I know I should be updating Duty, but I am completely stuck on a certain part. It keeps bugging me, so I needed to write this idea I've had for a while out, hoping it will unblock my writer's block.
Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS or any of its characters. They belong to CBS.
NCIS Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo walked through the white doors of the Bethesda Trauma Unit, calming his nerves. Two years ago, he got up and left D.C. abruptly, offering no explanation to anyone, only to Director Vance. Since then, he had been working as Special Agent in Charge of the Southwest Field Office in San Diego.
Two years later, he was back in D.C. Through the grapevine, he had received word that a member of the MCRT in Washington D.C. had been seriously injured, and on impulse flew across the country to see what had happened. Only once he was three hours into the plane ride did he question what he was doing. He hadn't spoken to anyone since he left, and hadn't even said a proper goodbye. It had been two years since he's talked to McGee, Abby, Ducky, Gibbs, or Ziva. Thoughts of Ziva flushed into his memory as he tried to suppress them. He remembered their last night together, the night before he left.
Flashback
Tony appeared at Ziva's door, unable to contain his feelings for the Israeli anymore. His hands immediately went to her hair, pulling her into a deep hold. His lips were on hers within a moment. Ziva responded eagerly. The kiss was full of passion, lust, and unsaid love between the two from the past four years. Tony licked his tongue on her bottom lip gently, asking for access, and she granted it willingly.
They made their way to her bedroom, clothes flying in various directions and bumping into a few walls in the process. Their love making was hot and heavy, fueled by sexual tension, and over way too quickly. The second round was slow and caring, each party memorizing each and every part of the other person's body. They collapsed next to each other and fell asleep, curled into each other's embrace.
The next morning, Ziva awoke with a smile on her face, sore from the previous night's activities. She reached over to the other side of the bed only to find it empty, the sheets cold. She got up and fumbled through her discarded clothing, throwing it on hastily, noticing that all of Tony's clothes were gone. She walked into the kitchen, only to find a piece of paper resting on her kitchen table.
"Ziva,
I'm sorry. Just remember that I love you.
Tony"
She arrived at work late, expecting to find Tony there and ready to have an awkward talk with him, only to see Director Vance in the squad room talking to a stunned Gibbs and McGee. Tony was no where to be found. Vance had informed the team that Tony had requested a transfer to San Diego and it had been granted immediately. He was on his way as Vance told them.
Tony knew that the entire team had tried to contact him for at least two weeks after, but he never picked up their calls or responded to their e-mails. Two months later, Ziva tried calling him again, but again he ignored her calls. He knew the team was still the same as he had left it, Gibbs unwilling to replace him.
When Tony had awoken next to Ziva early in the morning, he did the only thing he could think of. He ran. He figured that either Ziva would try to run, saying it was a mistake, or Gibbs would fire one of them, so he decided to act before either of them had a chance.
Here he was, back in D.C. to face his old team. He didn't know how they would receive him, and he was nervous that they wouldn't even talk to him.
Tony walked up to the nurses' station, pulling out his badge. "I'm here to see the injured NCIS agent. Who is it?" he asked the nurse behind the desk.
The nurse, most likely having dealt with all the other NCIS employees, simply waved him on without any trouble. "Miss David is in room one, right past the doors." She pushed the button allowing the doors to open. Tony sent a nod in her direction and passed through the doors.
Knowing that Ziva was the injured team member only worsened his guilt. After he had been in San Diego for a month, he realized that he should have stayed and tried to talk things out, but it was already too late for him to go back.
As soon as he walked through the doors, he saw Abby, McGee, and Gibbs outside the doors of room one, looking through the glass windows. Abby was the first to notice him.
"Tony!" she exclaimed, rushing up to him and giving him a bone crushing hug, which he reluctantly returned.
"Hey Abby. It's been a while." He broke away to see McGee and Gibbs looking at him, both with venom in their eyes.
His comment set her off. She gave him a disgusted look before slapping him hard across the face. "What the…"
"How could you?"
Tony knew that Abby would have taken his leaving hard, but he never imagined she would be mad at him already. "How could I what?"
Abby rolled her eyes. "Like you don't know. You just got up and left, not giving us any explanation, or even saying goodbye, and you expect to just waltz back in here and we'll forgive you! Do you know how much we all needed you? How much Zi…"
Gibbs cut her off from her rant when he came behind Tony and slapped him on the back of the head, hard enough to make his forehead rebound off the glass of the window. "I guess I deserved that, boss."
"You sure as hell did. And I'm not your boss anymore, Special Agent DiNozzo." The coldness of his tone could have frozen hell over.
Tony was getting fed up with all the grief the team was giving him. "Okay, I get it, I left without saying goodbye or anything, and you're all pissed about that. I understand. But why is everyone this mad? You're not at all happy to see me?"
McGee stepped forward. "Sure, we're happy to see you, but what you did is unforgivable. At least for now."
Tony was stunned by McGee's boldness. "Whoa Probie, when did you grow a set?"
Gibbs sent him a glare that could have melted a glacier. "When he had to step up as Senior Field Agent with an hour's notice."
"Okay, I'm freaking sorry. What else do you want me to do?"
His outburst was shortened by the doctor, who had just exited Ziva's room. "She's doing fine. There's no risk of infection anymore, so she should be able to go home tomorrow or the next day." The three team members nodded at him as he walked off to check on another patient.
Still not knowing what happened, Tony decided to ask the team. "What happened to her? All I know is that someone on the team was seriously injured, so I got here as fast as I could."
Again, Abby rolled her eyes. Gibbs decided to save him from another hurtful remark from her. "Why don't you go ask her yourself? She'll want to see you."
Tony gulped nervously. "She doesn't want to kill me or anything, right?"
"No promises," McGee muttered under his breath as he pushed Tony into Ziva's room.
He stood in the doorway nervously. Her dark hair was still the same, only slightly shorter that when he left. It wasn't as full and bouncy as normal, but he contributed that to her most likely not having showered in a day or two. Her skin was pale, and she had bags under her eyes. He kept staring until she noticed him. "Tony?" she asked softly, wondering if she was seeing things.
"Hey Zi." He fidgeted with the sleeves of his dress shirt as he took a nervous step forward. "What happened to you?"
"I was shot," she said, motioning her head to the sling holding her left arm in place.
"How bad is it?" he asked, hoping to keep the small talk going so they wouldn't have to get into the serious stuff.
"Not bad. It missed any vital arteries or nerves, but there are some bullet fragments still in the joint that cannot be removed, and physical therapy is going to be a pain." She shrugged with her good shoulder, obviously unfazed by her injury. "I have had worse."
"I got shot in the shoulder once, while I was still with Baltimore PD. There were bullet fragments left over, and sometimes when it rains it still aches."
They lapsed into uncomfortable silence. Ziva motioned for Tony sit down in a chair near the corner of her room, and he obliged. "It has been a while."
He looked down, unable to meet her eyes. "Two years. I haven't seen you since…"
"Yeah." He didn't need to finish, as both were having flashbacks of their last night together. "Why are you here?"
"I heard that a member of the D.C. MCRT was injured, and I wanted to know who it was and if they were okay."
She raised a questioning eyebrow at him. "You could not have called?"
"I didn't really think about that until I was over Kansas," he joked, although it wasn't that far from the truth.
"So you leave, never call any of us, and just come back unannounced two years later?"
Tony sighed, exasperated by the constant questioning. "Oh my God! I left without telling anyone, I understand! I made a mistake and I overreacted. I'm sorry. Why is everyone so mad at me?"
"A mistake?" Ziva demanded, her voice rising. "You think what happened between us was a mistake and you ran, taking the coward's way out?" At the moment she flailed her arms in the air, Tony noticed there were faint bruises on her wrist and arms, not normally accompanied by a gun shot wound. He pushed them into the back of his mind, but did not forget them.
"I didn't mean it like that!" he exclaimed, her voice matching hers. "I meant that good things couldn't come from it. I knew that Gibbs would fire one of us if he found out or you would think it was a mistake and block yourself off from me, or worse."
This enraged Ziva even more. "You do not know what Gibbs or I would have done, Agent DiNozzo," she spat as if his name was poison in her mouth.
"Yes I do!" His bellowing voice echoed off the walls of the room. "You would have done what you always do when you don't want to talk about something or realize you made a mistake. Ignore it and pretend it never happened!"
"How do you know I thought it was mistake, or that I would not want to talk about it? Maybe I did not think it was a mistake, that maybe there was something more!"
Tony was stunned speechless by Ziva's outburst. It was at that moment how much he truly messed things up.
Minutes later, as he was about to open his mouth, the doors to her room opened again. In walked in a tall man, about thirty five, with blonde hair, pale skin, and brown eyes who Tony didn't recognize. He walked over to Ziva's bedside, completely oblivious of Tony's presence.
"Hello Ziva," he said as he leaned down, placing a light kiss on her forehead, filling Tony with jealousy.
"Shalom Jeremy." The man, Jeremy, sat down in the chair next to Ziva's bed. For the first time he noticed Tony sitting in the corner.
Ziva noticed both men giving each other questioning looks. "Jeremy, this is my former partner, Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo. Tony, this is Jeremy Goldstein, my fiancé."
Both men looked at each other, shocked. Tony, because of the news of Ziva's engagement, but Tony didn't know why Jeremy was surprised to see him.
Tony tore his face away from Jeremy, looking Ziva in the eyes for the first time. "Fiancé? You're engaged? Since when?"
"For three months now," she said, smiling. Looking deep into her chocolate eyes, he could see her smile was forced, and that she was not truly happy.
He faked being excited for her. "Oh, um, that's great. When did you meet each other?"
Jeremy fielded his question. "About a year and a half ago," he said, looking in Ziva's direction and rubbing his thumb along her knuckles. Tony could see that she was uncomfortable. "We attend the same synagogue."
"That's nice." Tony faked a smile, eyeing Ziva in the process.
Seeing Tony's look, Ziva turned to Jeremy. "Jeremy, could you give Tony and I some time please? It has been a while, and we have some catching up to do."
"Sure, sweets." Tony cringed at the use of the pet name, so close to what he used to call Ziva. "I have to get back to relieve the baby-sitter of Danny."
Ziva cringed also. "I will see you tomorrow. Shalom." He kissed her chastely on the lips and walked out of the room, leaving Tony and Ziva alone again.
As soon as he was gone, Tony laid in on Ziva. "Who is Danny?"
When she refused to answer, Tony asked again. "Who is Danny?"
She reached onto the table by her bedside, picking up a piece of paper, a picture. She turned the picture in Tony's direction, and Tony could see a little boy. He had to move closer, into the chair right next to her, to see it more clearly. "This is my son, Daniel...Anthony David. He is fifteen months old."
The boy was barely older than a year, with curly dark brown hair and olive skin. He looked like a masculine Ziva, except for his eyes. His eyes were a deep emerald. Tony was unable to say anything, shocked that he had missed Ziva having a child. Finally, he could form words. "That is definitely not Jeremy's kid."
Ziva nodded, confirming Tony's suspicions. "I was six months pregnant when I met him."
Still shocked, he sat in silence for a few moments. Suddenly, something clicked in his head. "He's my son." It was a statement, not a question.
She didn't even try to correct him. "How did you know?"
"His age, his eyes, and his name." He continued looking at the picture, getting used to the idea of having a son. "Why didn't you tell me?"
Furious, Ziva yelled, scaring Tony. "You think I did not try! I called you every day for more than two weeks after you left, trying to find out why! Then when I found out I was pregnant, I called again for a week straight. But you never picked up!" She pointed an accusing finger in his direction.
"That's why everyone is so furious with me. I abandoned you and my son." He dropped his head into his hands, disappointed in himself. "I'm such a jackass."
She didn't say anything, and neither did Tony for a while. Finally, Tony decided to press her further, knowing she would most likely kill him if she wasn't in a hospital bed. "Why are you marrying Jeremy?"
Ziva rolled her eyes, knowing that Tony would be jealous. "He is a good man. He is Jewish, has a good, stable job, my father approves of him, he is a good father figure for Danny, and he loves me."
"Do you love him?"
They stared at each other, green eyes meeting brown. "Do not ask me that," she hissed through gritted teeth.
Tony already knew the answer, he just wanted her to admit it. "You refusing to answer tells me the truth already. Do you love him?"
"He makes me happy, and I know I should love him." she said, diverting the question.
"Mhm," Tony nodded. "So, even though you don't love him, you're going to marry him?"
"Yes. It is the best possible situation, since Danny's real father is not around." She sent a spiteful glare in his direction.
Tony knew he deserved her hate, so he didn't object to her glare. The he remembered the bruises on her arm. "Even though he hits you?"
Ziva whipped her head in his direction, cringing at the pain it caused her shoulder. "What? Where did you get that idea?"
He scoffed, and picked up her right hand. "These bruises. Hospital gowns don't hid much, sweet cheeks."
She didn't say anything, just stared at Tony's hand, still holding her hand. "Why do you put up with it? You're Mossad, you could easily take him down."
"I try to fight him off, but he is twice my size. And he..." Ziva stopped, not knowing what to tell Tony.
"He what?" Tony prodded.
"He threatens Danny." She felt him tighten his grip around her hand, obviously angry. "I cannot let him hit my son. You...you're son."
Tony was seeing red. Nobody hit Ziva, or threatened his son, even if he didn't know about him. "I'll kill him. I'll kill him, bring him back, kill the bastard again and hide him where no one will ever find him." He went to get up but Ziva pulled on his hand, stopping him.
"Tony," she said softly.
"What?" He turned to face her, anger burning in his eyes.
"You cannot kill him. I do not want Danny's father in jail and Jeremy dead, leaving him with no father."
"Zi," Tony whispered, sitting back down and still holding her hand. "You need to leave that asshole. He has no right to do that to you."
"It is not that simple, and you know it. Danny needs a father."
"I'll come back. Zi...I need to be with you, and with my son. I still mean what I said in my note two years ago."
Ziva thought back to the note he had left, saying he loved her. She was still skeptical. "You would leave your position in San Diego to come back here and take a demotion? Just to be with us?"
"I'd do anything for you two. I...I still love you. I want us to be together, as a family." He felt tears pricking his eyes from all the emotions going through him, the strongest at the moment being love.
Ziva released her hand from his grasp and placed it on his cheek. "I have waiting two years for you to say that, my hairy butt."
Tony smiled, and Ziva grinned back. "So you'll give me a chance, to make up for the past two years?"
Ziva nodded. "Yes. I think we can make it, the three of us."
There you are, some TIVA drama/romance/little bit of fluff. As you can tell, I like making Ziva pregnant, mostly just so I can name the baby. I think a Tony and Ziva baby would be the cutest thing ever.
Thanks for reading, and please review (: