Ziva walked over to the bed carrying a tray with breakfast on it. She sat the tray down on the bedside table and sat down on the edge of the bed. She kissed Tony and smiled. "Stop pretending to be sleep…you woke up ten minutes ago." said Ziva teasingly.
Tony opened one eye and smirked. "Now how did you know that I was faking it?"
"You stopped snoring while I was in the kitchen cooking." laughed Ziva curling a leg under her. She offered him a piece of turkey bacon.
"I do not snore!" said Tony. He took a bite and said "Mmm tastes good and good for me." He sat up all the way in the bed and leaned in kissing her softly. "You look beautiful by the way." said Tony. He smiled looking at Ziva wearing the light blue button up shirt that he had been wearing the previous night.
She winked at him and said "Well, blue has always been my color you know." Ziva's cell phone rang. She frowned but didn't make a move to answer it.
"You're not going to answer it?" asked Tony.
"Today is our day off." "Gibbs is away for the weekend on that camping trip." "The only thing I want to do is spend time with you." "I hate having to sneak around all the time. I hate lying to Gibbs about us. Our time off is the only time that we have for ourselves." said Ziva.
"I hate lying to Gibbs too…I don't know how much longer we are going to be able to keep the lie going. McGee is on to us. He keeps asking me about our trip to Paris. For a probie he's got great instincts." said Tony.
"Well, everything changed for us during the trip." said Ziva. Ziva's phone stopped ringing. "Finally I thought they might not ever hang up."
"You forgave me for killing Michael." said Tony looking into her eyes for a moment. He knew how hard it had been for her to finally forgive him.
"And you forgave me for not trusting you and your instincts. I should have known that you only had my best interest at heart." said Ziva.
Tony lightly caressed her cheek with his thumb. "Well, that isn't exactly true. I was worried about your safety but I was also jealous…even if I was unwilling to admit it to myself at the time." "I was worried that you would get serious with Michael and head back to Israel permanently."
"I could never go back there now. Not for good anyway. This is where I belong, here with you." said Ziva. "Besides I would miss everyone too much." "I couldn't leave Gibbs. He's been more of a father to me than my father has been in a very long time."
Tony pulled Ziva into his arms so that her back was against his chest. "I think Gibbs has that relationship with all of us."
Ziva pulled the breakfast tray over her lap and said "We should eat before breakfast goes cold on us."
Tony's cell phone started to ring now. Tony groaned and said "I should see who it is but I don't want to move."
"Just ignore it and eat." said Ziva laughing. She handed him his plate and they both started eating breakfast.
A few minutes later someone started knocking on the door so hard that it was rattling the door. "Tony!" called a familiar voice from the door.
"Damnit! What is McGee doing here?" asked Tony getting out of the bed with only his boxers on. He grabbed his robe and pulled it on. "I will try to get rid of him." Tony walked out of the room closing his bedroom door behind him. Tony walked to the door quickly and opened the door. "Probie! This had better be good. You know how much I like my beauty rest." said Tony.
Timothy McGee pushed passed Tony into the apartment. "Why didn't you answer your phone?" "We've got major problems." "Abby went over to Ziva's place to pick her up she isn't answering her phone either."
"Slow down there McGoo what is going on?" asked Tony jokingly. McGee was prone to over exaggerating at times.
"Fornell called the director this morning and let him know that the bureau received a credible tip that there is a Russian wet works team looking for Gibbs while he is on his camping trip this weekend. Fornell took a couple of agents and went out to Gibbs' campsite and it was abandoned and trashed." said McGee. Fornell was an FBI agent and one of the few people that Gibbs counted as a friend. Fornell and Gibbs had a doubly special bond because they had married and divorced the same woman.
Tony stopped in his tracks, after the death of director Jenny Sheppard Tony had learned all too well about Gibbs' past with the Russians and that was just the information he was privy to. That didn't include the information that was classified. "Calm down McGee. If they didn't find a body that means that Gibbs isn't dead. You know Gibbs is part bloodhound. I am sure he sniffed them out before they got to him and he just took off. He'll send up a signal when he can." "I am going to get dressed and I'll meet you back at NCIS."
There was another knock at the door and this one was just as urgent.
Tony walked to the door and Abby walked in past Tony. "I've been calling Ziva and then I went to her apartment and she isn't there. Ziva always answers her phone." "Do you think they might have gotten Ziva too?" asked Abby in a panic.
"We don't know that anyone has 'gotten' Gibbs and I am sure that Ziva is fine, Abby. Maybe she was just sleeping." said Tony. "I'll try calling her okay. Both of you just go back to NCIS." said Tony.
"No, Tony I used her spare key and went inside…she wasn't there…something has happened to her I know it." said Abby.
Tony opened his mouth to argue with her but he heard his bedroom door open and out walked Ziva wearing a robe of hers that she kept at his place.
McGee's mouth dropped open seeing Ziva.
Abby punched McGee in the arm. "We don't have time for you to be shocked! We've got to find Gibbs."
"I know…I know but…you two? I knew it!" said McGee. "I knew it when Abby and I realized that you two lied to us about who slept where when you were in Paris."
"Yes, Inspector Clouseau you figured us out." "Now get out so that we can get dressed. We will meet you and Abby at NCIS." said Tony rushing the two of them out.
Timothy and Abby both objected but Tony forced them out of the apartment and locked the door.
Tony said "So much for keeping our relationship a secret." He walked back into his bedroom and put on a pair of cargo pants and a t-shirt.
Ziva took a quick shower and then got dressed in similar attire. She had a feeling they would be spending a very long time in the forest looking for Gibbs.
"Are you ready to go? I will drive." said Ziva picking up Tony's car keys.
Tony grabbed the keys and said "We can't help find Gibbs if we die in a car accident."
"What? My driving has gotten much better." insisted Ziva.
"Right…." "Let's go." said Tony. Leaving the apartment with her and heading to NCIS.
"You know…what I think is strange. Gibbs rarely takes off for a trip of any sort and the one time that he does…a Russian wet works team just happens to be in the U.S. and looking for him." said Ziva.
Tony thought about what Ziva was saying as they arrived at NCIS. "You think Gibbs knew they were coming and took off to draw them out?" "That does sound like a Gibbs thing to do." "But to not tell any of us about it?" "Why would he go it alone?"
"Maybe he isn't alone. We should call Mike Franks and make sure he is still in Mexico." said Ziva. "Mike is Gibbs' mentor and the person he calls whenever he needs assistance outside the regular channels of the law…"
"If anyone was going to go off the grid it would be Mike Franks. That means they aren't looking to apprehend the killers. They are going to kill them." said Tony.