A/N: So, after more than a year of writer's block, I have completely rewritten the rest of this story, and I am confident it is now ready to share. I hope you are all ready for the rest of this story, and I apologize for the delay. Here is chapter 11!
Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS or any original characters.
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Tony and Ziva arrived at Todd and Megan Williams' house. It was an average sized, middle class home with a decent sized yard. Once inside, Tony and Ziva found themselves in the living room. The room was a moderate size, clean, but Ziva noticed there were not many decorations around. She didn't see any pictures on display of the two of them, and she wondered if Todd and Megan's marriage has been suffering.
"I'll take the back of the house," Tony offered and walked through the doorway to the kitchen.
Ziva walked down the hallway to the master bedroom. She wasn't sure what she would find, or even what to really look for, just anything that may suggest that Todd Williams could be responsible for Ryan Jacobs' murder. Inside the bedroom, Ziva saw a queen sized bed, a nightstand on each side of it, and two dressers. She noted that the couple didn't share a dresser, but each had their own. She crossed the room and started going through the drawers of the first one which she established as Todd's based on the male undergarments. She didn't find anything abnormal or even remotely suspicious. Next, she looked through Megan's dresser. Still, she found nothing of any interest, until she reached the bottom drawer. Ziva pulled out a small shoebox and wondered what could be inside. Should she be expecting to see the poison that had killed their victim? Or was it simply full of keepsakes? Ziva opened the box and found it to be full of photographs. She thumbed through them; all of the pictures were of Megan and Todd having fun, on vacations, horseback riding, swimming, kissing, and looking genuinely happy. This left no doubt in Ziva's mind that this couple was, in fact, happy at one point in time. But, the fact that Megan had been cheating on her husband and kept all of their pictures secluded in a box in her dresser left no doubt in Ziva's mind that this happy time in this couple's relationship had ended. She closed the box and returned it to the drawer.
"Find anything?" Tony asked as he entered the room.
"Nothing in here," Ziva replied. "You?" Tony shook his head.
"No, this place is clean," he replied and Ziva nodded. "Guess we should get back and see what else is going on."
"Yeah," Ziva agreed and followed him out of the house and back to the car.
The drive back to headquarters had been quiet since leaving the Williams' house, and Ziva was uncomfortable with that. She looked over at Tony who had not spoken, and she felt a pang of guilt in her stomach. Deep down, she knew he had only been trying to help every time he asked her if she was okay. She also knew that he didn't believe her constant insistence that everything was fine, but he knew how stubborn she was. He was such a good man.
"Tony," Ziva said softly.
"Yeah, Ziva?" he asked.
"I want to thank you for being so concerned for me here lately," she said. Tony looked to face her, quite surprised by what he had heard, and rightfully so.
"Well, you're welcome," he replied.
"I know that I have not been easy to deal with lately, but I have a lot on my mind," Ziva explained. "It is not that I do not trust you. I simply want to figure things out on my own first, before I say anything to anyone else. That way, I will not have to worry about saying things I don't mean." Tony nodded, a slight hint of confusion present on his face.
"Well, Ziva, you know if you ever need anything, I'll be right there for you," he said. "And whatever it is that you need to figure out, I hope you're able to, and I hope it can make you happy."
"Me too," Ziva replied quietly, looking back at the road. The rest of the drive was silent.
"What'd you find?" Gibbs asked as soon as Tony and Ziva returned to the squadroom. Tony took a deep breath to prepare the answer which would not make Gibbs happy.
"Nothing," he said. "The house was completely normal. There was nothing to suggest any involvement."
"Great," Gibbs sighed, clearly frustrated. He ran a hand through his silver hair and leaned back against his chair.
"What do you want us to do now, boss?" Tony asked. Gibbs shrugged.
"Go home," he replied.
"Sorry?" Tony asked for clarification.
"Go home," Gibbs repeated. "We've got nothing right now. Go home, get some sleep, come back tomorrow ready to solve this. Clear your mind. Come back with something to go on."
"You got it," Tony smiled. He, Ziva, and McGee gathered their belongings from their desks in preparation to leave for the night. As they started toward the elevator, McGee hung back to return to his desk for something. Tony and Ziva entered the elevator without him.
"So, I was thinking," Tony began. Ziva looked up him with her full attention.
"Yes?" she asked.
"How would you like to go get some dinner with me?" Tony offered.
"Now?" Ziva asked, looking at her watch. She then noticed it was actually prime dinner time.
"We're out of work early. I have no plans, and as far as I know, you have no plans," Tony said, shooting her a playful questioning look.
"I could have plans," Ziva countered.
"Do you?" Tony asked. Ziva was quiet for a moment. She couldn't lie about something this minor.
"No," she replied.
"So go out to eat with me," Tony repeated. "We haven't gotten to actually spend time together outside of work for who knows how long." Ziva thought back to their two most recent encounters outside of work, and she knew they hardly counted as "spending time together."
"You are right," she agreed.
"So what do you say? Just give me one evening. It sure beats spending the rest of the night alone and eventually ordering take-out," Tony pointed out with a smile. Ziva knew he was right. She had also just apologized in the car for her behavior, and she wanted him to know she meant it. She also longed to be able to spend time with Tony. As long as she was careful not to let anything slip, the night could be quite enjoyable.
"Okay," she gave in.
"Great," Tony smiled. The exited the elevator, and Ziva felt a combination of anxiety, excitement, and worry. She hoped nothing would go wrong that evening.
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"So, was it like a date?" Raya asked. Ziva chuckled.
"I was determined to not let myself think of it as such," she replied.
"But it was, wasn't it?" Raya pressed on. Ziva just smiled and repositioned herself in her recliner.
"Why don't you just let me tell you what happened that night," she said. Ziva smiled, thinking about that night. Like she had told her granddaughter, Ziva had had no intention of that evening with Tony turning into a dateā¦but it did. And it had ultimately been the best date of her entire life.
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A/N: So there's chapter 11. Stay tuned for the next chapter when you'll finally get to see some progression of Tony and Ziva! I hope you enjoyed this, and please remember to review!
