Gibb's List of Observations
Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs had alway been an observant person. He prided himself in knowing what was going on in the lives of his team. After all, they were his family. Gibbs had observed the behaviors and routines of his team every day for nearly 10 years. He knew them like he knew his tools. He could always tell if someone was upset, or happy, or lost. Because Gibbs is such an observant person and because he knew his team so well, naturally, he noticed when something changed. And something had changed for two of his team members.
It wasn't a dramatic shift, a total reformation of who they were. It was simply a little nudge, more than likely brought on by the bombing. It was subtle, to the point where they weren't even aware they had changed, or rather, something had changed between them. It had started one week after the bombing...
Gibbs had just entered the bull-pen, what was left of it. People had just begun working on repairs and the whole floor smelled of sweat and sawdust, not an unwelcome scent for a certain boat-building agent. The team was just getting back into routine, so they were in their usual spots. McGee was dutifully working at his desk. Ziva was sitting on Tony's desk as they bantered over paperwork. Everything was in the ordinary, until Gibbs called those famous words "Gear up!". As backpacks were slung over shoulders and weapons clicked into place, the team made their way towards the elevator. Gibbs would have missed it if it weren't for the fact that the lid to his coffee had popped off. He stopped at his desk for one second to readjust the lid, and when he looked up, he saw it. As Tony and Ziva were walking towards the elevator, Tony's hand reached out and placed itself in the small of Ziva's back. Neither young agent reacted to the gesture, but continued on as if this were such a common occurence they didn't notice. Gibbs, of course, had noticed, but that act in itself was not enough to raise his suspicions.
The next oddity occurred a few days later. The current case had just closed, and the team was absently chatting at Ziva's desk. Both Tony and Ziva were leaning against her desk, laughing at something Abby had said. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary until Dinozzo's arm suddenly appeared around Ziva's shoulders. Gibbs may not have noticed except for the fact the Ziva didn't object, but rather leaned slightly into his arm and continued to laugh.
After a brief investigation containing some questionable phone bugs, Gibbs had concluded that his two best agents were not, in fact, together. The most likely conclusion pulled from the limited psychological knowledge in the mind of Gibbs, was that the two had sought comfort in each other after the bombing, and now felt closer than before. Because this was not in direct violation of rule twelve, yet, Gibbs had decided to let it go. But simply because he had allowed the couple this small, unknown win did not mean that he no longer took note of the odd behavior.
Tony was a jealous person. It was not uncommon for his jealousy to flare up when Ziva mentioned her latest love interest. But, as of late, Tony's jealousy had been bordering on possessive. After the repairs were finished and Midge's killer brought to justice, Vance had decided to bring in a new team, finally replacing EJ Barret's. This new team from across the cubicle divider consisted of three people. A sharp, serious middle aged man, a hardcore young woman who fancied listening to metal at an earth shattering volume, and a dashing young man with an air of confidence and charm. When the latter of the new team decided to pay a visit to the new neighbors, Ziva and Tony were "alone" in the bullpen (Gibbs was silently observing from a ways off). When the handsome new agent introduced himself more to Ziva than Tony, Tony's jealous streak flared. Soon, the new agent began shamelessly flirting with Ziva, who had found the situation humourous and was jokingly flirting back. Suddenly, after a rather steamy comment had been made about Ziva's body, Dinozzo stood angrily and stormed over to Ziva, who was seated comfortably in her desk chair. He loomed behind her with hatred in his eyes and a possessive hand on her shoulder. The dashing new agent began another pass at Ziva, but before she could respond, Tony had dismissed the man in the slightly goofy but utterly serious way he could. The agent had gotten the hint and ran off, tail between his legs. From that point forward, men from the office no longer made an attempt to engage Ziva. Gibbs would later find out of three more of these incidents that left the office believing Ziva was unofficially spoken for. At this point, Gibbs was aware the office scuttlebutt was untrue, but was beginning to feel uneasy at this new relationship the couple had formed.
Another interesting phenomenon was that the fights had stopped between David and Dinozzo. Sure, the usual banter over movies and incorrect idioms continued, but they no longer held even the slightest animosity. The meetings in the restrooms were now to comfort each other, not to argue over a pressing issue.
These shifts in behavior had come slowly over a long period of time, but in the case of Tony and Ziva, things had changed rather quickly. Gibbs and a few others had noticed the change (including Abby and Ducky), but all had silently agreed to not mention anything for fear of ruining this secretly desired step forward. Even Gibbs himself had admitted somewhere in his deep subconscious that the changes were for the better. So instead of nipping this rule-break in the bud, he continued as a silent observer. And so, over the course of the five months after the bombing, Gibbs compiled a small mental list of the ways Ziva and Tony had changed:
1) They respect each other
2) They look out for each other (sometimes too much)
3) They seek comfort in each other
4) They support each other
5) They are this much closer to realizing they're in love with each other
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