the_navy_yard | Team Morgue Hosted Challenge

Title: Untitled Vignette
Rating: R
Word Count: 848
AU Scenario: 1. In the old west

The Texas Ranger settled into the chair on the porch of the saloon. He tipped it back to rest against the wall of the building and propped his feet up on the rail before him. With his hat pulled down over his eyes, he could watch the street before him while seeming to nap. It was a good disguise considering most of the townsfolk of Mertz gave him a wide berth since his arrival.

As he watched, an elaborate Eastern style carriage pulled up at the general store across the street. Several cowboys provided an escort while one pulled up beside the carriage door and handed a very well dressed woman down from inside. Her parasol went up, shielding her from the sun, as she crossed the small space between carriage and store. She was followed by an equally well dressed yet slightly overweight gentleman who dismissed the cowboys with a wave of his hand. They were the DiNozzos, one of two leading families in the town.

The rattle of a wagon announced the arrival of the other family. They never showed off their wealth, preferring instead to take care of their people, and thus had none of the trappings of the DiNozzos. The wagon halted and the driver, a well-built gray haired man hopped down before reaching up to swing the three women traveling with him down to the ground. With their hair covered by bonnets, though the younger two women’s braids – one red, one black – swung freely down their backs, and dressed in simple plan cotton dresses, you’d never know that these women could have dressed as well as the Eastern bred Mrs. DiNozzo.

To no surprise to the watching Ranger, Mertz’s so called dandy straightened from his position against the side of the store where he’d been ignored by the DiNozzos as they swept past him. He doffed his hat to the newly arrived ladies, kissed the eldest’s hand and offered an arm to the younger redhead. The gentleman with them swatted him on the back of the head but the grin shared between them told of an affectionate friendship. The watcher sighed as he watched the interaction. Too much had changed since he’d ridden through a war by the elder’s side. He’d changed too much to be worthy of the young black-haired woman. He could remember her racing after him, laughing, as the four of them played on along the creek bank which divided the DiNozzo spread from the Gibbs ranch.

As the women, escorted by the younger DiNozzo, entered the store, Gibbs swung about to scan the street. The Ranger knew Gibbs knew he was being watched, but he also knew that he was damned good at his job. As Gibbs glared at everyone before stepping inside, he knew he’d evaded detection yet again. Idly, the Ranger wondered how long it would be before either Gibbs or the senior DiNozzo swept out of the store in a huff and how long it would take before the senior DiNozzo gave up waiting for the outlaws he’d hired to attack the Rocking G to arrive. An elegant hand slipped into his view. It tipped his hat back as the owner smiled down at him.

“Been a long time, stranger.”

He hummed his agreement as he pulled the woman down into his lap. He nuzzled her neck for a moment. He breathed deep of the sandalwood perfume he regularly brought her when he came to Mertz to check up on the remnants of his past. “So it has, querida,” he murmured. “You busy tonight, Ziva?”

“Never too busy for you, Timothy.” Her softly accented voice brought a smile to his lips. Her hand stroked down his chest to briefly toy with his belt buckle. “You know that.”

“I do indeed.” He ran the backs of his fingers across her breasts where they spilled over the top of her bodice. A shout from across the street diverted his attention for a moment. He watched as the elder DiNozzo all but tossed his young wife into the carriage before clambering in after her. That group took off in a rattle of sound and a cloud of dust. He watched long enough to see the younger DiNozzo come out with Gibbs. Both men stood with hands on their guns until the dust cloud died away then returned inside. Reassured to the safety of his old friends, Timothy cupped Ziva’s cheek in his hand. “Help me forget again?”

“Always.” Ziva climbed from his lap and offered him a hand. He took it and kissed her inner wrist as he stood. He rested a hand on her back to guide her into the saloon. As they crossed the threshold, he felt eyes on his back. He looked back once and nodded to the watching Gibbs. Too much had changed. He couldn’t go back, but he could watch out for his friends. Deliberately turning away before any of the women saw him, Timothy McGee followed his sometime lover into the saloon determined to forget his memories and his old dreams yet again.