Warnings: Spoilers for S10
A/N: I'm sorry that I haven't been able to keep up with the every Sunday post I promised. I try to get my work up as soon as I finish, which lately has been a struggle with real life things getting in the way. I know my other stories have suffered, hell I haven't touched "Held" in over two years, but right now I can only focus on one story at a time, and this is it. I promise I will get back to the other two stories, eventually. I don't care if it takes me years to finish, I will finish lol. Anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter! Thanks for reading!
Guest 1- you'll see if Ziva killed him or not... I don't want to give too much away! thanks for reading!
Guest 2- yes, Ziva is a snot when it comes to Tony dating and being with other women. I'm glad you love Tony and Leah together, they're my OTP lol.
"You know," Leah said, as she laid sprawled out on Tony's chest, "we need to get you a larger bed."
"What?" Tony asked, innocently, planting a kiss on the top of her head. "You don't like the intimacy after sex?"
She laughed. "I do like it, it's just... well, a twin bed... it's a little cramped... and it reminds me of college. Doesn't it remind you of college, you know sneaking that person into your dorm room and sleeping together on that tiny, extra-long twin?"
He stroked her bare back. "Guess the small space didn't bother me; I enjoyed what was happening in that small space more. But if you think I need a bigger bed... I can always look into getting one."
Leah rolled over and glanced up at him, with a gentle smile. "Look at you...growing up."
Tony chuckled. "A lot of people would say it's about time and they'd be right."
"Why do you have a twin bed? It doesn't match the playboy persona you have at NCIS."
"I didn't need anything larger. I never brought women home. I always went to their places."
His cell phone rang in the other room. Tony groaned. He really didn't want to get up from this spot. He liked just holding her, and if he was honest, he was almost ready for round two... Leah suddenly slipped off of him and reached for her clothes scattered on the floor. "Where are you going?"
She glanced over her shoulder at him. "To shower. I'm assuming that's Gibbs calling looking for us. We can't lay in bed all day; we do have work to do." And Director Morrow is going to want to talk to me.
Tony ran his tongue over his lips. "Could just be Gibbs checking in on us, to make sure we're fine. Why don't you at least entertain the idea of spending the day in bed while you take a shower, okay?"
Leah laughed, and shook her head. "You're insatiable, you know that, Agent DiNozzo?"
"Only when it comes to you, Miss Dawson."
"I'm going in the shower; do not follow me."
If his phone was not ringing, again, Tony would have disobeyed those orders. Besides, he was the one technically in charge... "Yeah, Tim," he said when finally answered his phone.
Tim sounded annoyed. "What happened to rule 3?"
Tony chuckled. "Nothing. Beautiful, naked women come before rule 3."
"I"m sorry I asked."
"Why are you calling in the first place?"
Tim took a deep breath. "My friend over at the D.O.D found something for me. I think you and Leah are going to want to see it."
Tony quirked an eyebrow. "Is this friend a woman?"
"Does your brain automatically go to a dirty place?"
"It is a woman, and I bet she's hot!"
"I don't have time for this, Tony. Can you be serious for five minutes?"
"Fine, five minutes-go."
Tim took a deep breath. "My friend at the D.O.D was able to track Mossad movements, here, in D.C. Two officers are currently in town, and it's suspected that they were sent by Director Elbaz to take out Bodnar."
Tony pursed his lips. This cast some serious doubt on any theories the team had come up with since last night, but it didn't necessarily get Ziva off the hook. "Have you informed Gibbs? He's going to want to know this."
"He's meeting with Vance at the moment."
"Give me an hour and I'll be in."
"What about Leah?"
"She's just going to have to come with me." I'm not letting her out of my sight, not with Mossad in town.
Gibbs dropped a bag of bagels on top of Tony's desk and then deposited the tray of coffees. "Eat and drink up; we have a long day a head of us."
Tony took a bagel and a coffee. "What did Vance say about Mossad being in town?"
"Apparently, Director Elbaz never left," Gibbs reported. "She's been here the whole time. I think she even flew underneath the radar of Homeland."
"Director Morrow didn't mention her at all," Leah confessed. "In fact, he didn't mention Mossad. Is it possible one of their agents killed Bodnar last night?"
The three agents exchanged glances, Leah wasn't sure if she had something to offend them, until Tony finally spoke up, "Yeah... it's possible that Mossad was there last night. It wouldn't be the first time that they've carried out rogue operations here in D.C."
Leah shifted, uneasily on her feet. Maybe Bodnar's death wasn't her fault after all. "We should inform Director Morrow. Homeland should know if Mossad is operating illegally here in Washington."
Gibbs sipped his coffee. "Vance was giving Tom a call. He said he'd let me know how it went. For now, our job is to find out how the killer located Bodnar. When you left, did you notice if anyone was following you?"
"No," Leah said with a shake of her, "but I wasn't exactly looking for someone following me."
"What about on the ship? Anything out of place?" Tony questioned.
"Bodnar made me tea," Leah said with a shrug.
"This is why one of us needed to be with you," the SFA snapped at her. "We would have noticed things you've obviously missed."
Leah narrowed her blue eyes on him. "Who says I missed something? What about the the three trained NSA agents? None of them noticed anything either. You're a great agent, Tony, but cut it out with the arrogance just because you're pissed I didn't let you know my orders."
Tony was about to say something when Gibbs slapped on the back of the head, softly, but enough to get him to stop and walk away, grumbling. The team leader watched him for a moment. Leah was right; but he wasn't about to bruise Tony's ego anymore. "Those agents didn't see anything other than normal activity. They were surprised when the gunshots went off just as much as you and Tim were, just as much as Leah was. And before you argue they had no idea if it was Bodnar firing at Leah... they had night vision scopes, they could see everything going on with her and Bodnar. Our shooter was smart enough to blend in with the crew of the ship."
"Homeland was detaining the crew for questioning," Tim said.
"Great, but if they don't have the right paperwork to be here or work here, well... they aren't going to talk," Leah said.
"Better than nothing I suppose," the junior replied with a slight shrug.
"What about the D.O.D?" Tony responded. "What did your lady friend have to say?"
Tim blushed. "She said she was looking into a few things for me; she'll call if she has more."
Tony tossed a playful grin at him; both Gibbs and Leah smacked him in the arm before he could unleash some snarky comment. "Hey!" he protested, half-heartedly, "I wasn't going to say anything."
Gibbs ignored him, turning towards Tim. "How long does she think it will take to get your that information? I'm not sure how long Homeland can detain that crew or hoe long Vance can distract Elbaz into staying here in the States."
"She said as soon as she knew the information, she'd tell me," Tim replied with a wince. "I know that's not what you want to hear, boss."
"It's better than nothing, like you said," Gibbs replied with another sip of his coffee. "If we don't hear anything by lunch, we can pay the D.O.D a visit."
"What do you want me to do, boss?" Tony asked.
"You?" the team leader said, glancing at Leah, "Make sure she doesn't escape this building again."
Leah wanted to argue but she had learned better over the course of her time at NCIS; you did not argue with Leroy Jethro Gibbs.
Tony was more than happy to agree to those orders. "On it boss; she doesn't leave my sight. Where I go, she goes."
"Just so we're clear," Leah snapped, "that excludes the restroom."
"Why? Not like you haven't seen..."
"TONY!"
He innocently drank his coffee. Tony sat down at his desk and started his computer up. If he was going to be in charge to making sure Leah stayed out of trouble and in the building, he was going to get caught up on his paperwork.
She side-eyed him as she made her way to her own desk. Leah put her coffee down and fished her laptop out of her bag. "Am I allowed to make a phone call?" she directed the question towards Gibbs. "Or does my watch-dog have to approve who I'm calling first?"
Gibbs chuckled. He liked her sass. "You're allowed a phone call. I'm sure Director Morrow wants you to check in with him."
Leah grabbed her cellphone and headed towards a private area to make the phone call, rolling her eyes when Tony jumped up to follow her.
"Boss," Tim said when the pair was gone, "what about Ziva? She's going to start to get suspicious that we keep sending her on pointless assignments."
"Just keep telling her what you've been telling her," Gibbs replied, glancing up towards the catwalk when he noticed Vance. "If she gives you a problem, send her to me."
Vance waited until Gibbs got to the top of the steps. "Orli is gone; chances are so are her agents."
Gibbs frowned and clutched his coffee cup. He knew they hadn't moved faster enough, not that they could move fast enough. It hadn't been brought to their attention that Mossad was in town until hours after Bodnar had been killed. "What does Morrow suggest we do now?"
"Is there a chance that Ms. David did this?" Vance asked, briefly glancing at the former Mossad agent's empty desk.
"Right now it's all circumstantial. She isn't acting like she even knows Bodnar is dead," Gibbs replied.
"She's a trained killer; also trained to lie."
"Yeah, I know, Leon."
Vance took a deep breath, praying that Ziva wasn't involved in all this. Already her actions had made NCIS look bad, he didn't need to be cleaning up another mess. "I want to speak to Miss Dawson when she has a free moment."
Gibbs sipped his coffee. "She didn't see anything, Leon. How would she? She isn't a trained federal agent, she wasn't look for signs that something was amiss. Bodnar didn't even notice until it was too late. According to Leah, he thought she had brought the killer to him."
"She did, however inadvertently it was," Leon replied.
"Are you worried she could be placed under investigation?" Gibbs asked.
"The possibility has crossed my mind. Her actions could be considered negligent."
"It's a weak case, Leon."
Vance wouldn't argue that, but Bodnar's death was going to have international repercussions, the Department of Justice was going to be looking for a scapegoat to show that they took Bodnar's death seriously... Leah was the perfect match. "Morrow already told me the D.O.J is looking to make examples; they have to save face."
Gibbs narrowed his eyes. "Save face on what? If Mossad did this, Leah shouldn't be charged with anything. Actually, even if Mossad did it, Leah shouldn't be charged. She was ordered to meet with Bodnar."
The NCIS Director rocked back on his heels. "But she'll testify that she wasn't looking for anyone following her, that she didn't make sure she was followed. This case, in the hands of a hotshot, young lawyer at the D.O.J, is going to cause headaches for Homeland and NSA. Leah might not be convicted but she might have to give up her job, her security clearance. Just... be prepared, Jethro."
Scowling, the MCRT leader headed back to the bullpen. "I'm prepared, Leon. I just hope the Department of Justice isn't stupid enough to try and make a scapegoat out of a United States Senator's daughter; that could end badly for them-not Leah."