Sorry for the delay in posting… but I have to admit that this chapter kind of got the best of me. I was terrified of trying to write this scene. So, it is my hope that I got it right… let me know if I didn't (or if I did! ) I hope that it works and doesn't feel too OOC- and I apologize up front for the malapropisms or "missed common expressions"… I had an idea (thanks, C!) for what I wanted to accomplish, but couldn't really find the right expression. The one I used was the best I could come up with- should be considered more a reflection on my intellect than Ziva or Brennan's, LOL.
Anyway, on with the "show."
Please review.
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The Family in the Fieldwork
Chapter 12
A wave of nostalgia hit him as Booth held the door for his wife to precede him into the restaurant. So many times, they'd convened at the bar here at the end of a case… sometimes with the squints, and sometimes just the two of them. He smiled as he thought of how their lives had changed in recent years. This time, they were joining another couple with whom they'd worked on the case. He glanced around the room until he noticed DiNozzo, who acknowledged him with a slight nod of his head.
"They're over there," Booth said, guiding Brennan in the direction of the other couple.
"Hey," Tony said as they sat down.
Booth nodded toward him in greeting as he held out a chair for his wife. Brennan smiled at the ritual. She found it fascinating how men communicated to each other in what Booth called "guy code."
"You guys order yet?" Booth asked.
"Just drinks," Tony answered as he flagged down their waiter.
Booth and Brennan ordered drinks as the couples perused the menu, making small talk over the choices. Once everyone had made their decisions, a slightly uncomfortable silence fell over the table. It was Tony who finally broke it.
"You impressed me on this case, Booth," he said.
"Yeah?" Booth looked at him in surprise.
"Yeah," Tony offered. "I mean, I figured you'd gone soft riding a desk all these years."
"I have," Booth admitted.
"You both displayed remarkable skill for not having worked recently in the field," Ziva said.
"Thank you," Brennan replied. "Booth is being modest. There is nothing soft about him."
At this comment, Booth choked on a sip of scotch and hoped that he wasn't blushing from his wife's very obvious double entendre. Tony laughed out loud and ended up on the receiving end of his wife's elbow.
"I'm just glad to have this one behind us," Booth said, regaining his composure.
"I know what you mean," Tony agreed.
"Such a waste," Booth said, shaking his head.
Once again, silence fell as the foursome each seemed a little too focused on the drink in front of them. This time, it was Ziva who attempted to break the mood.
"Temperance," she said. "I have begun reading your latest novel. It is very good."
"Thank you," Brennan replied.
"That's right!" Tony said. "I forgot you were a writer. We've got a crime novelist on our team, too. Probie isn't quite as famous as the good doctor here, though."
"Probie? Really, Tony?" his wife scolded. "You have been working with McGee for over a decade…"
"Hey," Tony replied, flashing his very own version of the charm smile at her. "Mike called Gibbs 'Probie' for more than thirty years. So the way I see it, McProbie's got at least twenty more coming."
Ziva rolled her eyes, Booth grinned and Brennan sat back watching the interaction with fascination. She thought back to the conversation she and Booth had regarding his relationship with Tony and the similarities between them. Now, sitting here with the other couple, she was beginning to see similarities between herself and Ziva as well. She thought that the four of them would make a very interesting case study for a cultural anthropologist.
Their dinners were served and the four ate mostly in silence until the calm was disturbed by the ringing of Brennan's cell phone.
"Excuse me," she said, reaching to answer the call as she got up from the table.
"Director Booth," Ziva said. "I meant what I said earlier. Your team did some very impressive work on this case. I enjoyed working with all of you."
"Just Booth is fine," he answered. "And thanks. It was good to get out into the field again, and your team was a big help. As much as it pains me to say it," he added with a pointed look at Tony. "It was great working with your team, too."
"Touché," Tony agreed. "As much as it pains me to say it, I agree with you."
"What is it with the two of you?" Ziva asked.
"Long story," Tony answered, mumbling into his glass.
"They are both hog-headed alpha males," Brennan replied, taking her seat once again.
"Pig-headed, Bones," Booth replied, "And no, we're not."
Tony looked across the table and grinned. Both men began to laugh as DiNozzo replied.
"Yes, we are."
Brennan turned to Ziva.
"They are both still holding a grudge over something that happened a very long time ago."
"You told her?" Tony asked, his face reflecting his surprise as he looked at Booth.
"Yeah," Booth said. "I kinda had to. My blood pressure kept shooting up after every time I ran into you."
"Nice," Tony replied, nodding as a wide grin spread across his face.
"You're such an ass," Booth said, raising his glass with a grin.
"He does know you!" Ziva replied.
"Funny," Tony quipped.
"I thought so," Ziva agreed, then looked to the other three occupants of the table. It was clear to her that they all shared knowledge of something that she didn't. "Why do I feel as if I'm flying deaf here?"
"Blind," Brennan automatically corrected.
Booth and Tony exchanged a bemused look.
"What?" Ziva asked.
"The expression," Brennan said. "It's 'flying blind,' not 'flying deaf.' And what you're missing is that both of our husbands are overprotective males who are engaged in a pissing contest that has lasted nearly fifteen years."
Ziva looked to her husband with her head cocked and eyebrow raised. In turn, Tony glared at Booth.
"Thanks," he mouthed and then turned to his wife. "He went out with Kate."
"Oh," Ziva responded, as if that was all she needed to know.
Again, Brennan was intrigued by their interaction.
"How long have the two of you been together?" she asked.
"Depends on who you ask," Tony quipped.
"I believe I'm asking you," Brennan replied.
"Forever," Tony replied.
"About six months," Ziva said at the same time.
This time it was Booth's turn to laugh out loud while Tony gave his wife an incredulous look.
"What?" Ziva replied. "We were married just over six months ago."
"Yeah," Tony agreed with a bit of defensiveness in his voice. "But we've been together a lot longer than that."
"Oh. Right," she replied and turned to Brennan. "We've worked together for approximately ten years."
"Wow, Bones," Booth said, eyebrows raised. "And everybody thought we took a long time… but then again, I always figured DiNozzo was a little slow. Short bus kind of slow."
"I don't know what that means," Brennan and Ziva said in unison, and both men busted out laughing.
Booth leaned over to kiss his wife's temple.
"Do you know how much I love you?" he asked.
"I believe I do," she responded.
After that, the tension seemed to be broken and the couples enjoyed an easy camaraderie.
"Hey," Booth said after a while. "Who was on the phone earlier?"
"Angela," Brennan responded. "She wanted to know if the kids could spend the night."
She didn't miss the look that passed over her husband's face or the slight darkening of his warm brown eyes.
"And what did you tell her?" he asked.
"It's been a long case," Brennan said. "And we haven't had much time with them this week… and we promised Parker we would go car shopping tomorrow…"
Tony watched with bated breath as disappointment began to wash over the other man's features.
"… but it's already late," Brennan went on, smiling as she bit her bottom lip and looked into Booth's eyes. "And we will be out for a while yet… I told her it would be best for them to stay so that we won't have to wake them to take them home." Her smile grew as she finished her statement.
"You're right," Booth answered, "no need to disturb them."
He wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her close and kissing her temple again.
"Seriously, DiNozzo," he said. "What took you so long?"
"I honestly don't know," Tony answered, reaching out for his wife's hand.
"Do you find it more or less difficult to work together in the field now that you're married?" Brennan asked.
"I do not find there to be any difference in the field," Ziva answered.
"NCIS is okay with you working together?" Booth asked.
"Yeah," Tony answered. "For the most part, anyway. There are no hard and fast rules, against it. Agents in romantic relationships is something that's 'frowned upon,'" he said, pausing to emphasize his last words with air quotes. "But Gibbs has been with us since day one, and he knows how we work…separately and together."
"And also, we are part of a team. We are rarely assigned to anything without at least another agent going along," Ziva added.
"Yeah, we're not like you cowboys over at the Bureau," Tony said, grinning in Booth's direction. "We know how to cooperate."
Brennan looked on, amused as Booth tried to hold back the bluster that she could see bubbling just below the surface. In the twelve years that she'd known Booth, she had learned so much about people, but mostly about him. She supposed six years of marriage would do that. She knew that even though they were getting along and even on the path to becoming friends, Tony DiNozzo still got under her husband's skin… as if that were possible… and Booth was coming to a breaking point.
"Since the Jeffersonian began to liaise with the FBI, I've come to realize that the really good agents are very adept at cooperation," she said. "And Booth is the best."
"Thanks, babe," Booth said, a soft smile gracing his features as he reached for her hand.
"Yeah," Tony began to protest. "But you're his wife. You have a built-in bias."
"I do not agree," Ziva said. "Dr. Brennan is extremely rational. I have come to notice that she does not say things that she does not mean. And you have seen Booth's service record," she added pointedly in Tony's direction. "It would indicate that he is, indeed, the best."
Tony gave her the look that Abby called 'puppy dog eyes,' and she decided to throw him a bone… was that the right expression?
"At the Bureau, of course," she added. "I believe that Dr. Brennan is correct in stating that Director Booth is the best that the FBI has to offer." She punctuated the statement with a wink in her husband's direction.
"Nice save," Tony said with a wry smile as he brought his glass to his lips.
The couples sat around, sipping their after-dinner drinks and chit-chatting for a short while longer. When the conversation seemed to wane, it was Tony who spoke up.
"Well kids," he said, clapping his hands together. "This has been fun, but I think it's time we hit the road."
"Yes," Ziva agreed. "There will be much paperwork to complete in the morning, and we should get some rest."
"Paperwork?" Tony asked, incredulous. "On a Saturday?"
"The case is closed," Ziva answered rationally. "It is best to complete the paperwork while the events of the case are still fresh in our minds."
As both couples stood from the table, Booth looked on holding back a chuckle. Tony and Ziva really were a lot like him and Bones. At that thought, he realized he needed to rush his wife out of there before she started talking about doing paperwork.
"I find that it is best to keep up with the forms throughout the working of the case," Brennan said. "That way when we do sit down to complete our reports, most of the tedious work is already completed."
"That's why I married a genius," Booth said, wrapping his arm around Brennan and holding her to his side.
"So it shouldn't take us long to finish our reports in the morning," she added. "Before we go to pick up the children."
"Bones," Booth said, protesting that idea. "We promised Parker we'd go car shopping this weekend."
"I know," Brennan replied. "That is why we'll wrap up our work before we go to pick up Parker and Mia from Hodgins and Angela's. If we get it out of the way, we're free to focus on the children…specifically Parker… for the rest of the weekend."
Tony was grinning from ear to ear seeing that Booth was in the same boat as he was.
"Gotta love that rationality, don't ya Booth?" he asked.
"Shut-up, DiNozzo," Booth replied, placing his hand at the small of Brennan's back as they preceded the other couple in leaving the restaurant.
"Very mature, Booth," Tony retorted.
When they reached the sidewalk in front of the restaurant, the couples stopped to face each other.
"This was an enjoyable evening," Brennan said.
"Yes," Ziva replied. "I agree. We should do it again, sometime."
"Yes," Brennan agreed. "We should. And call me if you want to take that tour of the lab. Maybe we can have lunch one day."
Ziva nodded in response.
"I would like that," she said.
"Well," Brennan said, taking Booth's hand as they began to turn toward the parking lot. "Good night, then."
"Good night," Ziva replied.
"Booth," Tony said with a nod.
"Di Nozzo," Booth replied.
Shaking her head, Brennan chuckled quietly as they walked toward the car. She would have to ask Booth again about this 'guy code.' She found the non-verbal communication fascinating. But as they reached the car and began to make their way home, she shook thoughts of Tony and Ziva out of her head.
She had a whole other kind of non-verbal communication in mind for the rest of the evening.
