Disclaimer: I don't own any characters that appear from the TV show, no matter how much I wish they were mine. They belong to Belisarius Productions and CBS. The original characters I can safely say are all mine.
A/N: Okay, the big turning point in Tony and Ziva's relationship is about to begin. R&R me about the chapter.
The sun had gone down half an hour ago. Tony had just finished cleaning his new car. He picked up the dirty bucket of water. Tipping the water into the garden bed nearby, he turned around to look at the new Pontiac GTO he had bought. It gleamed and glinted in the sunlight that splashed through the tree branches beared of their leaves. He smiled a smile of sheer pride and satisfaction. His cell phone rang at that moment, catching him off guard as he fumbled for the location of the ringing instrument. Tony dumped the bucket for a moment. Possessing his faculties, he walked quickly over to the wall where the cell phone sat on top of it.
"DiNozzo," Tony said in a more relaxed and controlled tone of voice.
"Tony," Gibbs said, concern in his voice.
"Hey, Boss," Tony said. He picked up on the concern. "Something wrong?"
"Ziva and McGee went to hospital," Gibbs said, reeling Tony in. "Ziva suffered a gunshot wound and McGee had his nose broken."
"On my way, Boss," Tony said, grabbing his keys. "I can be down there…"
Gibbs cut him off. "They were both discharged fifteen minutes ago, and I sent them home!"
"Oh," Tony said, not quite following Gibbs line of thought.
"I thought you should know, Tony," Gibbs said, his voice lightening near the end.
"Thanks, Boss. I appreciate you letting me know,' Tony said, sobering for a moment. He disconnected as soon as Gibbs disconnected down his end.
"Perhaps the opportunity, my opportunity has come!" Tony whispered to himself.
I know what to do. I need to shave, shower, and buy some food. Maybe turn up at her apartment and spring something special on her.
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The Pontiac GTO pulled over to the side of the road. Tony shut the engine down and it burbled down to complete soundlessness. He looked up at the block of apartments. He was parked across from Ziva's place. Then he glanced in the rear vision mirror, running a hand over his now smoothly shaven face. He ran his hand through his hair again for the extra messy look. He smiled at his reflection.
Pleased with himself, he turned to look over at the passenger seat of the GTO… fettuccini, chicken, diced onions, sun-dried tomatoes, mushrooms and canned diced tomatoes were sitting in a plastic bag. Next to the bag at a peculiar angle sat a bottle of expensive continental wine.
He reached over and picked up both the bag and the bottle. He pulled them into his lap before he opened the door and struggled out of the car. The cool night air hit him as he straightened up and took a deep breath. He closed the door with his elbow and almost dropped the bottle. He regained the tenuous hold to one of firmness and continued. He looked both ways and walked across the street.
His eyes adjusted as he walked into the light of the reception area. Tony stopped to check at the name board of residents who lived in the apartment block. Tony glanced down the board. Nothing seemed to suggest that Ziva lived in the block he was in. His eyes caught her name at the last possible moment. He ran his hand along the line with the number for her apartment. He checked the number with the floor levels and then he walked over to the elevators.
The elevator opened and he walked into the empty cubicle. The door closed, his ascent in the elevator was slow. His anticipation was mounting as it rose. His hands were tingling and were clammy from perspiration. Finally, the elevator stopped and the doors opened.
Tony walked out into a hallway. Looking straight ahead, he saw the numbers indicting the direction he needed to take. As Tony walked along the hallway, his eyes flicked as he checked every door number. He came to the one he was looking for.
He paused in front of the door. Nervousness suddenly took a hold him before he could quell it. He turned away and walked a few feet away from the door and turned, summoning his courage again and knocked on Ziva's door. He was acting like a schoolboy on his first date.
"Get a grip!" he castigated himself. "She's only a women!" He smiled at the thought. "A very beautiful woman." He had achieved mastery over his flagging enthusiasm and when the door opened, she was standing there.
Ziva stood clad in pyjamas and a green silk gown, her silky hair flowing around her shoulders.
"Hey," Tony said, an uncomfortable feeling overwhelming him.
"Hey!" she repeated. She looked just as uncomfortable as he felt. They began talking at the same time and then suddenly stopped. Ziva whispered. "Please…speak."
"Gibbs told me what happened, you okay?" Tony said, anxiousness clearly audible in his voice.
"I'm fine, really!" Ziva added as she saw Tony still looking very concerned. "Was that all you wanted? I am really tired."
Tony took a deep breath. "Firstly, I wanted to apologise … I acted like a complete ass! And I deserve all your disdain, but I just want another chance to make it up to you."
He paused as Ziva's eyebrow rose. "That's putting it mildly."
"You going to let me finish or do you want to have a go pelting me with insults, Zee-vah?" Tony said, anger flaring defensively, but with his eyes downcast.
"Sorry, Tony," she whispered trying to hide a smile.
"You're okay!" Tony shrugged nervously. "I'm the one out of line. I've been thinking about you a lot and I came to the conclusion that …" He paused, looking into her face and feeling strength to speak again and so he continued. "You just being in my life as a friend is good enough, if that's all you want of me. I know I can fight these feelings I have for you. I know. I've tried and it doesn't seem to get any easier. So please forgive me for the way I acted before."
He rubbed his chin. "It took a punch to wake me up." He shrugged a little jokingly as he saw her eyes widen.
"All I want to do right now is be the friend you need me to be. So please be my friend too, until you let me know different."
Ziva fought back tears. Not tears like she had had in the hospital, but tears that came from her heart … almost happy tears. She took a deep breath before speaking.
"I will. I also need to ask for your forgiveness, Tony. I hurt you more than I really wanted to. I know you have feelings for me and I'm sorry for the hurt I caused you."
Tony smiled, relief flooding over him. "So friends, yeah?"
Ziva nodded. "Friends, yes." Her mind whispered. 'But I want so much more!' "Come in, it looks like you were going to cook for me. How did you know?"
"Know what?" Tony looked confused as Ziva opened the door widely for him to walk in.
"That I took a bullet in the arm!" Ziva stated, before rolling her eyes.
Tony brought her back to now. "Oh, yeah, no, like I said before, Gibbs called me!"
Ziva nodded, not fully comprehending what Gibbs had done, but appreciating the fact that Tony was going to cook her dinner. "It's just hard to make any dinner, yes."
Tony walked through the living room. His eyes flicked to the side and he saw a Menorah standing on the small dining table. A few hebrew magazines scattered around the lounge, but unsurprisingly the rest of the apartment was tidy. He reached the kitchen.
"Well, you just relax. I'm going to make you Fettuccini DiNozzo, a recipe that my grandmother passed down to my father!" Tony's face changed to stone as he said the last words.
He brightened. "So, I hope you like it. I actually changed the bacon in the original recipe to chicken, just for you."
Ziva slumped down onto the lounge. She closed her eyes. Tony was here in her apartment. Something about it aroused her. Ziva fought it down and regained her control as Tony called out from the kitchen, "Do you have a big pot I can throw this pasta into?"
Ziva rose slowly and with difficulty. She walked into the kitchen. "Just above your head."
"Wow! What a selection? Okay, this one'll do, I guess," Tony said, pulling the pot out of the cupboard. Filling it with water from the faucet, he set it down on the stove and ignited the burner underneath it.
Tony looked at Ziva for a moment. She was so beautiful. He remembered the first time he'd met her. She had worn that scarf thing around her head. She had been a picture from that moment on right up until now. He put the bottle of wine onto the bench.
"Do you have wine glasses or something?" He turned to her.
"Just to the right of your shoulder," Ziva said, pointing her finger at the cupboard.
"Excellent!" Tony said, pulling two glasses out of the cupboard. He placed them down on the bench and unscrewed the cap on the bottle. "I hate having the screw caps on these now!"
Ziva looked over at the pot for a second. "Tony, the pot."
"Huh," Tony said as she turned around. Water was bubbling over the top of the pot now.
"Oh, not a problem … part of the special procedure you know!" He laughed, turned the burner down and slid the fettuccini into it. Then he turned to Ziva, handing her a wine glass. "To our new friendship."
"And so much more," Ziva whispered under her breath and smiled at him. "Mazel Tov!"
"Yeah! Whatever that means." Tony nodded to her, smiling, but not understanding the words.
"We celebrate." Ziva said, smiling at him.
"Sure, I couldn't agree more," Tony nodded. His phone rang and he picked it up. "DiNozzo?"
"Tony," Stan said over the phone, "Karen's at Bethesda, she's in labour."
"Right, okay?" Tony looked at Ziva who glanced at him, not understanding.
"You coming or not, Tony?" Stan asked. Tony had promised Stan that he wouldn't be alone when it happened, although Tony could only guess that he wasn't alone.
"Give me ten minutes, Stan." Tony said, looking at Ziva and shrugging his shoulders. "All right, see you then." He disconnected and looked at her.
"That was Stan. He's at the hospital. Karen's in labour. I said that I would keep him company. Some men just can't handle the pressure." He grinned widely at her.
Ziva put the wine glass down and went rushing from the kitchen. "Give me five minutes."
Tony walked out of the kitchen and slumped down on the couch. He sat on something and he lifted himself up so he could pull it from under him. The DVD case of Ben-Hur stared back at him.
"Weird!" Tony whispered as he slipped it onto the table.
Ziva walked around in front of him. "Well, what do you think, good enough, yes?" She whirled around for him. Ziva wore the scarf thing around her head and a nice dress. The small dressing wrapped around her arm was almost invisible.
Tony stared open mouthed. "Wow!" was all he could manage. He automatically lifted himself from the couch as Ziva walked to the door. Tony followed like a panting puppy.
Ziva turned to him. "Did I hear McGee mention that you have a new car?
"Yes, and you can't drive it!" Tony grinned at her. They were both oblivious to the fact that they had left the pasta cooking on the stove.
A/N: I think it's working, I think it's working. Yes!