Disclaimer: I Do Not Own NCIS Or Any Of Its Characters!
Plot To This Story Is ALL Mine Though!
A|N: This story is the 'sequel' to my story "Not Easily Broken". Although I don't think its entirely necessary to read that one first, I do recommend it as mentions to some things that happened in that story come up in this one.
Hopefully you all like it! Without further a-due, ENJOY!
"Undercover Show"
Chapter I - Love & Fights
"Hey babe!" Tony entered his bedroom after a long day and an even longer night. All he wanted was to lay in his bed, hold his wife and sleep. Thankfully it was Friday and, barring some major catastrophe at NCIS, he would be able to do that for the next two days.
"Hello my love", Ziva spoke softly with a smile as she put down the book she had been reading. "How was dinner with the big wigs?"
The cause of his longer night was a mandatory dinner with all the directors of Washington, DC's alphabet soup— FBI, CIA, NSA, ATF ... and the SecNav. He groaned as he took off his suit, "Have I mentioned lately that I really can't stand the new Director of Homeland?"
Ziva chuckled, "Yes, you have been mentioning it all week."
"Yeah, well, if I never have to see or hear from that woman for the rest of my life I'll be just fine." He threw his clothes on a chair in the corner of the room then fell face first onto the bed. "Seriously", his voice came out muffled as he spoke into the pillow, "she tries way too hard. I think she's looking for a husband and is trying to find one amongst the heads of all the agencies. You should've seen how she flirted with Director Troy from FBI."
"As long as she keeps her sights off my husband, we will not have a problem", Ziva partly joked as she climbed on his back and started to massage his shoulders.
"Mmmm, that feels so good." Tony turned his head to peak up at her, "Trust me, even if she does have her sights on me, my sights are totally on the gorgeous woman in the red negligee working her magic on me right now."
Ziva giggled then leaned forward and kissed his cheek, "And your sights better stay right here ... by the way, Anthony is staying at Tyler's house tonight."
"Mrs. DiNozzo, are you hinting that you'd like to turn this G-rated moment into something more R-rated?"
"Oh, I am not hinting anything. There is a reason I wore this negligee and waited up for you." She rolled off his back and stood up from the bed. Moving towards the en-suite bathroom, Ziva allowed the negligee to fall to the floor as she stopped just outside the door. Showing off all her glory, she smirked at the lustful gaze Tony was giving her. "Are you coming to join me in the shower, Mr. DiNozzo?"
No words were needed as Tony simply nodded his head and nearly sprinted the distance across the room, swiftly pulling his boxers off in the process. His need for sleep forgotten as he lifted his wife and kissed her with a fiery passion, then carried her the rest of the way into the bathroom.
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"That's odd", Tali spoke absently as she put her phone back on the nightstand and nestled into her fiancé's arms once more.
"What's odd baby", Hunter asked groggily, not wanting to actually be up so early on a Saturday morning.
"I told Ima that I'd call her as soon as we woke up, but she's not answering the phone."
"Baby, it's almost 1AM in DC right now, don't you think she might be sleep", he reasoned. "Like we should be at the moment."
Tali chuckled, "Since when do you want to sleep past 0630?"
"Since the last two weeks have been nonstop work with getting things in place for the new office to open. The only reason I'm up is because I forgot to turn the alarm off last night. I completely made plans to sleep-in with the soon to be Mrs. Amadi today. When's the last time we got to do this since we've moved to Paris?"
"It has been a while", she sighed, "But it will have to wait until tomorrow. I have an early rehearsal."
"How early is early?"
"I need to be at the theater in an hour. So, I must get in the shower now and get ready."
Hunter's eyes opened completely to look into Tali's eyes. He smirked and raised his brow, "May I join you?"
Tali laughed and playfully slapped his chest. "No you may not! No sex until after the wedding, remember?"
"But the wedding isn't until July of next year. That's 8 months away. I can't wait that long." He pulled her closer and started trailing kisses down her neck. "I want you know ... can't you tell?"
"Mmmhmmm, I can definitely tell." She used all her energy to pull away and not give in to temptation. Sitting up, Tali pulled back the covers and looked down to see the tent that had risen in Hunter's boxers. She shook her head and looked back up in his eyes. "Down boy", she whispered after placing a quick peck on his lips and getting out of bed.
"What exactly am I supposed to do with this, Tals", he asked in frustration as he watched her go into their walk-in closet.
"The same thing you always do", Tali responded from inside. She fought hard not to laugh at his predicament but she couldn't help it after hearing him groan and mumble about life not being fair. After taking a moment to compose herself, Tali walked out of the closet with her chosen dance clothes of the day and looked at Hunter with a serious face. "You've been patient for over 4 years now, 8 more months will not kill you."
"But it is killing me. You have no idea how badly I want you. It was easier when you were in college in New York and I was always working a case or on a mission all over the world. But now, we live together and sleep in the same bed every night. Seriously baby, this isn't easy."
Tali rolled her eyes, "You promised you would wait until I am ready. After everything that happened when we ..."
"I know", he interrupted before she even brought up the topic of how they first met. "I'm sorry, okay? Forget I said anything." Hunter stood up and walked out the bedroom.
"Hey, where are going", Tali called after him, still standing in the sane spot she had been.
"To the guest room to do what I always do", he yelled back.
After a few seconds, she heard the guest room door slam. Tali shook her head and proceeded to lay out her clothes before heading to the bathroom. Part of her felt bad that she wasn't 'performing' in ways that other women did in their relationships, but her reasoning for wanting to abstain from sex until marriage was something she and Hunter had an understanding about. Sure, she trusted him with her body completely and she knew he had experience with women, but in her heart of hearts she was technically still a virgin. Atleast technical by her definition since she hadn't actually chosen to give herself to anyone before.
Truth be told, even if she hadn't been violated years ago, it had still always been her desire to wait until marriage. Still, she knew her fiancé was tired of 'servicing himself' as he often put it. Maybe the time was coming for her to just give in and allow him to have what he wanted. Actually, what they both wanted. Despite her fear of having flashbacks to a darker time, Tali was sure that when the time came for them to cross that line that Hunter would be gentle and take great care in satisfying her. She promised herself she'd give it some thought over the next few days. For now, she had to prepare for the day ahead. It wasn't the time to dwell on her feelings of fear and inadequacy. There were other things to worry about— 'Like getting this new choreography down for the show next month.
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After an all night love making session, Tony was still in the bedroom knocked out sleep at noon. Ziva, on the other hand, was wide awake and checking her work emails on her laptop in the living room. To her surprise, she heard the locks on the front door turn and saw the youngest DiNozzo child walked in the house looking less than thrilled.
"Anthony, what are you doing home? I thought you were staying at Tyler's until tonight", she spoke as he plopped down on the couch beside her. "And what the hell happened to your face?!"
The 16 year old huffed in aggravation then gave her a look that Ziva couldn't quite read. "I was supposed to stay over there", Anthony started to explain, "But Ty's stepdad was totally plastered this morning when we go up and started wailing on Ty for no reason. I tried to pull the bastard off him and that's when her started aiming his punches at me." He paused when he noticed the look in his mother's eyes and grabbed her hand for reassurance, "I swear I'm fine. You don't need to go nuclear on anyone. I got a few good jabs in and knocked him out cold. The cops have him now. I'm just worried about Ty. He totally bugged out on me when I pressed him about how long he's been getting abused. Eventually he told me to ef' off and said I needed to mind my own business, so I got my backpack then I left and walked home. Now we're here."
"You walked home after having a fist fight with a navy officer? From here to Tyler's house is a 45 minute walk. Not to mention you had a fight with a grown man and you have no idea what kind of injuries you may have sustained. Sweetheart, why did you not call me or your father?"
"I needed the walk to try and clear my head. Apart from bruise on my face, I'm totally fine. The jerk barely landed his punches since he was so drunk. Plus, I didn't want to bother you guys."
Ziva shook her head, "Anthony, something like this is not a bother. It is a very serious matter. You should have called us the moment Tyler's stepfather started to ..."
"Babe, did you get a case or something, because Eric Dobson from Metro called me 3 times and ..." Tony paused when he entered the living room and noticed his namesake sitting on the couch with a bruised jaw. "III, what happened?"
"Officer Dobson was probably calling you because I had to do a police report with him this morning. Technically, he wasn't allowed to take my statement without my parents present, but since he knows you're my dad he did it anyway and said he'd get in touch with you to sign some form."
Tony looked at him confused, "Wait, back up, police report for what? How'd you get that bruise?"
"Ty's stepdad", the teen sighed. "He was beating up Ty this morning for no reason and I went to stop him. Jack started fighting me in the process, hence the bruise. But I swear I'm okay! Seriously, neither one of you need to go all government agent and have the guy 'neutralized', or whatever you call it. He's just a lowlife drunk."
"Yeah well, that lowlife drunk is going to pay for touching my kid", Tony's voice was low and threatening as he dialed back the number for his friend at Metro PD. Both Ziva and Anthony watched as he immediately started barking out orders.
"Eric, it's DiNozzo — Yeah my son told me what happened, look I want that son of bitch charged and I want him brought to NCIS — I know what protocol is, but I also know where the loopholes are too. He's still a naval officer who assaulted his stepson and the child of a federal agent, so technically he could be my jurisdiction too! — I don't give a damn about conflict of interest! One of my teams will press that bastard and make sure he gets more than just a few hours of sleep, a slap on the wrist, and then sent home to do this shit all over again! — When he sobers up, you have him transferred to my people. Am I clear? — Good, you call me when you're ready to transfer him, and bring whatever paperwork you need signed. We're dealing with this my way."
As soon as he hung up, Anthony was standing in front of his father, "Abba, really, you didn't need to do that. Metro will handle it."
"Yes I did. Look III, I'm clear on how cases like this work. Guys like Tyler's stepdad always slip through the cracks and manage to get out of county jail without serving any real time at all. Ninety-five percent of the time, they end up doing the same thing all over again when they are released. I'm not just looking out for you right now, but for Tyler and his mom too. I want to make sure that this guy doesn't get the opportunity to pull a stunt like this again, alright?"
Anthony nodded, "Okay. But, Ty's really pissed at me for getting involved and calling the cops. I think this has been happening for a while now, since his mom married the dude. Do you think he'll stop being my friend now that you're going to lock his stepdad up for a long time?"
"If Tyler really values your friendship", Ziva chimed in, "Then he will see that this route your father has chosen to take is the best for all involved."
"Exactly", Tony agreed. "Right now, Tyler is probably just embarrassed that the truth is out. He'll come around. I can guarantee that." He raised Anthony's chin to get a better look at the bruise on his jawline. "We better get some ice that. How bad does it hurt?"
"It's not all that bad now. I'm just glad it's on the left side", he partially joked trying to lighten the tension in the room. Both parent's raised an eyebrow in question causing Anthony to chuckle, "You forgot I have to take yearbook pictures on Monday? They shoot the right profile, not the left. So I'll still be a dashing looking DiNozzo in my photo."
Ziva shook her head and laughed while Tony smirked. "Such a DiNozzo", Tony said as he led his son to the kitchen, "You know our right side is our best side anyway. Always has been. Something about that DiNozzo smile on that side profile gives us that powerful debonair look. You know, that look is how I got your ima to fall in love with me."
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Already evening in Paris, Tali entered her apartment and threw her keys on the side table by the door as she let out a long exasperated sigh. Tired wasn't the word to describe how she felt. Exhausted was close but still not adequate enough. No, she was beyond that. Her legs hurt. Her brain was on overload. And her heart felt ... torn.
All day she had thought about her conversation with Hunter about waiting until their wedding night to have sex. To make matters worse, all day she had been having flashbacks to the cell that was rightly named 'Hell' where her innocence had been stolen 4 years ago. Needless to say, Tali wasn't in a good mood. So when her fiancé bombarded her with questions as soon as she walked into the kitchen, she partly lost it.
"All I'm saying is that you should've called me, Tali! I was worried about you!"
"The last time I checked, I'm a grown woman! I don't need to check in with you all day. You knew I had rehearsal today, so what's the problem?!"
"The problem is that you said you'd meet me by 2 o'clock. That was 5 hours ago. I thought something happened to you. Had I not traced your cell then went to the park and saw that you were ..."
"YOU WHAT?!" Tali was fuming now. "You traced my cell and then stalked me!? Like I'm one of your marks that you need to track down?!"
Hunter sighed and took a step back. He tried hard to keep his voice at a low and even tone so Tali would stop yelling. After a moment he started to say, "Listen, I only did it because I was ..."
"Worried", she interrupted again. "Yeah, I know. You've said that about 15 times now. I can't believe you couldn't trust me."
"It's not about trust, Tali. It's about you communicating with me that you're going to be late or that you just need time to think after a long day. I can respect and accept that. What I can't accept is not knowing where you are and not hearing from you after you stood me up today. I was scared out of mind! For 3 hours I waited, but I couldn't take not knowing anymore. And it's not like you were returning my calls or texts. I did what any man would do when his fiancé has suddenly gone MIA. And given the circumstances of how we met, you can imagine where my mind went."
Tali looked at him incredulously, "So now I'm too weak to defend myself and am prone to getting kidnapped again?"
"Forget it", Hunter threw his hands in the air in surrender and let out a gruff yell. "That's not what I meant and you know it! I don't know what's up with you today but when you're ready to talk about it I'll be at my office."
He turned to leave but stopped mid-stride as Tali yelled, "Fine! Leave me again, like you always do! Walk away when I need you! That's what you did back then! You just left me with him to die while you got away! I needed you and you ran the moment he looked the other way! I get it ..." She started to cry hysterically, "I know I'm damaged goods ... I know you're only with me because you feel guilty ... I get it."
"Tali", he spoke her name in a breathless whisper as he turned back around to face her. The pain and confusion in his eyes spoke volumes. "Is that what you think of me? That I am only with you because I feel some sort of guilt?" He shook his head as he closed the distance between them and wrapped her in his arms. "Baby, I am with you because I am completely and utterly in love with you. To me, there's nothing damaged about you. And I sincerely apologize if I ever made you feel otherwise. Tals, you're my world. I'd be lost without you. That's why I was so scared today, because you've never done anything like that before. And I swear before Allah that I will never walk away again." Kissing her forehead gently, he pulled back slightly to look in her eyes, "Please, forgive me."
There was a small smile on Tali's face, even as the tears kept rolling down her rosy cheeks. "I'm sorry too", she said in a whisper. "It was just a really bad day and ... I ... I've been having flashbacks again", she spoke honestly.
"I'm so sorry. I promise you're safe now. There's no need to worry. Just like before, we will get through it together." Little did either of them know that soon that statement would come to be tested. Could they really get through it together? Only time would tell. Things were about to change. Their lives would be at stake again. For somewhere, half way across the globe, there was a group in DC preparing to set something in motion that would put their love to the ultimate test and turn their world's upside down all over again. A fight was coming ... and it was coming soon.
Well, tell me what you think. A little TIVA fluff in the beginning because ... well DUH ... it's TIVA!
But seriosuly, tell me your thoughts. Really, I'd like to know.
What I have for chapter two dives straight into the plot.
I promise this won't be too much of a slow burn like my other stories. Lol!
Reviews and PMs will determine whether or not I post the next chapter, so do your thing!
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Later!
- Chide