Author's note: I do not own NCIS: LA or its characters
Fatima smiled at her new partner as she buttoned her second layer.
"You want to get dinner?" she asked. Rountree smiled.
"Sure. You like pizza?" he replied.
"I'm not a monster, you know," she said as she grabbed her bag. Rountree laughed. Pretty soon, they were at a pizza joint about a mile from Fatima's house.
"Hey, I just wanted to say thank you. For real. You saved my life. Again," he said softly. Fatima blushed a little.
"No big deal. Couldn't let my new partner get killed, could I?" she said, shaking parmesan cheese onto her pizza. Rountree smiled a little.
"If you don't mind me asking, what happened to your partner before me?" he asked nervously.
"I didn't really have an official partner. I just kinda rode with whoever needed a partner for the day, and the other days I worked in ops with whoever was there that day. I was with Kensi a lot," she explained.
"Yeah, well, you know all about my history with the FBI. You have a boyfriend?" he said. Fatima raised an eyebrow. "Or girlfriend, I don't want to assume," he quickly added.
"Nope. Neither. And I would prefer not to talk about my pathetic dating life," she groaned. Rountree smiled.
"Hey. Don't be beating yourself up because you're too good for everyone," he said. Fatima turned bright red.
Once they were done, Rountree happily gave Fatima a ride home.
"Thanks. See you tomorrow," she said, trying to get out of the car and inside.
"Of course. Can I walk you up?" he asked.
"Um, I don't think that's a good idea," she whispered. She got out of the car and hurried up to the front door. Rountree stayed and waited until she was safely inside before he pulled out of the driveway.