This has been my little project for a while now and it just needs some touch ups and bits and pieces but I pretty much have it all laid out. I will have updates every one or two days, depending on when I get time to fix the things that need adjusting. Anyways I hope you enjoy this Fic, I enjoyed writing it.
She wasn't sure if she would be able to sleep on this flight. Given the fact the flight was about seven hours long she should probably try to get some rest, but she didn't know if she could. She had never been one to sleep on a plane, she was constantly (especially in her Mossad career) suspicious of all the surrounding people on the plane. She never felt entirely safe to fall asleep and be left unguarded.
However this trip she did have her partner right next to her, but she didn't know if that would make it feel safe for her to sleep knowing his presence was there or the fact he would keep her awake the whole time with his constant babbling. At the moment he was engaged in a conversation with their row partner, an elderly lady. Even at her age of about sixty Tony's charm still worked on her.
She looked sweet enough but Ziva was never one that liked to engage in conversations with strangers where they asked you about your entire life. Ziva's life explanation would most likely give the old woman a heart attack if she was honest about everything. Tony was such the opposite to her, he was so happy to share his life story with anyone who asked, and he loved showing off to the ladies that he was a cop, even if they were sixty.
He was a people person, a very easy person to talk to. She had become more of a people person over the years in America; however she still preferred to keep to herself when complete strangers were involved. It was funny how she and Tony got along so well with these sorts of differences. If she thought about it, they were so different but at the same time they were so alike.
Ziva was looking out the window of the plane as they began to reach the point where the pilots would turn off the seatbelt signal. She could hear the lively discussion next to her as she chose to close her eyes and lean back in the seat.
"So your son lives in Alaska? It makes sense now to why a lovely lady like yourself is traveling all this way" Tony had said to the older woman. She and Tony had been sent up to Alaska to work on a case there that the locals couldn't handle alone. It had become a NCIS matter when the murder victims had all turned out to be marines. A series of marines had been found with their throats slit from ear to ear, hands cut off and body severely beaten. However Vance had only sent Tony and herself as they had an on going case in DC that still needed attention to it and no other teams were available. At Gibbs' permission Vance had briefed the two of them and sent them on the next flight.
"Yes, I have not seen him in a few years and I am getting older, I won't be able to handle these long flights much longer with this old body of mine" the lady pointed out with a small chuckle.
"You're still young Ms White, just look at you, you look fantastic" Tony stated. There he goes again with his charm. She had to hold back the smirk that threatened to escape her lips at the evidence of Tony charming a sixty year old woman. Twenty or eighty, any female would be on the receiving end of it. She was starting to think it was becoming more and more automatic; however she knew it was probably just in his genetics. She knew his father after all.
"Please Anthony, call me Julie. You just make sure you get the best of your life before your years catch up on you like they have me" the old woman replied brightly. It amazed her sometimes how much people share with complete strangers at the convenience of getting a seat next to them on some form of transport.
"I try but you know, it's mainly work, work, work for me" Tony replied and she could hear that big smile in his voice.
"My husband was like that. He enjoyed his work though, it made him happy. However it must be good to be getting away to Alaska, with… is she your girlfriend?" Julie asked. Tony must not have told the old woman that this was not a 'getaway', but more work. She could feel both Tony and Julie's eyes on her, she kept her eyes closed. She wanted to hear how Tony was going to handle the situation.
"Umm no Ziva's not, she's not my girlfriend" he replied and Ziva could hear the awkwardness in his voice as he explained it to the older woman. She had to try hard not to smile.
"Oh sorry dear, you two just seemed like a couple. I mean with the way you were talking before we took off" Julie apologized. Ziva knew she was talking about the conversation she and Tony were having about her 'bad' driving. It was such a couple 'thing' to argue about that she couldn't blame the older woman for thinking they were a couple. Considering they get that comment about being a couple a lot. Which Ziva wasn't sure if it worried her or made her laugh more.
"Yeah, people get confused a lot. She's my partner" Tony replied.
"Oh, so you two are married?" the woman asked. Tony chuckled.
"No, no she is my work partner" Tony explained, hoping the woman would understand that he and she were not in a relationship of the romantic type.
"Oh I see now. Sorry again, old age doesn't help you understand all these terms the new generation uses these days" Julie replied. After Tony then explained he and Ziva were going to Alaska on work related business Julie had excused herself to use the 'ladies room'.
As soon as she was gone Ziva turned to Tony and laughed.
"Yeah, thanks Ziva, you had to leave me hanging with that one on my own" he stated, he knew she had been awake the whole time but couldn't say anything. If he did Julie would think the two of them were weird if he pointed out she was pretending to sleep just to listen into a conversation, that or Ziva would deny the whole thing and he would look stupid. She was one of the best liars, well to anyone other than him of course, and maybe Gibbs.
"You two seemed to be the best of friends, I didn't want to interrupt" Ziva grinned at him. He just threw her a look that said 'whatever smarty pants'.
She leant over to him slightly.
"Hey, did you bring those earplugs?" she asked in a softer tone. She had stopped joking around with him now.
"Yeah I did, did you want to use them?" he asked, he noticed how close she had managed to get.
"If you do not want to use them?" she replied. He shook his head.
"Na, you can use them. I have a feeling I'll be talking to Julie for a while now" he stated. She could tell he didn't really want to spend the whole seven hours talking to the woman.
"Your fault really, you're the one that used your charm on her" Ziva replied as she reached down for his backpack at his feet to gather the earplugs. Honestly, if he thought about it, the two of them had no real personal space or privacy from each other sometimes. He didn't really mind all that much either.
"I did not" he defended himself. He knew he lied straight though his teeth and the look she gave him then, he wondered how he thought he could even attempt at lying to her.
"Tony you charm every woman you see, whether you know it or not" Ziva smiled as she pulled out his earplugs and put his bag back under the chair in front of his feet. He chuckled and was about to deny that too but thought better of it, she was right. When he looked across at her she had her head leaning against the back of the chair lazily, earplugs already in. She was just about ready to have a rest but he could read in her eyes that silently she was telling him she wanted him to watch over her.
He knew about the worry she had with other people on planes and he would without hesitation watch her back if she wanted to sleep. He placed one of his hands atop of hers that lay on the armrest between them, smiling at her lightly. Silently saying to her he had her back. After that she closed her eyes to sleep, she felt safe because he was there. He is the only one who knows about her problem with sleeping on the plane, he is the only one she has ever willingly told.
When Tony leant over Ziva and looked out the window with her he was glad he had brought warm clothes. Alaska wasn't the warmest place you can go to and it was heading into winter at the moment. He, being the good partner he was, made sure Ziva had warm clothes with her too, making sure to check what coats she had brought. When he had done it she was slightly confused and maybe thought he was being a bit weird, but now she understood why he had asked. He was making sure she had the right things. He had her back.
Getting through the airport security became a problem. First it was Ziva who got stopped at the airport security, she was asked to step aside. She knew what they were doing and it didn't go well with Ziva. She had argued, explaining she was a federal agent and they had no right to take her weapons from her at the airport, she had the clearance to have them with her. For some reason they still wanted to take her away, and then Tony had stepped in.
He tried to convince them they were both agents and their things didn't need to be taken from them but then he had been taken into custody too. He went quieter then Ziva however. Now they sat in a security room, no bags, no badges, no cell phones, no anything. Ziva sat next to him with her arms crossed on her chest, not very impressed. She caught him smiling at her.
"This isn't funny" she stated, looking over at him. He chuckled lightly.
"Come on Ziva, it sort of is" he stated. He didn't really mind waiting, he found watching Ziva get all frustrated like this was actually entertaining.
"They have no right, we are federal agents. We have the proper credentials and you would think they would know we were coming" she began, he just smiled more.
"I sort of understand why they pulled you aside though, I mean you do-" he was cut off with a smack to the side of his arm.
"Tony" she warned. He was only joking, and she got that, but he could tell she wasn't in the mood to deal with the situation they were in right now. He knew she had been looking forward to a relaxing weekend before they were dragged out on this case on a Friday, and this wasn't the best of starts to a case that had interrupted her weekend. Just then the door to the room opened and one of the security guards that had detained them and another man they hadn't seen before walked in.
The man they hadn't seen before walked over to the table in front of them and gave them both back their badges, weapons and cell phones. He looked about late thirties, maybe about Tony's age, dark brown hair with brown eyes. He was slightly shorter and was a bit heavier looking than Tony.
"Agent DiNozzo, Agent David, I do apologize for the mix up we had, I have sorted it all out, your weapons are fine to come though with no problem" the man began and both Tony and Ziva stood up.
"Detective Scott Edwards" he said holding out his hand to Tony. Detective Scott Edwards was the head Anchorage cop on the case they were up here to work. Tony shook his hand back.
"Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo, good to meet you" Tony replied. Edwards turned to Ziva and shook her hand too.
"Special Agent Ziva David" she stated, she still wasn't in the best of moods. Tony could tell.
"How about we get out of here?" Edwards instructed. Tony nodded and Ziva just walked out, she couldn't wait to get out of this airport. When Edwards looked at Tony in wonder to Ziva's action Tony simply replied.
"She doesn't like being held in custody, getting her weapons taken from her, told what she can or can't do and she definitely doesn't like airports, but you get used to it" he smirked.
When they had walked out of the airport both of them had put their coats on, it definitely was cold when you got outside. Edwards put their stuff in the trunk of his car and they all jumped in the car, hoping to warm up with the car heating. Tony sat in the front with Edwards while Ziva sat in the back.
"Your Agent McGee booked you two into the Kings Cross hotel, I recommended it to him, it's a nice place. And so I'll take you guys there later but we'll head down to the station first, I've got all the stuff set up down there to fill you two in on the case" Edwards explained. Tony and Ziva had been briefly read into the case but Edwards would take them into detail. Tony nodded at Edwards.
"So, does it ever warm up here?" Tony asked. Edwards chuckled.
"It's fine in the summer but it would still be cold to the sort of summer you would be used to. We haven't had it too bad yet, it's not quite winter but we are expecting it to start to get colder" Edwards explained.
"Do you think it will snow while we are here?" Ziva suddenly asked from the backseat. Tony smiled, she seemed like she had gotten over her sulking about being held in custody by airport security. Edwards looked back at her through the revision mirror.
"Most likely. I'm not sure how long you guys are going to be here but I don't doubt you won't get any while you're here" he stated. Tony didn't know how long they would be staying here; he did know one thing though.
"I would say we're up here until we solve this thing and the boss is happy" Tony said. Taking a glance back to Ziva Tony knew he was right with his assumption, her face was one of agreement.
"You guys have one of those bosses then?" Edwards asked. Tony knew he meant the type of boss that would stay on task until case was solved and he was fully satisfied that all the evidence was good and the suspects had been brought to justice.
"Yeah" Tony chuckled "What about you?" Tony asked him.
"Yep" Edwards said at length. He turned and gave Tony a smile. Tony had started to like this guy, he seemed pretty alright so far. Tony got his phone out.
"Speaking of bosses, I better let my boss know what's going on" Tony stated before calling Gibbs.
When they arrived at the police station Edwards had taken them to an office room that was set up with a white board that had notes and photos on it. There was a large table in the middle of the room that had files and papers across it and there was another detective sitting in the room. He stood up when they all entered.
This guy had dark blonde hair and blue eyes, he was also slightly shorter but was a bit slimmer than Tony and looked to have a nice muscular build to him. He looked to be about late twenties, early thirties.
"This is my partner James Evans" Edwards announced. Evans held out his hand to Ziva.
"Ziva David, nice to meet you" Ziva stated as she shook his hand. Tony noticed how this Evans guy gave Ziva a smile, a flirty sort of smile. Tony didn't like that, he wasn't going to have this guy hit on Ziva. Ziva seemed to smile back in the same way though, he didn't like that either. Ziva stepped back and Tony stood up a bit straighter as he shook the man's hand, not so lightly.
"Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo" Tony introduced himself. When Evans pulled his hand back he flexed it slightly, Tony had made sure to make an impression on this guy.
"Nice to meet you both" Evans replied. Tony gave him a short nod while Ziva gave him a smile. Evans took his seat back at the table behind the papers he was looking at. After the introductions were all given they all took a seat around the table and went over the case, going through known associates with the dead marines, people who have possible involvement in the case, motives for the murders.
It was just after ten at night when they had finished going over the case details. Evans and Ziva had gone down to one of the local takeout places and picked up some Chinese for dinner. When they got back Tony noticed the smiles and laughs between the two. He wasn't jealous he was just keeping an eye on the two. Heck, maybe he was jealous, but at the same time he was still just making sure Ziva wasn't going to make a stupid mistake by sleeping with a guy they hardly knew yet. She wasn't like that anymore.
However Ziva had pulled her chair over next to his and he was thankful she sat next to him instead of this Evans guy. She pulled one of the Chinese containers out of the bag and handed it to Tony.
"I got your favourite, beef with cashew nuts" she stated with a smile. He loved those sorts of smiles, the ones that made her eyes twinkle in that special way. He leant slightly closer to her.
"Extra cashews?" he asked.
"Extra, extra cashews" she replied. He chuckled slightly and nudged her arm with his softly.
"You know me too well" he smiled and opened his meal to find lots of nuts in there. Perfect, just how he loved it. After scooping the much needed food into his mouth he looked up to see Evans looking at him, watching him. When Evans saw Tony catch him looking he tried to make it look as though he wasn't watching. Tony knew he was though.
"So, how long have you two been working together?" Edwards asked as he opened his own dinner. Tony swallowed his mouthful.
"About six years now, how about you two?" he asked. He leant over to Ziva next to him and put his fork in her container and got out a piece of chicken, she seemed unfazed by the movement, like it was a natural occurrence. Tony caught Evans watching again out of the corner of his eye.
"It's our third year this year. You two have been working together a while then, huh?" Edwards said as he watched Tony eat his partners chicken. Tony just nodded.
"You must know each other pretty well" Evans put in. Tony could tell he was digging for something.
"Yes, Tony is very predictable to me" Ziva stated, smiling as she reached over and stole a few of Tony's cashew nuts out of his container. Evans was looking at Tony and Tony just gave him a wink. Messing with him.
"Do you two go out or something?" Evans found himself blurting out. Edwards looked across to his partner and smacked him in the arm. Ziva froze mid dig in Tony's container.
"No, we don't" Ziva assured him. Tony nodded in agreement with Ziva.
"Just friends" Tony then added. Evans nodded, unsure if he should believe them though. Edwards just chuckled slightly at the whole awkward question that had come out.
"So, I was thinking that tomorrow we could head down to the base we have here and ask around about the marines" Edwards said, changing the subject.
"Yeah, I was thinking that too" Tony pointed out as he took another large mouthful of food. Ziva pulled a face at him.
"Tony could you take any larger mouthfuls?" she asked. He scrunched his face slightly.
"I guess I could if you want" Tony said with a mouthful of food. Ziva rolled her eyes.
"I think she was being sarcastic" Evans pointed out. If they knew each other so well how did he not know she was being sarcastic?
"He knows. He's just being smart" Ziva assured Evans. The smile on Tony's face told Evans that he was in fact just being smart. Maybe they did know each other as well as they say.
So…how does it look so far?
Hundan