Entering the bullpen, he thought he was alone. He'd passed Gibbs on the way in as the boss had gone for coffee.Tony wouldn't be there that early, and if Abby was, she'd be in the lab. So, it was with surprise that he noticed Ziva already at her desk, working on paperwork. The orange hat sat to one side. Taking a deep breath, he walked past her and sat at his desk.
"McGee?" She asked, a questioning tone in her voice. "What are you doing here this early?"
"I had some...paperwork to finish."
She shook her head. "No you didn't. You gave it to Gibbs before you left last night like you always do. Is something wrong?"
"No."
"McGee, I'm not Tony. I won't make fun of you." Now, her questioning tone was replaced with one of concern, and he knew she was right.
"It's a long story.."
"Is it about Abby?"
At first, he was shocked that Ziva had pegged it, but then he remembered the scene in the lab that had started this whole mess. "Yeah."
"You...love her?"
Now this was getting creepy. Was it that obvious to everyone at NCIS? "I do.."
"Then, she must not feel the same way or you wouldn't be upset."
"I honestly don't know how she feels. She acts like she cares about me as more than a friend, but then she tells me we can't get back together." He sighed, burying his face in his hands. Ziva stood up, walking over to McGee's desk and patting his back.
"McGee..if you care about Abby, and I believe you do, you can't give up on her. I see how you two are together, and I think that she cares about you too."
He looked up at her. "Then why won't she go back out with me?"
"You really have no idea?"
"She said it was because I went on a date with another girl, and I'm not like Tony. I don't dump girls that fast. She said it wouldn't be fair to her or Elliot, the other girl, if I dumped her like that, and she didn't want to be the one I picked just because we'd been together before. How can I make her see that's not the case?"
Ziva shrugged. "I don't know, McGee. If I did, I would tell you. But, how do you feel about this other girl, Elliot?"
"I like her. She's a doctor over at Sacred Heart. But, she's not Abby. If I keep dating her because Abby won't date me, isn't that just as bad as dumping her?"
"It is if that's the only reason you date Elliot. Would it be?"
"No, it wouldn't."
There was a pause. "Do you remember Lt. Roy Sanders, McGee?"
"He was the International Atomic Energy Agency inspector who was poisoned. He gave you that orange hat."
Ziva smiled faintly. "Yes, he did. We'd run past each other every day for weeks, never stopping, never saying anything more than hello. By the time I actually got to know him, it was too late."
"I'm sorry, Ziva." It had been obvious to the entire team how much Ziva cared for him, even over that short time.
She smiled again. "I'm not. Though I didn't get to know him for very long, I'm still glad that I did. I like Abby, but you can't put the rest of your life on hold while you wait for her to come back to you, because she may not. I think you know that."
Even though her words made sense didn't mean he wanted to hear them. "Yeah, I guess not."
"I'm not saying it can't happen McGee, just that you don't know if it will."
"I know, Ziva. I just wish things made more sense."
"Relationships are the most complex thing I've ever encountered, next to the English language." She was being perfectly serious but McGee couldn't help it, he laughed. Soon Ziva joined him.
"What's so funny?" Gibbs asked, entering the bullpen with hot coffee in hand.
"Nothing, Boss." They chimed in unison.
"Riiight.."
---
Abby picked up the phone, dialing JD's number as she drove into work. He answered on the second ring.
"Hello?"
"Hey, JD. It's Abby. I got your message last night. Got any ideas for our date?"
JD had thought about it, but all the ideas he came up with seemed too plain, too ordinary for a girl like Abby. "I did, but I couldn't come up with anything good."
"Well, I got one. Let's go to the arcade and play DDR."
"DDR?"
"Dance Dance Revolution, it's a video game and a work out. It's hard to explain, but you'll like it." Abby was grinning at the idea of JD playing. If it were Tim, they'd be playing first-person shooters. Why was it she couldn't do anything without thinking of Tim? What happened? It wasn't this way before.
"Abby?" JD sounded confused.
"What?"
"You just quit talking. I thought I'd lost you."
"Oh, JD, I'm sorry. Just on the phone while I'm driving. Not always the best idea."
JD laughed. "Oh, that's ok. I do that all the time. So when did you want to go play?"
"Friday night.
"Deal."