The next night, I got home from work and quickly changed into a pair of jeans, a white tank top, and a long sleeved blue Henley with some Sperrys. My laptop had been charging all day long so I put it and the battery cord into my brown Aeropostale messenger bag and then headed off to McGee's apartment to begin the new novel.

When I knocked on the door, loud barking started on the other side and I vaguely wondered if I had the wrong apartment number. The piece of paper I'd written the address down on said #239, but surely McGee didn't have a dog that sounded that vicious.

The door opened and McGee and a rather large German Shepherd greeted me, putting his paws up on me and licking my face.

"Sorry," Tim apologized, pulling the dog down by his collar. "He loves to meet new people and he gets a little...overeager."

I crouched down and scratched the handsome dog behind his ears. "It's fine, Tim. I love dogs. What's his name?"

"Jethro," McGee replied, closing the door behind me.

I looked up sharply. "As in Leroy Jethro Gibbs?"

McGee nodded. "Yeah, Abby named him. Jethro was accused of mauling someone, but we later found out that he didn't. Abby insisted I take him since her landlord wouldn't let her have him. We're surprisingly good friends, even though he attacked me."

I stood up suddenly, looking down at the dog, who seemed perfectly gentle. "He attacked you? When?"

"It was about three or four months ago. See?" McGee held up his arm and I saw obvious scars on his arm.

"But he doesn't hurt you still, does he? Cause abusive relationships usually end badly." I winked, letting him know I was teasing him.

"Very fun," Tim replied, giving me a quick kiss on the cheek. "You ready to write some?"

I patted my messenger bag. "You bet."

In no time at all, we were both set up at desks, our backs to each other.

"Maybe we should brainstorm first," I suggested. "That's what I always do."

"That's a good idea. We should write down what we felt during the whole investigation. Having both points of view would be a nice touch."

I had just begun typing when I heard his typewriter start clicking away. Curious, I stood behind him and surveyed it carefully. "Nice...Is that a Remington?" I asked.

"It sure is," McGee replied proudly.

"Can I try it?" I begged. "Please, just once."

McGee took his hands away from the keys. "Be my guest, Elle."

I reached around him, propping my chin on his shoulder while I typed one word, "Elle" , on his blank sheet of paper. "It works perfectly!" I said in amazement. "But it's an antique."

"I keep it in prime condition," Tim assured me, turning his head and kissing my cheek lightly.

"Mhm..." I whispered, pressing my lips to his.

"We're never going to get any writing done," McGee objected, pulling away for a minute. I knew he wanted to kiss me too, though.

"Just think of it as...inspiration," I told him.

We were interrupted soon thereafter when the pizza delivery guy showed up with the large pepperoni pizza that we had ordered.

"Darn," I muttered, untangling myself from Tim's arms. My Henley was lying on the floor and I was in my jeans and my tank top. McGee had shed his sweatshirt, leaving him in sweatpants and an MIT tee shirt. Our making out had been heated and enjoyable.

"Always leave it to the pizza delivery guy to interrupt whatever I'm doing," McGee grumbled, getting up and heading to the door.

I laughed as I watched him. His hair was mussed and his clothes were a bit wrinkled up. No doubt the Dominoes guy would tell this story to his girlfriend on the next day. I sat back in the desk chair and fingered the pipe that was beside the typewriter. I had only known McGee for a month, but I already cared about him more than anyone else in the world. Will was different. He was gone, and even though I knew he was up in Heaven watching over me, I needed someone here on earth. And, right now, Tim McGee seemed like one of the best people I'd ever met. Next to Will, he was definitely the sweetest.

After we had eaten, we finally got around to do some actually writing and not just inspiring one another. I wrote down my thoughts about what had happened during the whole experience and McGee did the same. Then, we compared our notes with one another.

"You didn't even notice that I was pretty at first, but once DiNozzo pointed it out, you couldn't stop thinking about it?" I read aloud, thinking that was maybe the most innocent thing I'd ever heard.

Tim's head snapped up as he read my notes. "You had never felt anything more comforting and protective as my arms around you that first day we met."

I shrugged, a blush creeping down my neck. "Yeah, so what about it?"

"What about me not 'checking you out' like Tony? I was a little more concerned about your well-being and the fact that you'd just been through hell," Tim explained.

"Okay, that first moment when you showed up at Will's house, I was petrified. All the cops and the lights flashing—it overwhelmed me and when you put your arms around me, I felt safe for a few minutes," I told him honestly.

Tim reached over and touched my cheek gently with the back of his hand. "Tony was right, Elle. You're beautiful. I still can't believe you're dating me."

I cocked my head at him, my eyebrows scrunched together in puzzlement. "Why? Do you think supermodels only date guys like Brad Pitt? I'm definitely no supermodel."

"And I'm no Brad Pitt," Tim pointed out.

I grinned. "You're my Brad Pitt."

Later that night, when Elle left Tim's apartment, someone was watching from a nearby black Jeep Cherokee. He saw NCIS Agent Timothy McGee walk her out to her car. They talked for several minutes and then, to the watcher's disgust, Agent McGee leaned down and kissed her passionately. From the looks of things, she was enjoying it just as much as he was.

Okay, so I'm going to bring in some new conflict, but I need time to set up for it. I need to establish some things first. Just stay with me. By the way, thanks for all the encouraging reviews! I never dreamed this many people would like my story.