I had already planned on writing a drabble about this song and then I heard it on the radio this morning and got really emotional over it and this songfic happened.
Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS or its characters. Austin is copyright of Talbot Music Publishing.
Inspired by Blake Shelton's song "Austin."
Austin
"She left without leaving her number, said she needed to clear her mind"
She told him she had to stay in Israel to clear her mind, pushing him away and making him leave on a plane back to D.C. There had been no contact with Tony or any of her surrogate family in Washington since her decision, believing it would be best to completely distance herself from them in order to find the peace she was searching for. Ziva spent seven months travelling around Europe and the Middle East before realizing that what she was looking for couldn't be found here on her own, but was instead almost 10,000 miles and another country away.
It took her almost a year before she got up the courage to call him. It was a Tuesday at 11:30 PM in Tel Aviv, 4:30 PM in D.C. when she picked up the phone and dialed the familiar number. The phone rang three times before going to voicemail and she had to hold back tears as she heard his recorded voice.
" If this is Tuesday night I'm bowling. . If it's anybody else, wait for the tone, you know what to do. P.S. if this is Ziva, I still love you."
By the end of the message, her hand went limp and her cell phone fell on the kitchen counter. She couldn't believe he would hang onto her for that long when she had been absent and all but told him to go away and leave her alone. She knew, without a doubt, then that his love for her was unlike anything she had ever known. Although she didn't know what she would say to him, she picked up the phone again three days later. Ziva selected the last number from her recent calls and dialed. Again, she heard three rings before his recorded voice came over the phone.
"If it's Friday night at I'm at the ballgame and first thing Saturday, if it don't rain, I'm heading out to the lake and I'll be gone, all weekend long. I'll call you back when I get home on Sunday afternoon. P.S. if this is Ziva, I still love you."
She decided to leave her number this time and waited patiently, counting down the time until Sunday afternoon in D.C. It was nearing midnight on Sunday in Israel and she was getting nervous, checking her phone constantly waiting for his number to come across her screen. Just when she was about to give up and go to bed, her phone rang, making her jump. Suddenly nervous, she waited a moment before sliding her hand over the screen.
In Washington, Tony DiNozzo stumbled in the door, exhausted from a long case that cut into his evening bowling with Abby and the nuns on Tuesday until Friday evening which left him with just enough time to meet his frat brothers at the ballpark. Saturday morning came bright and early and the sunshine blaring through his windows made his mind up to go a weekend movie festival at the lake. It was now after 4:00 PM Sunday and he was more than ready to take a shower, call for delivery, and crash into bed to prepare for the work week because Gibbs wouldn't take it easy on them just because they had a long week last week. After cleaning up and eating, it was almost 5:00 when he finally thought to check his phone. He had texts from Abby and McGee, as well as some of his frat brothers but what really stuck out was the voicemail icon showing he had two voicemails over the last week. Curious because the only calls he remembered receiving were from Gibbs or the team, he hit the icon to receive his messages. The first one lasted only three seconds and the only sound was a clatter before it clicked off. Curious, he listened to the next one which happened to be from the same number. When the message was played he gasped, even though it only included a phone number, he would know that voice anywhere. He quickly replayed the message and wrote down the number before hitting the screen to redial her number. The phone rang several times before he realized it was almost midnight in Tel Aviv. Finally he heard her voice come over the phone but his mood was deflated when he realized it was just her recorded voice.
"If you're calling about my heart it's still yours, I should have listened to it a little more. Then it wouldn't have taken me so long to know where I belong. And by the way boy, this is no machine you're talking to. Can't you tell, that this is Ziva? And I still love you."
Tony gasped when she got to the end and could barely hold back tears of relief. "Ziva?"
She stifled a sob when she heard his voice talking directly to her for the first time in eight months. "Hi Tony."
Their names coming from the others' lips was a breath of fresh air for each of them and in that moment, nothing else mattered in the world. They stayed on the phone for hours, crying, laughing, and catching up with each other's lives. With a promise to talk again soon, both fell asleep with weights lifted off their chests, happier than they had been since parting in Israel.
Well, I hope that wasn't too bad. I am planning a follow-up to this and I hope to get that out soon. Thanks for reading!