Title: The Too Young series: The Forbidden
Disclaimer: I don't own the show NCIS, I'm just borrowing the characters for the story.
A/N: This story is part of my series called Too young, where Ziva is nineteen years old and has been assigned as Liaison Officer to Gibbs' team (just like on the show). She is taken care of by, and also seen as the responsibility of, Gibbs and occasionally also Director Jenny Shepard who were the ones that decided she could stay at NCIS regardless of her young age.
I wrote "Staying Focused" as the first story about a younger Ziva and I've had to make some changes in that story to make everything work better as a series. "Staying Focused" is still included in the series though of course.
The first change is that Ziva is nineteen, not twenty three and I have my reasons for making that change. The second change is that in this series Gibbs only administers Corporal Punishment to Ziva, (because of her age and the fact that he has taken responsibility for her training and safety) not the rest of the team. The third and last change is that "Staying Focused" takes place at the beginning of season three, not the end of the season. In this story the team has been informed of Ziva's age.
A/N 2: This is the third story about Ziva in my Too Young series.
CHAPTER 9
Ziva stared blankly at the wall in front of her nose. Oh how she hated corner time. It was still one of the worse forms of punishment to her. Being left with her own trepidation of her fate and what was going to happen to her as soon as Gibbs and Jenny appeared, that was just awful. She looked up to them so much. More than anyone else she had ever met and she knew she had disappointed them.
But she still believed she had done the right thing by going after Tony and McGee and she swore to herself that no matter what she was going to stand by that. She was so angry at Gibbs for being angry with her for driving the car even when their lives had been in danger. And she was going to let him know just how angry and upset she really was.
Just as she finished that thought the door to Jenny's office flew open and Gibbs entered with her in tow. Ziva turned around and faced them, not caring that she had not heard either one of them say she was allowed to turn yet. She was just too angry to care.
Gibbs recognized the defiance in her eyes and could easily tell she knew very well that he expected her to wait for his approval before turning to face them. He was not about to let her get away with anything right now. Her attitude was pretty much the reason they were up there. He closed the distance between himself and Ziva and took her by her upper arm and stared into her eyes. Her eyes held nothing but defiance at the time. As she scowled at him his eyes narrowed dangerously. He stayed silent for quite some time, keeper his firm grip on her arm. It was a technique he had used many times on suspects and he had learned over the past few months that it also worked quite well with this girl. Eventually she would break, but he was not about to wait that long this time. "That little act of defiance just now just earned you another twenty minutes in that corner. So you can just turn around and stay there until I tell you the time is up." he brought his face a little closer to her's, "Ya got that?"
"No." she blankly refused while glaring at him.
Jenny raised an eyebrow at Ziva's refusal. Had the girl gone crazy, she wondered to herself.
"What?" Gibbs asked, dangerously.
"You have no right!!" Ziva yelled at him angrily.
Sensing Gibbs was two seconds from boiling over and maybe even putting Ziva across his knee right away instead of talking things through with her first, Jenny intercepted quickly. She stepped closer and put a hand on Ziva's shoulder to calm her. "Ziva, if you know what's best for you you'll back down now. You don't really want to make things worse, do you?"
Ziva broke eye contact with Gibbs and looked into Jenny's somewhat gentler eyes. She looked back at Gibbs and then to Jenny again who sent her a knowing glance with a clear message of what was about to happen if she kept defying her mentor and boss. "Fine, whatever!" she spat and yanked free of Gibbs' grip and spun around, facing the corner again.
Gibbs bit the inside of his cheek to keep from delivering a heavy swat to her backside in anger. That attitude needed to change and he was going to make sure it did very soon.
Jenny let out a breath of relief as Ziva was once again facing the corner. All would be quiet for another twenty minutes, so she sat down at her desk and started going over paperwork. Gibbs looked around the room for something to keep him busy. He was not about to leave the room and give his charge even the smallest opportunity to be difficult again. He plopped down on the couch and grabbed a magazine from the coffee table while he kept an eye on his watch. He wasn't going to let her stand there a second longer than what was necessary. Not because she didn't deserve it, but because he didn't want to wait any longer than necessary to get this over with. Sure he was angry with Ziva for driving, but the reason he had dragged her up there was not because of the driving. He didn't know how she had known Tony and Tim had been in danger, but somehow she had known. And as long as there was a believable threat against them he agreed that she had done the right thing. The reason to why she was going to be punished however was the attitude she had displayed downstairs. Instead of trusting him to understand she had started yelling and being disrespectful not only to him but also to the Director of their Agency.
The exact moment the twenty minutes had passed Gibbs was on his feet. "Turn around." he growled as he stepped behind Jenny's desk and stood at her side. As Ziva turned he beckoned her with his finger. She moved to stand in front of the Director's desk but could not help but feel that she was still fuming. What was wrong with them? Did they not see that she had done what she did to help out her friends?
She scowled at them to let them know that her additional corner time had done nothing to dampen her anger. "Drop that attitude...right now, Ziva." Gibbs said in a low voice. She could tell he meant business but unfortunately her anger kept her from really caring.
Jenny intercepted once again, "Jethro, calm down a second." she then turned to Ziva, "Can we please discuss this? Like adults, if you don't mind?"
Ziva rolled her eyes. Jenny really was the diplomat sometimes. Ziva's military training made her stand still, almost at attention in, in front of them while they awaited her answer, even though she felt like pacing back and forth to try to calm herself. She nodded that she agreed to try to discuss what had happened.
Jenny being the more talkative one of the pair, took command first by asking, "Do you understand why you are here?" she and Gibbs had had a short conversation on their way up the stairs to make sure they agreed what needed to be done and why. They had easily come to an agreement...for once.
"Yes." she simply answered. There was no reason to make this easy on them. Gibbs was clearly going to spank her anyway, no matter what she said.
"And why is that?"
"Because I drove a stupid car after you had forbidden me from doing so." she answered and looked away as Gibbs clearly became even more agitated at her answer. She was not sure why she was pushing him. Maybe because she was still angry about the prohibition. Or maybe because she was going to be punished for saving Tony and McGee's lives. Or maybe a little bit of both.
"No." Jenny answered patiently, despite Ziva's willingness to test them both at the moment. "That is not the reason." she watched as Ziva's head shot up in surprise.
"Then why the hell did you just..." the girl started to ask but was cut short when Gibbs walked around the desk and was in her face in a second.
"You drop the attitude or you and I are going to have a discussion that will leave you with a sore butt right now!"
Ziva glared at him, knowing he meant business.
"Ziva." Jenny pleaded, hoping she would come to her senses.
"Fine" she whispered and looked away.
"Not good enough this time. Do you understand me?" Gibbs urged her.
She looked back at him again, not all, but at least some of her defiance gone from her eyes. "Yes, Sir." she answered and then chose to look away again.
Satisfied for the moment Gibbs returned to his position next to Jenny. She let him take over for a while while she took a seat, exhausted after a full day at the office. "First I want you to explain how you found out Tony and McGee were in trouble." Gibbs stated with a raised eyebrow. When he didn't get an answer right away he added a, "Now." in a stern voice that said to get started with the explanation.
Ziva sighed and rolled her eyes at the drama they were displaying. "After they left a man approached me. He told me the identity of the person that was driving the truck and his relation to our suspect. That was when I knew."
Gibbs nodded, "Alright."
Ziva directed her most furious glare at him, all sense of self preservation that she had experienced when exiting the elevator forty five minutes earlier gone. "Hey! I saved them! You tell me what I was supposed to do! Just ignore the problem? Sit down and wait for them to PERHAPS return because the of YOU had forbidden me from driving?!" she yelled and leaned forward, putting both hands on the top of the desk in front of her.
Jenny put her face in her hands and groaned slightly at Ziva's temper tantrum. She was dooming herself quickly.
"Have you been going to your driving lessons that I called the driving school and scheduled for you three weeks ago?" Gibbs asked and studied her carefully.
Ziva looked him right in the eyes, "Yes." the lamp right next to her face illuminated her features and Gibbs narrowed his eyes as he took in her anger and stubbornness.
Without a second thought he reached for the phone and started dialing a number that had stuck in his mind. It wasn't the first time that happened. It might be that he somehow had known he would be dialing it again soon. Jenny gave him a puzzled look before she realized what he was doing.
"This is Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs." he spoke to the receptionist on the other end of the line, "I would like to speak to Manny Meyers, the driving instructor at your school. Yes, I'll hold."
Ziva paled and stood up straight as she heard Gibbs speak to the receptionist at the Driving school where she had supposedly been taking classes for the passed three weeks. She felt like her stomach had somehow mysteriously been filled with ice and her mouth was dry. She licked her lips and tried to hold onto her anger, feeling it was the only thing that could save her now from visibly turning into the scared little girl she suddenly felt like.
Gibbs was certain she had been lying to him. It had become clear when he watched her answer his question just a minute ago. But for once he actually hoped he was wrong. "Yes, this is Special Agent Gibbs." he said to the new person on the line, "I would like you to check the attendance of my young Agent, Ziva David for the passed three weeks..."he became quiet as he listened to the man's surprised tone, "Is that so?" he said and pinned her with a glare that sent a familiar shill up her spine. "No, there is no need for you to check anyway, Mr Meyers, I believe you." he started shifting impatiently from foot to foot, clearly wanting to put an end to the conversation on the phone, "Oh yes, you can definitely expect her there on Monday...I have no doubt she will. Thank you." he hung up the phone and stood in silence.
Ziva could not make herself look at him. She had really done it this time. He was going to kill her.
Jenny looked even more puzzled now than before the call. "What? What did he say, Jethro?" she stood up and Gibbs turned to her, taking his penetrating eyes off the shrinking girl in front of them.
"Apparently, miss David here has not attended a single class for Mr Meyers for the passed three weeks."
Ziva wanted to turn around and run now. This could not be happening.
"Apparently, she has been lying to me about going, and taking off to do something else during work hours in the afternoon." he added brusquely.
Jenny turned to Ziva who met her stare. Jenny looked bewildered and in disbelief. It was almost as if Ziva could see Jenny's thoughts moving inside her head as she realized what had been going on. By the time she had processed it Ziva thought she looked downright surly. Jenny leaned forward and glared at the girl. "You mean you lied to us about taking your driving lessons and instead left this workplace to go entertain yourself?" her voice was stern and her words didn't even sound like a question, more of a dangerous statement of fact. It had already been proven true and both Jenny and Gibbs knew Ziva was not stupid enough to try and deny it now. She was not that good a liar. At least not to them. "Where did you go?" when she didn't get an answer she raised her voice slightly, "Where, young lady?"
Ziva swallowed and hoped they didn't notice her doing so. She did not want it to be seen that she was nervous, though she was having a difficult time covering it up when they were both staring at her like that.
"The Director asked you a question, Ziva." she heard Gibbs say.
"I had coffee with a friend at the café a few blocks from the Navy Yard." she answered.
"You what?!" Gibbs could no longer hold his anger in, "You had coffee? During work hours?!"
"You sent me out!" she desperately tried to defend herself.
"Yes, to take driving lessons thee afternoons a week! You lied to me about your whereabouts. You lied to your Director. You lied to your coworkers." he stated in exasperation.
"I had to! They would have told you!" the moment she said it she regretted it. She winced as her words settled in and she took an involuntary step back.
Jenny just sighed deeply and Gibbs rounded the desk and came to Ziva's side. Had it been DiNozzo he had in front of him he would have headslapped him silly, in Ziva's case he resorted to what usually worked on her.
"Ow!" she hissed as his hand made contact with her posterior.
He gave her three hard swats and then let go of her arm and made her face the Director again.
Jenny could see the mortified expression on Ziva's face and felt almost sorry for her. Though she wasn't surprised of Gibbs action. Ziva had been pushing them both. "Now, if we could get back on the previous topic." she took her seat again and folded her arms across her chest, "But don't think we're just going to let this go. This irresponsible behavior will add to your punishment, believe me."
Gibbs calmed himself to the best of his ability, knowing he still had to sort things out with the driving incident before they could continue on to her punishment. "The reason you are up here, besides what we just found out, is not because you drove my car to save Tony and McGee." he noticed her intent staring at the floor and placed a finger under her chin and tilted her head so she looked at him, "You did save them, like you so 'humbly' described before, and you did the right thing by making the choice to go after them." he paused to allow her to absorb this before he continued, "You did however have a temper tantrum down there earlier." he pointed at the floor, indicating he was referring to the squad room downstairs. " You were disrespectful to me and to Jenny." she tried to look away but he wouldn't let her, "And I will not tolerate that."
Ziva thought it would be safest for her and her behind if she kept quiet. All anger had been drained out of her and now all she felt was trepidation and shame. She felt ashamed of her actions because she was beginning to realize they were not punishing her for the reasons she had believed. She should have had more trust in Gibbs, and in Jenny, from the beginning and known that they would understand her reasons for driving to Tony and McGee's aid.
"When you first got here and me and Jen decided you could stay despite your age," Gibbs reminded her, "you and I talked about a number of things you are to focus on learning. What was number one?"
She swallowed again and glanced up at the ceiling, focusing on making sure her voice wouldn't crack before she spoke. "Control" she answered.
"That's right. And to learn control you must keep your temper under control, right?"
"Yes."
He nodded and by the look in her eyes he knew they had reached her and come to an understanding. He looked at Jenny and found that she was satisfied as well.
He put a hand on Ziva's shoulder, "You know I'm going to punish you, right?"
She nodded. She knew there was no point in asking him not to because it would not do her any good.
Gibbs was aware that Ziva had had a hard day and he thought it would be best to get her punishment over with as soon as possible so she could get some sleep. "You should also know that starting Monday me or Tony will personally be taking you all the way to the front door of the Driving school every afternoon that you have a lesson there. One of us will also be picking you up."
If possible Ziva now looked even more mortified at the thought of practically being taken by the hand all the way to her driving teacher's desk for her lesson. But she knew she had earned it. It had been a stupid move to try to get out of the lessons the way she had. Or perhaps she had just been trying to postpone them, she was not sure now.
Jenny took over again, "You will also be cleaning Gibbs car tomorrow until it is free of every trace of paint and dirt. How did you manage to get it covered in red paint anyway?"
Ziva cleared her throat, "I accidentally drove it into a cart filled with tins of paint." she explained in a low voice. "When I was creating a distraction to save Tony and McGee."
"I hate red." Gibbs grumbled quietly.
"I know." she said just as quietly.
"And last" Jenny said, "You will join Tony and Tim tomorrow with cleaning the bullpen and toilets in the building."
Ziva did not argue, even though she felt disgusted at the idea of having to clean toilets, especially the ones in the mens' room. "Can I go now?" she whispered, completely defeated.
"No." Gibbs answered her question, "You're staying here to have a discussion with me."
Ziva's eyes met his and they had panic in them. Surely he did not intend to spank her in front of Jenny. She would die of humiliation if he did that. Those few swats were enough to reduce her to an endless blushing state. Of course Jen was aware of the way Gibbs punished her. She had been present when he had first informed her of the way she would be dealt with should she step out of line while being his responsibility. But to have to endure it in front of her was an entirely different matter.
Gibbs waited a while before adding the last part which he had left out to make her sweat a little. "While the Director takes care of some business down in Abby's lab." he finished with a small grin at Ziva's deep sigh of relief.
Jenny had never intended to stay either of course. She would not put Ziva through that. She stood up and grabbed a folder as she passed her desk. On her way past Ziva and Gibbs she gently caressed the girl's cheek to let her know she would be forgiven.
Just as Jenny was about to close the door behind her she heard a small "I am sorry, Jenny." behind her. She smiled at the girl to let her know she had heard her and then fully closed the door.
To be continued
A/N: Thank you all for your reviews on this story. I'm always so happy to read them. I hope you'll let me know what you think of this latest chapter as well. Do you think Gibbs and Jenny were too hard on Ziva? And what do you think about her reactions to them being angry with her? Please let me know. And if you have any ideas or requests then please send them my way.
