Set immediately after episode 5.08, Designated Target.
If he were a drinking man, her words would've sent him straight home to his liquor cabinet. As it was, he went straight home to his workbench.
Or tried. His neighbor intercepted him in the hallway. She held out her wrists. "Take me in, copper."
He sighed. "I don't want to do this right now, Angela."
"You mean you're not going to arrest me?" she pouted.
"I haven't decided yet. I just...I need some time to think, okay?"
"Come on, Tim," she said. "Third time's the charm. I haven't been in handcuffs for way too long now."
"Look, it's been a really long day. You may have irreparably damaged the credit I took years building up. It might only be money to you, but to the people you do this to it's their reputations, too. You can't fix those with a check and a smile. "
"So what's the problem? Arrest me."
He stared at her. She was practically glowing with excitement. Here was a woman who was bright, and gorgeous, and fun, and crazy, and.... "You don't respect me at all."
"I respect...."
"It wasn't a question," he interrupted. "We're done."
She was still standing in shock at his front door when he closed it. He felt proud of himself for a moment, and then a rush of trepidation swept over him. The woman's idea of fun was to steal money from people and then pay it back. What would she do now that she'd been given a reason for malice?
He groaned. Why was his love life so difficult? Why couldn't it be more like Tony's? Tony made everything look so easy. Women fell over themselves to be with him.
"I love you, McGee," Abby had said. "That should be enough."
Nope. Not even his workbench could help him with that one. He took off his jacket and went to his typewriter for some free writing instead.
she loves me she says she loves me she says it all the time
not like she loves gibbs
or tony ducky ziva palmer
like she loves puppies
great comparison thanks for that
why can't you love me like forensics or dog collars or breathing
why can't you love me like there isn't room for anything else the kind of love that makes room for everything else
like puppies you say and you love puppies and i believe you
working a case you love me
going to a concert you love me
getting a drink you love me
there's no leash but it feels like a leash feels like a trap somehow that i don't want to leave
because you say you love me you say it all the time and
McGee's fingers hovered over the keys, reluctant to finish the thought. He stopped and reread what he had written, noting with professional interest the telltale change in subject/verb tense.
He was up and heading to his room before the paper finished feeding through the shredder. His head was pounding and he fumbled for some ibuprofen before collapsing onto his bed.
"I love you, McGee," Abby had said, over and over and over.
And no matter how hard he tried to block it out with cheerleaders and rich neighbors, all he wanted was all it seemed she would never give him—a chance to say, "I love you, too."