51.

TIM

Tim was grateful this was the last official day of surveillance. It was necessary, and obviously they were happy to take their turn to be there, wanted to be on hand in case their colleagues needed backup... but boy, it was boring.

Tony was antsy too, judging by how much he'd fidgeted on the way out of the city, and his jittery energy was contagious. They'd barely been here five minutes and already it was getting on Tim's nerves.

"Will you sit still for two minutes?"

Tony gave him a hurt look, but did at least settle down. "OK, mom." He sighed. "I'm looking forward to a case where I can do something other than serve canapés to rich people and then sit on my backside in a cold van."

He sounded so miserable Tim took pity on him. "Me too," he admitted. "Sorry you got stuck with all the waiter bits."

"Well, you're the alpha geek. Makes sense. I did kinda think I'd done my fair share of waiting on tables in college, though."

"The glamour of being a federal agent," said McGee drily, and they both laughed.

"I guess being paid to be nosy isn't all bad." Tony grinned evilly. "I got an update from the guys on the overnight shift, and guess what? Apparently Gibbs and Kate gave them quite a show at dinner last night."

Tim pulled a face. "I'm not sure I even wanna know."

"A couple of the guests had a bet on whether they were in love or not. I'm told they convinced the whole table..."

Tony waggled his eyebrows suggestively and Tim cringed. "Tony, I'm sure they were just, you know, playing up to their cover."

"Your innocence pains me, McNaive. Which part of their cover's backstory did you get that from? She's supposed to be the next thing up from a call girl. Since when do rich men fall in love with the help?"

Tim didn't know how to reply to that. They sat in silence for a few minutes.

"Thing is..." By the tone of his voice, Tony had suddenly gone into 'serious' mode, an unusual enough occurrence that Tim turned towards his partner expectantly.

"What?"

Tony shrugged. "Just... What happens if something is going on, Tim? I mean, rule 12 is all Gibbs, I don't think it's actually absolutely forbidden, but..." He shrugged a shoulder. "I guess I just hope they know what they're doing, you know?"

McGee opened his mouth to answer, then shut it again. If there was something going on with Kate and Gibbs...

"I mean..." It sounded like Tony was having difficulty piecing his thoughts together. Tim knew the shallow as a puddle thing was mostly an act, but being sincere and thoughtful out loud wasn't Tony's usual mode of communication. "I know I rag on you, on Kate, but you guys - you're like my family or somethin'." He frowned. "I guess I just..."

"You're scared how this might change things."

Tony cringed. "Thanks for making me sound like a total dork."

"You're welcome."

They sat in silence for a few minutes, both lost in thought.

"On the plus side, it'll be fun asking Kate what Gibbs is like in the sack..."

Tim turned and looked at him, gaped, rather. "You wouldn't..."

Tony laughed. "Your eyes are like saucers, McGullible. Nah, c'mon, you know I don't have a death wish."

"Well, I sometimes wonder."

"I got too much to live for, mon frère," Tony drawled, in an accent Tim presumed was supposed to be Southern.

There was a pause. "You got something to say there, Probay?"

"Just waiting for you to tell me what movie that's from."

"What? Hey, that was all me." Tony's voice had gone all high pitched and defensive. "I can be poetic sometimes you know!"

"That's debatable."

They fell back into their usual bickering, and McGee tried to hide his grin. Whatever was going on with Gibbs and Kate would almost certainly affect them sooner or later, but he and Tony were arguing about something ridiculous. Some things never changed. All was right with the world.