Jealousy
Author: Lawral
Rating: FR13
Pairing: McGee/Ziva (who else?
Summary: McGee finds out just how painful jealousy can be.
Note: Finally I get to sleep in and I wake up at 8am from this dream and couldn't get back to sleep. So I crawled out of bed and wrote my wonderful dream. Enjoy!

"You know the woman down in administration, Janice? I think she likes me."

That had been the statement that awoke the beast buried deep within Ziva David's chest. She watched as he sat behind his desk with his ever adorable half-smile on his face while he sent messages to a source she could only assume was Janice from administration. The beast growled inside her head; she picked up her keyboard and slammed it down again.

"Something wrong, Ziva?" He asked looking up from his computer conversation.

She'd lowered her head to rest atop her arms as she breathed deeply, trying to subdue the beast that wanted nothing more than to march down to administration and threaten Janice with the closest office instrument. Sure, the woman was young and pleasant; she was attractive and greeted everyone with a smile and tidings of a safe day. Today, Ziva had glared at the woman when returning with lunch for her team. She ignored the usual smile and greeting as she strode past the woman and into the elevator. Now, she was being forced to watch as McGee chatted with her while he sat just feet from her.

"No," Ziva lied as she picked up her head. "My hand slipped and now I must type my report all over."

She heard him get to his feet and walk toward her. Awareness filled her senses as he stood behind her and looked down to her blank screen. His arms dropped on either side of her face as he leaned over her and typed in a few keystrokes, pulling up the file she'd closed moments ago when unable to concentrate.

"There," He commented triumphantly. "I installed a program that saves our reports every few minutes. Just in case."

Ziva purposely stared straight at the screen and the report that had been giving her trouble. The case had been easy enough; a typical drug bust within a military home. The man was on his way to jail while his Navy wife was temporarily moved to barracks. What she couldn't figure out was why McGee hadn't moved from helping her with the document. He had stood and shoved his hands in his pockets but had remained behind his female team mate. She turned and looked at him as he leaned against the table behind her chair.

"Are you sure you're alright?" McGee asked. "You seem a bit, I don't know, frazzled since lunch."

"I am fine, McGee." She lied once more.

She didn't even try to come up with an explanation then. He could see the debate going on behind her eyes but said nothing. Ziva's protective walls had started to crumble over the years with NCIS, despite the few times they'd raised themselves again. He knew that she felt as if it weakened her as an agent. How many times had the spoke over a drink that she was safe in America and had numerous friends who wouldn't allow anything to happen to her? It was on one of those nights that he saw her guard seemed to crumble drastically. The memory brought a soft smile to his face.

His proximity was causing a devastating war to break out between her head and her senses. She could see the softness in his eyes and hear it in his tone. His cologne was still surrounding her even moments after he'd stepped away. It had taken every ounce of control to keep from reaching out to him or to lean against his chest as he'd worked on her computer. She looked up to him as a small smile formed on his face and she cleared her throat, rising to her feet.

"Excuse me for a moment, McGee." Ziva said and stepped over his feet, making a beeline to the woman's restroom.

McGee chuckled softly as he watched her pound her way through the door and heard a soft click of the lock sliding into place. He pushed himself off the table and returned to his desk. There was another message waiting for him and once more it made him smile as he threw a quick glance over his shoulder.

Abbsolute (15:26:34): Timmy?

Abbsolute (15:30:14): Did she admit it, yet?

McGee looked to the closed door of the ladies room and sat back down behind his desk. He thought for a moment of her distant gaze as he'd studied her and how she'd tried desperately not to betray the lies she'd told when asked about how she was feeling. Down and to the right, he heard Kate say in his mind.

TMcGee (15:32:58): No.

Ziva rushed into the ladies room and turned to lock the door. She needed to clear her head without distractions. Leaning against the counter, Ziva looked at her reflection. Her cheeks were flush and her pupils were as large as saucers. Ziva reached out and turned on the cold water full blast; she knew that her eyes had betrayed her at his questions but he hadn't pressed the subject or called her on her lies. The water was cool against the skin of her face but did nothing to completely quiet the beast.

"I think she likes me."

He had sounded so thrilled. The smile on his face at the statement had haunted her for the past three hours; so much so that she'd had to return to the drive-thru after forgetting Gibbs' lunch and then again to pick up Abby's Triple Thick Chocolate Shake. Ziva returned her eyes to the mirror in front of her and watched as droplets of water cascaded down her cheeks and fell from her chin. Finally, her eyes weren't betraying her anymore but what she saw in them wasn't exactly good news either. The brown orbs had darkened and once more she heard Tim's voice ring out in her head as the face of Janice erupted in her mind. Her fists balled together and once more it took all of her energy not to punch the glass in front of her. Instead she turned and kicked the napkin dispenser, leaving behind a rather large dent.

"You know that woman in administration…"

She quickly turned on her heel, unlocked the door and left the room. Returning to her desk, she noticed that Tim was still engrossed in his computer conversation, his goofy grin still present on his face. It was the laugh, his wonderful melody, which caused the beast to burst through the gates of her mind. She shoved her chair under her desk and circled around to emerge on the opposite side. McGee looked up as he saw her punch the button on the elevator.

"Ziva? Where are you going?"

"Downstairs," She hissed, looking in his direction.

The smile froze on his face as he saw the gleam in her eye. He watched as she crossed her arms over her chest and looked at the metal doors. Silently, McGee prayed that perhaps Gibbs was inside having a 'conference' with someone. He didn't even care who it was as long as the elevator doors didn't open. Of course, his prayer went unanswered as the doors slid open and she stepped inside, punching at another button.

TMcGee (15:41:00): SHIT!

He quickly wrote as the doors closed slowly.

Abbsolute (15:41:10): What?

TMcGee (15:41:11): She's going downstairs.

McGee jumped to his feet and ran toward the stairs. It was a good thing he'd been working out and losing weight; he had two flights of stairs to run down in order to get to the ground floor before Ziva made it in the elevator. He began to wonder why he'd taken Abby's advice; jealousy was a powerful emotion when it came to guys but it was even worse when it came to women.

Ziva had punched at the control panel and growled as two lights lit up. It was too late now so she'd just have to make the stop on the floor above her original destination. Hopefully no one would be there and she could automatically close the door and proceed down to Janice. Seven years she'd watched the two men she shared space with and while most other agents thought that she and Tony had a thing going on, it was never Tony who she'd actually been attracted to. Now this woman had come in and was trying to take the affections of someone she cared for. The door opened and she paused with a small smile.

One more floor, Janice.

The doors closed again and she could feel the excitement of the beast in her chest. Her destination was only a few moments away and then she'd make sure that Janice would never return to Headquarters. Maybe she could even scare her enough not to leave the house. The elevator doors opened once more bringing another large smile to Ziva's face. The element of surprise was always her best friend when it came to confronting an enemy; Janice was the biggest enemy she could think of at the moment.

She stepped off the elevator and glared at the woman behind the desk. Janice had her ever present smile crossing her face as she waved to another agent and spoke with a delivery kid. The woman hadn't even noticed the trained assassin's arrival or the dark glare that was the beast in Ziva's eyes. The pounding footsteps didn't even register before something hooked around her arm, turning her body away from the woman and then slamming her against the door of another restroom.

"McGee?" She asked, the beast backing away slightly at the sight of him.

He quickly held his hands against the door on either side of her face and leaned down slightly as he panted. Realizing what was in front of his face, he turned to lay his forehead against his arm and closed his eyes. His chest and legs were on fire from the speed in which he'd jumped down the stairs.

"Stop," He panted. "I was lying, ok?"

Ziva narrowed her eyes at him as he continued to try and capture his composure. She tried to push him away and pull open the door but he grunted as he pushed it close again.

"I was lying." He demanded. "I don't think Janice likes me."

The beast growled again at the mention of the woman's name and she couldn't stop the venom in her voice as she spoke to the man holding her against the door.

"Then why did you say you did?"

"Abby," He said with a small cough. "Abby said that she thought you liked me but I couldn't just come out and ask you. I wouldn't ruin our friendship, or the team, if she was wrong. So I said that Janice liked me to see what you would say."

Outside, Janice was none the wiser to how close she'd come to a confrontation that she in no way had a part of. She continued to greet visitors and agents alike with her usual smile and peppy attitude. All the while McGee was holding Ziva against the woman's room door trying to save the woman's life.

"Sorry, I forgot how territorial you are but I didn't think you'd actually come down to hurt her or something. I just…" He exhaled sharply and leaned forward to claim her lips.

He felt the surprise at his actions radiate from Ziva. It took a moment before he felt the wall crumble inside her and felt her eyelashes feather against his cheek as she closed her eyes to return the kiss. His hands rose up to grasp her face, their bodies void of any space between each other. Ziva's arms reached up his back and held him firmly against her. She'd waited many years for this and it was better than she imagined. Never had she thought he would be the one to initiate their first kiss; never had she thought it would be at work.

McGee pulled back from her slightly, still holding her face and looked into her eyes. "You, you are the one that I want."

He noticed the small smile emerge on her face at his words and the chocolate brown of her eyes return. However, the beast flashed against her eyes once more as a sharp pain coursed through his body and he fell to his knees, holding his groin.

"Do not lie to me again, Tim." Ziva said calmly and left the bathroom.

Inside his coat, McGee's phone began to ring. He fumbled it out and answered with a pained groan.

"Did you catch her?"

"Yeah, Abby." He moaned, still laying in a fetal position on the ladies room floor. "One question: can you be kneed into infertility?"