Disclaimer: Really, you think I own NCIS? *laughs*

A/N: My second tag for Housekeeping, set after Ziva takes Ray's call. Because every now and then, Tony has to feel a bit bitter.


Ziva: "Well, only you can do something about that, Tony. Change, my dear, requires some action."

Tony: "This coming from a woman who's been waiting eight weeks for a single, solitary phone call from one lousy dude?"

Ziva: "Seven. And maybe I'm done waiting. Maybe it's finally time we both took some action. Maybe –"

– 9x12: "Housekeeping"


Tony vaguely remembers Ziva saying that "it's complicated" was just a way for people to get out of talking about something. Well, "maybe" is every bit as complicated as "it's complicated". From his years of experience with women, Tony knows that "maybe" rarely means "I'm still deciding". "Maybe" usually translates to "I've already made up my mind, but I'm not going to tell you yet because you won't like my decision; now stop bugging me".

He should have remembered that.

E.J. didn't know what she was talking about; she barely knows them, for crying out loud.

Ziva is… Ziva. She'll always go back to guys who treat her like crap. She'll always hint and tease about maybes and somedays, but she'll never take action when it counts. (She'll never take action when there's the possibility that he might take action with her.) She's scared shitless and Tony gets it, really he does. He's not exactly the poster child for emotional courage himself.

But he doesn't think his sanity (his heart) can take this back-and-forth any longer. Maybe… maybe it's time for him to make a move or to move on.

As Gibbs so aptly reminded them, there's no time for maybes. With all that life's been throwing at him lately, Tony's been thinking about this a lot. Feels like someone's trying to send him a message.

Well, message received.

It's time to stop running.

(… maybe.)