Chapter 17

Reunited

~~At the Navy Yard, the post episode; Agent Afloat, 2008~~

As Tony, McGee, and Ziva rode the elevator down to the parking garage, McGee turned to face them, and noticed them stealthily holding hands together. His eyes flicked upward to Tony and Ziva and smiled broadly at them, happy to finally be able to see them again. "Well, it's really good to have you guys back together. As a team again," he said.

Tony turned around smiling at McGee as he let go of Ziva's hand. "Oh yeah, it's good to have the McGeekiness here. Couldn't pick on anyone out there like I usually do with you." Tony chuckled as he reached out to pat McGee's shoulder.

As the elevator doors opened, Ziva walked out ahead of Tony and McGee, stopping momentarily to scan the area carefully. Her eyes caught sight of other people walking to their cars. She looked back at Tony and McGee. "Let's go get some dinner, how's that sound?"

Tony smiled at Ziva. "Sounds great. Where would you like to go?"

"How about we go to my place? We can have pizza and relax for the evening." Ziva tilted her head, smiling at Tony.

Tony's eyebrows flicked upward as he smiled at her. "Sounds good, let's do that." Tony turned around to McGee and asked, "You wanna come over, play some catch-up?"

"Sure thing. I'm looking forward to hearing what you two have been up to these days." McGee smiled at Tony and Ziva.

"Wonderful, just like old times." Ziva perked up in a smile, patting McGee's shoulder. She had always enjoyed working with McGee and spending time in his company. His quiet demeanor and outlook on life offered fresh perspective into things that had been on her mind.

Tony smiled. "Well, we'll follow each other to your place, then. Lead the way," he said to Ziva, holding his hand out for her.

"Right," Ziva said as she smiled. She then turned and walked toward her car as the other two headed to theirs.

Eventually, Ziva walked into her living room, tossing her work bag by the door, then walked into the center of the room and listened to the silence in her apartment. Relieved that Tony and McGee hadn't arrived yet, she walked over to the couch and flopped down heavily into it, resting her head back on the cushion, taking a deep breath, eyes closed. Her mind started drifting over the past events that had happened to her, how she had lost her baby that she never knew she was carrying, and how her father had blown up at her when he had heard the news from the doctor. A sudden moment of clarity struck her as she realized what her Ima had endured in order to make her father happy. How her sister had struck out on her own, rebelling at her father's heavy-handedness with how he wanted to do things. She came to the realization that her beloved Abba had become someone she was having a hard time recognizing. He had become more... distant... ever since Ziva had went off to work for NCIS years ago. As Ziva drifted off to sleep, an image of a child standing at the end of a hallway formed in her mind as she heard the child's voice, sweet and innocent. She sat up suddenly, eyes wide awake, and looked around to see if the child was there. She instinctively put her hand on her abdomen, rubbing it, as she sat up further and heard the sound of keys in her door. She looked toward the door as it opened.

As soon the door opened, McGee walked into the living room holding a couple of boxes of pizza, one hand holding a bag of goodies, while the other held the drink bottles. "Hey there, Ziva," McGee said as he smiled at Ziva.

Ziva stood up, walking toward McGee, arms outstretched to take the bag and drinks from McGee. "Hey, McGee. Where's Tony?"

McGee looked behind him, then back at Ziva. "He should be right behind me. He was getting something out of his car." McGee grinned at Ziva.

"That would make sense why he had you carry all that up here. What is he up to?" Ziva raised her eyebrow, smiling at McGee as she craned her neck to look behind McGee for any signs of Tony.

McGee looked behind him, too, then turned back to Ziva and smiled, shrugging his shoulders. "Well, after we got the food and the pizza, Tony said he wanted to make a quick stop along the way, so he had me meet him here. Thought he'd be a bit longer than that, actually. He actually beat me here." He chuckled at Ziva. "I wouldn't be surprised if he was up to something."

Ziva chuckled at McGee. "Well, I'll go ahead and set the table as we wait for Tony." She walked over to the kitchen cabinets and got the plates out.

"Right, I'll set up the food." McGee set out the food and drinks on the counter.

Ziva hadn't heard McGee's reply, absorbed in thought as her hands went through the motions of setting out places for three. She also hadn't noticed the quiet footsteps behind her. Suddenly, she felt a presence behind her, and quickly stood up, and turned around, startled, to face Tony, who was holding a bouquet of flowers, smiling at her. "Hello, Ziva," Tony said, quietly.

Ziva gasped in surprise and smiled at Tony as she gushed out, "Oh my gosh, Tony! These flowers are so lovely!" She brought the flowers up to her nose and took in a deep smell. She smiled at Tony, looking at the flowers. "They smell so good. I didn't expect this. Thank you."

"Thought I would surprise you with this, just because I want to make your day," Tony said as he smiled at Ziva, expressing his great love and care for Ziva, which brought back some of the happiness back to her heart, bringing some comfort to her.

"Oh Tony, this sure made my heart sing," Ziva leaned over to give Tony a kiss, then walked to the counter to put the flowers in a large vase she found under the counter.

"Tony, that went well," McGee quietly whispered to Tony as he gave a thumb up, shielded from Ziva, as he walked to sit at the table.

"Yeah, that's good to know that I got the right flowers. Glad she likes the roses," Tony perked up and walked over to the counter to get the drinks to bring to the table.

Ziva overheard what Tony just told McGee. She turned around and walked to the table, smiling as she looked at Tony. "These are lovely. Already smells good in the house with the roses."

"Thank you, I thought you'd like that." Tony leaned over to Ziva, reaching to hold Ziva's hand.

McGee looked at Tony, "How was it like on that ship? Whole bunch of men, hardly a woman in sight?" McGee reached out to get a slice of pizza.

"It was alright. More women on board than you think, probie." Tony turned to grab his own slice of pizza, then turned back to McGee. "I'm just glad to be off that ship, though. Sure gets lonely without you two at my side. Hearing the planes slam into the deck above my head, all day long and all night long. Sure is quiet, back on land." Tony smiled at McGee.

"Oh, yeah. Non-stop busy-work on the ship. Where do you even go on a floating island for a bit of quiet? I wouldn't really know where to find one," McGee said as he nodded.

Tony chuckled. "There are relatively quiet areas, but you never get a truly quiet place. A little like you, surrounded by all those computers in the Cyber Unit, huh?" Tony chuckled at McGee as he sat down with his slice of pizza at the table.

McGee raised his eyebrows and shrugged. "It was interesting, the way the other two people that worked there treated me. Just because I had a gun, I was automatically 'the boss' to them." McGee shook his head, then let out a short chuckle, because he found the whole thing amusing to him.

"That is good that they looked up at you, McGee" Ziva sat down with her slice of pizza and smiled at McGee.

"Yeah, it was awesome, knowing that I was their de-facto leader there. Long hours, though, with requests from Vance and Gibbs. Whatever they needed tracking down, I did it. Not only that, but I also was improving on my skill set." McGee sat back and ran his hand through his hair.

Tony chuckled as his hands made furious typing motions. "All that typing you're doing these days, plenty of exercise for you? What have you been working on, anyway, your latest book?"

"Well I didn't really have the time to write. All those BOLOs and tracking down finances and numbers and emails and... you know, it's all complicated geek stuff." McGee shrugged as he pointed fingers in random directions.

"So that's how you were able to finally track me down and send me a message, or messages?" Ziva raised her eyebrow, looking at McGee.

"Yeah. Gibbs asked me to find you. Took me some doing, but I managed to find you. He wanted to check in with you. I guess he was starting to worry about you -" McGee said, but didn't finish as he saw the look on Ziva's face change.

"That explains why he called my Abba's office, looking for me." Ziva cut McGee off, not giving him the chance to finish. She didn't want Tony to know about what had happened to her, not just yet. She just wasn't ready to tell him right now.

"Now, why would Gibbs check on you?" Tony was taken back wondering at that one.

"Oh, he wanted some specific information on the mission that we were working on, only I knew the answers to." Ziva shrugged. "Filling in some of the blanks, I think."

"Well, that makes sense. I got similar inquiries from the McGeek over here. Interesting how he was feeding info to me through the back channels, seeing as the ship was on EMCOM all the time." Tony took a huge bite of his pizza, savoring the taste of the hot, gooey cheese as it melted in his mouth. "Mm, I really missed the taste of good authentic pizza," he muttered.

McGee looked at Tony wolfing down the pizza. "Food that bad on board the ship?" McGee let out a small chuckle as he shook his head.

"The food on board isn't actually bad. But, a word of advice: stay away from their pizza. Their pizza tasted more like cardboard. A bit like prison food, I think." Tony muttered around the second bite of pizza he had just taken.

"That should be a mortal sin. Don't cook good pizza, well, you get to walk the plank." He tilted his head toward Tony, a thought forming on his head. "Speaking of, I think they stopped doing that a long time ago. The whole walking the plank thing." McGee raised his eyebrow as he took a sip of his drink.

"This pizza sure hits the spot. You can survive on this. Forget about using what passes as pizza on that ship for any form of nourishment." Tony chuckled as he pointed to his pizza. "I already made the suggestion to the Navy that they should hire a good pizza cook on their next cruise."

McGee let out a chuckle. "I'm sure it'll probably get lost in the bowels of bureaucracy and never seen again. Still doesn't hurt to try, though."

Ziva sat back in her chair, listening to the flow of conversation between Tony and McGee, growing quieter, thoughts flowing through her mind. She felt like they were the same exact people that she had worked with before, but at the same time, they had changed somehow. Or as it her that had changed more than she had realized? Emotions attached to those thoughts started bubbling up, but internally, she pushed them down gently but firmly, preventing them from actually be noticed by the others. Ziva leaned over the table, resting her elbows on the table, her chin on her folded hands.

Tony glanced over at Ziva, noticing that Ziva was paying attention but not totally there. "You okay, Ziva?" He reached out and put a hand on her hand.

Ziva looked up at Tony and smiled. "Oh yeah, I'm fine. Just some thoughts that I had. About the mission, you know." Ziva waved a hand in the air, taking a deep breath.

Tony nodded and a small smile formed on his lips. "Just making sure you're alright." He reached under the table and put his hand on her thigh, caressing it gently.

Ziva smiled, but moved her leg away a bit, stopping Tony's advances. "Just a lot on my mind. I'm still processing things on my mind, from the mission. Trying to put the pieces together."

Tony pulled his hand back and looked at Ziva. His eyes asked Ziva, are you alright, seriously? Outwardly, he said, "Alright, take your time. No rush."

McGee blinked at the two. He had known about what had happened with Ziva on the mission itself, but hadn't known about her being pregnant. He wasn't sure if he was the right person to tell Tony about it, so he kept it to himself instead. "A lot to catch up with, yet so little information to talk about right now. I'm sure Vance had his reasons for sending us different ways."

Ziva smiled. "The reassignment back to Israel surprised me, for sure. I didn't understand why. Still don't, not fully." Internally, she knew that from now on, things weren't going to be the same for her. Eli's words still rang in her ears, and she looked at Tony, yearning to be with him again, to feel his touch and feel the security from his presence, but conflicted with what Eli had threatened her with. She came to the conclusion that over here, she could spend the time with Tony and Eli would not have the same level of control he exerted over here when she was in Israel, in close reach to Eli. She reached out to hold Tony's hand, because she felt bad that she had stopped Tony's wandering hands at the pass, and seen the look in his eyes. She smiled and said, "We have plenty of time to catch up. But not here, not now."

Some time later, after McGee had left, Ziva stood in the kitchen, watching as Tony helped with cleaning the kitchen counters off and putting the trash into the trash can. She walked to Tony and said, "I really need to soak in the bathtub, if you don't mind. Thank you for helping me out, and being here." Ziva smiled as she reached out to hug Tony by her side while Tony was wiping down the countertop.

Tony looked up at Ziva and smiled. "Oh sure no problem. Go ahead, take a load off, relax in the tub. Do you want me to come in later?" he asked, somewhat hopeful for an invitation.

Ziva smiled and shook her head slightly. "I'd just like to be alone for a bit. Just to soak and relax." She turned and walked toward the bathroom.

"I'll be here if you need me," Tony called after her.

Ziva turned and nodded at Tony before she entered the bathroom. She closed the door behind her, then leaned against the door, taking a deep breath in, and letting it out slowly. Once she had settled herself down somewhat, she walked across the bathroom, taking off her clothes, then started the water running in the tub. As the water ran, she looked at herself in the mirror for a moment, seeing the pain in her own eyes. She swallowed, then let out a sigh, as she turned to climb into the tub and sat down in the slowly-rising water. Suddenly, she burst in tears and sobbed, muffling her voice as hot tears fell from her eyes. She let the tears flow for a few moments, then reached up and turned the water off as it reached the right level, her sobs having quieted down somewhat. She let out a ragged sigh and sat back in the water, letting the heat from the water soak into her body, letting out a long, drawn-out breath. Thoughts flitted through her mind, snapshots of past events, the bomb blast, the hospital stay, the furor in her father's voice when he found out. The not knowing that she had been pregnant prior to the hospital stay. Her eyes closed as she relaxed in the water, soaking in the tub. It seemed like minutes had passed when she heard the sound of the doorknob turning. Her eyes snapped open and she looked toward the door.

Tony peeked through the open door and looked at Ziva. He asked in a quiet voice, seeing her red-rimmed eyes. "You doing okay in there?" He took a couple of steps into the bathroom and knelt by the tub next to her. "Is everything okay?"

Ziva sat up gently as she swallowed the lump in her throat. The water sloshed around her as she sat up, exposing her bare chest to Tony. She took his hand and looked in his eyes. "It feels good to be with you again. A lot on my mind."

Tony's eyes flicked down toward her bared chest, then back up to Ziva's eyes. "I've missed you all those weeks I was on that ship. It still feels surreal being with you again all of a sudden. I just came in here to make sure you were okay. It got quiet in there."

Ziva nodded and smiled. "I must have drifted off to sleep in the tub. First time in a long time since I've had a proper bath. Always having to take quick showers here and there while on mission." She reached up and stroked his cheek.

"Too long. Your voice sounds much better than those sailors on the ship. They curse a lot, you know that?" Tony reached up and scratched his head. "As if it'd help them get their jobs done faster, or something." He pointed to the tub. "Feels good to relax in the tub for once, right?"

Ziva chuckled at Tony, having seen the look in his eyes. "Oh, yes. Give me a moment while I get out, and you can see for yourself how it is," she said, smiling to Tony. She stood up in the tub and let the water drip off of her as she reached up for the towel on the shower curtain rod above her.

Tony smiled, looking at Ziva's body. He cleared his throat slightly and said, "Alright, I'll let you get out first." He looked her up and down as he held out a hand for her to get out.

Ziva smiled at Tony and said, "I know that look in your eyes. Not now." She held up a finger in his face, then turned to get her bathrobe and put it around her loosely, and walked out as Tony undressed and climbed into the tub.

"Oh, yeah, that's the ticket," Tony let out a long sigh of pure bliss as he felt the hot water in the tub on his skin.

Ziva smiled at Tony's words as she went to the bed and flopped down onto it, resting her head on the pillow, looking out the window at the clouds that floated by, allowing her thoughts to float through her head again. She let her eyes close and rested in the bed, until she felt the bed move under Tony's weight. She opened her eyes and looked at Tony and smiled at him.

"Hey Tony. I've missed you more than I realized," Ziva whispered to him, stroking his cheek as he lay on the bed beside her.

Tony smiled. "I've missed you also. That's why I kept a picture of you in my coffin – you know, they call the beds there coffins? Because they kinda look like coffins, sort of."

Ziva looked at Tony. "You kept pictures of me up on the wall? Why?"

"Because they were some of my favorites. It helps with the loneliness in bed, thinking about you." Tony smiled at Ziva. "Helps pass the time."

Ziva nodded gently, then reached her hand out to hold on Tony's chest, looking at him. "Did you show anyone those pictures? What did you tell them?" Ziva was all eyes on Tony, wondering what the crewmates thought about her.

"Who, the crew on the ship?" Tony asked.

Ziva smiled and nodded. "I'm curious." Ziva smiles as her eyes told him a lot.

"Oh, yeah. A few guys happened to see the pictures. Asked who it was, so I told 'em." Tony paused to see Ziva's swelling heart and eye as she smiled gently. "They thought I was lucky to have you as my babe. One of them asked me if I would spend my life with you, and I said I would do it in a heartbeat. Hopefully we can make it happen, one day." Tony raised his hand behind his head and smoothed his hair down, trying to stop an itch that suddenly popped up on the back of his head.

Ziva smiled and looked deeply into Tony's eyes. "That's so sweet to hear how much you truly think about me. You did get your job done on the ship, though, right?" Ziva sat up a little straighter.

"Yea, as much as I had you in my thoughts, I did my best to make sure my job got done." Tony sat up on the bed and rested his back against the wall, looking at Ziva with a smile on his lips.

Ziva sat fully upright in the bed and looked at Tony, smiling. "That's good to hear. Anything interesting happen on the ship while you were out there?"

Tony chuckled. "Not much. Just boring details in the investigation. How about you? I didn't hear you say much about what happened over there." He tilted his head and looked Ziva into her eyes.

"Well, not much to say about Israel. Did my job. I did what my father asked me to do." Ziva shrugged her shoulders. But her eyes told Tony a lot more than she had intended.

Tony blinked as he saw that she was holding something back. "So, something happened between you and your father? That why you're not being your usual self?" he asked softly.

"It's something to do with me and my father, yes. But can we talk about something else, please?" Ziva sat up and looked at Tony, letting her arms drop as she let out a sigh. As she dropped her arms to her side, her robe fell apart slightly, exposing her chest, causing Tony to get distracted, forestalling him from asking any further questions.

Tony smiled, clearing his throat. "Sure, we can talk about something else," he said in a whisper. He reached out and gently caressed her midriff. "Or we could just hold each other?"

"We can do this," Ziva said as she smiled and leaned over and planted a full-on kiss on Tony's lips, as she reached around him and hugged him.

Tony returned the hug and kiss, and took his time with Ziva. "This feels good," Tony murmured to Ziva as he let his hands roam all over her back.

Ziva let out a long sigh of relief at the feel of his touch. The words of Eli surfaced again: don't you dare fool around with that clown boy again. She shook her head slightly, quashing the words. She resolved to herself that regardless of what her father told her, she was going to go against his will, whether he liked it or not. She had not felt the same kind of security that she had always felt in Tony's presence. His touch brought a sort of calmness to her feelings, even if outwardly they didn't always show it to each other. She realized that she had not one, but two people to hide her truth with Tony from. Gibbs and now Eli. "Just hold me, Tony," she whispered into his ear.

Tony nodded and held her, allowing Ziva to relax in his arms. He reached up and stroked her hair to the side, kissing her forehead. "I'm here for you, my babe," Tony whispered back into her ear.

Ziva nodded in his arms, smiling, melting into his arms, and slowly falling asleep. Even in sleep, she always counted on his touch to bring peace to her mind, some stability to her emotions.

A/N: Dear Readers, Wanted to say thank you for enjoying this chapter, more to come soon. Also thank you for the Reviews, Tweets, Messages and Kudos.