Authors Note: I don't own NCIS; if I did it would be a very different show! I also don't own the lyrics used herein; credit there goes to Good Charlotte & the song is Victims of Love, funnily enough.

IN THE BEGINNING
I TRIED TO WARN YOU
YOU PLAY WITH FIRE
IT'S GONNA BURN YOU

I: I Tried to Warn You

Special Agent Lily Harris had only worked for NCIS for a couple of months but she'd already fallen in love - both with the job and with somebody on the job.

The job was everything she'd wanted - solving the murders and catching the bad guys: it made her feel like she was finally giving something back. Not to mention the familial structure of the team made her feel wanted.

The team was the best part of the job, really: Tony DiNozzo, the womanizing yet lovable ex-cop; Ziva David, the beautiful and somewhat terrifying Israeli; Timothy McGee, the dorky novelist with a passion for all things technological; and of course, the boss, Leroy Jethro Gibbs, who, despite being far too old for her, was absolutely and completely drop dead gorgeous.

'Good morning, Lily,' McGee called as she entered the bullpen one chilly November morning.

'Morning McGee,' Lily replied. 'Had a good weekend?'

McGee's reply was interrupted by Tony's loud voice as he and Ziva exited the elevators.

'I'm telling you, Ziva, I did!'

'Tony, I refuse to believe you had sex with this woman. She is far too pretty for you,' Ziva teased.

Lily raised an eyebrow in McGee's direction. These two would never stop bickering.

'You're just jealous,' Tony said, stubbornly.

'Why should I be jealous?' Ziva asked. 'I am not that interested in women. And even so, she is not my type.'

Tony spluttered.

'You're jealous because I got laid last night and you-' He fell silent when Gibbs slapped him round the back of the head.

'That's enough about your sex life, DiNozzo,' Gibbs said, otherwise ignoring the team and heading straight for his desk.

'Won't happen again, boss,' Tony said.

'You say that every time,' Lily put in.

'Grab your gear,' Gibbs ordered, reaching into his desk drawer for his gun. 'We've got a dead Petty Officer and his daughter's missing.'

The case itself seemed fairly straightforward; a neighbour had witnessed a dark blue SUV pull up shortly before Petty Officer Morgan's estimated time of death and had seen the little girl get pushed in the back after. He'd even managed to write down the license plate number and could give a fairly good description of the assailants.

-x-x-

By mid-afternoon, Gibbs, McGee and Lily had returned to NCIS, having left Ziva and Tony at the crime scene to finish up.

'McGee, get a BOLO out on that SUV and trace the plate,' Gibbs barked.

'On it, boss,' McGee said, hurrying to his computer.

'Harris, you're with me.' Gibbs' tone was softer when he addressed Lily, as it often was, and she could see something in his eyes when he looked at her. She just didn't know what it was and she didn't want to jump the gun and assume her feelings were reciprocated. It would be far too embarrassing if they weren't and she'd probably be put on another team anyway.

'Okay, sir,' Lily nodded, following him to the elevator.

Gibbs passed her the box of evidence he was holding and hit the button for Abby's lab. When the doors opened again, he turned to her.

'Give that to Abby and then meet me in Autopsy, okay?'

Lily nodded.

'Will do, sir.' She turned to leave the elevator but he called her back.

'Lily,' he said, 'don't keep calling me sir.'

He reached out and stroked his fingertips down the side of her face, pushing a few stray hairs back, and cupped her chin gently. Then he leaned down and pressed his lips to her forehead.

'It makes me feel old,' he said.

'Sorry, Gibbs,' Lily said, too shocked by the kiss to say much else.

'Don't apologize,' Gibbs smiled. 'See you in Autopsy.'

'Yeah…' Lily stepped back out of the elevator. Gibbs watched her, still smiling, as the doors slid closed as blocked the girl from view.

Damn, she's hot! He couldn't help the thought.

'Don't be stupid, Jethro,' he said aloud as the elevator doors opened again. 'She's far too young for you.'

He was still shaking his head when he stepped into Autopsy.

'Not talking about the lovely Agent Harris, are we, Jethro?' Ducky asked.

'What've you got, Duck?' Gibbs asked, ignoring the question.

Ducky raised an eyebrow and gave Gibbs a questioning look, but continued nonetheless.

'Cause of death would appear to be the single bullet wound to the chest, and as it would appear to have passed directly through the heart, I'd say it killed him instantly.'

'Would appear to be? I need more than that, Ducky.'

'Then you'll have to wait, Jethro. I can't tell for sure until I open him up.'

-x-x-

Lily stood by the elevator for a moment, evidence in hand, pondering the best course of action. What did the kiss mean? Did it mean anything at all? It might just have been to the forehead but it had to mean something. Right?

Then again, Gibbs kissed Abby's cheeks all the time, and there wasn't anything going on there - was there? She'd have to talk to Abby. That would be a fun conversation; 'hey Abby, I think I'm in love with our boss. You're not fucking him or anything, are you?'

Yeah, Lily could tell that would go well. Abby would think she was crazy.

With a sigh, Lily turned and headed into the lab.

'Hey, Abbs,' she called over the thumping music Abby liked to listen to. 'Abby!'

Abby turned abruptly, her jet-black pigtails bouncing.

'Oh, hey Lily.' Luckily, Abby had taken an immediate liking to Lily, who was relieved considering the stories she'd heard from Ziva, whom Abby had originally hated.

'I come with evidence,' Lily said, passing the box to Abby. Abby scrawled a signature on the chain of custody form and immediately delved into the box.

'Is this from the case with the missing little girl?' Abby asked.

''Fraid so,' Lily replied.

'I hope we can find her.' Abby looked sad. She hated child-kidnappers especially.

'I'm sure we will,' Lily reassured her. She hesitated for a moment and then decided it would be best to talk to Abby about the whole Gibbs situation.

'Abbs? Can I talk to you about something?'

'Sure,' Abby replied, looking up from the baggies of evidence. 'What's on your mind?'

'It's about Gibbs.' Lily paused again.

'Gibbs?' Abby frowned, but her eyes widened in shock when she caught the look on Lily's face. 'You like him?'

'Yeah,' Lily admitted. 'A lot.'

'How much is 'a lot'?'

'I mean, a lot. Like, every time he looks at me my knees go all wobbly. And just now, in the elevator…' Lily trailed off, her knees weak at just thought.

'What happened in the elevator?' Abby squealed.

'He kissed me-'

'He kissed you?'

'On the forehead.' Lily said. 'I swear I nearly died right there. I'm sure he must have noticed.'

'Maybe if he did that would be a good thing. If he likes you too he's probably in denial. That's what he does. He's probably thinking you're far too young and pretty to want to be with an old-timer like him,' Abby assured her.

'I don't think that at all,' Lily sputtered.

'I know you don't but that's what he's probably thinking.'

'Oh.'

'I'll keep an eye on him for you. I'll get it out of him, don't you worry,' Abbs smiled reassuringly.

'Thanks, Abbs,' Lily said. 'You're a star. Now look, I have to go, he wanted me to meet him in Autopsy straight after giving you this evidence and I've been here far too long.'

'He won't mind. Blame me if he gets mad. Which he won't,' Abby said, enveloping the other girl in a hug. 'Keep me posted, okay?'

'I promise.'

-x-x-

The Autopsy doors hissed open and Gibbs spun round to see Lily stood nervously in the doorway.

'You've been a while,' he said.

'Talking to Abby. Sorry,' Lily apologised.

'Don't apologise,' Gibbs said quietly, catching her skittish gaze in his own.

Lily nodded, her lips shut tight so she wouldn't say 'sorry' again.

'Honestly, Jethro,' Ducky interrupted. 'I haven't got anything else yet, so unless you want to wait here and watch there's nothing much you can do.'

'We'll go, Duck. Keep me posted.' Gibbs turned and headed out to the elevators. Lily turned just as he passed her and he placed a hand gently on her lower back, guiding her.

Ducky raised an eyebrow as he watched to two leave. There was definitely something there; something more than Jethro was willing to share.