I admit it, I'm a slut. I broke down and tried to watch "Devil's Triad" but only because of Fornell and Diane. I am honestly confounded by this show. I spent most of the episode yelling at Steve Binder. Fortunately, Tony feels the same why I do, and his "opinion" will be expressed in this next Vignette. This one really has to do with 11x16, the 250th Episode, whose title has not yet been released. I did learn that 11x14 is "Monsters and Men." I've had a story idea since I heard RJ was coming back, but now that snippets are coming out I thought I better put my speculation out there before I am accused of plagiarism. Since that episode takes place three months after the events of "Devil's Triad", I will be doing flashbacks as my way of covering what the spoilers/news are about the episodes between now and then. I hope it won't make this story confusing and disjointed. Just in case any of you have forgotten: This story contains SPOILERS/NEWS/GOSSIP on upcoming NCIS episodes, along with my take on what may or should or shouldn't happen. It will also contain spoilers for "Devil's Triad" and my own made up universe. If you do not want to be spoiled or hear what is happening in the future, turn back now. I claim no responsibility if you forget, read this and then get upset.
Time Stamp: I am assuming, but don't know for sure that an episode will air no more than three Tuesdays in January. That will get us through to 11x15. The Winter Olympics in Sochi start on Feb 6 and end on the 23rd. NBC has the TV coverage but I can't imagine CBS wanting to show such a milestone episode (hence the title of this Vignette since I don't know what they are calling this one) when so many people will be tuned to another network. Therefore, in my mind and again, I have no insider knowledge this is just what I worked out in my brain; this episode will air no earlier than March 4th and possibly even March 11th.
WARNING: This story contains a very negative attitude about Ellie Bishop, one of the perks of being the Author. If you love Bishop and can't stand people bashing her, I suggest you stop now.
And now, a reminder of where we left off…
Tony watched Gibbs and Emily get into the elevator together and wondered briefly what had happened to her parents. He looked at Bishop sitting at Ziva's desk, worried if that frown line got any deeper he could plant vegetables in it.
He finally glanced at McGee, who was watching him with interest. Tony knew there was no way Tim could read his thoughts but he made a vow to be very careful what he said in front of him. Tony just grinned at him and went back to work.
He snuck his cell phone out and texted Ziva a quick message: "Let's go house hunting this weekend."
Vignette Seven: "Milestones"
Part One
March 4, 2014
Tony sat at his desk, his good mood evaporated. A phone call from his Dad tended to have that effect on him. He could sense Bishop eyeing him from his peripheral vision, but he ignored her. He tried to ignore her most days, but he was trying to tolerate her a bit more, especially since he read her the riot act. Tony thought back to that case involving Diane and Fornell. Having Gibbs' ex-wife around was always a kick in the pants; he just hadn't expected Fornell to drop his for her benefit. Gibbs had been more morose than ever, but that didn't explain or excuse his reaction to Bishop during the case.
December 10, 2014: Tony and McGee were both shocked into stunned silence when Bishop told Gibbs "NO!" when he gave her orders, and she then proceeded to tell him he was wrong and how to do his job. They had both taken a step backward, prepared for the spewing that was sure to erupt from the vicinity of Gibbs' mouth. When Gibbs just stared, and then commented quietly "Works for me" it was all Tony could do to not give him a head slap.
Tony kept to himself during the remainder of the case. He had actually tried to make a gesture toward the young woman by bringing her a cupcake and singing "Happy first BOLO" to her. She was pleased and ran out of autopsy to see what her results had brought up, but the expression on Ducky's face made him stop from following her.
"Is there something wrong, Ducky?" Tony looked back and forth between the two men, who were suddenly closed mouth and hesitant.
"Uh, perhaps Tony you could give our excited young charge a bit of advice." Ducky murmured softly.
Tony groaned and rubbed the back of his neck. "What has she done now?" He was surprised to see that Jimmy was upset.
"She insulted Dr. Mallard, that's what she did. She has no respect for his position and his training and his…" Ducky held up his hand to calm his assistant.
"Now Jimmy, let's not be overly dramatic." Ducky turned toward Tony. "She reminds me a bit of young Ziva when she first joined us, utterly tactless and supremely confident of her abilities." Tony got pissed at the comparison. Ziva and Bishop were nothing alike. Ducky saw his expression and chuckled.
"I am not saying they are peas in a pod, Tony, but they are similar. Perhaps we only looked the other way with Ziva because she was from another country, a foreigner, giving her permission to not be the same as we are. Plus she was a goddess in the kitchen." Ducky folded his arms in front of him, acknowledging Tony's knowing chuckle. "Miss Bishop just proceeded to tell us about our victim, in detailed accuracy."
Tony's eyes snapped toward Palmer, who was nodding. "Where would she learn anything about an autopsy? She could barely look at the body in the first place."
"She read a book." Ducky answered drily.
"Saturday night." Jimmy followed.
Tony rolled his eyes toward the ceiling, looking for patience. He understood what they were saying, and he wasn't surprised that Bishop wouldn't see that she had insulted Dr. Mallard's authority and years of training by telling him what he should be looking for because she "read a book". When he got home that night, Ziva could sense his mood and tried to give him the space he needed. But then he kept hovering around her and getting in her way.
"What is wrong with you?" She finally demanded, tired of trying to guess which direction he was moving in. Tony looked surprised and then smiled sheepishly.
"Sorry, work was hell today. But I don't want to bother you with it." He sat down with a thud and started looking through the homes section of the paper. Ziva took the paper between her fingers and snatched it out of his hands.
"That is what we do, yes? Talk about things? If you are upset, I want you to talk to me about it, unless it is something you cannot share. Then I will understand." She looked at him closely, trying to read his expression.
Tony sighed, giving in to this formidable woman. "It's Bishop…and Gibbs."
Ziva raised an eyebrow. "Bishop? That is the woman Gibbs had brought over from the NSA, yes?"
Tony nodded. "That's her. She's temporarily sitting at your desk." Ziva smirked at Tony's comment, one that it was still her desk and two, that Bishop would only be occupying it temporarily.
"Can you tell me what happened?" She asked softly. Tony looked at her face and fell even more in love with her than he already was. He grabbed her hand and began caressing it softly.
"Look, I don't want to go into a daily diatribe about what I don't like about this girl. But she pulled some doozies today and it's really bugging me." Ziva's silence was all Tony needed to continue.
"Do you remember the first time you told Gibbs no?" Ziva was taken aback by the question. She thought deeply for a few moments.
"I do not think I ever actually said the word 'no' to him, although I remember when I first started I would question some of his actions. And yours." Her eyes sparkled with mischief. Tony nodded in remembrance.
"And what would Gibbs do?" He chuckled to himself, thinking he had made up a new catch-phrase: "What Would Gibbs Do?" Hey, wasn't that on his bucket list?
Ziva sighed heavily in remembrance. "He not too gently took me into the elevator and yelled at me. Or spoke to me in that low, threatening tone of his. At any rate, he put me in my place. And I agreed with him but I also asked that my opinion and experience be respected, which he also surprisingly agreed to. But the moral of the story was that you do not openly question the Great and Powerful Gibbs when you don't know any better. And you certainly never tell him he is wrong, even if you think he is."
"Exactly." Tony quipped. Ziva looked startled.
"Are you saying this new person told Gibbs 'No'…and that he was wrong?" She wanted to ask if the girl was still alive, but she figured Tony would have led the discussion with that detail.
"Yes. She. Did." Tony punctuated each word. "And guess what Gibbs did?" Ziva had a small idea since Tony was so aggravated about the whole thing, but she let him tell his story.
"Nothing! No, actually it was worse: he agreed with her! I can't believe the way he is tiptoeing around her. I wonder if she has something on him." Tony thought back to his confrontation in the basement with him over her coming to NCIS. He had been vague and odd about the whole thing, which made Tony wonder if it hadn't been his idea in the first place.
Tony went on to explain what had happened in autopsy and what Ducky and Jimmy had said. Ziva sat quietly, thinking about this Bishop person. Tony never said how old she was, but he did mention when he first told her about her, that she was married and had worked at the NSA for two years.
She seemed either really immature, totally oblivious to common courtesy or she had a death wish. Ziva wasn't sure which category Bishop fell into but she couldn't imagine that she would last long on Gibbs' team. Except Tony said Gibbs was letting her slide.
March 4, 2014: "Something wrong, Tony?" Bishop piped up, interrupting his musings. He eyed her warily, not really wanting to share any details of his personal life with her, except the little fibs he had been sharing with everyone to hide the fact that Ziva was back and with him.
"Just ignore him, Bishop. He always gets that way when he hears from his Dad. What's the good news, Tony? Are you getting another new step-mother?" Tim's grin faded and was replaced with a look of alarm at the sickly green expression on Tony's face.
"No way." Tim sucked in a few gulps of air to bring some much needed oxygen to his brain.
"I don't want to talk about it, McGee." Tony got up quickly and strode into the men's room to throw some cool water on his face. Damn it, now Bishop had some Intel on his Dad. Way to go, McGee.
Tony didn't trust Bishop as far as he could throw her. He didn't mean with information, even though she tended to be a bit too chatty and occasionally had been forthcoming on some information that was best left unsaid. No, he didn't trust her in the field, to have anyone's back and it made Gibbs' behavior all the more frustrating that he kept this person around.
Trust. Emily Fornell getting herself kidnapped had placed an unbearable amount of tension on an already near impossible situation. Tony shook his head when the kidnapper would only let Bishop bring the money. He understood the motivation: she was clearly green and had no idea what she was doing; the perfect person. And he knew it would never happen. Wrong.
What he didn't understand was Fornell agreeing to the demand. "I trust you." He had said to Bishop. Since when? He had only known of her for what…forty-eight hours maybe and during that time spoke to her for all of five seconds? And then Gibbs agreed to the plan! Tony had to excuse himself from the proceedings. Tim and Gibbs would be in MTAC, Fornell and Diane would be clinging to each other somewhere, Bishop would be walking alone in a park somewhere with a shit-load of money and no backup and Tony? Well, Tony headed down to Abby's lab to vent his spleen. What he didn't expect to find was an Abby who was clearly about to implode.
December 12, 2013: "Is Bishop getting to you too?" Tony asked tiredly, interrupting her nonsensical ranting. She whirled on him when she caught sight of him.
"What do you mean? I love Ellie Bishop!" She snapped at him. "And I wish everyone would quit bugging me about Ziva! I'm sick of it!" Tony stopped cold in his tracks. He had frowned when Abby said she "loved" Bishop and frankly it made him angry. She had been rude and snarky to Ziva for the first few months she had been with them. Abby always had a difficult time with new female team members, not that there had been that many over the years. But still, she was naturally distrustful of anyone trying to crash their little family. So her comment about accepting Bishop so quickly really grated on his nerves.
Suddenly, he realized she had said something about Ziva, and being angry. "What are you talking about Abby? What are you angry about?" Tony didn't really want to get into another "why did Ziva leave without telling me" discussion with her, but her behavior was somewhat alarming.
Abby jabbed her finger at her monitor and held up her phone. "This! You don't know what it's like to be constantly asked why did Ziva leave, and when is she coming back, and aren't you sad she's gone…well, maybe you do know what it's like but that's beside the point." Abby took in a deep breath.
"I don't know why Ziva left! I don't understand why Ziva left! She didn't tell me anything. It's not my fault that Ziva won't talk to anyone." Abby tossed her phone onto her counter.
"What in the hell are you talking about, Abby?" Tony had no time to try to figure out what was going on in that brain of hers.
Abby took a deep breath. "Ziva left some friends besides us, you know? Well, I'm constantly being asked what happened, and how it's not the same now that she's gone. That's bullshit! We're better now! Uh, not because she left necessarily…" Abby back pedaled a bit when she caught the look of venom in Tony's eyes.
"But people leave all the time, and we do our jobs and we love our jobs and we continue to be great. You, me, Gibbs and Ducky? We are the 'Core Four'. We were great before Ziva and we're great without her! Just because she didn't love her job or want to work with us anymore and doesn't want to talk to us about it…that doesn't make it my fault. It's her fault for leaving in the first place, and leaving us to pick up the pieces!"
Tony almost strangled Abby right then and there. "You have no idea why Ziva left and how she struggled with her decision." That was all he could get out. When he got back upstairs and heard what had happened with the money drop, he seriously considered taking his gun and blowing out the plate glass window.
He was livid when he heard that Bishop had removed her earwig in the middle of the drop, and didn't respond to Gibbs again until she somehow managed to be the hero and find Emily safe and unharmed. Tony fully expected her to get sent packing for that major error in judgment but to his shock and dismay, Gibbs only mildly rebuked her.
"You take out your earwig again, and I will staple it to your head." And then he said, "Good Job." What the hell? Tony opened his mouth, but nothing came out. For the first time, he wondered if he really wanted to be on Gibbs' team anymore. This man was not the Gibbs he knew and admired. He was rolling over and playing dead for this unknown entity and he had just about had it. Well, no one had said anything to him about playing footsies with her…
March 4, 2014: Tony straightened up when McGee came into focus. "Do you want to talk about it, Tony?" McGee was standing about five feet from him, and Tony didn't blame him. He was probably worried that Tony was going to leap at his throat or something for saying what he did about his father in the bullpen.
"What's there to talk about, McGee? You seem to have the inside scoop. I'm supposed to go to the infamous Adams House Hotel where my Dad will introduce me to my new, soon-to-be-ex-Stepmother." Tony threw the wadded up paper towel into the trash.
"I'm sorry, Tony. It's got to be hard." Tim didn't know what else to say as that pretty much covered it.
"Yeah, I know. Listen, can you keep your witty comments to yourself about this? Bishop doesn't need to know anything about my Dad." Tony eyed him warily. Tim had hopped onto the Ellie Bishop bandwagon and he disapproved of Tony's continued resistance to her. But McGee gave no indication that he understood Tony's request had been more about keeping Bishop out of the loop than just generally not wanting to talk about it.
"Sure thing, Tony. I got your back." Tony smiled wanly and mumbled thanks under his breath.
"I'm just going to grab my things and go join my future." Tony strode back to his desk and quickly picked up his bag. Bishop eyed him speculatively and licked her lips in anticipation of grilling him. But before she could get a word out, Tony was practically running toward the elevator.
Tony closed his eyes and murmured a silent shit when Bishop's hand appeared and prevented the doors from closing. She had heard of Gibbs' propensity of using the elevator for thinking and speaking of deep things, although she had not been favored an audience yet. She smiled widely and stood next to Tony. He could practically feel her body vibrating with excitement and he realized she was going to pull a Gibbs.
Tony groaned inwardly, thinking of their last elevator talk that had not been any fun at all.
December 12, 2013: Tony was furious at Gibbs and at Bishop over the way she had handled herself with the drop. He had gotten another earful from Abby, who was delighted and awe-inspired and every other superlative you could think of for Ellie Bishop. As he started to get into the elevator, he found Bishop standing there, full of herself.
"Did you hear? I found Emily, I saved her life!" The woman had no shame and no loss of self-esteem. Tony held the elevator doors open and gave her a tongue lashing.
"I don't give a shit what Gibbs said to you, Bishop. You pull that crap again and I will see to it personally that you never work in law enforcement again." Bishop raised an eyebrow and that furrow between her eyes became even deeper if that was possible. She seemed genuinely surprised that Tony was not congratulating her and patting her on the back.
"What crap? I was given a job to do and I did it." She stuck her chin out to prove her point. Tony ignored it.
"You didn't do your job, you did what you felt like doing and you were damn lucky you didn't get Emily killed. Look, you can't press a pause button when you are in a situation; things don't stop happening around you because you need a few minutes to run scenarios in your head. You do all that at once, while you stay in touch with your Team Leader! You're dangerous, Bishop. I have no intention of getting shot or killed because you don't like our rules and insist on playing by yours."
Tony started to leave but she grabbed his arm. "Are you telling me that you only go by the book? From what I've heard no one on this team does what they are told to do; especially that Ziva person. She went against orders and killed that Bodnar guy, didn't she?"
Tony whirled on her and she took a step back in alarm. "You have no idea what orders Ziva was or wasn't given, and she didn't kill Bodnar. And yes, all of us have taken off on our own tangents and have gone against orders because the situation warranted it. But there's a big difference between us and you, Bishop. We are all experienced Field Agents. You aren't. You don't have the years under your belt to justify what you did today. Nothing you did today was acceptable."
Bishop was stunned at his outburst, but looked just as cocky as ever. "Gibbs was fine with it. He told me I did a good job." Tony closed his eyes. He was tired, too tired. And he started having those thoughts again, thoughts of leaving the team.
"Gibbs wasn't fine with it, I can assure you."
March 4, 2014: That was all Tony could say at the time. He wasn't sure he actually believed it, but since then he had made it a point to not be paired with Bishop if he could avoid it. And that made him nervous, because he constantly worried about McGee's safety when they were together.
He pointedly ignored her now, as he had too many things on his mind at the moment to cater to her little neuroses. Bishop was totally oblivious to Tony's dark mood and gleefully switched the off button once the elevator started moving.
Tony hiked an eyebrow at her. "Nope, you don't get to do that. Ever." Tony flipped the switch again and stood next to the panel as the elevator took him down to the lobby.
Adams House Hotel
Tony stood hesitantly at the entrance to the lounge. At least his father had suggested a public meeting place. There would be nowhere to hide the body…
"Junior!" Anthony DiNozzo, Sr. called out to his son, standing at his table with his arm raised. Tony acknowledged the shout out and made his way through the darkened room to the table in the center his father was occupying. It was strategically placed to see all entrances and gave him a straight line of sight to the bartender.
They hugged perfunctorily, Sr. being a bit more enthusiastic. His father looked around. "I was hoping you would bring Ziva." Tony feigned shock at the suggestion.
He hadn't told his father anything about Ziva; he had no idea that she had quit NCIS and decided to remain in Israel. And he certainly hadn't told him about her change of heart or the fact that they were currently cohabitating.
Tony chose to ignore him and took his seat. The waiter appeared immediately, bringing him a Scotch, neat.
Against his better judgment, Tony glanced around. "Ok, where is she?" He asked wearily.
"Relax, Junior! You're going to love her! She's right up your alley." Tony's eyes bugged out at that, not sure what his father had meant and that worried him more than he cared to admit. "But I didn't ask you here to introduce you two just yet."
Tony shook his head. "I can't wait, Dad. Really." He took at big gulp of his Scotch, grimacing as it burned its way down his esophagus into his empty stomach. He realized he better take it easy. Wait, he wasn't meeting her yet? Then why was he here? Tony didn't like surprises and he was getting a sinking feeling that this was going to be the mother of all surprises. Like when Hollis Mann showed up again. Although, that had been far worse on Gibbs initially than on him
January 1, 2014: If the situation hadn't been so tense and frightening, Tony would have laughed out loud. His own New Year's plans of staying in bed all day with Ziva had been rudely interrupted when a member of Parsa's gang had been discovered hovering around the fringes of one of the higher profile NSA parties. His stomach was in knots after a night of champagne, too little food and sleep, and the knowledge that this wacko had somehow obtained access to a military drone.
His bad mood was slightly elevated by running into a dressed to the nines McGee, who either had been able to write and publish another book without letting anyone know; had spent his year's salary on a very expensive tux; or Delilah was his Sugar Momma.
Tony's eyes narrowed slightly when he saw Delilah talking to Gibbs and…WHOA! Was that who he thought it was? Tony temporarily forgot his feud with Delilah after Tim had told him that she made fun of his head to her friends. Tony sidled up to the group, listening in, his eyes wide open.
Gibbs glared at him and as if reading his mind said, "Yes, it's Col. Mann." Tony couldn't wait to get back home and fill Ziva in on this new development.
Tony had stumbled back to their place, cursing loudly as he banged his shin on the coffee table. "Are you alright?" Ziva looked out from the kitchen in alarm. Her eyes narrowed into slits when she saw Tony's demeanor. "Have you been drinking?"
Tony waved his hand. "Yeah, last night. And no sleep thanks to some hot Israeli woman who couldn't keep her hands off of me. Sue me! Or better yet, feed me. I need a major distraction right now, and as soon as I get something into this empty hole in the middle of my abdomen, I plan on being distracted for hours." He leaned in and kissed her softly on the lips. Ziva chuckled knowingly and returned to the kitchen.
Tony looked up when Ziva put his plate of food in front of him. "Eat first, and then you can tell me what happened afterwards, that is if you are able to." Ziva said softly. She eyed her significant other as he at first started wolfing down his food as a man who hadn't eaten in a week. He then slowed and started to savor the delectable dish, making "yummy" sounds as he chewed and swallowed.
When the last plate was cleared and the dishwashing running, they moved to the living room to talk. If Tony hadn't already been drinking most of last night, Ziva would have considered this a serious "talk with wine". But she wanted a clear-headed Tony discussing this new situation with her, whatever it was.
"Parsa's back." He decided he would just get it out there. Ziva's sharp intake of breath told him that she had definitely not forgotten their adversary. She took a sip of her tea and listened as Tony explained what he could of the case. The implications were staggering: If Parsa truly had control of a U.S. military drone he could use it against anyone, or anything, including any major metropolitan area in the country.
"Hey, you remember Colonel Mann?" Tony asked abruptly. Ziva widened her eyes in surprise at the unexpected question. She thought quietly for a few moments.
"Yes! She was that woman from the Army CID that bugged Gibbs so much. They ended up dating for a while." Ziva got a faraway look in her eyes. This was many years ago, when Jenny was still alive and Director of NCIS. "I don't remember what happened, except that she was suddenly no longer around." She looked at Tony, confused by his question.
"She retired to Hawaii in 2007." Tony offered absently, playing with her fingers.
"Ok." Ziva wasn't sure why this was relevant or what it had to do with...well anything at the moment. Tony looked at her, his expression a mixture of disbelief, excitement and fear.
"She was at the party. She's helping with the investigation." Whatever Ziva had thought Tony was going to say about her, this was not it.
"What?" Ziva was sure she couldn't have heard Tony correctly, but his sardonic expression told her she had. When Tony shared this snippet of information, Ziva sat quietly. She finally looked up and sighed softly. "How did Gibbs take it? I don't know the details of when or why she left; just that she had…left." Ziva suppressed her own dismay, thinking of the parallels in her own life. Tony shrugged.
"Gibbs was Gibbs: growling and drinking coffee. But the conversation they were having with their eyes gave me temporary deafness. What I wouldn't give to be a fly on the wall of Gibbs basement right now." Tony considered thoughtfully.
Ziva eyed him curiously. "You think she went over there? To confront him? I don't suppose it really matters, Tony. Gibbs does not do relationships."
March 4, 2014: Tony smiled as he remembered that day. It was a…really good day; except that Parsa had resurfaced. He hadn't wanted to tell her that part. Ziva had been so relaxed and happy. Tony didn't want to be the one to throw cold water on their blissful ignorance and he was grateful that in the end they had found a way to disable the drone before it killed thousands.
He turned his attention away from Parsa and his father, and looked outside at the busy street, trying to imagine the beautiful flagstone patio and the flowering trees in their soon to be home. In his mind's eye he wandered over the expanse of their back yard, resting on the high privacy fence, thinking about their search for an acceptable house.
December 14, 2013: Tony was nervous as he and Ziva sat in the realtor's office. They decided with his work schedule it would be best to let someone else do the searching for them. He and Ziva had previously sat through the paper work, breezing through the mortgage qualification process, thanks to Ziva's inheritance but Tony felt he was offering something at the table as well. He had a significant trust fund from his mother's estate that he had largely left untouched.
Ziva had always known that Tony had come from a privileged and wealthy background but he had downplayed it and even went so far as to say that he had been disowned. Once she met his father, she understood the truth of that statement. But she had forgotten about his mother, who had been the daughter of a Baron.
The realtor looked over the list of "needs" versus "wants" for their new abode, and noticed a severe disconnect between the two. He panicked briefly of ever finding the perfect home when they didn't even want the same thing…
Tony wanted a large area for entertaining, including a big outdoor space with a patio or deck and a barbeque. Number one item on his list? A media room.
Ziva on the other hand wanted a gated community with guards posted at every entrance, a very high security fence around the perimeter of their property, and the house to be made of stone. Number one item on her list? A panic room or a bomb shelter; take your pick.
The realtor cleared his throat. "I think you should read each other's lists first, and then we can go from there." Tony and Ziva smiled at one another; positive they would be sharing the same preferences. The silence grew to an uncomfortable heaviness as they both read.
March 4, 2014: Tony chuckled to himself; he and Ziva were both embarrassed and promised to talk about what they both really wanted, but in the meantime asked the young man to find them a home that combined the essence of both lists.
Tony didn't have high hopes for success, given Ziva's refusal to bend on some of her demands. But he had surprised the both of them and found the perfect home: It was in a gated community and had a high privacy fence around the property, which pleased Ziva; the home itself had a large area inside for entertaining as well as the expansive outdoor patio, with an outdoor kitchen no less AND a media room, which pleased Tony. And it had a gourmet kitchen, a massive master suite with a luxurious bath and a huge backyard with trees and flowers, which pleased both of them. And it seemed so strange that now that their lives were finally on track, Gibbs would have such an upheaval of his own.
Tony's attention was drawn back by his father returning from the rest room. Sr. eyed his son carefully. "You look well, Junior. You look…settled. Have you and Ziva finally gotten you heads out of asses?" Tony groaned at his Dad's meddling. He would actually love to be able to tell him about their relationship and how happy they were; how happy he was, for the first time in a very long time. He wanted to tell him of their plans for the future, knowing his response would be far more agreeable than Gibbs' had been.
February 8, 2014: Tony and Ziva both took a deep breath as they entered Gibbs' home. The past few weeks had been amazing as they explored their new life together and the latest news about Parsa had been very encouraging after they had been able to avert disaster by disabling the drone he had stolen. And despite the wagers to the contrary, Gibbs and Mann had started seeing each other again. Tony lost big time on that one.
When Tony had taken Ziva to see Gibbs that first night after she had finally returned, he had intimated that he had made some plans but declined to divulge them.
After two weeks, he brought them together and informed them of what he had done, or rather what he and Callen had done. They had arranged that "Ziva David" would be returning and joining the LA office in an unknown capacity. "Ziva David" had rented an apartment in a nice area, and had her "things" brought over from Israel. Her bright red Camaro was driven across country, ready to meet her when she arrived.
Of' course, none of this was true, but the word was subtly put out. Ziva's belongings from Israel made it as far as a storage unit in Montgomery County, and a hired driver took the long journey to LA in her behalf. NCIS purchased the car so that they could use it as bait for any member of this Brotherhood or possibly Parsa who may get it in their head to come calling.
The gamble had paid off and a several members of the Brotherhood had been captured as they made an attempt on "Ziva" at her new apartment. The news had gone out through them to Parsa that they had been successful, to draw further attention away from the very much alive Ziva David in DC. Further intelligence had brought NCIS closer to their enemy. And then after what happened in January, things were really starting to fall into place and everyone felt it would only be a matter of time before this terrorist was brought down.
Feeling relieved and more confident, Tony and Ziva made a monumental decision and came to tell Gibbs, and to ask him to be their witness. Gibbs had looked pained when Tony told him that they had decided to get married. He was happy that they had finally found each other and had overcome the many obstacles that they themselves had created. But he wasn't convinced that the danger had passed and worried that they were becoming complacent.
"I get that you want to get on with your lives, but I think you need to hold off. Despite what we did in January, Parsa is still out there Ziver." Gibbs was naturally more concerned for her than for Tony. He looked sternly at his Senior Field Agent. "I understand that you've waited a long time for this, I really do; but you need to wait longer, DiNozzo. Think with you head instead of your heart." Tony and Ziva both had known that Gibbs wouldn't get all mushy on them and insist on throwing the wedding himself, but they were surprised at his insistence that they wait. And considering his own change in relationship status, they really thought that he would be more empathetic.
Ziva walked up to her surrogate father and placed her hands on his chest. "I am tired of waiting for the world to decide it no longer wants to hurt us, tired of putting my life on hold because some monster is out there. There will always be a monster, Gibbs. I've lived with monsters my whole life. It is time that I look past them and live for myself; and for Tony." Gibbs hung his head and pulled Ziva into his arms.
March 4, 2014: Tony had smiled at Gibbs getting slightly embarrassed with Ziva, although still gruff. Ziva had played the "daughter card" and Gibbs couldn't resist it. Tony had come to some startling conclusions about his boss in the past few months, all coming into focus at Christmas…
As Tony nursed his scotch, his thoughts went back to December: he had smiled widely and spewed out all sorts of Christmas cheer. And truth be told he was quite cheerful as Ziva was back safe and sound, Ziva was with him, and Ziva was waiting for him every night. Life just didn't get much better than that.
But reality had to rear its ugly. All those children becoming so deathly ill, at such a joyous family-oriented time of year had taken its toll on everyone, but Tony eyes kept searching out for Gibbs.
December 17, 2013: Tony looked around the bullpen, keeping up his Christmas cheer, but he privately worried about his boss. An idea had been running through his brain lately about Gibbs' strange behavior of late. The past two months he had been irritating as hell, with Gibbs being distant and so totally out of character that Tony worried the bourbon was finally catching up to him and he had fried a few too many brain cells.
Tony shook his head at that idea. Gibbs hadn't lost any brain power but he had definitely lost his edge, his fierce determination, his "Gibbsness". Tony struggled hard to make sense of this new, passive Gibbs and had come up empty. But the look on his face as he watched the video feed of those children on the verge of death, that look gave Tony the insight he had been searching for.
Tony thought back to everything that had happened lately, since the events of the summer, and a common thread was beginning to emerge. Children. Not necessarily small children, but children as in offspring; as in a life you were responsible for and loved beyond all measure. And it all started when Ziva didn't come back.
Tony had been angry at Gibbs for his lack of emotion regarding Ziva's decision, but as he watched him struggle to hold it together for these little ones, he realized he had been so wrong. Gibbs keenly felt the loss of Ziva no longer being on the team. Not just as a Boss who lost a valuable Agent, but as a father who had lost his daughter.
Tony considered the cases that had followed on the footsteps of his empty return from Israel. That pilot they located using Twitter: he was about to slam into a Naval Air Craft, which undoubtedly would have killed dozens, perhaps hundreds of young people. And then Gibbs and McGee when to Afghanistan, and Gibbs stood toe-to-toe with those insurgents, protecting the young women inside. None of them had any personal claim on him, but they were all young, and of an age that any one of them could be his daughter.
As Tony remembered the satellite feed showing Gibbs talking a stand at the door of that shelter, he was suddenly struck that Gibbs was symbolically protecting Ziva and maybe even Kelly although she had not grown to womanhood. He had at first been annoyed that he had taken McGee instead of his Senior Field Agent, but with a sudden clarity he realized that Gibbs probably didn't want to be in a situation to discuss Ziva with Tony. He wasn't ready. Tony hadn't really been either, if he was honest with himself.
Not much happened during the case with Borin, but she had shocked Tony by giving him a call and letting him know that Gibbs had obliquely offered her a job. Tony was not happy, mostly because he thought it was way too soon to even consider letting anyone else sit in Ziva's desk, and he was relieved that she had declined the offer. But it got him to thinking of Gibbs' motivation in making the offer in the first place.
Borin was experienced, tough, no-nonsense and easy to work with: all highly desirable traits. Tony didn't think that Gibbs had any kind of paternal feelings toward the woman, but the similarities to Ziva were undeniable. Gibbs had been hoping to replace what he had lost.
Right after that, Gibbs had to be both Father and child: dealing with Tony and Tim's rivalry and then having Jackson Gibbs show up out of the blue and creating all sorts of emotional dilemmas. Tony thought deeply about that one. Gibbs had not stepped in and expected him and McGee to work out their issues on their own. But he did express an interest in whether or not they had been able to reach a common ground. Just like a parent.
And then Bishop shows up and manages to totally upend their close little family. Tony was still suspicious about Gibbs asking her to join the team: he had asked Borin for God's sake and they were polar opposite in experience. It didn't make any sense. Or did it? Tony eyed Gibbs, the wheels turning. Did he actually feel paternal toward this young woman? Tony wasn't sure but he thought she was younger than Ziva, maybe even closer in age to what Kelly would have been if she had lived. Is that what all this is about?
Tony could see Gibbs wanting to protect those he cared about, but he knew Bishop from squat. What was the motivation? Tony shook his head and decided it was just another onion layer of Gibbs that he couldn't peel back. And then Emily Fornell and all of the mess with Diane. He could tell "Uncle Gibbs" had a soft spot for the young girl. When she was kidnapped he must have been shaken to the core. Tony grumbled to himself, again questioning why in the hell both Fornell and Gibbs would let an unexperienced Analyst be responsible for bringing Emily back to safety.
Tony leaned back in his chair, his hand behind his head. This case was very scary, because no one knew where the illness was coming from. And that was probably every parent's nightmare he supposed. Not being able to protect your child because you can't see the threat. Tony felt a sudden tightening of his throat, wondering how he and Ziva would feel about…WHOA! Did he just have thoughts regarding children and Ziva?
Tony sat up straight and stared at his hands, as if the answer would suddenly appear. He calmed himself down and decided to try to analyze what he had just considered. He loved Ziva; there was no hesitation or fear of commitment in his mind regarding his beautiful partner. And although they had not discussed their end game, as far as he was concerned they were in this for the long haul. So did that mean marriage and children?
"Wow." Tony murmured softly to himself, overwhelmed and awed by his thoughts. He looked up to see Gibbs staring at him, a look on his face that said "I know what you're thinking." Tony smiled wide.
March 4, 2014: "Hello?" Tony jerked up, pulled out his thoughts by his father's amusing tone. "Am I boring you, Tony?" He asked, chuckling at his son's sudden discomfort.
Tony straightened his tie and his shoulders. "Sorry Dad. Ok, I'm all yours. Tell me about my new Stepmother."
Anthony DiNozzo, Sr. opened his eyes wide in surprise. "Is that what you thought? That I was getting married again?" He actually shuddered.
Tony was confused. "Well, yeah. You said you had a wonderful woman you wanted me to meet. What else was I supposed to think?" Tony took a careful sip of his scotch.
Sr. eyed his son sympathetically, knowing he was about to drop the biggest bombshell into his lap. "I do, I have. But I have no intention of marrying her. That would be incest."
Tony sat upright at that, and stared at his father. "What are you saying, Dad?"
Sr. rested his hand on Tony's forearm. "I found out I have a daughter, Tony. She is absolutely marvelous. I can't wait for you to meet your sister."
I'll leave you there. Hope the jumping back and forth wasn't too annoying and this whole story made sense. Sorry for the intense snark in the early part. Can you tell what I really think about Bishop? We will be traveling over the holidays so I probably won't get to update this until the weekend after next. I've been known to do multiple versions of the same spoilers so that could happen as more comes out. Best wishes, safe travels and thanks for sharing this time with me.