Author's Note: I just gotta say, writing this story has been great fun. Between this, 'Nomenclature', and 'Apparitions', my writing schedule is full up. I've got expectations to meet, now, and I'd hate to disappoint...:)

Review Props: Ensign Cole, Ami L. Mendal


"Tony, why do you look like the cat who ate the cardinal?" Ziva asked as the man in question returned to the Bull Pen with Tim, truck neatly organized and clean enough to eat off of after a few hours of them working on it.

"Canary." The two men automatically corrected. Ziva merely rolled her eyes and motioned at Tony to answer.

"I'm just so proud of Probie! It may have taken a bit of nudging but he's finally taking the initiative!"

"Tony..." Tim let out an exasperated sigh with an eye roll of his own. "Last time I checked, you're the one who hijacked the situation."

"To help you, McReserved! And anyway, I merely created an opportunity for you to take advantage of. You could have said no to the date-crash idea." Tony pointed out with a smirk. Ziva perked up at that, nodding in agreement.

"Tony is right, McGee. You could have said no."

"Hey!" Tim called out in mock offense. "Who's side are you on?"

"Dr. Brant's." Ziva quickly replied. Tony snorted as Tim rose an eyebrow in curiosity at the answer. "I was the one to escort Dr. Brant out of the building earlier and I took the opportunity to ask her a few simple questions."

"Ziva, you didn't!" Tony roared with laughter at the scandalized look on Tim's face as he thought of Evelyn being in an impromptu interrogation from Ziva. Trust the Israeli Ninja to go for the throat and directly question her 'target'.

"I did not ask her anything embarrassing, McGee, if that is what you are worried about. I merely made a few observations about you and Tony before asking her for her own opinion. Her answers were most enlightening."

"Wait, you talked about me?" Tony sidetracked.

"No, I will not tell you what I said about you." Ziva immediately denied the implied question.

"Why not?" The Senior Field Agent whined. Ziva ignored him and turned back to Tim.

"It is easy to see why you two click, McGee." She continued, using Tim's previous words against him. "It would be easy to turn this 'clicking' friendship into a 'clicking' interest, would it not?"

Tony turned to Tim in confusion. It was clear he thought his Ziva-to-English translator had broke. Tim just shook his head at the unasked question from his male partner, sighing at the one from his female partner.

"You are not the only one to think that, Ziva, and Tony beat you to the punch. He's already talked me into turning the date-crash into a new date, altogether."

"That is excellent! He finally does something smart, for once." Tony stuck his tongue out at Ziva, throwing a paper ball in her general direction. "Do you have any ideas on what you are going to be doing on this new date?"

"I have a few..." Tim answered warily. He didn't like her tone. "Why?"

"I am just wondering. Anything you do must be you, if that makes any sense at all. Dr. Brant and you are clearly past the point of introductions. Any plans that are not unique to you would be a step back." It made a sort of sense. Tim couldn't deny that. Their introductions were back during that first dinner they had together.

"Well, I was going to make the final decisions after seeing her. Evelyn's schedule sounded busy today and I don't know how tired she'll be. That way I have a few options to pick from instead of only having one plan in mind."

"Sounds reasonable." Tony was forced to admit. In their business, any day where you're forced into a working lunch was a hellish day to deal with.

"Alright, out." Gibbs announced as he swept into the Bull Pen and sat at his own desk with what appeared to be a fresh coffee in hand. "Before I find more maintenance work for you to do."

Not willing to find out what Gibbs had in mind as more maintenance work, the three team members unanimously aborted their conversation and scrambled to collect their things before heading to the elevator. It wasn't until the elevator doors were tightly closed behind them did any of them feel safe enough to speak again.

"Meet you at Ricci's at a quarter past 7, McGee?" Tony asked to confirm the details they had gone over while working on the truck.

"Yep. What did you tell Palmer to call you about?"

"You shall see. If I tell you ahead of time your reaction won't be quiet as genuine." A mischievous smile formed on Tony's face and Tim decided he didn't really want to know.

"What are you two doing to get Dr. Brant's date to leave?" Ziva inquired. It seemed logical in her mind that it would be the most important detail of the 'date-crash' Tony had suggested.

"Easy." Tim smirked slightly at Tony's flippant tone as the Italian man answered. "We're going to arrive and insist, for her safety of course, that she leave because the 'man she is trying to stay away from' is in the vicinity. The date will think Brant has a stalker that we've been looking into, Brant will find it hilarious, and it's a nice transition for her from one date to another as McGee here will literally be saving her from a guy she wants nothing to do with. Win all around!"

"So, wait..." Ziva held a hand up for Tony to stop talking. "You created a plan to get her out of the restaurant instead of him?"

"Great, isn't it?" Tim spoke up. "Since her 'safety' is on the line, we obviously can't allow him to follow."

"I must say I am impressed. I had worried about you two creating a loud scene in the restaurant that would have embarrassed Dr. Brant, at the very least."

"Excuse me? The 'two' of us?" Tim rose an eyebrow.

"Ok, I worried about Tony creating a loud scene. You are over dramatic at the best of times, Tony. Do not look so insulted." Ziva relented before turning to address Tony's pout at being singled out.

"And it's working to everyone's advantage here, so don't knock the drama." He pointed out just before they arrived at the main floor.

"Let me know how your plan works out." Ziva insisted before heading off to her car. Telling her that they would, the guys said a small farewell to each other on their way to their own cars.


Tim fiddled with his hunter green tie, a small nod to Evelyn's bold green dress she had told him she was going to be wearing, as he stood in front of Ricci's waiting for Tony. He didn't have to wait long. He may have been a tad bit early, but Tony arrived at 7:15 on the dot. And, thankfully, not wearing anything that would make him stick out like a sore thumb in the fine Italian restaurant.

"You know, McGee, I've been wondering most of the day just what this man looks like." Was the first thing Tony said as they approached the door. "With the stuck-up attitude Brant described earlier I would not doubt he got lucky in that department. Probably thinks it makes up for any bad behavior of his."

"Does it matter?" Tim asked rhetorically just as they were crossing the threshold and the point of no return.

"Good evening! Welcome to Ricci's. Do you have a reservation or are you a walk in, tonight? We're lucky enough to have a few free tables tonight for last minute planners." The hostess greeted in a smooth tone, everything she said geared to keeping them in the restaurant for business.

"I'm sorry." Tony stepped up, both men unconsciously falling into their senior/junior ranking that they used while speaking with suspects and witnesses on the job. "We're not here for dinner. We are here to speak with a patron of yours, tonight. You wouldn't happen to know where a Dr. Evelyn Brant is sitting, would you? We were told she had reservations with someone."

A flash of recognition at Tony's wording in the hostess' eyes meant he didn't have to say the phrase 'police business' to her, which also meant they technically weren't lying. They were here to see Evelyn. The blonde woman looked down to skim over her reservation list before pausing at one table number in particular.

"Yes. Dr. Evelyn Brant has reservations with a Dr. Paul Reichner. They are at table 39, out on the patio. Do you need any assistance finding it, sirs?"

"No, thank you." Tony let out one of his charming smiles. "We know how to get there from here. Thank you for your assistance."

"Yes, thank you." Tim said behind Tony as he followed the man past the entrance area and into the main room of the restaurant.

"That was easier than expected." Tony whispered back as the two of them weaved in and out of the tables to get to the patio entrance.

"Don't jinx us." Tim whispered back. They still had to interrupt the date. But when they stepped out onto the patio, that looked like it was going to be far easier than getting past the hostess. Dr. Reichner was talking away while Evelyn sat across him, silent, fake smile plastered on her face in a painful way that said she'd been forced to wear it probably since the start of the date. The two of them merely walking up to the table was enough to make Dr. Reichner pause in whatever it was he was saying.

"Yes, could I help you two?" Reichner asked bluntly. Evelyn turned to look at them as well, a thankful expression appearing on her face briefly before turning into a mildly interested one.

"I am deeply sorry to interrupt your date." Tony started, taking the lead again. Their plan was clear. Until they got Evelyn out of there, Tim's actions should be limited to keep her date's focus off of him. "But it's important. I'm here to speak with Dr. Brant about the police report she filed."

"What about it, detective?" Evelyn played along, not knowing where the two of them were going with this line of dialogue. As expected, Dr. Reichner's face lost a few shades of color as he mouthed 'police report'.

"We've been looking into the man's movements, Doctor, and we have reason to believe he followed you here."

"He followed me here?" Evelyn asked after a pause, her genuine surprise at that unexpected twist easily passable for shock and veiled fear through the rose-colored glasses Tony gave Dr. Reichner.

"Yes, and..." The ring of Evelyn's phone made both her and Reichner jump slightly, the timing eerie. Evelyn looked to Tony and Tim, not knowing what to do when she didn't recognize the number on the caller ID. Tony motioned for her to go ahead and answer it.

"Hello?" She said warily. Her eyebrows scrunched up in confusion slightly before she suddenly thrust the phone towards Tony, eyes wide in horror.

"Mr. Palmer..." Tim couldn't help but snap his head towards Tony in shock as the man started to speak into the phone. His reaction made Reichner go a few shades lighter. "This is...aaaand he hung up."

Tony slowly handed the phone back over to Evelyn, playing the scene up for Reichner.

"He hung up." Evelyn said with a frown.

"Yes. I'm afraid we are going to have to insist on you retiring to a more restricted dwelling for the rest of the evening, Dr. Brant. Please come with us." Evelyn immediately stood up, grabbing her purse in the process.

"Oh, my god. Paul, I am so sorry. I didn't think this would happen. I'll explain everything later." Evelyn played off her own hurry to get out of there to make her sound anxious.

"No, it's alright. When the police say you need to leave, who are you to argue?" Reichner insisted, waving off her apology airily. The others could see he was still processing everything that was thrown at him.

"Thank you. Like I said, I'll explain later." Evelyn repeated before turning and letting Tim and Tony lead her inside. Tim bit his tongue to remain silent the rest of the way through the restaurant, only letting loose once they were safety back outside and out of earshot of the hostess.

"Oh, my god, you had Jimmy call Evelyn's cell instead of your own?" Tim exclaimed in surprise. Evelyn giggled in happiness, hugging them both at the same time.

"I don't care. It got me out of there. Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Tony laughed at both of their reactions.

"What? Like I said, McGee, if I told you your reaction wouldn't have been genuine if I let you know what I told Palmer. You needed to be surprised at who it was on the phone for our plan to work."

"I still can't believe you two faked a stalker." Evelyn insisted. "But what do I do now? It's not like I can go back to work. Paul will be going there and will wonder why I'm not 'somewhere secure' for the night."

"That, my fair lady, is up to McGee here. I'm off to congratulate Palmer on a job well done and see if he wants to go interrupt whatever Abby is doing tonight. I'm still in the mood to make people suddenly change their plans for the evening." Tony gave Tim a mischievous smile, giving him absolutely no lead in at all for his own plans. "Do behave, children. You shouldn't need a chaperone at your age but I will come back if need be."

Tim opened his mouth to snap something sarcastic back at Tony, but couldn't as the man immediately started walking away towards his car so Tim couldn't say anything. Glaring at the traitor's back for a few seconds, Tim let out a snort before turning to see Evelyn's look of expectation. He opened his mouth again to say something, only to stop short. 'Thank you, Tony.' Tim thought sarcastically. If he was going to be hesitating like this the entire time, it was going to be a long night.