While He Was Sleeping
by Fojee
NCIS oneshot, Scene after "In the Zone," S5
Tony DiNozzo/Nikki Jardine friendship, with a dash of Ziva
Disclaimer: Bellisario owns 'em; I just compulsively watch and follow a scene.
I
Nikki Jardine looked up in surprise at the knock on the door. By now, the nurses knew not to disturb her while she was visiting her brother. "Tony! What are you doing here?" She stood up, still holding Eric's limp hand.
Tony DiNozzo gave her a grin. "Thought you'd appreciate the company."
Nikki frowned. "How did you know…" then she gasped. "Did you get McGee to—"
Tony interrupted. "It doesn't take mad hacker skills to look up your brother's service record, Nikki." He raised the box in his hand. "I brought pizza."
"I told you I don't eat anything I didn't make," she tried to look stern, though she sat back down, and smoothed Eric's blankets over his legs.
"You'll hurt Papa Don's feelings," Tony said, teasingly. When she shook her head, he shrugged. "More for me, then." He sat down on a chair at the opposite side of the bed. "So this must be Eric."
"Yes," Nikki said softly. "Hey, Eric. You've got a visitor." At Tony's look, she tried to defend herself. "The doctor said we should talk to him as if he could answer."
"Like Ducky," Tony said. At Nikki's scowl—everyone knew Dr. Mallard talked to the dead bodies in autopsy—he immediately added. "Ducky told Gibbs some choice stories while he was in his coma. Baghdad?" He gestured at her brother with a nod.
"Yes. Two years ago," Nikki answered. "Doc said there's still some brain activity, but at this point it's looking grim." She looked reluctant to voice those words out.
"He looks like a fighter," Tony said, meeting her gaze. He reached out to pat her hand, but stopped, remembering her thing about germs. "He'll surprise you yet."
Nikki gave him a small, shy smile, though she moved her hand away in case he actually decided to touch her. For the rest of the night, Tony listened to her talk about her older brother, how they fought over the little things, but always showed a united front, how he encouraged her when she decided to follow him into the military. She even ate a slice of pizza, though the grease on her hands made her wash with lots of soap and water straight afterwards.
II
After the third time Tony arrived at Eric's hospital room—this time bearing a DVD of "A Few Good Men" and a brown paper bag—Nikki couldn't stop herself from asking. "Why are you doing all this, Tony?"
"Did I ever tell you about the time I got the plague?" Tony countered.
Nikki couldn't suppress the instinctive shudder. "You almost died. Yes, I heard about it." And had nightmares for weeks, she added silently. "What does it have to do with—"
"Well," he interrupted her, "my partner Kate stayed with me in isolation. She pretended she had it, too, just so I wouldn't be alone."
"Agent Caitlin Todd. Wasn't she the…" Her voice trailed off as she asked him.
Tony nodded briefly. "She was killed by a terrorist less than a month afterwards." He really did not want to get started on Ari Haswari. "Anyway, we worked together for two years, and we fought like brother and sister—sabotage, blackmail, the works." He grinned at her when she just rolled her eyes. "But she was there for me, and it is something I will never forget."
"You still didn't answer the question," Nikki said softly.
"I'm here because no one should have to face this alone," Tony told her in almost a whisper. And then cleared his throat and added more confidently, "And I am here because I can."
"So you don't have any ulterior motives? You're not doing this to get brownie points or something?" She looked at him skeptically, having heard of his reputation as an incorrigible flirt.
Tony laughed. "I used to think that it couldn't happen, but the truth is that men and women can be just friends, you know."
"You just want to be friends," Nikki said flatly, obviously still not believing him.
"Yes, Ms. Jardine," he replied, smirking back at her. "And nothing says friendship like a good movie." He waved the DVD in front of her face.
Nikki's expression softened. My brother loved—loves that movie."
"Good," Tony said, standing to enter the disc in the player. "I like him already." Then he opened the paper bag and shoved it under Nikki's nose, almost making her gag on the smell of butter. "Popcorn?"
III
He didn't lie; he just wanted to be friends with her.
Nikki Jardine was as quirky as they come, but in Baghdad, he saw something in her: strength of mind and compassion and vulnerability. And as a result, it made her seem less like a freak and more like a human being. So he decided he'd like to see more of it.
It would be awhile before he could even contemplate dating anyone, much more someone he worked with. Paula Cassidy was still a sore spot, even a year later, especially since he handled the NCIS agent's death by confessing his feelings and sleeping with one Jeanne Benoit. His head had definitely been in a fucked up place, and he was just getting his stride back.
In the meantime, he found it very easy to talk to Nikki. They had no expectations from each other; he just dropped by maybe twice a month, bringing movies or CDs. And they would spend the rest of the night watching or talking.
He told her about Paula: (But not Jeanne) stories from the time they met in Gitmo and danced, or the time she got kidnapped by a serial killer's apprentice. Once he got started, it was hard to stop. And as he remembered her life, he felt himself breathe a little easier.
Aside from her brother, Nikki also told him about her parents. In some ways, she reminded him of McGee, with her reliance on data and her ability to see patterns emerge from the chatter and her earnestness. He always bit his tongue when he had the urge to call her Probie, however. McGee might get jealous.
IV
Ziva was not jealous. That's what she keeps telling herself. She was just noticing how Tony was different these days. After his car exploded and his cover blown to La Grenouille's daughter, he walked like he was dragging bricks tied to his shoes. No, she frowned. It was much earlier. Probably since Gibbs left, though he certainly looked carefree enough while he was dating Ms. Benoit. Ah, Paula. He had taken Special Agent Cassidy's death hard, refusing to speak about her and covering it all with a fake smile. Did he love her? But then how did he feel about Jeanne? She shook her head. Tony DiNozzo was a difficult man to read.
But that's exactly what made it so interesting.
For instance, she could have sworn that he did not like Nikki Jardine. But whenever she passes him in the bullpen, she'd smile at him and he'd smile back. Or he'd stand and they would talk briefly by the window—too softly to be understood.
Ziva was not jealous. She just wanted to know what was going on.
V
When Eric woke up, the first thing he saw was the television. It was playing something in black and white, and he recognized images from "Citizen Kane." He frowned, but when he tried to speak he choked on something, and he began to panic.
"Hey, it's okay, man. Just relax. Nikki'll get the doc. Lie back, soldier." He heard someone say. It was spoken soothingly, but beneath the tone was an order, and he instinctively obeyed. "Good." The man said when he sank back in bed, closing his eyes and trying to breathe.
The doctors arrived and pulled out the tube down his throat, and his first word was, "Nikki."
"I'm here, Eric. I'm here," his baby sister said, and he felt her hand wrap tight around his. He looked around a little wildly. Near the door, a man stood. His face was filled with concern mixed with relief. The man broke eye contact, and seemed to be looking at someone across the room, and making a gesture, before disappearing.
Later, when it was just Nikki and him, and he had drunk some water to soothe his throat, he managed to rasp out a few words. "That your boyfriend?"
Nikki laughed and cried all at once and held onto him tightly. "He's just a friend," she told him. "Just a friend." Neither of them believed it.
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A/N: Sorry I just had to repost it, because my little sister pointed out that I got the spelling of Baghdad wrong. And I couldn't bear the shame if someone else pointed it out. :P Thanks for all who reviewed!