A/N- hey people. Thanks for all the reviews. A lot of people have been commenting on the spacing but that's just my computer being annoying so I'm sorry the spacing is screwed up. O and for those of you who have read my other fic Forever&Always, Agent Sherling isn't the same person. I just like the name. I hope you like it and please review to tell me whether to continue or not.
Disclaimer- I own nothing of NCIS. Wish I did but those don't come true very often.
Director Leon Vance had just walked into his office at a very tiring 0615, when his phone began to ring. Upon examination of the number, it was determined that the caller is from the Middle East, Iraq to be more specific. Vance reached over to answer the ringing phone and his day became just that much more complicated. Agent Sherling was calling from Bagdad in need of another agent to come supervise a homicide. Instantly Vance decided that it needed to be a professional so he debated between someone from Team Gibbs or Team Balboa. Damn he swore to himself, Balboa and his crew flew out to NCIS Buenos Aires last Friday to investigate a double homicide. Well that left him four agents. All good but he needed to choose carefully. Gibbs couldn't leave. He heard from SecNav that on his hiatus, the entire team fell apart. McGee was a good agent, but not good enough. David was a superb investigator but they just got her back, so that left him with his man.
"Cynthia," he called through his speakerphone. "Have Agent DiNozzo report to my office ASAP."
A muffled "yes director" came back to him as Cynthia put down her magazine and started off to find DiNozzo. She really disliked the new director and wished that Jenny could come back. Well, maybe she could just finish that last page. It is a very interesting article and I'm sure that whatever Agent DiNozzo did could be fixed later, she thought.
Meanwhile, Team Gibbs was congregated in the bullpen catching up on paperwork when Tony got summoned to meet with Vance. McGee instantly perked up, hearing that the bully's going to the principal's office.
"Hey Tony, what did you do this time?"
He asked, almost knowing better than to make eye contact as DiNozzo fumed. McGee had learned the hard way (extra paperwork) that mocking Tony and looking Tony straight in the eye and dissing him were two very different things.
"Stuff it in the barf bag, McGoo. Maybe I'm being promoted. O yeah! Vance must have heard how good of a team leader I was when Gibbs went all mid-life crisis…"
A sharp blow was delivered to Tony's deserving head, eliciting laughter from Ziva, McGee and Ducky, Palmer and Abby who had come up to the bull pen by Vance's orders.
"You know that if you probably shouldn't keep the director waiting Tony."
He then rounded onto everyone else.
"Hey check your e-mail. Then finish up those cases."
Instantly McGee reached for his mouse as everyone except Tony (who was on his way up to Vance's) and Gibbs (who probably went for coffee) crowded around the monitor and silently read, each displaying different reactions. Ducky and Palmer went to sit down, deep in thought and trying not to show how upset they are. Abby burst full into tears and lunged for a sad looking McGee/ McPillow to cry on. Once everyone was comfortable, they looked up to see Ziva staring at the screen, unable to comprehend what it was telling her. Tony. The Tony was going to Iraq. Ziva thought to herself of the number of men she had seen go to a warzone and not come back. Tony can't join that group, she thought.
As the group all started mumbling and comforting one another, Gibbs popped out of the elevator with a cup of coffee and took in his distraught looking team. He wanted to tell them to stop looking pessimistically, but reality was standing in the way so he silently pointed to the catwalk where Vance and Tony, who was carrying a small camo duffle bag, walked out. Vance hastily explained to the team that Tony was leaving for Iraq in half an hour and that a replacement was going to fill in for Tony for three weeks. With that he clasped Tony's shoulder, wished him good luck and went back up to his office.
"Well guys, I guess I'll see you in a few weeks… if I come back cause that Iraqi atmosphere is supposed to be so charming."
Tony said to his teammates, unable to say a proper goodbye. Fortunately he had help with that as Abby came sprinting across the room and jumped onto Tony in a bone-crushing hug.
"Okay Abs. See you soon. No I'm not planning on dying. Yeah. Okay. Abs, I'm having trouble breathing."
The goth quickly released him and ran down to her lab for the comfort of her Mas-spec. McGee and Gibbs then both quickly shook his hand and told him not to die. Neither one of them was willing to admit how much they would care if he didn't come back. Ducky and Palmer bade their farewells and stuck around as Abby came back up for one last hug.
Once fully satisfied that Tony was properly hugged, she went over and leaned on McGee's shoulder. Ziva then quietly with the precision of a ninja stepped over to Tony, unsure what she should say.
"Tony, I have seen to many men go to war and to few come back so please come home. I will miss you annoying movie quotes."
Tony smiled and looked down at the Israeli beauty in front of him. He reached out and grabbed her hands, holding them loosely at his waist.
He then leaned down and whispered in her ear.
"Before I die, I need to know/ do five things and since I'm leaving in fifteen minutes, I can't die on this trip. I need to get Probie to admit that I am better than him in everyway, find out how Gibbs gets the boat out of his basement, see how Abby drinks that Caf-Pow stuff, know if Ducky's stories are true, and I need one more thing that you can give me".
Tears welled at the edge of Ziva's eyes, but she would never let them spill. She loved Tony so much. But what did he need.
"What do you need?" She asked him as he pulled her closer.
"This." He responded as he pulled her into a kiss. She instantly felt herself let her tears go, as she needed this too. Tony carefully held her face in his hands as he embraced her in such a passionate way; she never thought it was the playboy Tony. This was nothing like their undercover kiss, which was rough and only business. This was meaningful. As they broke apart for air, Ziva leaned her face down on Tony's shirt and for the first time in years, felt herself cry.
Tony was speechless. He'd always loved Ziva and the one time he did something about it, she cried. Silently rubbing her back, she looked around at his teammates who stood in the bullpen. Gibbs was smirking while everyone else was pulling out there wallets. Softly tugging at Ziva's hair, he directed her glance to the team to watch their reactions. With an un-Zivalike giggle, she let go of Tony and watched him walk into the elevator, giving himself a head slap as the doors closed.