Spoiler Alert: This chapter, obviously, is set during episode 9x10 "Sins of the Father."
Ratings Warning: Please note that the rating has been changed from K+ (PG) to T (PG-13), mostly for the final scene in this chapter. It's not smut, and there are definitely much more graphic pieces out there, but my romantic writings are usually very mild. So for me, this is easily the most risque stuff I've ever written. I'm quite shocked at myself! *blushes*
Gibbs watches from behind his desk as DiNozzo Sr. smiles at Ziva and hugs her to him right in the middle of the bullpen. "Ziva," he gushes, "you look as ravishing as ever." And Ziva makes no move to stop him; far from it, she actually turns her head towards Senior so he can kiss her cheek.
Gibbs's face betrays nothing, of course – it never does – but he has to grind his teeth together to keep his anger in check, because right now, he'd like nothing so much as to grab Senior, pull him away from Ziva, and punch him right in the face. He isn't hugging her anymore, but he still has his slimy paws on her shoulders. That bastard... The urge to punch him is so strong that Gibbs's hand leaves his mouse and clenches into a fist.
Tony glances over at them from where he's standing by the monitor with McGee, and he doesn't look any happier than Gibbs at the sight of Ziva and his dad together. It makes Gibbs wonder which one of them is more bothered when those two mock-flirt.
"Junior, when are you gonna come to your senses and sweep this gorgeous creature off her feet?"
For the briefest moment – so quickly that no one else notices – Ziva looks straight at Gibbs and giggles a bit. Gibbs is sure that she's playing her little game again, trying to provoke him into doing something that will reveal they're in a relationship. She's probably hoping that he'll get up and growl at Senior, "She's mine." Or maybe she's just looking at him to see if he's as amused by the idea of Tony sweeping her off her feet as she is.
"It's just a minor bump in the road," Senior tells her of his arrest, "but it'll all be sorted out soon, right, Gibbs?" He looks over to Gibbs for an answer, but Gibbs only glares at the two of them, standing there together, looking so damn cozy. His knuckles, still in a tight fist, brush lightly, dangerously, along the edge of his desk.
Gibbs is sure he sees Senior stare at Ziva's ass when she leaves the bullpen to talk to Massey's ex-wife a moment later, and that makes him even angrier. He still hasn't forgiven Senior for touching Ziva's ass when she went on a date undercover with him last year – even though they weren't together then – and he probably never will. Just the thought of another man touching Ziva's ass makes him want to pull out his Sig.
When Agent Dorneget accompanies Senior from the bullpen, Gibbs tells him, "If he gives you any trouble... shoot him."
xXx
Dammit, Gibbs, what were you thinking? That's what he asks himself as he hauls the cot upstairs from the basement and gets clean sheets out of the linen closet. What was he thinking when he agreed to let DiNozzo Sr., of all people, spend the night at his house? But Tony had looked so crestfallen at the idea of his dad staying at a detention center...
Gibbs fixes the cot up for Senior and the couch for himself. He only sleeps in the bed in the master bedroom when Ziva is with him. On the nights when she doesn't come over – and obviously she isn't coming tonight, with Senior here – he takes the couch in the living room. He's never tried it, but he's sure that he would feel depressed and lonely sleeping in that big bed by himself, without Ziva's warm body next to him. On the narrow couch, there's no room for self-pity.
He sets the cot against the wall on the opposite side of the living room, thinking about how Senior is used to much more luxurious sleeping arrangements. But so help me, if he complains - Then Gibbs almost panics when he sees the book lying on a nearby end table. The spine is on the opposite side, and the writing on the cover is in Hebrew. Ziva must've forgotten it the last time she was here. Gibbs snatches it up and quickly hides it in a drawer. God, if Senior had seen that...
He remembers the doubtful looks on the guys' faces when they found out Senior would be staying with him. They don't know their boss is pissed at Senior over Ziva, but they still knew it was a bad idea. It had been his bad idea, too, for Ziva to go on a date with Senior the last time he was in town. Really, just what the hell were you thinking?
He's not going to break out his steak recipe for Senior, so instead, he makes a pasta dish that he's cooked for Tobias before. The evening goes well enough until halfway through dinner, when Gibbs suddenly finds himself transfixed by Senior's left hand, which is resting on the table next to his plate. Gibbs stares at that hand for a long, hard moment, wondering angrily...
Is that the hand you touched my Ziver's ass with?
"What was that?" Senior asks, looking up from his plate, and Gibbs freezes as a cold dread runs through him. Dear God, did he really just say that out loud? "Did you say something, Agent Gibbs?"
Gibbs just shakes his head and hastily gets up from the table to put his dishes in the sink. He tries to avoid looking at Senior for the rest of the night, lest he suddenly be gripped by an overwhelming urge to interrogate him, find out which hand he touched Ziva's ass with, and break each one of its connecting fingers.
xXx
Jealous. The word lodges itself in his brain as he sleeps on and off, listening to Senior breathing on the other side of the room. He tosses and turns on the couch, but no matter how hard he tries, he can't stop hearing that word. Jealous. It repeats in his head until finally Gibbs looks up at the ceiling, sighs, and admits it. Yes, he's jealous.
He's jealous because Senior hugged and kissed Ziva in the middle of the bullpen, in front of the guys and everyone else. Meanwhile Gibbs, who's been in a relationship with her for months now, still rarely lets himself be affectionate with her in public, and never in front of anyone they know. He still grinds his teeth to keep silent, rather than tell anyone they're together – even though Ziva is already tired of keeping it a secret.
Gibbs rubs his jaw, which is sore from all the teeth-grinding, and he knows that he can't keep up the charade much longer. Something will have to change soon.
xXx
Finally, Gibbs says to himself after Senior and Son have left. In retrospect, he tries to figure out which idea was worse – letting Tony's dad spend the night at his house, or letting both DiNozzos cook a turkey in his kitchen. But he's glad that Tony seemed to reach an understanding with his dad, and he's grateful for the peace and quiet now that they're both gone. He missed it almost as much as he misses Ziva. It's been too long since she stayed the night at his place.
In his kitchen, Gibbs wipes down the counters and floors easily enough, but there's a scorch mark on the ceiling above the stove that he doesn't know how to get rid of. He's putting the dirty dishes to soak in the sink when Ziva arrives. He hears the front door open and close, then he turns to find her in the doorway of his kitchen, grinning at him. At first, Gibbs thinks she's amused by his appearance – hair disheveled, sleeves scrunched up, shirt smeared with grease – but no, she's just happy to see him. She's missed him, too. They see each other constantly on the job, of course, but it's not the same as being together outside work. They haven't been able to do that since before Senior arrived, and it feels like it's been forever.
"I missed you," Ziva says, crossing the kitchen to him. She smiles against his mouth as she kisses him, but her hug is carefully distant, to avoid touching his greasy shirt, and Gibbs frowns. A hug at arm's length won't do after he's missed her so much.
His hands are still wet with cold dishwater from the sink, and he reaches behind her, slips one hand beneath her shirt, and toys with the bare skin of her back. Ziva gasps as his fingers send chilly drops of water running down her skin. She arches her back and steps closer to him to get away from his hand, until their bodies meet, and her small, perfect breasts press against Gibbs's chest. She raises her dark eyes to his blue ones as she realizes how he's tricked her.
Gibbs smiles smugly as he removes his hand from under Ziva's shirt and wraps his arms around her, holding her close. "That's better," he says softly.
xXx
In his dream that night, he's standing in front of the monitor in the bullpen while Tony and McGee rattle down a report on a suspect. It's business as usual until Ziva passes by, smiling at him, and Gibbs grabs her, lifts her up, and throws her across his desk to have at her. In the illogical world of dreams, somehow everyone is now in the bullpen watching them – not just the guys, but Director Vance, Abby, Ducky, and even Palmer – but Gibbs doesn't care because he's so lost in the frenzy, with Ziva's legs wrapped around his waist, her nails scratching at the back of his neck, and her voice in his ear, breathlessly urging him on.
He wakes up before the dream can reach its climax. It's early morning – faint sunlight gently streaming in through the crack in the curtains – and beside him, Ziva is already awake, sitting up in bed and absently reading one of her Hebrew books. Fortunately, she's all too happy to throw it on the floor and turn her attention to Gibbs when he wakes up sweaty and aroused.
There is still more to come, but that was probably as "hot" as things will get in this story.
