Wild Winds of Fortune
Three days went by, and Tim didn't catch so much as a glimpse of her, there had been no call; as he'd suspected she wasn't interested in him, and who could blame her? With her looks, her charm she could have her pick of every man who met her, and maybe she'd already made her choice, the man he'd seen in the hallway that first night, he was older that her, but age was no barrier to love.
He tried to put her out of his mind, to resign himself to the fact that she was unattainable; his attempts to get on with his everyday routines weren't always successful. Tony seemed to have made it his personal mission to extract every tiny morsel of information he could about what he termed 'Tim's mystery neighbour.'
"Tony, for the last time, there's no mystery, she's a private person who keeps to herself, I don't have a problem with that."
"Then how come you've been looking even more hangdog than usual? Don't think we don't notice these things; reading people is what we do round here…least some of us do,"
"Gee thanks Tony." Gibbs stepped out of the elevator and Tim gratefully made use of the interruption. "Hey Boss, nothing doing on Botha's bank records, got a few possible leads from his phone logs. These names crop up a lot."
"Show me."
Tim clicked his remote and four pictures appeared on the screen, Gibbs glanced over at Tony and Ziva.
"You two take Banks and Finch; Tim we'll go talk with Madson and Keown."
"On it Boss."
It was with a sense of relief that Tim followed Gibbs out to the sedan, conducting interviews with Gibbs not only kept him away from Tony, but he had found that the busier he was the less likely he was to think about Elowen…
Tim was debating whether to call for Chinese, or use the last of the salad in his refrigerator when there was a soft knock on the door. He wasn't expecting anyone tonight, but when did that ever stop Tony, although the knock certainly didn't sound like his team mate. He opened the door and was greeted by the vision that had filled his mind every spare moment since Sunday evening.
"E…Elowen, did you need something?"
"I thank you, no. I have all I require; however…if you still wish to have coffee, I shall be free on…Saturday, that is correct, Saturday."
Tim didn't even try to stop the smile that he knew must make him look like a dork. She hadn't forgotten…"I…yes, that would be great. There's an excellent coffee shop not far from here, unless you have anywhere in mind."
She shook her head slightly. "I am new to this…this city; I will be guided by you."
"Okay, how about 10.30 Saturday? I'll call for you, and we can walk there together."
"That would be most kind, thank you Timothy; I shall see you on Saturday. I wish you goodnight."
She went back to her apartment and Tim was left standing in his doorway, mouth open, eyes shining…he hadn't dreamt that had he? She'd really asked him for coffee…he finally turned and headed back inside; giving himself one important piece of advice, do not mention this to Tony!
"This is a scone? It is very appetising; blueberries are such a sweet fruit, one of nature's finest gifts…You are very quiet Timothy McGee, am I talking too much?"
"No! No Elowen, I love to hear you talk, your voice is like music…ouch, did I say that out loud?"
She laughed. "You did, and I thank you for the compliment."
Tim took another sip of his coffee in a vain attempt to hide his embarrassment. "You can call me Tim, most people do."
Elowen put down her scone and considered the man who was sitting across the table, then she shook her head. "I think I will continue to call you Timothy; names have a great importance you know, and yours…it is special, as I think you are."
Tim could feel the heat rising in his face…blushing was an adolescent habit he'd never been able to break. "Your name…Elowen, I looked it up online, it's Cornish isn't it?"
"Cornish? There are similarities that is true…and what did you find…online?"
"Nothing much, it said Elowen was Cornish for elm, like the tree you know."
"Indeed I do…my full name, it is Elowen Gwedhan..."
She was quiet for a few minutes and Tim started to worry that he'd overstepped some mark he didn't know about.
"I…Elowen, I didn't mean to pry, you have such a beautiful name, I was curious to see if there was a meaning."
"There is always a meaning…always…Excuse me, I must use the…restroom."
Tim gave himself a mental head slap; he'd gone too far, telling her about his internet searching; would she think he'd been prying into her background too? He'd been tempted, it would have easy, but it would also have been wrong. He tried to sit still, nervously watching the restroom door, hoping she would come back and not just walk out on him, if she did, come back, he'd do better, stick to generalities, and try really hard not to put his foot in it again.
Elowen splashed cold water on her face and tried to regain her composure. She must learn to have more control, it was the talk of names…how could he know the importance of the naming rites, or that one name could strike fear in her heart? Even in this place that was so far removed from…no, she must not think of it, therein lay heartbreak. She would go back to Timothy, and she would banish from her mind all dark thoughts, she grimaced a little at her reflection in the mirror; annoyed at her own lack of control and then she smiled as she turned to go back to their table, in truth it was not difficult to smile when she was with him.
"Look at him Ziva, I told you it was a matter of time; he's gone all Heston on us again, admit it Tim, you had sex didn't you?"
"No!" Tim took a deep, calming breath. "No Tony, look I know you won't understand this, but…I…this time I don't want to rush things, okay?"
"Spoken like a true gentleman McGee. Not everyone has to have sex on the first date Tony."
Tony and Ziva started arguing about when was the best time to broach the subject of sex and Tim started typing, he had no idea what; it just made him look busy and with a little luck they'd forget he was even here. He'd made the mistake of telling them he'd taken Elowen to dinner Tuesday night, and since then he knew Tony was waiting for signs that Tim had taken the relationship to a 'new level'. Tim knew exactly what Tony meant by that, but spending time with Elowen, it already felt like nothing he'd ever experienced before. They hadn't even kissed, not a real kiss, but every time he took her hand or kissed her cheek it felt…almost overwhelming. He was just hoping to get through the rest of the day without a case because the team wasn't on call this weekend, and he had plans for tomorrow.
The weather had been set fair for a few days and there was the promise of more sunshine ahead for the last weekend in April and he wanted to take Elowen outside for a change of scene. Tim had noticed that Elowen seemed a little pale; she'd assured him she wasn't sick, but he wasn't so sure.
"How about we spend a few hours taking in some fresh air? If the sun's shining on Saturday, we could take a picnic to Greenbelt Park…walk one of the trails."
He saw a shadow cross her face. "That would be wonderful, but…" She glanced down, torn between doing what her father would wish, and doing what her heart desired; she made her decision, looked up at him and smiled. "Yes Timothy, I would love to share a picnic with you."
"Timothy, this is beautiful; I had never thought to see such a place so close to the city."
The day had passed in a blur to Tim, he'd been walking on air since the minute they got out of the car and started walking through the trees. Elowen looked beyond beautiful; she was almost glowing as they made their way through the wooded parkland. Tim had barely noticed the scenery as they walked, he was happy to simply be by her side; he felt contentment such as he had never known before.
She knew so much about the trees and plants and would run from one to the other as she discovered a new delight. Her joy was so infectious that Tim was almost laughing as he followed her along the woodland trail.
"Timothy, you do not know how much this day has meant to me, to be among such wonders."
Their picnic lunch had been eaten hours ago and reluctantly Tim started to guide Elowen toward the parking lot.
"We could come again, any time I don't have work, if you like..."
"Like? Oh Timothy, it would make me so happy." She turned to him with a smile that made him feel like the luckiest man in existence.
He held her close and leaned in to kiss her, but he was almost blown off his feet by a sudden ferocious gust of wind that came out of nowhere. Elowen threw her arms around him, and he was surprised to see a look of terror in her eyes.
"Elowen?"
She had no breath to answer as the wind buffeted them and roared through the trees. It took all of Tim's strength to hold on to her, but he was determined not to let her go.
"Hold on to me! We're almost at the parking lot."
They started to run as the wind carried in black storm clouds that sent ice cold rain cascading to the ground.
"Timothy..." Her voice was timorous and fearful; she seemed to have lost all the lustre that the day had given to her. "Timothy, I must…I must get away from here, we must hurry, please."
"We're here, quick, get inside." Tim held the door open for her, and almost had it blown from his grasp; he helped Elowen into the car and draped the picnic blanket round her shoulders. She sat silent and shivering as he started to drive home as fast as he was able; he put on the heater full blast, hoping to still the chattering of her teeth.
"We'll be home soon; you can get into some dry clothes."
She stared out of the window at the driving rain and found her voice at last. "Hurry, I must get inside…"
As soon as he pulled up outside the apartment building two men hurried to the car; one Tim recognised, the other was a stranger to him.
"My lady, you must come inside, they draw close."
Elowen cast a longing look at Tim, but followed them inside.
"My lady…Elowen, what did he mean?" But she was gone.
Out of habit Tim parked the car and it was only as he was walking up the steps back into the building that he noticed the sky...cloudless and blue, the wind was gone too...
Something was very wrong here, and one way or another, even if it meant digging deep into her background Tim was going to learn more about Elowen Gwedhan; to find out why she had been so terrified by the wind and rain, and whatever it took, he was going to help her.
