The only thing Ziva could feel was anger, hurt, and betrayal. Eli had truly used her by sending Michael Rivkin to pose as her lover, and she fell for it. And she knew how she had let her guard down so easily.
It all started in Israel after being separated from the team at NCIS by Vance. At first she was so distraught, she had taken advantage of her time at NCIS, her time with Tony. But Michael healed the pain of separation, or at least covered the scars. It was easy to have a relationship with him: They were both Mossad officers who saw life with similar views, they were both Jewish, it was just easy. Sure, he wasn't Tony, a man she may have truly loved after she watched his car explode on the feed in MTAC.
When she returned to NCIS, she decided to continue her relationship with Michael since her heart simply couldn't bear the pain of loving someone, but not knowing how they felt. And truthfully, Ziva could have seen herself having something deeper with Michael, and though the feelings weren't as strong or passionate as the ones she had for Tony, it would have been enough to start a life, a family with.
So it was only natural for her to protect Michael, even when in the back of her mind she wasn't doing the right thing, she was betraying the team's trust. As soon as she heard about the ICE agent dying, she knew in the back of her mind that Michael was somehow involved, even if she told herself that he had nothing to do with it.
Then they later discovered the dead body of Abin Tabal, the leader of a terrorist cell Michael had been vigorously killing off in Los Angeles. Through Ducky's autopsy, it had been concluded that he committed suicide through suicide pill, but even her gut told her that something was off about his death, that it had been murder, but she chose to ignore it in fear of where the trail would lead to, or whom it would lead to.
When she burst through the door to apartment and saw Michael with four gunshot wounds in his chest, and Tony pointing a gun at her in defense, she nearly lost it. The betrayal and anger she felt was unlike she had ever known, for what it appeared to her was that Tony got jealous and tried to kill Michael.
Of course, Ducky's autopsy report paired with Tony's after-action report pretty much concluded that Tony was telling the truth that he killed Michael in self-defense, and he was trying to arrest Michael. Still, the pain in her heart from Michael's death made her thought process illogical, biased, unclear. One thing led to another, and now she found herself in a staring match with Tony outside of Mossad Headquarters.
"I had no choice." Tony said, causing anger to flare in Ziva's veins.
"That's a lie." Ziva said, seriously considering going over and punching him square in the jaw.
"Why would I lie to you, Ziva?" Tony asked, anger of his own starting to boil inside.
"To save your worthless ass!" Ziva replied immediately, the two of them starting to approach each other whilst continuing the conversation. Tony curled his hand in a tight ball as he continued to walk towards Ziva.
"From who, Vance? Mossad?" Tony asked in disbelief. They were now mere inches away from each other, the anger and tension between them skyrocketing.
"You jeopardized your entire career, and for what!?" Ziva asked, the level of her voice steadily rising. Tony paused a moment before answering.
"For you. He was playing you, Ziva." Tony responded honestly.
"And for some reason you felt it was your job, to protect me?" Ziva asked angrily.
"I did what I had to do." Tony stated, causing Ziva's anger to flare even higher.
"You killed him!" Ziva growled.
"If I hadn't you'd be having this conversation with him, but maybe that's the way you'd prefer it?" Tony asked, tilting his head to the side to make it clear it truly was a question that demanded an answer. For a briefest of moments Ziva considered the possibility, and panic boiled inside of her. No, she would never want that in a million years. Michael's death saddened her, but if Tony had died, she would be a broken woman. Ziva internally berated herself for even having those thoughts as she grew frustrated with herself, and anger took over her response.
"Perhaps I would!" Ziva lied, unaware of the brief flash of pain that broke across his face. Tony felt as if his heart had been ripped from his chest and stomped on. Tony nearly fell to the ground in shock and disbelief as the words processed through his mind. Unshed tears burned the backs of his eyes as he felt the most pain he had ever felt in his life. The middle of his chest screamed in emotional agony, his knees slightly wobbly.
All the years they've been coworkers, all the laughs they've had, all the things they've told each other, suddenly meant nothing to Ziva. Yes, Tony wanted Michael out of Ziva's life partly out of jealously, but it was more than simple and childish jealously. Tony could see clearly that Michael was on edge, he was drinking too much, and with the amount of killing he had been doing recently, he was unstable and dangerous to be around, especially for Ziva.
Mossad was not allowed to operate on US soil, so Tony's instincts told him that he was a rogue officer. Tony did what he did because he was extremely concerned about Ziva. But after the supposed suicide of Abin Tabal, and the fact that his computer was completely wiped and useless, something clicked inside of Tony, telling him that Michael wasn't rogue at all, that he was working under the orders of Eli David, that he was under orders to have a relationship with Ziva.
To think that someone could play and toy with Ziva's heart angered Tony, and he came to the decision that Michael needed to leave Ziva's life. It all connected for Tony, and he knew for certain that Michael had killed the ICE agent and force-fed Abin Tabal the suicide pill.
And to think that with all the love and care he had for Ziva, that she had told him almost instantly that she would have preferred that Tony die instead of Michael, it truly broke his heart. Anger clouded his vision as he looked for a response to such a loaded response.
"Ok, why don't you just get this out. You wanna take a punch, take a swing? Get it out of your system, go ahead, do it!" Tony shouted at Ziva. Ziva stared at Tony with a deadly glare, but in all honesty, she would never want to harm Tony, but the comment alone raised her anger to another level.
"Be careful, Tony. Because much like Michael I only need one." Ziva stated coldly, trying to refrain herself from doing anything stupid. Tony smirked in bitter triumph as he realized what Ziva was angry about.
"And that's what you're really angry about isn't it? That's what's bothering you. It's not that he's dead, It's that your Mossad boyfriend got his ass kicked by a chump like me?" Tony said more as a statement than a question, the entire situation becoming clearer.
"You took advantage of him!" Ziva growled, barely maintaining her anger.
"He attacked me, what was I suppo!-" Tony shouted, but was cut off by Ziva kicking his leg out from under him and forcefully throwing him to the concrete and re-fracturing his arm.
"You saw a glass table, you pushed back, you dropped him on it! He was impaled in the side by a shard of glass. Bloody! Gasping for air!" Ziva shouted.
"I guess you read my report." Tony stated, wincing slightly.
"I memorized it! You could have left it at that, you could have walked away but NO! You let him up! You put four in his chest!" Ziva screamed, pulling her sidearm out and pressing it against Tony's chest, seriously considering putting a round in him.
"You weren't there." Tony stated, anger turning into sadness.
"You could have put one in his leg!" Ziva shouted, pressing the gun to his left leg for emphasis.
"You. Weren't. There." Tony stated.
"But I should have been!" Ziva screamed, anger coating her every word. That's when a bitter realization hit Tony, and he fell into an entirely new level of depression.
"You loved him." Tony stated bitterly. Ziva paused as she considered Tony's statement. Ziva didn't love Michael, he had strong feelings for him, but it was Tony that she loved. But she would never admit that.
As Ziva was about to tell Tony that perhaps she did, she saw something in Tony's eyes that she couldn't read at all. Then something clicked, and she wondered what Tony meant when he said that risked his career for her.
"Why did you really risk your career." Ziva asked, the anger not quite dissipating yet. Tony took on a look of shock, but decided that it would be easier for the both of them if the truth came out.
"Because I love you." Tony stated. Ziva was stunned as the smallest gleam of hope twinged in her heart. But it was quickly masked by the anger she was feeling. Ziva stood up and kicked Tony in the side, drawing a sharp intake of pain from him.
"You don't deserve my love." Ziva said through clenched teeth then walked away, leaving a heart-broken and depressed Tony lying on the ground, tears flowing freely onto the concrete.
NCIS
Ziva approached Gibbs as they began to load back onto the transport that would take them back to NCIS. Tony was seriously lagging behind as he slowly limped to the transport, life completely losing meaning for him.
"I cannot work with him." Ziva stated simply. Gibbs sighed as he ran a hand through his hair. Gibbs noticed Eli smiling in victory from behind an SUV, and he knew right then that if she let Ziva go back to Eli, she would be in serious danger. Still, it hurt that two of his agents he considered his children would not be able to work together, and he was being forced to pick one, and Ziva was the one that needed his support, even if it destroyed Tony.
"I'll talk to Vance about Tony's position on the team." Gibbs said. Ziva gave a grateful but sad smile as she gently hugged Gibbs.
"Thank you." Ziva replied before loading onto the transport, Gibbs close behind and Tony still far behind. Ziva immediately plopped down into the furthest seat and fell asleep, the events of the day catching up with her. Gibbs sighed as he approached Vance.
"Ziva can't work with Tony anymore. With Ziva's best interests in mind, I think it would be best if Tony were transferred out of DC." Gibbs said, his heart breaking with every word. He was banishing the man he considered his own son from his home. Vance nodded as he considered which positions he could take. A grim realization hit him: There was only one position he could take since literally every other spot was taken. He had to become an NCIS liaison to Mossad.
"Are you sure about this, Gibbs?" Vance asked, finding himself in a tough position. Gibbs nodded grimly before leaving to take a seat on the transport, wondering if at least some friendship could be salvaged after all was said and done. Vance sighed as he walked off the transport to meet Tony who was slowly approaching the transport.
"It has been decided by Gibbs and I that with Agent David's best interests in mind, you be transferred out of DC." Vance stated, already mourning the loss of such a good agent. Even Vance felt Tony's sadness as his face took a look of pure shock and depression. Shit, I barely know the man and I already feel sorry for him.
Tony couldn't even speak as he felt his breath leave him. I'm being sent away from DC, the place I've grown to love and consider home. But it has to be done, it has to be done for Ziva.
"I understand, Director." Tony replied grimly before starting off for the transport. Vance placed his hand on Tony's shoulder, causing him to turn around slowly with a questioning look. Vance couldn't even look Tony in the eye, his own heart unable to take the sadness in Tony's eyes that was bound to grow after he told him his new position.
"I'm sorry, Tony. The only other position available that would be out of DC is...NCIS liaison to Mossad." Vance said. Tony's eyes sprang with tears as he felt his legs buckle slightly. I'm being banished...from my own country.
"I understand, Director." Tony said. Vance nodded slightly as he turned to leave, but Tony stopped him. For a moment, Vance feared that he would get a punch delivered to his face, but realized that it wasn't anger Tony was feeling. Tony had the look of a broken man on his face.
"Make sure Ziva is safe at NCIS. Do everything in your power to keep her safe. She's hurting right now, and she needs time to heal. Do your absolute best to make sure that she's ok. Promise me this." Tony stated, determination thick in his voice. Vance only needed to take one look at Tony to know that this was not debatable.
"I will." Vance assured him before getting back on the transport.
"We're good to go!" Vance shouted at the man working the doors. He nodded before pressing the button that would seal the doors. Gibbs looked up to see Tony standing outside of the transport, staring at the plane.
"WAIT! TONY!" Gibbs shouted at Vance.
"As of now, he is an NCIS liasion to Mossad. I'm sorry Gibbs." Vance said as the doors shut and the plane started to take off. Gibbs shoved Vance out of the way to reach the man working the controls to the doors.
"OPEN THESE DAMN DOORS NOW!" Gibbs shouted at the man in desperation. The man shook his head as he took a seat.
"The plane has already begun liftoff. The doors are locked, and they're not going to open until we get back to DC." he said. Gibbs felt as if his breath had been stolen as he collapsed into one of the seats, his mouth agape in shock. He's going to get killed at Mossad. What have I done?
Tony stared at the C-130 as it took off and flew out into the sky, headed for DC. Tony slowly turned around and locked eyes with Eli David, who smug look on his face. Tony slowly limped over to Eli, who had an evil smirk on his face.
"Director Vance has just assigned me as your NCIS liaison." Tony said grimly. Eli smiled as he offered Tony his hand, much to his dismay.
"Well now that you are one of my people, I should welcome you with open arms! Welcome to Tel Aviv, Israel, NCIS Liasion Agent DiNozzo. Come, we have much to discuss." Eli said as he hopped into the back of the SUV. Tony slowly got into the SUV, which drove off to Mossad Headquarters. What the hell is going on here?
No! Tony got left in Israel! And what's up with Eli?
Favorites and REVIEWS are appreciated as always, and if you review, I would really like to know what you think of my story so far. Is it good, is it bad? Would you be interested in more?