Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own NCIS....

A/N: So.... here we go, my first multichapter fic in english. You'll have to thank Cable Addict and Vamp for that one because without them I probably would never have translate that story. It's actually finished (in french) so if the translation goes well and the interest is there (so you know what to do....) the following chapters should not be too long to come. So a huuuuuge thanks to Vamp for correcting my billions of mistakes and agreing to beta this story. Cable, I do not forget you, thanks for encouraging me to post it and proofreading (was that a word.... who knows) it.

I hope you'll like it...Don't forget to let me know what you think!

Lyana

Chapter 1: Partners

As always, traffic was horrible at this time of the day and the young woman behind the wheel was quickly losing her temper. She passed a few cars recklessly and finally ended up between an eighteen wheeler and a truck, earning herself a chorus of angry blaring of horns from the other incredulous drivers. Ziva smiled and turned up the volume of the rhythmic music playing on the radio, thinking about her partner: he would probably reproach her driving, again.

She was eager to reach her apartment. The day has been long and had ended with their latest case; which could have turned out very differently. The explosion on the golf course had confirmed a terrorist cell. She had at least avoided for them to be all blown up by a few kilos of C4 earlier on the boardwalk, even if that Sharif had ran away.

Then, she remembered Tony's face, up there on the beam of that warehouse ceiling, earlier that morning. She couldn't help but smile. He had protested vehemently against her idea, maybe a risky one, she had to admit, but he ended up following her anyway and the only thing he found to ease the tension of the moment were those comments about her cleavage… typical DiNozzo.

She came back to reality with a start when she realized that she was about to miss the exit leading to her home. Not missing a beat she cut through traffic again, causing another round of car horns.

***

DiNozzo had just left the NCIS building, exhausted after finally giving Gibbs a version of his report that satisfied the bossman. He felt as he ended up in risky situation a lot too often these last few days. Apparently, Ziva had a way to bring him with her in the crazy ideas that only she could come up with. He would never have let her climb up that ceiling alone to disarm that bomb, neither would he have left her on the boardwalk, they were partners!

Then, he thought about what she had said up there, sitting on that beam. Had he changed that much since the director gave him that undercover case? Obviously, he was hiding some things from Ziva, he couldn't deny that but it wasn't as if he had a choice. Madam Director had been formal, not a word to anyone, including his partner. He was certain that she would end up suspecting something because he was closer to her than anybody else on the team, let alone the fact that she was a Mossad officer.

"How long are you hoping to fool her, DiNozzo?"He thought for himself.

They had a rocky relationship, most of the time, and he wasn't sure what to think about her at first. But slowly, they had become friends, best friends even. The idea of something more between them may have crossed his mind, but he wasn't going to admit that to anyone and since he had to see Jeanne, it was out of question. He didn't have much time for her and it had become tense between them. They still teased each other all the time, but they didn't spent good time outside the office together anymore. But the part he hated the most was lying to her, especially because he knew that she wasn't fooled.

Sighing, he took the highway leading to his partner's apartment. It had been too long since the last time they shared dinner, spending the night watching movies and playing piano. A few months ago, it was almost a tradition, at least once a week he would show up at her place, she would cook dinner. He would try to help and she would push him out of the kitchen, annoyed. She would try to teach him piano, usually ending up threatening him. He would choose movies that she hadn't seen, an easy task since she preferred books and they would fall asleep on her couch. He also had to show her that he wasn't as bad as a student that she thought and that he actually practiced the last song she taught him. Trying to reach her on her cell to inform her that he was stopping by, he went straight to the voicemail. He wasn't any luckier with her home phone. He supposed that she was stuck in the traffic with her insane music playing way too loud in her car, and he decided that he would meet her at her place. Anyway, she was more than capable of throwing him out if she wanted to be alone.

***

The young Israeli had finally reached her apartment and she parked her car in its usual place in front of her block. Closing the car door behind her, she heard her cell phone ringing in her bag. She started going through her things to answer it, but before she could reach it something hard came violently in contact with the back of her head. She fell to the ground, unconscious.

TBC...

Read and review please....