The prompt was, "Calm before the storm." I don't own NCIS.

"The letter R is cursed, Ziva."

"Cursed? Tony, I do not think that the letter R is cursed."

"Yes, it is cursed."

"How is it cursed?"

The calm before the storm was settling in between the two partners. They were at the bar, winding down after a long day at work.

Tony took a drink of his beer and sighed. "Roy," he started, looking at Ziva.

"Oh no. If you are going to criticize my decisions in my romantic relationships I am not going to listen to it. I do not have to listen to it."

"I am not criticizing you, Ziva. I am just trying to explain to you how the letter R is cursed."

Ziva took a drink and then looked at him. "It is not cursed, Tony."

"Well, you do have a poor choice in men."

"Do not even start! What gives you the right to…" Ziva trailed off, glaring at him.

"Roy. You broke rule number ten: Never get personally involved in a case," Tony said coolly, looking at Ziva.

"Do not start with me, Tony. If I remember correctly, you also broke rule number ten. You became obsessed with Dana Hutton when her brother was killed," Ziva snapped, glaring at him.

"Rivkin."

"What?" Ziva asked, taken aback by the change in subject.

"Rivkin was after Roy. First Roy died-"

"He was killed. Murdered."

"And then there was Rivkin."

"And you killed Michael."

"I only killed Rivkin because he was a bad guy."

"He was not a "bad guy," Tony. He was Mossad. He was…" Ziva trailed off, taking another drink and looking away from Tony. She was furious with him. How dare he bring up her previous relationships, claiming that they were all cursed because of the letter of their name.

"He was a bad guy," Tony repeated, taking another drink.

Ziva groaned and took another drink as well to try and calm her nerves. "You were jealous of Michael," she murmured softly, looking down at the bar.

"I was not jealous of him."

"Lies."

"After Rivkin, there was no one. You didn't date anyone after him because you were upset," Tony continued. "But now, there's your Miami Vice. Ray."

Ziva rolled her eyes. "You are jealous of Ray. Just like you were jealous of Michael," she simply said.

Tony chuckled and looked at her. "I am not jealous of Ray. And I definitely wasn't jealous of Rivkin," he said.

"Then why are you trying to get involved in my personal life, Tony?"

"Ziva, I don't know if you see this, but I am in your personal life. Here we are, after work, having a drink together. This time, after work, is your personal life. And here we are, having a drink together. Whether you like it or not, I am involved in your personal life."

Ziva groaned and glared at Tony. "Fine. I admit it. You are in my personal life. But why are you trying to get in my romantic life?" she asked.

"Because…I care about you."

"Not because you are jealous?"

"Maybe I am jealous, yes, but caring for you trumps jealously. I don't want to see you hurt."

His honesty took Ziva aback. Her face softened and she studied her partner for a moment. "So you, trying to get involved…trying to learn about Ray…is just because…you care about me?" she asked.

Tony nodded, taking another drink of his beer. He put the bottle down on the bar and signaled the bartender for another. "Yes, Ziva. I care about you. How many times do I have to repeat myself? The last two men you dated with a name that started with R ended up dying-"

"Roy was murdered and you killed Michael!"

Tony sighed again and took a drink of the new beer. "I do not want you getting hurt by Ray. I care about you, Ziva. Ray's gonna end up hurting you some way or another and I am trying to stop it."

Ziva looked away from him and frowned. Tony really did care about her. He didn't want to see her hurt. And, thinking about it, Ziva appreciated the gesture. After a moment she looked up at her partner again. "Thank you, Tony," she whispered.

"For what?"

"For caring."