Chapter Eleven: Distractions…
"I'm sorry, Ziva, but you're not pregnant," Ducky solemnly announced to the pair on the Monday afternoon. He had only just received the results when they entered Autopsy, and regretted being the bearer of bad news.
"It's okay, Ducky," she responded quietly, wiping the lone tear off her cheek. "Maybe next time."
The old man, the one they thought of as their grandfather, opened his arms, welcoming her into a deep hug. "Yes, next time indeed."
Another few tears trickled down her cheeks as she buried her chin deeper into his shoulder, her brown eyes staring straight into the blank wall behind them. Tony could see how sad she was by the way she was holding herself.
"Come on, Zee, let's go home," he said quietly, tugging gently on her jacket.
She nodded slowly, letting go of Ducky. Tony put his arm around her shoulders and hugged her to him, placing a gentle kiss on her temple. As they turned to walk out of Autopsy, the doors opened, admitting Gibbs. His eyes shot a questioning glance to Tony, who shook his head slightly before continuing to steer Ziva out the door and into the waiting elevator. The last thing Gibbs saw before the doors closed was Ziva almost collapsing into Tony's grasp, her body shaking with sobs.
"She's not pregnant?" Gibbs asked Ducky.
He shook his head. "Unfortunately, no, and she doesn't seem to be taking it well."
"Ya think?" Gibbs called, already stalking out of the room. He headed straight for the stairs, knowing they had probably stopped it for privacy.
Ducky shook his head as he was suddenly alone again.
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Gibbs reached the bullpen just as Tony and Ziva were grabbing their bags in their preparation to leave. "Wait a minute, you two," he called. They stopped, both bags over Tony's left shoulder, and turned around between their desks. "I'm sorry," he said softly, pulling them both into a hug each.
"Thanks," Tony murmured, patting Gibbs on the shoulder.
"You need a distraction," Gibbs continued once he had let them go.
"What do you suggest?" Ziva asked; her voice still strangely quiet and subdued, nowhere near as confident as usual.
"Plan your wedding, go furniture shopping, do something to take your mind off everything," he suggested. "You don't have to come in to work this week unless I call you for a case; enjoy the time together. We'll come over this weekend to help you furnish the house if you like."
Ziva nodded slowly, once again burying herself into Tony's neck.
"Will do, boss," Tony relied in the same monotone voice. They were both obviously disappointed about not having a child on the way, and it was affecting them greatly.
They stalked out of the bullpen and into the elevator, their bodies not losing contact for a moment.
Gibbs sighed as he watched them leave, before turning and running up the stairs towards Jenny's office.
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The drive back to their apartment was filled with comfortable silence; both were thinking about different things; Ziva was wondering why she wasn't pregnant, and Tony couldn't help thinking something was wrong.
"Gibbs was right, you know," Tony eventually said as he pulled up into his parking space next to her red mini. "It won't do us any good thinking about it non-stop."
"Then what do you suggest we do instead?" Ziva asked, grabbing their backpacks from the back seat.
"Well, we could do what he said; plan the wedding and furnish the house. Well, at least the main living areas and our room, because I'm assuming the multiple other bedrooms are for the children."
The careless announcement Tony just made caused Ziva to burst out in tears again.
"Oh my god, Zee, I'm so sorry," he gushed, pulling her into a deep hug again, "I wasn't thinking."
"Evidently," she sobbed, before slapping him Gibbs-style. "But you're still right, about the wedding and the house."
"How about we do one at a time; we can focus on the house and let Abby plan the wedding with strict guidelines," Tony offered. By this time they had reached their living room and dropped their bags before crashing on the couch. "All we'll pretty much need to do is set a date and write a list of things we don't want."
Ziva smiled and nodded, kissing Tony quickly before snuggling up against him again. "Sounds good, but you get to tell Abby."
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"Oh my god! Are you serious! You're actually letting me plan your wedding?" Abby just about raised the roof with the high sound of her voice. Ziva and Tony covered their ears she was that loud.
"Yes, but there are a few guidelines…"
"What?" she groaned, collapsing onto the floor with her legs crossed, the expression on her face almost like they stole Bert.
"Minimal black, and I mean minimal," Ziva began. "No ruffles, no pink, we are not getting married in a church, the band is not allowed to play any of that loud metal crap you play in your lab, and if I see anything ugly anywhere on the plans, you will be in massive amounts of trouble."
"Fine," Abby huffed, crossing her arms. "And I have to run everything by you first?"
"Yep," Tony nodded, placing a few beers on the coffee table and grabbing the furniture catalogues.
"Have you picked a date yet?"
"We were thinking the first week of June," Ziva said, checking with Tony. "Work your magic."
The scientist nodded and jumped up, quickly hugging the couple before running out the door back to her car.
"Well, that was easy," Tony commented. "Now, we need furniture…"
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The next morning, Tuesday, Ziva woke up at her normal time, 4am, and rose, as usual, to go for her morning 8 mile run. She completed her ritual in silence; putting on yoga pants, a sports bra, long-sleeved tee, fleece vest, her running shoes and pulling her iPod off the dock in the living room. She kissed her fiancé's forehead before leaving and turned on to her favourite playlist for her daily run as she set off.
Upon her return close to 90 minutes later, Ziva locked their door behind her and walked immediately towards the bathroom. Tony woke when he heard the water start running, and sat up, ready to join her. As usual, her deep, melodic voice could be heard over the water, singing slowly and in tune to a new song she had heard.
Trouble will find you no matter where you go, oh oh
No matter if you're fast no matter if you're slow, oh oh
The eye of the storm or the cry in the mourn, oh oh
You're fine for a while but you start to loose control
Tony smiled, knowing how much that song fitted their informal, if slightly dysfunctional, family; he rose off the bed and walked into the bathroom, leaving his shirt on the bedroom floor.
He's there in the dark,
He's there in my heart,
He waits in the winds
He's gotta play a part
Trouble is a friend,
Yeah trouble is a friend of mine. Oh oh!
Ziva was already in the shower, her calm voice echoing off the tiled walls; the steam had fogged up the mirror and was swirling through the small room. Tony smiled, slipped his boxers off and ducked into the shower, squeezing in between her and the tiled wall. He grabbed the bar of soap and started to wash her back. Tony could hear the smile in her voice as she continued to sing.
Trouble is a friend but trouble is a foe, oh oh
And no matter what I feed him he always seems to grow, oh oh
He sees what I see and he knows what I know, oh oh
So don't forget as you ease on down the road
Tony raised his hands to massage the shampoo into her scalp, leaving her hands free to massage his muscular chest; Ziva continued to smile and sing, her voice growing stronger as she woke up.
He's there in the dark,
He's there in my heart,
He waits in the winds
He's gotta play a part
Trouble is a friend,
Yeah trouble is a friend of mine. Oh oh!
She turned around to rinse the shampoo from her hair; Tony not moving his hands, but continuing to massage her scalp clean. Ziva picked her bottle of conditioner from the shelf and squirted the appropriate amount into Tony's waiting palm, signalling for him to work it into the lengths of her hair.
So don't be alarmed if he takes you by the arm.
I won't let him win, but I'm a sucker for his charm.
Trouble is a friend,
Yeah trouble is a friend of mine. Oh oh!
Oh how I hate the way he makes me feel.
And how I try to make him leave; I try.
Oh Oh I try!
Ziva moved her soapy hands across Tony's body, outlining his muscles with her deft fingers, all the while continuing to sing the song that fit them so well. She moved her hands to his scalp, grabbing his shampoo on the way, before returning the favour and washing his hair while he massaged her soapy body.
He's there in the dark,
He's there in my heart,
He waits in the winds
He's gotta play a part
Trouble is a friend,
Yeah trouble is a friend of mine. Oh oh!
They rinsed the other's hair under the steaming hot water, Tony paying extra attention to Ziva's, making sure it was completely clean. He started to sway his hips in time with the last part of the song she was singing, both of them slowly moving to her sweet voice.
So don't be alarmed if he takes you by the arm.
I won't let him win, but I'm a sucker for his charm.
Trouble is a friend,
Yeah trouble is a friend of mine. Oh oh
"So, this trouble, do I know him?" Tony asked in a teasing manner. Ziva giggled; his hands had found her ticklish spots, so she couldn't help teasing him back by grabbing his erect shaft.
"You had better hope so," she whispered seductively, running her nails across its tip and biting gently on his bottom lip. "Or else I would be having shower sex with the wrong man."
Tony smiled, bending down slightly to catch her soft lips in a kiss asking for more. "Then I suppose it's a good thing Gibbs doesn't want us in today."
She simply smiled in response, letting him lead this session. She would have her chance for payback later.
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"Special Agent Gibbs!"
Gibbs looked up from his desk, not all that surprised to see the hostile look on Jenny's face from the catwalk above. He smiled in response, knowing it would only make her angrier; which earned him a glare and a summons to her office. McGee had already escaped the bullpen, presumably to his wife's lab, and he had given the other two the week off.
"Yes," he answered, stretching out the word the way he knows pisses her off.
Jenny shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know," she said from behind her desk. Gibbs smiled uncharacteristically. "I'm bored?" she offered. The mid-February weather today was offering steady rain, casting a bleak cover of mist over Washington and the Navy Yard.
Her former partner shook his head and sighed. "You need to get out more."
"And do what, exactly? The paperwork's not going to process itself, Jethro."
He stepped closer to her, around the back of her desk, and crouched down to her eye level. "Maybe you should just take a break," he suggested, they playful spark in his eyes she knew so well showing itself.
Jenny smiled in return and pressed her intercom button to talk to Cynthia.
"Yes ma'am?"
"Cynthia, hold all my calls for me please, I don't want to be disturbed by anyone less than the President."
"Certainly, ma'am."
Jethro smiled and stood up, taking the director with him.
"Where are we going?" she asked.
Gibbs said nothing, merely clearing to coffee table they had so often eaten on. He placed her on it, his lips reaching for hers while his fingers went in search for the skirt zipper.
"We're going for a ride," he whispered in her ear, releasing her hair to run his fingers through. "I've always wanted to do this."
She smiled in return, grabbing the front of his pants, knowing they didn't really have much time. "Oh, so have I."
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So, the song is "Trouble is a Friend" by Lenka, it featured this season on Grey's Anatomy, which made me obsessed with it for a while. I suggest you download it and listen to it, because it's awesome and addictive!
Please don't forget to leave a review on the way out!!!