Have you ever lost someone and wanted one more conversation, one more chance to make up for the time when you thought they would be here forever? If so, then you know you can go your whole life collecting days and none will outweigh the one you wish you had back.— Mitch Albom, For One More Day
The weather was cold and wet when Tony finally made it out of the airport which felt oddly appropriate given the circumstances. It should rain when someone dies he thought to himself, huddling deeper into his wool jacket as he attempted to get a cab. It had been sunny the day Kate died. A bright cloudless day that had quickly dissolved into a more fitting downpour. Paula and Jenny died on sunny days too. It was only his mother who had managed to avoid the contradiction. She died on a moonless summer night that was so dark Tony thought it would swallow him up whole.
His mom. He'd been thinking about her a lot more these days ever since he'd found the old pictures from their last few days together. He wondered what she'd think of the man her little boy had grown up to be. Would she be proud of all that he had accomplished or disappointed like his father had been of the choice he'd made? There were so many things he wanted to share with her and talk to her about, the biggest thing being his partner. He could have used her perspective over the years when things weren't going right between them.
Mostly though, he would have wanted to introduce them to each other. They would have liked each other and would have loved gossiping about him behind his back. Ziva reminded him a lot of his mom. They were both strong, smart, beautiful, independent women who could take care of themselves. Tony sighed at the thought of the countless lost opportunities as he finally hailed a cab outside of JFK.
"Where you headed?" The cabbie asked.
"New York Mercy."
Ziva wasn't accomplishing much at work (unless she counted irritating both McGee and Gibbs in the same hour as an accomplishment). Her mind was with Tony. He had texted her just after eight saying that he was on the ground in New York and she had been distracted ever since, checking her phone every few minutes in the hopes that he would call her when it was all over. It was almost one o'clock now and she still hadn't heard anything form Tony. It was making her impatient.
"How long does it take someone on life support to die?" Ziva asked aloud and then instantly hated herself for how heartless the comment sounded coming out of her mouth. McGee thankfully seemed to understand the meaning behind her question and didn't appear offended by it.
"Well, it depends on how sick the person is. With some people it can take a few days before they actually pass away." He explained.
"Oh." She frowned. She wasn't used to this drawn out process of dying. Everyone she had ever lost was just gone. There was no lingering or plugs to pull. They were simply here in one breath and gone in the next.
"You should call him." McGee sighed when she reached to check her phone for the third time in the last ten minutes. Ziva looked at him with a mixture of guilt and exasperation.
"I already tried. He did not answer. He is probably at the hospital and had to turn his phone off." She said like the lack of communication didn't bother her.
The deep worry lines that creased her forehead and around her eyes betrayed her though. McGee shook his head in mild annoyance. Tony had worn the same expression on his face the entire time that Ziva had been in Israel burying her father. The two of them could be so transparent at times, yet they refused to admit that their feelings ran deeper than 'just friends'.
"He'll call when he's ready." He stated. His attempt at comfort seemed to fail though when her face fell even more and she turned away from him and back to her work.
"And if he doesn't?"
"He will." McGee insisted.
"What makes you so sure?" Ziva pushed. Her eyes flickered back to him and he could see the flicker of hope that burned in them. She wanted, almost needed, him to convince her that he was right.
"Because he l—" McGee caught himself before he blurted out 'Because he loves you!'. That wasn't his declaration to make. "Because he's your partner." He corrected and the hope in her eyes seemed to burn just a little bit brighter.
a/n: I wanted to make this longer, truly I did. Unfortunately, it just didn't work out that way. And yes, Brookhaven is a real town in New York. It's out on Long Island and would be the kind of town that Tony would have grown up in.