AN: Alright, it seems like I am going to be joining the multitude of fics that will spring up from the finally over the break. This does not really have much direction so we'll see where this goes, there will be more Tiva than is probably appropriate with EJ and Ray around.
2 Months post "Pyramid"
It had been a long day in the bull pen. They had not had a new case in a week only had paper work to occupy their time. McGee was typing quietly, his stack of files showed that he was almost done. Tony was frowning at his computer and had barely moved for an hour.
All Ziva wanted to do was go home. She looked over at Tony, his focus was bothering her. She wanted to throw something at him, being so quite was not right. Not when she was so bored anyways. Tony had been distant for a while now, arriving before her at work and overall more quite. Everything had been quieter since Franks had died. The team is still in mourning she thought.
She checked her email, still nothing from Ray. She checked the clock, still not time to go home. She let out a sigh and went back to the file she had on her desk... how many shots had she fired at that guy again? She closed her eyes to go over the shoot out in her mind.
oOoOo
She heard something coming towards her head at a high speed. Ziva rolled offer her chair, dodging the object and drawing her gun, pointing it at the source... Tony. Who else would it be?
"Whoa! I totally thought I had her that time Probie!"
"I told you it wouldn't work Tony," replied McGee.
"Awe, come on! She was asleep for like 20 minutes!" Tony turned to Ziva, "Put it away Probette, unless you're going for your first desk pop! Wait I doubt it would be your first," said Tony with a cheeky grin.
"What is a desk pop?" asked Ziva as she got up and reholstered her sidearm in her boot with a smile, Tony was acting more like Tony.
"Will Farrell, 2010? The Other Guys? Come on! You've been a citizen that long!" Tony exclaimed in exasperation, he checked around the office and waived Ziva over, "Come over here and check it out, you too Probie."
Ziva and McGee also did a Gibbs check and went behind Tony's desk.
"What is wrong with your screen?" asked Ziva, who could not see the display properly.
"Just move so you have a straight view. When did you get a privacy filter Tony?" asked McGee. Ziva moved so she was looking over Tony's shoulder as he typed "desk pop" in to the youtube search engine.
"Just an extra precaution in case of Gibbs, it will you know, give me a few seconds to close things down," said Tony as he clicked on the first link on the search list.
"I'm surprised that you didn't think of that sooner Tony, now Gibbs won't interrupt you next time you try to break your high score in Tetris," teased McGee.
"Don't mock me McGoo, this is clearly for security reasons!"
"Security reasons like pornography?" Ziva asked with a smirk.
"Why do you want to join me David?" Tony teased back. They were looking directly in her eyes until McGee interrupted them with a cough. They snapped their heads to the screen, the video had started. They all laughed at the desk pop and how easily Farrell's character was tricked.
"Let's make our next Probie do a desk pop," said Tony with a smile.
"But think of all the paperwork it would cause," McGee reminded him.
"Huh, you're right, not to mention that it would probably mean that one of us has left the team."
"Do you want to leave the team DiNozzo?"
McGee and Ziva lunged back to their desks and Tony quickly closed the web browser to show the document he had been working on, "No Boss, just um showing Ziva how maneuver is not spelled with an 'o,'" he turned to Ziva, "Come on, you're an American! Not a Canadian and definitely not a Birit!"
Ziva gave him an annoyed look, but played along, "It is not my fault that I was taught English using British spelling!"
Gibbs rolled his eyes and sat down at his desk. Tony mouthed "Thanks" to Ziva and pointed at his computer and gave her the thumbs up and a big smile. The privacy screen had worked perfectly. Ziva rolled her eyes at him again with exaggeration and got back to work.
About 15 minutes later, Gibbs looked at the clock and sent them home. Not needing to be told twice, they gathered up their backpack and started to head out. The three stood in the elevator, McGee mumbled something about Abby and got out at Abby's lab, leaving Ziva and Tony alone.
"So, what are you doing tonight Ziva?" Tony asked.
"Just sleeping, how about you?" Ziva replied.
"Want to go out for a drink?"
"No, not really, remember what happened last time?"
"As if that could happen twice, I really think that you should come out for a drink with me."
"You ignore everyone for over a month and then decide that you want to go out, on a Tuesday? I am not interested tonight."
Tony stopped the elevator and turned to her, "You don't understand. You need to come out with me. I need to talk with you."
"What is so important?" she asked in irritation, she was glad that he was acting more like himself before but she was too tired to deal with him right now, she just wanted to go home.
"Do you have my back?" he asked seriously.
Shocked by the question she replied, "What have you done? Are you in trouble?"
"Do you have my back?" he asked again looking her straight in the eyes.
For her there was really only one answer, "Always."
"Meet me at our usual place in half an hour. Get a booth if you get there first," he glanced at his watch nervously. This conversation was taking too long.
His seriousness and agitation put her on edge, "Tony what is this about?"
"There is absolutely nothing abnormal about two friends going out for drinks together right?" Tony asked in the same serious tone, still maintaining eye contact. Ziva nodded in understanding, this cannot be discussed here, and act as if everything is normal. In response to her nod, he flicked the elevator back on and they stood in silence until the doors opened and headed to their cars in silence.
oOoOo
Ziva entered the bar. She had stopped at home to change out of her work cloths but had not dressed up either. She spotted Tony in a booth at the back and waved, he nodded with a smile. Tony looked tense and serious. She ordered a club soda and headed over to Tony's booth.
"Good to see you Ziva," Tony greeted her.
"Yes, it is nice to have a break after work," she replied, might as well start with small talk.
"I hate paper work," Tony was looking down making patterns with the condensation from his glass.
"Does that mean you want someone to die?" Ziva teased.
Tony looked up and gave her a grin, "Are you offering to do a job?"
"I'm retired from that and unless you make much more than I do, you cannot afford it," Ziva teased back, she had missed this.
"I am Senior Field Agent, Probette," Tony smirked and Ziva's brow twitched in irritation, he loved to get a rise out of her.
She was about to remind him that she could kill him easily when her drink arrived. She thanked the server and did a quick, covert look around the room as he walked away. Still no one in the booths on either side of theirs, background music should be covering most of their conversation. She placed her outside elbow on the table and her chin on her fist, obscuring attempts at lip reading from the side. If Tony was taking this seriously, so was she, "Alright Tony, what is going on?"
He leaned forward, "It's happened again"
"What is happened again?" she asked softly.
"The administration is using me," Tony replied sadly.
Ziva's eyes widened with worry, "The director is sending you undercover?"
Tony flicked his eyes across the room and then reached into his jacket pocket and returned his gaze to her eyes, "No, higher and not cover exactly."
"Higher?" Ziva asked. Tony passed her the item from his pocket under the table. She looked down, it was a Challenge Coin, from the SecNav, "Oh."
She passed the coin back under the table, Tony held her hand for a moment. "We're working on a leaking ship," he said softly.
"Again?" Ziva asked, taking her hand back, reminding herself that she should not enjoy the warmth of his hand. "And you're investigating it on your own?"
"Almost," Tony replied.
"Why are you telling me?"
"Remember what happened last time?" he asked, her eyes screamed of course she did. "I will not be used again. I need someone to know who cares about me, not just the mission and to have my back." Ziva nodded in understanding, they should have not trusted Jenny as much as they had. There was no way they were going to trust Vance and a SecNav they just met.
"I wanted to tell you sooner. I have to investigate almost everyone," Tony said sadly, "It took me this long to clear you completely."
"Two months to investigate one person?" Ziva asked surprised, this must have been a detailed search.
"First I had to set things up. I'm doing this by myself, at night, you have not been here for long but we have covered a lot of cases, you have seen a lot and you were a foreign operative," he explained.
"You had to clear me first?" Ziva asked, how could he think she was the leak?
Tony sensed her insecurity, "Look, if anyone finds out that you know, I want there to be proof that you are not the leak. This protects both of us."
Ziva nodded, he's protective and trusting, a good partner, but there is another member of their team, "Will you bring in McGee... or EJ?"
"Rule number 4," he replied, "I wish I could, but they're on the list. I would need to clear them. Anyways, McMouthy would tell Abby or put it in his book or something. Honestly, I trust you to keep this quiet more than him. Both Vance and the SecNav would have more than my badge if they knew I told anyone. I'm going against specific orders."
"But what about Gibbs?" she asked, keeping something like this from Gibbs was a bad idea.
"I don't think I can tell him but he might kill me for not," Tony replied, tracing patterns on the table again.
Ziva nodded understanding his predicament, "If Gibbs knew, tension between him and Vance would go through the ceiling."
"Through the roof," he corrected her, a smile returning to his face.
A couple of men went by their booth to sit at the one behind Ziva. The subject needed to change.
Ziva looked at him with annoyance and started jesturing, "But a ceiling is inside and a roof is outside. It would explode from the inside since that is where the people are. So they would be going through the ceiling, unless they were on the roof or perhaps the space in between the roof and the ceiling."
"You are way over thinking this, it's just a saying," he said shaking his head. "I have missed this. Keeping this from the team has been terrible," he added softly.
"I have missed you being you. I am glad you have told me, but what do you want me to do?" she asked equally quietly, the people behind them were ignoring them so it was probably alright but they needed to get to the end of this.
"I might need to disappear once and a while, during office hours. I might need you to cover for me, help me bounce ideas around and I need your advice," he said, his eyes were pleading and lonely.
"Cover and campfires? Sure, I have your back," she answered and placed her hand over his on the table, this was really a no brainer. "What kind of advice do you need?"
"Thanks Ziva," he replied with relief, they stared at their over lapped hands for a moment and slowly removed them.
"I have one contact. The leak was found when local leos caught him jacking a car. They searched him and found a memory stick on him with classified files, it was quietly handed over to the SecNav," Tony explained.
Ziva nodded, that is not much of a start, "Does he know much?"
"Not really," Tony replied with a sigh. "He's just a currier and not a bright one. All he knows is his pick up and drop points. But we flipped him, and put him back out to be our mole. It was that or win an all expenses paid trip to Gitmo for espionage and terrorism. I'm his handler," he ended with a smile.
"Have you ever been a handler or control officer?" Ziva asked, intrigued by the scenario.
"No. But I know you have. This guy is part of this but he doesn't know what's going on. I don't trust him not to give himself away if he asks questions, but unless he gives me something he's useless," Tony said in frustration.
Ziva nodded in understanding, she had been in charge of moles that were dumb enough to get caught and turned were often too dumb to be of much use, "Does he trust you?"
"I'm working on it."
Trust with criminal informants was always difficult. Sometimes she itched to just kill them. She curled her fingers thinking about it. That was not her style anymore, but the main concepts were the same, "Does he fear you?"
"How do I mix trust and fear?" Tony asked in return.
"It is possible, how do you feel about Gibbs?" she asked with a teasing smile, "We will need to talk mices and make you a plan to make him yours. Then you must train him."
"Mices? The plural of mouse is mice Ziva, what do mice have to do with anything?" Tony aske in confusion.
"I am talking motivation, not vermin."
Another party entered the bar and sat at the booth on the other side, now they were surrounded. The bar was filling up, making it less likely to be over heard but there were also more people to notice them talking secretively.
Ziva checked her watch, "We should get going."
"I have more to tell you, lunch tomorrow?" he asked, getting up from the booth.
"If we can find some privacy," she reminded him, also getting up and shrugging on her coat. Just because she knows does not mean he needs to be any less careful, if Tony is investigating everyone, anyone could cause a problem.
"I can think of plenty of places at work where there's lots of privacy," Tony replied a smirk back on his face.
"In your wildest dreams DiNozzo," Ziva laughed and batted his arm as they left the bar.
Ziva got to her car and waved good night to Tony. She was glad that he told her why he had been acting oddly. But now she had to get home to check her email, Ray sent them like clockwork. Why did she feel guilty about her reply being a little late tonight?
AN2: So... continue? I am starting to have a plot in my mind, but any suggestions? I am working on another story that has a lot of plot work done, but this is what was coming out.