It was lunchtime and the bullpen was mostly deserted. Tony DiNozzo got off the elevator to head back to his desk. He had a little time before Gibbs got back from his meeting up in DC. He was behind in turning in one of his reports and he wanted to get it finished so he could go home and get ready for his date tonight. He never resented having to work late when it involved an active case, but he really did not like doing the follow up paperwork. Anonymously he had requested a secretary for the MCRT unit on several occasions, but so far his pleas had gone unheeded. He knew it was all about their already lean budget, but it never hurt to ask.

Tony was startled by the horrible guttural sounds coming out of his partner. He was halfway across the room and came to a skidding halt as he heard the choking noises Tim McGee was making at his desk. Dropping his coffee to the floor, Tony hurried to his friend and grabbed him bodily from behind, yanking him out of his chair and proceeding with the Heimlich maneuver in a desperate attempt to save his life.

To say Tim was startled by his unpredictable partner's actions was perhaps the understatement of the century. His phone flew out of his hand, yanking his headphones painfully from his ears. He found himself flying backwards and being crushed by the larger man in a credible imitation of Refrigerator Perry taking out an opposing player.

Tim finally managed to gasp out, "TONY! Arrrgh! Stop!"

Surprised and pleased that his actions had worked so well, Tony unceremoniously dropped his partner to the floor and flopped down next to the thoroughly confused agent. Tim was glowering at him as he gathered up the pieces of his very expensive and very shattered phone. Tony stared back in confusion.

"What's wrong, Probie? I just saved your life! What were you choking on, anyway?"

Now it was Tim's turn to look confused. "Choking? I wasn't choking on anything!"

They sat staring at each other for a moment until suddenly the light dawned and Tim began to chuckle as the two men stood. "Oh, wow. You must have heard me sharpening my language skills."

Tim dropped the pieces of his phone and his headphones onto his desk. He waited for the inevitable question. Tony didn't disappoint.

"What language was that Tim? I speak five different languages, and I have never heard anything even remotely like that in my life!"

Tim smiled. "That's because you're not a Star Trek fan, Tony. That was Klingon. There's an app. And I'm a little rusty. I'm attending a reunion next weekend. Figured I'd better brush up a bit."

Tony's eyebrows shot up at that revelation. "There's an app for learning a fictional alien language?"

Now Tim positively beamed, and his grin was almost feral. "Who says it's fictional Tony?"

Just then, Gibbs swept into the room, Ziva right behind him. He announced they had a case, and all conversation was forgotten as they headed out.

Tony's date went well, and he was exhausted when he got home very late that night. He showered and fell into bed. It was just as his eyes closed that McGee's words hit him full in the face. "…attending a reunion next weekend…" and "Who says it's fictional?" Tony's eyes shot back open. Reunion? Fabulous, don't tell me Probie's really a Klingon! It was a very long time before Tony fell asleep that night.

Across town, Tim McGee lay staring at the ceiling. It had been a close call today. He was going to have to be more careful.

~The End~

A/N: This little snippet was inspired by the fact that my language app offers Klingon as one of its choices. Of course I had to run with it. Let me know what you think