"Good morning, Tony."

"And a good morning to you, Ms. Giudice."

We stand in the elevator silently, the only sound coming from the ding at each floor.

I chew on my bottom lip, glancing at him from the corner of my eye. "Thank you for taking me out to Valentino's last Friday."

"My pleasure." He simply nods, still not looking at me.

"You're still mad at me." A deep breath slips out. "How many times do I have to say I'm sorry?"

That seems to do it for him as his head snaps to face me. "Sorry for flirting with the waiter? Or sorry for telling him I'm a friend?" His words drip with poison.

"I was not flirting with the waiter." I bark back, jabbing a finger into the emergency button.

Looks like it's gonna be one of those days.

"So when he grabbed your hand and kissed the top of it, you just giggled like a schoolgirl?" He accuses. "I don't see how that's not flirting."

"He was being polite!" It takes everything in me not to scream in frustration.

Tony crosses his arms over his chest. "Fine. Let's pretend he was just flirting with you." His fingers curve down into quotes. "What about the fact you said I was a friend when he asked you?"

"We've never gone over labels, Tony." I grab onto the handrail with my back turned to him. "I didn't want to call you my boyfriend if that's not what you want us to be."

It's quiet for a few moments before I hear some shuffling sounds. His hands graze the tops of my arms, intertwining with my white knuckles.

There's some shakiness to his tone. "You thought I wouldn't want to be your boyfriend? That I wouldn't want to call you my girlfriend?" The phrase taunts me.

Boyfriend.

"N-No."

His hot breath lingers at the back of my neck before he proceeds to press a gentle kiss there.

"I would love nothing more than to call you my girlfriend."

My body turns to face him, my hands gripping the ends of his jacket. "Really?"

"Really." His lips curve up in a smile, which I return. "So it's official?"

"You're my boyfriend."

"And you're my girlfriend."

I switch off the emergency button, allowing the elevator to resume its original path. We stand side by side, the way we stood before.

Only this time, his hand finds mine and holds it tightly.

We walk out to the squad room to see Ziva and McGee sitting idly at their desks. Ziva twisted her knife between her fingers, and McGee drums against his coffee cup.

"No case?" Tony drops his bag at his desk.

Right then, Gibbs charges in, heading straight towards his desk. "Gear up!" There's our case. "We have a missing person. Coleman Park carousel in Arlington."

Don't let it be a child. My fingers cross in hope and prayer.

"Lieutenant Commander Alex Turner. Disappeared an hour ago." Gibbs stuffs his gun into its holster. "His six-year-old son called NCIS. He's alone and waiting for us."

I'm the first out the door, bag and guns in hand. Inside the elevator, I take my time strapping on my holsters and guns.

"What is wrong with her? Does she want to drive?"

"She always gets like this when a kid's involved."

Tony and Gibbs speak to the kid, Zach, about what exactly happened when Turner was kidnapped. Ziva and McGee call Turner's CO to get details about the man himself. I retrieve the security tapes from the cameras surrounding the carousel.

"For a six-year-old kid, he has got quite the memory." I hand Gibbs the sketches of the two men Zach saw take his father.

Ziva follows behind me. "Social Security is here to pick up the boy."

"Services. It's Social Services." I clarify.

"Sit down." Gibbs motions for me to sit in his chair. "You two work on putting out a BOLO on the composites. I'll tell him."

While Ziva types on the keyboard, I watch Zach and Gibbs walk towards the social workers. A faint smile graces my face.

"You like kids?" She speaks up from beside me.

I nod my head. "They've always had a special place in my heart."

Not even an hour later, Gibbs brings Zach back to the building after the guys from before tried to take him. The two have some fun before Jenny calls him up to her office.

"I picked you up some candy bars." I dump out practically everything inside of my purse, revealing all sorts of food from the vending machines. "Far from healthy, but it still tastes good."

"Thank you." But he refuses to move a muscle.

So I pull up a chair next to him. "You know, it's okay to be afraid."

His shoulders slump with a deep exhale. "But that makes me weak." He shakes his head. "I don't want to look weak."

"Admitting that you're afraid and standing up to your fear. . .that is what makes you strong."

"Really?"

"Of course." I grab two candy bars, passing one to him. "Sometimes, I get scared of the dark." I help him unwrap it.

A small snicker slips out from his lips. "Me, too."

"But you still sleep at night, don't you? Even though it's dark?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I do."

"My point exactly."

What I fail to see is Tony watching me and Zach interact, a grin growing on his face with every giggle and laugh.

Next morning, Zach hangs out in Forensics with Abby and Ducky while the rest of us follow a trace on the black Suburban that took Turner. Inside, we find one of our kidnappers.

He was already dead.

Commander Wilder, one of Turner's coworkers, visits Zach, even dropping off a new Nintendo DS. Poor kid's been stuck at headquarters for two days.

We find a prepaid burner cell in the vehicle, the last call received from Frank Connell in the Q & R company, where Turner and Wilder work.

"Any progress with Connell?" I meet with Tony in the middle of the squad room.

"Lawyer won't let him talk." He stuffs away a file. "But Gibbs is giving him the old stare." Tony abruptly stops, his eyes narrowing as he gazes into mine.

I let out a small chuckle. "Not quite there yet."

Another sleepless night passes, and we are nowhere near close to being done with the case. But Tony manages to access surveillance footage from the convenience store where the burner phone was purchased.

We track it down Laura Osgood, Frank Connell's assistant. While Gibbs, Ziva, and McGee handle her, Tony and I await an address for Turner's holding location.

We burst in through the door, quickly sweeping and clearing the area. Someone shoots through a door on the opposite end of the room.

"On my count."

Tony and I nod at each other in agreement, counting down from three. Just as the door swings open, we step out from our hiding spots and shoot the perpetrator down.

I keep my gun trained on him while Tony enters through the walkway.

"Got him!" He shouts out.

Who knew one little iPod could reveal the scheme of an entire plan?

"Agent Gibbs?" Wilder steps out of the building with his briefcase in hand. "What the hell's going on?"

Rather than giving him an answer, Gibbs simply kicks him down to the ground. Just in case, he trains his gun on the man.

"I'm. . .I'm not resisting." He grunts out, the wind knocked out of his chest. "I could never hurt Zach. It was strictly business."

"I'm sure he'll be happy to learn of your intentions." I spit out while Tony pulls him up to his feet, clicking the handcuffs on.

That night, Tony and I pick Turner up from the hospital, taking him to headquarters so he can finally reunite with his son.

"Daddy!" Zach runs into his father's arms. "You're alright." He buries his face into his shoulder. "I knew you'd never leave me."

Turner holds his son. "I'm alright, buddy. Everything's alright."

"I love you, Daddy."

The two leave soon after, and the rest of us finally catch a moment of peace. No more all-nighters.

Well, not until the next case.

"Let's say you and me. . ." Tony extends his right hand. "Go to Valentino's for dinner." He twirls me once. "Maybe even catch a movie?" With his hand resting on the small of my back, he dips me.

I gaze up into his twinkling eyes. "That sounds like an amazing idea."

"Who knows? Maybe we could even make out in the back. Pretend we're young."

"I don't know about you, Tony. But I am still young."

"Still not funny, Ev."