Disclaimer: I own absolutely nothing.
A/N: Happy Holidays everybody, sorry it took a little longer than I mean to get this thing posted but with family visiting and being stuck in a house with limited internet access, it wasn't easy finding time. This is probably one of the chapters everybody has been waiting for, of all of the suggestions people have been giving the most popular demand by you guys was for me to write a chapter with this song.
Lucky for you, that was my intention all along.
A big shout out of congratulations to Taylor Swift, without her song writing and singing skills this story would never have been written. Taylor swept through the CMA and AMA awards, taking home the most awards including Entertainer of the Year for 2009. She was also the first Country musician to EVER win a VMA award (Boo Kanye!) AND she has been nominated for eight Grammys!!! Here's to hoping she takes them all home later this month! I'm glad to see that Tiva fans obviously aren't the only ones who like her songs!
Chapter 3: I'd Lie
Ziva was still angry at Tony but at least she was speaking to him again, that was a good start he decided. Sure, she was speaking only in terse monosyllable answers but at least it was something. Tony wasn't too worried, he knew he could fix this; the problem was that he couldn't seem to get alone with Ziva to apologize. Every time he tried to arrange an encounter, the boss sent him and McGee out to interview someone, Ducky interrupted in search of Gibbs or Abby called to see if he had apologized to Ziva yet.
He had acted a little rude when Abby did that, just another apology he would have to make later. Could his week get any worse?
Actually it could.
Since listening to Ziva's iPod and getting the lyrics to Taylor Swift's song "Fifteen" stuck in his head for 24 hours straight, he had vowed to avoid the blond singer's music for at least two weeks.
Unfortunately fate had other things in mind.
While waiting for his coffee the radio in the shop had decided to play "You Belong With Me" and the girl behind the counter knew all of the words and sang along. Then while watching TV the night before a trailer came on for a new movie coming and the song played in the trailer was "Love Story", finally when he was waiting dry cleaning the DJ on the radio announced that in celebration of Taylor Swift sweeping the AMA awards he was going to play one of her songs and the lyrics to "Tim McGraw" floated through the air.
He was really beginning to hate the country star.
It was while he was pondering why karma was out to get him that he finally spied an opportunity to corner Ziva. Gibbs had tossed her the keys to gas the truck so the team could investigate a home invasion and Ziva was heading towards the elevator.
Quick as a flash Tony ran towards the elevator and jumped in before the doors closed, startling Ziva before she could protest. Tony laughed gleefully, "I've got you now."
She pushed the stop button on the elevator, "What do you want Tony."
"To apologize."
That surprised Ziva and her eyes stopped flashing anger but instead settled into something else, something like hope. With that bit of encouragement Tony continued, "I shouldn't have implied that you liking Taylor Swift is wrong, I talked to Abby and apparently a lot of people connect with her songs. If that is the case then her music must really mean something to you."
"It does," Ziva admitted, a wistful look on her face that had Tony wishing he could read her mind.
"I really didn't mean to pull a Kanye West and rain on your parade, she may not be my taste but that doesn't give me the right to insult you."
For the first time in days Ziva smiled softly at him, "Well I suppose it was not completely your fault…I could have reacted better."
Tony smiled at her now and held up a hand for a peace offering, "So do you forgive me or do I have to worry about you killing me with a paperclip."
Ziva grinned and shook his hand, "You only have to fear me if you decide to once more explain the genius of Monty Python."
"Oh come on! Can't I at least do my Holy Grail impression?"
She held up a finger, "I'm warning you Tony if you even think about it…"
"Alright, alright deal." He said still grinning from ear to ear. After a second Ziva noticed his gaze became serious again. She wasn't prepared for his question, "Who is he?"
Ziva looked at him confused, "Who is who?"
"The guy that Taylor Swift's songs remind you of."
The former Mossad operative might have been trained to hide her emotions but she wasn't unflappable and Tony noticed the mixture of shock and fear in her eyes. It took a few seconds for her regain her composure and speak, "I do not know what you are talking about."
But the damage was done and Tony knew she was lying. "I told you, I spoke to Abby about your Taylor Swift obsession. She said that her songs must mean something to you and after examining her music I realized that a lot of the songs are about being in love with somebody who's clueless about your real feelings. Therefore Ziva David, you must have feelings for a guy and he has no idea…so who is he?"
Ziva found herself in turmoil, how had he been able to put so many of the pieces together? It was time for damage control; Tony was getting too close to the truth. So Ziva put on her most seductive mask and said suggestively, "Who said it was a man?"
Tony laughed and wagged a finger at him, "Nice try Ziva but you aren't going get out of this that easily." He looked down into her eyes, "I will get the truth out of you."
Ziva smiled again and leveled her eyes with him as she pushed the button on the elevator to get it moving again, "I'd love to see you try," she said firmly.
The doors to the elevator opened and Ziva stepped off leaving Tony to stare after her and wonder.
There was only one word to describe Tony's efforts to discover Ziva's mystery man: persistent. Ziva should have remembered how Tony could draw upon his inner pit bull and chase down an answer until he found out the truth or she pulled her gun on him. At the crime scene he had continued to grill her in an attempt to find out who she thought about when she listened to Taylor Swift. Her only respite was when Gibbs had come in and he had been forced to stop his inane questioning for a while.
However, once they were back at NCIS and out of the sight of Gibbs, it all started back up again.
"At least give me a hint," Tony begged while Ziva tried in vain to ignore him even though she had long since learned that she was always going to be aware of her partner. When she didn't respond Tony continued his guessing game, "Is he tall, short, brunette, blond?
"Yes," Ziva said happy to see that her 'answer' irritated him.
"Is it Palmer? Please tell me it isn't the autopsy gremlin."
"Why, I think he's cute," Ziva told him teasingly.
"Yes the glasses and haircut have the ladies falling all over him," Tony remarked dryly causing Ziva to laugh.
"Why are you so curious?" she asked, "or are you just jealous?"
Suddenly Tony was on the defensive, "Me jealous? Please, you really think I care about your love life?"
"Then why do you keep asking me about it?"
Tony was silent as he tried to think up a way out of this situation, "You are my partner and I'm…concerned" he emphasized the last word, "I need to be aware of anything that could distract you during an investigation. And you being head over heels in love with someone is a distraction."
"Well your concern is not needed," Ziva told him, "and if you don't stop asking questions then I promise you that I will show you how I can kill someone with a paperclip."
Wisely Tony decided to keep quiet and for ten blissful minutes Ziva was able to work in peace without having to fend off Tony's relentless quest to get to the heart of her choice in music.
But Tony had one more question to ask.
"Do I know him?"
Ziva stopped writing mid sentence, the point of her pen digging into the paper. She didn't move for the longest minute as she debated what to say. Of course there was only one route she could take.
A lie.
"No," she finally spoke without ever once looking up at him. She didn't see if he believed her or not but instead went back to work with one thought rolling around in her head.
If he only knew.
Ziva was speeding through traffic and weaving through lanes, not an unusual circumstance on a Wednesday morning but she wasn't heading to NCIS. Tony had called that morning and asked to be picked up since his car wouldn't start and Gibbs had threatened to fire him if he was late any more times that month.
She pulled to screeching halt at the curb outside of Tony's apartment, still bobbing her head in time to the music that was playing through her car stereos. Abby had given her an iPod attachment for her car for her birthday, a blessing really since there weren't many stations in America that played her favorite Israeli artists.
The eardrum shattering beat was fading to a close when she saw Tony walking down the walkway towards her car. That was when the newest song she'd downloaded from Taylor Swift started to blast through the car.
"Damn it," she said in a panic as Tony walked closer to her car. She tried to switch to a different song but realized that there wasn't enough time so she jerked her iPod off of its stand and threw it in the back seat without bothering to turn it off.
The car door opened and Tony slip into the passenger seat, "Thanks for the ride Zee-vah," Tony said.
"You owe me one Tony," she replied with a grin before pressing her foot down on the gas and speeding away while Tony grappled for his seat belt.
"Hey Earnhardt, slow down! I had eggs for breakfast and I don't want to see them again!"
Ziva laughed but did lower her speed a tiny bit, not enough to make Tony happy of course; however he didn't complain any further but instead stared out the window in a contemplative silence. She was free to woolgather at her own thoughts which unfortunately reverted to the fact that Tony was wearing her favorite shirt on him…the one that brought out his eyes.
And the Taylor Swift song she hadn't wanted Tony to hear began to reverberate in her head.
I don't think that passenger seat
Has ever looked this good to me
He tells me about his night
And I count the colors in his eyes
"Left, Ziva, left!" Tony yelled, breaking her thoughts. The tires squealed loudly as they barely made the turn and Tony groaned, "I have a date tonight you know, I don't think Sandra will appreciate it if I have to explain why my partner got me in a car wreck."
"You have a date?!" Ziva exclaimed, turning to look at her partner in surprise thus taking her eyes off the road.
"Keep your eyes on the road!" Tony shouted and Ziva braked to avoid hitting a slow moving van. "Do that again and I'm going to make you pull over so I can drive."
"You would not succeed," Ziva replied dryly, "You are going on a date? Let me guess, she is tall, well built and cannot spell her own name, yes? Did you learn nothing from what I told you last week?"
"No," Tony said annoyed, "remind me."
"You need a real woman, someone you can fall in love with."
"I'm not planning to fall in love again," Tony told her, "it's too painful"
He'll never fall in love he swears
As he runs his fingers through his hair
I'm laughing cause I hope he's wrong
"Not if you find the right woman," she explained, "you can not just have meaningless relationships because one woman broke your heart." Ziva shook her head sadly and said in a much softer voice, "Not all women would hurt you like that."
"Like who?" Tony asked seriously and Ziva didn't reply for a long while, she was afraid she might just say the truth.
I don't think it ever crossed his mind
He tells a joke I fake a smile
That I know all his favorite songs
After a long moment of hesitation she spoke again, "A woman who knows all about you, and understands you. Someone who will be there for you for more than just one night."
Tony shrugged, "You know where I can find one?"
Yes Ziva thought, she's sitting right next to you.
And I could tell you his favorite color's green
He loves to argue, born on the seventeenth
His sister's beautiful, he has his father's eyes
And if you asked me if I love him,
"No," Ziva said and didn't say anything else on the way to NCIS.
I'd lie
"I don't know what the big deal is!" Tony exclaimed later that day as he exited the elevator and headed towards Abby's lab, "I was questioning a witness!"
"You were drooling over that woman," Ziva said angrily, "I thought that you were going to dehydrate."
"I was conducting an investigation."
"So you were looking at her ass because you thought it was evidence?" Ziva scoffed.
"No I was looking at her ass because I'm a guy," Tony said seriously and looked into her eyes, "Why do you care?"
He looks around the room
Innocently overlooks the truth
"I want you to find someone meaningful," Ziva reminded him, "Leering at tall blondes is not what I meant."
Shouldn't a light go on?
Doesn't he know that I've had him memorized for so long?
They stepped into Abby's lab with anger still crackling between them, something the friendly scientist picked up on, "Wow are you two unhappy," she stated with a cheerful ring.
"Ziva is trying to give me advice on my love life."
"No, I just do not want you to take two steps forward and one step back," Ziva said.
"You mean one step forward and two steps back," Tony corrected.
"Whatever," Ziva rolled her eyes, "You were becoming a real adult when you were with Jeanne, now you want to go back to empty relationships."
"No, I what I want is to take care of my own life and find out why you care so much!"
He sees everything in black and white
Never let nobody see him cry
I don't let nobody see me wishing he was mine
"I just want you to be happy Tony," she explained.
Abby raised an eyebrow, "She has a point."
Tony turned an accusing glare at Abby, "Don't start taking her side."
"Well maybe you should listen to Ziva," she continued ignoring his attitude, "She knows you pretty well and what's good for you."
I could tell you his favorite color's green
He loves to argue, born on the seventeenth
His sister's beautiful, he has his father's eyes
And if you asked me if I love him,
I'd lie
Tony shook his head, "I don't need either of you telling me what to do with my life," he explained, "I'm fine." With that he threw down the evidence bag he had come down to deliver and walked out.
Ziva watched him go, she knew he was lying. Tony wasn't fine, he was still nursing a broken heart and thought that reverting back to his bachelor ways would help it heal. Instead he was only dooming himself to more loneliness.
He needed to find someone that would help him glue back the pieces to his heart, be a shoulder to lean on and hand to help pick him back up.
Someone like her.
He stands there then walks away
My god if I could only say
I'm holding every breath for you...
"Wow," Abby said once Tony was gone, "You two are really at each other's throats today."
"He is so infuriating! He will not listen to reason!" Ziva half shouted, "He does not need that brain dead blonde or some other one night stand."
Abby looked surprised at her words, "You think you know what kind of woman that Tony needs?"
"Of course I do," Ziva explained then her face got wistful as she began to list just what she thought Tony deserved. "He needs someone who he can actually carry out a conversation with, someone he can tell his secrets to.
He'd never tell you but he can play guitar
I think he can see through everything
But my heart
"Someone who will laugh at his jokes and understand his sense of humor. He needs a woman that will catch him at his own game and keep him guessing." Now Ziva smiled as everything came pouring out, "Someone who can see through his childlike manners and see how wonderful he can be."
First thought when I wake up is
My god he's beautiful
Will he ever see it? Ziva wondered, would he ever just open his eyes and notice how much she appreciated him. How she already understood everything about him, how she knew what to say and do to make him happy.
She hoped so.
So I put on my make up
And pray for a miracle
"I know what he should have," Ziva continued to ramble, "I know what he needs and wants but he cannot seem to see past everything and see it! Why can't he see it?"
Yes I could tell you his favorite color's green
He loves to argue oh and it kills me
His sister's beautiful he has his father's eyes
That was when Ziva finally looked up to see Abby looking at her meaningfully and a knowing smile was on her lips. Now she realized everything that she had just spoken aloud and Ziva's heart began to race.
Dear god she'd said too much!
And if you asked me if I love him
Abby looked her straight in the eye, "Ziva…do you have feelings for Tony?"
If you asked me if I love him
But Mossad had trained her very well.
Ziva smiled as if she'd heard a good joke and rolled her eyes, "That's a good one Abby, you have a vivid imagination." And Ziva walked away before she could see her face.
I'd lie
A/N: Well what did you think? I hope to update again very soon but classes are starting up again in two weeks so we'll see. Review and it will probably get me motivated to write that much sooner!
