Bishop & Torres: a love story.

what do we do now?

(after the bomb squad frees bishop from the pressure plate)

Ellie did not even know how to feel at this moment, she and Nick had just acknowledged how they felt about each other, whether they actually said it or not they both knew what it meant. there was some kind of unspoken rule between them for a while now, neither of them says anything, they just know, but that all changed after Meriweather. "close calls make you live harder.", nick was right before it felt like they had all the time in the world, but now it feels like life could end in an instant. she walked out of the cellar in the basement, her leg just released from the pressure plate, the light almost blinded her as she walked out of the front door into the sunlight, Torres was leaning against the side of the car tapping his fingers anxiously, the bomb squad would not allow him to stay or he would have been by her side the whole time. his face lights up as soon as he sees her, he runs towards her, embracing her in a hug. she always felt safe in his arms, no matter what was happening, as long as she was with him she felt safe. 

Torres sighs and says, "so are we going to talk about what we said in there?" bishop chuckles awkwardly, "not right now, we have a ton of paperwork to fill out. we can go out to dinner tonight, ok?", "at that Italian place McGee told us about?" bishop laughs, "deal. pick me up at 6". Torres had been in love with bishop for a long time, even the day he met her deep down he knew there was something different about her, something special. he never said anything, even after realizing she felt the same. if this thing goes anywhere so many things could go wrong, one of them could get transferred, Gibbs could hate them, and what if it doesn't work out, then it could completely ruin the team dynamic. Torres always knew how fast someone could be taken from you, they are federal agents who are constantly in the line of fire, but he didn't know why this particular incident just hit differently. today he realized something, that these things were going to keep happening, they were going to keep almost dying, and one day it might not be almost, and if one day he actually doesn't get back up, he doesn't want to have any regrets, and if he doesn't at least try to make things work with bishop he will regret it for the rest of his life. 

bishop stod in her bedroom, pacing and generally freaking out, what if something goes wrong, what if the team finds out, after tony and Ziva, McGee is a little sensitive about the topic, especially after Casey casually mentioned the idea of them liking each other and he denied everything, even though he must have some idea. she has torn apart her bedroom trying to find the right outfit, eventually, she decided on a long sleeve navy blue off the shoulder bodycon dress, it felt sexy without being too revealing. bishop had always been for the most part comfortable in her own skin, but she always went more conservative on dates, she was always self-conscious of how skinny she was, but with nick, she felt safe and comfortable, like she could be herself, unfiltered, in front of him. she was admiring her dress in the mirror when it really hit her, this was a scary moment for her, this would decide whether she and nick would see where their relationship will go or will they decide to leave it alone, she knows she will always be friends with Nick, he's so important to her, but this dinner will decide how they will proceed, shes just calming down when the doorbell rings, he's here.