“You’re not really dating him, are you?”

Kate was on her way back to the table with a stack of dessert plates when Annette’s quiet, controlled voice behind her brought her to a halt. She hadn’t missed the way Annette had focused on her during dinner, but the statement was completely out of left field. Granted, it was the truth, but she’d thought she and Tony had done an excellent job of maintaining their cover. Where had they slipped up? But she controlled herself, and turned to face Annette with a confused expression on her face. “What?”

“You’re not really dating him,” Annette said again, her voice pitched low to avoid carrying into the kitchen or the dining room. She stood in the dimness of the hallway, arms crossed over her chest, with a self-satisfied smirk on her face. “You might be sleeping together, but it’s obvious you don’t know him at all.”

Suddenly Kate’s anger, contained through dinner, boiled up again. She and Tony hadn’t slipped up. Annette was just looking for some other way to gain advantage. She was used to being the alpha female. Well, so was Kate, and she fought the urge to bare her teeth as she replied. “Why do you think that?”

Annette sniffed condescendingly, and slowly walked forward, her superior attitude evident in every step. “I know him, Kate,” she said. “I was with him for three years. He’s vain, egotistical, sarcastic, deceitful, and he cares more about his job than he does about people. That’s what drove me crazy, and that’s what would drive you crazy too. I might not know you, but I read people well. You’re a lot like me. So there’s no way you can really be dating him.” She came to a stop close to Kate, and used her height advantage to look down at her with infinite pity.

Kate wanted to throw the plates down on the ground and grab the woman by the shirt. Her fingers were tight on the stoneware, and they shook slightly. She thought about controlling her rage, but decided against it. It was high time someone took this woman down a couple of notches. She took a step forward, a quick step that contained all her training and all the threat she could muster. Annette stepped back, her arms dropping to her sides, and her expression became more uncertain. Kate grinned at the sight, and she knew it looked as wild and deadly as it felt, because as she spoke, Annette’s attitude fell further and further from its lofty heights. “Let me tell you something, Annette. You’re right about Tony. He can be sarcastic, and vain, and egotistical. He is in a place in his life where he knows what he wants, and isn’t afraid to court other people’s displeasure to get it. He lives life the way he chooses, and if you think that makes him egotistical and vain, well, then that’s your problem, not his. But you’re wrong about the rest. He has never been deceitful, and he doesn’t care about the job more than anything else. He has never lied to me, and believe me, I would know if he did. And I know that, no matter what, he’ll have my back no matter how bad the situation gets, because he cares about me. Do you think it’s easy doing what we do? Do you think he doesn’t get nightmares from it?”

She had to pause to rein herself in again, before her voice rose any further. She took another step forward, and Annette took two back. “Maybe you’re right about me, too,” she continued in a softer, more dangerous tone. “Maybe I am like you, in some ways. But in one very important way, we’re complete opposites. You hate Tony for who he is, but me, I love him for it.” She took one final step, and Annette retreated again, bumping into the wall and staring at Kate with no small amount of fear. Forgot I was Secret Service, did you? You’re remembering now. “Calm down; I’m not going to hurt you. You’re not worth the effort. But I will, if you don’t stay away from Tony. You, and your husband. If you don’t, you’ll answer to me.” She narrowed her eyes, and despite the four-inch difference in height between them, Annette seemed to shrink before her. “I think you know what that means. Make sure you don’t give me reason to follow through.” Then she spun on her heel and walked away.

She returned to the dining room and put the plates down on one corner of the table. They clattered together at the force she applied, and she didn’t fail to notice the sudden lull in conversation that followed the sound. She left then, returning to the foyer and stepping into her shoes without bothering to tie them up. She found her jacket in the mess in the hall closet, and shrugged into it as she opened the front door. It slammed back on its hinges as she went out onto the porch, and the dark cool air of the October evening surrounded her. She paced up and down the porch a couple of times, then threw herself into the bench swing, folding her arms over her chest and setting the swing in motion with a forceful push of her legs.

Great work, Kate, she thought. Way to lose control. What are they going to think of you now? But she couldn’t help it. She was angry, angrier than she’d been in a long time. Tony was too good a man to take that kind of abuse from a shallow, self-absorbed, mean-spirited, conniving... She felt her lips threaten to pull back from her teeth, but stopped the expression stillborn. She kicked the porch again and made the swing go faster.

The door opened, and she looked up immediately. “I don’t think it’s meant to go that high,” Tony said, holding up his hands in surrender. “But there’s a playground down the block with some old swings, if you want to go.”

“No,” Kate said, but she took his implied advice and stopped the wild swinging. Keeping her feet on the ground, she set a more sedate pace. Tony shut the door gently and walked across the porch. He sat down next to her, putting his arm over her shoulders. “Are we being watched?” she asked.

“Hell, yes,” he said. “Do you know how many people saw you storm out here?”

Kate sighed and looked away from him. “Give me a minute, and I’ll go in and apologise,” she said.

“You don’t need to do that.” After a moment, he said, “You know, when I asked you to do this, I didn’t think you’d have to really lie.”

She looked back at him, but his gaze was tied to his feet on the ground. “What are you talking about?” she asked.

“I appreciate everything you said to Annette, Kate–”

“You heard that?”

That bought her a glance before he returned to staring at his shoes. “Yeah,” he said. “You know, you’re really good at this decoy girlfriend stuff. I almost believed you.”

“Everything I said was true, Tony,” Kate said.

He seemed to flinch. “All of it?” he asked quietly.

She knew what was bothering him. She drew one foot up onto the swing and wrapped her arms around it, leaning her chin on her knee. “All of it,” she said. “You’re my friend, Tony, and even though we argue and tease each other mercilessly and get on each other’s nerves and never say it, yes, I do love you. Just like you love me.”

His head whipped up. “I never–”

“You’re not listening, DiNozzo. We never say it, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. It’s just one of those things between friends.” She turned her head on her knee to look at him. “Can you imagine the words ‘I love you guys,’ coming out of Gibbs’ mouth?”

He froze for a second, and then a faint smile appeared on his face. “I think the world just ended. Gibbs’d never say that.”

“And yet, he does love us,” Kate said. “You know he does.” He nodded silently. “I just said it out loud to Annette, and let her assume a further context.”

After a moment’s contemplation, he said, “You’re a good friend, Kate.”

“Thanks for noticing. Are we still being watched?”

“Are you kidding?” He grinned at her.

“Good.” She unfolded from her protective position and snuggled closer to him. His arm around her shoulders tightened, and his other hand came to rest on her waist as she put her legs over his lap. He looked into her face with no trace of fear or question. “Are you going to work on my aversion to public displays of affection or not?”

He grinned, and suddenly the Tony she knew was back, in all his irreverent, teasing glory. “Of course,” he said. “You know, Kate, you only had to ask.”

“So I’m asking.”

“Fine then.”

“All right.”

“Say please.”

“For heaven’s sake, DiNozzo–”

When he let her catch her breath again, she really wanted to pretend he wasn’t an absolutely fabulous kisser. Indeed, if it had been any other time, if he hadn’t just spent the last three days in emotional turmoil, she might (and that was a big might) have been able to put her own reactions aside and pull it off. But his renewed self-confidence was so welcome after days of insecurity that she just didn’t want to. She sighed and rested her head on his shoulder, closing her eyes. He kissed her lightly on the forehead. “Don’t get too comfy. We have to go inside for dessert.”

“Do we have to?”

“Why, wanna sit here and make out some more?”

She snorted, but shifted closer to him. “It was kinda nice.”

“Kinda nice?”

She looked up, laughed at his outraged expression, then broke through his embrace and jumped off the swing. Her untied shoes were a detriment to her speed, however, because before she’d reached the front door, he’d caught up to her, grabbed her by the arm, spun her around and into him, and planted on her the kind of kiss that steamed up car windows. When he let her go, she stumbled backwards, but he didn’t let her fall, keeping his hands on her arms. “Kinda nice,” he muttered good-naturedly. “I’ll show you kinda nice, Caitlyn Todd.”

Kate took a moment to reply; she was too busy remembering to breathe. “Consider me shown, Anthony DiNozzo,” she said finally. “Although I think you just spoiled my dessert.” He grinned at her. “And after I helped your mother bake the pies, too. What’s she going to think when I don’t eat any?” Struck by a sudden thought, she said, “Tell me she didn’t see any of this.”

“Mama?” he said, turning her around and steering her to the door. “Probably.”

She covered her eyes with her hand, feeling herself blush. “Oh, God. I traded saliva with you in front of your mom.”

“And probably my father. And definitely my brothers and my sister. And in-laws, cousins, aunts, uncles...”

She threw her hands in the air. “See, this is why I hate public displays of affection! Goddamnit, DiNozzo, you’d better appreciate everything I’m willing to do for you.”

He reached out to stop her from opening the door. “I do, Kate. Believe me, I do,” he said soberly.

She looked back at him, and she could see that he really did. She nodded, and smiled. “All right, then,” she said. “You will owe me big for this weekend.”

“Just give me a time and place, Kate,” he said. “I’ll be there.”

She knew she’d never collect. He probably knew it too. But that didn’t really matter. The words allowed them to pretend that her actions weren’t completely selfless, and that they suddenly weren’t as close as they now were. She nodded. “All right,” she said again. “Let’s go have dessert. I’ll just... not look anyone in the eye, that’s all.”

He laughed. So did she.