As Tony and Deanna rolled up to the scene there was cop cars everywhere. Deanna tried to strain her eyes to see what was going on. It looked like a small car had been rolled and had caught on fire. Tony parked the car near Gibbs car.
"Let's roll" Tony said smiling real big at Deanna.
Gibbs walked over to Tony and wasn't very happy when he seen that Tony had brought a plus one to a crime scene.
"Who the hell is she?" Gibbs spat.
"Calm down boss. She is our key witness. I figured maybe I could help her remember some details of the attack. Plus, her dream is to work at NCIS so I figured she could see what we do." Tony explained.
Gibbs shook his head. "Ok as long as she stays out of the way."
"You got it boss." Tony said returning to Deanna for a moment.
"Ok, you will have to stay back here for now." Tony explained
"Oh that's not a problem. This looks so exciting." Deanna said.
Tony smiled at her and Deanna's heart skipped a beat. There was something about that smile of his that was so charming. Tony met up with Kate and Gibbs.
"Kate I want you to take pictures. Tony you bag evidence." Gibbs shouted over the noise of more firetrucks coming in.
As the team investigated, Deanna realized she knew that car. It was Tanner's.
"We got a body!" Kate yelled.
"Someone get Ducky out here!" Gibbs yelled back.
Wait they had a body? Deanna thought. It had to be Tanner! She started becoming short of breath and had a real tight feeling in her chest. It was like someone opened a flood gate of memories. She started to remember the attack. She remembered Tanner's face as he beat her unconscious. She remembered how drunk he was. Could he have been drinking again and wrecked his car? All this overtook her and she passed out hitting the ground. Gibbs went around the burning car and could hear something.
"We've got a bomb!" he yelled at his agents.
The three agents ran and hid behind Tony's car. Tony seen Deanna laid out cold on the ground. He was afraid when the car exploded she would get injured.
"Gibbs, help me get her over here!" Tony yelled.
Gibbs and Tony carefully picked Deanna up and brought her behind Tony's car. They no more than got ducked down before the car exploded. All Gibbs could hope for is that Kate got some good pictures of the car before all this. Tony laid Deanna's head in his lap and brushed her hair away from her face. He ran his fingers through her hair. Kate smacks Tony on the arm.
"Ow!" Tony exclaims.
"You've never done that for me!" Kate says.
"Have you ever thought it's because of Gibbs rule about not dating coworkers?"
"Very funny Tony."
Deanna started to come around and was delightful surprised to open her eyes and the first thing she seen was Tony's face.
"Good morning sleeping beauty." Tony said still running his fingers through her hair.
Deanna blushed. She sat up.
"I remember. I remember everything! The accident, who my attacker was. Everything!" Deanna exclaimed.
"Who was it?" Kate asked.
"It was Officer Tanner Perry, my boyfriend." Deanna said as she began to cry. "That's his car over there. You don't actually think he's…."
"Dead? More than likely after that explosion." Kate answered.
"Todd, DiNozzo. The scenes safe let's go." Gibbs shouted.
"Come on I'll take you to the ambulance to get checked out." Tony told Deanna.
"I'm fine really." Deanna answered.
"No I insist." Tony said. He helped Deanna up and walked her to the ambulance.
As the agents made their way to the car, Ducky showed up. The car was charred and was still smoldering. Behind the steering wheel was a body. It was beyond recognition.
"Ducky time of death?" Gibbs asked.
"Gibbs you can't rush things. Our ol' boy will have to be taken to the lab before I can find that out." Ducky answered.
"Hey boss I found something!" Tony said. He picked up what appeared to be a driver's license. On it had the name Tanner James Perry. "I think we got our man boss."
"Well it looks that we do…Duck, how hard will it be to identify this guy?" Gibbs asked
"Not to hard judging by his good teeth. Could pull some dental records." Ducky answered.
"Let's get him in a body bag" Gibbs said.
After the team got the body loaded up, Tony walked over to the ambulance to check on Deanna.
"Are you still up for that dinner date?" Tony asked with his quirky smile.
"I wouldn't miss it." Deanna said her heart skipping a beat. She wondered if she was cheating on Tanner with going to dinner with Tony, but considering he nearly killed her and now he was dead, she felt it justified it.
"I will meet you at Vast at 7." Tony said
"I'll be there." Deanna answered.
Tony walked back to the car both caught up in the sight in each other before he realized, Deanna had ridden with him over to the scene.
"I guess you need a ride back to your car huh?" Tony said laughing
Deanna blushed. "That would be really nice!"
Deanna arrived at home that afternoon. Her clothes smelled like smoke from being out at the scene. Her parents had gone out of town for a couple days. This whole incident had been extremely stressful on them and they needed a break and Deanna was about to get hers. She turned on the shower and then realized she couldn't get her cast wet. With no one there to help her, she struggled to get a cast protector on. After about 15 minutes of struggling and shedding a few tears, she finally was about to get the dang thing on. Washing her hair was a bit of a challenge. She always felt like the shower was the best place to think. To say she was nervous was an understatement. Did Tony actually like her or was he just wanting to wine and dine her to get information out of her for the case. In any light she felt like it would be an honor to have dinner with such a gorgeous guy and look into his eyes, even if this was the only night they had together. She dried her hair the best she could and went into her closet. What was she supposed to wear? Tanner never took her out on nice dates. It was mostly fast food and drive thru's with him. But Tony was different, he was going to be having dinner with her at the top of the highest building in Oklahoma overlooking the Oklahoma City skyline. She was able to find a cocktail dress she had bought for an awards show. She felt she could always buy a different dress if need be, but this dress had to go out tonight. She was nervous as she drove downtown. She prayed it wasn't some kind of sick joke or him setting her up. She walked into the Devon tower and stepped on the elevator. She was the only one on the elevator and it was a long way up the 52 floors. She had always been scared of elevators since she was in junior high when her and her father got stuck on an elevator with five other people. She wasn't one to panic but that was the first time she had ever experienced a panic attack. After what seemed like forever she reached the 52nd floor. The doors opened to a beautiful restaurant. She could see the Oklahoma City skyline set against an evening sun that looked like someone had painted. Tony walked over to the elevator in awe of how beautiful she was.
"You look stunning!" Tony told Deanna. She really did take his breathe away. The two walked over to the hostess. "DiNozzo party of two" Tony told young lady. 'Deanna DiNozzo' Deanna thought. That had kind of a ring to it. She shook her head trying to clear her mind. Chances of Tony actually wanting to take this dinner that far was probably very slim. He was just here for work and that was it. She whispered to herself "Keep it together Carter." The two were seated next to the window and brought wine.
"It's a beautiful night isn't it?" Deanna said looking out the window trying anything to not seem nervous.
"Not as beautiful as you are." Tony said. Deanna looked away from the window to find Tony smiling at her. There it was again. Her heart was skipping a beat and she had butterflies in her stomach. Why did Tony make her feel like this? It was like a childhood crush.
"I am not looking forward to going back to Washington when this case is over." Tony told Deanna.
"Why? Washington is amazing and it's the home to NCIS. Why would you not want to go back?" Deanna questioned.
"Because that means I would have to leave you." Tony said. How he just wanted to tell her how he felt. How he desperately wanted to kidnap her and take her back with him. Was this really love at first sight? Tony had never had that feeling before. He had been such a womanizer but Deanna was different.
"That is the sweetest thing anyone has ever said to me." Deanna said beginning to cry.
Once their steak and lobster was delivered out to their table they made small talk. How Deanna's favorite wine was Seven Daughters and how Tony had never been to Oklahoma before. But it wasn't until the check came that changed the whole course of the night. Tony picked it up and insisted on paying. He wouldn't even let Deanna see the check.
"Well I need to get back home. Thank you Tony for an amazing evening." Deanna said. As she went to get up, Tony put his hand on the top of hers.
"Where do you think you're going? The night is still young." Tony asked.
"You actually want to spend time with me?" Deanna asked nervously.
Tony let out a snicker "Of course I do. Please come go to the Skirvin with me. We can get some drinks."
The next thing Deanna knew was she was throwing back drinks at the Skirvin. She was way too drunk to drive home now. Dammit Tony. He took her hand and led her to his hotel room.
"Where are we going" Deanna questioned.
"I have a surprise for you." Tony said smiling.
What will Tony's surprise be and will it change things? Plus, what will Ducky find when he starts the autopsy? Next chapter will be posted soon.
