NCIS
Make Things Right
A/N: This is short. Very short. But it has been ages since I've written anything and I was inspired to write this after the season finale so I wrote this to try and get my feet back in, so to speak. Some people may have picked up on the fact that Ziva is my favourite character and I felt really bad for her that Gibbs and Tony weren't at her ceremony. It's not a romance (shock horror!) but if you squint you could find some. Oh, and don't forget to check out the NCIS Awards on live journal. I'm not quite sure when it all starts but soon. Happy reading!
Disclaimer: I am not associated or affiliated in NCIS in anyway.
He looks disappointed when Vance gives him his orders. But the way the Director is talking this is no laughing matter nor a time for arguing so he accepts because he has too. He only has one request, he wants to tell Ziva. She deserves to know, he argues. She is renouncing all her ties to her mother country, to her family, to her past so she can stay with them. The last thing he wants is for her to be worried about him. Vance agrees but only because he knows DiNozzo's going to blab anyway.
A fool could see that.
He tries to make a joke out of it but she's so disappointed that she can't even hide it. His face falls and he realises that he's disappointed to. Despite all his teasing, he's really proud of Ziva and he wanted to be there when she officially became a US citizen. But she puts on a brave face and she tells him that Gibbs is more important than her oath. He tells her she doesn't need to take an oath, that she's a true citizen to him already. He apologises again and he gives her a quick squeeze on her arm before he leaves. She can still feel his touch an hour later.
She's just being selfish really, she thinks as she smiles grimly. She has what she wanted. A new life and a new country, a job she loves, friends who have become more like family than her real family. She feels more like herself than she has ever felt before. She will be happy and she is.
Abby pulls her into an embrace and she manages a genuine smile. Her smile grows bigger as she catches McGee's proud look and she finds herself giggling as she hugs him. Palmer is beside himself and Ducky is beaming even more than usual. Even Vance holds out his hand to her and she gratefully accepts it. With so much joy around her, its hard not to let her spirit be lifted. All around her people are cheering and crying and she lets herself get swept up in it.
But she can't help but feel the empty places where Gibbs and Tony should be.
The smell of Mexico gets to him long before the sun starts to hurt his eyes. It is a third world country, he remembers, despite its position under one of the greatest, most thriving and developed countries in the world. There are so many people in this crowded market place and with his golden skin, he should stand out like a sore thumb but necessity (he doesn't want to end up dead) and training have assured that he won't.
That's what he thinks until Franks finds him and flashes his gun. It's almost as if the retired agent was looking out for him, almost as if he knew Tony was coming. Impossible, he would have said if the man hadn't trained the great and mighty Gibbs himself. He wonders briefly if the games afoot are bigger than he could possibly imagine or if it's just that Vance's response is predictable. Having Franks there could be a blessing or a curse.
And then the shot rings out and he sees Alejandro's body fall and he finds himself running towards Franks, gun drawn and blazing. Even though there's going to be miles of paperwork and hours of explanation and hell to pay, there's a thick silver lining in this dark and heavy cloud. Because it means he gets to go home, to see Ziva, to make things right.
They arrive back at headquarters to debrief. The look on Ziva's face when Vance tells them Tony's location says she has known all along. Abby looks miffed for a moment but she mostly bites her tongue and mostly keeps her opinions to herself. Vance ignores the moment and continues with his debrief. He knows its a farce and that they've pieced it all together by now anyway. Hernandez killed Shannon and Kelly, Gibbs killed Hernandez and now his children want to make Gibbs pay. Alejandro wants him dead and locked up and Paloma wants him to feel pain. Never mind the fact that Hernandez killed Gibbs's family first.
The debrief is done and the all-American team sit quietly around the table. They still don't know where Gibbs is.
The call comes from Mexico about three minutes before the call from Stillwater. Alejandro Rivera is dead and so is Paloma Reynosa. It's a convenient ending. A tidy little package. An ending that only Gibbs could have commanded. Almost anti-climactic but Ziva knows she isn't the only one sighing in relief. With the current head of the Reynosa drug cartel dead, the Mexican authorities aren't going to be interested in a twenty-year old murder case, even one that has been solved. For a time at least, Gibbs is safe again.
He turns up an hour later holding a bottle of champagne and a packet of plasic champagne flutes. She sets her mouth into a line and stares at him.
"Say what you have to say," he sighs.
"Are you injured?" she asks and he shakes his head like she knew he would. "Because there are only two reasons that I will accept for you missing the ceremony. One, you are dead. Two, you are gravely wounded and about to die. Since you aren't dead, I can only assume you are hiding a wound."
"I'm sorry," he utters for the second time in just a few short days. She looks taken aback. "Don't be angry."
"I'm not angry. I was worried," she says finally. She allows him a smile and she stands up. "And I accept your apology. You are here now and that is all that matters."
She walks around the table and she gives him a hug. He gives her a kiss on the cheek and then lifts the bottle of champagne up.
"Anyone?" he asks.
"Yes, please," Abby cheers.
Gibbs looks at Vance almost as if asking for permission.
"May as well pour me a glass too," the Director adds. As if he could stop Gibbs anyway.
"There's something else," he says, showing her a newspaper wrapped box. "I didn't have any wrapping paper."
"You didn't have to get me anything," she cooes but she takes it off him gladly. She unwraps the box and opens it to find a pair of white gold and diamond huggies. She gasps and fingers the earrings. "Gibbs, they are beautiful but I can't accept them."
"Yes, you can. They were Jenny's. Don't worry. I disinfected them first but I found them in a box and I thought you should have them."
"They are beautiful," she replies. She reaches up to give him a kiss on the cheek. "Thank you."
"Welcome to the country, Ziva," he says. "We're glad to have you."
She is not surprised to see Tony sitting on the front stoop of her apartment building when she gets there. She parks her car and walks over to him.
"The silly thing," she says, "is even though I knew you weren't going to be there, I kept waiting for you to show. I kept hoping some miracle would occur and the next time I looked, you'd be there grinning your stupid grin at me or even making a disappointed face."
"I wanted to be there," he replies. "You know I did."
There's a dark green (her favourite) gift bag on the step behind him and next to it a bunch of singapore orchids. He follows her eyes to them and he smiles. He picks the flowers up and hands them to her.
"For you. To say congratulations," he explains.
"They are beautiful," she smiles. She motions towards the door. "Do you want to come up? I can give you a play by play of the ceremony, maybe recite the oath?"
"Maybe just an abridged version," he suggests. He picks the bag up and follows her inside.
She lets him and tells him to make himself at home while she changes. He busies himself and when she comes out ten minutes later, he has set the table for two and decorated with small American flags and red, blue and white candles.
"You like it?" he asks nervously. It's been a whole minute and she's said nothing but he knows he sees the glimmer of tears in her eyes.
"It's wonderful, Tony," she replies. She looks around and takes it all in.
"That's not all. For dinner we have a classic, macaroni and cheese and hamburgers. And for dessert, apple pie and a selection of Hershey's chocolate. I bought double of the cookies and cream because I know it's your favourite," he adds with a flourish. "Sit, sit."
She sits and the first course is served. They talk until the last crumb of chocolate has been eaten and they are both so full that all they can do, and barely at that, is stumble to the couch.
"Tony, this is amazing. I cannot think of a more perfect end to the day," Ziva says. "But how did you find the time what with being in Mexico for the past twenty-four hours?"
"Honestly?" he asks and she nods. "I had it planned before this all went down. It was supposed to be a celebration, not an apology."
"You do not have to apologise, Tony. It is not your fault. It is what my oath was about. We do what we have to for our countrymen. This was different. This was for Gibbs. Our Gibbs," she says and he knows the matter is closed.
"I am happy about this, you know," he adds. "Despite all my teasing."
"I know," she replies. She looks around. "You wouldn't have done all this if you weren't."
"I am leaving you the cleaning up though," he jokes. "Partly because I can't move."
They are silent for awhile but when Tony opens his mouth, Ziva beats him to it.
"'Bugsy Malone' is already in the player," she says, tossing him the remotes.
"Jodie Foster at her finest," Tony grins. He flicks on the television and presses play. They settle in and begin to watch.
"Tony?" Ziva interrupts after awhile.
"Yeah?"
"I lied before, when I said you weren't my friend. You are my friend. Maybe my best friend."
He takes his eyes off the screen and gives her a big smile which she returns. He reaches over and takes her hand.
"Mine too."
He yawns and she smiles knowingly. It's been a long day and he'll be asleep within minutes. She isn't surprised when he is but she is surprised that he's kept hold of her hand. This could be the beginning of a beautiful best friendship.