"When do I make an appearance in this engrossing tale?" asked Michael, whose rings were currently being thoroughly inspected by little Tommy. When had her son found his way onto Michael's lap?
"Just one lift ride away," she murmured to Michael, before turning back to her daughter and continuing the recount of her tale.
Meanwhile, at the hotel in London
It was awkward in the elevator. Really awkward and Ziva didn't know how it could have reached this stage. She glanced across to look at Tony's hand and found his gaze looking back at her reflection.
"Why does this elevator have so many bloody mirrors," she muttered, trying to bring a smile to Tony's face. It didn't work. She looked up at him in the mirror and found him looking right back at her.
"Ziva, I –," Tony started, before the elevator lurched and plunged into darkness. Ziva had anticipated the flickering lights and was able to steady herself, but had not accounted for the full weight of Anthony Dinozzo Jr falling at her feet.
"I bet many a woman has fantasised over this," thought Ziva, as the lights flickered back on and she helped to pull Tony back up. Of course, the elevator system chose that optimal moment to act up again, lurching upwards this time, causing Ziva to almost fly for a moment before falling…right onto Tony. He immediately wrapped his arms around her and pulled her head close to his.
"God, Ziva, are you okay?" he inspected her head for injuries. "You were airborne for a moment there. What is it with the lifts here?" And then , for Ziva, it seemed as if time had slowed down for a moment. She could feel every concerned movement of Tony's and willed herself not to look into his eyes, not even a little peek…but of course, she failed. His eyes were deep pools of emotion and they flickered down to her lips as the distance between them shortened…
The elevator doors opened with a ping to reveal a well-dressed man who soon surveyed the scene with a bemused sense of amusement.
"Shalom…Ziva, isn't it?" Michael smiled at them before raising one eyebrow in confusion. "Oh dear, I seem to have stumbled on something private." Ziva tumbled off, flailing slightly as she tried to put as much space between her and Tony has possible. Her normally eagle-eyed gaze failed to notice Tony's eyes narrow.
"No, nothing private, Michael. We just encountered a few electrical faults on our journey." She managed a small smile before waving her hand between the two of them . "Oh, please excuse me. Michael, this is Tony. Tony is my colleague. Michael was sat beside me on the plane." Tony had not failed to notice Michael, contrary to Ziva's perception. How could he fail to notice anyone who enthralled Ziva? Yes, he hadn't missed about how they had been deep in conversation, about how Michael would lightly smile just looking at Ziva. He knew that she would have dismissed it all as a mere conversational relationship for the duration of the flight. Tony could not say the same for Michael. Their eyes met and Tony knew that his theory was confirmed.