Tony yawned and stretched as he got out of his car. He was tired; not enough sleep in the last two weeks. But a promise is a promise and he gave his word that he would help Jimmy, so here he was helping him move into his new apartment. He has spent very little time with Mandy these last two weeks. He did manage to sneak away one day for lunch; the rest of the time they only managed to talk on the phone twice a day. Their new found love was still in its infancy; waiting to grow and become more for them, more than just love for the sake of love, and it was more. Whether they knew it or not, it would change them in time, healing them and in turn make them whole again.
Gibbs entered the hardware mega store with a purposeful stride. He didn't want to waste the afternoon in a store. He needed a few pieces of hardware for a chest that he was building.
He saw her out of the corner of his eye looking at door locks. He had to smile as he watched her with a lock in each hand reading the instructions on the backs of the packages. Casting a peek into her shopping cart he sees a thick dowel and a hand saw, along with a few hinges and a package of screws. A half sheet of cork is the last thing that he can see.
"Mandy," He calls out to her as he doesn't scare her. He watches as she looks up and smiles when she recognizes him walking toward her.
"Agent Gibbs, how are you?"
"Just Gibbs. Good, thanks, what about you?"
"I'm good."
"Why are you buying door locks?"
"Direct and to the point, Tony told me once that you are a man of few words."
He just half smiles and half glares at her until she chuckles at him, and with a shake of her head she answers him. "There have been a few break-ins at my apartment complex these last couple of days, and well, I do live alone."
"Did you tell Tony?"
"God no, he would camp out on the sofa and not sleep all night just to keep me safe. I think just a new lock, and on the sliding patio door I'm going to put a dowel in the floor track."
In for a penny, in for a pound, so he looks at her and asks, "And the hinge?"
"Oh, my drafting table; one of the hinges broke."
"So where is Tony today anyway?"
"He promised Jimmy that he would help him move. He said that he would come by later and that he was bringing dinner, Thai food and beer."
He takes the locks out of her hands then picks a better one. Handing it to her he nods his head. "Do you need to do anymore shopping?"
"No, just this, why?"
"I'll be at your place in an hour then to fix the lock, hinge and check the rest of your apartment for security."
"You don't have to. I mean I'm perfectly capably of. . ."
"Mandy, I want to. You are important to Tony and that is enough for me. But I do have an ulterior reason by me fixing these things. Once Tony finds out about the break-ins, he won't worry so much about you and he will keep his head on his work."
"How will he find out? I have no intentions of telling him."
"Because he will read the news feed that all the local police put into the law enforcement web page, alerts and BOLOs. It helps us in our work to keep informed about what the locals are up to."
"I didn't know that." She looks at Gibbs. "I'll make a pot of coffee."
"Leave the hand saw," He tells her then walks away
Gibbs knocks on Mandy's door and waits only a few minutes before she lets him into her comfy apartment. "Come on in." He follows her in and is assaulted with the rich aroma of fresh baked cookies.
"I though I had better feed you while you're here, so I made sandwiches and fresh cookies."
He puts his tool box down and goes to the nearest window. "Who put these locks on the windows?"
"Tony did. He said the ones that were there were crap. He replaced all of them."
"Good, that is one less thing that needs to be done then."
It's not a bad neighborhood, but not the best either. It's a middle class neighborhood where people work hard for what they have. But even here crime is rearing its ugly head.
Gibbs replaces the door lock with two deadbolts, wanting to give Mandy the best they had at the store. The rest of the work is easily done, including replacing the hinge on her drafting table.
"Go wash up and I'll feed you, Gibbs."
When they finish lunch, he knows why Tony finds her so special. She is intelligent and can keep her own in just about any conversation. At the same time, she is so very feminine; a perfect combination.
"I brought you something, it's a stun gun. If anyone breaks in here use it then run, scream fire, make lots of noise and run until you are with a group of people. And you're not imposing. I gave one to Abby, too. She works with us."
"Tony told me about Abby. He said that she is scary smart and she makes Goth not scary, well at least on her.
"Gibbs," She says softly as he starts to open the door to leave. "Why did you help me?"
"Because of Tony. He is special to me. He does not need any more heartache in his life. So by keeping you safe, I protect his heart and mine, too."
"You love him."
"In a way. I like to think that if I had had a son, he would be like Tony. A very intelligent man with a heart that is not afraid to feel. A man who will laugh and even cry without being embarrassed. A good man."
"You should know that I love him very much."
"I know, Mandy. I knew that night that you ate at my house." He leans over and kisses her cheek before he leaves.