"Cameron?" The name rolled off of Tali's tongue in a delicate whisper. She was breathless and awestruck that the woman she had spend the better half of her night fantasizing about was now standing before her. Before this moment, Tali would bet anything that she would never see the woman again. Yet, here she was. Standing stoically in her uniform, a far different look than from the night before. Different but still— 'sexy as all hell'. Tali felt the haze of the previous evening's lust envelop her as she gave Cameron a once over again.
The older woman noticed the way Tali regarded her and made no attempt to hide the way she slowly looked over Tali's body from head to toe. She flashed the same charming smile that had made Tali weak when they first met then spoke softly, "When I said 'maybe I'll see you around sometime', I didn't expect it to be 12 hours later. This is a pleasant surprise. I'm glad to see you remained safe after I left you last night."
Putting two and two together, taking in what Cameron said and the way her daughter bit her lip and blushed a little, Ziva looked astonished as she asked, "Staff Sergeant Cameron Jacobs is thee Cameron that came to your rescue last night, Tali?"
Tali gave a minuscule nod, but couldn't manage to speak. She was slightly preoccupied with her lustful thoughts. Victoria, on the other hand, had a few questions when she registered what Ziva had just asked. "Hold on, rescue? What exactly happened last night? How do you two know each other?"
Cameron looked down for moment and cleared her throat. When she locked eyes with Tali again, they shared an intense gaze that silently spoke their mutual desires. She couldn't look away from her, even when she started addressing the other two woman standing by. "Technically, we don't know each other at all. Only each other's first names after a chance meeting. I was just in the right place at the right time when Tali needed assistance. It wasn't exactly a rescue, so much as it was helping get rid of a pesky annoyance."
"From the way my daughter explained it, Staff Sergeant, you went out of your way to protect her from a man that got rough with her outside a bar." Ziva looked at her with gratitude, "Thank you for coming to her aide. Things may have been worse had you not stepped in."
"Just doing my job to protect and serve, ma'am", Cameron stated with pride when she finally turned her gaze back to Ziva.
"Well, speaking for myself, and Tali, what you did is quite appreciated." She checked her watch then looked between a distracted Tali and intrigued Victoria, "Girls, I do believe you need to get going to pick up Morgan on time. Also, Staff Sergeant Jacobs and I really have a pressing matter to address in private. I cannot delay any longer."
With Tali still off in her own world, Victoria shook her head and grabbed her best friend's hand. "Right, we'll just be going then. I'll call when we get to Bethesda. Oh, and it was nice meeting you Staff Sergeant ."
"You as well, ma'am." Cameron smirked at Tali, "Good seeing you again. Maybe next time it won't be just chance meet?" She pulled out a business card and handed it to the younger woman.
Still unable to find her voice, Tali took the card quietly and just stared with predatory eyes for a moment. Then she glanced down to see all of Cameron's contact information and gave her a knowing wink as she smirked. After the display, before she could even catch on to what was going on, she was being pulled by Victoria out of the reception area and towards the stairs.
When Cameron was out of view, Victoria stopped pulling Tali and let go of her hand. She gave her look that Tali knew well. As soon as they left the building, and made it to Victoria's car, she would have some serious explaining to do.
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Back in her office, Ziva silently motioned for Cameron to have a seat at the conference table. Although they had pressing business attend to, she couldn't get the unverbal exchange between this Marine and her daughter out of the forefront of her mind. Being that they still had a few minutes before two other people came to join their meeting, she decided to take the alone time to voice the nagging feeling she had.
"Staff Sergeant, again, do know the I appreciate what you did for Tali", her voice was even and her face showed no emotion, "However, I also need you to know that my daughter has recently been hurt and I do not want her hurt like that ever again." She paused to gauge the expression on Cameron's face which showed an odd mix of understanding and confusion. "Outside of you just giving Tali your number to maintain a connection, I saw the way you looked at each other. The meaningful staring of unspoken intentions. I realize that I cannot stop anything from initially happening between the two of you but, the moment I sense there is a problem, I will not hesitate to take action. Are we clear?"
"Yes ma'am."
"I hope you really do understand and will not get distracted by my daughter. We still have terrorists on the loose and a serious matter a national security on our hands with last night's attack. I need you focused if you are going to work along side NCIS."
Cameron nodded, "I understand, ma'am. I will not be distracted by anyone or anything. My focus is taking down the people who ambushed my platoon, ma'am."
"And you understand that this operation we are planning may put you in danger. And you do you realize that upon identifying who these terrorists are, the President may declare war? That you may be deployed again as well? Meaning, any new relationships, platonic or otherwise, could be strained."
"May I speak freely, ma'am."
Ziva leaned back in her chair and stared intently, "You may."
"With all due respect, I know you are being a protective mother, who only has her daughter's best interest at heart..."
"But?" Ziva knew the tone and where the conversation was going. She wanted it to go this was after all, she was strategic in her questioning to know the full extent of the other woman's intentions.
"But, I do not believe in coincidences. After meeting your daughter last night, I hoped for the opportunity to see her again. Then today, we crossed paths for a second time. I couldn't pass up the chance to atleast give her my information. It is her choice whether or not she contacts me and allows me the opportunity to get to know her. Understand, my only intent right now is to be able to be a friend to Tali before anything else. I can say, without question, that making an effort to do so will not hinder my abilities to do my job and protect my country. My main focus is currently on the mission at hand in putting together this operation and identifying the terrorist, I know and understand the risks. I have accepted them. Also, if we are to go to war and I am deployed, I don't believe that any relationship would be strained as I make it very clear before getting to know someone that my duty to the President and our nation comes first. I am a Staff Sergeant in the United States Marine Corps, above all else. I respect, and take great pride, in the stripes I wear, ma'am. My intent is not to harm, play games, or be distracted. You do not have to worry."
Satisfied, but not letting on completely that she was, Ziva simply responded, "For your sake, I hope you are right." Just then, a knock came at the door with thebarrival of the other two people they had been waiting for. "Come in", she barely got it out before Tony and an FBI agent entered.
"Sorry for the slight delay, ran into Tali and Vicki on the steps", Tony explained.
"It is okay", Ziva stood and made the necessary introductions, "Agent Tony DiNozzo, Agent Michael Commings, this is Staff Sergeant Cameron Jacobs. She will be assisting in the case for the time being and running point on the mission in the field until we receive further orders from SecNav and POTUS."
"Agent DiNozzo... as in your husband, and Tali's father", Cameron asked, a little surprised upon hearing the last name again.
"That would be correct." Tony looked at her suspiciously, "And you know Tali how?"
Ziva cleared her throat, "We can get into that another time. There are more serious matters to address right now." Knowing she was right, all parties took their seats around the conference table. "Now, before we begin planning this op, I need a sitrep."
XXXXX
As soon as they got back to the car and drove out of the Navy Yard, Victoria wasted no time in bringing up the encounter with Cameron. "Sooooo", she admonished, "What's the deal with Staff Sergeant Jacobs?"
Tali chuckled, "There's no deal. You already heard the full story. Some random dude got too aggressive trying to get me to go home with him and Cameron intervened. What else is there to know?"
"How about you start with your intentions after you use that number she gave you? It's obvious you want her— badly. I just want to know to what extent?"
"I never thought I'd actually see her again so there aren't any real intentions yet. All I know is that she's sexy and could be a good distraction from my current life dilemma. So, if I call her, it will purely be for— distracting purposes."
"Mmhmm", Victoria glanced over at her when they reached a stop sign. "'Distracting purposes' like a casual fuck buddy?"
Tali feigned offense and gave a fake gasp, "Victoria Elizabeth Palmer, when have you ever known me to be that type of girl?"
"Never, however, I saw the way you undressed her with your eyes and noticed the way you couldn't speak at all. Like your mind was fixed on a very explicit dream involving the hot marine taking you down in the barracks", she laughed heartily as she drove onto the highway.
Tali shrugged, "What can I say? I mean, it would be very memorable. Along with acting out some of the other fantasies I had last night."
"You're being completely serious right now, aren't you", Victoria asked in total disbelief.
"Why wouldn't I be", Tali responded nonchalantly.
She sighed and shook her head as she became serious, "Tali, hooking up with this woman isn't a good idea right now. You just got out of a long relationship in which you almost got married. I don't think it's in your best interest to start sleeping with someone before you've fully gotten over Jes..."
"I already got this lecture last night from my mother", Tali interrupted defensively, "I don't need it from my best friend too! I'm a grown woman who knows what she wants, alright? And if what I want is someone to have casual, no strings attached, sex with then that's what I'm gonna do! I wish everyone would stop bringing up my ex! For people who want me to get over her, you sure as hell bring her up— a lot!"
"Tali, come on, you can't..."
"Take the next exit and drop me off."
"What?"
"I want to go home. You can drop me off then go pick up Morgan."
Victoria let out an exasperated sigh as she pulled off the highway to head toward's the DiNozzo home. She didn't want to argue, knowing that Tali would only shutdown even more. Instead of continuing on with the topic, she changed subjects, "Are you going to meet us at the hospital later? I'm sure Morgan would really like to see both of us."
"Sure, whatever", Tali grumbled. "I'll drive over later."
The rest of the twenty minute ride was made in absolute silence. When they arrived, Tali got out the car without looking at her best friend or saying a word. She slammed the door and walked up the driveway towards the house. Victoria wondered if she'd actually see her later. She knew that this quiet and, obviously, pissed off Tali would probably stay away and ignore her on purpose. That's how she always got when she was extremely angry. After seeing her enter safely in the house, Victoria pulled off and silently prayed that Tali wouldn't do anything stupid, like try to escape reality by getting hammered again. Or, worse, go off and meetup with a certain Marine Staff Sergeant to temporarily fill the void in her heart.
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A|N: I appreciate the feedback thus far and I really hope you enjoyed this chapter. The next one coming sees the setup for some major drama with Tali and then some TIVA fluff just because, well, it's TIVA! Tehe!