This was written relatively quickly so mistakes, grammatical or otherwise, are probable... don't hesitate to point any out if you feel the need to do so. This is sorta AU and sorta future!fic... I have no clue what's gonna happen for the finale so no spoilers or anything. This can be seen as a possible outcome, if you will. And if you won't, it's random angst that popped outta nowhere. :)

I don't own NCIS. Otherwise characters would probably be angsting every episode... they haven't been right?

She watched the trees fly by in an ethereal blur as the car sped down the highway. Her hair was sprawled around her shoulders in its natural curls for once, covering the damp cheeks of her face. It meant that her locks were wild and untamed. It meant that she was showing weakness. But that didn't matter... no, nothing mattered anymore.

The uneven surface of the bridge they crossed escaped her attention, jostling her more than it usually would. She liked to pretend it was that motion that shook the thoughts running rampant in her head, causing them to scatter like snowflakes in those liquid-filled orbs over and over again. They flew, they fell, they silently screamed and wanted to escape through those tightly sealed lips. But as much as it killed her, she'd already made her decision... and she was afraid that any word from him or her would break her fragile resolve. She wasn't quite sure exactly how that would be a bad thing... but didn't want to find out nevertheless.

It was the driver whose agitated musings had more success in seeping out through the widening cracks of his old facade. It wasn't the out of tune engine that was causing the steering wheel to shake at seventy miles per hour, as much as she might have thought otherwise. And it wasn't as if he could help it.

All he wanted to do was run.

If it hadn't been for that smack on the back of the head and the fact that he actually had to go back and face the wrath of Gibbs, he wouldn't have gone in the first place; it was hardly his style to prolong such tasks. But even with his suffocating dread, he couldn't help but notice the opportunity that had opened up its arms. Maybe he could talk to her. Maybe he could change her mind... but another part of him knew that he'd done his share of talking. And that hadn't helped in the least. Their nerves were all on edge, and he didn't want to imagine what a conversation at this stage would do to their self-control. He knew he was having enough trouble driving within the lanes as it was.

So his jaw remained the rigid, unmoving thing it had been the entire ride.

Of their own accord, her eyes moved to catch the slight twitch in the muscles of his face. She knew he was seething beneath that skin of his... what was it... still waters run deep? She couldn't help roaming her gaze over him, this person she'd become so inexplicably attached to, those green eyes she hated to see upset, those lips whose dazzling smile she'd likely never see again. It made no sense that this man who'd left so many heartbroken because of his lack of commitment could leave her in tears because of the caring he'd suddenly shown. Cold assassins were supposed to break under the inhumane torture of terrorist cells; not the voice of some American she could pin down with her eyes closed.

What had happened to her? And what was she doing, letting go of the best thing that had ever happened to her? Life as an investigator had its mundane moments... but she could have never asked for a better family. She just couldn't bear the looks of her team... of Gibbs after what she'd let happen. No matter how often she envisioned her future... she'd never expected it to turn out like this.

The car finally turned off of the ramp and pulled up in front of the glass doors that were the airport.

"I always forget that it takes so long to get to Dulles. I appreciate the ride."

He didn't comment on the fact that she'd, for once, called it Dulles instead of Dallas. He just mimicked her motions as she opened the door and got out of the car, popping open the trunk first.

"Anything, Ziva."

He hadn't meant to betray that thick tone. He knew she caught on as he set the rolling suitcase on the ground before her feet.

She caught his eyes for a moment; but this time, she crushed that illogical hope that had always arisen when they'd lock looks. It was too late.

"Ziva..."

"It was nice working with you, Tony."

His shoulders slumped.

"Things would have worked out." It was his one last chance.

"They didn't have to." She glanced at him one more time. "Nothing is inevitable."

And with that she turned around, slammed the car door shut, and disappeared behind the clear windows of the building, luggage wheeling behind her.

The doors shut before anything else could be said.