Title: Twisted

Chapter: 10

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the original characters from the show, they belong to the writers of NCIS.

Author's note: After three quick updates in a row, I'm feeling a little bit better about myself. :p Anyways... this chapter isn't incredibly long but it's not incredibly short either. Lol, I want to say thank you for all of your reviews (again, I absolutely LOVED them) and a special thankyou to Tiva. McAbby. Kari. Jibbs. forever who caught a mistake of mine in the beginning of last chapter (it's fixed now) when I accidently said "DiNozzo women don't cry' instead of David. (I was thinking of how Tony's always saying DiNozzo men don't cry.) So thanks for the correction. :)

I decided to skip ahead a little over two months, as everyone who commented on the issue in a review said that this would be the better thing to do (thanks for helping me decide!). I think that this chapter turned out well, but you can be the judge of that so... enjoy!

Tony smiled as he watched the movie credits roll down Ziva's big-screen TV. He looked down at his girlfriend of two and a half months and his smile widened.

Sometime during the movie, Ziva had cuddled closer to him so that her head was leaning on his chest, right over the heart that she'd stolen a long time ago.

The past two and a half months had been the best time of Tony's life. Ever since Ziva had met him in his parking lot and finished the kiss that he'd started in the elevator, the two had been dating happily. They'd decided to keep it a secret from everyone at NCIS, and so far they had succeeded in not letting anyone else know about their relationship.

It wasn't always easy at work, but they managed. Tony had to admit however, that lately it had been getting even harder. He'd often find himself lost in thought and staring at Ziva in wonder, only to be brought back to reality by a head-slap and disapproving look from Gibbs.

Though Tony could never be perfectly sure why it was getting harder and harder to hide their relationship, he had a pretty good idea. It seemed as if every day he cared for Ziva even more. It had even gotten to the point where he wasn't sure if he cared whether Gibbs knew or not. Despite the fact that they were breaking one of his precious rules, Tony was sure that Gibbs wouldn't stop them from dating if they simply explained that they would keep it out of work.

Still, Ziva believed that it was for the best that their boss didn't know, so Tony obliged. As hard as it was, he kept his mouth shut for her.

Ziva shifted slightly in her sleep and buried her face deeper into Tony's chest. The Mossad officer couldn't help but smile as he looked down at the woman in his arms.

It wasn't an uncommon occurrence for him to wonder how he got so lucky as to be able to call her 'his'. Tony knew that he didn't deserve Ziva at all and he often wondered why she was wasting her time with him, the cold assassin, while she could have any man she wanted. Still, Tony knew that this was only partially true. Although Ziva could have any man she wanted, Tony was no longer the cold-hearted assassin.

The past two and a half months had changed Tony. Ziva had changed Tony. She'd taught him to open up and shown him that it was okay to let your feelings show. He'd never cared for anyone as much as he cared for her. He loved her more than life itself.

If Tony had to choose, he'd give his life up in a heartbeat if it meant saving hers. He only prayed that it would never come to that. He knew that they shared a dangerous job, but Tony had already sworn to protect Ziva no matter what the cost. The Mossad officer would be lost without her.

Tony wasn't sure when it had happened, but somewhere between the movie nights Ziva insisted they have and their other casual dates, Tony had fallen in love.

The problem was that every time he tried to tell her, words evaded him. His mind would go blank, he'd stutter and Ziva would look at him as if he'd lost his mind. Sometimes Tony wondered if he had. He knew, however, that it was Ziva who made him act so oddly. Although Tony wouldn't say that he'd lost his mind, there was no denying that he lost his head whenever Ziva was around.

Still, when he was unable to tell Ziva how much she meant to him, he resorted to the vow he'd made when they first began dating and decided to show her that she was special to him.

The part that worried Tony however, was that whenever he was about to tell Ziva that he loved her, she seemed to sense it and what Tony could only describe as a frightened look would enter her eyes before she found some way out of the situation.

"Tony." Ziva mumbled in her sleep as she shifted again, Tony smiled and pulled her closer towards himself before placing a soft kiss on her forehead.

Ziva's eyes fluttered open, revealing the deep brown eyes that Tony loved so much.

"Did you enjoy the movie?" He teased, knowing that she'd fallen asleep not ten minutes into it. Still, he wouldn't say too much. The case that they had solved earlier that day had taken a toll on everyone, leaving even Gibbs exhausted.

Ziva rolled her eyes playfully and Tony smirked, "After all, movies are your thing, yes?"

"You don't like watching movies with me?" Ziva teased and Tony smirked.

"I would not say I watch them with you, considering you always seem to fall asleep…" Ziva shook her head in false annoyance and Tony grinned, "But do not worry, I do not mind. I kind of like having you fall asleep in my arms."

Tony's green eyes bored into deep brown ones that looked suddenly uncomfortable at Tony's display of affection.

Despite Tony's attempts to show Ziva that he truly cared for her, she was still hesitant about letting the walls she'd built up fall down again. The last time she'd tried, she was hurt. Now things were going well again and although Ziva couldn't deny that she loved spending time with Tony, she wasn't ready to take things to the next level.

Although she'd never admit it, Ziva was actually scared. She'd been hurt so many times and didn't want to feel that way again. Even though Tony was making it more and more clear that he truly cared for her, Ziva wasn't sure if she was ready to return those feelings.

She'd buried all of her feelings for Tony when she believed that he was only using her for a 'good time' and although Tony had proved that this wasn't the case, Ziva was hesitant to let those feelings resurface.

Now, as she stared into those beautiful green eyes of his, a new kind of fear ignited within her. The care that she saw in Tony's eyes was like nothing she'd ever witnessed before, and Ziva was terrified. There was nothing she would love more than to return the feelings Tony so openly displayed, but the heartbreak she'd felt two and a half months ago had done nothing to ease Ziva's fears about commitment.

Ziva opened her mouth to say something, anything, that would take her mind off the emotions she saw in Tony's eyes, but was interrupted by the shrill ringing of her cell phone.

Ziva bit back a sigh of relief as she stood up and grabbed her phone. "David."

"Hey Ziva!" Abby's familiar voice filled the phone, causing Ziva to wonder if she'd ever been so thankful for a phone call.

"Hi Abby."

"I know that last case was hard on everyone, so I thought that you,Tony, McGee and I could go out. You know, relax and have some fun so that you can forget everything that's happened in the last 48 hours."

"Yeah!" Ziva immediately jumped at the opportunity, thankful that she wouldn't be alone with Tony at the moment. "That sounds great Abby, do you want me to call Tony and let him know, you tell McGee?"

"Sure Ziva, thanks."

"No problem Abby. At the usual spot?"

"Always." Abby answered before hanging up.

Ziva turned to Tony and tried to hide her relief that they wouldn't have a chance to talk about the moment they'd just shared. "That was Abby, we're going to meet her and McGee for some drinks at the usual place."

Tony nodded, he grabbed his car keys and headed out the door. "I will meet you there. We should both take separate cars so they do not wonder why we were already together."

~~~NCIS~~~

"More drinks over here!" Tony called out to the bartender in a drunken voice. In reality, he wasn't half as drunk as he was leading his now-giggling friends to believe.

Despite the fact that Tony was in America, Mossad's training still had a strong hold on him, and in Mossad you never got drunk. While officers were often taught how to look and act genuinely drunk, everyone was taught how to hold their alcohol well.

Although this might not make sense to some people, it did to Mossad. You never got drunk because doing so made you vulnerable and in Mossad, vulnerability got you killed.

The bar tender laid down another glass in front of Tony, Abby, Ziva and McGee. He then poured them each a drink, knowing that he'd have to cut them off soon.

"So Tony, you see any hot chicks?" McGee called out in a drunken state, causing Tony to nearly smirk at how different the man was while drunk.

Just one. He thought while looking at Ziva, but dodged the question and flashed a false grin, "Dunno McGee, been too busy focusin' on the alcohol, here." He lifted up his glass and flashed another grin before emptying the glass.

"Is anybody sitting here?" A voice interrupted and Tony looked up to see a man in his mid thirties smiling at Ziva as he pulled out the empty chair next to her.

"They are now." Ziva grinned and Tony felt his anger rise. He didn't care whether Ziva was drunk or not, the other man wasn't and his intentions with her were pretty clear.

Although they'd already agreed that it was okay to flirt with others when anyone else on the team was around, Tony couldn't help but feel jealous when Ziva did just that.

He knew that flirting with others was important if they wanted others to believe that there was nothing between them, but part of Tony was screaming at him at him to stand up and punch the man before he got any closer to Ziva.

"You are very beautiful," The stranger commented while he placed one hand on the small of Ziva's back.

Much to Tony's chagrin, Ziva smiled and leaned in closer to the man, "And you are very handsome."

Unable to take it anymore, Tony stood up. "I am going to the washroom."

With that, he left to seek refuge from the scene. As soon as he was in the bathroom however, Tony walked over to the sink and looked at the stone-faced expression in the mirror.

It was slowly killing him every time he saw Ziva flirt with another man. It was already hard enough keeping his feelings secret at work without having an overwhelming wave of jealousy wash over him every time she smiled flirtatiously at someone else. I am not sure how much longer I can last before I finally snap and let everyone know that Ziva and I are dating.

Ohhhh.... Tony's losing it. :)

So, Tony loves Ziva, but Ziva's afraid of love. (sound familiar?) Lol.
Anyways, I'll let you know that next chapter? Gibbs finds out. :P I'll leave you with that. :D

Thanks for reading and let me know how I did with a review!