Protection Detail
"Are you sure we should be doing this," Ziva whispered with a furtive glance over her shoulder.
The corridor was deserted and ominously silent. Not uncommon for 5 am on a Monday morning.
"Trust me," Tony assured her as he fiddled the lock pick. "You haven't lived until you've caught 'the McGee' unaware in his natural environment."
"But Gibbs said, 0800," Ziva rasped hoarsely.
Tony turned to her, a grin spreading across his face. Still crouching, he placed his face and hands against the door's surface and crept forward slowly, swinging the door silently ahead of him. He stopped as he came face to face with a belt buckle.
"Good morning," McGee said congenially.
"Good morning, McGee," Ziva smiled.
Tony straightened, meeting McGee nose to nose. "You're up early, Probie" he noted with regret.
A humorless smiled graced McGee's face momentarily then withdrew. "I didn't get all the good grades by NOT learning from my mistakes." He picked up the backpack that lay at his feet. "Let's go."
Tony didn't give way. "Ohh, he's hiding something," he enthused. "What is it McGee? Newer computer? Older typewriter?" He swerved his head each side of McGee trying to get a look inside.
McGee sighed and took a half step backwards, allowing Tony to scan the main room of his apartment without actually gaining access. It was spotless.
"Happy?"
"What about breakfast? I've got this craving for dinosaur cereal."
"Out," McGee ordered using his body to force Tony out the door and closing it firmly behind them.
A body stirred in McGee's bed at the sound of the door closing. A red haired woman opened her eyes and once again gave thanks for Timothy McGee's existence. She smiled as she saw the glass of water and dry crackers he had left on the bedside table. The note beside them said he had an early morning mandatory course: typical. She plucked a biscuit of the plate and munched it carefully, sipping some water to moisten her mouth. Sometimes it helped stave off the morning sickness….but not today. She groaned, heaved herself out of bed and hobbled off to the bathroom.