Tony thought carefully. Ziva was right. He wasn't very good at this sort of stuff. Tim was important to him and he didn't want to stuff it up. Again. Maybe he should just talk to him? Surely he would understand that he just wanted to take it slow?

Tony had strange intense couple visions of McGee family Christmas's complete with his own embroidered stocking over the fireplace, joint holidays, picking up each others dry cleaning, and arguing over groceries. These slightly concerning images were balanced out by the desire to have endless long snuggling sessions on his couch as he introduced Tim to his immense DVD collection.

There was something about the idea of holding Tim in his arms as he explained in detail Hitchcock's brilliance while he dropped little kisses onto his silky hair as he cuddled into him……………while Tim slept.

Tony caught himself smiling as he picked up the phone to call his….boyfriend

He picked up the phone and dialed Tim's extension at the hospital

"Hey there …Tim. How are you doing?"

Tony could hear the smile in Tim's voice. "Hi Tony. Oh better….a bit tired still but mostly just bored. Rebecca, that's the girl from the alley and her entire family, came to visit and thank me for stepping in to try and save her. It was a bit embarrassing really as instead of rescuing her she got knocked out and I got stabbed.

Some great Federal Agent I turned out to be. Still she thinks that if I hadn't stepped in they would have killed her. Those guys were pretty crazy and on drugs definitely.

But I have some good news. The composite sketch I did of the three guys along with her description seems to have helped and apparently they have the three of them under arrest. It seems they were already known to local police and they just needed some evidence to bring them in. I must admit I'm pretty glad they aren't roaming around out there anymore."

Tony realized that having the three men who attacked and stabbed him wandering the streets must have bothered him. And how Tim hadn't really mentioned the attack or how he felt about it to anyone. Except to say that he was fine.

Tony's voice was soft "So how are you Tim? How are you really?"

"The stitches are starting to itch…….." Tim avoided the actual question

"No Tim I mean how do you feel about the attack?"

There was a pause and Tony could hear Tim considering how to answer the question

"I'm fine really Tony. No nightmares or anything. It was scary…for a moment lying there wondering if help would come….would come in time. But it did and really I'm fine."

Tim smiled thinking that if some pain and a few days in hospital was what it took to get Tony DiNozzo to admit his feelings for him then it was well worth it.

"It's good to hear from you Tony….I have been thinking about you… a lot….They won't let me do anything and to be honest I'm looking forward to be able to come back to work. I mean it's bad when filing and paperwork seems exciting"

Tony laughed happy to hear Tim already sounding so much stronger. He would be fine. And Tony would look after him and make sure he stayed fine.

"Well I'm…looking forward to seeing you back at work. I wanted to apologize for earlier…about being a bit of a jerk. I really didn't mean to be…which is why I'm calling. I think I have been giving you grief for so long I don't know how to talk to you without it. But I am hoping to try….. I really would like to see you…….well you know date you not just see you as I mean we will see each other everyday anyway…..? I don't know if I'm making sense here but well I was hoping to ease into this whole….well us thing…you know just kind of date casually for a while….you know before …well it's a lot to take in all at once. You know people at work knowing that we are…well not just partners….but partners."

Tony paused and waited for a response.

"uhhh well ok if that's what you want.." Tim felt the disappointment as a bitter taste in his mouth

"Oh great. Yeah I think it would be better. You know take the pressure off. Phew. Ok glad we're on the same page. You know lets just take one thing, one day at a time."

"Uhhh yeah…I kind of wanted to know where you were at too…so I'm glad you cleared that up. Casual." Tim tried not to bite off the word and spit it across the room.

A doctor stepped into the doorway and waited for Tim to finish up his call before checking his progress

"Well I should go. They want to check out my stitches. I will see you at work. Thanks for…thanks for calling Tony"

"Oh ….ok I will see you soon"

Tony put the phone down and sighed happily. Ok everything was finally going well. They were going to take it slow and steady and just see where things ended up. Now what sort of snacks did Tim like? He should make sure his fridge was stocked. Okay so Tim may not be up for an all night movie marathon quite yet but his education should start somewhere. Now where were his keys……? Wait maybe he should clean up his apartment first? Tim was kind of a neat and tidy guy. What would he say if he saw Tony's apartment littered in Chinese takeout boxes and girly magazines?

With a sigh Tony pulled up his sleeves and started cleaning. Man he hoped Tim was worth it! Tony remembered the sensation of Tim's strong long fingered hands bunched in his shirt as he pinned him to the lockers and smiled as he discovered exactly where that third slice of pizza from the other night had gone.

Tim put the phone down and felt like crying. What had gone wrong? One moment Tony is whispering his love and the next he's backing off. Way off. Casual? Tim knew painfully all about casual. Abby had taught him that. Soon casual would become an ocassional dinner and then eventually nothing. Tony didn't even have the guts to tell him in person. He did it over the phone. So what unconscious and near death was one thing but alive and kicking was another?

Tim remembered how Tony had told him he loved him once when he had hauled him over the edge of the concrete barrier at the parking garage. Was it like that? A declaration made in the heat of the moment under extreme emotional duress?

And now that he was getting better, now that Tony would have to face him at work everyday was Tony having second thoughts?

McGee was back today! Tony had visited McGee in the hospital and while he had been resting at home but not often, not for long and not alone. Their case work hadn't disappeared even though they were one team member down and Tony was looking forward to being able to resume their easy camaraderie around the office.

He might even return his paperclips. Although he would keep one….the one he had twisted into a heart shape. That was no good as a paperclip anymore anyway.

Tony privately hoped Tim would wear the French Blue shirt he brought him. He couldn't wait to ask Tim to come over to his place for dinner. He really wanted to spend some time alone with him and just hang out together. He didn't like to think about anything beyond there as it made him both blush and kind of get nervous.

Tony shook his head at himself. Who knew that he would be getting all giggly about asking Probie over to dinner?

He got into the office early in anticipation and was now eagerly watching the elevator doors from his prime location at his desk.

Ding

McGee?

Tony stared at the slightly familiar man walking towards him. Where had his pretty, sweet Timmy gone? Who the hell was this Euro Stud strolling off the elevator? Was McGee wearing a black silk shirt? With the top buttons undone? Jewellry? He had to admit Tim looked sharp, razor sharp in his sleek black suit but he didn't like the approving looks he was getting as he walked off the elevator.

Tim felt good. He felt sharp, he felt edgy. He hoped Tony would appreciate all the effort he had taken to make him proud of him. Or at least not so embarrassed about dating the office 'Geek' He had already received a few admiring glances his way so he can't have done too badly?

All the things Tony had been going to say to Tim when he walked back into the office for the first time fell away and instead he came out with.."Aren't you a bit over dressed for the office McGee?'

Tim's face fell and he stopped in front of Tony's desk. "Don't you like the way I look?"

"Well …I mean sure…it's just not very practical is it?"

"Well it not like I'm going out in the field yet so yeah I'm sure I'm dressed well enough to handle some filing and reports" Tim tried to respond coolly and walked over to the security of his desk in disappointment.

Tony glared at Agent Sommers who was peeking over the edge of the divider with a leering grin on her face. Damn McGee and his silky black shirt….that made Tony ….and apparently others want to run their hands all over Tim's broad chest.

Tim tried to look confident, although nothing seemed to be working out the way he had wanted. Tony seemed to be paying attention to him but he didn't seem to be happy with what he was wearing. He thought Tony wanted him to be 'edgy'? Well he had been assured he was dressed as sharp as he could possibly get away with…unless he rocked up to work in a formal dinner suit and tie.

"Are those boots McGee?"

Tony saw Tim leaning back in his chair and prop his feet up on his desk. Instead of his normal rather boring shoes or occasional suede sneaker he seemed to be wearing short black leather ankle boots with a savage silver buckle.

"Yes they are"

"What sort of leather are they? They look..different"

"It's crocodile"

Tony stared "You're wearing Black crocodile leather boots…to work?"

Tim glared at him "Have you got a problem with that….DiNozzo?"

Tony could see Tim getting cross and backed off. He didn't want him to be cranky. He wanted him to be in a cuddling on the couch, laughing, kissy mood.

Tony glared again at Agent Sommers who appeared to have called over a girlfriend and Tim now had two women checking him out over the dividers. Grrrr Mine. Timothy McGee may not be completely aware of it yet but he was Tony's and he wasn't about to be swept away by some pretty blonde. Tony had come too far to back off now and he wasn't about to give up easily.

Why couldn't he just have worn his ordinary work clothes? Why was he trying to draw woman's attention all of a sudden? Wasn't he happy dating Tony? Or…well since they hadn't actually had a date yet..wasn't he happy knowing he was going to be dating Tony?

Tony made up his mind. He was going to claim Tim as his right in front of everyone and scuttlebutt be damned. Everyone would know sooner or later anyway. Yup he was going to walk right over to Tim and give him a kiss he would remember for the rest of the day. Maybe even the rest of his life!

Tony leaned down and suddenly Tim looked up, realization in his eyes. Tony turned his head to the right and leaned further in closing his eyes.

Tim sucked in a breath. Tony was going to kiss him! Here at work! Should he stand? Go left? Go right? Eyes open? Eyes closed?

Clunk

"Oww" Tim rubbed his head while Tony muttered, embarrassed "It was a lot easier to kiss you when you were unconscious"

Tim frowned "Yeah well ..it seems like a lot of things were a lot easier when I was unconscious"

"What do you mean by that?"

"Never mind"

"Is there something up with you?"

"Is there something up with you?" Tim asked back

"Look we can talk about it tonight…. I have organised dinner …for us ..back at my place"

"Oh…..I Can't."

"What do you mean you can't?"

Well I have plans"

"You have plans?? Well I figured with….. you know …us …you would want to spend some time with me?"

"Well yeah….but you said you wanted to keep the pressure off…keep it light….keep it casual……so I accepted Kirsten's offer of a drink after work"

Tony was flabbergasted "The nurse? The nurse at the hospital? You're going for a drink with her instead of spending the night with me?"

The two men started at each other a canyon of misunderstanding opening up between them.

"Tony. Gear up. We've got a case"

"Yeah Boss" Tony turned away from Tim with hurt eyes and grabbed his bag from his desk.

"McGee?"

"Yeah Boss"

"Good to have you back. Since you're not cleared for field duty then go help Abby clear some of the stuff she has in front of her now. Looks like we will be bringing in some fresh work for her."

"Ok Boss" Tim watched confused as Tony disappeared into the lift without even looking at him.

Wasn't that what Tony had wanted? Wasn't he doing everything Tony had asked of him?

(Sorry about the slightly longer time to update. Been shifting my work across to new NFA site and took up some time. Precious)