Elizabeth bit her lip and tilted her head to the side, putting her paintbrush down in the cup of water. She needed to take a break, and the distraction on the couch wasn't helping her will to not take a break from the painting she'd been working on for a solid hour. Tony watched her carefully as she chewed on her bottom lip more and stared at the painting. He didn't mind that she had thrown all but two brushes at him. Fifteen minutes ago, he'd given up on getting her away from her work. He had been content to stare, but Lizzie glanced over at him.

"I don't like it when you stare at me."

"I'm not staring."

"You are."

"I'm admiring your beauty."

She laughed and threw a brush at him. "You are so corny."

He got up from the couch and walked over to her, taking her hands. "Take a break."

"I'm almost finished."

"You are not. You're stuck."

She glanced at the painting and back to him with wide blue green eyes. "How could you tell?"

"You bite at your lip when you're in a rut," he told his observation, pulling her off the stool.

"But Tony," she said softly, pulling away.

He shook his head and pulled her to the couch, flopping down and taking the redhead with him. He adored the sound of her giggling on the way down and smiled as she moved to get comfortable. She pulled the blanket off the back of the sofa, snuggling up to Tony and nudging him when he started playing in her hair. "Don't," she whined softly. "You know I'll go to sleep." Lizzie hated to take naps in the middle of the afternoon.

He laughed and removed his hand from her red locks. He was flipping through the channels when her phone started ringing. Tony was surprised to hear the ringtone. He had never heard it before. He smirked, wondering who deserved Beverly Hills by Weezer. Lizzie quickly removed herself from the sofa and grabbed her phone, answering and leaving the room. Curious, Tony quietly walked over and attempted to listen to Lizzie's side of the conversation. Before he knew it, Lizzie opened the bedroom door and smirked at him. He looked sheepish and flashed a grin at her, waving innocently. She shook her head and kept the smirk on her face. "Love you too," she said into the phone and ended the call.

"Who was that?"

"My other boyfriend."

He smirked and rested his arms around her hips. "Liz, who was it?"

"I told you."

Tony pinched her bottom, and she jumped. "Tony!" she shrieked as she slapped at his hands.

"C'mon, Liz...tell me. I've never heard that ringtone before." He was losing his try at not being jealous. Only important people had a ringtone in Elizabeth's phone. Until she changed her mind, his was the opening theme to Magnum, P.I.

"It was my grandmother."

He looked down at her. "You gave your grandmother that song?"

"She lives in California."

"Beverly Hills?" he questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"No," Lizzie answered, breaking away from him to go into the kitchen. He followed. "She lives in Bel Air."

"Bel Air?"

"That is what I said," she confirmed and poured a glass of apple juice.

Tony hadn't met Helen Shepard yet, but he was feeling intimidated. Bel Air meant money and lots of it. He did a double take as Lizzie passed by him. "Liz?"

She turned around and looked at him, sipping out of her glass. Before he could ask his question, there were several urgent knocks on the door. "It's probably mom. Just tell her to wait. I'll be in the shower."

He made a pout. He wouldn't be joining her in the shower. Tony answered the door and assumed the older redhead he stared at was Helen Shepard. He swallowed hard. She was critically glancing around her as she stood outside the apartment. She stared back at him with pale blue eyes and intense auburn hair magnified by a single white streak near her bangs.

"Do you know how to speak?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"That's a start."

"In society, introductions are the first step in conversation."

"I'm Tony DiNozzo."

"Italian," Helen remarked with a mild huff as she entered the apartment, unbuttoning her long emerald coat and placing it on the back of a chair. She dropped her hangbag into the chair and turned on her heels, arms folded and staring him down.

"Yes, I'm Italian," Tony confirmed, closing the door behind him.

"I've heard about you." Helen looked him up and down. She hadn't decided if Tony would be good enough for Elizabeth. She held high standards for her granddaughters, and Tony was realizing she would be his toughest critic.

"I'm sure you have, ma'am," Tony answered politely and offered her a seat on the sofa. Luckily, Katie and Lizzie had cleaned earlier.

Helen sat down and watched Tony carefully. "I'll get to the point. Why are you dating Elizabeth?"

"I love her."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "You love her because of the money."

"What money?"

Helen looked surprised and glanced at her granddaughter as she entered the room. Elizabeth inwardly winced. She had thought she'd heard her grandmother's voice and cancelled her plans to shower instead changing clothes. Regrettably, she hadn't protected Tony from her grandmother. There wasn't any way to tell what the woman could have said to him, but Tony did look like a deer caught in headlights. "I didn't know you'd be coming over so soon." She walked over, leaning down and hugging her grandmother.

"You know how I adore surprising you and your sister. Where is Katharine?"

"She's out running errands."

Helen nodded her head, and Lizzie sat down in between them. Her grandmother held her hand and smiled at her. "I'd like to talk to you, Elizabeth." The older woman glared at Tony, dismissing him from the room.

He nodded his head. "I'll let you visit with your grandmother," Tony said, getting up.

Lizzie sighed and got up, following him to the door. She looked up at him. "I'm sorry," she whispered.

"It's fine. Call me later. We'll go to dinner or whatever you want to do."

She smiled at him and stood on her tiptoes slightly to kiss him. "I love you."

"I love you." He kissed her a second time and left the apartment.

Lizzie sighed heavily and closed the door, walking back over to the couch. "Let's talk since you not too subtly kicked my boyfriend out of my apartment which mom doesn't even do."

"I'm not your mother. Elizabeth, I don't think he's with you for the right reasons."

"Grandmother, you just met him!"

"He wants the money."

"He doesn't know about the money!"

Helen looked genuinely surprised. She misread his reaction. She had thought it to be an act, but it was real. "What?" she asked.

"I don't go around letting everyone know I have a trust fund neither does Katie. He just found out that you live in Bel Air."

She pursed her lips as she thought. "Elizabeth, I apologize for jumping the gun."

"And seeing the worst in people."

"I do not always."

Lizzie smirked and folded her arms, looking at her grandmother.

"Stop that. You look like Jethro," Helen said in full distaste. "If you're happy, I can be happy." She lied, but the lie was for the best. She didn't want Elizabeth upset with her for the remainder of the visit. Her granddaughters could hold a grudge worse than their mother.

"Thank you," Lizzie whispered, kissing her grandmother's cheek.

Helen stroked her hair back and smiled. "I love you, sweetheart."

"I love you too."

Outside the door, Jenny stood and let out a breath. She had spent ten minutes listening to Tony tell her about his first meeting with Helen. Her words most likely had not comforted him, but it could have been much worse. She knocked on the door and smiled at Lizzie.

"Is mother here?"

Lizzie nodded her head and let her mother inside. She noticed the intensity in her daughter's eyes and rubbed the middle of her back softly. The two would talk later, and Jenny would mend the damage her mother had inflicted.

Helen stood up and looked at her daughter. "Are we ready to go?"

"If you are."

"I have been. Where's Katharine?"

"She's meeting us there."

"Is Jethro attending?"

Jenny shook her head. "No, he isn't."

Lizzie smirked in amusement. She easily guessed what was occupying her father's time instead of spending the afternoon with four redheads.

"What is preventing him from spending time with his family?" Helen asked as the trio left the apartment.

"He's working on his boat."

Helen scoffed. "He needs culture."

"He'd rather work on his boat than spend hours with all of us in a museum…I don't blame him," Lizzie commented and received a harsh look from Helen.

"Jethro will get culture some other time." Jenny knew he needed to work on the boat. The last week at NCIS had been rough on all the agents. Thankfully, Jethro's whole team had been out of the office when Helen came in for lunch. As cushion, Ducky had joined the two women for lunch. On this Saturday, Jethro was dodging a bullet. Next week, he would have to see Helen, and Jenny wouldn't let him get away with not. The monster-in-law would be in his home, and he'd have no choice to face her.