Ziva found Tony in the shadow of several palm trees a few metres from the water's edge. With company. As she neared them she could not hear what was being said, but when both started laughing freely she saw red. She marched over determinedly and stopped in front of them, her hands poised at her hips.
"Tony." Her voice was harsh, accusing almost.
"Ziva" he nodded nonchalantly, smiling slightly.
She took in a deep breath as she eyed the woman next to DiNozzo. She was blonde, good-looking and only clad in a bikini. Exactly the type of woman she used to be jealous of when they'd started dating. Oh, who was she kidding.
"Hi. You don't know me, but trust me. If you want to keep your pretty face I suggest you get lost. Now." She told the blonde in a sweet sing sang voice.
The other woman had the decency to get the drift and really did leave with a last furtive glance in Tony's direction.
Ziva huffed as she watched her walk away.
"Was that really necessary?" Tony asked as he leant back against the tree.
"Yes" Ziva hissed. "Now are you done getting a sunburn out here, it's 17.00 already."
"No" Tony stated, as he crossed his hands behind his head. "I'm not done. I enjoy it out here, watching the sea, the hot women…" He could Ziva's face harden at his words. "I think I will stay a while longer. I can do whatever I want after all. It's not like we're… *married* or anything." He wore a fake grin and Ziva just crossed her arms.
"Stop being so immature, Tony."
Tony just laughed. "Whatever Zee-vah!"
"What's that supposed to mean?" She was lashing out at him.
Tony got up slowly, making to stand in front of her. His voice was dangerously quiet. "I'm not the one being immature here. You going all Xena warrior princess on someone I talked to, *that* is immature."
"Oh please, she was a bimbo."
"Was there a reason you came all the way down here?" He changed the subject.
"Ben has been asking about you."
"Where is he anyway?"
"Playing with the kids from the family occupying the house next to ours."
"Huh."
Both stayed silent. Tony on one hand didn't want to say anything. He wanted to stay mad at her, keep fighting with her, to make the stabbing pain he felt hurt less. Ziva on the other hand didn't know what to say.
The last few times this had happened, nothing was required of her to say. There had always been a distraction. A case, a car crash, Ducky's heart attack a few months ago. And all had been well again. But this time? She suddenly doubted it.
"This is a first" she tentatively said as Tony took to watching the waves. "Me having to apologize."
Tony just huffed but otherwise gave no response. So she tried again. "It's hard to apologize if I don't know what I'm apologizing for."
That made him smile lightly. "Makes it hard to forgive you, sweetcheeks."
She reached out and touched his cheek with her hand, turning his head towards her, her hand never leaving his face.
"I love you, Tony. I wouldn't want anybody else to be the father of my child. Isn't that enough?"
Tony thought for a moment. "I love you Ziva. And I want to be with you for the rest of my life. And I want others to know that you're mine. And I want to see you go all Xena warrior princess over women I talk to, cause I have to tell you, that's hot-"
Ziva interrupted his rant with a swat to his chest. He was smiling now. "I want you to be mine, Ziva. And I want the world to know how happy you make me."
Ziva came nearer to him, her hands grabbing the lapels of his shirt, her mouth moving over the skin of his neck to his ear.
"I remember a very impressive tattoo on my hip saying I'm yours" she whispered seductively and let her lips softly move over the space below his ear. Tony took a deep breath and shuffled his feet to take a more relaxed stance as his hands wound around Ziva's hips. She had gotten that tattoo after the last time he'd proposed. It just said 'Anthony' in a delicate tasteful black lettering. Simple and elegant. One of Ziva's hands meanwhile moved to the space between his shoulder blades where both knew his own tattoo, acquired a week after hers, was. 'Ziva'.
Tony couldn't help himself as his hands roamed her back, her lips doing wonders to his neck. But he had to shake himself out of this love and possible-sex-in-the-near-future imposed haze.
"Ziva, are you trying to seduce me so I will forget that you rejected me again?" He grabbed her head and stared at her with a hard look.
"Tony I do love you", she said again and he just nodded, before crashing his lips down to hers.
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McGee massaged the bridge of his nose, pacing the room adamantly. Sure he and Abby had fought before, but always about mundane and trivial things. The salad dressing, the Christmas tree decorations, which toothpaste to buy. But this… man, this was serious.
He couldn't think in his house, he needed another environment. One where he was used to dissect his thoughts and re-evaluate them. And since Abby had gone to visit Ducky, that let him only one option. He grabbed the phone from next to his typewriter, dialling the number by heart.
"Hello?!" Why did she always have to sound so damn irritated? It's not like she never used the phone.
"Sarah? Hi it's me, Tim. Listen, I need a favour…"
"Tim, this is really a bad time. Luke and I-"
"Sarah please. I need you to watch Maddie, just a few hours."
"Why, what's up? You and Abby had a fight?" Tim just sighed and pitched the bridge of his nose again. "Oh my God, you did have a fight!"
"Sarah. Can you take her or not?" He really wasn't in the mood for this now.
"Sure. Tell her we'll go watching dinosaurs."
"Great. I'll bring her over. Bye."
He hung up and made his ay upstairs to Maddie's room and opened the door hesitantly.
"Maddie?"
She sat on the floor, colouring in her favourite book. As soon as she saw him, she beamed at him. "Hi Daddy!"
McGee stepped further into the room, avoiding stepping on any crayons or worse, Lego bricks, and sat down on the floor opposite her. "Hey Princess. I have a surprise for you."
"Really?" She moved over to him and crawled into his lap, looking at him expectantly. Tim stroked over her blond hair lovingly. "Remember how you were watching 'Night at the Museum' with Tony and Ben last week?"
Maddie scrunched up her face, apparently deep in thought. "The one with the dinosaur and the pretty Egyptian princess?"
McGee nodded. "Yeah. And now guess where your aunt Sarah wants to take you this afternoon?!"
Much to is chagrin, his daughter started squealing mercilessly. "The museum! The museum!" She threw her arms around his neck and let herself be picked up as McGee rose from the floor.
"Okay okay, hold you horses, Sweetie." He faced her seriously. "Because Sarah said she'd only take tidy girls to the museum. But seeing what your room looks like-" He hadn't even finished as Maddie suddenly wriggled out of his grip and dashed around her room, trying to get all her toys and Lego bricks into various boxes.
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It was late in the afternoon by the time Gibbs had finished *one* of the stacks of paper work in front of him. He sighed and rubbed his hands over his eyes. He damned his post of director as well as himself. If he didn't have the urge to play field agent all the time, he wouldn't be behind his schedule all the time. Maybe he should consider giving Cynthia a pay raise.
A knock on his door interrupted his train of thought.
"Come in, McGee!" He called, not taking the eyes off the next document to sign.
McGee opened the door and checked its backside briefly on his way to Gibbs' desk.
"Huh. How did you know it was me?"
Gibbs just raised an eyebrow at him. "Because it was you the last 6 times someone knocked on my door today, Elf Lord."
The younger agent just pursed his lips and nodded, rocking back on his heels. Gibbs grew irritated. "Is there anything you wanted?"
"Oh yeah, right, Boss. I'm done with the sequencing in MTAC, the diagnostic system of the FFTH is running, the back up links are updated-"
"McGee."
"-so is there anything else I can do for you?"
"McGee? Why don't you… go home?" When said agent didn't answer immediately, Gibbs sat his pen down. This could take a moment.
McGee ruffled through his hair and shot his boss his most hopeful look. "You sure there's nothing you need looked into?"
"McGee" Gibbs voice became threatening. "Abby's not pregnant, is she?"
Tim was taken aback. "What? No!" He shook his head as Gibbs let out a relieved breath. "Wait. What would be so bad about Abby being pregnant?" Gibbs laughed relievedly. "Because you were a nervous wreck for nine months, Tim."
"Yeah. You try living with a pregnant lunatic for nine months…" McGee murmured.
Gibbs took a deep breath and became serious again. "McGee. Any reason you don't want to go home?"
McGee evaded his piercing gaze. "Don't know if you'd understand, boss." He sheepishly confessed.
"Understand what McGee? Being married? Because believe me, I do. Been there, done that, got the t-shirt even."
McGee realised he wasn't going to be let off the hook and took a seat opposite of Gibbs. He leaned forward and rested his elbows on his hips.
"Abby and I kind of had a fight. And now we're avoiding each other, afraid we'll say the wrong things and make it worse."
"I hate to break this to you McGee, but there is no *right* thing to say. Believe me."
McGee smiled slightly. "Yeah. I thought as much."
"Good. Now get lost and make sure I don't see you on my way out in thirty minutes."
Tim nodded and with a last look out of Gibbs window, made his way over to the door. The sun was already beginning to set. Damn. Abby would not be happy.
"Oh by the way" he remembered, as he stood in the doorway, "Tony called. Ziva said no again."
Gibbs just laughed to himself as he watched the door close. She sure was going to break his best agent's heart one day.