Six months later…

Six months after that night, things were very smooth between Kylie and Tony. They were able to get together at least twice a week with no talk of the future or any kind of commitment. Tony could not have dreamed of a better situation.

Of course, it was inevitable that a problem would arise.

That problem came in the form of one Lieutenant Commander Alex Caldwell.

Kylie was on her way out to meet a friend for lunch when her cell phone rang. It was an unknown number, but she answered anyway. The voice on the other end was an unexpected one.

"What is a pretty girl like you doing in a bad city like D.C.?"

Kylie was sure she stopped breathing. All of a sudden the butterflies in her stomach started flapping their wings, and she felt severely light headed.

"Alex? What, um…how did you find me?"

"I'm a SEAL. I can find anyone."

Kylie smiled and relaxed. She slowly sat down on her couch and took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, I'm just a little surprised. How are you? Where are you?"

"I'm in D.C.," Alex said. "I have two week leave time, and when I heard you had moved here I knew exactly where I should be."

"Sweet talker," Kylie said. Alex laughed. "OK, who told you I was here?"

"Your friend Eva, from Miami? I went to our old place and I ran into her. She told me you had moved. So, here I am. And I want to see you."

"All your SEAL training and you couldn't find my address?"

"Actually…"

Then there was a knock at the door. Kylie smiled and practically ran to the door and flung it open.

Alex was standing on the other side, in full naval uniform. His tall, broad frame loomed in her doorway. He had his cell phone in one hand, and a duffel bag by his feet. "I was kind of hoping you'd know of a place I could stay."

Kylie smiled, and dragged him into her place by his collar – kissing him as she did.

Later that night, Kylie was lounging in bed as Alex took a shower. She told him she would set his clothes up somewhere to make him feel more at home, but she had yet to do so. In all honesty, she was tired after such a busy afternoon.

I'll just have to find other ways to make him feel at home, she thought to herself.

Kylie lay in bed, thinking of Alex, when her cell phone rang. She looked at it and saw TONY flash across the screen. Crap.

"Hey there," Tony's voice drifted across the other line. "What are you up to tonight?"

Double crap.

"Hi Tony. I'm just hanging around, I don't feel too well," Kylie said, trying to sound like she might actually be sick.

"Oh, well that's too bad. I was hoping to get to see you tonight."

Just as he said that, Kylie heard the shower turn off. Of course, she thought.

"I'm really sorry. Next time, OK?"

"Sure," Tony replied. He hesitated a minute, then lowered his voice. "Are you all right? I can come by and take care of you, if you want."

Kylie heard the shower curtain closing, and knew Alex would be out soon. "Tony, really, I'm fine. It's just some congestion that's been going around at work. No need to worry yourself. I got to go, OK? I'm going to make some soup and lie down."

"Yeah, sure. Call me if you need anything."

The bathroom door was opening and Kylie could hear Alex walking down the hallway. "Yep, I will. Bye."

She hung up quickly, and threw her phone back on her nightstand. Alex came into the bedroom wearing just a towel around his waist.

"Were you talking to someone?" he asked.

Kylie shook her head. "Nope. Just singing to myself. How was your shower?"

"Lonely," he said, smiling. She forgot what a great smile he had; she hadn't seen it in a while. For a second, Tony's smile came into her head. The two smiles were ultimately the same. Both could be considered "charm smiles," and both had many meanings. Tony had different smiles for different moods, as did Alex. But Tony smiled a lot more than Alex did. Alex only really smiled when he was flirting with her or teasing someone else.

"I see my clothes are where I left them," Alex said, breaking Kylie out of her mental distractions.

"Oh, yeah, I'm sorry about that. Apparently I'm more tired than I thought."

"That's reasonable. You had a busy afternoon," he remarked, smiling again.

Kylie smiled slightly and looked down. She felt guilty about lying to Tony, and wasn't sure why. They weren't in a relationship. They knew they could come and go as they pleased. But they never really said it out loud, so maybe it wasn't real. This no-strings attachment was really confusing, and her kind of boyfriend Alex standing in her bedroom was not helping.

"Can I ask you a question?" she said.

"Sure, anything."

"Are we exclusive?"

Alex chuckled. "Well, what do you mean by exclusive? Is there something I don't know?"

"No, nothing like that. I'm just wondering if…" she trailed off, not sure how to ask what she wanted to ask.

Alex sensed her trouble. "If what?"

"If I'm supposed to be…waiting for you."

"Waiting for me to do what?"

Kylie inwardly sighed. Alex was a tactical genius when it came to the navy and hunting down terror threats to his country; but when it came to normal human relationships, he was clueless.

"To come home. Permanently."

"I get it," Alex said. He sighed and looked at her, giving her the look he usually gives interrogation suspects. "Is there someone else?"

Kind of. "No," Kylie said. Alex didn't believe her. He was a master of interrogation after all. "Nobody to be concerned about."

"Kylie, if you're dating someone…"

"I'm not! I swear. It's just…I don't want to be not dating someone forever. You know?"

Alex nodded. "Yeah. I know how hard it's been on you, and I'm sorry. I don't want to leave the navy, but I don't want to lose you either. I like knowing that someone out there cares about me."

"I do care. A lot. I shouldn't have said anything. Let's just forget I ever opened my big mouth and go back to the way things were." Kylie scooted over to where Alex was sitting. She ran her hands down his chest, and kissed him thoroughly.

"Sounds good to me," Alex said, kissing her again.

Kylie's plan was simple. Avoid Tony until Alex leaves, and avoid having to tell him about the sailor that was currently occupying her bedroom. Of course, two weeks was a long time and she couldn't be sick forever.

Coming up with excuses was the hardest part. Every time she lied to Tony, she felt pangs of guilt that only went away with a Hershey bar or a glass of wine. Thankfully, Alex only had a week left in D.C. before his leave was up. Once he was gone, life would go back to normal and no one would know the difference.

It was Saturday afternoon and Kylie was lying on her couch reading a magazine. Alex went out that morning for a meeting, and he was supposed to be back any minute. Kylie kept looking at her watch every time she flipped a page. Any minute and he'll be back.

Just as she thought it, there was a knock at her door. Smiling, Kylie got up and went to the door expecting to see Alex standing there.

Instead, it was Tony.

And Gibbs.

"Oh, hey. What's going on?" Kylie asked.

Never one for small talk, Gibbs jumped right in. "Do you know a Lieutenant Commander Alexander Caldwell?"

Kylie's stomach flip-flopped. Nerves instantly set in, and Kylie could feel her legs start to go numb. This can't be good, not when Gibbs has his death glare on and Tony couldn't look her in the eye.

"Yes," she said quietly, too nervous to actually admit it. "Is he... Is he OK?"

"He's fine. Can we come in? Just have a few questions for you."

Kylie nodded and opened the door to let Gibbs and Tony inside. When Tony passed, she tried to catch his eye but he kept his eyes forward and decided to focus on a Jack Vettriano painting on the wall.

"Kylie, what is your relationship with Commander Caldwell?" Gibbs asked. Tony stood behind Gibbs, and looked directly into her eyes with an intensity she had never seen before.

Kylie didn't back down. "We've dated, on-and-off for about three years. I met him while I was on vacation in New York; it was fleet week. Ever since then, anytime he was on leave – which is about once or twice a year – we got together. He visited me in Miami, and I even tried to fly out to San Diego one time. But, that trip never happened."

"Why is that?" Gibbs asked.

Kylie looked him straight in the eye and coldly said, "Because I got a phone call from my mother saying my older sister was dead."

A cold chill went through the room, and no one spoke for a few seconds. Gibbs softened a bit, and quietly said to her, "Alex is in trouble. That's why he is in D.C. I don't know what he told you, but he is being accused of some very serious crimes. He told us you know the most about him than anyone else in town, so that is why we're here. He didn't want us to tell you, but it is our job."

Kylie couldn't breathe. She could have sworn her heart skipped a few beats, and she couldn't focus. Fainting seemed like a possibility, and she saw Tony instinctively move toward her to catch her in case she did. "I'm OK," she said to him. She took a deep breath, and decided she would not let this affect her. She would be strong. "What did he do?"

Gibbs was concerned, she could see that. He didn't want to tell her, to worry her. She had to hear it. "He's been accused of murdering an unarmed man and also selling military secrets."

The breath Kylie couldn't catch earlier came out in one rush. Selling secrets? Murder? That did not sound like the Alex she knew. But then again, did she really know him? Some trips here and there a few times a year does not make a relationship. She couldn't be sure she knew anything more than his name. "What do you want from me?"

"Did Alex ever do anything suspicious while you were together? Did he take a lot of phone calls? Spend a lot of time on the Internet?"

Kylie shook her head. "No, nothing like that. He was perfectly normal. And I know this may not mean much, but I know Alex. He loves his country more than anything and is a proud SEAL. There is no way he is doing what you think he's done."

"We think he's being set up," Tony said, speaking for the first time. Gibbs glanced at him like he didn't want Tony to reveal this information so quickly. Tony didn't care. "We want to help him, Kylie, so if there is anything at all you can tell us, please do so."

Kylie ran her hand through her hair. She'd tell them anything if she could. She was just having a hard time remembering anything. Even the past week seemed blurry, like she couldn't totally remember what they had done together. Had he been suspicious? She never thought so at the time. "I don't know," she answered truthfully. "He never acted strangely around me. I never heard him mention any names or problems or anything. The only SEAL buddy I ever met was his friend Matt Hunter. I don't even know what rank he is. Alex called him 'Hunt.'"

"OK, this is good. Thank you. If you think of anything, call us," Gibbs said. He gave her a quick kiss on the temple and walked out, telling DiNozzo he'd be in the car.

Kylie and Tony stood there facing each other. She started to talk, to explain her relationship with Alex and everything else, but Tony cut her off. "No need to explain," he said. "I'll help your friend, and we can see where we are after he leaves."

Kylie closed her eyes, trying to stop the tears that were starting to form. "I'm sorry," she said, not able to think of anything else to say.

Tony shrugged. "Don't be sorry. I'm not." He walked over to the door and just before he left said, "I think he's innocent, I really do. But I still don't like the guy."

And with that, he was gone.

A/N: Alex is a fun character for me, because he is the guy that always shows up when you don't want him to. I think Kylie and Alex care for each other, but Kylie and Tony have started caring a little too much as well. What are your thoughts on Alex? Interested? Not? Let me know!