeared to sparkle.

"Torres. You coming?" Although what he said was a question, Gibbs' tone was more of a statement. Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Torres grabbed his bag and joined the team at the elevator.

He was quiet, moody, as Quinn mentioned, on the way to the scene. His mind was drifting back to those beautiful green eyes and the laughter in her voice. Although he engaged at the site – taking photos and commenting on what he saw – his mind was only half there. He remained that way for several days; involved in the case, but distracted.

It was Thursday night when Gibbs finally walked over to his desk after everyone else had left and said, "So, you going to do something about it?"

He looked up in surprise. "Do something about what?" He asked the question, but he knew what was coming.

"Not every day that someone can rattle you. It didn't take much. Seems like that would be an indication there's something there." Gibbs didn't say exactly who and what they were talking about, but Torres knew and he didn't want to pretend otherwise.

"I've never…" He couldn't finish. He didn't know what to say.

Gibbs smiled and nodded. His mouth turned up in a half smile that made it clear that he'd been there himself. "Well, a reaction like the one you've had doesn't come along very often. If it were me, I'd want to explore what comes next. Think about it." With those words, Gibbs departed for the night.

Torres stared into his computer screen for an hour before he packed up to leave.

On Friday, Torres decided he had to try. At the end of the day, he went downstairs and found her in an office to the right of the stairs. She was facing away from the door, listening to some horrible 80s hair band music. Her hips swayed with the beat. She was in a deep green skirt or dress – he couldn't tell because she also had a light brown leather jacket on. She appeared to be tidying up before leaving for the day. When she turned around, she gave a start, surprised at his presence.

"Oh! You startled me, Agent Torres."

"Nick," he cut in.

"Nick," she said with a smile. "Have you thought about sitting for a polygraph for me? I promise to make it as painless as possible." She beamed at him, but her smile appeared to dim a bit when she looked into his eyes.

The music was one of her favorites, a rock ballad about love with a beat that got her feet tapping and her body moving. It had been a long but pleasant week. She was, however, looking forward to having a nice glass of wine and curling up with a book. When she turned around, Agent Torres was in the doorway, leaning on the jamb with his arms crossed. It gave her a quick start.

Since he must be there to talk about the polygraph, she jumped right in. As she spoke, she looked in his eyes and saw that they were… well, stormy. He appeared to be struggling with something internally. "Nick? Is everything alright?"

His accent could melt chocolate and it tingled down her spine as he started to speak. "I've been trying to decide how to handle this since Monday morning. There are a lot of ways I could go, most of which would mean you'd never know until I was certain of your response. But I don't want to wait. I don't want to pretend to be cool." He took an audible sigh and stepped toward her, away from the door. He was close now, and she could smell his aftershave, or cologne, or him. It reminded her of fresh air on warm summer nights.

"I've been in more life and death situations than I can count." He paused, and with an intensity she'd never heard before, continued: "My heart has never pounded as hard as when you smile at me." She gasped, the look in his eyes was captivating. "Your touch left me breathless. I'll sit for whatever tests you want, for as long as you want. I don't care what they are, as long as it means I get to be near you. You're enchanting."

While he spoke, her hand had come up to her heart, which was beating an impressive staccato. "That is the most romantic thing..." She paused, and asked, "Is it true?"

He took another small step toward her, unflinchingly saying, "Every word."

"I don't know what to say." Now, she was breathless. This strong, beautiful man was speaking to her with such passion underlying his words. It felt surreal.

"Say you'll let me prove to you that I am the right man for you. The only man for you."

The tension holding his body was almost overwhelming. He'd laid it all out there. She was searching his eyes, trying, no doubt, to be sure that he wasn't playing games – to assure herself that this was real. He didn't know what she saw in his eyes, but he felt like sunlight warmed him from within as she broke into a beautiful, wide smile. "Deal."