Summary:
Set right after Last Man Standing, Ziva is back with Gibbs team, Ducky asks her out for a drink to catch up for four months. Ducky/Ziva friendship, Tiva.
I do not own NCIS! Sadly...
Ziva relaxed in her chair, smiling to herself as she closed her eyes. This was her chair, the one where so many memories had happened. She felt a sudden urge to spin around, she was so happy just be back in NCIS headquarters as Mossad Liaison Officer Ziva David. So many memories flooded back at her, she couldn't quite grasp a hold of all of them.
When she had gotten out of the elevator, she had actually wanted to hug everyone, McGee, Gibbs, and Abby. But why did she feel so empty? She felt as if something was missing. She sighed and opened her eyes, staring over at the desk in front of her as she realized why. Tony wasn't there. Sure, he was a big pain in the ass and a nuisance with correcting her attempt at American idioms and quoting his movies, but she still felt as if he was a part of her.
"Ziva, my dear, what are you still doing here?" She turned her head away from Tony's desk and stared at Ducky, who was standing in front of her, "Are you going to head home soon? Do you have an apartment? If not, I will be more then happy to let you stay at my house for the night,"
"No, Ducky, I have an apartment, do not worry." She sighed, looking down at her desk, piling the papers together and carelessly shoving them into her backpack before standing up and slinging it over one shoulder, "I guess I will go home now. Do you think that that Chinese place that Tony always gets food from is still there?'
Ducky laughed, "It's only been four months, my dear, I am sure that Anthony's Chinese restaurant is still fully staffed."
"Only four…yes…" She mumbled as her eyes wandered off to Tony's desk again. Ducky followed her stare as he realized what she was staring at.
"Ziva, would you mind terribly if I took you out for a drink? I know that I am not young Anthony, but would you like to accompany me?"
Ziva smiled, snapping out of her trance, "That would be nice, Ducky, thank you."
"Well, come now, Ziva," he stuck out his arm for her and she let her sad smile grow larger as she placed a hand on his arm as they started for the elevator.
"Have you talked to Tony while I was in Israel?"
"No, Ziva, I'm afraid I did not. He didn't talk to you?" Ducky asked, rather surprised.
She sighed, "No. He didn't call, didn't send any letters…"
"He was in contact with Abigail, I know that." Ducky smiled, "Poor girl would got into hysterics every time she got a letter from him. Abigail had a wall full of postcards from Anthony…." he smiled, "But I don't understand why the dear boy wouldn't contact you, Ziva. I did get the feeling that he cared about you," Ducky said as they walked into the parking garage. He opened the door to his antique car for her and she smiled.
"Thank you, Ducky."
"You are very welcome, my dear." He said, closing the door as he got around to the other side and got in, starting the car, "So, Ziva, tell me, what did you do in the last four months?"
"Classified." She said, "I can not tell. It is classified, but I will admit that I did miss…a lot of people."
"Timothy?"
"Yes," She smiled.
"Jethro?"
"He is my second father."
"Abigail?"
"I especially missed her hugs."
"Me?"
"Of course, Ducky, of course I missed you and your stories!" She smiled, laughing a little, "Do you think that I forgot about you?"
"Well of course not, my dear!" He said as he parallel parked into an open spot in front of the bar. Ziva and Ducky got out of the car and started to walk towards the front door. It was rather quiet today, and Ziva realized that today was a Tuesday, which meant that the bar wasn't very busy. Soft, romantic music filled her ears as the two of them walked in, sitting down at the barstools. There were about ten other people in there, two people who were drunk, their heads slouched against the wall, a cigarette butt in their hand, at the bar. There was a couple in the very back corner of the bar who were in a heavy make-out session. Ziva let her eyes linger on them for a second or two before taking a seat down next to Ducky, "Well what about Anthony? Did you miss him?"
"Ducky, why the twenty interrogations?"
"Questions, Ziva, and I'm just a curious lad,"
She sighed, feeling a little defeated, "Fine, I-" She started, but was cut off by the bartender.
"Would you two like anything to drink?"
"An Irish Coffee would be excellent for me, young man," Ducky said.
"All right, for you?"
"American drinks," she smiled, "Whatever you have that is the strongest."
"Ziva, my dear, that is not good for you," Ducky said, turning back to the bartender, "My friend here will have a…martini."
"On it," The bartender nodded as Ziva pulled out her cell phone, flipping it open.
"Boss," She muttered, thinking about what Tony would have said if it was Gibbs giving him orders.
"Did you say something, my dear?"
"No, Ducky. You do not suppose that I can reach a cell phone that is in the middle of the ocean, yes?"
Ducky gave her a closed smile and placed his hands on top of hers, covering the cell phone as he slyly tried to pull it out of her hands, "Ziva, you're acting like a newly-wed wife whose husband has just been deployed in Iraq." She released her grip on the phone as she realized that she had been acting a little obsessive. Ducky managed to take it from her grip as he glanced at the phone.
DiNozzo it said, with his number written below.
"I suppose I am acting a little…holding, yes?" She asked, trying to figure out if that was the best word for the situation.
"I believe that you mean possesive, Ziva. And I do see a little bit from you, but it is typically normal when you do not see your lover for four months."
"Ducky!" Ziva exclaimed, turning in her barstool just as the bartender set down their drinks, a large, surprised smile on her face.
"Yes, my dear?" He asked, taking a big swig of his drink.
"Tony is not my lover!"
"Oh, I am terribly sorry my dear. I thought that you two were…intimate, but you were hiding it from Jethro. It is fairly obvious that you two have a…certain love for each other. Well at least from Anthony's side. But don't be rough on the poor boy. He's spent his four months on a ship! Now what you have been doing, I still wonder. But you will tell me in time." Ziva took a small sip from her martini, stirring it slightly by twirling the glass around in a circular motion. She stared down at the swirling liquid.
"Gibbs did tell you that a bomb went off in the club I was singing in in an undercover mission in Morocco, yes?"
"No, Jethro did not mention anything about that! Oh, my dear, I am terribly sorry." Ducky said, shaking his head and placing a hand on her arm, "You are all right, though? You seem very Ziva-like today." She smiled, "But your eyes," He pointed to them, "They're missing something."
"Ducky, I am fine." She tried to reassure him by patting him on the shoulder, "Only a little stitch up above my eyebrow, nothing major."
"Does Jethro know about this?"
"Of course. He and McGee contacted me and asked me how I was doing."
"What about Tony?"
She looked down at the ground, shifting her eyes away, "No, I did not tell him. I have not talked to him since the day Director Vance…since he fractured us up."
Ducky smiled, "Broke, Ziva, broke us up,"
"What?" Ziva asked, confused. Ducky shook his head, smiling in the process. He deicded to drop it and continue his prior questioning.
"And no one felt fit enough to tell Tony about your little brush with a bomb in a night club?"
"Not that I know of, and I do not plan on telling him."
"Why not?" Ducky questioned as she finished off her martini.
"I do not want him to….worry, yes? I am fine. Why worry about something that you do not need to?"
"What else did you do in Israel, my dear?"
She looked down at her hands, "Not many things that I was proud of. I…joked around with my Mossad partner. A one-night stand that went bad, yes?"
"Missing a dear someone a little too much, were we?"
"I do not know, Ducky." She gave up, flinging her hands in the air, "I broke off our short relationship right before my undercover mission in Morocco, and he…" She calmed down a little, sighing, "He did not take it well, Ducky." She turned and looked at him, her else glistening with tears that were threatening to fall as she stared at the Doctor's face. IT was an emotion that she'd let to learn yet. She could not decipher his face. Pondering? Probably. She motioned for the bartender to order her another drink as she realized that the two crack heads at the other ends of the bar had decided to go home. She also, out of the corner of her eye, noticed that the couple that had been making-out in the booth before had got up and left, leaving only her, Ducky, the bartender, and two other clearly single women who were chatting quietly to themselves across a table in the back of the bar, "What time is it?"
Ducky pulled out his antique watch, where it hung from a gold chain, and checked the time, "Twelve forty-five,"
"Oh," She quietly said, "I suppose I should be getting home now, thank you for the drink, Ducky."
"Anytime, my dear, and, if you ever need counseling again about Tony, please, come and consult me."
She smiled, "I will. Would you mind giving me a ride home, Doctor?"
"Not at all young Ziva, not at all." He paid the bartender and then held out his arm for her. Ziva smiled, took it, and then they walked out of the bar. He opened the door for her again, she thanked him, again, and the car ride to her apartment was silent, except for the bustling of Ducky's old car. So many memories were falling back to her as he stopped outside of her apartment.
"Thank you for listening, Ducky." She smiled, leaning over and kissing him on the cheek. She got out of the car and stood in front of her apartment, smiling. It would be the first time that she spent a night in her own place in her own house. She went to go and close the door, but she stopped mid-close and turned to Ducky.
"Yes, my dear?"
"That conversation we had in the bar…it did not happen, yes?"
He smiled, "I have no idea what you are talking about, Ziva."
"Thank you, Ducky." She smiled back, "Shalom."
"Goodbye, my dear. And think about what I said. Go and talk to him."
"I will."
"Lailah Tov." Ziva said, closing the door to Ducky's car as he rumbled away and down the street. She stepped up to her apartment door, put her key in, turned it, and then let it open up to her bare apartment, except for the sheet-covered furniture and the dozens of cardboard boxes. She flicked on the light and started for her bedroom. She flicked on the light again, threw down her backpack at the foot of her bed and ripped the sheet off of the bed, revealing her bed. She scanned the cardboard boxes that were piled in her room and finally spotted the one that said 'CLOTHES'. She pulled it out and flipped her knife out, cutting down the tape as she opened it up. On top were her sweat pants and her night shirt. She pulled them out and went to take a real shower.
In Israel, the water was never warm all the time, and it was never quite as plentiful as in America. She smiled, thinking about how much she actually missed America. After taking the shower, she slipped on her sweats and then pulled over the shirt. She looked at herself in the mirror. Her scar on her eyebrow was starting to disappear, from where the stitches were, and she smiled. By the time that Tony returned, he wouldn't notice. If he returns… Her mind whispered at her, and she tried to shake the thought away. She smiled at her choice of shirt. She had managed to take it when Tony wasn't looking from his house while he was packing. She knew that he was going to miss his all favorite 'Ohio State Buckeyes' t-shirt, but she wanted a piece of him with her. She turned off the bedroom light and started for her bed, crawling into the covers and turning off the light. It was quiet in her apartment, and her mind was haunting her with thoughts about Tony and Ducky's words.
His smile….
His hair…
His laugh…
Even Gibbs head-slapping him…
She missed it all.
She groaned and turned in her bed as she realized that she had yet to eat food. Her stomach growled in protest, and she realized that she couldn't sleep on an empty stomach. She sat up, placing her head in her hands as her stomach growled again. She glanced at the clock. It was one in the morning.
"I could kill for a pizza right now…" She muttered, and then flicked on the light as she pulled out the yellow pages before finding the number she was looking for. She grabbed the phone off of her bedside table and dialed the number.
"Hello? Yes, this is Ziva David…yes, I understand that it is late, but I am Tony DiNozzo's partner…yes…thank you. Thank you very much." She smiled, giving them her address as she hung up the phone. About ten minutes later, a rather large Italian man knocked on her door, revealing the pizza to her eyes.
"Large pizza, sausage, pepperoni, extra cheese?"
"Yes, thank you," She paid him, "Shalom," She said as she took the pizza, closing the door behind her. She knew that she didn't eat meat, but she felt that this was an urgent time for Tony's favorite pizza. She set the pizza down and went to her fridge, pulling out the only thing in there; an old beer that was also Tony's favorite, and placed it next to the pizza. He had given it to her four months ago, and she had yet to drink it. She searched through her boxes before finally finding the DVD collection that Tony had given her for a 'Goodbye' present. It was yet to be opened, and he stated that they were his favorites, but she didn't believe that Tony hada favorite movie out of all of his in his movie-obsessed world. She flipped open her knife and cut off the pesky plastic wrapper as she inserted the DVD into the TV before starting her night. She sat down on her couch, opening up the beer and taking out a slice of pizza, lazily eating it.
"L'chaim, Tony, Ani O'hevet Ot'cha," she said, raising her beer to the ceiling as the movie started.
So what did you think?
Umm...the Hebrew...let's see.
Shalom: Peace
Lailah Tov: Goodnight
L'chaim: To life
Ani Ohevet Ot'cha: I love you