DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN NCIS OR ANY OF ITS CHARACTERS

A/N: Written for the NFA Odd Couple Challenge

Ziva's 'Secret' Admirer

"Roses so red to match the blush that colors your cheeks". Tony snatched the card from the bouquet on Agent David's desk.

"Well, well Zee-vah who would be sending you flowers?" Special Agent Tony DiNozzo asked his new probationary agent.

"They are from an admirer," she smiled in reply touching the delicate petals with her fingertips.

"A secret admirer, isn't that a bit dangerous? How do we know he's not a stalker or something worse?" Tony began to search through the flowers for any sign of 'bugs'.

"It is only a secret to those who do not know. I know who my admirer is," she smiled.

"Do tell," Tony tilted his head to the side waiting for her to inform him.

"No, I think I will not. Some things are better of kept without light."

"It's 'kept in the dark'," Tony corrected narrowing his eyes at her and returning to his desk. I will shed some light on this secret, he promised himself.

"Forget the flowers. Grab your gear. Two bodies at Norfolk," team leader Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs barked passing through the bullpen, tossing the keys to Ziva.

Tony and Ziva were joined by their partner Tim McGee who had been quietly observing their prior exchange with delight. The three agents entered the elevator just before the doors slid closed.

At the crime scene Gibbs assigned the different tasks to his agents and the evidence was collected.

"What do you make of it Duck?" Gibbs asked their medical examiner, Dr. Donald 'Ducky' Mallard. As he waited for the reply he finished up his coffee and stood slitting his eyes against the sun's glare.

"Well, Jethro, it appears are dearly departed petty officers met their demise by blunt force trauma to the back of their heads," the M. E. declared.

"Time of death?" Gibbs asked smashing his cup to stick in his pocket. He then shielded his eyes by cupping his hand over them and searched a branch over the body of Petty Officer Carl James. The other victim Petty Officer Nick Marks was a few feet away.

Looking at his liver probe Ducky answered, "I would estimate the time to be around 0200 this morning." He watched as Gibbs approached the tree placing his gloved hands on either side and his right foot flat against the trunk.

"Boss, should you be doing that?" Tim asked as he watched the older agent begin to climb the tree.

"Got a problem with it McGee?" he asked a single eyebrow raised and a blue eyed glare aimed at his target.

Looking at his partners who avoided eye contact with him he quickly replied shaking his head, "No. No problem."

"Good!" Gibbs preceded his climb to the branch holding the shiny object that caught his attention. Getting into reaching distance he pulled an evidence bag from his pocket, removed the piece of metal from the branch and dropped it into bag. He sealed the bag and pulling a pen from his pocket clicked it open and signed it.

"DiNozzo," he tossed the bag to Tony to put in the box with the rest of the evidence.

Tony examined the object through the bag, "What is it?"

"Don't know DiNozzo. That's Abby's job," he said referring to their forensic scientist Abigail Sciuto as he hopped down from the tree.

Quite agile for a man his age, Tony thinks, but doesn't dare say out loud. As he turns to place the bag with the rest of the evidence, he's not prepared for the WHACK to the back of his head.

"Boss?" he asks rubbing the commonly used 'wake-up' call delivered by his leader.

"I'm not that old DiNozzo," he smirks walking to his car.

Tony's jaw drops with disbelief, but soon he's shaking that off. The man does know EVERYTHING! Wonder if he knows who sent Ziva the roses? Hmm…

Tony maneuvered his way to drive back to the Navy Yard with Gibbs. Once in the car though he found he wasn't sure how to ask about Ziva's admirer without sounding like a jealous ex or spurned lover.

"Not tellin' you DiNozzo," he heard Gibbs answer his unspoken query.

"But, how'd…" he stammered, then smiled devilishly, "So you do know who it is?"

"I do and as long as Ziva keeps her love life out of the office, it's no never mind to me who she is seeing."

Tony rubbed his chin with his forefinger, pondering that tidbit of news. "Is she seeing someone at NCIS?"

"TONY," Gibbs wanted nothing more than to reach over and Gibbs' slap him into next week, but wary of his high rate of speed he left his hands to do the steering and just turned his glare on the younger agent.

"Got it!" Tony raised his eyebrows and put up his hands as if to surrender. "No Rule #12 breaking."

Eliminating his coworkers as possible suitors, Tony decided to concentrate on discovering if anyone else knew the mystery admirer's identity. He set his sights next on McGee. Tim- Mr. Loyalty, Honor and Honesty, a true boy scout, That's my Probie, Tony thought.

While doing background checks on the two victims and their families he eyed Tim searchingly.

"What do you want Tony?" Tim finally snapped under the scrutiny.

"Easy McTense. How's your search on possible suspects going?" Tony kept things work related.

"If that's all you want to know, it's going well. I have three possibles and one of them is the most likely. Another petty officer named Michael Hanks. He went on a weekend junket with Petty Officers Marks and James to Lucky Downs to bet on the ponies. Apparently he wasn't so lucky," McGee chuckled at his own witticism.

One Gibbs' glare got him sobered up and back on track.

"Right, well he lost big time while his buddies came out with quite the take. They managed to hit the Trifecta and between the two of them took in over $2,000."

"Sounds almost too pat Probie," Tony pushed.

"Perhaps, but that piece of metal Gibbs snatched from the tree is a piece of the binoculars found near PO Marks."

Tony tried but couldn't stop the image forming in his mind nor the chuckle that accompanied it, "Can't help picturing George McFly in 'Back to the Future' doing his so called bird watching when in fact he was spying on Lorraine in her bedroom, until he falls out of the tree. Maybe one of the P. O.'s is a peeping tom."

"In the middle of the woods? Surrounded by trees?" Tim was talking as if to a child, pointing out the unlikelihood of that premise. "What could someone possibly be 'peeping' at?"

"Good point," Tony looked sideways at his partner and pointed at him. "I'll just keep doing my checks."

Tim smiled and shook his head slightly at his teammate's incredible imagination.