Breaking all the rules
By Caz
Disclaimer is in force, so leave me be, you brutes!
Set: After Aliyah (End of Season six)
Rated: M for naughty words, and who knows later on ;) But be warned, there is a rape scene that some readers might find upsetting. This story is pure fiction, and primarily a love story, (eventually ::wink, wink::) so please excuse the plot.
A million thanks to Patti for proof reading this for me. You're a star!
Chapter one
The two men watched with mute curiosity as the only female member of their immediate team rounded her desk and began to behave as though she were going home. Ziva barely gave her comrades a glance as she continued her task whilst silently hoping and praying that neither one of them would ask her what she was doing. But then she forgot how nosy her partner was as only seconds passed before he asked the inevitable.
"Going somewhere, Zee? I didn't know we had a case on."
Ziva paused briefly, closed her eyes and prepared herself for the lie about to fall from her lips. "There isn't one, Tony, I'm…I'm going home. I've got some things to do."
By the time she'd finished her minimal explanation she had her backpack zipped and was swinging it over her shoulder as she rounded her desk again. Her muttered, "See you," was clipped and somewhat a little sad, and as Tony pushed himself to a stand she belatedly realized that she'd given too much away with her too simple words, much, much too much.
By the time she had reached the elevator and punched the button both men had risen from their chairs and watched her departure with curiosity and unease, and it took Ziva a monumental effort to not turn her face towards them for fear that they would see the enormous tears that now clung to her sooty eyelashes. Her heart pounded as she waited – willed the elevator to hurry, and when it at last arrived she shot into it like a bullet from a gun and then just as quickly punched the button to close its doors.
Tony and Tim stood silently watching the empty, telling space where their team mate had stood, until finally, Tim said quietly, "Ziva seemed to be in a bit of a hurry.
Without taking his eyes of the elevator doors, Tony murmured distractedly, "Yeah, she did, and I wonder why she left her badge behind."
"Maybe she's just going to get some lunch." Tim added hopefully.
Still staring at the doors, Tony slowly shook his head and said, "Nope, don't think so. She took her paperweight with her."
The significance of that was as astounding to them as it had been when they had snooped through their previous female agent's belongings and found things that had obviously meant a great deal to Kate but had never shared them with her team until there had been no choice as they'd watched their boss pack them away in a box after her death.
It could only mean one thing as they'd seen Ziva alive and well only moments before, she was leaving.
Or was she running?
Tony moved his feet towards the now vacant desk and searched for anything that would tell him that she might be coming back, but he found nothing, nothing more than more mystery.
Tim made his way over to his side, his youthful face laced with bewilderment and worry. "You think she's been called back to Israel, Tony?"
"Nah," he replied with confidence, "She'd have told us."
"Maybe she's going on vacation." Tim responded hopefully.
"Nope, she'd have bragged about it. I reckon…"
"DiNozzo, my office, now."
Agent Gibbs ploughed past them and headed for the elevator fully expecting his senior agent to follow him – knowing that Tony would follow him. And follow him he did. By the time Gibbs had reached the metal doors, Tony was by his side bursting with questions.
Gibbs' quietly growled, "Wait." shut Tony up instantly and as the doors finally opened, Tony threw a look over his shoulder towards Tim that could only be received as one of fear, and as they stepped inside the enclosed six foot square metallic box, Tony's fear escalated tenfold as he watched his boss punch the close button, his snarl of impatience laced with a word that Tony very rarely heard fall from his pursed lips.
Seconds after the elevator began to move, Gibbs switched the emergency switch over and the metal tomb shuddered to a halt.
It was then, and only then, that Gibbs finally turned to face his sidekick, his agitation evident in blue eyes that sparked with temper. Unable to keep still, Gibbs rocked from foot to foot until eventually he spoke.
"I want you to get her back, Tony. I don't care how you do it. I don't care if you have to break every rule in the book. Fuck, I don't care if you have to follow her to the other side of the world. Just. Bring. Her. Back."
The passionate and very angry request floored the younger man as Tony watched and listened to Gibbs pour out what was as good as his heart and the sinking feeling that had hit his stomach before now gripped his insides for real.
Ziva had really gone and Tony knew that there would be no way in hell that Gibbs would tell him why she had left at that point, so he was going to have to figure that one out on his own. And to hear his boss really swear, well, that in its self told a whole different story – a story that Tony desperately wanted to hear about some day. But probably not today, he reasoned as he watched Gibbs ooze anger before his very eyes.
Before Tony had a chance to ask anything more, Gibbs had switched the emergency back off and the elevator continued on its journey. But before the doors opened, Tony did manage to get one question in, the only question that had rolled through his mind since Gibbs had spoken. "Every rule, boss?"
Gibbs simply looked at him, his glittering blue eyes echoing the pain and fury that surged throughout his body before replying in a tone that meant even more than what he was silently revealing. "Every rule, Tony."
There was only one rule that Tony would have been referring to; Rule number 12 and Tony felt a buzz in his loins at the possibilities unfolding before him. Was it actually going to take breaking the most important rule in Gibbs' book to bring Ziva back? Tony suddenly realized he was keen to find out. Getting Ziva in the sack had always teased Tony's psyche but he would never have dared whilst she was a fully fledged member of the team, and now Gibbs had given him the thumbs up to do what he needed to do to, just get her back.
Tony's life suddenly became very interesting.
When the elevator reached the ground floor, Gibbs stormed out as soon as the doors opened and Tony had to shout to ask his question. "Where are you going, boss?"
Gibbs' feet didn't stop as he threw over his shoulder, "To get coffee!"
Huffing with indignation Tony punched the button to go back up to his level, grousing to himself and to anybody within earshot who would listen – which happened to be nobody, "Great. He gets to have coffee and I get lumbered with finding the crazy Ninja chick."
But as Tony DiNozzo stepped out of the elevator on his own level, he shoved his hands in his pockets as though nothing out of the ordinary had just happened, but even he didn't know that his life was about to take a route that even he never expected.
All he had to do was find Ziva David, and then find out why she had pissed off the boss man so much. And then he had to bring her back from wherever she'd gone, using any means, fair or foul, and he was more than up for that challenge, even if he didn't really know what was at stake.
Tbc…