The prompt that I was given by Elisa was "hope is the thing with feathers." I don't own NCIS.
"What's wrong, Ziva?"
"Nothing's wrong, Tony."
The senior field agent stopped and looked down at her. "Let's take a walk," he suddenly said.
"What?" she asked, looking at him.
"Let's take a walk," Tony repeated, walking through the parking lot.
She followed him, eyebrows raised. "A walk through the navy yard? Tony, I think I should just go home. It's getting late," Ziva said, unsure.
Tony stopped and looked up at the sun, which was shining high in the sky, before looking back down at her. "Ziva, it's the middle of the afternoon. We're done working for the day. There aren't any more cases. C'mon. Let's go for a walk," he replied, heading towards his car.
Ziva followed him unsure but by the time they got to his car, she was climbing in, looking at her partner. "Just a walk, Tony. No dinner, No movie. Understand?"
"Understood," Tony replied, starting the car and driving off of the navy field.
They were walking through Rock Creek Park in silence. The sun was still shining high in the sky, and there were many families out and about having picnics to enjoy the warm summer day.
He snuck glances at her as they walked. Tony wanted Ziva to open up, but he knew he couldn't force her; she was an independent woman, and opening up to men, opening up to anyone, meant that she would be depending on them. And Ziva would never depend on anyone not even if her life depended on it.
"Hope is the thing with feathers, Tony," she suddenly said, stopping dead in her tracks and looking up at him.
The senior field agent looked down at her, confused but curious. "What do you mean, Ziva?"
Ziva looked away from her partner for a moment and pointed to a dove that was flying away from the trees. "I have hope that everything will be okay and that I will get over this. My mother and I used to spot doves all the time when I was younger. It was our bird. Even though she is not here now, it is still our bird. I know she is watching so I have hope that she will help me through this difficult case that we just solved," she explained, looking back at Tony.
Tony stopped and looked down at her. He didn't know what to say. She was being so honest with him about her childhood, that he felt that nothing had to be said. The senior field agent smiled slightly and took her hand in his. "Even though you don't have to talk, I'm always here," he replied.
She looked up at him, standing on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek. "Thank you, Tony," she replied.
Then the two partners stood in silence, fingers still entwined, watching the dove fly away.