Ziva slammed her laptop in frustration as she let out an exhausted sigh and rubbed her temples. It had been 4 long hours since the power went out due to the storm and she was stuck writing ALL her reports by hand, taking the stairs instead of the elevator, and manually making copies on the thousand-year-old copier down in storage. Ziva reached out and touched the long metal handle causing it to spring up and she remembered the first time she had to use the ancient machine. Ziva, Tony, and McGee had been huddled around it, eyeing it curiously, when she reached out, only to be met with the handle springing up violently, scaring the life out of her. She smiled weakly. Tony had been rambling on about having a flashback to the fourth grade and McGee couldn't fathom how the machine could copy without a scanner. All the while Gibbs watched on, amused.
"Uggghh" She really hated getting side tracked.
Ziva turned the wheel on the machine until she saw the tiny line of square brackets. She took the sketch and gently put it against the brackets while pulling down a second lever, holding the sketch in place. After turning the wheel three hundred sixty degrees, a blue copy of the sketch popped out the back.
"Last one" She smiled as she pulled a sheet over the machine, putting it back in a prehistoric slumber. Ziva carefully juggled the stack of copies that she made and her laptop as she headed back upstairs.
"Ziva! Wow, here let me help you with that" Jimmy Palmer exclaimed as he came out of autopsy.
"No, I am fine. Really" Ziva tried to reassure him as she stuck her feet out, trying to feel the ground in front of her.
Palmer playfully smiled as he pushed his glasses with his index finger.
"Are you sure? It's really not a problem."
"Jimmy, I appreciate it, but I think I can handle carrying my work by myself. I AM a big girl," She teased.
"Fair enough. But let me at least get the door for you." He countered. Jimmy's long arm reached out and firmly grasped the handle of the door as he held his phone for Ziva, illuminating the dark hallway before her.
"Jimmy, could you please reach into my back pock?" Ziva started when she turned her head and saw a terrified Jimmy looking back at her.
"Why..." He asked,
Ziva rolled her eyes. "Palmer! Reach into my back pocket and grab my flashlight!" Ziva yelled in frustration. MEN, she thought to herself.
As if on cue, Jimmy's eyes grew wide as he realized that Ziva wanted him to grab her flash light, not her… well anything else… back there.
"Right, sorry" Jimmy reached into Ziva's back pocket and produced a small black flashlight and held it up, not sure why she wanted him to grab it when he was already using the flashlight app on his phone.
"Ok, now twist the back to turn it on then just stick it in my mouth." Ziva calmly explained as Jimmy, once again, looked on in horror.
"For heaven sake, I want you to stick the flashlight in my mouth so that I can see where I am going!" Ziva jumped down his throat. Why did men have to constantly have their minds in the gutter?
"Ziva, I can walk with you and use my flashlight. I'm sure that would be a big help and PLUS we can chit chat." Jimmy happily said.
Truthfully as much as Ziva liked the idea of having someone to talk to, she just couldn't bring herself to talk to anyone… especially anyone at NCIS. Her and Tony had been having so many problems at home and it was now starting to affect them at work. The best thing they could do for each other was to just stay out of the other's way. She racked her brain as she tried to remember what they were fighting about, today. Their lack of communication? No, that was yesterday. Not spending any time together, alone? Nope, that was last week.
"Jimmy, you are a sweet, sweet man, but I assure you that I can make it back to my desk in the dark in one piece. I AM a ninja, am I not?" She asked playfully and immediately regretted when she saw the look of disappointment spread on Jimmy's face. She hated herself for it, but it was just the way she was. She would rather be alone than with company. She'd rather work than play. Ziva didn't know how else to be.
Jimmy slowly twisted the back of the flashlight and offered it to Ziva, who opened her mouth slowly, as he stuck the butt of the flashlight, gently, in her mouth.
"Good night Ziva" Jimmy said through a forced smile.
"Good night" Ziva replied trying not to drop the flashlight from her mouth.
As Ziva reached her desk, she saw Tony's desk cleared and snorted disapprovingly. "He didn't wait" she thought to herself, but secretly she was comforted by the fact that she could drive home in silence, ALONE. Setting the stack of papers and her laptop down, Ziva grabbed her bag, jacket, and hat as she headed towards the parking garage, but she stopped at Gibb's desk and ran her finger along the smooth, dusty surface.
"Good Night" She said under her breath.
The long drive home was filled with memories of better and happier times. She thought about how they were inseparable in the beginning of it all. They spent every waking moment together… and still it wasn't enough. After long cases at the office, they ALWAYS met up for beer and movies and Tony spent most of the night, enthusiastically, introducing black and white classics to Ziva that, according to him, were VITAL to American culture. Then when their eyelids became heavy, they made a fresh pot of coffee and spent the remainder of the night talking about "The Good Ole Days", as Tony referred to them. Most nights ended with the pair throwing themselves on the bed in a fit of laughter and secretly whispering sweet nothings when they thought the other was sleeping.
She'd never admitted it before, but they were in an impenetrable bubble and a constant state of Euphoria. "How did we get here?" She thought to herself. "How did they get to lonely car drives home and silent movies and dinners?" Ziva sighed, frustrated and too tired to think about it any further. Tonight would just have to be a repeat of other nights for them. She didn't have any energy left to argue with Tony today so she would just have to eat in silence and then go to bed.
Ziva pulled her car into the driveway and was surprised when Tony's car was nowhere in sight. "He must have finally left" She thought to herself as she opened the door to their loft and was met with an empty silence that never suited the, once happy, home. Ziva slowly explored each room, vigorously. "Where could he have gone?" She thought. Ziva's mind didn't dwell on her missing partner long before she realized that they couldn't argue and fight if he wasn't home. Ziva quickly ate, showered, climbed into bed, and grabbed a book when she heard the front door open. Her heart sank as she tried to prepare herself.