Hey guys I'm very sorry for the long wait, but I'm at the end of my apprenticeship and I have my final exams in May, which leads me to the bad news I have for you. I have to fully concentrate on my exams so there won't be any updates until the end of May. I'm very sorry to disappoint you all, but those exams are very important for me and my future.
I promise as soon as they're over I'll update again!
Thanks for all who favorited/followed and reviewed this story.
Disclaimer: I don't own NCIS.
Chapter 9
Tony hadn't really thought about the obvious condition Gibbs would make, although it should have been apparent that Gibbs wouldn't let him go alone. He was after all under protection detail. Still, he considered briefly telling Gibbs that he'll go alone, but that would just end in a long debate and him not going at all. Besides, he could need the help if something should happen.What the hell? It couldn't be that bad, could it?It wouldn't hurt to spend some time with McGee."Well-" Tony stared over to McGee. "Just to be clear: you're getting the couch!"
"Oh no. McGee is not the one who's going with you. Ziva will go. She recognizes security leaks faster and is better trained in close combat." Maybe it was as bad as possible! A small wooden cabin, alone with Ziva David and nobody would disturb them. Well nobody but the assassin who's trying to kill me. It was too close! "Or do you prefer to stay with me after all?"
"No, no!" even if he had preferred McGee to be the one accompany him to the cabin, the last thing he wanted was to stay with Gibbs. Tony turned around and saw that Ziva looked a little insecure too. Good. Why should I be the only one feeling uncomfortable? "Well… looks like I just got you some vacation time, sweet cheeks."
Ziva glanced over to Tony. He was sleeping peacefully in the passenger car seat. They were on their way up to the cabin and were already on the road for two hours now. There were still a little more than one and a half hour to go before they'd arrive. They had driven first to Tony's apartment to pack his things. McGee had promised to look after his goldfish while he was out of city. After that they made a quick stop so that Ziva too could pack some things and after getting some food for their stay, they hit the road.
She looked back at the street. She didn't know what she should think about this trip. She and Tony had spent the night at each other apartment in the past, but never longer than one night. She was afraid of all the things that could happen during their stay at the cabin. She didn't even know what she should do there. She was someone who need something to work on, wasn't the type to just sit around waiting for the end of another day. She needed something, anything, but a lone cabin in the woods didn't offer a lot of possibilities. On the other hand she was glad to spend some time with Tony. Since the explosion at NCIS they've been getting closer. Maybe now they had enough time to see in which direction their relationship was leading.
It was already dark when they arrived at the cabin. Tony had woken up an hour ago but had kept his eyes closed. At this time of the day there wasn't much to see anyway. Ziva had to admit that the cabin looked quite nice from the outside. Though the darkness she could recognize flowers gracing the windows and she asked herself who took care of the cabin while the DiNozzo's were away. The state the cabin was in meant that somebody must come out here every month or even more often than that. Before she allowed Tony in she checked the cabin, just to be sure that there wasn't a trap they'd be walking in. As she had secured the cabin, they carried their things in.
The cabin was also beautiful from the inside. As they went through the door they already stood in a small kitchen. Two steps further was a table which formed a line between the kitchen and dining area and the living room. There was a couch, an armchair and a little TV. The window was placed in a way that would allow the room being illuminated by the sun during the day. There was a door leading to the bedroom that consisted of a double bed and a wardrobe. Two small windows were gracing the room. The bathroom existed of a shower stall, a toilet and a washbasin. All in all the cabin was really small but lovely. She could hardly wait for the next day to explore the area.
Tony put his bag down and went over to the couch. "You can turn this couch into a bed. Although it doesn't look like it, but it's very comfortable. I've slept on it every summer when my parents and I spent some time here." He leaned down to transform the couch into a bed as he suddenly groaned painfully and let go of the couch again.Stupid injury! Ziva darted over to him."Everything alright?"
"It's fine. It was just a little stabbing pain, don't worry. It's over again already."
"I think I can pull out the bed myself. You should put your things in your room and rest a little. I'll go to bed myself too, the moment I finished putting up the couch. We can handle everything else tomorrow."
"Alright." Tony took his things and went to the bedroom. "Good night."
"Good night, Tony."
The night had been very restful for Tony. It was just so much more comfortable to sleep in your own bed rather than sleeping in a hospital bed. He was awakened by the sunrays that shone right into his face. It was a nice feeling and just the right way to start a day.
Tony was just about to close his eyes again as he smelled something, something that smelled as someone was cooking. Ziva. Did Ziva make breakfast? He glanced at his watch, 09:30 o'clock. Ziva just couldn't sit tight. But who was he to argue? Not if it meant that she made breakfast.
Tony got up and put a t-shirt on. It still hurt like hell but he slowly got used to the pain. He didn't even wince that much anymore, he knew that it'll pass again. Tony opened the door to the living area and was greeted with the sight of Ziva working in the kitchen. It really smelled good. No, not good. Fantastic! Tony's stomach let out a grumble, signalling him that food was a very good idea. He looked closer and saw that she was already dressed in some sports pants and a black top. Her hair was put in a ponytail. "Good morning. Slept well?" Tony greeted her.
Ziva turned around and greeted him, noticing his messy hair, his t-shirt that fit him too well and highlighted his chest and his pyjamas pants. She could get used to this sight. "Good morning. You were right by the way. The couch is really nice to sleep on. And you?" Ziva switched off the stove and got two plates from the cupboard. Tony was surprised how well she already knew her way around the cabin, she must've been awake for some time now.
"I can't complain." Tony approached the kitchen. "I see I've the perfect timing." He looked at the breakfast over Ziva's shoulder. Pancakes, hmm. Yeah, he could definitely get used to that.
"Yes, it's actually finished. Take a seat." Tony sat down at the table, waiting for Ziva and the pancakes."For how long have you been awake?"
"Two hours. I have walked around and looked at the area. It's really nice here."
"I know. That's the reason I wanted to come." The two ate their breakfast and when they finished Ziva put the dirty plates and cutlery on the rinsing. "What do you want to do today?"
"I don't know. How far did you go? Have you seen the lake?"
"No, I was not at the lake."
"Then we'll go there today. Trust me, you'll love it."
The sun shined and flooded the area with sunrays, keeping a comfortable temperature. No clouds could be seen and both agents sat on a fallen bole and looked at the lake. It was a peaceful moment for the both. They could see a duck family swimming in the lake, heard the twittering of birds in the background.
Ziva looked to Tony. The blueness of the water was reflecting in his eyes. "You have been here every summer?" asked Ziva with a relaxed and gentle voice that Tony heard very rarely those days.
"Yes. When my Mom had been still alive then." Ziva felt that he needed a moment and waited for him to continue."Back then my dad and I always went fishing and we have eaten our catch for dinner." Tony laughed."I can still remember the day Senior had a big fish on his fishing pole. I had been sitting right beside him and cheered him on. Since he had problems getting the fish, he had placed his right foot right at the edge of the boat to get a better footing. But he put too much pressure on the right side so that the boat had been knocked over and we both fell into the lake. After we had recovered from our shocks we could only laugh and we swum back to the shore. As soon as my mom had seen us she doubled over laughing at us." There was a sparkle in his eyes and a smile on his lips as he told her this story from his childhood. "Her two boys, soaked from top to bottom." He looked smilingly to Ziva. "And at that day we hadn't had fish for dinner. She had teased us with that for years."
They looked each other in the eyes, both smiling and enjoying the moment. The sparkle in Tony's eyes was contagious. "Tali had always wanted a cat, but Eli told her no, what had been difficult for him since she was his favourite. So he had made a compromise. If Tali proofed to him that she was able to take care of an animal, she'd get a cat."
"What did she do?"
"We had a small pond in front of our house. There were no fishes in it. One day Tali walked over to the lake that was a mile from our house. I haven't seen her the whole day then, when she came back in the evening she had been soaked and she had held a bucket in her hand which she emptied over our pond. She had caught two fishes with her bare hands." Ziva looked deeply into Tony's eyes. "She looked after them every single day for a month. After that she had gotten a cat for her birthday. She had been so happy that day."
None of them said anything. They sat both closely on the bole, not daring to break this moment. Tony was thinking about what to do, it wasn't much more and they'd kiss. But why should they put off the inevitable even further? Tony approached Ziva who closed her eyes and tilted her head slightly, waiting for his lips to press upon hers. Just before his lips touched hers, Tony stopped nervously. What if she doesn't want this? What if it's a mistake? He leant far enough out of the window. Now she had to take the last step. Ziva noticed his lack of movement and got nervous too. Maybe he thought about it and was thinking of this as a mistake? She quickly pulled back and opened her eyes again. Their moment was gone.
"Maybe we should go back to the cabin." Ziva got up, dusted the dirt off her pants and started to walk into the direction of the cabin. Another missed chance.
I wish you all a good week and sorry again for putting a break on my stories.
Next update is planned around the end of May.
Maybe I'll finally find some time during my break to answer to your reviews. I already feel very bad for not having it done by now!
Please feel free to get in touch with me via PM or my twitter account (at tv_addict007) if you want to know something about my stories or have questions in general.
