Disclaimer: NCIS is not mine, I just play with the characters.
A/N Hmmm … here's the first chapter … long-ish to make up for the relatively short and shocking prologue. Hopefully I've done okay with the McGiva bits and the characterisations, let me know if I'm moving dangerously into the Tiva and Tony category. sigh Thanks to my beta, Kandon Kuuson. I know it kills him that it's not Tiva instead of McGiva, but he does it without much complaining so I really appreciate it.
Chapter One: How Did This Happen?
One Hour Earlier
"Are you sure you didn't see anything out of the ordinary?" Ziva asks, a little more forcefully than she should.
I can tell she's frustrated. We've been door knocking for two hours and it is getting us no where. No one saw or heard anything relating the death of Petty Officer Percy Gates. I've tried running his credit card bills, phone records and any other records I could access … but nothing. Luckily, Abby and Ducky managed to find a cause of death, poisoning, or we would have nothing to go on.
"You are one hundred percent sure," Ziva tries again, the frustration clearly showing in her voice.
"Yes," the elderly woman snaps. I guess she's getting frustrated with Ziva too. That's the fourth time she's asked and the answer has always been no.
Ziva glares at the woman for a moment before turning abruptly and storming off down the front path. I shoot Mrs Kendell an apologetic smile before following Ziva down the path.
"You okay, Ziva?" I ask as we reach the gate. She stops so I place my hand on her shoulder, stupidly, I must add.
She immediately shrugs off my hand and swings around to glare at me. I recoil unintentionally; I don't know how she does it.
"I am fine," she snaps, she looks at me with an apathetic face for a moment longer before swiftly walking down the street towards the next house.
Her abrupt exit forces me to blink twice. Okay, something is definitely wrong. I may not understand women as well as Tony, but I'm not clueless … despite what Tony might say.
"Ziva, wait," I call out to her. I am going to find the underlying cause of this. Ziva is not just a co-worker, but my friend as well.
"What, McGee," she snipes as she comes to a sudden halt, her hand resting on the gate latch of the next house.
"What's wrong?" I ask, knowing that I'm playing with fire.
"Nothing," she replied curtly, shooting me the same glare as before. Unlike last time, I don't back down.
"You expect me to believe that?" I say, returning her glare with a perplexed look. She studies my face for a moment, as if she doesn't quite believe that I'm not concerned.
"Yes," she mutters darkly, "as I can kill you without a mark on your body."
"Ziva," I say patiently. Her empty threats don't scare me … well, I think they are empty … hopefully.
"What?" she snaps again, glaring angrily at me. "We have a case to solve, yes?"
"Forget about the case…for a second" I say as I think. Luckily, Gibbs isn't here or I would have been slapped from here to eternity.
Ziva rolls her eyes. "Oh, the case …" Finally, a change of tone in her voice, it's not so snippy or snappy this time as it was before. It must be the case, I deduce.
"Is the case getting to you?" I ask, but immediately Gibbslapped myself for that comment. That was definitely playing with fire, and Ziva was a fire-breathing dragon.
She looks at me blankly. "No," she says, trying quite successfully to keep the emotion out of her voice.
However, I notice it just the teeniest little bit. I may not know women like Tony, but I did grow up with a sister and living in a house with Sarah for many years certainly tuned my ears into noticing subtle emotional hints.
I give her my best 'I don't believe you look', but all that achieves is a smirk from her.
"Nice try, McGee," she smirks as she unlatches the gate, "but I am fine." She turns away from me and proceeds to walk up the bricked path.
"Wait." I hurry after her. She stops again and sighs as she turns to face me.
"Yes," she sighs impatiently, staring at me intently.
Her dark eyes sparkle in the sunlight, making her look more youthful than she is … not that she's old or anything … not that it would matter … Ziva is gorgeous, everyone can see that … I'm not blind … I … I curse myself and shake my head. I feel the heat rise to my face and she smirks again, as if she did it intentionally and knows exactly what I'm thinking.
"I … erm …" I try. Damn, she is good. I swallow heavily and continue, "Talk to me Ziva, please?"
She softens, but only slightly, the impassive mask is still in place. "Just drip it, McGee."
"Drop it," I correct automatically. I don't like to tease like Tony does.
"Same difference," she replies with a small smile, but then that smile fades. "Thank you, McGee, for your concern, but it really is okay." She looks at me darkly, but then she brightens.
Suddenly, her hand whips out and she slaps me lightly on the cheek. Then she grins impishly at me. "You are all red, McGee. We would not want … Hannah Gray … thinking you are all hot and bothered, yes?"
My response is for the heat to creep up my face even more.
After speaking to Hannah Gray, the last household on the street, who, unsurprisingly, didn't know anything, Ziva and I walk back to the car. Ziva is quiet, and I can't help but wonder if I pushed the whole emotion thing too hard.
"Ziva," I start hesitantly. I do not want to make things worse, she seems riled, even if she's quiet, up enough as it is.
"Yes," she answers, but never slows her pace.
"I'm … I'm sorry if before I made you uncomfortable," I mutter weakly.
"Never apologise," she begins, "it's a sign of weakness." She offers me a flirtatious smile that would make any man melt. She certainly knows how to get off topic smoothly and quickly.
"Ah, I'm sorry …" I trail off and hope the ground opens up and swallows me whole.
Ziva smiles again, but says nothing, which is just as unnerving as saying something. She reaches for the driver's side door handle, but I quickly reach out and grab it before her hand meets the metal. I, in an odd sort of way, can't help but feel a little proud of myself as I grab the door handle before Ziva. Unfortunately, this is short lived.
Within moments, Ziva had grabbed my wrists and used her body to pin me against the car. The heat on my face is rising steadily, and she knows it. She grins at me.
"I'm driving, McGee," she breathes into my ear. Her warm breathe tickles my earlobe and I'm rendered temporarily speechless.
When she sees that she has me all flustered, she's smirks and pulls away. While I'm still in my daze, she slips into the driver's seat and revs the engine, making me jump.
She smiles sweetly at me. "Am I to leave you here all day, yes?" She adjusts the gears on the car before looking back at me.
"McGee," she barks, in a very Gibbs-like manner. "Get in the car."
"Yes, boss," I reply automatically, two seconds later realising what I had said. My eyes widen as Ziva gazes at me with a smile.
"Boss, am I now?" she smiles wickedly.
"I … erm …" She doesn't usually get me this tongue-tied, so what is so special about today. "Slip of the tongue?"
I sigh. I've called boss boss, Tony boss and now Ziva boss. Soon you'll have me calling Ducky or Abby boss, and that's not good.
"Just get in the car, McGee," she repeats when she notices that I haven't moved. "Or I really will leave you here."
"Right, bo … erm … Ziva," I stutter, quickly changing my first train of thought.
I stumble over a rock as I attempt to reach the passenger's side. Ziva snickers and watches me amusedly. I finally make it to the passenger seat, but before I can open the door, Ziva leans over and opens it from the inside. She flashes me a smile.
"Ah, thanks?" I say as I climb into the car.
"I just did not want you tripping up as you open the door," she smirks before pressing her foot down on the accelerator. "I think it would be best if you held on," she says with a wide grin.
"Ziva … err … you might want to slow down," I suggest as Ziva speeds around a corner.
"Now why would I want to do that," she shakes her head, a cheerful grin on her face. Only Ziva, and, okay, Gibbs would enjoy this kind of driving.
"The speed limit is 60," I state as I grip the handle above my head tighter, knuckles whitening.
"It is?" Ziva says and she, I believe, is deadly serious, or we can add acting to her list of things she's good at. "So?"
"So … so," I start to get a bit agitated and my shoulders tense up. "The rules are there for a reason, Ziva."
"So?" she calmly says again.
I sigh in frustration and run my hands over my hair. I am starting to feel a little green so I rest my head against the window. The car slows down a little and I see Ziva look over at me, but she does not say anything. The car slows down even more and I can feel the tension leave my shoulders.
I sigh with relief and offer her a small smile in return. "Thanks."
"What for," she asks as if she has no clue. Nevertheless, she does not speed up, so I thank her again in my head.
It is silent for a moment before she asks, "So about last night …?" She grins cheekily at me.
I groan, and stare out the window, hoping that she takes my silence as a 'do not go there' silence. She doesn't.
"Come on, McGee," she chuckles, "it wasn't so bad."
Yes, it was and unfortunately, it seems that Ziva is going to hold it over my head for a while. Does she know what blackmail is a federal offence?
I open my mouth to hopefully give a dignified reply, but a flash of movement catches the corner of my eye. A trick of the light … no … I don't think so …
"Deer!" I yell loudly and point to the blur that is about to make its way across the road.
"What?" she utters in confusion and takes her eyes off the road to look at me. "Dear what …?"
"No! Deer!" I scream and point furiously at the road. "Deer on the road!"
Her eyes immediately flicker back towards the road and for a brief second, I see a flash of panic and fear wash over her face. Almost as quickly as it comes, it disappears and Ziva yanks on the wheel, driving me into her shoulder.
My head bangs onto her shoulder, but I am unceremoniously flung back the other way as Ziva swerves rapidly to a avoid hitting the deer. She jerks to the side again and my head bangs onto the window. My vision is momentarily blurred as black dots start forming in front of me. If there was any time for a prayer, it was now.
I hear Ziva's strangled yelp and that brings me out of my near state of unconsciousness. I blink and the scene in front of me clears. It would seem that we have left the road and now fighting our way through scrubland. As much as it hurts, I glance over at Ziva who has gone pale and is jerking the steering wheel left and right, trying to keep us steady. I feel my stomach lurch forward as I realise we are rapidly descending a hill.
Ziva lets out a small gasp as the car skids sideways. The steering wheel is totally out of control and Ziva knows it … the car is completely out of control. As we continue spiralling downwards, the car slips again and I once again find myself on Ziva's shoulder.
As the car slides sideways, Ziva stifles a shriek. Okay, if Ziva is starting to freak out, than this is defiantly time for a prayer. Ziva is still trying to get the car under control again, but it is no use. We are going downhill … fast. I know we must soon come to a stop so I immediately thrust out my hand and fling it over Ziva's chest, a reflex action that just might offer her some more protection. Subconsciously, I know that the combined force of the crash and Ziva could quite possibly break my arm … but my arm is better than Ziva's skull in the long run.
As the car comes to a shrieking and sudden halt, I am flung forwards. I manage to keep my arm over Ziva's chest as my head slams into the windshield. The last thing I hear is Ziva's unintentional scream as my world goes dark.