Disclaimer: Nope, still don't own NCIS.

A/N: So I received a request for a Pride/Borin fic. This might not be exactly what the person had in mind, but I couldn't seem to write them as a pairing. So this is more of a friendship oneshot. Set in season two, which will probably be obvious.

It was the first time in almost a month that Dwayne Pride was free to sleep for as long as he wanted. A full eight hours. It had seemed a beautiful prospect the night before, just before he'd collapsed in bed. A full eight hours of uninterrupted sleep. It would have been nice.

If only.

The upbeat tempo of a cellphone jazz tune suddenly ripped through his sleep, pulling him from a dream that was now fading away from him like an oasis in the desert. King forced his eyes open and stared up at the ceiling for a moment as he tried to wrap his mind around what the infernal noise was. Once he realized it was his phone he sighed and reached over, not bothering to look over at his nightstand.

His hand found the cell almost instantly. As he brought the phone to his ear he was already preparing himself for it to be Brody or LaSalle reporting a new case that needed his immediate attention. "Pride," he said greeting.

"You sound like you're still asleep, Dwayne."

King's brow creased at the unexpected voice. "Borin?" He sat up in bed and rubbed his eyes. He should have known. That particular ringtone was her ringtone. Thanks to LaSalle, at any rate. Christopher had changed the ringtone just before Borin had left the last time and he'd just never changed it back. Sometimes he wondered how much she had paid Chris to do it.

He pulled the phone away from his ear just long enough to confirm his guess about the time. It was early morning alright. Five in the morning to be exact. "What's wrong?" he asked, going on alert. It seemed too early for this to be a pleasant conversation about the weather.

"Relax, Pride." There was a hint of amusement in her tone and Pride imaged her smirking at his sudden apprehension. "No state of emergency or anything. I just wanted to remind you about having those case reports emailed to me."

For a moment he wondered if he was still asleep. Had his calm dream twisted into this strange one? "You're calling me at five in the morning to remind me about something that you could have waited a few more hours about? Seriously, Abigail?"

"Oh, right. Time difference. Sorry about that."

She wasn't sorry. Not at all. And he highly doubted she'd forgotten about a time difference. "Where are you?"

"Portsmouth."

"Portsmouth?"

"England."

"I know where it is," he replied.

"Well someone's grumpy."

"It's five in the morning. On my day off," he reminded her. "How long have you been in England?" The last he'd heard she'd been heading to D.C. for a permanent posting.

"About a week. Long story. I'm waiting at the docks for a ride to the airport. I'll be headed back soon."

He leaned his head back against the wall and closed his eyes. "And you what? Got bored?"

"Pretty much," she answered. "If it makes you feel better I tried calling Gibbs first."

"Uh huh," he responded nonchalantly. "He hang up on you?"

"I got two minutes in."

Pride chuckled. He knew Leroy Jethro Gibbs well enough to know the man wouldn't have put up with Borin before his morning coffee if she didn't have a good reason for calling. And being bored wasn't a good reason to Gibbs. Especially not before coffee. "I'm impressed you got him to stay on the line that long."

"So was I honestly." She paused for a brief second before continuing. "Look, Pride, if you want to go back to sleep go ahead. My ride should be here any minute."

The amusement was almost entirely gone from her voice now, and though she did a pretty good job hiding it, King didn't miss the tiredness lacing the words. She sounded exhausted and a little down even. His curiosity about what she'd been up to was once again piqued, but he had a feeling that was a conversation for another day and not over the telephone.

"Don't worry about it." Any annoyance he'd been feeling was suddenly gone. She was his friend and his friend needed an ear to listen to her. Or at least needed someone to help keep her awake while she waited. "So you heading back to D.C. soon? You could stop by New Orleans on your way..."

"It'd be a little out of my way, but I'll see what I can do," she said with a chuckle. "You better make it worth my while if I do."

"You can count on it."

Silence lapsed for moment. A comfortable silence that almost lulled him back to sleep. Borin spoke again before he could doze off though. "I heard the divorce was official."

"Yep," he said, confirming whatever rumor she'd heard.

"Sorry, Pride."

"Yeah." He wasn't sure what else to say. Everyone was sorry for him. Sorry that he and Linda couldn't work things out. Sorry that Laurel would have to deal with her parents being split. Sorry for the pain he was feeling over the breakup. He was sorry too, but the remorse and guilt was getting better. He had accepted the situation and was making the most of it. There wasn't much else hecould do. "I bought a bar."

The sound of another chuckle carried over the line, making him smirk lightly. "Of course you did. Somehow I'm not surprised."

"You'll have to come see it soon. It's not open yet, but it will be," he added.

"It's a broken down piece of garbage, isn't it? You bought a hole in the wall, didn't you?"

"It has a lot of inner beauty and whole lot of potential. Just wait. You'll see."

"I look forward to it." Another laugh followed before the sound of someone in the distance with a thick British accent met his ears. He heard Borin's muffled voice say something in return before she spoke to him again. "Looks like I'm about to catch my ride. I'll call you later."

"Hopefully not so early next time."

"We'll see. Better get that bar up and running so you can buy me a drink, Dwayne."

"You can count on it." He smiled softly. "See you later, Abigail."

"Count on it."

With that she ended the call and Pride tossed the phone onto the bed next to him. Pretty good start to the day, he figured. It could have been worse at least.

He could have lived with it being a few hours later though.