Hey, just wanted to say thanks for all the great feedback and encouragment with my writing. It's a great inspiration to me.

Chapter 3 – Together Again

The next day…

Mandouki dock, Potamos Bay

Tony sat in a helicopter, flying towards the dock, sighing with relief. He was finally off that ship…with something to investigate. The call that came through to the ship was quite cryptic…telling him that a petty officer had been killed and not to wear anything drawing attention to NCIS. He was also told that the liaison that had made the call in the first place would meet him at the dock.

Slowly, the helicopter began to land. About 100 yards away, he could see someone standing beside an old Landrover jeep. They were wearing jeans, a white vest top, black sunglasses and a black hooded sweater with the hood up. This was obviously his liaison.

As soon as the helicopter landed, Tony grabbed his gear and hopped out. He began to head towards the jeep, and his liaison. As he came closer, he could tell the liaison was female, from the shapely figure.

At about 40 yards away, the liaison began to move towards him, slowly at first before breaking into a sprint. At first, he thought he got it wrong…that this wasn't his liaison…it was someone about to kill him. Then, the black hood of the girl sprinting towards him fell down, releasing a mass of dark, lightly curled hair and he knew straight away.

"Oh my God! Ziva!" He exclaimed, the biggest smile spreading on his lips as he dropped his gear, preparing to hug her.

Ziva jumped into his arms; holding him as tight as she could, she buried her face in his neck. Tony squeezed her back, just as tight, burying his nose in her mass of curls, taking in her familiar, sweet smell, before gently kissing her bare neck. A touch that did not go unnoticed by Ziva, who suddenly shivered.

They reluctantly pulled apart, still taking each other in. Ziva raised her hand to smooth down Tony's shirt collar, a smile permanently fixed on her lips. "Tony…I can't believe…you were the last person I expected." She managed to spit out.

"Ditto." Tony laughed. His hand stroked her hair, before grazing her cheek, then her lips. His eyes were intensely focused on her, staring at her, in disbelief. Ziva turned her head to avoid his gaze, in an attempt to stop the goosebumps spreading throughout her body.

"C'mon…there is a lot I have to fill you in on." Ziva stated, grabbing one of his bags.

"Okay." Tony replied, silently wondering if Ziva had just given him the brush off as he picked up his bag and quickly followed her.


Tony stood before the body, a swarm of fly already attracted to it. He had his camera out, taking photographs. Ziva stood behind him, keeping her eyes peeled, making sure no one spotted them.

"Ziva, I still don't understand what you expect me to do." Tony stated, continuously clicking his camera, never taking his eyes off the scene. "I mean, the original crime scene wasn't secured, you'll not even let me see it or let me bring in the person you witnessed order the killing."

"Tony cut me some rope please." Ziva pleaded.

"Slack Zee-vah…SLACK!" Tony corrected.

"Whatever." Ziva replied. "Tony, we've worked really hard establishing this operative and I can't let you bring in our target because it'll crush our mission. My father and my control officer are already mad at me for contacting NCIS."

"So why did you Ziva?" Tony asked, stopping taking pictures to look at her.

"Because I thought this petty officer deserved to make it home to his family, to be laid to rest." Ziva answered. "And I thought NCIS supplied more of a chance of that happening rather than the Greek police."

"And of course, NCIS might be able to tell you who this petty officer is, why he was here and why would he be involved with your target, yes?" Tony retorted.

"Well that too." Ziva replied, forcing her hands into her back pockets.

"Maybe if you tell me about your operative, I might be able to help." Tony suggested.

"Tony, it's classified." Ziva stated clearly.

"Ziva, this is me!" Tony retorted, hurt that Ziva didn't automatically trust him.

"And it's still classified." Ziva replied. Tony looked at her questionably. "All you need to know is Elias Petrakis is an extremely dangerous man."

"Ziva, you're still here?" Tony and Ziva both turned to find Rishon walking towards them. "Anthea's shift at the kafenee-oh starts in 20 minutes."

"It's part of my cover…I work at a traditional café during the day and sing at the local bar at night." Ziva explained to Tony. "Oh, and my name is Anthea Callas." She noted him looking at Rishon, taking him from the bottom up. "Tony…this is my control officer Rishon Baran. Rishon…this is Tony Dinozzo." Ziva smiled at Tony. "He was my partner at NCIS." Tony returned the smile.

"I hope you took care of her." Rishon stated coldly, offering his hand for Tony to take. Although it was a nice gesture, there was nothing friendly about it.

"I'd like to think so." Tony replied, just as coldly. He took Rishon hand, both men squeezing each other's hands as tightly as possible.

"I'm going to go." Ziva said, noticing the tension between the two boys. "Rishon …help Tony if he needs it." She placed her hand on Rishon's chest. Tony couldn't help but notice the intimate manner.

"His clearance?" Rishon asked, as if Tony wasn't even there. Ziva glanced at Tony before returning her attention to Rishon.

"On need to know." Ziva replied, her hand still on his chest. She leaned in to him. "Please play nice." She walked away…both Rishon and Tony watching her leave.


Ziva walked towards the kafenee-oh, ready to start her shift. She had gone back to her room to change. She was now wearing a short ra-ra skirt, with a lemon cami. Her dark hair was straightened and tied back in a neat ponytail. She had spent the last 20 minutes silently praying that Tony and Rishon would not kill each other.

She shuddered at the feeling of tension between them. She had always known Rishon to be jealous…even seven years after breaking up with him. And, Tony had sometimes displayed jealous behaviour when other men showed interest in her…the memories of Agent Brett Langer and Michael coming back to her…but it was always out of concern.

As she entered the kafenee-oh, she spotted Elias Petrakis sitting in her section. She forced her biggest smile and headed towards him. "Yassas Elias." She greeted him with a smile, her Greek accent firmly in place.

"Anthea, my lovely." He replied, with his forced Greek accent. He smiled at her. "I am so sorry about last night."

"It okay." Ziva replied. "I know you busy man." She was trying her hardest to sound like she was struggling with her English.

"You are very understanding, my lovely." Elias said. "Let me make it up to you with a late dinner at my place, after your performance tonight."

"That is very kind." Ziva replied. "Efharisto."

"Oh, my lovely…there is plenty of ways to thank me." Elias said, kissing Ziva on her cheek before leaving. Ziva kept her smile firmly in place, even though she felt disgusted by his touch…after all, she was a professional.


Tony was in Ziva's room along with Rishon. He had just finished a phone call on his cell and was closing over his phone. "I've arranged for the body to be moved and taken back to America." Tony stated, looking at Rishon. "With the most discretion possible, of course."

"Thank you." Rishon replied. There was silence.

"I mean, there's not much I can do." Tony said, breaking the silence. "Saying I can't draw attention to my investigation." He was obviously annoyed that he could not conduct the investigation the way he wanted.

"Have you any information on the sailor that may help us?" Rishon asked.

"Aahh…it's classified." Tony replied smugly. If they weren't giving him any information, either was he. Rishon just rolled his eyes. "So is this the first time you've worked with Ziva?" Tony asked. He was desperate to get to the bottom of the intimacy between them.

"First time as her control officer." Rishon replied. "Me and her were partners when she first joined Mossad, when she was just 18."

"That must have been fun." Tony laughed. "For her first few months at NCIS, I felt like strangling her every 5 minutes."

"No…she was and probably always will be the best agent I ever worked with." Rishon replied. "Just don't tell her I said that."

"Ah don't worry…nothing worse than Ziva with a big ego." Tony said. "So um…how long were you partners?"

"A few years." Rishon replied.

"And why did you stop working together?" Tony asked. Rishon was silence. "Sorry if I'm prying."

"No, it's cool." Rishon replied. He took a deep breath and ran his fingers through his hair. "I um…I screwed up." Tony looked at him, his eyes questioning him.

"And you couldn't fix it?" Tony asked.

"No…I couldn't." Rishon replied.

Just then, Ziva entered the room. "Oh, you both haven't killed each other…how nice." She simply stated before flopping into an empty chair.

"Have you made any progress?" Rishon asked, standing up. Ziva glanced at Tony, then Rishon.

"He wants to have a late dinner…at his place." Ziva replied.

"This is perfect!" Rishon stated.

"It's only perfect if we take the right plan of action." Ziva observed.

"Obviously Ziva." Rishon muttered. "I'm gonna go work on it." He pointed at Ziva. "And you…."

"Are going to do my sound check." Ziva finished.

"Yeah." Rishon agreed, before nodding to Tony. "And take him with you." He disappeared into the bedroom.

"Charming." Tony muttered while Ziva just smiled.


Ziva and Tony walked towards the bar. "So part of your undercover identity is singing in a bar." Tony stated. "How have you not been found out yet?"

"Hey!" Ziva laughed, pushing Tony as they walked. "I can sing…in fact I have a lot of fans."

"Yeah…dogs." Tony answered, rubbing his arm. He almost forgot Ziva's strength. Ziva laughed.

"I really missed you teasing me." Ziva said.

"Does Rishon not tease you?" Tony asked, still trying to get to the bottom of their partnership.

"We're still trying to figure each other out." Ziva replied, putting a strand of hair behind her hair. "I mean, a lot has changed. Wee were both so young when we first worked together." Suddenly, Ziva's eyes noticed Elias' goon Stefan heading in their direction. "Shit."

She pulled Tony over to the side of the building they were walking past, hoping they weren't noticed. The force of it caused Tony to fall into her, their bodies pressing against each other.

"What the…" Tony began to question her actions.

"Kiss me Tony." Ziva ordered, knowing young couples in love kissing in public was extremely common in Corfu and was often ignored. She could see in Tony's eyes that he was questioning her reasoning. She groaned, knowing she'd have to make the first move if they were going to escape unnoticed.

She cupped his face in her hands and pulled him close, crashing her lips against his. She quickly felt Tony relax, his hands beginning to explore her body and the kiss grew softer, more sensual yet passionate. Ziva herself began to relax, her fingers now nestling the fluff of hair on the nape of his neck, but in her mind she was silently praying Stefan had passed without noticing anything.


To be continued…if you want!

In the next chapter…the mission continues and Ziva begins to open up to Tony.