Sitting at the bar all alone wasn't her idea of a great night. The music pulsed and thrummed around her, as did the bodies on the dance floor. The glass she had been sipping from most of the night shook with the vibrations of the club. The flashing strobe lights was beginning to give her a headache and she wanted nothing more than to be out of there, off of that uncomfortable metal stool at the bar, and in her soft bed in the dorm.

"'It'll be a good time', Candy said," Sarah McGee muttered into her glass as she sipped the rest of her beverage down, "'You'll have a blast because it's healthy to get away from schoolwork sometimes', she told me."

Why had she taken up her best friend's offer to go clubbing? Probably just because Candy was her best friend. Though she was beginning to rethink that reasoning. Having glanced behind her several minutes ago, she had spotted Candy in the back making out with her boyfriend. Couldn't she just have done that somewhere on campus instead of dragging Sarah out somewhere when needed to be studying for her English final?

"Do you always talk to your drink when you're not having a good time?" asked a new voice.

Sarah looked up from her glass quickly, mildly startled, and studied the newcomer. He was a handsome man, tall with dark wavy hair and piercing brown eyes. His attire wasn't fitting for a college student, seeing as he was wearing a suit. This was a college hangout so Sarah raised an eyebrow at his slick suit and polished shoes. Everyone else was wearing short dresses or jeans so he stuck out like a sore thumb. Yet, nobody had really looked him over. It was as if their eyes passed over him and moved on when looking in his direction. None lingered at his sight.

"Ah, no," Sarah confessed as she blushed a rosy pink, "It's just that my best friend dragged me out of my dorm tonight and promptly ditched me here at the bar."

The man's eyes scanned the room before coming back to gaze at Sarah casually as she set down her glass, "I take it that she's the blond in the back, red shirt, boy's tongue down her throat?"

Sarah chuckled, turning in her seat toward him, "Yeah, that would be her and her boyfriend."

"Shame on her for leaving you here to fend for yourself," he smiled, showing off his gleaming white teeth, "How about we go somewhere else and have a little fun?"

Sarah hesitated for a moment. She really needed to get back to the dorm to study for her final…and there was so much that she needed to take care of…

As if he could read her mind, the man smirked as he looked her over, "You're going to waste all of that preparation?" Sarah glanced down at her green dress and heels before smiling back up at him, "That would be silly, wouldn't it?"

"Very."

"Alright, so where do you suppose we go?" Sarah raised her eyebrows at him curiously.

"I know a place that has some real entertainment, Miss…?"

"Sarah," she stood up, flashing him a grin, "Sarah McGee."

"Nice to meet you, Miss McGee," he offered her his arm in one sweeping gesture, "My name is Ryan Griffin."


Well, that's strange, thought Timothy McGee as he stared at his phone in confusion. He set it down on his desk before frowning even deeper than he already was. His sister, Sarah, had missed her weekly call for the first time. Keeping in touch regularly was important to the McGee siblings and Sarah had even worked out a schedule with him to where they could be on the phone without any interruptions at least once a week. Tim had been intent on telling her that they had to postpone their usual talk session until later, after he realized what time it was and he was still at the office. He had checked his phone, realizing there were no missed calls meaning Sarah hadn't called him. That was odd in itself, but when Tim had called her and she didn't pick up, he had felt a twinge of worry. Sarah always had her phone on and always answered. So instead of talking to her directly, he left a voicemail.

"Uh, hey sis, it's Tim. I just wanted to call and tell you that I'm working a case and will be in the office for most of the night so we'll have to postpone our usual Thursday night plan. Okay? Well, I have to go so…text me when you get this message, okay? Love you."

Having set his phone on his desk, Tim felt eyes scrutinizing him. He glanced around and his gaze landed on Tony, who was closely watching him, "What, Tony?" he ventured to ask.

"Nothing, McGee, I was just thinking about Sarah," shrugged Tony, giving the younger agent a sly look as he went back to his computer screen.

"Better get my sister out of your head, DiNozzo, I know what kind of things live up there," Tim shot him a dark look even though Tony didn't see it.

"Oh yeah, Probie? What do you think lives up there?" challenged Tony with rapt interest, "C'mon, tell me. Be honest."

"How about you be honest and tell me what you got on where our missing Marine is being held, DiNozzo," Gibbs answered as he rounded the entrance to the bullpen and headed for his desk. Any retort to Tony that Tim was going to say was lost as he went back to staring at his computer screen.

Tony began to rattle off what he had found before he had been enraptured in Tim's personal life. Tim listened on autopilot as he worked and thought about his little sister.

She's probably knee-deep in whatever paper she's working on. You know her, once she gets started on something she'll tune everything else out 'til she gets finished,Tim reassured himself, tapping his pen absentmindedly on the desk beside the phone that was staring up at him. Just let her be, everything is fine. If there was something wrong, you'd know it. Just keep it calm, Tim. She's an adult now, she knows what to do if she's in trouble. Besides, she can take care of herself.

His mental reassurances didn't make him feel any better. Something was stirring up and he could feel it in his proverbial gut. Maybe Gibbs was rubbing off on him or something, he supposed. Or maybe he was trusting his instincts more now, as Tony and Gibbs had taught him. Ziva always said that instincts are instrumental in staying alive. Even Kate had told him that instincts can come in handy.

Tim sighed and nearly threw down his pen as he began to type furiously on his keyboard. All he knew was that some sort of storm was upon them and it would hit soon. It definitely wasn't a good feeling and his stomach began to literally churn as he pushed those thoughts to the back of his mind. If something did happen, he'd take care of it as he always did. He could handle anything that was thrown at him because he wasn't a green little Probie anymore, he was a seasoned agent.

At that moment, rain began to pound on the windows of the NCIS building.


"You're something else, Sarah," Ryan smiled down at her from under the umbrella, "How did you know it was going to rain?"

"My personal motto is 'always be prepared,'" Sarah smiled back, pulling her coat closer around her, "and…I watched the weather this morning." She laughed and he responded the same. From the first club, Ryan had taken her to another club a few blocks to the east where they listened to jazz and chatted about music and dance over cappuccinos.

Tim had gotten her into jazz at an early age. Sarah could remember when she was a little girl, Tim playing old records and teaching her to dance to it. That teaching had come into use when she and Ryan hit the dance floor.

Now they were standing outside the external door to the dorms under an umbrella in the pouring rain. The icy December wind blew around them, chilling Sarah's bare legs. The rain was freezing and her hair had gotten wet in the rush to get out the umbrella from her bag. They had walked from the club central back to the campus, giggling and splashing through puddles. Sarah clutched the umbrella and smiled up at Ryan in the light from the lamp that was attached to the wall beside the door. It cast a soft glow on them and Sarah was certain that her companion could see her blush, "I had a good time," Ryan spoke first, "More fun than I've had in a while."

Sarah nodded slowly, "So did I."

Ryan hesitated, "I suppose I should be going…Goodnight, Sarah." He leaned down and gave her a peck on the cheek.

Sarah felt her face grow hot as his lips retreated from her soft skin, "Goodnight, Ryan."

He turned away and then back to her, pulling out a piece of paper from his wallet and scribbling down something with a pen, "Here's my number. Let's talk sometime."

"Sure," Sarah nodded again, accepting the slip of paper to his satisfaction, and watched him walk away out into the rain once more.