Chapter Four: Finding a reason not to love you

The days passed quickly. Tony was had strict orders to stay away from work. Doctor Pitt said that he didn't need the stress of healing on top of the everyday stress he encountered. Aislynn, on the other hand, had to go to back to NCIS. She received a new cell phone, this one was an iPhone, and a new weapon because hers had been destroyed during the biohazard. Nothing important happened while Tony was gone. Gibbs was in a bad mood, even more than usual—Aislynn speculated it was because his star agent wasn't there.

Every day after she got off work, Aislynn drove her mustang to Tony's house. She would make dinner, usually some sort of Italian dish, and then they would discuss work. Eventually, they would end up on the couch watching movies from Tony's vast collection, with Aislynn snuggled up to Tony's chest. He had his arm around her shoulders and was twirling a strand of hair around his fingers.

The day before Tony was to go back to work, they were watching Singin' in the Rain, as per Aislynn's request. "So, Ace," he whispered during a boring part of the movie, "I wanted to thank you for helping me out these past few days."

She looked at him. "It's really not a problem. You'd do the same for me."

"Yeah." Conflict arose in his eyes, and Aislynn could tell he was debating something.

"What?" she asked curiously.

"What, what?"

She shook her head. "If you don't want to tell me, that's fine. I can stand not knowing." He sighed, and Aislynn smiled, happy that taking deep breaths no longer put him through pain. "What?"

"I need to tell you something—something important—but I'm not sure how." His voice was soft; so much so that Aislynn almost couldn't hear him over the movie.

"Just tell me," she turned to look at him.

Conflict was evident in his eyes as he ran a hand through his hair. After a few seconds' silence, he finally sighed. "Hell with it, fine. I can't believe I'm saying this, but ever since we first met, I've been mesmerized by you. The way you walk, your similarities to Gibbs, how you interact with people; I don't know, I'm just sort of…" He fumbled for words and stopped, unable to find the right one. He decided to take a different approach to what he was trying to say. "I don't know, I guess what I'm trying to say is that I really like you." He smiled, gaining courage. "Hell, I'd go as far as saying I love you."

Aislynn's heart skipped a beat and her hand flew to her eyes. She pinched the bridge of her nose, debating what to say. "Tony… I don't know how to respond to that. Normally, I do, but…" she trailed off and scratched her head. "Look, you said it yourself, I'm like Gibbs. More like him than you know. I've got rules, too. One of them you may be familiar with: Rule 12."

He shook his head. "Never date a co-worker." Aislynn nodded, causing Tony to grin. "But, there's an exception to every rule."

"Not to these ones, Tony. They're made from both experience and the need to not get myself hurt."

"But… sometimes, experiences are wrong! Sometimes…" he paused, thinking, "sometimes, you've gotta meet a person worth breaking the rules."

Aislynn sighed and rubbed her eye with the heel of her hand. She was conflicted. She cared for Tony, but she had promised herself a long time ago that her rules were not to be broken except in dire circumstances. "I don't know what to tell you, Tony. I really don't." He said nothing. "Let me explain my situation to you. A few years ago, I was dating a guy in my department at SVU. He was a lot like you, actually. But we broke up. I was devastated. It ended up ruining a few of our cases because we couldn't overcome our feelings."

"What's the other side of your argument?" he asked curiously.

Aislynn sighed and shook her head. "Please, whatever you do, don't think I don't care about you, Tony." He looked solemnly at the television as she thought for a few minutes. "Damn it."

"What?" he asked curiously. She just shook her head. "Seriously, Ace, what?"

"Well, you see, I keep trying to find a decent reason, but I just… I don't know, I just can't."

"Reason for what?"

She smiled and looked down at her shoes. "A reason for not loving you."

It took Tony a minute to realize what Aislynn had said, but when he did, he grinned wickedly and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her closer. He leaned down and kissed her passionately. Aislynn reciprocated, her arms snaking around his neck. Her fingers slightly tangled themselves in his short hair. Tony bit down on her lip slightly, begging entrance. Their tongues warred for a bit; all the while, Tony's hands were making their way to her legs, which moved so that they were around his waist. He stood, and not breaking the kiss, and walked slowly to his bedroom. He lowered Aislynn down on the bed gently, and she pushed herself backwards to make room for him.

Aislynn unbuttoned Tony's fitted grey shirt slowly before letting her hands wander along his slightly defined abs. Tony smiled into the kiss and broke it, just for a second, so he could remove her v-neck t-shirt, revealing her green tank top. Tony reconnected their lips and pushed her back easily. He moved so that he was over top of her, supporting himself with one arm. His other hand was on Aislynn's hip, moving her tank top slowly upward.

"DiNozzo!"

Tony jumped, causing his forehead to smack into Aislynn's. Her hand flew to the spot, and she rubbed it. "Ow, Gibbs, what the hell are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same question," he said icily.

"I made Tony dinner," she replied indignantly. She pushed Tony lightly, and he moved, allowing her to stand and face her uncle.

"Rule 12," he growled at Tony, who hung his head.

"Yeah, boss, she tried to tell me that, but I pushed her," Tony said, trying to protect Aislynn.

"No, no he didn't," Aislynn said. "Gibbs, we're big kids now. We can make our own mistakes."

Gibbs rolled his eyes. "You're too much like your aunt." He kissed his niece's forehead where Tony's had hit. "You're right," he whispered in her ear.

"Why are you here?" Tony asked Gibbs. "And how the hell did you get in?"

"Front door was unlocked," Aislynn answered for her uncle.

"I'm here to give you your cell," Gibbs threw Tony an iPhone, identical to Aislynn's own.

"Upgrade?" Tony asked curiously, turning it on.

"Yeah. The director thought you guys could use a bit more technology."

Aislynn nodded. "I'm not complaining."

Gibbs stared out the window. "I'll leave you two alone."

"Bye, Gibbs!" Aislynn waved as her uncle walked out of the room.

Tony waited until he heard Gibbs' car start before advancing toward her. "Now," he said seductively, "where were we?"

Aislynn shook her head. "Not in the mood anymore."

"What? Why?" Tony whined.

"I don't know, something about seeing my uncle makes me not want to have sex with men. I know, it's weird," she replied sarcastically, grabbing her shirt and walking out to the living room, where 'Would You' was playing on Singin' in the Rain.