*** I don`t own any characters from NCIS (nor I want to)
Ziva stood staring at the transport. She looked over at her father, who was waiting for her. Gibbs walked over to her.
"I cannot be on the same team as him any longer. I do not trust him. You have to trust your partner," she said.
Gibbs looked over at Eli, who had an expression of triumph on his face. He wasn't going to let Ziva become part of her father's plans and machinations.
"Get on the plane. I'll take care of it," he said.
"You'll transfer him from the team," she said with hope.
"Yes." That was painful to say.
"Thank you, Gibbs," she said then without looking at her father she strode onto the transport with Gibbs right behind her.
Tony looked back and saw the brief flicker of pain from Gibbs`s eyes. That was the moment in that he realised the deep connection between Ziva and Gibbs. Suddenly, just for a blink of an eye, the green of his eyes changed into a deep venom green and he sighed. Deep inside him he knew; oh, not just the fact that he did loved Ziva, but the fact that his life in NCIS was about to reach the end. During the flight he fought to catch eyes with Gibbs, but he couldn`t. The Boss kept avoiding to look at him and his gut was churrning. That was bad. Real bad. The only time when he caught Ziva`s eyes was a time of pain, because all he could read in her eyes was hurt and pain and hate. Yup, not a good feeling! About two hours during take-off, Gibbs and Vance stood and talked, on a low whispered tone. Vance was not Tony`s greatest fan, but he did throw at him a look of pitty an worry. And that was the moment Tony realised it was time for a life-changing decision. He took out his phone from the pocket and dialled a number; a number not from the contacts but a number burned in his memory. Too bad that his own promise couldn`t be kept, as he swored himself never to call the number. He whispered into the phone.
"Hello, Jo! You were right. I am about to be royally screwed! Time for you to take me home."
He didn`t wait for an answer, because there wouldn`t be one. For a brief second, his eyes and Ziva`s crossed and the amount of pain and hatred put him aut of tracks. His fingers curled into a tight ball and even if his arm starts throbbing and sending jolts of pain, he kept the pressure until his knuckles turned white. He dozed of and kept his head between his palms. It wasn`t time for sleeping, just time to grieve. For a lost friendship, for a lost love, for a lost family. Why did Gibbs did the impression of Judas`s Kiss? All the memories of his team, his family comes crashing between his closed eyelids and the pain was engulfing him. No, don`t go there, it`s time to move on! Of course, he was`t like he could keep a job for too long but deep down he knew that he was pass the amount of time. Pass the amount of time that he was NCIS. An old song popped into his mind, and silently, he sang.
There's no time for us
There's no place for us
There's no chance for us
It's all decided for us
This world has only one sweet moment set aside for us
Who wants to live forever
Who wants to live forever?
Who dares to love forever?
When love must die!
Yes, love must die! His love for his job! His love for his partner! Oh, scratch that, his love for his ex-partner! What would Probie say? Over the years, his teasing for Tim was a mask, a tool for shapping his Probie into a tougher agent. He will miss that! The call he has made will throw him into a world in which relationships were more tougher than a hide of a rhino on steroids. What will Abby say? Tony promised her he will never go without letting her know. Too little, too late! He took out the phone again. No talking, just messaging. He didn`t spent too much time writting the message and hitting Send when he heard the chirping of Vance`s phone. Yes, he knew that it would irk the plain old Toothpick right to the bottom of his bone, but it was time for the Director to understand that he, Tony DiNozzo was nobody`s plaything. He kept his pokerface while Vance was on the phone and the deep scowl of his face brought a little smile on his lips. But only on his lips, because the eyes were dark green. Green as the poison.
The morning was young, not even half past seven when Tony entered the bullpen. McGee looked at him with friendly eyes, but the air was frozen from Ziva`s own looks.
"Hey Tony, how are you?"
"Sore as hell, Probie!" He didn`t seem to register her snort, as she was glad he was sore. His stomach churned again.
DING!
The doors of the elevator opened and in stepped Tony`s salvation. For an outside eye, the woman who entered was just a pretty face, but not for a trained agent`s eye. Especially not Tony`s. Jo was nothing else but danger. Not even Ziva`s trained assasin from deep within her could keep the tremor from surfacing. Fine feet and nine inches of a woman, clad in black swater, black skirt and high boots; deep black eyes burning of Hell`s flames and a face painted by a painter who worshipped the femine beauty. Tony jumped from his chair.
"Jo, as always, more beautiful from the last time I saw you!"
"I am old enough to be your mother, Tony", the woman smiled.
Tim was buffled. Wh was this woman? Certainly not one of Tony`s one night stands, because he was acting like no other time he saw him. Trust? Familiarity? McGee shrugged, he didn`t know how to put it. Tony smiled, dropping for an instant his mask, the joker, the frat boy abbandoned.
"I would still kill to take you out for a date, M`lady!"
Ziva looked at them between slited eyes. She despised his ex-partner, but she did wondered who this woman was. Truth is she felt a pang of something she didn`t wanted to feel what it was while Tony dropped his mask. Never ever in their partnership did Ziva saw his real self and this woman, just for the mere presence, made him shed the masks, all of them. Ziva was first to saw the man who entered behind this „Jo" woman, a bull of a man, dressed in jeans and sweater, with a face chiseled in granite. Just two steps and he was in the middle of the bullpen. For an out-stander, the look between Tony and this man was nothing friendly, but her Mossad train kicked in and she saw the unseen, grey eyes versus green eyes and total and utmost trust. She never saw this feeling revealed in her partner`s, oh, ex-partner`s eyes ever. The hands of that bull of a man and Tony`s linked and a voice, deep, rich and with glitters of unknown what sealed the partnership. Yes, that was she feels like was happening, a partnership.
"Time to come home, kid!"
Jo looked at them and smiled. Yes, Tony was coming home! Her eyes narrowed a little more and her looks played over the bullpen. Oh, she did saw the hatred from Ziva`s eyes, but was something of nothing of concern. She turned towards Tony.
"Ready, Tony? Remember, that is one way ticket!"
Tony knew that. He even welcomed that.
"Lead the way, Mother Hen."
All three of them, Jo in the front, Tony in the middle and that bull of a man closing the line took the stairs.
DING!
That was the image Gibbs saw when he made his exit from the elevator.