NCIS
"Oh, Rhiana, I had a great time! I'll see you at work tomorrow?" Abby asked and hugged Rhiana tightly. Nodding, Rhiana unlatched Abby's arms from around her and smiled.
"Of course I'll be there, Abs. I'll see you later, Ziva. I won't forget that movie challenge, Tony," Rhiana said and waved good-bye to Gibbs. The small groups departed as McGee escorted Rhiana across the street to his car. Being a gentleman again, Tim opened the passenger door for Rhiana and she slid into the seat once more; Tim rushed to the driver's side and got in.
Rhiana smiled at him as he started the car and she rolled the window down; it was a warm night and she needed some air. Buckling her seatbelt, Rhiana rested her elbow on the armrest and held her chin in her hand as she gazed out into Washington, DC. Tim glanced over at Rhiana and slowed down a gear as he neared her house. Noticing the change in pitch from the engine, Rhiana broke from her trance and looked at McGee.
"What's wrong, Tim?" she asked and Tim parked in her driveway; McGee sighed and turned the engine off.
"You had a fun time, right?" he asked and Rhiana laughed lightly, attempting to lighten the mood.
"Of course I did," she said and placed a hand on Tim's arm. "I'm not mad at you that you brought up Ben. It's good to grieve every once in a while," Rhiana said and got Tim to look at her; he still looked slightly sad.
"Are you sure? Because, admit it, it was kind of stupid," McGee said and Rhiana laughed openly this time, sliding to almost sit in the foot well.
"Timothy McGee, you are the funniest person I have ever known," she laughed and continued her giggling fit until she saw Tim chuckle. Composing herself slowly, Rhiana opened the door and looked back into the car at Tim. "Aren't you going to come inside?" she asked and Tim was brought from his trance. Looking at Rhiana, he nodded and got out of the car himself. Shutting the doors and locking the vehicle, McGee escorted Rhiana to the door as she rummaged for her keys.
"Having trouble?" Tim asked and Rhiana grumbled as she finally found her house keys.
"It's just that I have a habit of buying so many keychains, I can never find anything in my purse. I use to have a clip that I'd put my keys on, but that got lost, too," Rhiana explained and unlocked her front door.
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Walking in, Rhiana was greeted by her cat, AJ. "Hey, sweetie," she mumbled as the cat begged for attention as it say upon the table that was beside the door. Sleepily, Rhiana found her way to the kitchen and rummaged for a Dr. Pepper from the fridge. Setting that on the counter, she completely forgot about McGee as she made her way to her room.
Changing into a pair of cotton PJ pants and long sleeved shirt, Rhiana exited to find that Tim had found a comfortable place on her couch; he was browsing through the evening news stations. "Find anything interesting yet?" she asked and heavily sat down beside him.
"Not really," he mumbled and the wear of the day finally started showing; Rhiana felt bad for not letting him go home.
"Tim, I'll understand if you want to go home to sleep. Last I checked, you haven't secretly left any clothes here and you have to live about 20 minutes away. It won't be a problem if you go home," Rhiana said and lightly touched Tim's arm again, drawing his attention towards her.
"No, it's okay Rhiana. I'm just thinking back to a few things."
"Such as…?"
"When we had coffee together, when I gave you that book," Tim said and Rhiana furrowed her brow. Getting up, she walked to a bookshelf and retrieved Deep Six from it. Walking back over to the couch, Rhiana sat down and opened the book to where it had been signed.
"You know, I've never opened it. To read it, I mean," she said and Tim just gawked at her in shock.
"I thought you wanted to read it!" he said and Rhiana just smiled at him, calming his emotions and smoothing out the proverbial 'ruffled feathers' look.
"Tim, honestly, with work and looking after you, I don't have time to even read the first page," she said and laughed gently. Rhiana closed the book and placed on the coffee table in front of her. Rubbing her eyes and stifling a yawn, Rhiana stood once more, remembering that she had a Dr. Pepper sweating cold water onto her countertop.
"Looking after me? I can take care of myself, Rhia," McGee said, unaware he had used a nickname. Rhiana paused to look at him as she leaned against the kitchen counter, resting her chin in her hand, smiling.
"Is my name Rhia now?" she asked and kept smiling as she poured the Dr. Pepper into two glasses; Tim was baffled as to why she would ask that. As she returned, Rhiana sat close to McGee and handed him a cold glass of soda. "You called me Rhia, Tim," she explained.
"Oh, I'm sorry! Do you not like that nickname?" he asked quickly, hoping he had not offended her.
"It's fine, Tim. It's very nice; my brother had more embarrassing nicknames for me." Rhiana took a drink from her glass and set it beside the book on the coffee table. Settling her back against McGee's side, she was comfortable and soon asleep.
Tim wanted to adjust his position because his arm was asleep, but he didn't want to wake Rhiana. Groaning inwardly, Tim pushed on Rhiana's small weight and slid out from under her. Lowering her gently to lay down, Tim quickly found a pillow and then a quilt hanging over the back of the couch. AJ meowed and pounced onto the couch, flicking his tail and watching every move that McGee made.
"Don't worry, I'm leaving soon," Tim assured the cat and gently kissed Rhiana's forehead before grabbing his coat and keys. Closing the front door behind him, McGee locked it with the key Rhiana had given him and then headed for his car. "She's probably going to kill me for leaving, but she's right, I don't have any clothes stashed away," he mumbled when he felt a sudden pain course through his entire body.
