A/N: Hey, y'all! How's ya doing? Okay, so, this was started this morning and somehow I managed to finish it in only about twelve hours. I hope you love it as much as I do (because I really do love it, haha). We're comin' to a close here. Only two more nights now!
Disclaimer: I do not own Dark Angel, although I really do love Logan Cale…but that's not even in this chapter, so whatever. Also, dearies, I do not own pumpkins, apple juice, or the "Floor Is Lava" game (although I have played it very often!). And one cannot forget that I, inspira chaos, do not own Dizengoff Shopping Center. That's in Tel Aviv, kinda. But anyway, I don't own it or any of the stores from it that I may have mentioned (although I would love to own some clothes from some of them…I love online shopping! Hahah.) Okay, read! ::smilies and hugs and kisses::
Love, Kathryn
The Davíd House, Garden
0900 Hours
Monday, December 6, 2010
The wind tickled Tony's neck as hair brushed up against it, the scent of flowers wafting through his nostrils, the sun beaming warmth down onto his face. He was completely content, and not for the first time that week. Softly, a voice crooned, "Tony? Tony, wake up."
His eyes cracked open and he saw Eliana standing over him, her wide, brown eyes full of fear. "Hey, pumpkin." He eased himself up onto one elbow and tapped her chin with his index finger. She crinkled her nose and stared at him. "What's wrong?"
Eliana screwed up her face in confusion. "I am not a pumpkin…"
Tony let out a chuckle. Just like her cousin, huh? "No, that's just a … a … term of endearment, Eliana. I know you're not really a pumpkin." The little girl grinned. "I was just—um—being silly."
"Oh," Eliana murmured. She looked down at him for a while before jumping up and down. "Thank you for my movie, Tony!" He smiled. He'd known she'd love it. "Did you like my gift?" It had been a small bag of gelt and a Chanukah card with a picture of her in an oversized kimono.
"I loved your gift, Eliana. I have the picture with me right now." He reached up and tweaked her nose. She giggled and batted his hand away playfully, and he pushed himself up onto his knees and then his feet, grabbing her around the waist and swinging her up to cradle her in his arms. "Have you seen Ziva this morning?" The little girl shook her head. "Would you like to go help me find her?"
"Yes! Yes! Yes!" she cheered, and Tony carried her into the house on his hip, letting her play with his collar and the small chain that he had around his neck —even though at one point he gently tugged it from her grasp when she was playing with it a bit too roughly—the entire way. "Ziva!" Eliana called, twisting her head around to look in all directions. "Ziva, where are you?"
Tony walked into the kitchen, still holding Eliana, but didn't find Ziva there. He thought maybe she was hiding in her closet, buried under her musty old clothes and persistent memories, deep in the recesses of both the walls and her mind. Or perhaps she had gone somewhere with Lucy or Nina. Anything to get away from Eli, he knew.
"Well, I don't think she's here, Princess," Tony said, shifting Eliana's weight so she wasn't pulling so much on his back. "I think we need to throw in the towel."
Again she gazed at him in confusion. "I am not holding a towel…neither are you."
Tony smirked. It was like training Probationary Agent Ziva Davíd all over again, but when she was simply a Liaison Officer. "'To 'throw in the towel' is a phrase used to say 'give up'," he explained kindly. "Since Ziva's not here, we'd might as well stop looking. Do you understand?" Eliana nodded but then made a face. "What's wrong?"
"I'm thirsty."
Tony grinned playfully. "Well, hey, let's get the Princess some juice! Let's go!"
"Don't step on the brown tiles!" Eliana squealed.
"They're lava, right?" She nodded and he carefully tiptoed from white tile to white tile, although they were half the size of his shiny, brown Italian leather shoe, toward the refrigerator. "These ones are okay, though, because we're on land!" Eliana again nodded, staring at him with big, brown, doe eyes , and he opened the refrigerator door to retrieve the bottle of apple juice from the third shelf. She procured her sippy cup from behind his back and Tony poured her half a cup of juice, filling the rest with water and snapping the top back onto the cup. He offered it to Eliana, who thanked him and took a sip gratefully.
There was silence while Tony looked over the pictures, articles, and papers held to the refrigerator by colorful glass magnets. Finally, Eliana started playing with his hair and cooed, "Tony, why don't you have a life?" His face snapped to look at her.
"Excuse me?" Tony chuckled. She had no idea how closely she'd hit the nail on the head. "I have a life."
"You do?"
"Well, I'm alive, aren't I?" he joked. "Anyway, what did you mean?" Taking her small hand between his thumb and first two fingers, he danced with her around the island.
"No, not a life. A life!" she giggled. Tony furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "Like, Ziva. Why don't you have a life?"
Realization struck him. "Oh. A wife." Eliana bobbed her head insistently, convinced that was what she'd been saying all along. "My princess just hasn't found her Prince Charming yet."
Her eyes widened like saucers. "You're a prince?" she whispered, astounded.
"Uh. No, but …" Tony didn't really know how to get out of it, now that he had dug himself a hole. "Yeah. I'm a prince."
"Sababa!" she cried, grinning. "Who is your princess?"
He swallowed hard. "Uh … I don't know yet. I haven't found her."
"Do you ride horses?" Eliana patted Tony's shoulder and chest. "Do you have a white horse? Do you have a sword? What about a cat?"
What a cat had to do with it he wasn't sure, but he laughed anyway and shook his head. "Nope. I have a badge, though." He hadn't brought it with him, so he hoped she'd take his word for it.
"But you don't have a life."
"Wife."
"Life."
Tony gave up and let her say it whatever way she wanted, since she was only five and probably couldn't pronounce her double-you's. Instead, he shook his head and smiled. "No, I don't have a wife. But that's okay. I'm only thirty-nine. I've got time."
Eliana sent him a grave look. "When are you going to get a life?"
He shrugged. "I don't know, Eliana."
"Ziva's nice," the small girl said matter-of-factly. "Ziva is nice and pretty and she smells good and she cooks yummy food and—"
Tony could see where this was going and stopped her. "Yes. Ziva is nice and cooks very well. What does that have to do with me getting married?"
It took Eliana a moment to respond. "Would Ziva make a good life?"
He was silent for a moment and then nodded. "Yes, to the right guy." Wish that were me, he thought.
"You should make Ziva your life."
But she already is, Eliana.
The Davíd House, Dizengoff Shopping Center (Mall)
1400 Hours
Monday, December 6, 2010
"Do you think that Nina would like this, Doda Lucy?" Ziva asked, holding up a cashmere cardigan sweater. She spoke in Hebrew, making conversation with her elderly, traditional aunt much easier.
Lucy nodded, but jerked her head in the direction of the stairs. "Yes, but the store you really want is back there." Ziva quirked an eyebrow but said nothing and held up another sweater. "Ziva," she murmured suddenly, "You are nearly thirty. Have you considered slowing down? Settling yourself and finding a man to marry and start a family with?"
Sadness flashed across her niece's eyes before it was replaced by a sea of calm. "Of course I have considered it." Not that I can do anything about it right now.
"You are such a pretty girl. You always have been and obviously always will be. Men should be falling over themselves to be with you," Lucy persisted. No, Aunt Lucy, they are going to warzones to get themselves killed for me, Ziva thought to herself, holding up another sweater. "That one would go well with her eyes," she interjected before continuing, " Your clock is ticking, Zee-vah. You need to find someone to spend your life with. I am a Shidduch; trust me to find you someone."
"Doda Lucy, I …" Ziva couldn't very well say that she already had someone, because news would get back to Tony and then he would surely hound her for weeks about the person's identity. She didn't have the time to fabricate a story about someone again, and she had worn the 'Friend From Miami' story very thin lately. Finally she decided to say, "I am not ready to date yet. My heart still aches from Michael."
"Or is it aching for him?" her aunt probed, looking around.
Ziva shook her head. "What? No. I am not in love with Michael still. I have moved on. I am just waiting for the right man to find me instead of going out and getting myself in trouble." Or fired.
Lucy just clucked and stared her niece down. "We should go to a different store, Zee-vah."
"Why?" the younger woman asked nonchalantly. "HDL is fine…Oh, look, what a pretty scarf!" Lucy followed her over to a display table and clucked internally as she watched her niece play with the black lace scarf.
"Lace is for the bedroom. Let us go pay for the sweater for Nina and then go somewhere else." Ziva agreed, paid for the sweater, and began walking toward MANGO, but Lucy grabbed her elbow and steered her in the other direction. "We are going to Woman's Secret, Ziva. Do not argue."
Ziva stared at Lucy in a mixture of curiosity, confusion, and a hint of disgust. "Doda Lucy…?"
"I need panties," the elderly woman said plainly, and Ziva fought off a shudder. "Come on." Ziva didn't have a choice but to follow. When they arrived in front of Woman's Secret, she noticed that she would have to walk by displays of men and women (apparently couples) entwined with each other, the posters possibly reminiscent of wedding nights, anniversaries, or romantic evenings.
She had to fight off another shudder, but this time it was more of a shiver. Because for a split second, images of a shirtless Tony, staring down at her as the men in the posters were staring at their partners, ran across her mind.
Lucy stopped in front of a mannequin that was wearing a hunter green, sequined satin negligee. "I think this would look nice on you."
"What?" Ziva blurted. "Doda Lucy! That…I do not want to talk about—"
The older woman just grinned and shrugged her shoulders innocently. "Who's talking, Zee-vah?" And then she disappeared around the corner in her pursuit of proper-fitting panties.
And Ziva just wanted to call Tony and vent. But she knew she couldn't. That would allow him to … to think about her. That would encourage his advances. That would be admitting that she held him in high regard in her personal life…All of which was welcomed in her mind but when she thought about it actually happening, it made her uncomfortable. She wanted him. She wanted him a lot. Very badly. But nothing could happen. Because that damned Rule Number Twelve was an unvoiced threat hung over their heads like the proverbial carrot, where Gibbs was the puppet master and his employees were his playthings.
She resented it, but she also thanked Judah Maccabee that it meant she would never have to go out on a limb and then get hurt. Maybe Tony didn't feel the same way about her that she felt about him. Maybe, just maybe, she was imagining it all. And therefore, going out on that notorious 'limb' would only end in Ziva's heart getting broken again. It had been bad enough before, with Michael. The breakup sex had been wonderful and then she had told him to get out. If she had been the one to find Rivkin in her apartment, she would have attacked him herself. Maybe she resented the fact that Tony had gotten there first? Maybe she was jealous that Tony was a better boyfriend than Michael had been, without even being a boyfriend.
Damn it all! Ziva admonished herself. Squaring her shoulders, she grabbed the hanger of the hunter green satin that was staring her down from its stationary rack and stalked to the dressing rooms. She didn't know it, but Lucy had watched her every move, and was itching to go home and tell Eli of her findings.
The Davíd House, Study
1600 Hours
Monday, December 6, 2010
"Eli!" Lucy wheezed, propelling herself as fast as she could through the door of her brother-in-law's study and into the seat in front of the desk. "Eli! I must talk to you. It is urgent." She kept her Israeli tones hushed, but she was about to burst—both from the labor of running up all of those stairs and from the news she was about to tell.
Eli looked up from the newspaper he held in his hands and pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose to look at her clearer. His eyebrows were raised bemusedly, a sign that he was in a relatively good mood, or at least that was what he was intending to project. "Lucy, what is it that has you so excited?"
Lucy took a deep breath and quickly launched into her retelling of the events at the mall. "She is single and waiting for her majestic prince to come and save her!"
"Lucy, Lucy, Lucy…" Eli murmured sadly. "You have lost your touch. You were always so nosy; how have you not heard of the discontent between my daughter and myself?" He watched his sister's face transform from excitement, to confusion, and finally settle upon anger. "Lucy, you are not—"
"How dare you throw a wrench in things?" she shouted. "After all that we have worked for!" Staring down Eli, she narrowed her eyes until they were slits. Eli wondered if she could actually see through them. "Well," Lucy harrumphed, "it is not as though you have really done anything to help, anyway. I have done most of the work. I still wonder why Rivka married you at all. An-y-way…" Her nonverbal request for him to explain the situation between him and his daughter echoed in the silence.
Eli hung his head but didn't break eye contact. "She banned two of my best officers from coming to the rest of the Chanukah celebration." Lucy blinked twice, expecting more. "There is nothing else."
"You argued with her…over that?" she groaned. "Idiot! How stupid you are. She is your daughter. She has rights here." Automatically, Lucy's brain went into overdrive as she attempted to formulate a plan to fix the situation. "Okay, so she is not talking to you, yes? Why did she tell Liat and Malachi not to come back?"
Her brother-in-law shrugged. "Malachi punched Tony for flirting with Liat." If possible, Lucy squinted even more than she was before. "Or, as Tony claims, Liat was making unwanted advances and the entire ordeal was misunderstood by a jealous Malachi." He raised an eyebrow and went back to reading his paper. "Have fun trying to fix that."
Lucy said nothing. Eli had no idea that it was like the silence before the storm, for he was taken by complete surprise when she cuffed him upside the head. "Did I already say that you are an idiot? Because you are! A complete fool! How did you not see that this was our perfect opportunity? Liat was trying to steal Tony away. That would have ruined our entire plan, so now that she is out of the picture, we can make our move." She counted in her head. "We have three nights of Chanukah left. You will talk to Ziva and resolve things. I will talk to Tony." Without bidding him farewell, Lucy stood and walked out the pocket door.
Waiting in the hallway, she grinned when she heard Eli dialing the phone. "Ziva," Eli murmured, "I think we should talk. Please meet me in my study when you return home. Thank you." And then he hung up.
The plan was falling into place…
The Davíd House, Kitchen
1800 Hours
Monday, December 6, 2010
"Is it against the rules for you to open my present before the candles are blessed?" Tony asked, offering his gift in an outstretched arm. The corners of Ziva's mouth turned up, and he returned her smile.
She unwrapped the small box and could immediately smell the light, spicy—but summery—scent. Ziva thought she caught a hint of Jasmine, as well as the citrus and gardenia. It was deep, marine blue, set in a square, glass votive with a baby blue ribbon. At the ends of the ribbon was a silver charm and a sapphire Swarovski crystal, and the front of the votive held a metal circle engraved with the Star of David. It was beautiful and would be so pretty in her apartment. She looked up at her partner and gave him a small smile. "My gift to you seems so stupid now; but thank you."
Tony refused to believe that Ziva was right, because all of her gifts thus far had been amazing. He peeled the wrapping paper from a deep blue box and then uncapped it. Pulling aside the tissue, he lifted a beautiful, ice blue tie from within it. He took in a breath as he looked at the writing that covered every inch of the tie; the fabric held the signatures of all of the Founding Fathers, and given Tony's immense sense of patriotism at times, Ziva had thought the tie resembled him quite well. As well as matching his eyes beautifully. "Wow…No, Ziva, this is a great tie!" he said thickly. "Thank you so much, Zeev."
They hugged and everything felt right. Ziva decided that she would talk to Tony over candlelight that evening before they went to bed—now that Tony had his own room, she was going to push him to use it instead of sleeping in her bed—and tell him everything. Tony likewise decided to wear the tie to the following evening's party.
If there was going to be one, because tonight hardly anyone was there. Lucy had approached him and told him that tonight would be a more relaxed evening without a party, per se. He couldn't deny the fact that the silence was welcome; spending time with just Ziva, Nina, and Eliana was his idea of a perfect evening. The blessing of the candles went smoothly and streamlined right into a beautifully prepared dinner, as always.
"So, Tony," Eli said before biting into a bruschetta, "What did Ziva get you tonight?"
The younger man looked down at the box he had set on the floor for safe keeping and reached down to grasp it. "She got me an awesome tie. All of America's Founding Fathers' signatures, right here. Fantastic."
The Mossad Director nodded. "And what did you get her?"
Tony wiped his mouth and then answered, "A Chanukah candle."
Jumping up and down, Eliana cheered, "Men-nor-uh!"
"Nah, sweetie, just a candle," he answered, winking at the girl. "It smells great. I usually hate the smell of candles." Tony took a bite of broccoli kugel. It was delicious, as was all food he'd had that week. "Although, I must say, nothing beats the smell of that tsimmes kugel you've got baking in there, Nina." He cast a sly smile at Ziva, since she had done the majority of the work. He knew what that smile did to her and loved every minute of it.
Eliana frowned. "I like tzim-mis kooo-gull." Nina smiled at her and smoothed a hand over her daughter's hair. "Hey! I'm a princess!" The little girl lifted a hand to her head to make sure the tiara was still firmly in place. "To-nee?"
"Yeah, pumpkin?"
"Do you want Ziva's kugel?" Eli, Ziva, and Tony all managed to choke on their broccoli. "Sahvta Lucy said you would want her kugel by nine. What's nine?"
Nina leaned in to whisper in her daughter's ear, "Sahvta Lucy was saying that the kugel would be ready at nine and that Tony would like it. Remember?"
"No."
Her mother shrugged and glanced at Lucy, who just smiled knowingly.
The timer went off on the stove and Ziva jumped up to get it. Tony rose, too, under the pretense of getting another bottle of beer for Eli and himself, and met her by the oven. Standing closer than he should, he leant down to say, "You tell me, Ziva. Do I want your kugel?" He winked again and Ziva just blushed and hurriedly carried the steaming tsimmes kugel to the table while Tony retrieved the beers.
Perhaps he didn't need another, but he knew it would just make him less nervous. He needed something to take the edge off, and nothing was better for that than the Hefe-Wit or India Pale Ale he'd found in the refrigerator.
"So, tell us, Tony; what are your plans for the holidays once you return to the United States?" Eli asked once the younger man had given the former his beer and sat down. "Christmas and the New Year, yes?"
Tony nodded. "Yeah; I'll probably do my traditional It's A Wonderful Life viewing at my house, and make myself some dinner, and maybe call my dad and wish him a Merry Christmas." He took a sip of his beer and then added, "Nothing can compare to the time I've had here, though. The holiday's coming to a close so I just want to say thank you for opening your home to me."
"You are basically family," Lucy muttered, cutting into the tsimmes kugel and spooning a bit into a small bowl.
Tony pretended not to hear her, but smiled anyway.
Eli nodded. "It is common knowledge that last year, I was not pleased with you for the accident with Officer Rivkin—" Here, he bowed his head in reverence. "—nor for 'taking' my daughter and agent from Israel." Tony just looked down the table at him with what he hoped was a smile on his face. "However, I agree with Lucy. You helped protect me when I was in the United States, and you saved my daughter. Over the past few days you have proven yourself to be a good man."
Ziva snorted, but not at the compliment her father had just given Tony. Rather, the snort was at the fact her father had just given Tony a compliment. After their conversation earlier that evening, Ziva still wanted to go home. While Eli was trying to sugarcoat his words from the day before, she had made up her mind that regardless of how kind he was going to be to her now, she would be friendly but noncommittal. If Ziva had her way, she would never come to this house again. Nina's, she could handle. Aunt Lucy and Uncle Avraham's, sure. But this house would never be 'home' to her again.
It was then that she realized that she had made the right decision in bringing Tony with her. She needed his support and friendship. Actually, she needed someone to hug her and hold her and kiss away her fears. If that 'someone' ended up being Tony, then so be it.
"Thanks, Eli. That means a lot." Tony, too, had long since decided to be cordial and gracious, but not explicit about his true feelings. While Eli's words did mean a lot to him, Tony was also aware that they were just that: words. Chances were that Eli was just giving him lip service and after Chanukah was over, they would go back to not liking each other. And that was fine by Tony. He knew better. He could see the resentment and hurt in Ziva's eyes, and swimming in those chocolate browns was also fear, he wanted to take that away. "It's been great."
Glancing at Ziva, he couldn't help thinking, But sometimes, I wish I had a family of my own. He didn't know that Ziva was thinking the same thing.
The Davíd House, Ziva's Bedroom
0010 Hours
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
The candle sat forgotten, still lit but its flame not of either Ziva or Tony's concern. They were more focused on their competing fingertips.
"I am going to win," Ziva whispered, nudging his elbow out of the way. "I am going to win—Hah! Touchdown!" Tony groaned and grabbed the dice from her. "Oh, aw, are you…are you sad that I won?" she mocked, patting his cheek. She gasped softly when he covered her hand with his.
"Nope." He stared into her eyes, his a grey-green that Ziva hadn't seen in quite a while. "Zeev, there's…there's something we really need to discuss. And it would probably be a better idea to talk about it now, before we're back in the States and at work and stuff…"
Ziva just looked at him with large, curious eyes. "What is it?" A thought struck her and she was forced to ask. "You aren't sick again, are you?"
"What? No! No, I'm not sick," Tony said through a chuckle. "Well, I guess I sort of am." Yeah, lovesick, maybe, he thought.
"Was it the kugel? I am sorry. I did not know if you were allergic to anything, so if it's my fault, I will buy you medicine." She ran a hand through her hair, pressing the scent of her shampoo into the air.
Her partner just watched her, perplexed as to how to continue. "No. I'm not sick. Calm down." He smiled and just ran a hand through his own hair. "Okay, Ziva, I'm sorry, but I don't know how to…Um…tell you."
Ziva nodded, as though understanding. "I…I know. You have a girlfriend back home, right?" Tony's eyes widened. "Did you get back in contact with Brenda Bittner? I knew you had broken it off but…"
"What? No. Really, no." He decided there was only one way to get his message through. "Forgive me." Lacing a hand through the curls on the back of her head, he closed the distance between them and pressed his lips to hers. She let out a soft moan of shock but didn't stop him, simply opening her mouth for him to caress her tongue with his. Tony lowered her back onto the floor, where they had collapsed after drinking several beers, and shoved the tin box game that they had previously been playing out of the way.
Things only grew from there, and they only stopped when they realized that sleeping together was not the answer to Rule Number Twelve and their question of its reliability.
The partners fell asleep cuddled together on her small, shag-carpet area rug at the end of Ziva's bed.
Tony's sock was missing.
A/N: Um. Yeah. Sorry that it didn't…yaknow…go into full-blown lovemaking. After all, this is only rated-T, haha. ::grins mischievously:: So, anyway, I hope you enjoyed it. I'm not sure what inspired me to just…pump out an entire chapter in a day, but I did it, and therefore, I hope it was worth the wait from before. What a reward for my other viewers, yeah? ::smiled:: Also, I think I'm in love with the idea of Tony in a wheelchair…Ohdear. Too much Dark Angel for me….
Translations:
Sababa! (Cool!)
Shidduch (Matchmaker.)
Doda. (Aunt.)
