Title: Absence makes the heart grow fonder, or something.
Author: SplishySplash
Genre: Romance/Friendship
Pairing: TIVA
Rating: K
Disclaimer: I own nothing. This is another Gibbs is the biggest TIVA fan series.
Summary: Ziva is assigned to agent afloat temporarily and Tony misses her.
She had taken the post so their first choice, Tony, didn't have too. The on board NCIS agent took a five week sabbatical to be with his pregnant wife while they waited for a replacement from another office, or something.
One thing that was for sure was that Gibbs wasn't sure if his Senior Field Agent was going to last the separation. The older man watched Tony go through all seven stages of grief in the first week, but settled in his hardworking quiet mode.
A nifty computer thing, McGee called it Skype or something, made it bearable for all of them. It was painfully obvious when one called the other, because Tony's spirits would be high enough to make him seem normal. Well normal for Tony's standards.
It seemed quiet without her there and even Abby seemed off. The three men didn't talk much to each other, except for the daily Ziva update and it was amazing just how much their youngest member held the team together, according to Ducky.
/
The case they were working was a difficult one, mostly because it stirred up unwanted feelings.
A woman raped and then recanted her story only to come up missing. It was sixteen hours into the investigation and the three of them were exhausted chasing every shadow. The woman's credit cards were being used all over the place and each of them had been tracked to a bunch of homeless guys who found them in Rock Creek Park, leaving them turning every stone in the park until the sunset.
The had ran back to the office to regroup and see if anything else had come up, they still hadn't had a turn up on her vehicle. Gibbs stood side by side next to Tony, who leaned against the wall to support his tired body when the younger man's cellphone chirped. He pulled it out of his pocket and didn't even check the screen as his face softened. "Hey." It was a tone too intimate to be stuck in an elevator with and Gibbs looked ahead, willing the box to move faster. "It's okay, Boss and I just got back to the Navy Yard after searching Rock Creek. This case. . ." He sighed.
He didn't have to guess, the familiarity of Tony's reaction was none other than Ziva David. Gibbs checked his watch, it was nearing 2345 in their time zone and just before eight where she was. "Ziva says hello."
"Hello Ziva." Gibbs answered as the doors opened to the abandoned bullpen. Tony followed Gibbs to his desk and sat heavily onto his chair. Tony listened and responded with his usual smartass comments that the team leader was beginning to miss.
"I miss you." Tony said softly that Gibbs almost didn't hear it over the roar of the computer fans that seemed louder at night. He watched as Tony's smile grew, knowing that she returned it without question. "I will try to get some sleep, but I will call you in the morning. Have a good day and play nicely with the other kids."
He hung up the phone and slid it back into his pocket, sharing a look with Gibbs. "Only fourteen more days until she comes home." Gibbs said, turning his look back to the computer screen.
Tony sighed. "Thank god."
Silently Gibbs agreed.
/
Gibbs had caught on to Tony's pattern.
He would walk into the office (ten minutes late of course) wishing her a good night and leave the office wishing her a good morning, but the in between time Tony still seemed lost. Thank god she was coming home soon.
Tony had forced McGee into tracking her every movement from when she got off the plane to her check in at Ramstein, Germany and eventually Gibbs didn't know because he had sent Tony home to prevent his untimely death by mob. He wasn't accomplishing anything anyway.
"But. . ." Tony said with his puppy dog face.
Gibbs was trying to be patient, really he was. He rubbed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Go to her place and get the heater started." He suggested from his desk.
And with his head in his palm from his desk McGee also put in his two cents. "Maybe you should dust, five weeks is a long time. . ."
"I can do that. . ."Slowly Tony got up and gathered his things up before disappearing into the elevator.
"Thank God." McGee let out the breath he was holding. "I know that absence makes the heart grow fonder, but this is nuts." He rested his head against his desk for a moment to gather himself. Tony's anxiousness was making him anxious, he missed Ziva as much as the next person, but depressed Tony was a hundred times more exhausting than normal Tony and he could not wait until Ziva came back.
/
Tony was in Gibbs' basement when he walked in the door.
The older man watched as he sanded his pent up energy into a bird house that he was making as per Abby's request. Tony didn't even look up from his work when he heard Gibbs walk in. "I finished her getting her apartment setup, I needed something to do."
"Figures." Gibbs answered and turned away. "Dinner's waiting for when you when you're hungry."
/
Gibbs drove to the airport. Ziva had switched from a military flight to a regular civilian flight from Germany, McGee had bumped her to first class. The ride was silent, but Tony's excitement was radiating from every pore.
He would check his watch every four minutes and then check his phone for errant messages from her, but each coming up empty. The clock stated that her plane had yet to touch ground yet or if it did, it had barely touched down.
The parking lot was crowded for it being so late, but they found a spot in the back and the cool fall air seemed to settle the younger man.
The doors swished opened and the airport was still full of pre-Thanksgiving travelers going to and from Dulles International Airport. Ziva appeared through the crowd when Gibbs realized that Tony wasn't next to him anymore. Ziva's tired eyes sparkled as she dropped her bag and ran over to him.
With the skill of an Olympic hurdles jumper she leaped into his arms. He caught her with ease and didn't falter when her buck ten body crashed into him, sadly putting Abby to shame.
Her face was buried into his neck and his large wrapped around her small body, her face was in his neck and his into her hair. Gibbs shook his head as he walked passed them to gather her things he watched the pair embrace.
He grabbed the errant bag and wandered back slowly, just in time to hear Tony's low voice. "You're not allowed to leave again."
She laughed lightly and pulled back, Tony had set her back on to her feet. "You do not have to worry." She answered, pulling back just a bit to see Gibbs waiting to be acknowledged. Her smile lit up the room even more as she left Tony to Gibbs' arms. "I have missed you Gibbs."
"I've missed you too." He said and he truly did miss her. He also missed her keeping Tony in line. He knew that he shouldn't support a union between the two, but honestly he had been rooting for it for a while. "Someone needs to keep DiNozzo in line."
She laughed and pulled back to wipe the tear that fell down her cheek. "I don't need anybody to keep me in line!" Cried Tony, trying his best hurt look and failed. She smiled and tucked herself into his side as they walked to her luggage carousel with his arms around her shoulders.
Her modest bag came off the ramp and she moved to grab it, but Gibbs ever the gentleman stepped up to grab it and Tony didn't relinquish his grip on her. He pulled her into another hug, pressing his lips to her forehead and her hands went around his waist. "Man, I missed you." He whispered.
With Gibbs' back to them, Ziva stood on her tip toes and pressed her lips onto his. Gibbs turned around and rolled his eyes at the pair as he saw the tail end of the kiss, one would think they had been separated without communication for year.
She broke the kiss and smiled at him. "I missed you too."
Gibbs' cleared this throat before it turned into a sappy love fest and Tony looked over her head with a guilty smile. "I would like to go home at some point."
"Sorry boss." Tony mumbled as he picked up her carry on and Gibbs took her suit case and they walked back to the car as Ziva shared her experience aboard the USS Seahawk. Gibbs listened mostly as she took her turn on the boat and Tony complained about his months of imprisonment aboard the large floating city.
He pulled up to her apartment and she got out of the car, Tony followed and grabbed her bags from the trunk. Gibbs rolled down the window and looked at the man expectantly. "Don't worry about me." He said and he didn't have to explain. Anthony DiNozzo wasn't going to let Ziva out of his sight for a long time.
He couldn't blame him.
"Wasn't gonna." Gibbs said with a shrug.
Ziva leaned in through the window and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Good night, Gibbs . Thank you."
"Good night." He said and watched the pair disappear into the building.
As he drove away he couldn't help but allow his mind to wander. Ziva was home, Tony wasn't depressed anymore and even though productivity would go down, they would all be together as a team and honestly, he'd take that any day.