Disclaimer: It fell into some delicious chicken jalfrozie and I can't read what it says on account of the delectable sauce. I guess we can assume I own nothing. And no, you can't share my mango naan.

Summary: Casefile-ish. Who doesn't love pandas? Shorter and fluffier than my last. Hopefully. I promise nothing other than bringing it to a conclusion. It picks up where No Good Deed left off, so that's where you'll find the set up for chapter one.

Spoilers: Locked, Taking it for Granted and No Good Deed, in that order. They're my fics, not episodes, so don't freak out and think you missed half a season. Anyway, my multichapter fics are now trapped in a continuity warp they've created on their own. If you come across something you don't recall as canon, it's either in one of those or I've just made it up, although it would still fall under the category 'I made it up' if you can find it in one of my other fics, so there you go. I find the most convincing way to exposit is to pretend it's just canon you're rehashing.


"No, I don't know where he is. He was only a temporary fill-in while I was away and he really shouldn't have been giving this number out to girls he met in bars."

"That's too bad. Well, you sound kinda cute. Maybe we could…"

"I'm not available. Goodbye." Tony slammed the receiver down and muttered, "How many people did that schmuck give this number to?" He kept getting calls for Agent Gaccione, the yahoo who'd taken his place while he was gone. Not long ago, he probably would have accepted a come-on from that anonymous girl, but now…

He sighed as his phone rang again. On the fourth ring, he picked up. "Agent DiNozzo."

"Mmm, so formal," Ziva purred.

He smiled and turned his chair toward the partition, away from Gibbs and McGee. "Hey. And how are you today?"

"Fine. I had my last appointment with the physical therapist this morning and he doesn't think I'm going to have any long-term problems with my shoulder. Then I spent the day at Adi and Eyal's. I can't believe how big Dara is getting already. She's only two weeks old and she seems so much bigger than the day she was born."

"That explains the bedroom voice."

"What?"

"You spent the day with the baby so you've got babies on the brain and you'll do anything to seduce me." He glanced over his shoulder to make sure Gibbs and McGee weren't eavesdropping. "Even over the phone."

Rather than the vehement denial he'd expected, her voice got a little lower and sexier as she replied, "You didn't seem to have a problem with it the other night."

She'd skipped right over his baiting and turned it around on him. He leaned over to further conceal his end of the conversation. "I was at home the other night."

"Since when do you have a problem with phone sex in the office?" She laughed and he wished desperately that she were sitting across the aisle from him. Is this how it was going to be all the time when she got back to work? He was going to have to practice some deep breathing exercises or something.

He tried to get serious. "That was a misunderstanding and you know it. Can you not wait until I see you tomorrow?"

"Tony, you left Israel almost…"

Tony didn't get to hear the rest of what Ziva said as Gibbs grabbed the phone. After listening for a moment, he said, "We've actually never made love, Officer David…I'm doing fine. You're feeling better?…Good. So you'll be back soon? Tomorrow? Okay…okay…goodbye, Ziva." He dropped the phone in its cradle and looked critically at Tony. "She wants you to bring some kind of berry mango thing when meet her at the airport."

He stared at his desk. "Berry Mango Madness, boss."

"How many times do you have to call Israel in a week?"

He held up his hands in a gesture of surrender. "Hey, sometimes Israel calls me."

"You better have this under control when she comes back." Gibbs grabbed his coat off the back of his chair. "I don't want to hear any Palmer and Lee stories about you two."

Tony stood and supported his head on the elbow he leaned against the file cabinet. "Not to stomp all over your goodwill, boss, but you've been awfully lenient about rule number twelve in this case and considering how strict you usually are about that kind of thing…is this really not going to be a problem for you?"

"The rules aren't about me, DiNozzo. Do you know why I came up with number twelve?"

Tony smirked at McGee. "To prevent elevator incidents?"

Gibbs was not amused. "To prevent teammates from making stupid choices. It's not just the relationship baggage that gets in the way, it's the mental stuff. You need a clear head to do this job, and when you get involved with a co-worker, you tend to look to that person first, even when it isn't appropriate in a given situation. If either you or Ziva starts to show preference for the other in your jobs, I won't hesitate to have one of you transferred."

"Understood, boss." He had been worried Gibbs was going to give an irrelevant speech about how awkward it would be when the affair ended, an eventuality for which Tony was not planning to prepare. On the (hopefully) highly unlikely chance that he and Ziva did break up, working together wouldn't be an issue, as he would most likely be out on disability in a full-body cast. He swallowed hard and looked for some less colorful language. "I was afraid you were gonna get all negative about what happens when office relationships end, but I see what you're getting at with the whole focus thing."

"Good." Gibbs took a moment to look Tony over. "I'm going for coffee."

When Gibbs disappeared, McGee folded his hands on his desk and gave Tony a knowing look. "So no sex in the elevator anymore for you and Ziva?"

"Probie, we have DNA evidence that proves it wasn't me." Tony sat and flipped a wadded paper in McGee's direction. "Are you gonna be hung up on that forever?"

"Just because it wasn't you on that occasion doesn't mean you didn't."

Tony grinned. He and Ziva, in fact, had put one of the elevators to good use prior to her unexpected departure. Subsequently, he'd tried to explain the finer points of the Aerosmith song to her. Hadn't McGee been there for that conversation in the squad room? Now probably wasn't the best time to ask. "Innocent until proven guilty, my friend."

"Yeah, well," McGee scratched at the skin on his left hand, "I'm not going through that again."

"Tell you what, Probie. If you think we're misbehaving, you skip telling Gibbs and call her dad so he can have me whacked for you."

"I thought Director David liked you."

"Yeah, Abraham and I were good friends right up to the night before I came home."

"You say something stupid at dinner?"

"I wish." Tony flashed back to the evening prior to his departure from Tel Aviv. Ziva had talked him into proper goodbye, not that he'd needed much convincing. He'd been a little nervous, considering she had been out of the hospital for only ten days, but they'd gone slow and he'd been gentle. Her father hadn't actually walked in until they were enjoying the afterglow. Tony had gotten so scared of what Abraham might do that he had gone for the gun under Ziva's pillow, beating her to it. The door had slammed shut with a stammered apology that sounded more like a curse from the other side of it before either of them had managed to gain control of the weapon. Abraham had already left for the office when they woke the next morning, so Tony hadn't had to face him.

Ziva had assured him repeatedly that her father had gotten over it, but Tony was still glad that there was an ocean separating them. Fathers were unpredictable. Fathers who were also the Director of Moussad? Dangerous.

McGee was still looking at him expectantly. "Well? What did you do?"

Gibbs saved Tony the trouble of replying by giving McGee a smack as he came around the corner with his fresh cup of coffee. He'd stopped bringing it for the whole team since they'd returned from their mission. "Grab your gear. We've got a dead Navy lieutenant."

"Where, boss?" McGee asked, standing as he clipped his gun to his belt.

"It's all happening at the zoo."

Tony buttoned his coat and slung his backpack over his shoulder. "That from a movie, boss? You wouldn't be trying to take my place now, would you?"

"Orangutans are skeptical of changes in their cages," Gibbs replied cryptically, sipping his coffee as he waited for the elevator doors to open.

"Are you calling me a monkey?" Tony asked, consciously stopping himself from scratching his head.

"I believe orangutans are great apes, Tony. Much higher on the evolutionary ladder than monkeys."

"Yeah, thanks, but I have seen Planet of the Apes, McGreenPeace."

Gibbs nodded his head sagely as he stepped into the elevator. "The monkeys stand for honesty."