Chapter 4-Fake

Jenny paced back and forth across her office, worried that Jeanne would not keep her word. After all, NCIS had put her through hell not even a year ago.

Her phone rang and she leaped to answer it, "Shepard."

"Director, Miss Jeanne Benoit is here to see you," Cynthia said.

Jenny practically danced in relief. She told Cynthia calmly to send her in and took a seat at her desk. "Good morning, Jeanne. I am so sorry for the inconvenience."

Jeanne nodded and took a seat in front of the large mahogany desk. "Why am I here, Director?"

"How did you meet Joshua Tormetski?" Jenny asked her.

"I met him in a bar a week ago. What do Tony and...that woman have to do with Joshua?" she asked with a fierce tone at 'that woman'.

"I am sorry to say this, but you are going to have to stop seeing him for the time being."

"Excuse me, Director, but I don't think that my choice in men should effect you anymore!" Jeanne yelled, rising to her feet.

"Please, Miss Benoit--"

"Doctor Benoit. I am a doctor."

"Right, Dr. Benoit. This is more complicated than your taste in men."

"How? What does this have to do with Tony?"

"Tony is on assignment, along with Ziva. They are observing Joshua for me, as well as for the CIA."

"Why? What did he do to piss you guys off?" Jeanne asked defensively.

"Jeanne, I understand your anger with us. We have caused you more than enough pain, and we are extremely sorry. But please listen to me."

Jeanne nodded and took her seat.

Jenny continued, "I am sorry to say, but Joshua Tormetski, also known as the Fox, is an international arms dealer, and Tony and Ziv--"

"This again?! First my father, now my date?! This is absurd!"

"Believe me, Jeanne, we know. We would not be doing this to you if it weren't true. As I was saying, he is an international arms dealer. Tony and Ziva are undercover as a married couple that has just moved in next door to him. He lives in a very large mansion, so Tony and Ziva are Elliot and Candace Peterson, aristocrats."

It took Jeanne a minute to pick her jaw up off of the floor, so to say.

"Wow. Now what do I do?"

"I am afraid, since you have a personal connection with both our undercover agent and the object of our investigation, that you will have to come into NCIS custody for the time being."

"But I'm not a criminal!"

"Not that sort of custody. You will be staying with various NCIS agents for the time being. That also means not going into work. I will call...Monroe University Hospital, correct?"

"Not any longer. I took some time off from actual hospitals and worked in missionary hospitals. When I came back, my position was filled. Now I am working at the Children's National Medical Center."

"I will give them a call, don't worry about a thing. I will have one of my agents escort you home to pack some things, and then to their home. Everything will turn out fine."

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Tony awoke to the shrill ringing of his cell phone. He groaned, rolled over, and answered it.

"DiNozzo."

"It's Jenny. You and Ziva need to get into NCIS ASAP. I have already called your driver."

"Why?"

"Because I said so," she snapped, then hung up.

Someone's pissed.

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Twenty minutes later Ziva and Tony strolled into the bullpen, hand in hand.

"You aren't undercover here and this is an office building. Cut it out," Gibbs scolded, getting up from his desk. They quickly unintertwined their hands. "Now, you are needed in the conference room along with the director, McGee, Jeanne, and me. Let's go."

They followed him, confused. "Jeanne?" Tony asked.

"Yes, remember her? You saw her last night at that fancy rich people place," Gibbs snapped, still walking.

"Why is she here?" Tony asked.

"Gee, DiNozzo, I have no idea. Think about it for a second, it'll come to you," Gibbs said as they approached the conference room and slapped him upside the head.

They entered, took seats, and waited for Jenny to say something.

"Since no else is going to start us off, it seems we have a bit of a dilemma here," she started. All she received was nods from Jeanne, Tony, and Ziva.

"Dr. Benoit here has become associated with the object of our investigation. And since she has an association with our undercover agent and the agency itself, we need to take her into our custody for the time being. We cannot risk exposure or harm," she continued.

"So now what?" McGee asked.

"Dr. Benoit has agreed to come into our custody and stay with various NCIS agents and employees until the investigation is over."

"And who's first, Director?" Ziva asked out of curiosity.

"Special Agent Gibbs, would you please escort Jeanne to her apartment to gather her things and then to your place? You will take the rest of the day off, then bring her into work tomorrow," Gibbs nodded, and Jenny continued "She will be staying with Abby next." The look on everyone's face was pretty much the same, as well as their thoughts. Abby? Jeanne? No way.

"That will be all," Jenny said, then stood up and left

Everyone else left within the minute, except for Tony, Ziva, and Jeanne.

"Ziva, could you give us a minute?" Tony asked. She nodded, got up, and left the room hastily, closing the door behind her.

"Jeanne, I am so sorry about this," he said, moving to the seat next to her.

"I know. But it's okay. I'm just destined to never fall in love again," she said with a pout.

He sighed dramatically, then said, "I'm very, very sorry. You know I loved you too."

"But you lied to me!"

"I had to. You know that. If I would have had it any other way, I wouldn't have. But I had to. And I tried so hard to keep myself detached. But I couldn't."

"And what about now?" she asked, finally meeting his eyes.

"I...I don't know Jeanne. I love Ziva now."

He might as well have stabbed her through the chest.

"You're in love with...her?"

"Yes, I am. I'm so, so sorry Jeanne."

"Sorry doesn't make it all better Tony! You're telling me that you don't feel anything for me?"

"No, that's not what I'm telling you. I'm telling you that we could never be involved again. I did love you. What we had was amazing. But it's over. I'm sorry."

Jeanne wanted to punch him and hug him at the same time.

"I...don't know what to say. Can we at least not keep on pretending to hate each other anymore? We both know that we don't."

"Of course."

They sat in silence for a few minutes, and Jeanne felt tears of anger fill up her eyes. What am I doing? she thought. I should be happy!

But she wasn't. She was far from it, and those tears started to spill over uncontrollably. She couldn't help it.

Before she knew it she was sniffling and bawling like a child. Tony leaned over and wiped the tears lingering on her cheeks which made her cry so much harder.

"Jeanne, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to hurt you...It'll all be okay, it will work out, don't cry," he soothed, wrapping her in a hug. She sobbed harder and harder, now really unable to control it.

They sat there like that for several minutes; Jeanne sobbing, Tony soothing and hugging her. It was awfully awkward.

Finally, Jeanne was able to calm herself down and pulled out of Tony's embrace. She wiped her eyes and stood up, and Tony followed.

"Thank you Tony," she said, and hugged him one last time.

"Anytime," he said, and opened the door for her.

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Ziva was standing at the door to the conference room, fidgeting. She was extremely wary of letting Tony alone with Jeanne, especially since their rocky ending. She had her ear pressed to the door but could barely hear anything.

Except, of course, for the scraping of the chairs as they got up, and their footsteps as they reached the door. She backed up against the opposite wall, making it look as if she was just standing there the whole time, waiting.

Tony, being a gentleman, opened the door and let Jeanne step out first. Her eyes were red and swollen, as if she'd been crying.

Great, she thought, what did he do to her?

He stepped out, closed the door, grabbed Ziva's hand, and led her and Jeanne down to the bullpen. Ziva could not help but be confused.

Once Jeanne left with Gibbs and the elevator was safely closed, Ziva asked, "What happened in there?"
"We figured things out," was all he would say to her, no matter how much she pressed him.

An hour later they were still in the office, now down at Abby's lab.

"ZIVA! TONY!" Abby squealed, tackling them as soon as they set foot in her lab.

"Hi, Abby," Ziva mumbled casually, while Tony was rubbing his shoulder.

"So, how does it feel to be rich?" Abby asked bluntly.

"Amazing," Tony answered.

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By the time Tony and Ziva left NCIS HQ it was around dinner time, and they had the clear to meet the neighbors. They stopped at a McDonald's drive-through on the way home, upon Tony's insistence.

"How can you American's eat this...this crap so many times! It is repulsive!" Ziva had complained.

"Trust me, when you're raised on crap like this, it actually tastes appetizing after a while," Tony had answered.

Now they were in the bathroom, making themselves look halfway decent. Ziva was wearing dark-wash skinny jeans, a deep purple Tommy Hilfiger polo top, and pointy-toed Micheal Kors heels in the same color.

"How can women wear these all the time?! They are so impractical and uncomfortable," Ziva complained.

"Yes, but to the American women, appearance is all that matters," Tony responded, buttoning his gray Hugo sport shirt.

"People are so shallow," she huffed, then left the room.

They were ready and out the door ten minutes later.

They decided they'd just walk; well, Tony had decided. Ziva severely disagreed, due to the aristocrat's taste in shoes.

First they visited the house across the street.

The family that lived there seemed to be very shallow, typical of what you'd expect from rich people. The parents were both corporate lawyers who had twin girls around the age of seven. They acted more like snotty teenagers, though.

Next, they visited the house to the right of their own. The family that lived there was much nicer than the previous. The father was an heir of some kind, a step down from Paris Hilton he said. His wife was an elementary teacher and their 4-year-old daughter, Brittney, was adorable.

They saved Tormetski's house for last.

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They knocked on the huge doors several times and were extremely surprised that Joshua answered it himself. He must have been watching them.

"Good evening, I'm Elliot Peterson and this is my wife Candace. We just moved in next door and thought we'd introduce ourselves," Tony said, extending his hand.

Tormetski shook it, then also Ziva's hand, then said, "Pleasure to meet you. Care for a drink or two?"

Ziva and Tony both nodded and stepped over the threshold. Tony and Joshua launched right into a conversation about the architecture of the building and Ziva lagged behind. "I'm in," she whispered to Jenny and Abby through the microphone on her wrist.

"Okay," Abby said in her earwig. "Get me some good shots of his face."
Ziva obliged and followed their voices and joined them in a sitting room. She sat next to Tony, who was drinking a dry vodka martini—which she personally hated—and said to Joshua, "You have a very nice house. I love the curtains. Silk?"

"Imported from China, yes. Could I get you anything to drink?"

"Um, a strawberry margarita would be nice," she said, choosing the first drink that came to mind. Asking for beer in an aristocrat's house would probably make Tormetski suspicious.

Tony held her hand and stroked the outside with his thumb as soon as Joshua left. "We'll be outta here soon," he reassured, mostly for himself.

She wanted to be out of more than just Joshua's house. She wanted to be out of this neighborhood, out of this ridiculous costume, and out of the mask she wore. She no longer wanted to be the woman that Tony fell in love with. She wanted to be the original Ziva David.

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Sorry for how long this is, I didn't even notice how much I was writing until i was almost done. Also sorry for the long wait, school just started and such.

Watch the 2-hour Bones Season 4 Premiere tonight on FOX at 8 PM!!