A/N: It hadn't been my intention to put up another chapter so soon but as I am currently bored out of my mind, I just decided to write a little more and here's how it turned out. Finally a little light in the darkness for Ziva and Tony - maybe :-D

I hope you like it! :)


Chapter Seven: Long distance

The next day finally brought a new case and Tony was relieved to see himself faced with new tasks, instead of the seemingly endless time to think. He was so busy securing the crime scene, taking pictures, interrogating witnesses and possible suspects that it didn't even strike him as odd that Ziva had been very quiet the whole day. Only as they stood in the observation room side by side, watching Gibbs' attempt to crack the suspect, he realized that he hadn't been threatened to get killed that day.

He glanced over at Ziva, who was standing a little bit further away than she usually would. Her eyes were fixed on Gibbs but Tony could see that they weren't moving along with him. It seemed like she was far, far away in her thoughts. Tony noticed that she wasn't looking particularly healthy. Was she still suffering from the flu? Or had it been just an excuse for being hung over that day? He turned around now to fully face her. Extraordinarily for her, she didn't seem to realize that. Usually, she would have heard him move, would have seen his reflection in the window.
But as he softly spoke her name, she jumped. Ziva never jumped or at least Tony had never seen her jump before.

Really odd.

"I know, I sound like a broken record but are you alright, Zi?"

Ziva turned to look at him and he could see that she tried to put on a happier face but failed miserably. Maybe she could have fooled McGee with that but not Tony. Her eyes told him that something was wrong, seriously wrong.

"What is it? Come one, you can tell me."
"I do not think you want to know, Tony. It is private."
"And since when does that stop me from wanting to know?" He grinned sheepishly at her.
"Never," she sighed but turned around to face the interrogation room again.

But Tony wouldn't let her off the hook that easily. He knew that Ziva was a very private person but he also knew that she opened up to him from time to time. So he kept on staring at her, not paying the interrogation in the other room any attention. After a little while, Ziva seemed to be unnerved by his constant staring and turned around again. Anger mirrored on her face but yet again her eyes didn't shut up. They weren't angrily staring at him, they were just a little bit darker than usual and Tony could see them slightly shimmer.

-x-

He wondered where Ziva had walked off to. He didn't know how long she was gone already but he was certain that it was longer than a visit to the ladies' room would usually take, especially for Ziva who wasn't like one of these Barbie dolls that would stand in front of the mirror forever. Tony couldn't suppress the feeling that something was wrong and he had the strong feeling that he was the reason why she wouldn't come back.

They had been standing in the corner of the club, talking about nothing in particular, really. She had teased him that no woman, besides that weird, annoying blonde one, seemed to be interested in him tonight. He had replied that he hadn't really tried getting one because if he had, he'd have at least five new phone numbers on his cell. Ziva had laughed at him and asked why he hadn't tried to get some. He had merely smiled and had leaned forward to whisper in her ear that she was with him tonight and that that was simply enough. She had smiled at him for a moment before taking another sip from her vodka.

"So why are you not taking your chances and pick up a man tonight, Ziva?" He had asked her, only wanting to tease her.
But she had stared at him with a slightly distant look and hadn't answered him.
"Ah, I forgot," Tony had continued without thinking, "you have Mr. Miami."

Ziva had remained standing there, giving him that weird look and then emptied her drink in one gulp and had murmured something about needing to wash her hands.

So he was standing there now, wondering what he had done wrong. He had teased her with that Miami guy for months now, how could that have been so bad now? He decided to just ask her. He slowly made his way to the ladies' room, desperately trying not to sway.

He opened the door just as another woman was trying to get out of there. She gave him a disgruntled look but didn't say anything. Tony quickly squinted around but didn't see anyone else there but Ziva who stood at the far end of the room, leaning her head against the wall. He quickly turned the lock at the door and then cautiously approached her. She only looked up as he was standing merely inches away from her.

"You do realize that this is the ladies' room, yes?"
"Like that has ever stopped you from getting in ours at work," Tony retorted.
"Whatever. What are you doing here?"
"I was worried about you. And I came to apologize. I don't know what I did or said wrong but I'm sorry."

Ziva gave him a small smile and leaned her back against the wall behind her, Tony did the same beside her.

"You have not done anything wrong – for once. I am just being stupid. I should not still be hung over all that stuff."
"Hung up, you mean. We will be hung over tomorrow, though," he flashed his famous DiNozzo smile at her in an attempt to lighten the mood but failed as Ziva was still looking gloomily.

"What stuff?" He asked.
"It is about the guy from Miami. Robert. Well, I was dating him for a while now."
"Was?" Tony interrupted her, feeling his heart sink at the thought that he had actually been more than a friend, despite her prior statements.

"Yes, Tony, was dating. However, we broke up last week."
"Oh, I'm sorry, Ziva. What happened?"
"I do not really know. We ended it because we are not good in long distance relationships."
"What are you talking about? You've had a relationship with Rivkin when he was still in Israel. Talking about long distance!"

As soon as Tony had mentioned Rivkin's name, he regretted it. They never really had talked about him since they've gotten home from Somalia and he hadn't minded that at all. But as he looked as Ziva now, he could see that she surprisingly didn't care.

"Yeah, you are right," she said, now finally looking him straight in the eyes.
"I believe that Robert was jealous of… of my work and that I spend so much time with… working."
"He's really stupid then. Who in his right mind would ever let you go?"

Again, he stopped talking, desperately trying to stop his cheeks from blushing now. He was risking his neck with careless talking and he knew it. Damn alcohol.

But again Ziva surprised him as she merely smiled at him and rested her forehead on his chest. He carefully pulled his arms around her and hugged her tightly.

"Don't worry," he whispered into her ear, trying desperately not to be distracted by her scent, "you'll forget about him soon enough. There are much better guys out there for you."

-x-

"Oh," Tony simply said, tearing his thoughts away from the ladies' room and softly squeezed her shoulder.
"It's still Robert, huh? You'll get over him."

Ziva looked up at him again, shock and disbelief showing on her face.

"How do you know?"
"I… just remembered. You told me about it at the club."
"I did?" Ziva sighed, looking away from him.
"Damn tequilas," she said more to herself than to him.

"Don't worry. Your secret's safe with me. But if you ever wanted to talk, I'm here."
"I know, Tony, I know."

He gave her an encouraging smile and she almost shyly returned it. Tony finally started to observe Gibbs' interrogation again, wondering what on earth had happened after that talk in the bathroom. By now, however, he was pretty positive that everything would resurface again…


A/N: I'd be glad, if you'd review on your way out! :)