Marnie
by channelD
written for: The NFA McGee/OC challenge. The aim of the challenge was to create an OC for Tim, and have them go on at least one date.
rating: K plus
genre: action/adventure, a little whimsy
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disclaimer: As usual, I still own nothing of NCIS.
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Part I
"Marnie," Tim said, approaching her desk, "I can't hold it back anymore. I have to tell you…"
"Yes, Tim?" she said, her heart pounding.
"You're…"
"Yes, Tim?" she started to say, or at least she thought she did, but he covered her lips with his, in a magnificently warm, passionate kiss. They—
"Marnie! Earth to Marnie!"
"Um, yes, sir?" New Intel analyst Marnie Henchoz snapped out of her daydream and faced her boss. It wouldn't do to irritate him, in only her first week on the job.
"Have you finished with that data stream yet?" Intel Ops Supervisor Joel Lefebvre asked her.
There was no malice, or reprimand, in his voice. He was a kind man, she had determined, who believed that treating his people with affection was the best way to get good results. She liked that in him. If only he weren't 20+ years older than her and (evidently happily) married… "Yes, sir. I was just about to email you the results."
"Good work," he smiled. "Now, here's what I need to have you do next…"
About two-thirds of her brain listened, while the other third kept an eye out for who was in the squad room. Not Tim McGee, sadly; he and his team were still out somewhere. Probably out in some field, which would be all muddy, due to recent rains, and he'd come back all muddy, and maybe, like two days ago, he'd be so muddy that he'd have to take off his muddy shirt here in the squad room, and—
"Marnie! Did you get all that?"
"Yes, sir. I'll have it done by 4 o'clock."
"Good. That's what I like to hear." Lefebvre gave her a smile, and left.
Marnie sighed, and tried to push away thoughts of a shirtless Tim McGee so she could get back to work.
- - - - -
"Don't you dare," Tim said menacingly, as Tony wiped a handful of mud off his own jacket and looked Tim's way. All of the Mid-Atlantic states were sodden after day upon day of rain. This one time, Tim had managed to stay clean while Tony had gone flat on his back in a puddle, taking Ziva down with him. Tim knew Tony too well, and knew Tony would take any chance to break Tim's clean state, even if it meant throwing mud at him.
"Both of you are riding in the back of the van," Gibbs ordered Tony and Ziva. "The maintenance crew has complained about our frequently muddy seats. I'm tired of arguing back."
Tim stifled a smile as Ziva squawked and Tony made a face. Once they were all in and Gibbs started the van up, Tony banged on the sliding window. "Hey! Good thing you kept clean, Probie," Tony said when Tim opened it. "We'll be back before your girlfriend gets off work, and you wouldn't want her to—"
"She's not my girlfriend!" Tim said hotly, and slammed the window shut. He ignored the mildly reproachful look Gibbs gave him, and settled down to fume all the way back to the Navy Yard.
- - - - -
Of course Tony had picked up on the new woman's attraction to Tim from her first day on the job. Yes, Tim was between girlfriends at the moment. But Marnie Henchoz??
While she had brains, and seemed nice enough (unlike the gorgeous airheads Tim usually latched onto), the poor girl was one of the homeliest of all of God's creatures. Her short, dishwater blond hair was a mixture of curls and frizz. She had enough freckles to outfit 20 people, a nose a little too large and slightly crooked, and eyes a peculiar bright teal color. And her ears…oh, she should have long hair to cover those elephant ears.
Tony had received two Gibbs slaps for that remark; one on each ear. Tim had winced. What Tony had said was cruel, and this bothered Tim's sense of decency. But, he didn't want to get too sympathetic toward Marnie, either. He had done nothing, he was sure, to encourage her attentions. She was, indeed, ugly, and there were much more beautiful girls in the world engaging his interest. He would keep his eyes averted, ignore her whenever possible, and pray that she'd soon set her sights elsewhere.
- - - - -
"You two are terrible," Ziva scolded, from the sliding window, once Tim had reopened it at her tap. "Making fun of that poor girl."
"I'm not making fun of anyone!" Tim protested. "I'd just rather stay…far away from her."
"Man, if I had your money, McGee, I'd do a charitable thing and send that gal to beauty makeover camp," Tony sighed with a smile. "Imagine, her not knowing how she looks!"
Ziva's look was frigid. "She knows. She is neatly dressed every day, showing she sees herself in a mirror. Obviously she has learned to live with her looks. I find that a very mature response. You should look that up in a dictionary, Tony. Mature. I guarantee you, your picture is not under that word." She punched Tony in the shoulder and retreated to the back of the van.
"Wow," said Tim.
Tony shook his head. "Forget what she said. Chicks stick together."
Tim was suddenly seized by a terrible thought. "What if she asks me out?? What'll I say??"
"Say you have to wash your hair that evening?"
"What if she offers to help??"
"Okay; now you're spooking even me. She's not going to ask you out, though she may wait until the end of her days for you to ask her out."
"Knock it off; both of you," growled Gibbs at the wheel.
There was silence for a few minutes, and then Tim turned back to Tony at the sliding window. "Not going to happen!"
Tony grinned knowingly. "Then as long as you stay out of her way, you shouldn't have a problem."
"Yeah…maybe I'm worrying over nothing."
- - - - -
"Tim! There you are!" Marnie said breathlessly when the team returned to NCIS. "You're…clean," she said in what sounded like shock and disappointment.
"For once," he said. "Excuse me." He headed for his desk.
But she ran after him. "I need to ask you something," she said. "Will you go with me to the Coast Guard Ball?"
Tim was so surprised he almost fell over. "Uh…er…uh, sorry; I think I have something on that evening. Sorry." Blushing, he turned away. Could she tell that he was lying?
- - - - -
"McGee," said Director Shepard, pointedly, later that afternoon, having summoned him to her office. "I have an assignment for you. The Coast Guard Ball, Saturday night. Protection Detail."
Tim shrugged, mildly surprised at the coincidence. "Yes, ma'am. Who am I protecting?"
"One of our own people. Marnolla Henchoz, new to Intel. Have you met her?"
"What??" His eyes were wide as wall clocks, and he dropped the cold water bottle she'd just given him. "Director, that woman is stalking me!"
"Nonsense. I've noticed she seems to have a schoolgirl-type crush on you, nothing more. But she did ask for you."
"Why are we protecting her?" he asked.
"She works with the Coast Guard, and has Coast Guard connections in her family. She was witness to a double murder and has received a death threat. The Coast Guard asked us to find her a job here, where she'd be relatively safe. In an event like the Ball, she would be a natural target. We'll have a couple other agents in plain clothes there, but you, as her 'date', will be her primary protection."
Tim swallowed. "Okay, ma'am."
Jenny smiled, appreciating his willingness to do his duty despite his personal feelings. "You don't even have to pick her up or take her home. She has a 24-hour guard who will deliver her to the ball and pick her up there."
- - - - -
And so before he knew it, it was Saturday, and Tim was at the Coast Guard ball, turned out in his tux. To her credit, Marnie wore a beautiful gown, the color of which she described as "sea mist green." Of course her hair was still awry and her nose too large and crooked, and all the other flaws were still there…but the gown would make a fence post look nice. Tonight, with Tim, Marnie seemed more demure and composed, as if she were in her element here at the ball. Considering the large Coast Guard contingent in her family, she probably was.
It was easier to talk to her tonight, when it didn't seem like she was desperate to stay in his field of vision. They sat at a small table drinking punch. "Nice place," Tim remarked, looking around the ballroom.
"The decorations are beautiful," Marnie remarked, and then said with just a touch of innocence, "I thought you had something on tonight?"
He was prepared. "I was going to go visit someone, but the Director asked me to come here tonight, so I rescheduled it. I'm always glad for the opportunity to earn comp time." It was more-or-less true; he and his sister Sarah had loosely talked about getting together for dinner.
"I can understand that. I'm back to being new-kid-on-the-block, at the lowest leave accrual level."
"So, your family's big on the Coast Guard?" Tim asked.
She smiled a little. "Yes; we've always lived along the coast. Mostly from Virginia on south. We just love being on the water."
"Very fishlike. Or froglike," Tim joked, then became alarmed at the sudden flash of worry on her face. "I'm sorry; I didn't mean—"
Marnie laughed, tightly. "Sorry for what? That was funny. I should apologize; my mind wandered, and…Would you like to dance? Just once?"
He frowned. "Okay, but I warn you; I'm not much of a dancer."
"I think you would do fine," she said, rising, and taking his offered hand. "Just let your mind and heart…float…"
One two three, one two three…
She was right…they glided across the floor, and she seemed ridiculously light in his arms, as if she weighed nothing at all. This is really very nice, Tim thought. Even her face didn't seem as…ghastly as it had before.
One dance lead to another, and another, and another. Then Tim steered them, both dancing, out onto the dimly-lit balcony, out in the good, cooler air, where the rain had finally stopped and the moon muscled its way through the few remaining clouds.
"Whoa! It was getting warm in there!" Tim said. "Would you like some more punch?"
"Yes, please, Tim," she said, her face only a shadow here in the dark.
He returned quickly with glasses of punch, which proved to be just the thing. "It's so lovely out here," she murmured.
"Yes…lovely…" he echoed, wondering why he hadn't noticed until now how musical her voice sounded.
"Although I like rain. I grew up…"
"...lovely rain…" He took her face in his hands, and kissed her, softly. He could have sworn he felt a spark when he did so. Something besides the surprised little sound she made. He kissed her again, harder this time, and felt the spark even more strongly. And there was something besides that, something more curious…