Title: For Lack of a Better Idea
Pairing: Tiva, with slight McAbby
Rating: K+
Summary: After his awkward morning with Gibbs, Tony sets out to talk to McGee and Abby about the current situation. Gibbs finds it necessary to intervene as well.
Tony paced outside of McGee's door. This time yesterday his biggest worry was a foolish looking mustard stain on his new tie, and now here he was worrying about bearing his soul to his stoic boss, being ditched by his friend and looming, nearly buried feeling for his partner. Before he got the courage up to knock the door opened to a giggling goth.
"Tony!" She threw her arms around him and whispered in his ear, "please don't kill Tim." She released her grip and lead him into the apartment.
"Now why would I ever think of doing such a horrible thing?" He scanned the apartment and found his victim sitting casually at the table with a content smile on his face. "Maybe because he left me at the bar? Nah. Because he stole $60 from me? Because he gave that $60 to a cabby for a ride that only cost $25? Or because he sent me to Gibbs' house drunk as a skunk at 2 in the morning?!" His voice rose with each sentence, but both McGee and Abby seemed relatively unfazed.
"Good morning, Tony," McGee said with a smile. "Have a good morning?"
"You know perfectly well what kind of morning I had."
"Ooh, grumpy." Abby poured some tea and sat next to McGee, entranced on the dueling pair as if watching a zamboni.
"Tony, listen-"
"No McDitch you listen! You left me at the bar! And sent me to GIBBS! Really? Was that a great idea? Was it??"
McGee and Abby exchanged glances and then broke out into giggles and chuckles. "Yeah, actually it kinda was." Tony frowned, pouted and then finally succumb to exhaustion and sat at the table with them. "Tony, honestly, I didn't leave you in any danger. The cab was there in less than 15 minutes, you just really didn't want me to give you a ride home."
"Oh, is that right? Why, did you start taking driving lessons from Ziva?"
"No, but close." Shifting slightly in his seat he fiddled with his fingers. "You were uncomfortable with the idea of me having a girlfriend and you didn't. More as me having a girl to go home to and you didn't. You got really bitter about it actually."
Tony looked back and forth between his two coworkers and shook his head. "That's impossible. I'm happy for you guys, really! You know that, right Abby?" Her eyes were compassionate but her expression looked like she was holding back. "Right?"
"Of course we do, Tony! But…"
"But what?"
"But you were jealous that Timmy got me and you couldn't get Ziva."
Tony froze.
"I made him tell me, I swear!" Abby exclaimed, hoping he wouldn't get mad at either of them for talking about him, even his inebriated self.
All of a sudden Tony threw up his walls and laughed with a frat boy smile. "Ziva? What are you talking about, McGee. Maybe you had a little too much to drink last night too because-"
"Don't make me show you the video." McGee's expression was somber and entertained at the same time. Tony paled.
"You took a video??"
"You made me."
"I MADE YOU?" Why would I make you take a video of me? That's ridiculous!"
"You wanted to call Ziva and change the situation and I wouldn't let you. You agreed to give me your phone so you wouldn't call her if I sent her a video message that was exactly 30 seconds long, that way you wouldn't 'waste her night away' or something."
Tony paused and weighed his options. If McGee was lying, then there'd be nothing to fear. Then again, he forgot an entire Friday night, so he didn't want to chance it. "Tim, I'll give you whatever you want if you delete that video right now. Money? I can give you money. Here, take it," he pulled out his wallet but McGee shook his head.
"I already did, Tony. The only copy is in your personal email."
Letting out a sigh he finally let down his defenses. "Well… where do I start to ask?" He ran a hand over his face and let out an exasperated sigh. "What did I do?"
McGee looked over at Abby with a small grin. "Well.."
"Tim. Please. Spare me the taunting, just give it to me straight."
"You sang."
"…I sang?"
"You sang very well, actually." McGee sipped his coffee nonchalantly, "Frank Sinatra never sounded so… poignant."
"Under My Skin?"
McGee shook his head, "All or Nothing at All."
"Ooh, classic. First ever recorded by Sinatra.."
"Yeah, it was also very telling." McGee still had that impish smile that Tony wanted to smack right off his face.
"Tony, you really need to tell Ziva how you feel."
"I usually don't care much about your date life, but I have to agree with Abby. This really isn't good. For you, for me or for Gibbs."
"Yeah- about that! Why send me to Gibbs McTattle?!"
"Where was I supposed to send you? Home, where you could barely get out of the cab, let alone to the fifth floor? Abby was here with me and I was apparently the last person you wanted to see. It was either Gibbs or Ziva. Lord knows what Ziva would have killed you with if you ended up on her doorstep in the state you were last night."
Tony pondered his reasoning for a minute and decided to let him live. He was right, it was the lesser of all evils.
Abby sighed. "You should ask her out." She said it straight and simple as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"Me?" Tony was genuinely caught off guard.
"No. Timmy." She smacked him upside the head. "Of course you. Gibbs must have given you his blessing, otherwise you wouldn't be here to talk about it."
"Well I don't know about that.." Tony stood up and paced around the small apartment. "I don't see this ending well. At all! Gibbs' rule is right: we're coworkers!"
"Abby and I are coworkers."
"That's different! You don't see each other ALL the time, ALL day like Ziva and I do. What if-"
"What if what, Tony? Really, you have nothing to lose right now."
Tony look dejected and stopped. Abby saw the hurt in his eyes and stood in front of him with a gentle arm on his hand.
"What if what? What were you gonna say?"
He hesitated a moment before answering, then finally, nearly impossible to hear he said, "What if I mess up?"
---------------
"Is there a reason you are parked outside my apartment, Gibbs?" Ziva leaned into the open passenger window, a hint of amusement in her voice.
"Yup. Can we go inside and talk?"
Sensing the serious tone in her boss' voice she nodded slightly and continued to her apartment. He followed her in a step behind, taking in his surroundings.
"Nice apartment. A bit smaller than the last one."
"Yes, well," she headed towards the kitchen for some water, "the last one was a bit overdone, and since Eli is no longer funding my stay here.."
"Ah, downsizing."
"Yes." She walked past him and towards her bedroom. "Help yourself, I need to change."
Gibbs sat himself at the kitchen table, wondering how he got there. Yes, of course he had noticed the difference in dynamic of his team throughout the years, but usually it went unaltered, untouched by anyone but those involved. He was used to the changes that set his team apart from the rest, but in the most recent year it had changed to a point where it was something to be fixed, instead of letting it take its course. In this case he had to involved himself.
Ziva returned in a more relaxed shirt and sweats, obviously not wanting to take the time to shower with a guest waiting.
"Is there something wrong, Gibbs?"
Now that was a loaded question. "How have you been Ziva?"
The question took her off guard. "You showed up on my doorstoop to ask me how I've been?" She paused and saw the gleam in his eye. "Door step."
"I didn't say a word."
She shook her head, almost irritated, "No but there is a small Tony voice that just did."
"Oh?"
She took a step back as if she was caught. "No, not that I mean- well, he is always the one-"
"Take a seat, Ziver, I didn't mean to put you on guard." It was odd that it felt so natural for him to invite her to sit with him at her own kitchen table, but she obliged after grabbing him a coffee and her a glass of water. They sat in silence for a few moments, Gibbs not knowing where to start and Ziva not knowing if she wanted to even ask.
"Gibbs, if there is something wrong I would much rather you just spit it out." A thousand thoughts ran through her head. Was someone hurt? No, then he would be more of a rush. Surely someone did not die and put him in a somber mood. Maybe she was being let go from NCIS? Why would he be here to tell her that on a Saturday instead at work, or even with a phone call?
Instead of words he passed the note McGee had scribbled to the cab driver across the table. He watched her eyes scan it with confusion and a small chuckle.
"This? This is what you came here to show me?"
He nodded and shrugged slightly, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Thought you should know."
"Know what? That Tony had allowed himself to become so intoxicated that he had to be dropped at your doorstep?"
"No," he leaned in a little more and with a lower voice he told her, "I thought you should know how much power you have over him to sober him up at the drop of a reference. Wanted to know what you knew about that."
She squinted at him with no more than pure confusion. "Gibbs, I am not understanding what the point of this is."
"Ziver, don't tell me you don't see this."
"I do not see why you came here to tell me of Tony's drunken antics."
"Because they were because of you." His words were strong, not in anger but in confidence. "Because of both of you. With whatever little thing is going on or isn't going on I had to pick my senior field agent off my basement floor as he worried about going against my rules about wanting to be with you."
She didn't say a word. To Gibbs' surprise she did not seem stunned by his words or even phased by them at all. If anything she sat up straighter, more… forced.
"I am sorry that this… his feelings have involved you. That is unprofessional."
"You knew." She nodded. "You knew about his concerns over wanting to be with you and breaking the rules?"
She stood and took her glass to the kitchen, obviously just trying to busy herself. "Yes." She looked around for something to occupy her hands and found nothing so turned back to her boss with frustrated eyes. "We have talked about this before, so yes, I knew. And he knows my feelings on it, too, and we agreed that we cannot."
Gibbs stood and walked towards her, the kitchen bar counter separating them. "I think you need to check this agreement again, because it doesn't sound that way from his side, not from what he told me." He moved towards the door, "You two need to talk about this, before it becomes a problem at work."
"Gibbs." Her voice stopped him and she walked towards him. "It may not be an appropriate question, but why, other than it affecting our work, does it bother you enough to come to me on a Saturday?"
He turned slowly, and with gentle eyes and a soft grin he shook his head. "Ziver, you may not believe this, but I care about you, and Tony, and Tim, more than just my team. My rules are my rules. Not yours. Not Tony's. If you can make it work, than do it. If not, then at least be on the same page with each other."
His previous words had just registered with her and her eyes widened slightly, "He… told you? What did he tell you exactly?"
"Enough to convince me it's a safe bet to come and talk to you and trust I'd walk out of here alive, Ninja Chick." He grinned and turned towards the door again.
She couldn't focus on any single thought, too many running through her mind at once. She was unaware of how much time had passed, but when she looked up he was gone, leaving her with her own questions to be answered.
She walked to the bathroom and turned on the shower, letting the steam fill up the small space before she stripped her clothes and stepped in. She rested her forehead on the cool, smooth tile, chastising herself for being so apparent that Gibbs had to come and talk to her.
Who does Tony think he is, telling him our… dilemma? Well, the other half of the dilemma, one would surmise, but her mind kept on. Does this mean Gibbs is telling us to squash it? Or does he want us to try? Is this his way of giving approval? Again, obviously she told herself he approved otherwise he would be banging down both their doors telling them to knock it off. How am I supposed to make this ok? How do I even start the conversation? And by Monday? I probably will not even see him before Monday! Her thoughts were cut short by her phone beeping right outside the shower curtain on a side table. She patted her hand on a towel hanging on the wall and flipped open her phone.
It was a text from Tony.
"Coffee? 5pm? See you there."
Well, that answered the last question. Gibbs' voice resounded in her head, 'If you can make it work, than do it.'
A/N: Wow! Definitely didn't see that sort of response coming! So I had this chapter prewritten and changed a little more than half of it to incorporate more character interaction (instead of just Tony and Ziva talking it out) so hopefully it turns out okay! I think I know where I'm going with this, but I kind of feel a few different plot bunnies pulling me in different directions.
Betherzz: Thanks for following me! I promise I need to finish my country list fic, its just been so gloomy over here it makes me want to write for all of the angst songs!
.: I LOVE drunk Tony fics, and i usually try to keep them light hearted, too many angst drunk fics right now.
SemperFiNeverForget051909: I was actually afraid people would think I was pushing OOC for them, so thanks!
And thanks for all of your reviews, they definitely keep me cranking stories out! The more reviews I get the faster I write.... true story. ;D Seriously, thanks for all the kind words. Hope you like this one, definitely going to be a LOT of comedy in the next chapter!