McGee sat forward in the driver's seat trying to see the source of the stopped traffic they'd suddenly found themselves in. In the distance, a plume of smoke rose to the sky.
"Looks like a fire," he told Ziva, who was sitting in the passenger seat leaning back. "I don't think we're getting to up to ONI any time soon."
Ziva shrugged with a yawn. "Naptime."
"For you," McGee sighed. In the background, he could hear the sound of sirens getting closer.
"Perhaps not," she grumbled.
"Tired?" McGee asked.
She nodded. She looked a little tired, but not the awful exhausted look that she used to get when things were troubling her. Those days, Tony used to watch her like a hawk, and it irritated the hell out of her.
"Didn't sleep well?" he asked cautiously. He didn't want her to bite his head off.
"I just got home late last night," she laughed, making it clear he didn't need to worry. "I don't know what I was thinking going out on a work night."
"You didn't have plans when you left yesterday." She had talked of spending the evening with her book.
"No," Ziva sighed. "I didn't. I was looking forward to a relaxing night in."
But she was smiling. It seemed she'd had a good time even if she hadn't been planning to go out. Good. She hadn't talked about going out in a while. She had been preoccupied with how engrossed Tony was getting in his special case, and how it was affecting him. Ray was out of town and had been for most of the summer. She didn't talk about him. McGee realized he wasn't even sure if Ziva was still nominally with him. Maybe he had popped back into town unexpectedly.
"So what got you out of the house? A surprise visitor?"
Ziva nodded. "He lured me into the car with promises of funny stories."
"Funny stories like movies, or funny stories like a comic?"
"I'm not sure," Ziva chuckled. McGee quirked an eyebrow. "We had not even pulled away from the curb, and an advertisement came on the radio for that piano bar in National Harbor."
"I always hear that ad! I've wanted to go. How was it?"
"Enh," Ziva shrugged. "I have been to better."
"Oh," McGee scowled. "Maybe I don't want to go."
"The pianists were…adequate. They were trying a little too hard to put on a show."
"That's their job. To put on a show."
"The comedy bit should not come before playing the songs well. Though, the lousy requests they were given was a large part of the problem," Ziva explained. "We had a good time making fun of the other people though," she grinned.
That sounded like something Tony would do. He was rubbing off on her. Wait a minute… "Who did you go out with? Is Ray back in town?"
Ziva snorted a laugh. "If Ray showed up on my door unannounced—after being out of touch all summer—I might just…" She let it trail of off into in evil sounding chuckle.
McGee's eyebrows shot up. "Is it over with Ray?"
"It's complicated," she sighed. "He is up to something that relates to us. And I want to know what it is."
"So you're pretending to still be interested in him to find out?"
"I suppose. I have not had to do very much pretending. He hasn't contacted me since he went overseas."
"But you're not planning to really take him back when he gets back to the States?"
She shook her head. "If it had been a week, I might have. Probably not, because I was pissed off he was lying to me, but maybe. The longer he's been gone, the angrier I've gotten about that."
He hadn't realized how that had all gone down. "Sorry, I'm just curious. Last time we saw him you were giving him a second chance."
"He blew it," she answered quickly. She looked at him curiously.
"What?"
"It is so different talking about this with you."
"Compared to Tony?"
She nodded.
"That doesn't surprise me."
"You are almost trying to convince me to give him another chance."
"I am not." He wasn't. He was just curious, because she hadn't mentioned it.
"Tony said I should have taken that ring box and shoved it up his—"
"Ring box?" Woah. When did he miss that?
"Seriously?" What kind of doofus gives a girl an empty box.
"Oh yes."
"Tony's right. You should have shoved that ring box right up his ass."
"I certainly did not want a ring either, though."
McGee nodded. "I thought Tony was exaggerating when he was going on about what a douchebag Ray is."
Ziva chuckled. "Sadly, no."
"Sadly?"
"I liked him. I did. I don't like that I let him get to me like that."
She never liked any kind of weakness. He merged the car over into the far right lane, as they finally went by the burning vehicle.
"Quite a fire, for one that occurred naturally," she noted.
So matter of fact. Speed quickly got back to normal, and they were speeding down the Beltway again.
"So who did you go out with last night?" he asked again, knowing the answer now.
"Tony," she answered without pause. Her tone indicated that she knew he knew.
"Is this a common occurrence, hanging out with Tony?" he asked before he thought the better of it.
She contemplated this for a moment. "It is not uncommon." It sounded almost as if she was just realizing this herself as she said it.
The moment passed as quickly as it happened, and he took the exit off the highway, pondering this new bit of information.