I was really, really fed up with the Jello case. I did try to persevere with it, but I gave up after a really bad day. If I could have gotten it to work, then I would have, but I was tired and angry and…and…
Oh, my. I have just realised that this is chapter 43, and since I already have 49 and 50 semi-typed up I need to start thinking how I am going to squeeze two and a half months into six chapters. I have two of those partially written up already, but I do not know where they fit. I think it will probably be something like chapters 44 and 46. Oh, they are really close together. Hmm. Wow, time flies. Have we had any pre-written chapters yet? I forget. I shall have to check. No. Just checked. Not a single chapter that I wrote up completely out of order so far has been uploaded, which is a small miracle because I have already written 15 out of order, although one of them I am not so sure about.
And, to make matters slightly worse, I am going away for a week or so with limited time to write and even more limited access to the internet, which means there will be no updates for a while, and if you review, which I always hope you do, and you would be expecting a reply, either because I normally do or because you made a comment that would usually require a reply, then do not worry, I will get around to it, it may just take some time.
Of course, if you are reading this in the future, then there is a chance that I will reply more or less immediately or never at all, depending upon how far into the future it is and what I am doing.
Long Author's note. Sorry. If you read all of it, you deserve a cookie.
XLIII. A Child Needs A Grandparent, Anybody's Grandparent, To Grow A Little More Securely Into An Unfamiliar World.
"Hey…" Tony's warm voice drifted through her sleep-hazed mind. "Hey, Sleepyhead."
"Mmm…what time is it?" She shifted slightly, rolling over so she was facing him. He smiled softly, running his fingers down her cheek. She pressed a kiss to the palm of his hand.
"About 0600h. Gibbs want's to talk to us." Her face fell when she remembered the night before, the interrogation.
"Why do we do this, Tony?"
"Because just imagine how many bad guys would be out there if we didn't." He wiped away the tear that trickled down her cheek. "Come here." She sat up on the couch in Jenny's office and leaned into the hug he engulfed her in.
"He was not going to tell me anything."
He pulled away slightly whilst letting his hands drop to her waist. "Yeah, no-one broke. Even Gibbs couldn't break Jemima. He handed them all over to the FBI. Fornell's team's got more people and more resources. And since it was their case in the beginning, Gibbs said he could continue with the interviews, so long as he tells us the results."
"No more Jello?"
"No more Jello." He pressed his lips to hers and brought his hands up to cup her face, smiling into the kiss. He moved from being kneeled on the carpet to sitting next to her on the couch. She tangled her hands in his hair and shuffled closer to him, throwing one leg over his to straddle him, causing him to chuckle. "I don't think sex on the director's couch is an appropriate use of government property."
"No, it most certainly is not. Nor is sex in any other part of this building." Jenny smirked from where she stood in the doorway. Ziva blushed whilst Tony grinned. "Well done for the case. Go on, I won't tell Gibbs what I just witnessed."
"I think, Jen, after the week we have had, he will not mind if our personal and professional lives intersect just a little bit." Ziva smiled and stood up, the blush still not entirely faded. "Thank you for letting me sleep on your sofa."
"You're welcome." The director stifled a laugh as the pair of Gibbs' agents hurried out of her office like a pair of school children who had just been caught in the act.
"Ziva. You okay?" Gibbs asked as Tony and she walked to their desks, Tony's hand lingering on her back for as long as physically possible.
"Yes." She nodded as he walked over to her.
He lowered his voice. "I watched the tape of your interrogation. You sure you're okay? It was a difficult…"
"I am fine, Gibbs." She stared at him as he tilted her chin up to look at her properly.
"Mmhm." He narrowed his eyes, not quite believing her, but let it slid. "You know where to find me if you need to talk. About anything. Or even, y'know, if you want some peace and quiet from DiNozzo."
"You are suggesting that he can be as unbearable at home as he is here, yes?" She laughed.
"Well…"
"He is not. If he was, do you think he would still be alive?"
"Fair point." He snickered and walked to the centre of the bullpen. "Write your reports up, then go home. It's been a long few weeks. I'll call when the FBI notify us on the outcome. Until then, go home, get some rest. I don't want to see any of you in here until next Monday."
"Next Monday? That's six days. That's almost a week, Boss."
"Well done, DiNozzo. You can do maths." Gibbs said sarcastically.
"No, Boss, I was just saying that's a long time off."
"You've earned it." Their boss sat down at his desk watching as each one of his agents started typing up their reports on the case.
McGee blinked and yawned as the final page of his report printed off, the first one to finish out of the rest of the team. He sat back down and stapled the top left corner, making sure everything lined up correctly before permanently securing the papers together and sliding the report into a manila folder. He handed it to Gibbs and grinned. "I'm gonna go down to see Abby." He grabbed his bag and coat. "Hey, um, do you two want to go out for dinner at some point over the next week with me and Abby?"
Tony and Ziva exchanged a glance and both shrugged. "Sure, McProbie-Wan-Kenobi. Call us sometime and we can arrange where and when." Tony smiled as Tim nodded and headed off.
Ziva was done with her report next and handed it over to Gibbs before sitting on the edge of Tony's desk, watching him type and commenting every so often on his speed, or lack thereof. "You realise that this would go much faster if you learned to type properly."
"That may be true, but I like typing my way." He sighed, tapping away with his index fingers at a rate of about twelve words per minute.
"I am bored, Tony."
"I'm almost done. You know what you could do whilst you're waiting? You could write your vows."
"What makes you think I have not already written them?"
"Well, I…"
"Because you have not started yours?" She smirked. "I finished mine last week, the day after I got back from the hospital."
"You didn't say anything?" He played with her fingers in much the same way he had when they were in Venice, tangling and untangling his own large, calloused ones with her thin, dainty ones. He smiled at the knowledge that if he ever vocalised the fact that he thought she had dainty fingers, he himself would have all ten of his broken.
"I did not want to pressurise you. We have all been very busy, and you do not need the added strain of having to think of writing your vows."
"You are amazing." He smiled up at her, thinking about the words written on the piece of paper tucked into an envelope in his bottom drawer, hidden in one of Gibbs' medal cases in the lock-box. He had written his vows when she had been in the hospital, but he wasn't going to tell her that, much like she hadn't told him.
"You gonna just stand there or you gonna come in?" He looked up as Ziva walked slowly down the stairs of the basement, a worried expression on her face. "What's wrong?" He frowned, concerned, as she sat down on one of the wooden stools.
"He lost everything, Gibbs."
"Who?"
"Joshua Linton. He lost his wife and his son. He had nothing left. It was like, when I was squeezing his neck he was daring me to do it."
"He probably was."
"Gibbs, if I die…"
"Great way to start a conversation."
"Gibbs. Please." She sighed and he nodded, allowing for her to continue. "When I die, I will most likely be leaving behind Tony and two children. I never want to have to imagine Tony looking that…despondent. I just want to know that if anything happens to me you will look after him, make sure he does not lose his hope and his faith and his friends, please?"
"Of course, Ziva. We all will." He nodded, placing a hand over hers.
"I also want to ask that you look after my babies if something goes wrong. I understand that there is always a chance that Tony and I will not be coming home one day, and…I want to know that my children will be kept safe and loved and nothing will happen to them because of a failure on my part. I know it is a lot to ask, but…"
"I know, Ziva. I understand." He smiled. "We do what we have to for family. You're going to be an amazing mother. I have no doubt."
She nodded, looking down in embarrassment – she always had been unused to compliments. Her hand dropped to absently caress her stomach as her tongue darted out to moisten her lips, preparing herself for her next question. "Gibbs…I know I am not Kelly, and I would never for one second presume that you would think of me in the same way, but… My children, mine and Tony's children, they do not really have much going for them in the way of grandparents. I mean, Tony's father, he does not even know, and my father…well…" She snorted and shook her head. "I never had grandparents – they died long before I was born – but that does not mean that I do not wish I had grandparents. I wish I had somebody whom I could go to with my problems and my concerns, someone with years of experience on their belt."
"Under their belt." Gibbs smirked.
"Anywhere on their belt will do. Somebody like Ducky, or…you."
"You calling me old, David?"
"No!" She cried, blushing and shaking her head. "No, I just…"
"I was joking."
"Oh. Well it was not a very funny joke." She lapsed into silence.
"You're asking me to be the twins' granddad?"
"Yes. I mean, only if you feel comfortable. Tony and I have had many conversations about it."
"DiNozzo know you're here now?"
She shook her head. "No, he is sleeping – We went dancing earlier and I think that wore him out. I did not want to wake him, but I knew I had to talk to you."
"It's late. You need sleep too, remember what the doctor said?" He raised his eyebrows at her.
"I know. And what about you? Will you be getting any sleep tonight?"
"I'll grab a few hours."
"That does not sound sincere." She smiled sadly. "Gibbs, Tony and McGee and Abby and I, we are planning on going out for dinner on Sunday night, bringing the girls along. I am sure nobody would mind if you joined us?" She offered hesitantly.
He chuckled and shook his head. "No, no. You spend the evening as a group. You need some time without the grownups pestering you." He kissed her forehead. "Now go on, get some sleep. I'll see you on Monday."
