Chapter 2
I sat down in my favorite booth at my favorite diner. This place was like a second home to me and I loved it. The staff knew me by name, they knew what I loved, they knew what I was allergic to, they knew me for me.
"What will it be today, Lacey?" Sally, the head waitress and owner, asked, a smile lighting up her face. Sally was my fiancé's mother and probably my best friend.
I couldn't keep the grin from forming on my own, "What ever Ace is making in the back."
"Comin' right up, darlin'!" Ace, Sally's husband and chef, shouted from the kitchen and gave me a wink.
Sally rolled her eyes and slid into the other side of the booth. "Another Valentine's Day alone, sweat pea?"
"Yeah." I shrugged.
"Lacey, you have to get out there! You can't keep hiding away in my diner every night." She gave me a pointed look.
"Sally, you know I can't. There's no one out there for me. Noah was- Noah was it for me."
Sally's eyes filled with tears, "My Noah loved you fiercely, but he would never want you throwing away an opportunity to be happy because of him. You know that."
I nodded my head slowly, "I don't think there is anyone out there who could ever make me as happy as he did. I know it's been over four years, but I just can't move on. He will always be the love of my life."
From the time we were six until Noah died, we were best friends. We did everything together, when he decided to join the Army, I decided to seek out Nakasaki. It was the first time we had been apart.
"You know you will always be apart of our family, don't you? You have been since you were a little girl. Ace and I love you like our own daughter, nothing will change that." She took my hand and gave it a tight squeeze. "Now, I have to see to my other customers, but I'll be back with your food."
I smiled at her and wiped a few stray tears away. I stared at the cup of coffee Sally must have sat in front of me and it brought me back to the first time I had came into this diner. Memories flashed by of the little girl in pigtails and I watched as she jumped up on the barstool. Her brother had taken her out for a secret hamburger. The Commander and Mom had instilled in us that we were vegetarians and against the consumption of meat.
My third oldest brother, Matthew, had always been my favorite. He was the only one who tried to stay in contact with me. Matt would take me out once a week to Sally's and we would stuff ourselves with burgers, fries, and milkshakes. After every meal, he would raise his finger to his mouth and say, "Shh, remember, don't tell Mom about this."
I would giggle and bounce off to the car, nodding my head. Of course, I wouldn't tell, I would do anything Matt asked of me. The bell over the door jingled and forced me out of my thoughts. I took a sip of my coffee and looked down at the file I had brought with me. The front of it had a giant read "CONFIDENTIAL" stamp on it. My finger played with the side of the manila folder.
I went to open it, but my senses heightened and I felt like someone was watching me. I looked up and caught the eyes of none other than Anthony DiNozzo himself. "Lacey?" He strode over causally to my booth.
"What happened to your hot date?" I raised an eyebrow and smirked.
He held up his hands in surrender and smiled, "You caught me. I don't have a hot date unless you count Sally. She's pretty cute."
"I heard that!" A gruff Ace said from the kitchen.
"Well, if it isn't one of my favorite customers! You haven't been in, in a long time, Anthony." Sally smiled and sat a burger, fries, Mac and cheese, and milkshake down in front of me. "You know my Lacey?"
Tony looked surprised, his eyes glanced between Sally and I, "Your Lacey? Your mom died? You're the commander's daughter?"
Sally nodded, "She did and yes, she is. Lacey was engaged to my Noah."
"Was? Where is he now?" Sally looked as if she would crumple any minute. The loss of her son would never fade.
I sat up straighter and let out a long breath, "He's dead."
"Oh." Was all Tony said.
Sally finally having come out of her daze jumped into waitress mode, "You want your usual, Anthony?"
He smiled gratefully and nodded. Sally turned on her heel and went into the kitchen. "Can I join you?"
"By all means." I grabbed the file and slid it into my purse.
Tony eyed it suspiciously, but said nothing. "I'm sorry."
"Hm?" I bit into a fry and looked into his eyes.
"I didn't know about your fiancé. Now I can see why you may have not wanted to go home tonight." He gave me a sympathetic smile.
I shrugged, "It's okay, it's been over four years now."
Tony's voice was thick with emotion, "It never gets easier though. Losing someone you love."
"You sound as if you know what it's like." I stated.
"I lost my mom when I was young." I nodded my head and bit into my burger. "You eat meat?"
The surprise was evident in his voice and I had to laugh, "Yes, lots of people eat meat, DiNozzo."
"Well, of course, but not Commander Hart. He was very adamant that no member in his family ate meat."
"I guess that means I haven't been a member of his family since I was six." I bit my lip trying not to laugh, "My brother brought me here when I was growing up every Wednesday night. It was our little secret. That's actually how I met Noah."
DiNozzo smiled, "Your brother seems like a cool guy."
I nodded my head, "He is. Matt's the only one I talk to from my family." I continued to eat my food as the conversation came to a lull. We sat in a silence all of its own. The soft songs from the jukebox at the fright floated through the quietness.
Sally sat DiNozzo's food down smiling and winking at me before she left. I rolled my eyes. "Did I miss something?"
"What?" I raised an eyebrow, dipping a fry into my milkshake and popping it into my mouth.
"The wink, the eye roll, I must have missed something." He stated.
A round of light laughter flowed freely from my lips, "Oh no, that's just Sally being Sally. She thinks I need to start putting myself back out there and apparently, you are a good candidate!"
"Maybe you should put yourself back out there. I'm sure you'd have a line of guys waiting for you." DiNozzo winked.
I shook my head, "I think I'll pass, DiNozzo."
"Oh please, call me Tony. We are on a date after all."
I rolled my eyes, but couldn't contain the easy smile that spread across my face. I found myself doing that a lot throughout the night. Surprisingly, Tony was an easy guy to talk to and he made me laugh quite a bit. Time seemed to pass by slowly as Tony and I sat, talking in my favorite booth. When I looked at the clock on the wall, I realized it was well into morning hours.
A yawn escaped my mouth, "I think it is time for me to take my leave."
"Oh, wow! I didn't mean to keep you here so long!" Tony said as he glanced at the time.
"It's okay, I had a lot of fun! Thanks, Tony." I smiled and stood up, grabbing my portfolio and the case file I had yet to examine. "See you in a few hours."
An easy grin found its way onto his face, "Yeah, see you in a few hours."
I walked over to the counter a laid some money near the register. "Goodnight, Ace! Tell Sally I left some money on the register!"
"Lacey Ann, you better not have!" Sally commanded as she walked out from the back, hands on her hips, "You know you never have to pay when you eat here."
I shrugged sheepishly, blew her a kiss and ducked out before she could say another word.
"Anthony, don't you run off. I need to talk to you!" Sally called as she hastened towards the booth I was sitting in.
I leaned forward and rested my hands on the coffee cup in front of me, "What's up, Sally?"
She nodded her head and sat down in the seat Lacey had just vacated, "You better be good to my girl."
"Sally, it's not like that. Lacey and I are coworkers and hopefully, now friends. There's nothing going on." I laughed.
"Oh please! Don't give me any of that nonsense. You had that girl laughing and smiling all night long. You weren't even flirting with her, which is unusual for you. So I assume that means you actually probably have feelings for her." Sally gave me a pointed look.
I sighed, "Sally, we just met each other. I won't be dating her anytime soon."
She patted my hand and grinned, "Of course not, sweetheart."
A groan made its way out of me and Sally bounced out of the booth and backed to the register. I laid some money down and went to the door.
"You break her heart, I will break you." Ace said, pointing a spatula at me.
"Don't worry, I don't intend on breaking anything." With that, I took my leave.
A dark shadow skirted along the wall of the diner. Two eyes peered out and watched as the young woman left. The eyes followed her all the way to her car. The shadow waited, wanting to take a chance and go after her now, but it knew to be patient.
The car sped off and he watched as the man who was talking with the young woman left the diner. The shadow needed to find out if this man would be a threat to the plan. The shadow slunk back into the darkness and as it turned to leave the moon shone brightly on its face. A scar ran the length of the right side; from his eyebrow down to his mouth. His neck was covered in skin leftover from a burn.
"I will get my revenge, Ms. Hart, and when I do you will be dead." The shadow sneered with evil.
I am so extremely sorry in the very long delay with this chapter! It hardly makes up for the long wait! My stories have taken somewhat of a backseat! But I promise I am back and ready to write! I hope you all have enjoyed this so far! There are many twists and turns planned for this story! Let me know what you think! :)
Until next time,
Theatrefreak10
p.s. For my story purposes, the team is young. Most being in their late twenties or very early thirties, with the exception of Ducky, Gibbs, and Vance.
