Just in case these disclaimers actually do something, I don't own any Subzero: Batman and Mr. Freeze (1998, animated) quotes that are possibly used or referred to or implied in this chapter and the next. Warner Bros. does; I just play with them.

My thanks go out to Anne Fairymaker for her sarcastic-but-fond-toward-Abby Gibbs excuse for being late to her dinner party, which is the main focus of this chapter. I decided to update tonight because I am going to be busy tomorrow night and Sunday, so it didn't hurt to update a little earlier than usual. Here is chapter 3. Enjoy.

Chapter 3— Dinner Party and Honesty

"Thank goodness it is finally Friday, huh?" Tony asked, talking to Abby in her forensics lab, a couple hours before the party was to commence on Friday night.

"Yeah, I'm totally stoked for the party tonight," Abby said.

"I wasn't expecting you to still be here, Abby," Tony said. "I figured you'd be out of here, getting ready."

"Oh, everything is already set, Tony," Abby reassured him, smiling. "So, does you asking me about it mean you're coming?"

"Yeah," Tony said. "I recently made up my mind that I am coming. So I just came down to let you know I'll be bringing a guest."

"Oh?" Abby asked, curiously. "Who's coming with you?"

"You'll see," Tony said, smiling mysteriously at her.

Abby cocked an eyebrow at him, her curiosity piqued. "I knew it!" she exclaimed excitedly. "You are seeing someone, aren't you? You've been acting all happy for months." Tony said nothing. "You know," she threatened, "Ziva and McGee told me you made a mysterious phone call from your cell the other day. Need I remind you, I can look at your phone records to see who you've been calling lately?"

Tony rolled his eyes and put on a pout face. "No, come on, Abbs, please," he pleaded with her.

Abby narrowed her eyes stubbornly for a moment. Tony didn't move. Then she relented. "Well, all right," she said, "but you have to promise to tell me everything later."

"I promise," Tony said, smiling. Inwardly, he sighed with relief. He hated hiding Emmy from everyone like this, but he wanted to make sure he revealed her to them just when the time was right. That time was approaching quickly.

"So do you think Tony will bring this secret girl he has been dating?" Ziva asked McGee, as they walked down together to Abby's lab. They knew Tony was down there and they wanted to corner him on his way out, so they could find out who this secret girlfriend was.

"Probably," McGee said. "After what we saw the other night, I can't imagine why not."

A smiling Tony suddenly came walking out of the forensic lab.

"McGee!" Ziva hissed. In a flash, she grabbed McGee by the arm and dragged him around a corner to hide. Tony went past and didn't see them. Ziva snuck up on him again and said, "So, Tony, who is this secret girl you are bringing to the party?"

Tony jumped. "Ziva," he said quickly, his eyes flashing, "when are you gonna quit doing that?"

"Hmm," Ziva said, narrowing her eyes suspiciously at him, "as soon as you tell us who this mystery girl is you are bringing to the party."

"What mystery girl?" Tony lied.

"Well, Tony, it would be really awkward if you brought a guy," McGee teased him.

"What makes you think I'm bringing anyone at all?" Tony asked him.

"You would not have been down to see Abby, if you had not changed your mind, no?" Ziva said shrewdly. "You also would not be avoiding the subject, like you are, if you had decided not to go."

Tony narrowed his eyes suspiciously at her, and she knew she had caught him. He paused for a moment, looking between Ziva and McGee. Then he gave in, rolling his eyes.

"All right, all right, yeah, I'm bringing someone," he said. "You guys will meet her at the party, though. I'm not spoiling the surprise before then. There, ya happy?" He shot them an annoyed look.

Satisfied, Ziva and McGee smiled at each other. They had both gotten what they wanted and heard what they wanted to hear.

"Good," Ziva said, as she and McGee made to leave and go back upstairs to the bullpen. "We will both see you there, then."

Tony laughed sarcastically, a little annoyed that they had gotten to him. "Yeah, you will," he said.

Tony stood at the foot of the stairs at Emmy's apartment, waiting for her to finish getting ready so they could get to Abby's dinner party. She had told him five minutes when he had arrived, but it had been that and more, and he was afraid they were going to be late.

"Come on, Em. If you don't hurry up, I'm going to have to shave again," Tony muttered, getting anxious, as he checked his watch for the third time.

Then he looked up and saw Emmy descending the stairs, dressed in long green gauchos, a white dressy tank top, and sunflower-yellow ballet flats.

"Wow," Tony said, under his breath. Emmy smiled as she met him at the foot of the stairs and they kissed. "You look great."

"Thanks," Emmy said, grinning. "Sorry I took so long. Are you ready to go?"

"Yeah, absolutely," Tony said, smiling, his heart racing. "Are you excited?"

"Yes," Emmy said. "I can't wait to meet your team. Especially Abby, with as much as you talk about her."

"And let's not forget McProbius," Tony said.

"Why do you call him stuff like that?" Emmy asked.

"Well, he is the Probie, always has been and always will be," Tony said. "It just means his position on the team is probationary, and will be until someone else enters his job and he gets McPromoted. He thought he was, when Ziva joined the team, but it turned out she knew her stuff so well, he was still the Probie."

"And the 'McNicknames?" Emmy asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Hey, that's a good one," Tony said, laughing. Emmy gave him a look and he became serious. "His last name is McGee, so I like to mix things up, whether they have 'Mc' in them or not, to give him grief," he explained. "He's never really cared."

Emmy nodded. "Ah," she said.

They got into Tony's 1966 Chevrolet Chevelle SS396 and drove to Abby's apartment. They climbed a few flights of stairs, to her fifth-floor walk-up, and knocked. They could already hear the heavy metal music.

It took Abby all of two seconds to answer the door.

"Tony!" she exclaimed fondly, bounding over to hug Tony.

"Hey, Abby," Tony said, hugging her. She stepped back and allowed him to give her a quick once-over; she was wearing a red sleeveless top with a ruffled V-neckline, a black skirt, black-and-white stockings, and Mary Janes, her hair up in her usual pigtails. "Nice outfit."

"Thanks," Abby said, smiling. "Come in, come in!"

Tony glanced at Emmy and smiled as they walked in. Abby led them over to her living room area, had them sit down in chairs, then brought out the hors d'oeurvres: vegetable-and-meat shish kebabs, fruit salad, and a crackers, cheese, and meat tray; on it, Swiss, jalapeño, and American and cheddar cheese, as well as sliced ham, turkey, and summer sausage.

"Go ahead and help yourself," Abby said. She turned to Emmy. "Hi, I'm Abby."

"Hi, Abby, I'm Emmy," Emmy said, smiling and shaking Abby's hand.

"We've all been very excited to meet you," Abby said.

Emmy nodded. "Likewise; I've been bugging Tony to let me meet you guys, too," she said.

The doorbell rang, and Abby went to answer the door, while Tony helped himself to the crackers, summer sausage, and cheddar cheese. They heard her exclaim happily and the sounds of likely hugs. She came back, accompanied by Ziva, McGee, Jimmy, and Ducky.

"It looks great, Abby," McGee said, commenting on the food and décor.

"Thanks, McGee," Abby said, smiling. "Ziva, McGee, Ducky, Jimmy, this is Emmy."

"Aren't I supposed to be the one giving the introductions, Abby?" Tony asked.

"Well, you hadn't yet, so I did," Abby pointed out.

"Hello, Emmy, I am Ziva," Ziva said, holding out her hand, which Emmy shook.

"I'm Tim," Tim said, also shaking Emmy's hand.

"I'm Doctor Mallard, also known as Ducky," Ducky said, shaking Emmy's hand in turn.

"And I'm Jimmy," Jimmy said, smiling and shaking Emmy's hand last.

Emmy smiled and nodded. "It's nice to finally meet you all," she said.

She turned to Tony.

"But where's—" they began together.

"Great party, Abbs," Gibbs' voice said, from behind them. He had, of course, come in unnoticed and without ringing the doorbell.

Abby whirled around. "Gibbs!" she exclaimed happily, hugging him. She released him and gave him a stern look. "You're late."

"I got delayed. The usual cashier girl wasn't at Stargrounds, so I got stuck waiting on a trainee cashier and my order was all wrong. Eventually, I asked to make it myself, then she got it right," Gibbs said smoothly, smiling at her. As he took a sip from his coffee, Abby didn't smile. She pulled the cup away from his mouth, as he tried to take another sip. "The food looks great. Everything looks great."

Abby did smile then and gave him back his cup. "'Threatened her' is more like it," she said to him. "Go ahead and help yourselves," she added rhetorically. "Penne pasta with Italian sausage and organic, freshly made red sauce with tomatoes is for dinner."

"That sounds wonderful, Abigail," Ducky said.

Abby smiled again.

"So how long have you two been dating?" Ziva asked Emmy, glancing at McGee.

"Since November, so almost five months," Emmy said.

"Ah," Ziva said. "How come we have not met you before now? Tony has never been so hesitant, under normal circumstances."

Emmy glanced at Tony nervously; she wondered what 'normal circumstances' were.

Tony had a look on his face that was just as awkward, as if caught in the act. "Well, now you have met her, so it's all great, right?" Tony asked quickly, frowning at Ziva, as if daring her to argue.

"Right," Ziva said, unconvinced.

Everyone helped themselves to appetizers, then proceeded to have dinner, all sitting in the living room area, where the music was playing. When everyone was finished eating, McGee helped Abby with dishes, then Abby pulled them all out to dance, but Gibbs and Ducky remained behind to talk. It was rather crowded and quickly got warm.

The CD that had been playing since they arrived came to an end and Abby switched it out. "Fever" by Peggy Lee came on, and Tony held out his hand.

"May I have this dance?" he asked, cocking an eyebrow seductively at Emmy.

Emmy smiled, feeling jittery and warm inside. "Sure," she said.

Tony led Emmy into the middle of the living room floor and began to dance with her. Emmy couldn't take her eyes off him. She was waiting to hear the three words she so desired, because she knew it was how she felt about him.

"Never know how much I love you, never know how much you care," Tony sang to her, as the team, including Gibbs, watched them dance and sing. "When you put your arms around me, I get a fever that's so much to bear."

"You give me fever, when you kiss me, fever when you hold me tight," Emmy sang back to him. "Fever in the morning, fever all through the night."

As the song came to an end, they sang together, "But what a lovely way to burn," then came together in a hug, followed by a kiss.

Ziva leaned over and whispered into McGee's ear. "He really does love her," she said, more of a question than a statement in her tone.

McGee nodded, as the music came to an end, and Abby went to put on another song. "Yeah, he must," he said quietly, during the silence between songs. "Haven't seen him like this since Jeanne."

McGee didn't know Emmy overheard this. She acted like she hadn't, though she was confused; who was this 'Jeanne'?

Abby brought out some alcohol and began to bartend at her small island, giving Gibbs bourbon on the rocks, Tony a Rum and Coke, Ducky a Tom and Jerry, and Jimmy, McGee, and herself margaritas.

"What would you like to drink, Emmy?" Abby asked her.

"Oh, just water, please, Abby," Emmy said. "I don't drink."

"OK," Abby said, and she got Emmy a glass of ice water, before putting on "Stolen", by Dashboard Confessional.

Tony and Emmy wrapped their arms around each other and danced in slow circles. Emmy slowly inhaled the scent of his cologne, resting her head on his chest, where she fit just right. She listened to his heart beating and could feel the vibrations from his soft, low singing.

"You have stolen my heart," Tony sang softly in her ear. "You have stolen my heart."

After several moments' pause, Emmy said, "I love you, Tony."

Tony smiled. "I love you, too, Em," he said.

Emmy lifted her head and looked up at him. "You don't have to," she said. "Don't say it if you don't mean it, or if you're scared."

Tony looked down at her seriously. "I do mean it," he said. "I wouldn't say it, if I didn't; and what about you?"

"Neither would I," Emmy agreed, seriously. For a moment, she seemed to be getting upset. "I need some air."

"So do I," Tony said. He grabbed his and her coats and went out onto Abby's back porch with her.

"It's a beautiful night," Emmy said, looking up at the pristine sky.

"Yeah, it is," Tony said. "You know, when I was little, before my mom died, sometimes in the summer, I would camp out in my parents' backyard in a tent and watch the stars until the sun came up the next morning."

Emmy smiled. "That sounds like fun," she said.

Tony smiled. "It was," he said. "One time, our sprinkler system came on at three in the morning and flooded everything. Most things managed to be salved, but it was a mess." He looked at her. "Hey, do you wanna dance some more?"

"Sure," Emmy said.

"OK," Tony said. "It's chilly out here anyway."

Emmy nodded in agreement. "But first, I want to ask you something," she said.

"What?" Tony asked.

"Well, uh, I was wondering..." Emmy began.

"What?" Tony asked again, more eagerly.

"Do you want to meet my family this weekend?" Emmy asked.

"Sure, with whom?" Tony asked, teasing her.

Emmy laughed. "With me," she said.

"Oh..." Tony said, feigning a contemplating face and turning away from her.

"We can go to the Boston aquarium and go horseback riding and my mom has miles of acreage to go for walks..." Emmy said, ticking the reasons off on her fingers.

Her rambling told him he had succeeded in making her a little nervous, even though he was goofing around. He turned around and grinned. "Sounds fun, I'd love to."

"Really?" Emmy asked happily. She laughed and took Tony into her arms. "Hey, that's great."

Tony smiled and they held each other close, watching the stars and listening to the crickets chirp quantily.

Tony and Emmy arrived back at Tony's place after Abby's party.

"I had a great time, didn't you?" Tony asked her, as they lay down on his couch together in the living room.

"Yes," Emmy said. "It was a great party. I'm comfortable with everyone now. I'm glad I met them. They seem like great people and a really close family."

"Good," Tony said, kissing her. He smiled and began to kiss her neck. Emmy shuddered, and Tony immediately pulled back. "You OK?"

"Yes," Emmy said, "that just felt amazing."

Tony smiled. "Mmm, good," he said, and he began to kiss her again.

But then he stopped.

"Why are you stopping?" Emmy asked.

"I need to ask you something," Tony said.

"What?"

"When I said I loved you at the party tonight, why didn't you believe me?" Tony asked.

"Well, you said things are complicated, so I wasn't sure if you were certain," Emmy said nervously. "I don't want things to be complicated between us, especially since I don't know what's complicated."

Tony nodded. "They aren't," he said. "I was just scared. But I'm not anymore."

"Good," Emmy said. Tony resumed nuzzling and kissing her neck. After a few moments, she asked, "Who's Jeanne?"

Tony froze. "How do you know about Jeanne?" he asked suddenly.

"McGee mentioned her name at the party to Ziva," Emmy said. "I don't think he knows I overheard."

"OK, now I'm gonna go kill him," Tony said angrily.

He made to let go of her and get off the couch, but Emmy grabbed him and sat up. "Tony, wait, don't," she said. "Why are you angry? What did McGee do wrong? He didn't even know I overheard. I just want to know. I don't want us to be dishonest with each other."

"She's nobody, Em," Tony said defensively, standing up. "I'm with you now. She doesn't matter anymore."

Emmy looked up at him, concerned. She had never seen this defensive, angry, bitter side of him before, and it scared her. "What happened between you and her?" she asked. "Please tell me."

"Do you want to hear it?" Tony asked.

The challenge was clear, but Emmy didn't care. "I asked."

"I was undercover, investigating her father, who was an arms dealer," Tony said. "While I was undercover, I messed up and got close to her. I shouldn't have, because it clouded my judgment. She eventually discovered I had lied to her about everything, by creating a false identity and everything, and she didn't believe me when I told her I loved her."

His hazel eyes, filled with anger, resentment, and hurt, locked with her green ones, filled with concern and confusion.

"I eventually told her we had never had a relationship, that she was nothing to me anymore, and that I never wanted to see her again. She left, with nothing but a letter left for me, that I had to choose between her and my team, and I choose my team. So I haven't seen or heard from her since, except once, when her father's body was found and Jenny..."

He paused for a moment, as the familiar name brought back painful memories of Jenny's death, one more thing for which he felt at fault in his NCIS career.

"Who's Jenny?" Emmy asked, confused.

"The late Director," Tony said, his voice filled with animosity. "She was killed in the line of duty. Six months before I met you."

Emmy looked alarmed. "I'm sorry, Tony."

Tony, looking troubled, nodded. "Jenny was the prime suspect in Jeanne's father's death, but Jeanne blamed me for it," he said.

"That's horrible," Emmy said.

"Yeah, well, it was because I wanted her father dead, and I was working on making it happen when I was undercover with her," Tony said. He looked down at her. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you before now."

Emmy nodded wearily. "It's OK," she said.

"And it's funny," Tony said hollowly, bitterly, "that's what Jeanne said, when I was with her— that she was glad we could be openly honest with each other. Well, I screwed that up."

Emmy placed her hand on his face. "But that's over now," she said. "Jeanne is gone and Jenny is dead. There's nothing more you can do. I don't want our relationship to be affected by it."

"But it is affected by it, Em," Tony said, backing away a couple steps. "Don't you see? Every woman I am involved with, in any way, or love or... ends up getting hurt or killed. I don't want to happen to you, to us."

"You don't want to be with me?" Emmy asked him, even more confused. Tears began to form in her eyes.

"Yes, Em, I do want to be with you," Tony insisted. "That's why I can't do this wrong or screw this up. Don't you see?"

Emmy nodded. "Yes, I see," she said. She held out her hand. "Come here."

Tony swallowed hard, sighed deeply, then sat down next to her. She took him into her arms and held him tightly, running her shaking hands through his soft hair.

"Shhh, Tony," she whispered softly. "I'm here. I'm not going anywhere. It's gonna be OK."

Just to clarify, "Stolen" by Dashboard Confessional is from their 2006 CD, "Dusk and Summer" and it's a great song, hence why I decided to use it as one of the songs at Abby's party. And of course, Peggy Lee's "Fever" is a classic.

Please review and I'll update again in a week! Feedback is always appreciated. Thanks.