Ziva made it to the parking garage of her apartment building before she could no longer fight the tears. She knew part of her emotional state had to stem from confronting her father but it was Tony's words that caused her to cry. Why did he tell me it was not my fault I was in Somalia? It is not what he truly believes. He lied to me, Ziva thought angrily as she slammed her hand against the steering wheel.
Lucy heard the elevator and was surprised when she also heard noise outside her door. Ziva had worked late into the night most of the week and had barely been home to sleep. Lucy knew a little about the case from a conversation with Ziva one morning before the younger woman left for work. Everything must be resolved if she is home at a reasonable hour, Lucy thought before opening the door. When Lucy saw that Ziva was alone and had obviously been crying, the older woman knew it was not good.
"Here you are, dear," Lucy said bringing Ziva a cup of tea. "Well, I am glad to hear that those young marines are safe but something else must be terribly wrong. Did something happen to one of your coworkers? It's not Tony, is it?"
"No, Lucy, it is nothing like that. I spoke to my father today. It was necessary to obtain his help to locate those kidnapped marines. And Tony said something beforehand that upset me. He hurt me, Lucy," Ziva said with quiet anger.
"Alright, dear," Lucy said a bit sternly. "You will tell me every bit of it from start to finish. I do not care for the idea of you talking with your father. I'm not at all happy that boss of yours allowed it to happen. And as for Tony, I love him but he does not always choose his words wisely. I want to know exactly what he said."
Ziva was a bit surprised at Lucy's aggressiveness. Her friend usually gently pushed and then patiently waited for Ziva to be ready to share. In this case, Ziva found herself wanting to talk. She told Lucy everything that had happened from the moment they learned that James and Robert had been captured by the Taliban. She ended by describing her email to her father.
Lucy could see that Ziva was emotionally overwrought. Poor thing, Lucy thought. She was already exhausted and upset from the case and then she had to face her father. Lucy thought Ziva was probably overreacting to what Tony had said. It wasn't surprising given the circumstances. Lucy was wise enough not to discount how Ziva was feeling, though, even if it didn't seem completely logical to the older woman.
"I suppose asking your father for help was necessary. It sounds as if you are setting the proper boundaries with him, dear. And you are right to keep others involved. You've grown much stronger over the last few months but a little accountability never hurt anyone," Lucy told her. "Now dear, I know facing your father was difficult but it is really the situation with Tony that has you so upset, isn't it?"
"I am so angry with him, Lucy. He told me it was not my fault I was in Somalia but he does not truly believe it," Ziva declared as she began to pace around the room, "He is wrong, Lucy. I know that he is. Eli did not give me a choice. Tony probably lied to me about the rest of it as well but it does not matter. I know that what I did was necessary to survive. I have no reason to be ashamed and I do not care if Tony believes that or not."
Ziva stopped her pacing and with her hands on her hips, she demanded, "Why are you smiling, Lucy?"
"I am smiling because you have come to believe the truth for yourself, dear," Lucy said joyfully before patting the sofa cushion beside her and waiting for Ziva to sit. "I know you are feeling very hurt and angry right now. When you allow someone into your heart, there are going to be times when they hurt you. Most likely it will be unintentional. You will hurt them as well. Now dear, it is difficult for me to believe that Tony flat out lied to you. I think this is just a misunderstanding. Perhaps when you are feeling a bit calmer, you can talk with him and give him a chance to explain."
"Tony was upset about my contact with Eli," Ziva said thoughtfully as she began to feel some of the anger seeping out of her. "Sometimes he says things he does not really mean when he is upset."
"I can imagine he was quite scared for you, dear. I must tell you I felt the same concern when you first mentioned it to me. Perhaps we both underestimated you a bit," Lucy said before pausing a moment to contemplate. "I also wonder how Tony must have felt to have you suddenly announce in front of everyone that you intended to speak to your father."
"What do you mean, Lucy?" Ziva asked.
Lucy continued to think for a few moments before finally speaking, "Well, dear, I am from a different generation. I realize things have changed so before you get all riled up about your independence at least hear me out. Marriage is a partnership."
"Tony and I are not married, Lucy," Ziva stated emphatically.
"I know this, dear," Lucy said with patient smile. "But if I'm not missing my guess you've become quite serious about one another. You are no longer just two isolated individuals spending time together. Everything you do, every choice you make impacts the other person. And I also find it difficult to remember my own relationship with Matthew before we knew we wanted to be married. So I'm afraid you are just going to have to put up with the marriage talk."
"You know I always value your advice, Lucy, but right now Tony is the last person on earth I ever want to marry," Ziva replied her crossed arms indicating she was not fully over her anger.
"I see," Lucy said trying unsuccessfully to hide her amusement. "Well, we will just see if you still feel that way this time tomorrow. Talking with your father was a courageous choice, dear. I would never have made such a serious decision like that without talking it over with Matthew, though. Matthew would have given me the same courtesy. For example, he never accepted a promotion at work before he discussed it with me. If a decision impacted both of us, we made it together. Perhaps it would have upset Tony less if you had at least asked for his thoughts before announcing your decision. He needs to feel that he is a valued part of your life, dear."
"It was very clear what needed to be done. Those men were going to die if we did not find a way to rescue them," Ziva defended unhappy that Lucy seemed to be taking Tony's side.
"I understand that, dear. And I am not suggesting your decision would've been any different after talking with Tony. I just know that if you want to make a relationship like this work you must consider the other person's needs as well as your own. Sometimes it may even be necessary to put their needs ahead of yours. There is nothing wrong with that as long as things stay balanced and it is not always just one of you giving in."
"I will have to think about this, Lucy. I do not know if I agree with you."
"Well, good friends rarely agree on everything and I've been known to be wrong a time or two in my life," Lucy conceded humbly. She had no wish to force her views on her friend. "Now tell me how it felt to face your father. I imagine you've been so upset about Tony you have not even begun to think about that yet."
"Eli looks terrible. Mossad has had many victories since Somalia. He should not look so burdened. Part of me wants desperately to believe it is because he regrets what he did to me. I know I cannot allow myself that luxury, though," Ziva sighed. "Lucy, Gibbs was very kind and supportive to me today. I think he might have been proud of me."
"Well, he should be, dear. I am quite proud of you myself. You have overcome so much," Lucy said with encouragement.
Tim groaned as he got off the elevator. He hoped everyone on his team had already left. He really did not want to explain that he had made it half way home before he realized he left his cell phone on his desk. The lack of sleep must really be getting to me, Tim thought. As he approached the bullpen, he was surprised to hear Tony talking.
"No, buttercups. Not tulips, buttercups. Red buttercups. I get that they are not in season. You said that already. Haven't you people ever heard of a greenhouse?" Tony slammed down the phone with a discouraged sigh and scratched his pen roughly across the paper on his desk.
Feeling as if he were being watched, Tony looked up to find Tim standing at the entrance to the bullpen. The younger man was looking at him with concern.
"What?" Tony demanded.
"You okay?"
"Do I look like I'm okay, McGee? I'm tired. I'm frustrated. Hell, I'm pissed. Is it really that difficult for someone to grow red buttercups somewhere in the northeastern United States in the dead of winter?"
"Uh…apparently it is. Why do you care about red buttercups?" Tim asked before the realization hit him. "Ziva."
"Yea. Her favorite. They grow wild in Israel," Tony explained softly. "I have to find a way to make this happen."
"Okay," Tim said as sat down at his desk and turned on his computer.
"What are you doing, McGee?"
"There's this online international florist I found when I needed to send flowers to a funeral overseas once…"
Ziva lay on her couch propped against throw pillows with Sammy resting on her pajama covered stomach. She used one hand to hold him steady as she reached for her chirping phone. She had been surprised that Tony had respected her wishes and not tried to call or come by. She expected the text to be from him and she was not disappointed.
"Let me know ur ok. Please."
"I am fine. Talked to Lucy. Talking to Sammy."
"Ok. Good night Princess."
Ziva hesitated for a minute and then typed, "Good night. See u tomorrow."
"I had to do it, Sammy. It does not matter how angry I am. Saying good night is too important to him. I cannot hurt him by not saying it. Lucy is right. He did not mean what he said today. I think perhaps I misunderstood. You must always remind me of what I know to be true. That will be your job, Little One. Tony has risked his job, his life, everything for me. He would not lie to me about something so important. I need to remember that he is the one I trust."
Ziva paused her dialogue with Sammy as she became lost in her thoughts. The things Lucy had said about relationships had angered Ziva at first. After everything her father had done, she was determined she would never be controlled by another man. Why should Tony have a voice in something that was her decision?
"Sammy," Ziva said quietly after a few more minutes of thought. "I was very unfair to Tony today. Tony loves me. He cannot say the words but his actions show me that he does. You will find that Tony always protects those that he loves. I should know this better than anyone. I knew he would be upset when I decided to talk to Eli. I should trust him to be involved in my life without trying to control me. He is not like the men who have hurt me. Tony always puts me first and I must do the same for him. You must help me think of a way to apologize."
Ziva expected to be the first one to enter the bullpen the next morning. Instead, she met Tim at the elevator door. She had no way of knowing it but Tim had arrived early hoping to witness Ziva's reaction to the flowers Tony was giving her. He and Tony had worked all night to make it happen. Mossad training or not, Tim had decided if she didn't like them, he just might strangle her. As the two rode up in the elevator together, Tim gave Ziva an amused smile as he eyed the container she was holding. His smile grew even bigger when he peeked inside.
"I do not see what is so funny, McGee. I brought Tony breakfast."
"Homemade crepes, Ashlynn's cookies, coffee, and his favorite jelly donut? You know, you guys could have saved each other a lot of trouble and carb consumption if you'd just talked about this yesterday. Not to mention we would have all gotten a lot more sleep. Well, maybe you guys wouldn't have slept," Tim said with a knowing smile before turning serious. "He was up all night again last night so at least pretend you like what he did, okay?"
Seeing the shadows under Tim's eyes Ziva told him, "I see he had help. Perhaps I should have brought you breakfast as well. You are a good friend to us both, McGee."
"Give me a couple of those cookies and we'll call it good. You know he isn't going to share," Tim said.
Tim was glad to see that Ziva had gone to so much trouble. He'd actually been a little frustrated with her last night as he helped Tony. Yea, Tony had said something stupid but that was Tony. If she couldn't handle it, she shouldn't be with him in the first place. It's not like she hadn't known what he was like before she started dating him. Tim was trying to give her the benefit of the doubt, though. Maybe whatever Tony said was an emotional trigger for her for some reason. And she had talked with her father for the first time since she'd been back from Somalia. That was bound to mess with her head.
It was hard not to side with Tony a little bit when the guy was trying so hard, though. Man, he has it bad for her, Tim thought as he bit into one of the cookies. Tim figured Ziva probably felt the same way about Tony but she just wasn't as obvious about it. It was a pretty big gesture for her to bring him breakfast at work like this. She was usually pretty militant about them keeping their personal relationship out of the office.
As Ziva approached her desk, she saw a large flower pot filled with red buttercups sitting next to her keyboard. Turning to Tony, she gave him a joyful smile.
"Tony, this is impossible. How did you…"
"You don't want to know. I'm pretty sure it involved some illegal hacking of an international database for florists or something. I had help," Tony admitted.
"Yes, I have already spoken with your helper this morning," Ziva said with nod toward Tim. "I gave him some of your breakfast. I love my flowers, Tony."
"Cookies! You made me cookies for breakfast. Oh, yea!" he said spying the jelly donut. After taking a bite of it, he turned back to her with a puzzled expression, "Why did you do this? I thought you were seriously pissed at me."
"I…," Ziva began then glanced at her watch. "We have time before Gibbs will expect us to be here. We could go sit in the break room and talk."
Tony quickly gathered some of the items from his breakfast buffet and followed Ziva while Tim just grinned at them both. Tony had been prepared for Ziva's anger this morning and her change of heart was a pleasant surprise. He wasn't sure what was driving it, though, and that made him a little nervous. He was determined to talk first and get out the apology he'd rehearsed most of the night. Once they were sitting at a table in the break room, he launched into his prepared speech before Ziva even had a chance to say a word.
"Ziva, I'm really sorry about yesterday. I know I agreed not to do the overprotective boyfriend routine on the job. This was different, though. It was Eli. He's already taken you away from me once. I never should have accused Gibbs of not protecting you. I just didn't want to see you hurt. I was afraid of what talking to Eli would do to you," Tony explained.
"Tony, I…" Ziva started before Tony interrupted.
"I'm not finished. I'm hoping you aren't still angry with me. But just in case you are, I want you to have this," Tony said handing her an envelope. "It's the tickets for tonight. It was about you anyway and I don't want you to miss out because you're mad at me. You should still go but take Abby or Lucy…or I'll go if you still want me to."
"Tony, I cannot accept your apology," Ziva said with a very tender expression.
"But…" Tony looked completely confused. He could not reconcile the breakfast and her expression with her words.
"I cannot accept it because you have no reason to apologize. I am the one who made a mistake yesterday. I should have talked to you before I agreed to face Eli. I knew you would not like it and you deserved some advanced warning. And I misunderstood and overreacted to what you said. I am sorry. Here," she handing him back the ticket envelope.
"But don't you want to…"
"It is meant to be a surprise, yes? I wish for you to surprise me," Ziva explained as she leaned in to give him a gentle kiss.
Tony ended the kiss quickly but it was clear he wanted to continue it.
"This making up at work really sucks," he told her with a grin. "Wow, Ziva, this is totally not what I expected this morning. You were so angry last night."
"Yes," Ziva said with a reluctant sigh. "I owe you an explanation for that but I do not wish to give it to you. I am afraid you will be hurt and possibly angry as well…what you said and what I heard were two very different things."
"So it was a he said, she heard thing? It happens," Tony shrugged it off.
"It is a little more complicated than that. I have learned much in the last twenty-four hours. About myself and our relationship. It is good and it will be good for you as well," Ziva told him.
"Good how?" he asked skeptically. When Ziva responded with a seductive look, he said, "Oh, really? You have my attention, Princess."
"I misunderstood yesterday and thought you meant that Somalia was my fault…"
"Ziva, no…" Tony said with anguish.
"I know now that is not what you meant. Lucy and Sammy helped me to understand that," Ziva continued.
"I'm not seeing the good in this, Ziva," Tony said bitterly.
"When you first told me I should not be ashamed of the things that happened to me, I held on to it just as you said. When I thought you blamed me yesterday, I got angry because I knew that was wrong. I know it is not my fault. I believe it for myself now, Tony, not just because you said it," Ziva explained excitedly.
"That's great, Ziva. Really great but I wish you'd said something yesterday. I hate it that you even thought for a minute that I blame you," Tony said as he reached for her hand.
"I think it is important that I figured out it was a misunderstanding on my own," Ziva informed him. "Do you know how I figured it out?"
"Sammy told you? Little guy has my back, right? He should. He owes me," Tony joked.
"This is serious, Tony," Ziva lightly admonished. "I figured it out because I realized I could trust you not to hurt me that way and that you would never have lied to me about something so important. I am sorry I did not figure it out immediately."
When Tony didn't respond right away, Ziva hesitantly asked, "Are you angry that I mistrusted you at first?"
"No, Princess, it's like I told you before; I get that your trust issues not about me," Tony sighed but gave her a gentle smile. "I guess this is going to be part of it for us, you know? We are just going to have to cut each other a little slack when stuff from the past interferes. We were both exhausted and worried about James and Robert. And then we had to deal with you talking to Eli on top of all that. It's not really that surprising that I said something stupid and you took it the wrong way. We just have to keep talking it out when stuff like this happens. Do you think maybe next time we could talk a little sooner? Like maybe right after it happens?"
"Okay," Ziva said relieved that he had handled it so well. "I wish you had not spent all night finding them but I truly love my flowers."
"You know what you said about talking to me before you agreed to ask for Eli's help?" Tony asked continuing in a more serious vein. "I probably would have asked you not to do it. I should have known you could handle it."
"Lucy said the same thing, Tony," she said hoping to prevent him from feeling bad about it. "I think Gibbs is the only one who knew I was ready. I felt unsure myself but I had to keep my promise to Alyssa. I had to do everything I could to save her father."
"So, how is Eli anyway? Did you tell the selfish old bastard I said hi?" Tony joked.
"Actually, he gave me a message for you. He hopes you are enjoying the television Officer Bashan procured for me," Ziva told him.
"He's watching you. Big shock. What did you say?" Tony asked.
"I told him you enjoy the bed more," she said with a smirk.
"I'm really proud of you, Princess. Facing Eli took a lot of guts," Tony told her before giving her another brief kiss.
It was around four in the afternoon when Ducky decided to pay visit to his favorite investigative team. There was a rumor afloat that there were unbelievably delicious peanut butter chocolate chip cookies to be had. The good doctor was disappointed to find only Gibbs remained.
"Sent them home early, Duck. Hadn't slept in two days," Gibbs explained.
"Yes but the truly important question is did you require young Anthony to leave any of the cookies behind?" Ducky joked.
Without a word, Gibbs reached into his desk drawer and pulled out a small plastic container. It held a few remaining cookies. Ziva had anticipated Tony's hoarding and made some extras for everyone else.
"There's a nasty rumor afoot that you actually advised a certain young man to apologize. Surely that cannot be true? It would violate one of your most sacred rules," Ducky teased.
"That rule doesn't apply to friends, Duck. You know that," Gibbs specified.
"Ah, yes. So then, I take it you always apologize to the women in your life when you are the one in error?" Ducky questioned skeptically.
"Aw, hell, Duck, why do you think they always leave me?" Gibbs said with a scowl but his eyes sparkled with humor.
"You really want to see those two make this thing between them work, don't you, Jethro?" Ducky asked not expecting an answer.
Tony road the elevator to Ziva's apartment Friday evening with a heart filled with anticipation. Ziva had managed to convince him that his unfortunate words from the day before had benefited their relationship. It was great that they had worked through more of their baggage but he wanted to be done with the friction for awhile. Tony had planned tonight with the hope that it would bring Ziva joy and he was anxious to make sure nothing marred that.
Lucy's door opened as soon as Tony exited the elevator. He was a little nervous about facing her but he had no need to worry. She put him at ease with the first words she said.
"Hello, Tony dear. Now don't you look handsome in that suit? Those flowers you gave Ziva were just lovely. I'm amazed you pulled that off. Not to mention you deserve a gold star for remembering her favorite. Now, before you open her door, are you going to let me in on the surprise? Ziva was absolutely glowing when she got home earlier," Lucy said as her eyes danced with fun.
"I can't really take all the credit for the flowers, Lucy. I had help. And tonight wasn't really my idea either. One of the guys at work told me about it. We are going to see an Israeli singer. The article I read said he's like some super talent or something," Tony explained.
"You are being far too modest. What you've done is put your investigative skills to good use. Now are you taking Ziva to the event at the Kennedy Center?" Lucy said joyously. "I saw a piece about it on the morning news. Oh, Tony, our Ziva is going to be thrilled. When are you going to tell her?"
"I'm thinking I'm not," Tony said conspiratorially unable to resist Lucy's contagious spirit of fun. "I'm just not going to say anything and wait for the moment when she figures it out. What do you think?"
"Oh, that's perfect, dear. I wish I could be there to see her face but I imagine that would take all of the fun out of it for you, now wouldn't it?" Lucy teased. "You'd best get inside. I want to see how Ziva looks in that new dress of hers."
You're not the only one, Tony thought as he unlocked Ziva's door. He had told Ziva to dress as she would've for New Year's Eve. She'd been delighted since she'd purchased a new dress and never gotten to wear it. He'd teased her about it trying to get an idea of what to expect. She'd rolled her eyes and told him it was just a little black dress. That of course led him to speculate on just how little it might be.
When Ziva appeared from her bedroom, Tony was not disappointed. The dress was simple but she looked amazing in it. The top was fitted with three quarter sleeves and a deep v-neck in front. It gathered across the chest in a way that left Tony speechless. The skirt flared slightly and fell a couple of inches above her knees. She'd paired the dress with sheer black tights and heels giving Tony a rare view of her legs. Watching her now he wondered if she would be running in shorts when the weather warmed up. If so, he'd be changing his gym routine to join her on her run every day.
"Oh my, don't you look just beautiful," Lucy said echoing Tony thoughts. "Now I hope you don't mind that I barged in but I just had to see you. You have a wonderful time and tell me all about it tomorrow."
Before she left, Lucy gave Ziva a very knowing look. If Tony hadn't known better, he would have sworn it was a silent I told you so. As soon as the door closed behind Lucy, Ziva reached her arms around Tony's neck and gave him the kiss they had both been wishing for earlier that morning. Tony pulled away a few minutes later telling her reluctantly that they needed to leave.
Once they were in the elevator, Ziva turned to him with an almost giddy expression and told him, "In case I forget to tell you later, I had a really good time tonight."
"Did you just quote Pretty Woman?" Tony asked incredulously.
When Ziva's only response was a mischievous grin, he asked, "Have you even seen that movie? You got that out of the movie quote book you used to have. There's no way you watched that movie."
"I did use the quote to see if you would recognize it," Ziva admitted slipping her arms around his waist. "But I also liked it very much. It describes how I am feeling tonight. I know you are excited about whatever you have planned but it does not matter to me what it is. It is being with you and knowing you have gone to so much trouble on my behalf that brings me joy."
Once they were on the road, Tony had to struggle to pay attention to his driving rather than the view he was getting of Ziva. Sitting in the car had caused her skirt to shift and reveal even more of her legs. Sadly, the rest of her was currently covered by a short coat.
"If you want to pull over, I will drive. Then you can stare all you want," Ziva teased.
"Very tempting offer, Princess, but you don't know where we are going," Tony retorted.
"When are you planning on telling me?" she asked.
"I'm not. Let me know when you figure it out," he replied.
"The Kennedy Center," Ziva said a few minutes later as they traveled down the Beltway.
Giving her a scrutinizing look, he asked, "You didn't cheat, did you? Do you know what the show is?"
"I was guessing, Tony," she said with an indulgent smile as she reached for his hand. "The clothes and the direction you are driving were my only clues. I will also guess musical performance but I know nothing else, I promise. I purposely did not try to find out. I did not want to ruin your surprise."
Tony gave her hand a gentle squeeze and attempted to focus on the traffic until they turned onto Rock Creek Parkway. After that, he kept his eyes on Ziva's face as much as possible. He knew the moment she saw the sign and realized the name of the featured performer. There was no question she was surprised. Her eyes found his immediately.
"How did you…the buttercups you remembered but I never told you this," she said with wonder.
"I might've had a helpful hint," he explained.
Tony knew five minutes after David D'Or took the stage that it was worth every dime he spent and then some to bring Ziva to this performance. There was no question the guy was talented. He had an incredible vocal range and his music varied all the way from rock to ancient Hebrew hymns. It wasn't Tony's thing but he was more interested in Ziva's reaction anyway. He watched in awe as all the pain faded out of her eyes as she listened to the music.
"Did you enjoy it at all?" Ziva teased gently as Tony yawned for the third time.
They were sitting in the bar at the Rooftop Terrace restaurant in the Kennedy Center with drinks and a shared dessert. Both had been reluctant to end the evening after the concert was over. The lack of sleep the past two nights was finally catching up with Tony, though. Ziva, on the other hand, continued to bubble over with enthusiasm.
"I enjoyed watching you," Tony told her. "I can't even describe your face. It was your eyes really. It was like everything that haunts you disappeared."
"That was not just because of the music," she told him before giving him a quick kiss. "Tonight represents the best of what I left behind. It means more than I can say to share it with you. Thank you for doing this."
"I'll take you back to Israel to visit someday when it's safe for you to be there again. You can show me everything you loved about it," Tony promised.
"I cannot imagine getting through the last few months without you."
"You're strong, Ziva. You would've found a way to do it," Tony told her.
"Perhaps but I am glad I have you. I hope to keep you for a very long time," she said with a tender smile.
"Yea?" he said as he swept her hair back from her face and cradled her jaw in his hand. "Maybe I'll stick around for awhile then."
When their next kiss ended with Tony yawning, Ziva dissolved into laughter.
"I need to get you into bed," she told him.
"Hey, that's supposed to be my line," Tony quipped.
"You are so tired you are…sluggy?" Ziva questioned.
"I think you mean punchy or punch drunk. And, yes, I am. How come you're not?" Tony asked.
"I believe it is because I was asleep while you were meeting a cargo plane at the Baltimore airport at four o'clock this morning. I have had a few of hours of sleep in the last two days and you have had none. Thank you for everything you did to find my flowers. Did I mention that I love them?"
"Only a few times. I think I'm going to see if Abby can grow some in her lab. Then I'll have a ready supply whenever I say something stupid," Tony joked.
"You do not need to worry about saying the wrong words, Tony," Ziva said turning serious. "I know what is in your heart. That is what matters to me."
"Maybe I should focus on saying the right words, then," Tony said nervously. Swallowing and then taking a deep breath, he added, "I love you."