Author's Note - Yes, I know I have other stories unfinished, but I came up with this new idea and decided to run with it. As always, I don't own NCIS or its characters - I just borrow them from time to time for my own amusement.
Chapter One
Ziva knew that a request for a video conference via MTAC from her father wasn't a good thing. She knew that such a request would only come if something had happened to one of her remaining family members or if there was a big assignment for her. Either way, she was not looking forward to the conversation she was about to have with her father.
Tony watched as Ziva nervously fooled with the items on her desk. To most people, probably even Gibbs and McGee, it gave off the appearance that she was working. Tony knew better though – he could sense her nerves were getting the best of her. She had told him earlier that morning that he father had requested a conference via MTAC, but didn't elaborate – he figured out now, that she didn't elaborate because she didn't know the reason it was requested.
Tony got up and walked over to her, carefully sitting on the edge of her desk, his arms crossed in front of him. "You okay?" he asked quietly.
Ziva looked up at him, her surprise evident on her face.
"Look, you may be able to fool everyone else with the appearance that your working, but you've stapled that same stack of papers now 10 times over the past 5 minutes," he said seriously, his eyes watching hers closely. "You're not fooling me."
Ziva glanced down, realizing Tony was right – the stack of papers lying on her desk was riddled with staples. She groaned in frustration as she pulled her desk drawer open to look for a staple remover.
"I'm fine Tony. I'm probably making this a bigger deal than it really is. It's probably nothing, really." She quickly shifted several items around and grabbed the staple remover that was lying in the bottom of the drawer. She slammed the drawer closed and began to work on removing the staples.
"But you don't believe that, do you?" Ziva looked up at Tony. She knew that talking to him might help her feel better.
"No, I don't. As Gibbs has told us before, satellite time costs money, and my father wouldn't use the resources if it wasn't needed."
Tony nodded. With a quick glance at who was around, he leaned in and kissed the top of her head quickly.
"What was that for?" Ziva asked as she stood next to where Tony was still perched. She gave him a funny look, taken back by his display of affection.
Tony smiled broadly and shrugged, glad she hadn't reacted to him using some kind of deadly force she often threatened him with. "I don't know…just because, my ninja." Ziva smiled.
"Wish me luck, my little hairy butt," she teased back. She winked as she walked away and headed for MTAC.
"Damn it Leon, it's a suicide mission, we both know that. What the hell is her father thinking giving it to her in the first place?"
"Director David has the utmost confidence in his daughter and her abilities. I said the same thing to him myself when he first ran the mission by me, but he couldn't be persuaded."
Ziva sat behind the two men, who stood in front of the MTAC screen arguing. Communication with her father had been cut only cut seconds earlier. As soon as the screen had gone blank, Gibbs pounced on Director Vance asking if he had gone along with this absurd plan.
She stared at them both, a blank look on her face. Gibbs' was right – it was a suicide mission. The situation in Gaza was growing more and more volatile with each passing day – did her father really think that she would be able to do what she was given to do and get out, without being taken captive or even killed by the insurgents?
Ziva followed the two men out of MTAC and into the hallway, as they headed in the direction of the Director's office.
"And what the hell is he thinking; he's sending her in there blind, without any kind of backup? I don't care how confident he is in her abilities, she shouldn't be going on this mission alone."
The Director stopped walking and looked at Gibbs. "Who do you suggest go with her Jethro? You said it yourself, it's a suicide mission."
"I'll do it," Tony volunteered, as he stepped off the last step of the stairway and onto the landing. The two older men looked over at the younger agent, surprised by his sudden appearance.
"What the hell are you doing up here DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked, his voice filled with irritation.
"I came to check on Ziva, Boss," he replied, nodding his head in her direction. One glance in her direction told him that she was upset, even though she was trying her best to hide it from everyone.
"You don't even know what you just volunteered yourself for, Agent DiNozzo," the Director replied.
"It doesn't matter, sir," he answered honestly. "You said Ziva needed backup – I'm her partner and have been for a long time. There's no one else here who can anticipate her movements as well as I can."
"Is that true?" the Director asked, looking over at Gibbs. Gibss looked away, shaking his head.
"Don't tell me you're going to honestly consider allowing DiNozzo to go in as her backup?" Gibbs replied. Vance could tell that he wasn't going to get anywhere with Gibbs, so he turned to Ziva.
"What about you, Officer David? If you had to choose someone as backup who would it be?" Ziva looked up at Tony, and Gibbs noticed that his two agents were doing that silent communication thing that they had become so good at over the years. Several seconds rolled by as they stared at one another.
Finally, Ziva sighed. "Tony is right…he's the best one for the job. He knows me better than anyone else. Including the partners I've worked with at Mossaad. " Vance nodded and turned to Tony.
"I don't know if you understand how dangerous this mission is," the Director began, but was cut off by Tony.
"It doesn't matter," he answered, his face showing his determination. Tony glanced over at Gibbs and tried to gauge his feelings on the whole situation.
"You're probably the best chance we've got to make sure Ziva comes back to us in one piece," Gibbs supplied.
"So it's agreed then," Vance replied. He looked to Gibbs and then Ziva for their confirmation. Both shook their head in agreement. "Then I'm going to go and contact the Deputy Director and be sure that he is in agreement that DiNozzo accompany Ziva. I'll let you know if he has any objections."
The group nodded and watched as the Director walked towards his office.
"How soon do we leave?" Tony asked, turning to Ziva.
"We will head to the embassy around 1830 and we'll be given whatever intel we'll need, along with the necessary documents. Our flight will leave the States around 1900 hours," Ziva said quietly. "We have a layover in Honolulu and from there will headed into Gaza."
"Why the layover?" Tony asked curious, not that he was going to object to spending even a few hours in Hawaii.
"One thing my father and I agree on is the importance of being well-rested before this kind of mission. We will have a hotel room waiting for us in Honolulu. We won't find out how long we will be there exactly until we reach the embassy. My father was still in the process of making the final arrangements when I talked to him…chances are we'll only be there for 36 – 48 hours at the most."
"You'll both need to leave here soon then, so that you can have everything you need together in time." Gibbs supplied.
Tony and Ziva nodded as they followed Gibbs down the steps. "Everyone will meet back here and Leon and I will accompany you to the embassy." Ziva and Tony glanced at one another, neither saying what both were thinking – Abby would never forgive them if they didn't take the time to say goodbye. Even though they would probably be gone for a little over a week, they all knew that Abby would freak out if something did happen and she didn't have the chance to say goodbye. They all learned with what happened to Kate not to take anything for granted.
Director Vance came down the steps and joined Gibbs, Tony and Ziva. "Things are still being worked out, but it's been agreed that DiNozzo will accompany Ziva on the mission. I went ahead and cleared everything with the SecNav as well, just to be sure that everyone's on the same page. But I must make it very clear to you that the only time you may engage in any kind of combat is when Ziva's life eminent danger. At no other time are you to fire your weapon. The U.S. does not need to have another warfront to be worried about. Do I make myself clear?"
Tony nodded. "Yes, sir." Vance nodded towards the elevators. "Then you two better get out of here – I want you back here at 1730 so that you have plenty of time to finish everything here before heading to the embassy."
Both Tony and Ziva grabbed their things and headed out, thoughts of what to come over the next ten days weighing heavy on both of their minds.
Feedback is always appreciated, so please review. :)