Title: When they first met

Summary: What if Tony and Kate had met two years before Yankee White, when Tony just started at NCIS and Kate was still with the Secret Service? Mutual attraction? Or just two strangers in a big city?

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters of NCIS

Secret Service agent Kate Todd had had a pretty good start of the day. It was Friday and she didn't have to go to work until midday, so she had slept till eight and had actually spent an hour with her first cup of coffee and the morning paper which she hardly ever had time for. Then she had gone for a run, had returned home for a shower and decided that it would be nice to have breakfast at her favorite Starbuck's just around the corner.

Now she was standing in the queue and had just decided that today she was feeling crazy enough to have a donut with her coffee. The queue was moving very slowly and Kate spent ten minutes waiting until she reached the counter. Finally it was her turn and she opened her mouth to order her coffee, when a young man stepped up to the counter next to her and cheerfully ordered a double vanilla latte without taking any notice of Kate. While the employee who had wanted to take her order now started to prepare the guy's coffee, Kate glared angrily at the man. He was in his late twenties, with short dark blond hair and blue eyes. He was quite handsome, actually, but Kate was easily annoyed by people who jumped queues and didn't feel like acknowledging the guy's good looks.

The guy was drumming a complicated rhythm on the counter with his fingers while waiting for his coffee. When he turned his head slightly he seemed to notice that someone was staring at him and turned around to face Kate. Kate could see that he was checking her out from head to toe. She wasn't sure whether he decided that he liked what he saw, but he flashed her a charming grin anyway. When Kate didn't react and only continued glaring at him, he finally got the hint.

"Oh, I'm sorry, was it your turn?" he asked, looking slightly embarrassed. "I haven't seen you. I'm really sorry."

"No problem", Kate muttered. She was not interested in starting a conversation now.

"No, it is a problem", he said, smiling again. "It was very rude of me. Will you let me make up for it?" At that moment, the young boy behind the counter placed the coffee in front of the man, who signaled him to wait. "May I order for you?" he asked Kate. "I'd like to invite you."

"I can pay for my coffee myself, thank you", Kate said, trying not to sound too rude. She even smiled faintly at him, then turned towards the counter and ordered her coffee and the donut. She didn't pay any more attention to the man and had soon forgotten about him.

Two minutes later she carefully maneuvered through the occupied tables toward some free seats in the back. Concentrating on not spilling any coffee and not dropping her donut she approached a table, put her cup and the donut down and sat down on the chair facing the front. She didn't like having the exit in her back, Secret Service training.

Slowly returning to the relaxed, good mood she had been in earlier she sipped her coffee and enjoyed her donut. She watched the people come and go, a thing she liked doing. So many different faces, so many different lives. There were too highly paid lawyers as well as bus drivers or young mothers, some of them stressed, some cheerful …

"Hi again!"

Kate almost jumped out of her skin at hearing a stranger's voice so close to her left ear and unconsciously reached for her gun in the holster – which she wasn't wearing. The gun was in her purse. The guy was really lucky.

Turning around slowly she looked at the disturbance sitting at the table next to her with a newspaper folded in front of him. It was the guy who had offered to pay for her coffee. He must have been sitting there all the time and she hadn't even noticed. That had been stupid. Now he must be thinking that she had chosen the seat next to his on purpose.

"Hi", she said with very little enthusiasm.

"Oh-oh", he sighed. "Are you still annoyed with me?" He gave her a look that was a very good imitation of a beaten puppy looking up at its master.

Kate had to smile against her will and relaxed a bit. "No", she said. "You didn't do it on purpose."

The guy grinned at her. He looked like a very young boy doing that. Kate found it very charming.

"You come here often?" the guy asked.

"Sometimes", she said. "It's a nice place."

He nodded, then held out his right hand to her. "I'm Tony, by the way."

"Kate", she said, taking his hand. He had a firm, warm handshake. And beautiful hands.

With one hand she threw her dark hair back over her shoulder. It had grown long in the past months. She had planned on having it cut, but now that she saw that Tony was watching the movement of her long hair in fascination she was glad she hadn't.

"You have the day off?" Tony asked. "A prolonged weekend?"

"No, unfortunately not. But I don't start before noon today. What about you?"

"I'm on holiday, kind of." He smiled at her, then shrugged. "I used to be a police officer in Baltimore. But I quit last week and on Monday I'm going to start in a new job."

"Really? What kind of job?"

"I'm going to work for the NCIS. That's the Naval …"

"… Criminal Investigative Service", Kate completed. "I know."

Tony's jaw dropped slightly and he gave her an impressed look. "How do you know that? Not many people know what NCIS stands for."

"Being a federal agent myself helps", Kate said. Oh my god! Had she really just said that? She never told people she didn't know about her job, it could get you into a whole lot of trouble – danger even. She had no proof that the guy really was a federal agent. He might just be trying to show off in front of her.

"What agency?" Tony asked.

"Um … uh …" Kate stuttered, fidgeting uncomfortably on her chair.

Tony, sensing her nervousness, bent closer and looked at her from the side. "CIA?" he whispered in a conspirative tone, making Kate laugh.

"Secret Service", she whispered back, bending even closer to him for no reason at all. "But if you tell anyone I fear I will have to shoot you."

"You sure you are allowed to shoot other federal agents?" Tony asked matter-of-factly.

"You aren't a federal agent yet", Kate reminded him.

"So I'll have to watch my back until Monday?"

They both laughed.

Kate took a small bite from her donut and washed it down with some coffee all the while stealing side glances at Tony who was busy with his coffee too.

"You said you used to work in Baltimore. Do you live in Washington now?" Kate asked after some time.

Tony nodded. "I spent the whole last week first packing my stuff in Baltimore and then unpacking it in Washington."

"You like your new apartment?"

"Yeah, it's quite nice. Better than what I had in Baltimore, but payment as a cop isn't so good."

"That's why you decided to join NCIS?"

"No. I just … I wanted something more in my life than patrolling the streets and arresting kids that should be in high school and not selling drugs in some backstreet. The possibility to work for the NCIS came unexpected, but I wanted to do it, so here I am." He raised his hands with his palms turned upwards and shrugged.

Kate smiled at him. She liked what he had just told her about himself. So he was ambitious, but not obsessed with his job. He also seemed to be spontaneous, which she liked on men.

"You know what I'm interested in?" Tony said, turning a little bit more toward her. "How do people react when they find out you're a federal agent? I mean, you obviously felt uncomfortable telling me. What does your boyfriend think about you working for the Secret Service?"

Kate fought the urge to roll her eyes at him. Now, that had been cheap. Checking out whether I'm free, are you? But she decided to have pity on him and answer.

"My last boyfriend didn't like it", she said. "He was a school teacher and a pacifist and he didn't like the idea that his girlfriend was carrying a gun." She shrugged. "Didn't work out. And I'm not seeing anyone right now."

Without showing any direct reaction to her admitting that she was single, Tony picked up on her other statement: "I believe that some men have problems thinking that if they would be robbed in the street they would have to hide behind their girlfriend and not the other way around."

Kate burst out laughing. "I've never heard anyone put it that way", she said. "I like it."

Tony grinned his boyish grin and Kate couldn't believe it when she felt a small tingling sensation inside her stomach. She'd only known this guy for ten minutes! But she definitely liked him. And so she decided to do a very stupid thing.

"What about you?" she asked. "Does your girlfriend brag about you joining a federal agency?"

If Tony noticed the meaning behind her question – and he certainly did – then he didn't show it. He just shook his head and said: "I was in no serious relationship in Baltimore. And I broke up with the girl I went out with because I knew it wouldn't work out when we were living in different cities."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. I don't think it would have worked out even if we had continued living in the same city."

"And your new work place?" Kate asked, trying to change the topic, because she really didn't want to talk about past girl- and boyfriends right now. "Have you already been there?"

"I went there last week for my job interview. I liked the place. It is a whole lot different from the police station in Baltimore."

"Did your new boss do the interview?" Kate asked, and when Tony nodded, she continued: "What's he like?"

"Uh …" Tony was obviously having difficulties finding words to describe the person he had met.

"He made me feel a bit like a suspect in interrogation", he admitted. "But I think he was in a bad mood that day. He seemed very grumpy and he wasn't very polite. Maybe he was having a bad day."

Kate smiled at him and reached for her cup, but she realized that it was empty.

"Would you allow me to buy you another coffee?" Tony asked. "Only if you have some more time, of course."

"Yes", Kate said with only half a second of hesitation. She smiled at Tony. "Yes, please", she repeated, and he picked up both their cups to throw them away and get them a new dose of caffeine.

They stayed in the coffee shop for another hour. Kate couldn't believe it when she looked at her wristwatch and found that it was past eleven.

"Do you have to go?" Tony asked.

"Yeah, I'm sorry. I have to be at work in an hour and I can't go like this." She pointed to the jeans and white T-shirt she was wearing.

"Not that it was any of my business, but I think you look fantastic", he said with another of his charming smiles.

"Thank you", Kate replied, trying not to blush. "But I think I have to change all the same."

They smiled at each other and the moment of silence between them grew longer and longer.

Finally, Tony was the one to speak first: "I would really like to meet you again. Maybe for another coffee or a drink?"

"That sounds very good", Kate said, showing him her sweetest smile. She reached for a napkin and took a pen out of her purse to write down her number.

Tony's fingers brushed over hers when he took the napkin from her and again, she felt that pleasant tingling inside of her stomach. She took her purse and stood up, turning to face Tony one more time. "I'm going to be out of town until Sunday, from then on you should be able to reach me", she said. "See you." With a smile she turned and walked to the door. There, she looked back at Tony, who was still sitting at the table. He met her gaze and smiled. Smiling back, Kate waved at him, then she left.

AN: I'm not yet sure where this story could lead and before I go on I'd like to know if you love, like or hate the idea of this story in general. So please, let me know!!