DISCLAIMER: I do not own NCIS

Chapter Two - Five Weeks Later

Ziva stepped off the elevator and walked down the corridor towards her apartment. She unlocked the door and entered her new home.

In the last five weeks, a lot of things had changed. Ziva found a new apartment and moved in. She left NCIS, handing in her notice and started training with The Alice Edwards Foundation as support worker. She even found a new synagogue that she liked and started attending services on a Saturday morning. Ziva hadn't planned on making so many changes in such a short space of time, but once things started rolling, she found it difficult to stop them.

Kicking off her shoes, Ziva heard her phone buzz in her bag. Tony DiNozzo flashed on the caller ID.

'Hi Tony' said Ziva, smiling to herself.

'Hey, are you home?

'Yes. I just got in.'

'Mind if I come over. It's been a long day. I'll bring dinner' he added.

'You do not need to do that' said Ziva. 'I was planning on cooking.'

'No point if I bring dinner. See you in 30.'

Thirty minutes later, Ziva answered a knock at her door and found Tony standing on the other side, pizza box in hand.

'I didn't fancy eating by myself in an empty apartment' explained Tony. If Tony was going to be honest, he had found himself hating his apartment more and more. There was no life in it.

Ziva smiled and let in her friend. She went to the kitchen and got two plates, Tony sitting down on her sofa. A cardboard box stood at the foot of Ziva's bookcase. It was once again full of books.

'More rearranging?' Tony said, pointing to the box.

'I cannot figure out how to organise my books' said Ziva, handing him a plate. 'Alphabetical according to author name or title. What about by colour, or by genre? And what about subcategories?'

'Why not just put the books on the shelves?' suggested Tony. Ziva raised an eyebrow, making Tony smile and laugh.

Ziva sat down as Tony switched on the TV.

'How was work?' asked Ziva, opening the pizza box and taking a slice.

'Tiring' said Tony.

'Difficult case?'

'Not really. Just technical and confusing. Long paper trails to follow. Even McGee and Abby went a little nuts.' Ziva chuckled. 'What about you?' asked Tony.

'It was good. I have finished another module of training and next week I get to assist on a case.'

Tony grinned as he took another bite of pizza. Working without Ziva was definitely odd but the way she lit up whenever she talked about her new job made up for it. Ziva was in a new chapter of her life and she was thriving. She picked up her wine glass and took a sip.

'Gibbs found anyone to replace me yet?' she asked.

'You're irreplaceable David' said Tony. 'But no, he hasn't. I think he's still figuring out who would be good for the job. I think it was almost two months the last time.'

'Last time?' asked Ziva. Tony paused.

'2009' he said.

'Oh.' Ziva knew what he meant. 2009 meant Somalia.

'Sorry' Tony added quickly.

'There is nothing to apologise' said Ziva. 'It is something that happened to me and whilst I do not like thinking about it, it did happen to me and pretending it did not would not help me in the long run.'

'Something you learnt from training?' asked Tony. Ziva nodded, taking another piece of pizza out of the box.

Ziva had learnt so much during her training. It had changed the way she viewed her past, events like Somalia and the death of her sister and mother. It had even helped in the way she saw Eli.

Tony reached forward and picked up the TV remote, switching the TV on. For the millionth time, Tony and Ziva had dinner together, half talking, half watching TV. It was comfortable.

Soon enough, the pizza box was empty. Ziva picked the empty box and took to the kitchen, Tony following her with the dinner plates.

'Thanks' said Ziva, taking the plates from him, their fingers brushing ever so slightly against each other. She put them down next to the sink and turned back to Tony. He looked like he was going to say something.

'I…' began Tony, trailing off into silence.

'Yeah?' said Ziva quietly. He was standing so close to her. Ziva felt her breathing get heavy. They were so close.

Tony reached up and tucked Ziva's hair behind her ear. He did that from time to time and Ziva liked it. Something small but carried so much meaning to it. Ziva stared at Tony, their eyes locking. Was his head getting closer?

A phone rang, knocking them out of their shared dream. Tony pulled his phone out and answered it.

'DiNozzo. Uh huh. Uh huh. Ok. I'll be there soon.' He hung up. 'I gotta go. Break through in another case. It's been cold for a couple of weeks.'

'Ok' said Ziva. She felt a little disappointed that Tony had to leave. She stayed in the kitchen as Tony went back to the living room to retrieve his badge, wallet and weapon. She watched as Tony made his way to the door.

'Tony, wait.' He turned to see Ziva walking quickly over to him. For a couple of seconds they stared at each other before Ziva pulled Tony's head down, placing her lips on his. Tony dropped his bag and wrapped his arms around Ziva's body, her hands going around his neck, tugging ever so gently on his hair.

Eventually, Tony was forced to pull away.

'I've gotta go' he said. He too was disappointed.

'Stay safe' Ziva said quietly. Tony nodded, before leaving Ziva alone in her apartment.

Thank you for all your lovely comments on the first chapter. I'm glad you liked it. Hope you like this one.