Disclaimer: Because of the pandemic, I have binge watched a lot of shows that I didn't have the opportunity to watch on TV when they first aired because I'm a mostly productive member of society. NCIS was one of such shows (I did watch Glee avidly when it aired and was commonly referred to as a Gleek, shameless plug here for my multiple fanfics about Fabrevans in the Glee universe). Go watch clips on You Tube to get an idea about characters mentioned here (to get into my head space, I guess). No disrespect for Tiva…that was great chemistry! I don't think I could do them justice in fanfic, however. This is a songfic mash-up of Quinn Fabray from Glee and Anthony DiNozzo, Jr., from NCIS. Background is mostly canon (until the end of series for Glee; until roughly the end of S13 for NCIS), but their pairing is more AU. Characters from both shows may make appearances. I do not own anything from either show or any songs mentioned. If some cable executive would like to use this as a basis to pair these two up in a new TV show, then, by all means, go for it (key word: cable, as in NSFW).

Quinn Fabray was happy yet unsatisfied. She managed to survive high school and graduated from Yale University. She had a good job, her own place, even a car she kept in storage for road trips to Ohio. But, romantically, she was lacking. The boys at McKinley were mostly immature, though Sam Evans had treated her like a princess; she often reminisced about their time together. The Yale professor she had dated was…well, dated. The fling with Noah Puckerman had fizzled out. The men she met nowadays were just not her type.

While at Yale, she finally underwent counseling with regard to giving up Beth. Why this wasn't suggested to her when it actually happened was beyond her. As a young adult, she now realized that giving up her child for adoption and her own father disowning and abandoning her had really done a number on her psyche. The therapist suggested that that was why she was dating a professor in his 60s, to regain the security her father had pulled out from under her. After several sessions with the therapist and understanding her predicament, she took control and dumped the doctor.

After college graduation, she returned to Ohio to help take care of her mother as she battled breast cancer. While back home, she enrolled at Ohio State University to earn her master's degree in curatorial art. Her goal was to eventually work in Washington, D.C. She wanted to be where the action was happening, where the men were educated and classy because, in Columbus, Ohio, they pretty much were not. Her mother lost her battle with cancer a year after Quinn finished at OSU. Quinn was ready for a change. She took an archivist position at the National Archives and Record Administration (NARA) in D.C. and moved there to pursue her career.

Anthony DiNozzo, Jr., was depressed but wearing a mask of happiness and trying to be his usual jovial self. He was sure he would never be satisfied with any woman, any career, anything. He had graduated from Ohio State University with a degree in physical education but found himself working as, first, a beat cop in Philadelphia and then Baltimore, and next as a field agent for the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) in Washington, D.C. His mother had died when he was 8 years old; his father was a jet-setting entrepreneur who sent his son to boarding schools to be raised. Tony and his father had reconnected in recent years and made amends, but his father had died right before Tony left NCIS.

As an adult, Tony didn't want to commit to one woman…until he met Ziva David. For several years they worked together on the same team for NCIS, always in a cat-and-mouse situation, will they or won't they? Ziva was a trained Israeli assassin for the Mossad and had chased the murderer of her father back to Israel. Tony followed her, supported her after she took down the murderer, but Ziva chose to stay in Israel and not return to the U.S. Tony felt that if he gave her space and time she would return, but she never did. Two years after their goodbye, Tony received word that Ziva had been killed in an attack on her home…along with her daughter, a girl of 15 months old. The child was also his daughter, Talia. Ziva had confided in their NCIS team leader, Leroy Jethro Gibbs, about Talia and had shared photos and videos of the child with him. She knew the risks involved in staying in Israel and left letters for Gibbs to pass to Tony if she did not survive to tell him about Talia. She never dreamed the assassins would take Talia, too. Reeling from the loss of Ziva and the daughter he never knew, as well as the loss of his father, Tony resigned his position at NCIS. He needed to distance himself from the environment where every person, every room, everything reminded him of Ziva. He sublet his swanky apartment and flew to Israel to spend time where Ziva and Talia had lived; he wanted to feel closer to them, to find closure. Upon returning to D.C., he rented a studio suite apartment in the Abbott District, a rejuvenated neighborhood south of the city, and began looking for some sort of employment.

NARA held general new employee training before anyone began in their hired position. A group of about 20 people assembled in the auditorium on site to listen to lectures and watch videos.

Quinn arrived early and quickly scanned the room…no familiar faces but she didn't expect any. She picked up a folder of information and her name tag, then chose a seat that would allow her to people watch. She did feel quite proud of herself for making her way to NARA using public transportation and getting there early, all the way from her new condo in the Abbott District.

She immediately noticed the guy who rushed in a couple minutes late. He was well tanned, wore a baby blue button-up shirt and jeans. He ran a hand through his short light brown hair, causing it to spike up and catch the golden sun-kissed tips under the fluorescents. He was sporting some scruffy facial hair as if he hadn't shaved in a day or two. He stopped in the doorway and scanned the room, much like she had done. She could've sworn he adjusted a nonexistent tie. He grabbed the last folder and name tag, donned a dazzling smile toward the instructor, spied an empty seat, and moved toward it as unobtrusively as possible.

The new employees were given directions to the cafeteria, which was busy with visitors and NARA employees. By the time Quinn made it through the line, only a few empty seats remained in the room. The Blue Shirt guy sat alone with one of those empty seats, and she was tempted to join him but couldn't muster up the courage.

She took a seat and watched people as she nibbled on her salad. She was drawn to Blue Shirt because he just didn't seem comfortable in jeans, though he was trying to appear as though that was his routine choice of clothing. She tried to get a look at his name tag but was not successful. He also seemed to recognize people, smiling and saying hello to some.

Tony noticed Quinn as she came into the cafeteria and looked for a place to have her lunch. She was a petite girl, wearing a flowing dress that fell to just below her knees, white with lavender flowers, and a lavender sweater. She wore plain sandals, and he could swear her legs were bare. Her blonde hair was pulled into a short ponytail at the nape of her neck, and her face would light up in a smile for people he was sure she didn't know. He started to smile at her and almost flagged her down when he realized she was searching for a seat but then she turned out of his view to take another seat. He wished he had not dressed down by wearing jeans, wished he had worn a tie,, and wondered what that girl's name was.

On Quinn's very first day working at the Archives she got terribly lost in the building. From the employees' entrance to her office, it was a simple trek down a couple halls, to another floor, and down a couple more halls. From her office to the cafeteria, again, it was simple…find the elevator, take it to the cafeteria. However, getting back to her office from the cafeteria required a few more maneuvers, mainly due to security protocols. She somehow wound up on the wrong elevator with other employees and assumed they were going to her floor. But, the elevator went to a sub-basement she wasn't aware even existed. She managed to go back up a few floors, but the buttons in this elevator were marked differently. She had no idea where she was.

The security team watched her on camera, trying to find her way back to her office. It was customary to take bets on how badly lost new employees became on their first day on the job. Finally, the retiring security chief asked his trainee to find her and get her back to her office.

Quinn was beginning to panic. If she didn't get back to her office or was found in a part of the Archives that she was not cleared for, then her job at the Archives was over before it really began.

Rushing down hallway after hallway, all of which looked very similar, all with closed unmarked doors, she pulled her cell phone from her pocket to call her office mate. It was then she realized she couldn't remember the number. Frustrated, she turned a corner and directly into the broad chest of a security officer. He held onto her upper arms, and, when her eyes focused, she was looking at the top of a white undershirt underneath the uniform. She looked up into kind green eyes.

"You lost?" he asked, flashing a brilliant - but nice - smile her way. She read his badge…Security Chief Anthony DiNozzo. He realized he was still holding onto her and dropped his hands to his hips.

"You're the guy…from general training…" she said, more to herself than to him. Then, she smiled back at him. "Yes, I mean, yes, I'm lost…so very lost."

She saw recognition in his eyes. "I can help you," he said and then added "Ms. Fabray" after reading her badge.

He led her back to her office and, after exchanging benign pleasantries and thank-you's, headed back to the security hub. For hours afterward, she felt the warmth of his hands on her upper arms and kept recalling his inviting green eyes, his strong chest.

Back at the security hub, he asked his training supervisor, "How'd I do?" knowing that all of the officers on duty had been watching via camera. His supervisor clapped him on the back. "Great job, DiNozzo, great job."

To himself, Tony agreed. He had managed to meet the mystery girl.

He finally caught her eye at lunch one day and raised an eyebrow with a smile. She returned the smile and joined him at his table. She felt a blush rising on her cheeks.

"I'm not lost today," she started.

"No, you're in the right place, Ms. Fabray," he replied.

"Really, 'Quinn' is fine…Anthony?" Both realized they had not really introduced themselves to one another the day she got lost.

He smiled at her again. "Anthony's good." He loved how it sounded on her lips. Everyone called him 'Tony' or 'DiNozzo'. It was different, and he needed different.

They made small talk about their new jobs and the weather…autumn in D.C. They realized they had both attended OSU and were somewhat surprised that they had that in common. After sharing their favorite - and least favorite - memories about college in Ohio, Tony mentioned a prank he and his buddies had pulled at their graduation ceremony. Quinn laughed along with him - the prank was legendary - and realized he had graduated six years before her. And then he asked her the inevitable…what year did you graduate? She hesitated but told him. His reaction? "Hmmm."

Quinn thought, by appearance, Tony was older than what she had first considered. Tony thought, by appearance, Quinn was younger than he had first considered. Knowing that they were actually relatively close in age, from that point forward the awkwardness between them faded. She was happy she had made a friend in D.C. He was happy he had met someone who made him feel more like his usual self.

NOTE: This will pick up...have to get the background in. Please share comments and suggestions. If I screw up locality terminology, etc., please know I'm not going to research every little thing. Use your imagination like I do. :D Originally, it was going to be a one-shot, but it's grown into needing chapters. So, here we are. If you haven't, check out MW's You Tube page. There is actually a pretty catchy tune there about Cole Porter. j/s.