We got to my apartment and right away he noticed a ton of Tony's stuff all over the place. He raised an eyebrow and I thought I could see a hint of anger in his eyes, but I was probably just imagining it. I walked into the kitchen and asked, "Do you want a drink? I've got beer, water, coke, or I could make us some coffee." I was stalling and he knew it. He walked in right up behind me, flush against my back, and shut the refrigerator door. "Lindsay, we need to talk." I sighed and made my way around him out of the kitchen. "Fine Mac talk." I was just a little angry that he thought I had anything to say to him after the way he left things last month.
He walked into my family room and sat down on the couch across from the chair I had just plopped down on. He just looked at me. Nope that was not going to work. First thing dad had taught me when I got to NCIS was his old Marine interrogation techniques and this was one of them. I wouldn't fall for it. I leveled my eyes with his and raised an eyebrow. "If you think that staring at me is going to make me say anything you are seriously mistaken. Now please get on with it." He looked a little surprised. I didn't hold back my smirk this time.
"Are you okay?" Was his first if rather pointless question. I rolled my eyes and nodded. "Really its not as if it hasn't happened before." I was referring to Mosi Ghedi. He looked at me and said, "Yes but you weren't exactly fine then were you?" I knew calling him in the middle of the night would come back and bite me in the ass. I sighed and said, "No I wasn't, but now I have…family here with me. Tony and Abby and Dad, they've helped me deal with it all." He looked at his hands and I barely heard him say, "So you and Dinozzo are…?" He trailed off but I knew what he was asking. I sighed and got up off the couch. I walked over to the mantle over my fireplace. I fiddled with the pictures and said, "Tony and I…He's there when I need him and even when I don't. He's the best friend I've ever had." I heard him get up and walk up behind me.
I held my breath and waited, the ball was in his court. He turned me around and looked into my eyes. I tilted my head up so my eyes would be even with his. He swooped down and was only an inch from my lips when I remembered. "Peyton." I mumbled quietly. He stumbled back when I said that. As much as I want Mac I wasn't going to be the other woman. "Maybe you should go. She's probably waiting for you." He couldn't look me in the eyes but started to say, "Lindsay I didn't mean to…" I cut him off, "Mac you never mean to. Please just go." He nodded and walked out. I held back my tears until I saw him getting into a cab. Then they started pouring down. Loving Mac was the worst mistake I had ever made. I try not to but then, then he goes and does something wonderful. Right now I hate him but tomorrow sometime during the day he'll do something, reassure a family catch a suspect, save a little kid and I wont be able to help it anymore.
I heard a key scraping in the lock. Tony must be here. I never make him knock anymore. I hastily wiped the tears off of my face and waited for him to come in. He saw me and I guess he had seen Mac leaving because he came over gathered me in his arms and said, "Linds, shh, don't cry, it will all be okay. He's an idiot for choosing her." Mac may not have said he chose her, but when he walked out the door he made his choice. I nodded and picked myself up out of his arms. I have to be strong. I quieted myself and said, "Carry-out?" He nodded and went to order the Chinese.
When he left to pick it up I was getting the TV. ready for a movie marathon. I heard a knock on the door and went over. "Tony for god's sake you have a key. Why don't you use…" I trailed off after I saw it wasn't Tony at the door. It was Peyton. My eyebrows raised in surprise and said, "Can I help you?"
She glared at me, which quite frankly made her look even more like she was sucking on lemons, and replied, "You need to stay away from Mac." I laughed bitterly and said, "To be Perfectly honest with you Dr. Driscoll it's not me going near him. Maybe you need to talk to Mac about your issues not me." She snarled back, "Mac and I don't have any issues. Just stay away from him." She sent me one last glare and stomped down the stairs, almost running into Tony on the way. He looked at me and said, "Peyton?" I nodded and helped him carry in the food.
We set up on the coffee table sitting on the floor. He didn't ask about Peyton which was good I didn't want to talk about her. He looked at me when we were finished eating and said, "Lindsay, I realize that what I'm about to say is crazy but hear me out okay?" I nodded and he continued. "I need you to marry me." My jaw dropped and so did the fortune cookie I was about to eat. He laughed and continued, "Not for real, I'm undercover with La Gromui and I am supposed to be married. The marriage has to seem real to everyone. With the exception of Gibbs and the director. Do you think you could do that. There wouldn't be a huge wedding. We would just tell everyone that we went to the local courthouse and eloped." I thought about it for a few minutes when he added, "It might get Mac to leave you alone for a while." That clenched it and I agreed.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The next day when we walked into the office I had a ring on a very important finger. No one really noticed at first, except for Dad, he just smirked and waited for someone else to notice.
Notice they did. Stella took about five minutes longer than dad and then shrieked out, "Oh my GOD! Lindsay Monroe What is on your finger?!" I smirked, and so it begins. I casually replied, "My wedding ring." Everyone looked at me in shock. Finally Danny managed to stumble out, "Wh..who?" Ziva suddenly shouted out, "Tony!" With her finger pointed at him. I smiled and Tony nodded. Ziva was very proud of herself for figuring it out but other than that didn't really care except to give me a hug and a congratulations. Dad rolled his eyes and said, "Everyone get back to work. You can interrogate them later." I smiled and gave him a quick hug. He ruffled my hair and said, "Abbs just got in a ton of evidence go help her out." I nodded and made my way down to her lab. On the way though, I saw Mac and Peyton. They were hugging and he gave her a quick kiss. My stomach dropped at seeing them. But then he looked over to me. He looked upset, I guess he heard the news then.
Abby was a little upset with me over not telling her about Me and Tony. Well in my defenses there had not been a Mrs. Tony Dinozzo 12 hours before. There wasn't one now, but that was just semantics. She eventually forgave me after I promised her about a dozen times that nothing between us was going to change. I think there is a strong chance that she knows that the marriage isn't real anyway.
Not long after we finished processing all the evidence the whole team came down to hear it. Tony wrapped his arm around my shoulder when we were hearing the evidence and no one even bothered to hide the fact that they were watching. I blushed and he chuckled when he noticed. Ziva was having trouble not laughing at me as well. She winked at me, which I took to mean that she knew it wasn't quite legit also. I smiled at her and shrugged my shoulders.
Stella winked at me and mouthed 'dinner tonight?' I smiled and nodded, the two of us needed to catch up. I glanced around the room and caught Mac's eyes. He looked kind of hurt. I smiled apologetically and turned back to Dad as he began talking. He gave out assignments and I was actually allowed out of NCIS for this one. I smiled and headed off with Stella to investigate the bar where the officer was drinking the night before. Danny and Don came with us. Tony was stuck with Mac, Hawkes and the rest talking it all out in the pen.
I drove us to the bar seeing as I was the only one who knew the way around. Danny and Don were fighting about who was better Derek Jeter or some other baseball star I've never heard of. I only know about football and a few other sports. My college boyfriend was a quarterback and I was quite active in high school and college. Stella and I rolled our eyes at them. She smiled at me and quietly said in an almost sad voice, "Married huh?" She was offended, I could tell, about me not telling her about my marriage. I smiled at her and said just as quietly, "I can't explain right now, I promise one day I will, but I can't now." She nodded and flashed me a bright smile, but then said, "Just so you know me and Abby are throwing you a party tonight at some bar she said you and Tony first met at." I groaned. The bar was a theme bar, and if my memory serves me correctly tonight was country night. Danny and Don will just get a kick out of this.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
There was nothing suspicious a the bar. Right now I'm trying to choose what to wear. Stella had said to go casual so I'm just going to wear jeans. I found a nice green sweater and went out to find Tony. He had it easy. He was ready and waiting in the kitchen. I smiled and walked up to him, putting my arms around his waist. He wrapped his arms around me and we smiled. We really were not in a romantic relationship, we're just best friends.
When we got to the bar everyone was there. Can I just say though, that I have Never seen Peyton so happy. I guess she thinks this means that I can't possibly hurt her relationship at all. She's right. I can't do anything to compromise this mission. So, for now at least, I have to stay professional with Mac. I saw my dad and gave him a hug. He handed me a present and told me to open it. It was a locket. Inside was a picture of Kelly on one side and a picture of me on the other. He said that the locket belonged to his mother. I sniffled and a few tears trailed down my face. I had been incredibly close to my grammy, but she died about 6 years ago. He wiped them off and told me to go be happy. I smiled and went over to Abby and Stella, who had apparently hit it off, and hugged them both and said my thanks.
Abby came over the announcements a few minutes later announcing that we would be having our bride and groom dance now. I smiled softly when I heard my favorite song come on "Rainin' You" by Brad Paisley come on. Tony put his arms around my waist and I wrapped my arms around his shoulders. We swayed to the music. Just two best friends, jaded by love. Him by a love who was taken to soon and me by a love that never got a chance to happen. He had loved Kate, so much. They had just started to go out when she was killed. I was beyond enraged when I found out. The reason I took to Ziva so fast was because her and Dad told me that she was the one that killed Ari.
Our song ended and a few non-country songs played. I grabbed a drink and talked to a few other NCIS agents that were there. This was the bar where Abby and I had gotten a little wild. The patron came out and danced a few with her and I and we laughed until we fell over. I saw someone come in and talk to Tony. It was no one I knew. Tony looked a little worried, which I took to mean that this guy was one of the LaGromui guys. I went over to them quickly and introduced myself. He seemed nice enough and Tony wasn't too tense so I guess that means that this was one of the other undercover agents from another organization. He told Tony something about a rendezvous at 8 tomorrow and said goodbye to us both. I dragged Tony back to the bar and we ordered more drinks. No one seemed to have noticed our quick visitor.
Scratch that, Dad had noticed but he just nodded at us and went on his merry way taking Abby home. She had had too many drinks to drive so she was spending the night at his house. I hugged her and whispered in her ear, "Have fun, but I beg of you to spare me the details." She laughed and left with dad.
I was quickly becoming wiped out so we said our goodnights to everyone and went out to the parking lot. On the way we saw Peyton and Mac kissing next to their car. I turned my head so I wouldn't have to watch it and we got into the car. "I wonder if she tastes like lemons?" Tony voiced. I laughed and smacked him over the head. He hadn't had any alcohol so he was good to drive. We got to my apartment but when we went inside we found that it had been turned inside out. Nothing seemed to be missing but we pulled our weapons and cleared the place.
There was no message or anything and Tony came to the conclusion that LaGromui had done a scan of the place. I was shaking pretty badly so we decided to go stay ay his place for the night. We left and when we got to the apartment we went straight to bed. I was having trouble sleeping because I was so shaken up so I went out to the kitchen and made some hot choclate. Nothing seemed to help so I called Stella. She answered the phone and I told her that someone had broken into my apartment. She asked where I was and said that shed be over in 10 minutes. I thanked her and hung up. But I still felt uneasy, if it was two moths ago I would have called Mac, but now, now that just wasnt a possibility.