Rifiuto: Non Miriena

Once he was gone, she headed back to his desk, and picked up the accordion folder. Taking a seat at the desk, she opened it up and pulled out the first chapter, dark eyes reading through it for several minutes. "I'm sorry about my cousin-" She quickly shoved it back into the folder, turning to find him standing in the middle of the living room, now fully dressed and watching her. "What are you doing?" She glanced down at the accordion folder in her lap, and sighed.

"I... I was... I want..." She took a deep breath. "I was wondering if you would allow me to read it? Please?" He raised an eyebrow, surprise in his green gaze.

"You... you want to... read it?" He asked, completely taken aback by her request. She nodded. Sure, he'd had agents read his work, his own family, but a complete and total stranger? Or, better yet, the woman he'd met at a coffee shop and then slept with after dinner all in one night, wanting to read it? He thought about it. If she read it, she would surely give him better responses than his family had. She'd be critical, analytical, ask the right questions, because it was what she'd been trained to do. She could give him a better critique than anyone else, surely, save for his editor. Puffing out his cheeks, he nodded. "Okay. If... if you want you, you're welcome to read it."

She gave him a big smile, a small shiver of excitement racing up her spine as the prospect of reading his novel. "Thank you so-" But her phone rang, and she quickly glanced at the ID. Her excitement soon withered, as she recognized her partner's name. Glancing up at him, she held up a hand, before flipping the phone open. He chuckled softly, going into the kitchen. "David... oh, hi Bishop." She glanced over her shoulder at him, watching as he poured a cup of coffee before setting the cup down and filling Jethro's bowl. "No, I... I know I didn't come back last night-" She winced, holding the phone away from her ear.

"I know! I thought you'd ended up in a ditch or something last night! Do you know how worried I was?"

"I... I know, I am sorry-"

"No. You don't get to tell me you're sorry! You know why? Because I was the one who had to deal with the nasty phone call this morning!"

"You called-"

"No! He called me! When you didn't check in at seven-"

"I was out. With someone."

"Who? We don't know anyone in Paris except for-"

"It was a date, okay, Bishop?"

"A da- I had to deal with him this morning. He called me at oh-three-hundred and demanded why you hadn't checked in. Oh-three-hundred, David! Do you know how many hours of sleep I got thanks to your little disappearing act? Two! And that's because I was up until oh-one-hundred running through your leads and cataloging evidence to ship to Abby! And he was nasty, David! Really, really nasty! Nastier than he usually is!"

"He is not nasty, he just... does not like you."

"I know he doesn't like me! He didn't like Langer either and was glad to see him go to Rota-"

"The only one he likes is that idiot DiNozzo." She muttered under her breath; his head snapped up at the name.

"Are you kidding? DiNozzo is his whipping boy, remember? But until we find another agent to replace Vance, he's never going to be happy, because the team's out of whack." She furrowed her brow, before asking,

"What is whack?"

"Never mind! The point is, because you didn't come back last night, or check in when you were supposed to, I got the proverbial head slap from halfway across the world, thanks to you and your inability to take an investigation seriously! So the next time we get a call from Gibbs, don't expect any sympathy from me, because I've already been chewed out, and I don't need to go through it again!" Without another word, Bishop hung up. After a moment, she snapped the phone shut, turning to him.

"My... my partner. She is... high-strung. Former NSA. Had to deal with our boss this morning-"

"Agent Gibbs?" Her head snapped up, as she joined him in the kitchen and accepted the cup he held out.

"How do you know about-"

"E. J. talks about Gibbs often. He adores her, but then again, who doesn't adore E. J.? Her and that forensic are the only two that don't get on his nerves-"

"Abby." She filled in, causing him to stop mid-sip.

"Yeah. The Goth with the tattoos." She nodded. He thought a moment before chuckling. "You know, E. J. isn't all that impressed with her. Calls her a six-year-old."

"That would be more appropriate for Tony." He wrinkled his nose.

"No, pedophile or rapist would be appropriate for Agent DiNozzo. E. J.'s been dating him for four years, and he still, gawks after anything in a skirt. Thank God she doesn't put up with it." She chuckled, sipping her coffee.

"How do you know so much about those who work at NCIS?" She cocked her head to the side, waiting his reply. He sighed. Setting his cup down, he went over to his desk, and grabbed the accordion folder containing his first draft. Returning to the kitchen, he set the folder on the counter and pulled out the first chapter, sliding it towards her.

"When I first started working on this novel, I asked E. J. to send me funny stories that had taken place that day or that she'd heard about involving some of the other teams. Eventually, it evolved into profiles of her coworkers from her standpoint, and some of the quirks were so... off that I decided to use them for some of my characters. I don't know any of these people personally- except for E. J.-so they aren't accurate, or even caricatures, but it makes each character memorable." He glanced at the oven clock, and set his empty cup in the sink. "I have to get to work. And... you had better go back and check in before your partner blows a gasket."

She quickly placed the first chapter back in the folder and gathered it to her chest, following him to the door. As they moved to part ways, he turned back, pressing a kiss to her lips. Before she could say anything, he was gone, and after a moment, she turned and headed the opposite direction, towards her hotel.