Chapter 2: Ass Kicking.
Evangel decided that Wednesday she'd go off to the gym she had spotted around the corner from her apartment. She pushed her way through the late evening commute, her iPod blasting heavy rock tunes of the seventies and eighties. Halfway through 'All Right Now' she was knocked to the ground by a careless businessman trying to get home. He showed no remorse as he weaved his way through the building line of taxi's.
She shoved her gym clothes back into the bag, dodging feet that threatened to squash her longish fingers. Someone knelt down beside her and started also to grab clothing and put it into her bag. Evangel met the smiling face of Anthony DiNozzo. He was still in his work gear, but also carried a bag. "going to the gym?" he asked and Evangel nodded hurriedly. In one swift movement when there was a gap in the flow he pulled her and her bag up to meet the smoky air of Washington.
"you're from California, aren't you?" DiNozzo stated knowingly and Evangel pushed against the current with him. "yeah. They don't have raging afternoons quite like this. You learn to dodge surfboards, not briefcases over there" she laughed and stood on the doorstep of the gym. She paid for a membership while DiNozzo waited for her, leant up against the light blue walls of reception.
After changing she headed straight for the combat area while pulling on a pair of sparring mitts. DiNozzo followed her like a lost sheep, watching her expertly beat the shit out of the speedbag. "so Evangel, what do you think is the secret to a good fight?" he said. She stopped and wiped the tiny beads of sweat that slipped down her forehead.
"I never really thought about it. Me and my sister used to physically beat the crap out each other on a regular basis and that taught a me a few things about fighting" she replied and DiNozzo pulled on pair of mitts too, "care to show me?". Evangel shrugged, "alright. Prepare to have your ass whipped by a girl. Promise me you won't cry?" her lips moved into a great mocking pout.
DiNozzo raised an eyebrow, "promise me you won't?" he replied and they moved around the blue mat in the centre of the room. After about 30 seconds Evangel had Tony on his stomach with one of his arms up in a lock. She squatted over him, then sat down on his lower back, spreading her legs out to the sides. She lay down on him, breathing softly down his spine. Every time he squirmed she pushed his arm a little bit further up his back, causing him more pain.
"one thing to learn about fighting, Tony" she said into his ear, "is never let your anger get above discomfort and get the first shot in. the first shot almost guarantees you the fight" drawing herself slowly off his back and releasing his arm, she stood up again. He rolled over and rubbed his collar bone repeatedly. "you put up a good fight on the mat, but how are you in other places?"
He asked her sweetly and Evangel cocked her head, "is that an invitation to join you somewhere else other than here, Anthony?" DiNozzo shrugged, "only if you want to join me in another place, Ms Joplin" she peeled the hand mitts off, "sounds good. My place, tonight at 8. we'll have someone else with us though" she scrawled down her address and handed it to him, then exited the gym.
Evangel had a million things to do now. clean up the apartment, polish silver, get dressed. Not to mention her fridge was empty. She rushed through the supermarket, picking up various things she would need to make dinner with. Usually it was only two people she cooked for, but now a third one was added to the list. She unlocked the front door, "I'm Home!" she yelled.
"Bedroom" came the reply and Evangel dumped the bags onto the kitchen table. "gee, thanks for the help" she said loudly and an answer came almost immediately, "you don't know what it's like to be injured and live with your older sister who always demands your help. 24/7 it's just Rowan do this and Rowan do that. If it's not Rowan it's Rowan Matthew Paul Scuito"
Evangel sighed, "I do not demand your help every second of the day! Only when I need it!' she retorted and her brother slowly limped into the kitchen, "which is every second of the day!" he eased himself onto one of the armchairs in the lounge room. "by the way, did you go see the physio guy today or not?" she asked and Rowan hung his head, "ummm" he started and Evangel sighed again, "you know that you're not going to get anywhere if you forget to go to your appointments!"
She placed a packet of spinach onto the bench, "we've got someone coming for dinner, and I want you to be nice to him." She heard the TV go on, "a guy eh? What's his name?" he teased and Evangel started to roughly chop the green leaves, "don't start the whole 'oh my god a guy's coming over, lets kill him' routine. His name's Anthony DiNozzo. I work with him" she told him.
Rowan chuckled as he remembered that last guy that had come over. He claimed that Rowan had 'pushed him down the stairs'. The younger sibling still found it hilarious. Evangel was only his half sister but he still protected her in every way that he could. He just didn't want to see her heart broken again. She was married once, but walked in on her husband shagging the English Defence Captain's secretary.
Rowan was always there as someone for her to lose her temper on. There was one incident after the separation that she'd cried for 3 days straight. He'd been there for every minute of those 72 hours. In return she let him move in with her and out of their parent's house. Then the time she was kidnapped and had nightmares for weeks afterwards. He slept next to her for a month so she'd always have someone familiar to wake up to.
He simply looked out for her. Abby used to do most of the looking out but now she was gone Rowan felt it was his responsibility as a brother. There were things that Abby had told him to look out for, like mentioning babies. Evangel and her ex had a stillborn baby once and she never fully recovered from it. Rowan had accidentally stumbled across depression medication once. He never said anything to her, but still watched over his older sister.
Evangel shoved the dish into the oven, wiping her hands on her apron. Her stepmother had taught her to cook, and she loved it with a passion. Ripping the apron and folding it up, she placed it on the kitchen bench and went to sit down next to Rowan. The couch she had was large enough for her to curl up inside Rowan's curved position. They hadn't been there for more than 5 minutes when the doorbell rang. Evangel got up to answer it and there was DiNozzo, snazzy as ever in a black suit and a white and dark blue pinstriped shirt with the collar open.
"nice to see you came, DiNozzo" Evangel greeted him and stood out of the way so he could step into the small flat. "I told you we'd have someone else here, didn't I?" she asked and he nodded. She directed him to the lounge room, "I have a few finishing touches to put on tonight's dinner so make yourself comfortable. Rowan, meet Tony. Tony this is Rowan, my little brother" Rowan shook DiNozzo's hand and they started to build a conversation. Evangel pulled the dish out of the oven 20 minutes later and then yelled out to the boys that dinner was ready.
They both came like seagulls circling hot chips, sitting down and stuffing themselves. Rowan polished off his plate at the speed of light as usual, Then left Evangel and DiNozzo to talk. "so," Tony made conversation, "how olds Rowan?" Evangel shoved her plate forward to signal she was done, "23. he moved in a few months ago after his accident". DiNozzo stretched back in his chair, "what kind of accident?" he asked and Evangel got up to get another glass of wine, "he was surfing one day; decided to leave early, didn't see the car coming towards him and went straight over the windshield"
DiNozzo's face scrunched up into a grimace, " What kind of injuries are we talking about here?" she sat down again and offered a glass to Tony, who refused it. "punctured lung, smashed up fibula, 4 broken ribs, burst appendix, one removed kidney and a fractured skull" his face once again screwed up "Ow" Evangel pushed the chair back and rested her knees against the table, feet on the chair "so tell me about my new colleagues. I want to know about Gibbs" she said and tipped the wine glass back towards her mouth.
"not much to tell. 3 ex-wives, not exactly with the times, a bit of a softie when it comes to kids. Loved our previous forensics expert like a daughter" he said softly and grabbed his beer off of the table. "what was the old one like?" she asked, knowing full well what her sister was like. DiNozzo took a swig, "she was one of the nicest people you'd ever meet. She cared about everyone, even the people she didn't like. Abby comforted, pacified and healed the weak and broken"
Evangel gave a low whistle, " looks like I have a reputation to live up to then" she said jokingly and set her glass down on the table, "do you want to go sit in the lounge room? We can kick Rowan out." She stood up and wound her way through the corridor, DiNozzo at her heels. Rowan sensed that he was going to be evicted from the room so he left, yelling over his shoulder that he was going to bed. Evangel looked mildly surprised, "that was easy. He usually puts up a fight"
After another few hours Evangel checked he clock sitting on the mantelpiece and suggested the DiNozzo made his way home. He didn't object and let himself be led to the front door. "thanks, Tony. I had a great time" Evangel stated, and kissed him on the cheek before closing the door. He didn't even make it to his car.
A/N: oh my god, why didn't he make it to his car? find out next time I update!
Next Chapter: Kidnap