A/N: For those of you who were upset over the Charlee/Ziva thing, I wrote 'Run In The Rain' just for you. xD Oh, I should have cleared this up as well: Charlee is YOUNGER than Tony, so if I refer to him as 'the younger agent,' well… it's Char. I don't own anything. Enjoy.

Ziva sat in the corner of Abby's lab, trying to gather her thoughts while he friend sympathetically watched, only wanting to know what was wrong. She just hoped that Charlee and Tony would not have a chance to go anywhere private - she knew they'd fight, and that was the last thing she wanted. But this time, if anything happened to Charlee, she'd back up Tony, no matter what. That one thought brought a smile from her face, that quickly vanished when she heard Abby's voice, barely audible over the music.

"Tony! Hey!"

Her eyes widened and she stood up to watch the scene. Tony must have seen her, for after he muttered a quick hello that she didn't see, he turned sharply and left. Puzzled, she just stared after him. This was wrong, this was all wrong. Why were men always jealous?

"Geez, what's wrong with him?" Abby asked, turning to Ziva for answers.

Ziva shrugged and tried to come up with the best answer possible. After a few short moments she finally mumbled, "It's complicated, Abby, but I'll… fix this." She forced a smile for her friend and wheeled out of the lab, following Tony's steps. If she was lucky, she'd manage to meet him in the elevator.

Ziva David was not lucky.

Oh well. With a sigh, she tried to push the issue to the back of her mind as she waited for the elevator. Tony was obviously jealous again. It was possible that he'd already 'talked' to Charlee. Her heart sank at that idea. Perhaps it would be best if she went to check on her newfound male friend. Deciding the elevator was taking too long - probably stopped by Gibbs, conferencing, or Tony, trying to calm down - she begrudgingly took the stairs.

Half-way up she noticed two FBI agents coming down the stairs, chattering nonstop. One sounded like a young female, and the other was obviously Charlee. She rolled her eyes and just continued up until they met in the middle. Ziva wanted to stop, but his "Hey, baby!" caused her to turn.

Some thing always stopped her from getting angry at his "baby"s. She forced a smile that quickly melted into half genuine when he returned it. "Charlee," she acknowledged, "Agent Fen."

The female FBI agent nodded politely to her. "So you're THE Ziva. I've heard a lot about you from Charlee…"

"Oh, really?" Ziva asked, conversationally, curiosity manifesting itself at the back of her mind. "What has he said?"

"Just the usual things," Cherry Fen winked. "Look, we have to get these files down to Ducky… the elevator seems to have issues. We'll see you around. Charlee?"

While his companion kept going, Charlee leaned over the banister separating 'up' and 'down' to kiss Ziva. She allowed herself to enjoy it, trying to push the image of Tony's anger out of her mind. This wasn't right, why did she enjoy it so much?

"See you later," he grinned again, punctuating the sentence with one final kiss. "Bye, Ziva!"

Ziva nodded to him and waved, standing to watch him catch up to Agent Fen. Her mind wandered, not really on the scene in front of her. If she'd paid attention, she would have seen Charlee's obviously sexually inclined behaviour towards the woman beside him. It was obvious from a distance, though she was too busy thinking to notice.

"Bye, Charlee," she finally whispered, before realizing she was standing in the middle of the stairs, staring.

***

Tony sat in the elevator, hands on his face. The metal was cold beneath and behind him, yet he didn't move. He'd been in there long enough to break Gibbs's record time locked up in the elevator. It was on emergency stop, as always, though he knew nobody would respond to a sudden shut down of this elevator. It was normal. Even probationary agents got used to it after a while, but not without several muttered curses and something that sounded suspiciously like "Gibbs."

Thoughts ran through his head a mile a minute, his breath coming in deep and slow as he tried to calm down once again. Charlee had been one thing. He'd expected to get angry, frustrated, but he'd expected to break the young agent as well and scare him away from Ziva. That damned FBI agent had the courage to stand up to him though.

Basically calling Ziva a possession was not a good thing. He had tried so hard not to hit the other man. Thank God he didn't. Ziva would probably never talk to him again, not after what he did to her last boyfriend. Rivkin.

Would she ever learn anyway? He went across the world to save her. He could have died. That part wouldn't have fazed him too much. It had been a suicide mission anyway, he hadn't really expected to come back home, especially with Ziva alive. No, the worst part was when he found out she was dead.

Still, he wanted nothing but to part Charlee and Ziva. They would just be a train wreck anyway. Charlee hadn't made a good impression by immediately flirting with the female NCIS agent, not to mention the other things he said. Tony shuddered, biting his lip. He'd have to move from the floor soon. Just not yet.

***

"Why won't this open?" Ziva sighed, slamming her open palms against the elevator again. "Tony, come on, open this…"

He wouldn't hear her, she knew, but she spoke anyway. Her partner had been in there for half an hour. The entire office was grumbling as they marched slowly down the stairs (which she made a point of avoiding to avoid Charlee). Her only choice to open it now was to bribe Abby into helping her. If there was a switch, she couldn't find it. Unless…?

Her fingers skimmed a small panel. On the bottom of it were the tiny, jumbled words "elevator." With a sharp intake of breath, she pried it open to find three separate buttons. One red, labeled 'emergency stop,' one blue, labeled simply 'emergency - doors,' with the last green one stating 'start.' She pushed the green button rather forcefully and heard an intake of breath behind her as the entire office waited to see if she'd finally get Tony out of the elevator.

They all released the breath together as the elevator began to whirr. After about a minute, the doors slid open. Looking up at her was Tony. She flashed him a smile even though he obviously didn't want to see anybody and stepped in. Ziva practically punched the lowest floor button, though when their silver container started to move, she hit 'emergency brake.'

The office upstairs was probably cursing him (and her) again.

"Tony," she gave him a smile and sat down on the floor beside him. He'd probably have moved if she hadn't just cornered him.

"Ziva," he replied, voice neutral and eyes on anything but her.

"You need to leave the elevator," she pointed out with a yawn. "Come on, Tony, where it's a slow day or not, the whole office's cursing you."

"Is that all you came here for?" he questioned, face turning into a glare.

"I… yes," she paused, "but I also want to talk to you. Tony, you do not need to be jealous. It is irrational. Charlee and I are…"

"I get it, Ziva," he growled. "Just drop it, okay? I get it. I have no right to be jealous. I have no right to think of you as really anything but a co-worker. I have no damn right to think anything about you, because you don't give a damn. Not to mention, you're Charlee's."

"I am… what? Tony, please," she cried out as he stood and punched the emergency brake hard again, feeling the elevator jump to life. She grabbed his arm and forced him to look at her. "Tony, I…"

The elevator doors slid open now. He wrenched himself out of her grip and stalked down the hallway, far away from her. "Tony," she called after him, once, twice, with no avail.

***

Later that evening, Ziva sat in her apartment, staring at the T.V. without really paying attention. Images flashed by. Reports of the dead marine, with footage showing the NCIS agents (including herself) on the scene the first time. She did notice when the camera crew zoomed in on herself and Charlee, followed by herself and Tony. Since when had there been a camera crew anyway? A resident must have called the news.

A knock on the door jolted her out of her thoughts. She opened it without bothering to check who it was, already sure of the identity of the newcomer. Charlee stood with a smile on his face, a rose in his hand. "Hey, Ziva!" he greeted her, leaning in for a kiss that she reluctantly allowed him.

She backed up into her apartment, and he followed her, placing the rose on a small table by the door. He shut it graciously and stared at her with a hungry gleam in his eye. "Ready for a repeat of last night?" he asked, winking.

"I…" she trailed off. Maybe keeping her mind of Tony was a good thing, but she didn't want to do this, not tonight. "No, I am tired, Charlee. Goodnight. Feel free to stay if you would like."

"Can I join you?" he asked hopefully, but she just smiled politely in reply. Taking this as a 'yes' he took off his coat before following her into the dark bedroom. She was already laying, pretending to be asleep, by the time he got there.

"Good night, Ziva," Charlee nodded to her. He didn't sleep, however, just took in the sight of the bedroom. If anything, he was angry at her for denying him, but she was just a woman anyway. He could replace her fast if she ever did that again. Cherry Fen seemed interested enough in him.

His eyes scanned the pictures across the bedroom. On the end table beside the bed - his side - he could see two different pictures, both framed and shining in the gloom. The man reached to turn on the light, hoping it was on low enough to allow Ziva sleep (at least for now). Each of the two pictures was entirely different, obviously taken at different times. He took the first one, studying it. It was labeled 'the team,' although there was a woman with firey red hair he'd never seen before - oh, he'd love to meet HER. Ziva was standing in front of Tony, hands on his arms. Even though she was smiling, she seemed to be trying to get his hands off her hips, though not trying hard. The other was just her and Tony.

This picture was different by far. She was far skinnier, with scars and wounds standing out, and she wasn't smiling all that much. He looked much the same, beat-up and tired, but he was smiling. His arms were around her waist - this time she didn't seem to care - and his face was pressed into her hair. This photo was labeled "Tony & Me, after Somalia."

Why would she keep such a memento, he wondered, staring at it. Probably because it featured DiNozzo, and they were both alive. Charlee's eyes narrowed as he realized that in both pictures, she was far too close to her partner. Maybe he'd have to have a talk with DiNozzo. Tomorrow, anyway.

He put it back and turned off the light, drifting into sleep, at least for now.

***

Sometime later he woke up to Ziva's gun in his face. "Woah, Ziva!" he cried, pulling the covers up for what little protection they'd offer. "Calm down!"

She blinked sleep from her eyes and dropped the gun. "Sorry," she muttered, too tired to really care when he leaned over for a kiss which she accepted without thought. "Mmm."

"It's 4:30, babe," he whispered. "You gotta go to work soon enough. Same here. But I know how to wake you up…"

"Charlee, not…" she started, but found him ignoring her. Fine, she thought, and allowed herself to enjoy his kisses.

A/N: Please don't hurt me. :c If you noticed, there are a few hints as to what'll happen later so you people can enjoy Tiva soon enough. And so I end this with 'please don't hurt me.'