A/N: I wasn't planning on uploading anything until September, but I also wasn't planning on Cote's departure from the show, so this really proves how much things do change in just a couple of months. So far I'm just planning on uploading this until my original date of coming back, but anything can happen! This story was extremely hard for me to write in the sense of material not the task and once you get to the end, you'll know why. The idea for this story has been nagging at me for quite a long time so I had to write out! No matter what your feelings are at the end, please write a review and tell me what you thought of it! Thank you! ~Lynn D.
"DiNozzo you've got to say goodbye," Gibbs said solemnly to the disheartened agent.
"No I don't," Tony snapped back in a way he'd never done before to his boss.
Ever since Ziva had told the team she was going back to Israel to "where she belonged" for what would be a long enough time to quit her position as an agent, everyone was heartbroken and confused, especially Tony. He knew that it wasn't the real reason; far from it, at that. A few weeks after Team Gibbs had rejoined, Ziva decided to discuss her decision with Tony first—the only person she felt would understand the most.
Though some had their own suspicions, in the end he was the only person besides herself that knew the whole truth. With Bodnar's brother, Yaniv, still out there, seeking revenge for his brother's death, she wouldn't be able to rest until they were both out of the picture. Even after trying to reason with her, even begging to go with her—to protect her, she was set on doing this by herself. That night had left them both on a sour note with neither sure what to say next and just parting ways. Tony was hurt and frankly out of goodbyes, done with trying to get her back. He knew Ziva was just looking for support but it was just too much. Too many sleepless nights and too many hours and days, even months worrying and he just couldn't take it any longer.
Everyone knew that Ziva didn't have any more family in Israel and they couldn't imagine she'd want to go back with all the heartache that had already been experienced in that country. It was all just a matter of time until they found out it was another suicide mission.
"Suit yourself," Gibbs sighed sadly as him and McGee stepped out of the car, heading towards the tarmac and leaving Tony in the passenger seat to gaze out at the clear night sky. As the senior field agent watched them walk towards his partner—the woman he had spent eight years of his life with—he couldn't believe this was happening.
He knew there was only a slight chance of her coming back even if she had the will to live but now, now he wasn't even sure she had that much. The four months that they were off of Gibbs' team and working part time jobs anywhere they could find work just to keep food in their mouths, something had changed in her, like she had reverted back to the old Ziva. The old Ziva that would kick you to the floor in an instant without a word, just if she didn't like the look you had just given her. But sadly, it was also the old Ziva that didn't have as much of a heart for what others were going through, just looking to look after herself and her own needs.
He couldn't help but think of how she was dropping everything they had shared like it was nothing. And it was the only thing he could think of since he'd found out she was set in her ways to leave. When she had told him, he was too shocked to say much but now all he could feel was anger and confusion running through him.
In the past year he had started to wonder if she felt the same about him. Suddenly, it hit him. He wasn't about to leave eight years of partnership, three years of love—at least on his side, and months of restless nights trying to work up his nerve and tell her, just go to waste.
Seeing Gibbs and McGee turn from Ziva after sharing a few hugs and then her beginning to walk in the opposite direction, Tony jumped out of the car and nearly ran towards her. As he passed Gibbs and McGee, he shook his head and looked his boss in the eye. "I can't let her go again without listening to me."
A proud nod from his boss sent him to close the rest of the short gap between him and his partner. "Hey," Tony said, getting her attention. "We've got to talk."
"I did not think you wanted to talk, that was the whole point of us not talking for the past two we—"
Tony's expression fell as both their eyes filled with hurt. "—Ziva please, just listen to me before I lose my nerve."
Though confused, she knew she owed him at least that much. Nodding gently, she let him continue.
"Okay," he breathed quietly to himself. "The last time we were here," looking around the tarmac then just over Ziva's shoulder to see the wired gate that was so familiar from when he had sent her off last. "I—I felt something…like maybe you cared just as much as me. But then when you went back to Israel and saw—" Tony cut himself off, not being able to mention Adam's name, not wanting to bring him into anything if it could be helped. "I felt—"
"Jealous?" Ziva interjected, not quite sure where he was going with this and not liking him continually bringing up her past mistakes.
"No," Tony said bitterly but then quickly changed his tone. "Betrayed."
"Betrayed? By me? Why? Because I needed comfort after my father's death? Why are you so concerned I just might be in love with Adam?"
"How can you be in love with him? You know he just likes you for your body! I thought you were better than that."
"You know what Tony, I don't care. At least he shows me and tells me that he cares. Maybe for once in my life I want to actually hear that someone loves me," she said wholeheartedly with tempers rising more than they ever had before. "How could you even have the gall to say you thought I was better than that? You're one to talk with having one-night stands more times than any one of us could count and you get mad at me for it?"
"It's different with you!" he shouted with deep emotion filling into his dark green eyes.
"How is it different? Please tell me how in the world any of this is different from what you—"
With adrenaline pulsing through his veins as well as a deep and mad love for the woman that stood before him, he cut her off with an intense kiss. Putting all of his emotion into it, Tony pulled his strong arms protectively around Ziva then inched his hand up her back to hold the back of her neck as he caressed her jawbone.
At first Ziva was too shocked to do anything except just stand there, but after a few moments she returned the kiss, pouring an equal amount of emotion into it. With all the passion and spark in their kiss, they both became lightheaded so they took a moment to breathe and just hold each other as tightly as they could, still feeling the electric pulses run through each other's bodies.
As they were safe in each other's arms, Gibbs and McGee couldn't help but stare blankly at what they'd just witnessed. After a few moments of complete shock, McGee just smiled and whispered, "Finally."
With even a smile covering Gibbs' face, he turned to McGee. "Well Tim, it looks like we're going to be attending a wedding pretty soon."
From 200 yards away a single man with a single sniper rifle was patiently waiting for the perfect moment to rid his fear of being killed by one of the best Mossad agents in the business. He had only intended on coming for the girl but why not kill another fear along with his main target with only one bullet? He hadn't thought of Tony until he saw him in his sights, but now that he thought of it, the man could be an intense threat to him. If he killed Ziva, all Tony would have is death in his heart and would undoubtedly have more drive than Ziva ever could and would eventually find and kill him with no hesitation. With his plan set and his two targets in his sights in a perfect position, their necks right next to each other as they were still sharing a strong embrace, he heartlessly pulled the trigger.
No one saw it coming and no one could have. One second had changed it all. They didn't even hear the bang, they just fell helplessly into each other's arms, hard and finally.
Gibbs and McGee had previously decided to give the two some privacy, so they had started their own conversation. It was abruptly interrupted by the unmistakable sound of a gunshot. The agents' heads quickly swiveled to the couple that was lying on the ground, bleeding out. They ran out of the car to the two agents, praying for a miracle but it was hopeless, they were gone.
As McGee knelt down to the two to check for any sign of a pulse, Gibbs caught his breath realizing just where they had been shot. Tony had taken the bullet first through his temple and eerily enough, it had hit Ziva in the forehead. "Just like Kate," he whispered. No, this wasn't going to happen again. Pedro had taken his first daughter along with his wife, Ari had taken Kate, and now someone had taken Ziva. He could not let another one get away this time. He would have his revenge then and there, not having the heart to wait or be forced into waiting years for their justice.
Gibbs drew his gun looking for any sign of the sniper. As the airport's watch tower shed light on the area for an instant before it passed by once again, he caught sight of the unmistakable sniper's sight. Falling back on all of his training, Gibbs aimed and fired, shooting through Yaniv's sight, killing him instantly. Once his shot was fired, Gibbs wiped a hand over his face trying to regain his composure as well as wiping away a few tears, not having completely processed what had just taken place, then ran out to the nearby rooftop to see if the task was done.
As tears streamed down McGee's face and as agony filled his heart, he straightened up and pulled his gun, protectively standing over Tony and Ziva's bodies making sure that they were safe, giving them the utmost respect for it was the least they deserved.
A few minutes later, Gibbs came back to McGee with a sniper rifle in his hand that was now caked in its owner's own blood. After sharing a look of grief with Tim, he nodded his agent's unspoken question. "It's over."
Not only was the revenge mission decided, but so was the couple's eternal fate.
It was all over.
The partnership of a century, the friendship of a decade, and the soul mates of a lifetime.