Despite the stalker currently following the agents of NCIS, the boss still gave them their Sunday off. Early that morning Tori, very cautiously, went to the store to grab all the necessary items for her date with Tim. In all honesty, she was more afraid of messing things up, than of this potential stalker. A criminal she could handle, this new found grasp on the dating world, not so much. However, she was calm, she was confident, and she had faith that this would work out. Midafternoon she arrived at his place with ingredients in tow. McGee couldn't help but laugh, she looked so dwarfed by all of the grocery bags. He promptly took them all and placed the on the kitchen table.

"What did you do? Did you buy the entire store? I thought we were making just one meal, not a buffet!" he still chuckled as he walked back into the room. Tori had dropped to the ground and was on all fours. Not a bad view, Tim thought, as he glanced at how nice her lower half looked in her leggings. She was staring eye to eye with Jethro the dog, between them was his favorite toy. It looked like a western show down. Tori quickly grabbed the rope toy and threw it in the air, as the German Shepard leaped to grab it. The spunky dog trotted over, dropping the rope in her lap, as if he was asking for her to throw it again. Tori wrapped her arms around his neck, as Jethro kiss her cheek. "I see you met Jethro."

"He's adorable," Tori nuzzled into him, "but why did you name him after your boss?"

"Well, Abby named him and it just sort of stuck" McGee spoke quickly, "She also was the one who forced me to adopt him after he attacked me at a crime scene. But, now we're good! Aren't we buddy!" he knelt down and the Shepard raced over and met his owners loving embrace, "I thought I had him locked in my room though. He's pretty leery of new people. I didn't want him to scare you, his bark is as bad as his bite. Trust me, I know from experience."

"If I'm being honest," Tori began, "He did growl at me when I walked in."

"Jethro," Tim looked the dog in the eye, "We can't have people over if you're going to act like this! We have to be nice to new people." The dog laid down and placed his paws over his eyes, in embarrassment.

"No, it's ok, he was doing his job! He was protecting just protecting his best buddy," she reassured the pup, by coming over and patting his head "He's an excellent guard dog!"

"That he is!" McGee smiled scratching Jethro's ears.

After doting over Jethro for some time, the couple finally decided to start preparing the meal. They started by making bread, and after Tim's batch turned out flat, Tori gave him the special job of stirring the noodles for the pasta, as she started the Alfredo sauce and chicken. Together they remade the bread, as well as some Italian cookies. It was really funny for McGee to see his date run a kitchen so smoothly. Tori did not seem like the domestic, housewife type one bit.

"So you said your grandmother taught you to cook like this," he pondered, trying to make small talk.

"Yep, my Noni," she smiled.

"Did you spend a lot of time with her?" Tim asked.

"Ya, I still do! I lived with my Poppy and Noni almost my entire life. My mom couldn't really afford to live on her own after she had me, so we stayed there," Tori mused as she blended the ingredients, "I didn't mind. The house was big and always full of my family on the weekends. We still get together and have a dinner like this every Sunday. It's really obnoxious." She laughed.

"That sounds a lot like my family. Big and loud," he joined in her laughter, "So did your mom ever marry?"

"She dated here and there, once I got older, but she just recently settled down. Ronny's nice, treats her well, spoils her rotten," she smiled while she rolled her eyes, "She really deserves it. She gave up everything for me. I can't love her enough for that."

"She did raise a very lovely daughter," he added, "So if you don't mind me asking, how involved was Senior in your life? I know he wasn't the best with Tony."

"Tony holds a grudge. I can understand why. Senior could make a career out of being a part time father and Tony didn't have his mother to rely on like I did," Tori began, "But as for my father, he's always going to be my father, even though he can be a total flake. I knew from a young age to not expect too much from him. However, on some occasions he would prove me wrong. The man always paid child support. He came to some of my dance recitals and graduation. My father has always remembered my birthday, even if it is just by a card. I think he even took me to a father daughter dance once. Was he there for me all the time? No, but he was always there when it counted."

"You just seem so at peace with the whole situation," Tim smiled.

"You can never move on if you can't let go, so I let go," she smirked, "I also can't be too mad he gave me half my genetics and my name."

"DiNozzo?" he looked up from the noodles.

"Well, yes, but no. Tori," the brunette giggled, "Mom wanted to call me Vicki, and dad HATED it and said how about Tori. She loved it! Then he says if we give the baby your name as her middle name can she have my last name. Mom makes him promise to be in my life. Ba-da-bing, ba-da-boom, I'm Victoria Annette DiNozzo."

"Well, I'd have to agree with Senior, Vicki does not suit you! Tori defiantly does," McGee began to pace the kitchen floor, "Victoria Annette, Tori Annette, Tori Ann…" he wrapped his arms around her waist, resting his head on her shoulder.

Tori turned to see him, "You see, this is why Noni doesn't allow men in the kitchen, they're easily distracted"

"Hey," he interjected, "I think I'm doing a pretty good job if I do say so myself. I'm a regular gourmet chef!"

"Tim," Tori replied, "You're boiling noodles."

"Very true," McGee furrowed his brow, "But you've got to admit, it's pretty hard to make them perfect."

"Ahhh yes," she agreed sarcastically, "I see you are going for the boiling on to the stove technique," she began to giggle pointing at the foaming pot, as Tim dove to save them.

"Like I said really difficult," he blushed.

"Very," Tori winked, "So Mr. Twenty Questions, I think it's my turn to ask a few."

"What would you like to know about my family," Tim responded, pouring the noodle into the strainer.

"Well, I was going to ask a question more focused towards you, but we can stick to your family theme," she thought for a moment, "Well, I know you have a little sister, so what's her name, and what's she like?"

"Her name is Sarah," he grinned, "She is beautifully sassy, and can be a bit of a princess. That's my parents fault though. They babied her since she was quite a bit younger than me."

"How much younger?" Tori asked.

"Try ten years," it was Tim's turn to roll his eyes, "Ya, mom and dad thought I was a miracle, and then surprise, along comes Sarah! In all honesty, it was really nice, she took a lot of attention away from me. My parents are planners and you may or may not call them intense. They had every detail of my life planned for me by the moment I could walk. The Sarah threw a wrench in their plan by being born, so they had to plan for her. This gave me time to be me."

"So, what wasn't part of your parent's plan? Tony told me you went to M.I.T. and Johns Hopkins. I think any parent would be more than proud of that!" she nodded, as she pulled the bread from the oven.

"All of that," McGee sighed, "My father, he always wanted me to be more like him. Less sensitive, more manly, not so into nerdy video games and make believe world, but sports. He wanted me to be in the Navy like him. Not that I wouldn't be honored to serve our country, but I'm better suited on land. I get sea-sick. So for most of my life I always tried to impress him by being me, it never worked, I could always do better. My mother, on the other hand, is the most caring person I know. I mean I could draw a stick figure today, mail it to her, and the next time I visit, I can guarantee it'll be on the fridge. She did the best job she could raising two, kids while bouncing from base to base, especially while my dad was overseas. My mother just want us to feel stable and loved, which is hard to do when your son went to three different kindergartens in one year. Then when it came to my dad, she'd just want us to get along. I love her, but she'd never stand up for me and agreed with his plan."

"Well, clearly that has made you a stronger person. At least from what I can tell." Tori gave him a gentle squeeze, before taking the noodles and dishing them on to the plate, "I mean hell, you are already doing better than me!"

"What do you mean by that?" he cocked his head, as she slowly garnished each dish, "In general were very similar. Absentee fathers. Loving mothers. Well educated. Almost identical careers."

"I mean, you just take more chances than I do, I guess what I'm saying is…you're ballsy!" she let her Jersey accent slip, ever so slightly. Tori took both plates into the living room and set them down on the coffee table.

"Ballsy."

"Ya, Ballsy."

Tim McGee stood for a moment frozen before letting a small trickle of laughter escape his lips. After he finally gained composure, "No one in my entire life has ever called me ballsy. I don't think anyone else would even think to use that word. I am the most careful, predictable, monotonous person I know. I am the farthest thing from ballsy."

"Not from my perspective, you took a chance on your ex-fiancé. I mean, hell, most men are too terrified to commit to any woman and you still wanted to marry her despite her accident. That's more than…" Tori stopped as she noticed Tim's downtrodden expression, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have even…your date talking about your…ya…it's not right. It's just Tony had told me about…and you were so open with me…I just thought I would…I just dropped the atomic bomb on this date didn't I. You know what, enjoy the food. I'll just…"

"No, no, you're fine," he cut her off, "I guess it was kind of "ballsy" to take a chance on a woman who moved half way around the world. I thought I was being supportive, allowing her to live her dream, but really I just gave us a chance to grow apart," he paused for a long moment, "Delilah didn't break off the engagement."

"Oh…?" she sighed.

"Nope," McGee shook his head, "She wasn't the same after a while. I could tell things were going south, so I…"

"Ended it yourself, but didn't want to look like an asshole," Tori interject.

"Oh no, that would have been too easy," Tim sighed as he sat down on the sofa, "I pushed the relationship because I was scared that it would end. I was not man enough to just call it quits. No, I flew all the way to Dubai to be with her. I pushed her to the point where we were actually going to get married. Then the day of the wedding came and I sat in that chapel for six hours waiting for her to come, hoping she would show up, praying that the whole situation was a nightmare. When I finally got back to the hotel, there was this note and the ring. That was the end."

"Tim, I had no idea…" the brunette's soft voice trailed off as she sat down next to him.

"How could you," he shrugged, "I didn't even have the guts to tell anyone the true story. And it took me two weeks to finally tell everyone the fake one. I'm not ballsy. Tony's ballsy. No, no, Gibbs, that's who's ballsy. Hell, you are ballsier than I am, and you don't even have balls."

"You don't know that," Tori turned to him with a straight face, as McGee's eyes went wide, "I'm kidding. All my parts are lady parts. I swear," She giggled, "You know you sell yourself short, Tim McGee."

"How so," he tried not to glare, after her less than amusing joke.

"You just told me the truth, which takes a lot of strength. You also got back in the game, after that extreme heart break. That's ballsy." She wrapped her arm around his shoulder.

"Ya, and you sucked into a case, and are currently on a date with this mess!" Tim placed his head in his hands.

"Hey," Tori lifted his head up, "You're the one who asked this train wreck on date!"

"Ya, and I didn't even have the courage to take what you offered me at the end of the night," he sighed.

"Stop!" the little DiNozzo sighed in exasperation, "Telling me your standards and your feelings on sex, is not being a coward. That's called being a gentleman. Especially after the hell you went through. It's safe, it's smart, it's cautious, and if I'm being honest with you, it's what I need."

"So, what does that mean?" McGee looked to her, with a bit of confusion.

"It means, the ball is in your court. You are in control. Date me, don't date me. Never sleep with me, or take me on this couch right now. You decided." Tori spoke clearly, "Wow, I never thought I'd ever say that…"

"Alright," he nodded, contemplating what she had said, "What does that mean for us? Are we a…thing?"

"Are we suddenly sixteen?" Tori glanced over, giving him that lopsided grin.

"Uh, no," Tim chuckled, "So that make you my…girlfriend," he tiptoed around the word, trying not spook the commitment shy woman.

"Whoa, there," she turned to him in shock.

"Hey, I'm ballsy, remember," he nudged her arm, "I'm also thirty-five, by this point I think I know what I like in the women I date, and also what I want from the relationship."

Tori sighed, "Your right. I should probably do this sooner rather than later. I'm thirty-five and have no idea what I want."

"What if I'm not what you want?" Tim looked up at her in all seriousness.

"You know what," she smiled, "You may not have been what I was looking for, but I've got sneaking suspicion, that you might be exactly what I've wanted," Tori took his face in her hands and pressed her lips against his.

"So, I'm going to take that as a yes," McGee smirked, linking his fingers with her.

"Yes," she blushed slight, "There is just one thing I'm a tiny bit concerned with."

"Ya, what's up," he turned his full attention towards her.

"It's Gibbs. Tony keeps telling me about this rule twelve. I don't want to get you in trouble," Tori's face was riddled with concern.

McGee thought for a moment, "You know, we should probably keep this on the down low, and slowly ease him into the idea after the case is over."

"Timmy McGee! First you ask for my freedom, then you ask me to lie," she sounded sarcastically shocked, "What next, you'll ask me for my soul!"

"No, but maybe a change in roommate," he added, "It's a known fact that Tony will defiantly kill me now."

"Don't sweat it," she waved it off, "Unlike your dog, his bark is worse than his bite. I'll take care of him!"

There was a long pause. Tori reached for her plate, as Tim spoke, "You're not telling him, are you?"

"Nope!" Tori shook her head with a smile.

"Alright. Sounds good!" McGee nodded reaching for his plate as well.