Thanks for all the nice and helpful reviews on the last chapter. Here is today's, enjoy (:

Chapter Four

Thursday night, Tony was in his apartment waiting for Ziva to come over. Even though he would be leaving on Sunday, they still decided to have their weekly movie night. They both decided that since this would be their last one, they should make it extra special. Tony had made Ziva's favorite dish, pasta primavera, and for dessert he prepared a tiramisu layer cake.

At 2000, Tony was just finishing up dinner when the doorbell rang. He ran to the door and opened it, and was stunned when he saw Ziva. She was wearing a deep emerald cotton dress that hugged every curve. It had a deep v-neck and stopped a few inches short of her knees. When she turned her back, you could see that there was a floral cut out where the back should be, giving Tony a lovely view of her toned back. Her hair was straight, flowing down her back, and she had gold high heels on that matched her gold Star of David necklace.

"Whoa. You look great," Tony managed to stutter as he let Ziva in. He looked at his watch quickly before adding, "And you're right on time."

"Thank you. You do not look too bad yourself," she responded as she walked over to his kitchen table and sat down. He was wearing a black dress shirt with matching black pants. The green tie he was wearing made his eyes look even brighter than normal, making Ziva's heart flutter when she looked into them. "We even match."

"Yeah, we do," Tony declared. When Ziva reached across the table to grab a napkin, Tony had a full view of her cleavage, and he could tell she was wearing a black lace bra. He nervously gulped before walking over to the table, with two plates of food. "Dinner is served," he said in his best French accent.

"Toda," Ziva said as he set the plate down in front of her.

"Prego," Tony replied as he sat down across from her.

"Mmh, Tony, this is divine," Ziva gushed as she tasted the pasta primavera. "If I must say, this is the best it has ever been."

"Well thank you. I tried to make it extra good today." He flashed his signature DiNozzo smile, and she just rolled her eyes.

After dinner and dessert, which Ziva said was "marvelous," they were still sitting at the kitchen table silently. Ziva was busy scanning Tony's apartment, while he watched her intently. A few minutes later, Ziva started chuckling silently to herself.

"What's so funny, Zee-vah?" Tony asked, perplexed.

"Have you even started packing yet?" Ziva questioned.

"Well, to be perfectly honest, no."

Ziva just laughed again as she got up and started walking towards Tony's bedroom. "Whoa, slow down there. I mean, we're moving a bit fast there aren't we?" he questioned jokingly.

"We are not doing that, Tony. I am going to help you pack."

"Really?" Tony was surprised that Ziva would actually help him pack. "Wow, thanks. That's really nice of you."

"Yeah, do not get too used to it," she said jokingly as they walked into his room.

Since Tony would be gone for at least six months and his lease was almost up, he wouldn't renew the lease on his apartment so he wouldn't have to pay for it while he wasn't there. He didn't really like his apartment anyways, so he didn't mind too much. He would keep all his possessions that didn't go with him to Afghanistan, which was most of them, at Gibbs' place.

They started with his closet, putting all of his suits, shirts, shoes, and ties into boxes to be stored in Gibbs' spare room. Next they packed up his jeans and shirts, leaving a few out for him to wear until Sunday.

"Hey, do you still have that shirt I let you borrow?" Tony asked as they were cleaning out his dresser.

Ziva blushed when he brought up the shirt. During a case a couple months ago, they had gotten caught in the rain while chasing a suspect. Since Tony's apartment was closer, they went back there to change, where Tony let Ziva borrow one of his Ohio State t-shirts. She still had it, and wore it almost every night to bed. "Yes I do. Do you want it back?"

"No, no it's fine, you can keep it. I have a lot more, and I don't think I'll need them in Afghanistan." He pulled out a pair of grey sweat pants that had "OSU" in red written down one leg. "Here, you can have these too. I know you were always complaining that you wanted baggy sweat pants for bed."

"Thank you," Ziva said, hiding her still blushing face from Tony. When he wasn't looking, she held the pants against her face, drinking in the scent of Tony from them and becoming intoxicated by it. The pants smelled exactly like Tony, an irresistible mix of his body wash and cologne, musky with a slight citrus undertone.

"No problem. Like I said, I won't be needing them in boot camp or Afghanistan."

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"Tony, hurry up! You are going to miss your plane!"

It was Sunday afternoon, time for Tony to leave for Parris Island. It was now 1300, and his plane was set to leave at 1430. Ziva had agreed to pick up Tony at his apartment to bring him to the airport, where they would meet the rest of the team so they could see him off.

As Ziva was waiting outside of Tony's apartment, she tried to suppress her emotions. She knew that this was the last time she would ever walk up to Tony's apartment. Soon, she would be seeing him off to Parris Island, and she wouldn't see him for three weeks. She knew that she shouldn't be upset, and that it was only three weeks. But she also knew that inevitably following him returning, he would be leaving for at least six months. This was the longest she would be away from him since joining the team four years ago. Even when the team had been separated over the summer for four months, Ziva had not been as distressed as now. She had known where Tony was, and that he was safe on the U.S.S. Seahawk. Now he would be in the middle of a war zone, his life in constant danger.

After five more minutes of Ziva knocking on his door and yelling, Tony finally appeared at the door. "Alright, alright, I'm here. Hold your horses woman."

Ziva tilted her head to the side, confusion in her eyes. "I do not have any horses. And if I did, I obviously would hold them so they…"

She was cut off by Tony laughing lightly. "It's an expression, Zee-vah," he said through his laughter.

"Americans and their stupid sayings. They do not make any sense," she muttered as they made their way out of Tony's apartment to Ziva's mini.

They arrived at the airport at 1330, and after making it through the lines and security, it was 1400 when they sat down, waiting for Tony's plane for board. After much badge flashing, Ziva, Gibbs, McGee, and Abby were able to make it through security to see Tony off at the gate.

Everyone sat together quietly, not knowing what to say for about fifteen minutes. "Tony, I'm really going to miss you," Abby finally said from her seat between Ziva and McGee, with tear filled eyes.

"Oh, Abby, don't cry." Tony got up and walked over to where Abby was sitting and crouched down on the ground to talk to her. "I'll be fine. This is only training, and I'll be back in three weeks."

"Yeah, but after that you'll be gone for more than six months. And you'll be in Afghanistan, in the middle of a war!" She let a single tear roll down her cheek.

"Abby," Tony said, taking her hands into his. "I will be fine. I am going to go to Afghanistan for six months, maybe more. I'll come back, and things will be back to normal. Don't worry yourself silly. Okay?"

"Okay," she said tearfully. Tony reached up to wipe the tears from her eyes, and pulled her into a hug. After holding each other for a minute, Tony returned to his seat between Gibbs and Ziva.

"Now boarding, Flight 43 to Hilton Head, South Carolina. All passengers please report to gate 14."

The team looked around nervously, before Tony got up. "Well, I guess it's time."

Tony said his goodbyes to McGee first. "Look after them, Probie. Especially Abby, she's gonna take this tough. You're the senior field agent now."

McGee slapped him on the back. "I will. Take care Tony."

Next Tony went over to Abby, who jumped him and gave him a bone crushing hug. "I'm gonna miss you so much Tony."

"I'll be fine. See you in three weeks," he managed to say, even though he couldn't breathe.

She let go, and he turned around to see Gibbs right behind him. "Ya' know boss, I'm really gonna miss you sneaking up behind me all the time. Almost as much as I'm gonna miss late nights full of paperwork, you before your morning coffee, and…" he was cut off by Gibbs head slapping him. "Almost as much as those too. Thanks boss."

"You better keep that smart ass mouth at home, DiNozzo," Gibbs said as he patted him on the back.

"Yes, boss."

Finally, Ziva was the only person to say goodbye to. Tony knew that she would be the hardest person to leave behind. He walked up to her and pulled her close, into a heart warming hug. Her head was nestled against his chest, while he rested his chin on top of her head, burying his face in her hair. "Oh Zi, I'm really gonna miss you," he whispered.

"I will as well." She looked up to him, locking her eyes on his. "You promise to keep in contact, yes?"

He nodded. "Every day I can, I promise." He pulled her closer to him, hugging her tighter, and rested his forehead on hers, still keeping eye contact. "Three weeks, and I'll be back."

"I will be waiting. We all will be," Ziva replied sadly. A part of her was chastising herself for being so upset that Tony was leaving. She knew he would be back in three short weeks. However, she couldn't help but be sad that her partner, best friend, and the man that she loved. Inwardly she cursed herself for admitting she loved him, but she knew there was no use in denying it.

Tony broke away for a quick minute to grab something from his pocket. He opened up his hand, and a long silver chain fell from his hand, dangling from his finger. On the end were Tony's Marine dog tags. "This is my extra set. I want you to keep these while I'm gone."

She took them from his hand and placed them around her neck. "I will take good care of them." He took her back in his arms, stroking her back with his hand.

They stayed together for another minute, simply holding each other, until the final boarding call came over the intercom. "Well, I guess this is goodbye," Tony said as they broke apart.

"Only for a short while," Ziva said, and then turned around to walk back to the rest of the group.

They watched Tony walk to the gate and hand his boarding pass to the attendant. As he walked into the terminal, he turned back and waved to everyone one last time. They waved back, and saw him disappear into the terminal leading to the plane.

I feel Ziva was slightly OOC, but this is how I figured she would act if her best friend was going away. This chapter is shorter than usual, but it had a lot going on in it. Thank you for reading, please review (: