They all turned around at the same time to see Ziva standing before them, holding a large shard of glass, still glistening with blood.
"Ziva!"
Overcome with relief, Tony hurried towards her and encompassed her in a big hug, not even caring that by doing so he was putting himself directly in contact with the blood of a serial killer. He pulled away abruptly, registering how unprofessional he must look, and gave Ziva a weak smile. He suppressed the speech that he wanted to give her, and instead told her, "We missed you Ziva." before giving Gibbs the oppurtunity to talk.
"What's going on David?" Gibbs demanded.
"James just drove away in a red mazda, undoubtedly Sarah Adam's car.. we should have figured that out earlier. He left about three minutes ago, if we hurry, we can still trace him and catch up," Ziva replied seriously.
She looked exhausted and frazzled, her face was wet with sweat, her clothes dirty and her hair wild. Seeing her standing there though, alive and alert, Tony didn't think that he'd ever seen her look so beautiful.
"A difficult task considering we don't have a license number."
"I know the first half of his liscence, L6N, but if a quick solution is what you are looking for, we still have his cell phone number, if it is legitimate, and he was using his cell phone quite frequently in the warehouse. If you trace his cellphone signal, if he is using it... you can trace his vehicle, yes?" Ziva responded, not missing a beat, "Does anyone have any water?" she asked, realizing suddenely how parched she was.
Gibbs grinned, taking everyone off guard, "Well done David. I'll get McGee on the phone right now, see if he can trace the signal...if it's even the correct number. We'll get you some water back at the office, we were in such a rush leaving, no one brought any. Jones, get that shard from her and bag it."
Jones did as he was told. As Gibbs contacted the office, Tony turned to Ziva,
"You had everyone really worried Zee-vah."
"Even you Tony?" she asked calmly, a flicker of a smile crossing her lips.
Tony chuckled anxiously, "Ha! Me! You should know better then to ask things like that by now Miss David. I'm not the type to worry! Worry? What's worry? I'm not even familar with the term."
"Tony, I'm pregnant with your child," she responded quickly.
Tony did a double take, "What?!"
Ziva chuckled, "Not the type to worry, hmm?"
"Foul play, David, foul play! So, you caught me, I was a little but worried about you, but only a little, don't think I was pulling a Nicky Ferrante on you or anything."
"An Affair to Remember. Deborah Carr and Cary Grant. He is a fox, yes?" Ziva asked, raising an eyebrow, her voice slightly hoarse from lack of water.
"Deborah Kerr, Zee-vah, Kerr. But still, I'm impressed, very impress-"
"Shut it Dinozzo. In case you'd forgotten, we have a serial killer to catch here... McGee told me where he's headed.. if we're fast, we can still intercept him. Is this guy armed Ziva?"
It took her a minute to reply... she suddenely felt very dizzy and disoriented, "Yes, he is."
"Ok, let's get going guys!"
Ziva watched as Gibbs stepped towards the car, she took a breath, trying to steady herself and took one hesitant step. She fell forward in a fast faint, the world fading dark around her.
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Ziva woke up back at NCIS, lying on top of... Tony's desk?
"Sleeping beauty back from the dead," Tony said, smiling as he peered over her.
"What? Why am I on your desk Tony? Gibbs will kill me if he sees me on here! Where's James? Why are we in the office? We are losing time!" Ziva sat up quickly, regretting it the second she did so, as dizziness overcame her once more.
"Woah, woah. Take it easy there David. You know, it's not every day that you faint from dehydration.. you can't just slip right back into warrior mode. It's not that easy," Tony cautioned, supporting her back.
"I did not faint Tony," Ziva snapped defensively, faintly registering the fact that he was touching her and that she liked it.
"Oh-ho-ho- that was a faint Ziva.. that was a definite feminine swoon. I know it hurts to believe it, but..." He adopted a heavy American accent, "The truth hurts. Maybe not as much as jumping on a bicycle with a seat missing, but it hur-
"Where is Gibbs?" Ziva interrupted, deeply consumed by her desire to catch James before he got his clutches on some other Jewish girl.
"He's tracing the creep as we speak Zee-vah-"
Abby rushed into the office, a whilrwind of energy, "Ziva! You're ok!!" She gave Ziva a massive hug.
"I'm ok Abby, I'm ok. But I would be better if I was out there helping to put this man behind bars. Why are we here Tony?" Ziva demanded again.
Abby piped up, "Gibbs was worried about you Ziva. It's not everyday an amazing warrior like you faints on the job..."
"I did not faint! I do not like the dennotation that that word has, it suggests weakness." Ziva retorted angrily.
"Uh oh... Tony, I don't think that she's going to like Gibbs's next instructions very much either then..." Abby grinned at Tony.
"Stab me!" Ziva responded.
Tony chuckled, "Shoot me Ziva, the phrase is "shoot me". Boss wants you to get some rest tonight-"
"At Tony's place, because he doesn't want you alone with this guy after you." Abby finished, smirking.
Ziva's heart skipped a beat at the suggestion, but she quickly pulled herself together and maintained her tough facade, "What? I am fine. And even if I'm not, I do not need a babysitter."
"Gibbs's orders are Gibbs's orders Zee-vah. I only do what the bossman tells me, and he told me to take you home with me...so I'm taking you home with me," Tony smirked.
"And if I refuse?" Ziva replied, a twinkle in her eye.
"Ha! Well, I think that you've been abducted enough times for one day...but I'm not entirely opposed to the notion of handcuffs if you're completely unwilling to cooperate." Tony stated, grinning.
Abby laughed and smiled at Ziva in a knowing way, "Oh, Ziva. Before you take off for the night... Ducky discovered the cause of death of Sarah Adams, she was shot at close range."
"Does not surprise me," Ziva replied coldly. "Is Gibbs at least going to keep us updated on the case?"
"Indubitably, Watson, indubitably," Tony replied, helping Ziva to stand.
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Gibbs pounded his steering wheel in frustration, as McGee tried to reassure him on the other side of the line, "I'm sure that he'll make a call again.. when he's at a stable location boss.. and then it will be easier to track him."
Gibbs responded in an angry tone, "You better be right McGee... because I can't deal with this guy being on the loose for much longer. I'm going to call one of the men that the direct sent out with me, who's still investigating the warehouse...see if he's found anything. Notify me if you get a signal again."
Gibbs hung up abruptly and dialled Collins's number, "What you got Collins?"
"What appears to be the address of our killers next victim sir. Her name is Miriam Ackerman. She lives at 213 Davis Court, New York City. I found her picture and details with her address and a really strange script on a table in the warhouse."
"Good work Collins," Gibb responded before hanging up the phone. He turned to the man sitting next to him, wishing like crazy that he hadn't kindly allowed a pleading Tony to escort Ziva back to NCIS. He hated that he wasn't working with his own team on this case.
"We have a lead. Get McGee on the phone so we can get directions," he ordered to Jones.
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Ziva yawned as Tony pulled onto his street, "Could you drive any slower?" she asked sarcastically.
"Sorry that we don't all sign our death sentence everytime that we get behind the wheel Zee-vah," Tony retorted.
Ziva chuckled, and watched Tony as he drove... he was so alert, and so careful. She found her mind drifting back to what the previous events of the day had revealed to her- the dream that she had had. She shook her head in rememberance of the epiphany that her subconcious had triggered... that she was in love with this man who sat beside her now, humming along to the Shania Twain blaring over the radio. In love with Tony? She almost laughed audibly at even the suggestion- but a tiny part of her knew that to laugh at the suggestion would be to lie to herself, a tiny part of her which she had only come to listen to on dark stormy nights when she imagined him with other women and couldn't breathe at the thought. A tiny part of her which was quickly devoured by the dominance of her rational self. She shook her head- it was the blow over the head which had caused her subconcious to unleash that epiphany. That had to be it.
This type of thought process was common for Ziva- her own game of cat and mouse- which her mind reserved specifically for her feelings for Tony. The cat- her rational side- always triumphed over any passing thought that she might love him. Afterall, she couldn't love him, he was her partner, and romantic love was only a source of pain, and therefore, weakness. Whenever she felt herself becoming too fond of him, too bemused whenever he did something particularily "Tony-like", she always found a way to justify it with something other then love. Maybe he'd said something particuarily funny, maybe she was feeling lonely, maybe she was pms-ing and not her normal self, or maybe she was just plain horny and this was manifesting itself in an emotional form. Today- a sharp blow over the head was her scapegoat. As quickly as the cat was to triumph though- the mouse always found a way to escape, eventually beginnning the game over again. But it hadn't yet. Ziva smiled calmly, pleased with her resolution- it was a blow over the head that had caused her to think those things. A blow over the head... that was all.
"We're here Zee-vah," Tony said, glancing over at her.
He smiled... he always got a thrill when Ziva came over. He wasn't really sure why- maybe it was because in the corner of his mind there always lurked the possibility of something more then just a fun night of movies unfolding. He always inwardly scolded himself whenever such a thought crossed his mind. He constantly forbid himself to think of her in any way other then as a co-worker and friend... he'd said her name in bed once while making love to Jeanne- and that, right there, was indication enough that viewing Ziva as the sensual, playful and passionate woman that she was under her cold, tough facade was highly dangerous. Sure, their conversation at work was bursting to the seams with sexual chemistry- but it would sadly have to remain that way, because of rule #12, among copious other reasons. Still, as he opened his door for her, and led her into his house, he couldn't wipe the grin off his face. He walked towards the fridge.
"Do you know what the right way to end a highly stressful day on the job is Zee-vah?" he asked playfully.
"By taking a long hot bath?" Ziva replied drowsily.
"No- by getting hammered and waking up with a pleasant hangover," Tony said, tossing her a beer, "Take a seat. Movie time."
Ziva yawned as she yanked her shoes off, walked into Tony's living room, and took a seat on his couch. She was looking forwards to a calm, safe evening of movie- watching.
Little did she know that the evening would be far from calm. Alcohol was great at melting down mental defenses like those that the two had carefully constructed. Little did she know that the evening would also be far from safe, it was really a shame that Gibbs had lost track of James's location..
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AN: Hope you enjoyed!! Please please pleaaaaaaase review!