"Would you quit looking at me like that?" Ziva scowled to Tony who was reclining at his desk, watching her adjust the outfit that she was wearing for an undercover op that was being pushed into motion tonight.
"Sorry Zee-vah," he smiled, emphasizing her name. "I can't really help it. Have you actually seen what you're wearing?"
Fiddling with her collar then fixing her wavy hair, she shook her head. "I suppose I hadn't really noticed," she sighed, running a hand across her bare stomach before really taking in what she had on.
Her shirt was a light blue soft denim top which was off the shoulder with the sleeves stopping right above her elbow and the corners of the bottom were tied loosely right underneath her bust. Her bottom half was barely covered with extremely short jean shorts along with a pair of light brown cowboy boots.
As Tony watched Ziva survey herself, he shook his head while trying to keep a solid gaze on her eyes even though it was nearly impossible with her shirt revealing more than he'd seen since the last undercover op together. "Well, am I right?" he asked with a bit of a joking tone in his voice, trying to keep the situation as light as he could.
"Yes," she nodded honestly. "You are." She walked over to Tony's desk and sat on the side of it, thinking intently on what she was about to do tonight. "I guess there isn't anything I can do about going undercover in a strip joint."
"Gentleman's club," Tony quickly corrected.
"Same difference," she said, patting his hand before sitting back down at her own desk then putting her feet up on it, mimicking Tony's usual and current behavior. For the next few minutes they both sat in silence, mentally preparing themselves for the fast approaching op.
Even though Tony would just be her backup in the car outside, he had to be on his A-game, ready to be able to get Ziva out in just a few seconds without blowing her cover. The partners weren't usually this anxious about an op, rather fairly excited for a change from their usual cases, but this one was different.
Two weeks ago the fourth waitress was raped and killed by Col. James Hawkins at a gentleman's club in Anacostia, but they didn't have enough evidence to prove it. Completely disgusted from this and wanting to do her part to try and get some justice for the victims, Ziva volunteered to go in and try to lure him to her. Tony was immediately against the whole idea, knowing this man was a heartless assaulter and killer.
Even though he knew she could take care of herself, he was still worried—had a gut feeling—but he knew he just had to be right there for his partner if she needed him—to do what they had both always done for each other.
With so many thoughts floating rapidly around her mind, Ziva tried desperately to focus on the good that would come of this op. "Just think of what this will mean for the girls' families. What kind of closure this will give them once he's caught." But right when she thought she was satisfied from the answers she was giving herself, another haunting thought would creep into her mind. "What if Tony isn't fast enough and I'm not able to defend myself? What if he actually succeeds in…" There her mind trailed off, not willing to accept the fact that something in her and Tony's plan could go dangerously wrong, something that would put her in an extremely compromising situation. She knew all she could do for her sanity at this point was to keep reaffirming her faith in Tony being right there when she needed him the most.
Ziva peeked her head out from behind her monitor and looked at Tony, shooting him a soft smile. In that moment of shared glances and smiles, she was then sure everything was going to be okay because she would be in Tony's hands and that's what made all the difference.
Breaking them from their taunting thoughts, Gibbs came off the elevator, followed by McGee who was carrying the surveillance gear for Tony and Ziva that they had just picked up from Abby's lab. "Are you two ready?" Gibbs asked in his normal gruff tone as he set a cup of coffee on his desk.
"Yes," the two said in unison.
Before the partners headed to the elevator, Gibbs handed Ziva a bottle of water and stood directly in front of her, placing his hands protectively on her shoulders, seeing right through her brave face. "Make sure you drink this before you head out. You never know what could go on there. It's just a good precaution to have it in you— to stay hydrated.
A grave expression swept across her face but vanished quickly as she put on a slight smile and resumed her strong, brave face. "I'll be fine, I can take care of myself," she assured him, taking a few sips.
Tony looked up from his work and put his eyes to Gibbs then back on Ziva. "Do you really think it's going to get that dangerous?" he asked worriedly.
He knew Ziva had been through hell and back more times than he wanted to remember and even knew, so the last thing he wanted to see was a repeat of that pain. When they had first become partners and after the loss of Kate, Tony had promised himself that he would never let anything bad happen to Ziva, even if his own life depended on it. As the years went by, it became less and less of a job, but more of a way of life— something that came naturally. It was just the thing to do.
Now that they had been partners for eight years, he thought the best of Ziva, he admired her, and most of all, he cared for her. Out of all the time he had worked for NCIS, he couldn't remember more than a handful of sex crimes that their team was assigned to and he never liked working them. There was just something about that innocence that was taken away so abruptly he could never just numb himself to.
Each case he experienced like that ended up being just another nightmare, never something some would call a "learning experience." Though he had his fair share of cases like those, they never once involved putting the life of a team member in jeopardy and he was not up to seeing it happen now—especially to Ziva.
He had begged and begged his boss to let him go into the club as a bartender at least, so he would have a visual on her at all times, but Gibbs declined his request, saying it would mount suspicion even higher if two new people wanted jobs in the time frame of just a few days.
All he could do now was hope and pray that everything went well, along with relying on all of his training to get in there and think of a way to get her out carefully and promptly.
"Yes, it very well could," Gibbs said, being completely honest. "But Ziver is right. She can take care of herself."
"And I'll be no more than ten seconds away if she needs me," Tony piped up encouragingly.
With a nod of his head, Gibbs patted Ziva's shoulder then checked his watch. "Alright, it's midnight and Blossom here," he smiled, gesturing towards Ziva, "starts her shift at one and all of the assaults had a fairly tight schedule of happening around 2:30 so you probably have enough time to get in there and be noticed."
"Boss, this is Ziva we're talking about," Tony said seriously, but still winking at her before continuing to pack his and Ziva's supplies.
"DiNozzo has a point," Gibbs breathed. "Ziva," he said, turning his eyes back to hers, "you have a much higher chance of being noticed quicker...uh."
For the first time in all the time the agents had worked with Gibbs, they'd never once heard him stutter.
"What Boss is trying to say is you're a hundred times prettier than the other bar maids and you will stand out from all the others," Tony said quickly, not thinking about what he was saying. When he finally realized what had come out of his mouth, Tony reddened then looked to Ziva, who was blushing herself, with apology in his eyes if he had embarrassed her.
A few moments later, she smiled. "I'll be sure to keep that in mind." Gibbs turned towards her once more to offer her one more bit of advice. "Ziver, be sure to stay on your toes. I know you always are," he added quickly seeing the brief wave of conflict in her eyes. "Just keep alert more than ever. We don't know how this guy works and with four murders already and with no trace evidence, he is good at what he does."
Smiling knowingly she let out a deep breath and scratched her collarbone. "I'll be fine. Tony will have my back," she said confidently, with complete faith in her partner.
"I believe he will," Gibbs said, sitting down at his desk flashing a glance to Tony, telling him just through his steely blue gaze to take care of their girl.
Picking up all the gear they would need, the partners were headed out.
"Ouch!" Ziva exclaimed as Tony accidentally hurt her as he was helping put in her ear piece.
Tony grimaced himself, pulling his hands gently away from her and settling back behind the steering wheel, giving her the chance to finish adjusting the hearing device to her liking. "I'm sorry. Are you okay?"
"Yes," she nodded encouragingly towards him as she rubbed her irritated ear then began to put in light blue feather earrings that graced her neck, intertwining with her waves. "Well," she smiled, once she was finished. "What's the plan?"
Looking towards the small, rundown, sorry excuse for a 'gentleman's club' across the street, Tony looked intently to his partner, unknowingly allowing worry to creep back into his eyes, knowing quite well what this man they were up against was capable of. "What we always do," he said finally. "Go in, get the job done, get the bad guy—or the occasional woman—out, and last but certainly not least," he smiled, nudging her shoulder, "get ourselves out."
Nodding and patting him on the shoulder in thanks, she pulled the mirror down, checking her cheap makeup as well as combing through her hair with her fingers, a telltale sign that she was nervous.
Tony shook his head, knowing they were both nervous for this op but she wouldn't dare admit it. After watching her for a few more moments, he gently took one of her hands she was working through her hair. "Ziva," he said, getting her attention as he was still softly holding her hand in his. "You look beautiful—even with the smudgy blue eye shadow. And," Tony said, returning her sparkling gaze, "you are going to do just fine. Actually," he said after pausing for a moment, "you'll do better than fine," he said affirmatively.
"Thank you, Tony. But why do you have so much faith that I will do well?" Ziva asked, doubting herself.
"Because you are Ziva David and you are my Ninja."
A/N: This story will have a few more chapters and it shouldn't be too long before they are uploaded. Not more than a week or so :) Thank you for reading and please review below and tell me what you thought and if you have any ideas for where you'd personally like to see it go! ~Lynn D.