A/N: Woody2792, kudos for another chapter, but your British was showing, love. :)
Disclaimer: Plot and first dozen chapters son mios, next several Woody2972's, and the charries and show belong to CBS.
Tony was out at work for the whole of the next day, and Ziva barely saw him before he went off to work – it was "a day full of lectures, sweetcheeks". And to enable him to stay a little later at the Navy Yard, he made sure to mention that there was a staff meeting afterwards, to keep track of pupils, and discuss aims of the lessons – at least that way there was an 'official' reason for his later hours. Or at least it was some story along those lines; Tony had made fun of it a little too much and done so many impersonations of actors that she was left to figure out what was real and what was not. Therefore, when she received a phone call from her 'husband' at mid-morning she was a little shocked.
"Zee-vah, do I have to be here? It's hell upon earth I swear…"
"Shalom Tony. What is the problem?"
"McGee caught a little of our act the other night, but the cameras didn't pick it up – he's only working on noise factors. And why he didn't mention it before today I don't know, but something's slipped, because Gibbs keeps looking at me strangely too… You know what his gut is like!"
"Ahuvi sheli, you cannot let these kids run rings around you. I know that they do not see how important this is now, but getting irate at them will do nothing."
"I don't know if I can last, should Gibbs ask me something direct… It's something about his eyes, piercing and blue… They remind me of–"
"It makes little difference what they say. You teach as you know you can; if they choose not to listen then that is their problem. Is that all Tony?"
"No, it's not all. We need to finish our discussion and actually reach a conclusion this time… And as for Abby, well, I feel impending doom radiating from the direction of the lab. Sometimes I think she's worse than Gibbs… Probie is fine, just be touchy and he'll generally leave you alone, Gibbs you do your work and he tends to stay quiet, but Abby? She knows every underhand method of getting information out of someone. It almost rivals your knowledge, but in a completely different way of course."
"Thank you Tony, I am glad I have managed to help you. Now, ignore what they say – they shall learn how important it is to learn when they fail their tests. I shall see you tonight; since you were going to be later home, I thought that perhaps we could go out? Good, Now then, goodbye Tony."
Ziva put the phone back on the table and promptly walked straight into the table leg.
"Histalek!"
She sat on the sofa for a while, collecting her thoughts and not focusing on her toe. Tony did make her chuckle sometimes, even if it was just his normal way of overreacting and being melodramatic over the smaller things. Although if Gibbs had even the slightest suspicion about any of what was going on between her and Tony then it would not be a 'small thing', more of a huge issue.
Ziva was busying herself around the house, moving the furniture so that she could clean behind and under it properly, and she even had the window cleaner out. Yes, it was a distraction technique of the highest order, but when a distraction was needed, what was the problem with getting some housework done at the same time? Ever since the phone call from Tony, she had been almost on knife edge.
It was silly, especially since there was no clear evidence of what had happened, or any direct accusations. Although, when it came to Gibbs, there was really very little need for that – the man knew everything anyway, no matter what people said.
As for McGee, well, he was suspicious over the small things, and he got especially cagey when he thought that something 'underhand' was going on… How much of that was his actual paranoia or just his author's writing-nose calling out was yet to be determined. As she moved the dining table back to its original place, Ziva heard a 'ping' come from the computer so, with a smile, she went over to read the email.
Hey Ziva!
How's the cleaning going? You know, Tony really is a lucky guy to have someone as great as you – someone to cook, clean, and cuddle up next to. Speaking of cuddling up next to, how's that going? I know you don't usually like to discuss these things, but I thought that, since I'm special to you as well, that you wouldn't mind it. Anyway, back to the point, there's still no more news on Jessie's pregnancy, nothing as to the father or sex of the baby, or anything. She hasn't even sent an ultrasound through… Still working on her to come clean though, so I'll keep you updated – I'm talking to her right now as a matter of fact!
Hope to hear back from you soon sis – you can afford the odd break from cleaning to reply to me after all.
Much love,
Abby
Ziva chuckled, Abby's coded emails were just the thing to brighten her day up while Tony was 'at work'. She thought for a minute before settling down to type, a response formed in her head.
Abby –
Thank you for the email, I certainly do appreciate the break from cleaning! I am not sure that it is Tony who is lucky as much as me, after all, he is the one who puts his life on the line for our country; all I do is wait and support him in the best way that I can. But anyway, enough of that! I am sorry to hear that Jessie has not given any details to you yet, however I am sure that if someone was able to get any information from her then it would be you, you are very talented at that after all! But as for any cuddling going on between me and Tony, I will stay strong, it is just as it seems, nothing more and nothing less.
Now, how are things going with you? It feels like forever since we last met up, and as much as I like the emails, it is not the same. So come on, give me all the gossip you can.
Love, Ziva
The ex-assassin cringed as she hit the send button. It was true; she missed Abby and her ramblings about every little thing going on at the Navy Yard, but gossip? Ziva David had never been one for gossip, never even uttered the word gossip outside of solving a case, especially not at or about work. However, for the sake of her undercover persona, gossip it was.
She went back to cleaning around the dining room, rearranging the flowers in the vase and had just started to wipe down the table mats when the next 'ping' sounded out. She finished up with the mats before going over to read the email and reply. It was very much along the same lines as the first one, fishing for information on her and Tony while telling her all about what was going on at NCIS.
Abby made out that Gibbs was just as grumpy as ever, and even more coffee-dependant than usual with this case, McGee was still getting pranked by Tony, and Ducky was still teaching Palmer and telling his tales. However, what really got Ziva was the 'ooh ooh ooh…' at the end of the email as a sign off message; clearly Abby had found something out and had to go.
Ziva sat at the computer for another minute, waiting to see if Abby would message back, but when there was nothing, she decided to vacuum the lounge while she waited. She had moved the single recliner back when the next 'ping' arrived; she immediately went over to see what Abby had left her this time.
Ziva Ziva Ziva Ziva Ziva!
The boss-man just did his usual psychic act, and I had to go and explain the beeping noises to him, hence the time-lapse, but you won't believe how amazingly good I feel right now! Where we were thinking that Jessie was just having one baby, oh jeez were we wrong! Twins! So yeah, it's gonna be a double-lot of trouble when they come, but she'll be ready… She's got to be! Still trying to find out the father's identity, but it' been narrowed down quite a bit… Jessie let a few things drop last time we were talking, nothing conclusive mind you, only partial snippets, but there we go. Never fear, as soon as I hear something, I shall pass it on! Now, any ideas or hints from when you were last in contact with her?
As always,
A caffeinated Abby x
Ziva opened up the reply screen, wracking her mind for anything that could be useful. She had already given all the information she thought relevant to Tony, and to go back over the whole mission in her head without her notes would be even worse. Still, she tried, sitting cross-legged in front of the laptop, humming a Hebrew lullaby to try and calm her mind down, to allow her to pick out the relevant thoughts.
So, there were now two killers… That certainly rocked the ship a little, as Tony would say, and it opened up a lot of new opportunities. The original investigation data would not be wrong, per se, just incomplete, and that meant that anything could happen from now onwards. Whereas she and Tony had been predominantly on the lookout for one person when they had gone out, they could have missed something… She doubted it, as they had gone out many times, and had not shut off their minds to the idea of there being more than one killer, but nearly anything was possible in the field.
She raised her hands to the keyboard and had typed a couple of sentences when the doorbell rang out through the house. Ziva's forehead creased a little – she was not expecting any company, although it could easily be one of the neighbors popping in to chat and take advantage of her food and hospitality. She stood up and went to answer the door, peering through the peephole first; Kelly Anderson the real estate agent was there. Even more confused, Ziva opened the door, blinking rapidly against the bright sunlight.
"Shalom, Kelly, is everything OK?"
"Hi Mrs. Smith, yeah, everything's just dandy, thanks. I'm not here on business, just thought I'd pop round to see how things were going and if you had settled in properly. Though if you're busy, it's fine, I can come back another day if that's easier…"
"No, no, come on in. Please excuse the mess, Tony is out at work all day today so I was just doing a little cleaning. Would you like a cup of tea or coffee? I have cake if you would like a slice?"
"Ooh, yes please, cake sounds delicious, thanks. Do you have any fruit juice, or soft drinks? I think if I have another cup of coffee I'll turn into a bean!"
"I shall have to go and get it from the pantry, excuse me for a moment."
Ziva got the cake out on the kitchen side, ready to cut, and went to get a bottle of juice from the pantry. As she went through the door she thought she heard something rustle in the kitchen, but put it down to Kelly walking around; she could not pin it down since she was not fully aware of Kelly's usual "sounds" – with Tony, she could tell exactly where he was, and most of what he was doing.
She grabbed the first bottle that she could see and made her way back towards the kitchen. Kelly was standing there, looking at the cake, and as she turned to face the agent, smiling as she did so. Ziva caught a flash of movement in the reflection from the window.
There was no time for her to struggle though, or see who was standing behind her – a pad of chloroform was clamped down tightly over her mouth and nose. She held off from breathing for as long as she could, elbowing whoever it was, but before she could unleash the full fury of her body, her legs buckled, her eyes rolled back and she was rendered unconscious.