Tim felt very pleased with himself as he stood and waited for Becky to arrive at the side of the giant ice rink. It was bright, noisy, cold and covered with swarms of children screaming at each other. It was also a place anyone from Cyber Crimes would never, ever venture too.

As an additional plus Tim knew he wasn't a very good skater. He could technically move around but he wasn't going to dazzle her with his co ordination or his skill, which was kind of the point.

He had taken great care with this anti date, almost as much as if it was a real date. He wasn't wearing any cologne just a clean fresh shower and soap smell. He was even wearing a large fluffy stripy woolen hat with an absurdly large multicolored pom pom on the end which seemed to bounce against his shoulder. It had been shoved into the back of his closet several years ago as he knew it made him look like a giant dork. But tonight that was the point.

He was an unathletic, uncoordinated, multicolored, puffy jacket, pom pom wearing dork. She couldn't possibly like him.

Tim looked up and saw Becky enter from the other side looking a little nervous. Tim tried to hide the laughter bubbling up in his throat. Becky had obviously had the same idea he had. She was wearing a massive knitted green sweater that came down almost to her knees with a large dancing reindeer on it whose nose flashed red with a little light. Underneath the ugliest sweater Tim had ever seen (and with Ziva around he had seen a few) she was wearing brightly colored striped thermal leggings. She had tied her hair up and kept it up with a fluffy pink headband which had a little bow on the front. It was possibly the ugliest outfit Tim had ever seen an attractive woman wear.

And he thought she looked adorable.

He was so dead.

Becky smiled and held up her ice skates and shouted to him over the din of the music and the screaming teenagers.

"I have to warn you I'm not very good on skates"

Tim smiled and shouted back "That's ok. Neither am I."

The fourth time Tim found himself Becky's soft landing as she slipped and skidded into him he decided that perhaps the ice rink wasn't a good idea. He seemed to find himself wrapping his arms around her entirely too much. And she felt warm and lovely to his cold hands.

"Look out Tim!" Becky barreled into him unable to stop and Tim found himself flat on his back with Becky on top of him. Lovely. No not good. Terrible!

Becky panted breathless into his face "Oh I'm so sorry. I just can't seem to get the hang of this at all"

"Never mind. Up you get" Tim brushed them both off before he found himself offering Becky his hand. For stability. For his own safety. That's all.

"Thanks." Becky held on tight and then they started off slowly around the outside of the rink.

"Wow you know this is much better. I'm not doing too badly as long as I have hold of your hand." Becky smiled up at him, cheeks red from the cold, the reindeer sweater blinking and tried to hold back a sigh as he watched her stumbling steps slowly become gradual glides until they skated smoothly hand in hand around the rink.

((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((

Becky grinned as she dipped her soggy French fry into the tomato sauce.

"Yummy. Now this is a perfect anti date dinner. Awful hamburgers and French fries on a cold bench in an ice rink. Well done you. Well so now I suppose we talk so we can get to know each other?"

Tim nodded as his ridiculously large sloppy hamburger threatened to throw itself out of his mouth and slide off the table.

Becky reached out and thumbed a big dab of mayonnaise off his lip as he chewed before she unthinkingly sucked it off her own thumb. Tim found his eyes following her thumb to her warm mouth and stopped chewing.

Becky realized what she had done "Sorry. I just…" Blushing she started on her own hamburger instead and mumbled around her full mouth.

"So when you said you had just come back from a funeral you meant Director Sheppard didn't you?"

Tim swallowed and nodded "Yeah It's been a weird few weeks. I was part of Gibbs's team… who were close with Jenny. Vance disbanded us and sent Tony out to the Agent Afloat program, Ziva got sent back to Israel and well you know where I ended up. I'm still hoping Gibbs find a way to bring us back together as I really want to be a field agent again."

Tim looked up "Oh not that Cyber Crimes isn't great. Its just that well I worked really hard to become a good field agent and it seems like just as I was getting good at it I'm back with computers again."

Becky nodded "That's ok. I can already see that you're good with computers."

Tim sighed and looked a little crestfallen "Yeah but not as good as the others you have in the team"

Becky smiled as she wrestled with her own hamburger

"Ah but you have different skills and they have been specializing in this stuff while you have been working out in the field. Their advanced hacking and programming skills you will pick up a lot faster than they will ever pick up what you can do. Perhaps that's why Vance stuck you in my team? Because you have skills the rest of us lack and when the cases get into things like questioning witnesses and suspects then it will be you taking the lead over the others."

Becky licked the sauce from around her own lips and then continued "So don't be down on yourself about it. In a month you will be flying past them. Besides you have the advantage of thinking outside the box and looking at things from another angle. And that is something that's hard to teach and so important with all the new next generation stuff that is getting out there"

Tim thought about this for a moment and then he smiled. "You know I think your right. Instead of moping about how far behind the others in CCU I am I should be looking at this as a learning opportunity. I should learn everything I can from them and that way if Gibbs is able to get us back together and I go back into the field then I'm not just going to a great field agent I'm going to be the best!"

Becky laughed "That's the spirit. You will knock their socks off Timmy. I just know it."

Tim smiled happily as a new purpose unraveled before him. Not just fitting in and surviving but he was going to make sure he thrived.

"Becky? Since we are talking about work do you mind if I give you a piece of advice?" Tim looked at her tentatively while Becky cocked her head.

"Sure Tim. I can tell this is serious and you can go ahead. It's all right. I respect your opinion"

"You might want to lay off Agent Verbone for a little bit. You have only been there a day and you are getting his hackles up already. He has been there a while and carries a lot of weight with the others and if he decides he doesn't like you then it is going to make it hard for you with the rest of the team to build the sort of trust you need in a good team."

Becky just looked at him and Tim cursed himself as he could see he had hit a sensitive spot. Slowly she nodded.

"Yeah your right. I know…. It's just… he makes me nervous so I'm over compensating with him."

"He makes you nervous? Why?"

Becky just looked at him her eyes open and vulnerable "He has been there longer and has more experience than I do. He's also bigger and older and I find him a bit physically intimidating although I'm sure he isn't doing it on purpose. He just has that big deep voice and I find myself just about shouting at him to make my point." Becky sighed and sipped at her coke before she continued in a small voice.

"I kind of wonder why he didn't get the job instead of me and I'm sure he is thinking the same thing."

Tim's protective instincts flared and he couldn't stop himself as he reached over and cupped her cheek in his hand.

"Hey now stop that! You were obviously picked for a reason and you just need to relax a little and show them what you can do. You are really good at what you do and I think you can run a great team. You just can't force respect, it has to be earned. Just relax a bit more, be your own brilliant self and Verbone will see it. And soon you'll have all of CCU under your sway"

Becky smiled up at him and leaned her cold cheek into his warm hand "Thanks Tim. I know your right. It's just good to hear it from someone else though you know? And I like knowing that I have someone in my corner."

Tim idly stroked her cheek with his thumb while they smiled at each other.

"This is a terrible anti date. I like you even more now." Tim sighed and attempted to look regretful.

Becky looked hopeful "Perhaps we could try another Anti date? Maybe that one will be a disaster and you'll turn out to be a rude awful pig?"

"Yeah and I discover that instead of being beautiful and generous I find out your really selfish and self absorbed"

Becky laughed "So what about Saturday night then?"