Chapter 2
A New York Adventure
~~Baltimore, Maryland, July 1995~~
Twenty-six-year-old Tony sighed as he poured through the paperwork he was working on at his precinct desk job at the Baltimore Police Department. "Okay, what have we gotten ourselves into?" he muttered to himself, his eyes bleary from going through reams of paperwork. He caught sight of a figure walking up the aisle toward his bull pen and quickly glanced up. It was the captain. He flashed a quick smile at the captain and said, "Hey Cap'n. What's new?"
The captain stopped a few feet short of Tony's desk and held up a finger, then flicked it toward him, chuckling slightly at Tony's startled response. "My office, now."
Tony gulped, wondering if he had filled out something incorrectly in his paperwork. He had done his best to make sure every t was crossed, every I dotted, all his punctuation correct. He quickly stood up. "Alright, Cap'n, coming."
Moments later at the office, as the captain sat down, he waved Tony toward a chair across from him. "Siddown over there, make yourself comfortable." He let out a sigh as he flipped open a folder and glanced at the paperwork, then looked up at Tony. "Well, how do you like it here so far?"
Tony nodded and smiled nervously. "Not too bad. Work's interesting. Not quite what I thought it would be like, though, but this is still my goal to have a career with the police department here."
The captain nodded with a smile; he had seen how well Tony had performed with his job as a rookie and doing protection details for certain high-profile clients in the past couple of months. He took a piece of paper out of another folder and slid it across the desk to Tony, nodding his head toward it and holding his hand out before sitting back. "Check that out. What do you think of that assignment?"
Tony blinked as he slowly reached out for the paperwork. He took it and read it carefully. After a moment, he put the paper down in his lap and looked up at the captain, his eyebrows raised. "So, another protection detail. Someone must like me for doing my work."
The captain chuckled again at Tony as he leaned back in his chair. "Tony, the reason I called you in here is because I think you've done well on the protection details. This one I have to hand to you personally. Special assignment."
Tony brought the paper back up and read it even more carefully. His lips moved slightly as he read the words carefully. Increased pay, more than double what he made currently, better benefits, ability to make snap judgments depending on situation. He slowly put down the paper and blinked at the captain. "You're kidding. This is for real?"
The captain nodded. "Yup, it's real. Orders came from up high, they said 'pick someone you really trust'. So, I picked you."
"Okay, I'll bite. Where do I go, when do I go?" Tony nodded.
The captain smiled at Tony. "Thought you would." He slid the folder across the desk to Tony and tapped it. "Everything you need to know's in there. Be at Philadelphia first thing in the morning. Work starts then. Follow all your instructions in that folder, and you should do good. You'll be out there for a few days with this client." The captain nodded with a smile, sitting back in his chair, his chair creaking under him.
Tony smiled as he stood up and took the folder from the desk. "I'll keep in touch when I can. Won't let you down, now." He turned to walk out of the room.
"You'll do good!" the captain called out after him.
~~The next morning~~
Tony stood in front of the address provided to him in his dossier and stared at the facade of the hotel. "Wow, ritzy," he muttered to himself. He took in a deep breath, then walked up to the hotel and entered it. He made his way toward the presidential suite. Just before he reached the suite, he caught a glimpse of a young girl running across the hallway. He suddenly had a sense of deja-vu, as if he had seen that girl before. He blinked his eyes. The girl stopped at the presidential suite, quickly glanced in his direction, then smiled, then in a flash, she went into the suite. I think I know that girl, he thought to himself as he walked toward the door.
No sooner than Tony knocked the door, the door opened to reveal a huge barrel-chested bodyguard holding the door open. From somewhere deep inside, the bodyguard's voice growled out to Tony, "You must be Anthony DiNozzo?"
"Yes. Call me Tony. Anthony's my dad." He reached inside his jacket pocket and pulled out his wallet, flipping it open to reveal his Baltimore PD badge. "Baltimore PD." He flashed a smile to the bodyguard.
The bodyguard gave Tony a once-over. "You got your papers with you?" The bodyguard thrust out a large meaty hand, expecting the paperwork.
"Sure thing," Tony said as he reached into his bag and pulled out a few sheets of paper and handed them to the bodyguard.
The bodyguard glanced over the paperwork. "Okay, it checks out. We've been expecting you. Come in." The bodyguard turned and walked back into the room, finding Eli standing at the counter of the dry bar. "Eli, this is the guy you asked for. And the paperwork, all here." He held out the papers.
Eli walked toward the bodyguard, taking the papers from him and giving it a quick once-over. "Ah yes, I was expecting him this morning." He turned to Tony. "Hello there, I see you're Anthony DiNozzo? What took you so long?"
Tony smiled and nodded gently. "Yes, that's me. It's the traffic. They sent me to be at your service for a few days. Says so in the paper, correct?"
Eli nodded at Tony. "Sounds good." He turned to the bodyguard, then said, "Thanks. You may go, now," dismissing him.
The bodyguard nodded once and disappeared from the room.
Tony slowly entered the huge room, looking around while Eli walked out of the room for a couple of moments, leaving Tony alone in the room. The same girl he had seen before entered the room a couple of moments later to get something. Tony blinked his eyes as he focused on the girl. He was now certain he had seen her before.
The girl smiled at Tony. "Hi, my name's Ziva -" She stopped mid-sentence and looked closely at Tony. She looked closer at Tony. "Do I know you? You look familiar."
Tony gasped gently at the sound of her voice. He had heard that voice five years prior, but this time, it sounded less child-like. He took in a deep breath and said, "Maybe. I feel like I've seen you before."
Before twelve-year-old Ziva could say something, Eli walked into the room and made a beeline toward Tony. He offered a handshake to Tony. "Anthony, sorry about before. Pressing matters, you see."
"Not a problem," Tony said automatically, reaching out to shake Eli's hand.
Eli nodded and smiled. "I am so grateful that you were able to come. Reason I requested for the protection detail is because I had promised my daughter that I would take her to New York City for some sightseeing. But I find myself in a tight situation." He turned to glance at Ziva, then back to Tony. "You see, she's been begging me to take her to New York, and, my business prevents me from fulfilling that request."
Tony glanced at Ziva, who was standing slightly behind Eli. She was smiling, and had her hands together. She opened then closed her hands a couple of times, as if she was opening and closing a book. He turned back to Eli.
" - was wondering if you would be so kind as take her there, to New York City, take in the sights." Eli was talking on. "Of course, you'll be accompanied by one of my bodyguards, and her nanny Jennifer."
He quickly glanced over to Ziva again, coughing slightly. He had this sudden picture of a younger Ziva, smiling as he gave her the book of the famed city. "Sure, that won't be a problem, right, Ziva?" he asked.
"Yes!" Ziva jumped once in excitement and pumped her arms, before she quickly stood up and looked at Eli, still smiling.
Eli chuckled at Ziva. "Go, have fun. Let me know what you saw when you come back, alright?" He bent down and patted her on her shoulder, then bent over and kissed her on both cheeks. He then walked out of the room.
As soon as Eli left, Tony looked down at Ziva and flashed a smile. "Hi, Ziva."
"Is that really you, Tony? They say your name's Anthony?" Ziva looked up at Tony as she patted his arm.
Jennifer walked into the room and up to Ziva. "Ziva..." Jennifer paused; she hadn't realized until a moment after she entered the room that Tony was there in the room.
Tony raised a hand and waved at Jennifer and said, "Hi, nice to meet you."
"Hi, my name is Jennifer, and you must be?" Jennifer reached out for a handshake.
Tony looked at Jennifer with a smile, reaching to shake her hand. "Yeah, my name is Anthony, but I like Tony. You know 'Y' not'?" Tony chuckled as he pointed his finger in the air.
"Yeah! I knew it was you!" Ziva chuckled. Tony was still as humorous as she had remembered him.
"It sounds like Ziva knows you from somewhere." She turned to Ziva. "Did we meet before?" Jennifer turned back to Tony, pondering. She had noticed how quickly Ziva had taken to Tony.
"Well, I don't think we had met," Tony said, pointing to both him and Jennifer. "At least I don't remember. But yeah, five years ago I went over to Israel for some exchange coursework. I was assigned to this school over in Israel, and I happened to be Ziva's basketball coach."
"Wait a minute!" Jennifer gasped to herself, then looked over to Ziva. "Coach Tony!? The same one you were telling me about?" Jennifer's face had sudden recognition written all over it.
"Yes! I told you! He's my best friend!" Ziva looked up at Jennifer with a smile. She reached out and held onto Tony's arm.
Tony looked down at Ziva, then back up to Jennifer. "You must've come into the picture after I left, right?" Tony pointed his finger in the air, putting the pieces together for himself.
Jennifer smiled at Tony. "Yep, Eli was busy a lot, so Rivka needed a nanny to help her with the girls. I came out to help and I've been with the family since."
Tony smiled. "That's nice. Ease the work load and keep the daddy from going crazy trying to raise the girls, huh?" He chuckled at the thought.
"That about sums it up." Jennifer chuckled, then tilted her head to Tony. "So, why did Eli not remember you from before?"
"That is what I was wondering." Tony shrugged. "Might be the fact that we only met once, and only for a very short time. He was preoccupied at the time, if I remember right."
"Yeah, Abba doesn't always pay attention. But he'll eventually notice one day." Ziva shrugged with a smile.
"Ah that's so true. Well, it's so awesome to see your friend again, Ziva." Jennifer patted Ziva's shoulder.
"Yeah!" Ziva squealed in happiness to see her best friend.
"So, New York City it is. Couple hour's drive. We'll have fun going out there." Tony smiled.
Eventually on the highway feeding into New York City, Tony could make out the Statue of Liberty lady standing proudly on Ellis Island nearby. He looked down at Ziva, who was looking out the window, rapt with attention, trying to soak in everything around them. "Hey, Ziva. Look out over there. What do you see there?" Tony pointed out toward the statue.
Ziva looked out to where Tony was pointing. "Oh, wow! The Statue of Liberty! I recall reading about that in the book you gave me. I still have it, you know." Ziva smiled at Tony, then turned back to the window, snapping a picture of it with her camera.
"It is amazing how you still have the book over these years," Tony said, chuckling. "You sure remembered a lot more than I did back then." Tony glanced quickly at Ziva, then returned his attention back to the road.
"Oh, yeah, I read it all the time. Abba couldn't take me every time I asked. I'm so glad I get to enjoy it with you," Ziva said, smiling.
Tony nodded with a smile. "I'm honored to be the one to take you to New York." He clicked his tongue. "Sorry your Abba couldn't spend the time with you like he wants to. I am more than happy to take you wherever you want to go, Ziva." Tony raised his eyebrow with a smile.
"That sounds great." Ziva suddenly caught sight of the huge bridge rising from the horizon. "We gotta cross that to get in?"
Tony smiled at Ziva. "Yup, gotta go over it. That's the George Washington Bridge there." Tony flicked a finger from the steering wheel to the bridge and glanced over to Ziva. "You got to make a wish as you go over it."
"Okay!" Ziva smiled and looked back out the windshield to the bridge. "Let me see, what do I wish for?" she asked herself. Ziva turned around toward Tony. "Wait, if I do that, will you do the same?" Ziva smiled at Tony.
"Ah let me think for a moment," Tony said with a playfully voice, ribbing Ziva, rubbing his chin as if he was thinking.
Ziva quickly glanced out the windshield at the rapidly approaching bridge, then back to Tony. "Tony! We're gonna be over the bridge, and I will not do it without you!" Ziva shrugged with a chuckle.
Tony chuckled at Ziva. "Alright, Ziva, get ready to make your wish! I'm gonna do the same. Wait for it."
"Oh yeah, let's do it!" Ziva scooted up slightly to get a better view of the bridge. She was fully in the moment, enjoying the drive into the large city that awaited her and Tony.
As Tony's SUV crossed over the bridge, Tony said, "Here we go!"
Ziva grabbed Tony's hand, holding tight as they crossed over the bridge. Mentally, she made a wish to herself to never lose sight of her best friend.
Tony looked over at Ziva, surprised at her grabbing his hand and holding on. He smiled and then looked back up to the road and continued driving on.
After a short while, among the throng of traffic that spilled out over the bridge and out the tunnels, Tony, Ziva, Jennifer and the bodyguard found themselves in the center of New York City. The buildings towering tall over their heads overwhelmed their senses as they gawked at the buildings surrounding them. "Well, here we are. The city that never sleeps," Tony said as he cruised with the city traffic. The traffic had always unnerved him slightly. He was not used to the volume of traffic compared to Baltimore. He looked out at the surrounding vehicles, noticing that he was surrounded by a swarm of yellow. "All these taxis," he muttered to himself.
Ziva looked up at Tony. "I read something about that in the book, how even at night, Times Square is always lit up. All those lights on, all those people out all the time." She smiled at Tony, then looked out the window.
"Yeah? What else do you know about the city? You read any other books on New York City?" Tony smiled and gave Ziva a thumb up.
"Every chance I get, I still go to the library and read." Ziva smiled at Tony, chuckling gently. She then turned to look out the window, and started singing softly in Hebrew.
Tony listened as he drove, smiling. After a few moments of her singing, he said, "Ziva, you know you have a beautiful voice when you sing?" Tony looked down at Ziva with a smile.
Ziva turned back to Tony and smiled. "Yeah, I get that a lot from my Ima. She's a singer. Goes out and sings at different places sometimes." Ziva shrugged with a smile
"Ah I see, so what you want to do when you grow up?" Tony nodded, deep in thought. He quickly glanced at Ziva, then returned his attention to the traffic.
Ziva shrugged. "Well, I'm not sure. Right now my Ima wants us focus on schooling." Ziva titled her head toward Tony. "If it was for me to decide, I would be a singer like my Ima." Ziva folded her hands together, nodded with a smile.
"Ah, but?" Tony raised an eyebrow, and looked at Ziva. "What do you mean?"
Ziva twisted her hands a bit. "Well, I don't know yet." Her face told Tony that she didn't yet know how to say things. Or at least, not with other people around.
He nodded at Ziva. "Gotcha." He drove down the street a bit, until he caught sight of a familiar building. "Hey, look! Which building do you think this is?" he asked Ziva, pointing to the building.
Ziva craned her head upward, looking at the profile of the building. Her mouth opened wide in amazement as she gasped in surprise. "That's the Empire State Building! So cool to see it up close." Ziva pointed her finger out the window at the building, her lips forming a wide smile as she turned to look at Tony.
Tony grinned at Ziva as he said, "Yep. Hey, do you want to go in there? We can go all way up to the top, look out over all of the city." Tony tilted his head toward Ziva.
"Can we?" Ziva paused to look back at Jennifer, giddy with excitement. "Can we go up there?"
Jennifer looked up the building, all the way up to the top, then slowly back down to ground level. "Wow, that looks taller than I expected. I don't know if I would feel comfortable in a building that high."
The bodyguard let out a small chuckle. "No tall buildings in Israel." His deep rumbly voice filled the interior of the SUV.
Tony nodded but did not yet say anything, occupied with looking for a place to park. He shortly found a nearby parking garage and entered it. As soon as Tony parked the car, Tony looked at Ziva. "Ready to go up to the top of the Empire State Building?" Tony put his hand on the door handle, but paused with a smile.
"Yes!" Ziva jumped up and down in her seat in giddy excitement.
"Well, then, let's go!" Tony smiled and opened his door and stepped out of the SUV.
Ziva clamored out of the SUV, squealing slightly in excitement at the prospect of going up the elevator to look out over the cityscape.
"Wait up!" Jennifer laughed at Ziva. She quickly caught up with Ziva, followed by the bodyguard.
Tony walked around to meet the group, and Ziva gravitated toward Tony. "Okay, off we go to the Empire State Building."
"Right," the bodyguard growled. A small smile formed on his face; he was smiling at how excited Ziva was to take in the sights of the city. He didn't want to admit it, but he, too, was enjoying the scenery, but he had to do his job that was given to him by Eli.
When they entered the building lobby a few moments later, Jennifer stopped and said, "You can go up. I'll wait here." She waved Ziva toward the elevator.
The bodyguard's head swiveled around to Jennifer. "You sure? Gotta do my job, y'know."
"Oh, yes, I'm sure." Jennifer smiled. "I feel good about Tony. Let them be." She tilted her head slightly to the bodyguard. "Remember, he works for the Baltimore PD. Look at him with Ziva. He's so protective of her."
The bodyguard considered that, then shrugged. "Eli did send for him, as well. Valid point. I'll wait with you." He turned and smiled at Jennifer.
"Yes!" Ziva whispered to herself, hearing the exchange between the two. She quickly strode to the elevator call buttons. "Ready?"
Tony chuckled, catching up with Ziva. "Go ahead, do the honors."
Ziva grinned and piped up, "Okay!" She pressed the call button.
As soon as Tony and Ziva stepped onto the elevator, they quickly glanced at each other, then looked in awe at the ornate décor within the elevator. They marveled at the exquisite stonework that adorned the walls and ceiling of the elevator.
"Wow, this is so cool!" Ziva breathed softly, running her fingers over the stonework, feeling the texture underneath her fingertips. "All this carved by man?"
"Stonemasons did all this in Art Deco style. In my opinion, the best styling is from this period, the early nineteen-hundreds.
Ziva looked up at Tony, her face rapt in amazement as the elevator rode up to the top. "Do you come here often?"
Tony shook his head slightly. "It's been a while since I came here. But, yes, in the past I did come here a lot when my Dad comes in town to visit with me. Usually he would be here on this day, to visit me for my birthday." He shook his head again. "Not this year, or the last, or the year before that. Been real busy these days, I guess." Tony sighed as the elevator came to a stop and the doors opened. "Oh, we're here." He smiled as he turned to look out the doors.
Ziva looked at Tony and pondered for a moment. "Wait, so today's your birthday?" Ziva raised her eyebrows, crossing her arms.
Tony looked down at Ziva and said, "Yes, today's my birthday. But, it is an honor to be here with my little friend, you know?" Tony flashed a smile to Ziva, then walked out with her among the throng of people, making their way toward the windows. Once they reached the windows, he leaned his hands onto the rail, looking out at the view.
Ziva smiled at Tony as she walked with him toward the windows. "Happy Birthday to you Tony." Ziva moved a little closer to Tony, taking his hand and holding it. "I'm glad I'm here with you so you're not alone on your birthday."
She felt privileged to have this time with Tony on his special day, getting to enjoy the beautiful view over the city in such an iconic building that stood proud among other skyscrapers.
"Thank you my little friend." Tony looked at Ziva with a smile, then turned around to see a hole open up in the milling throng of people, and they made their way toward a better view point.
As they enjoyed the view out the window, Tony caught sight of a helicopter flying over the Hudson River. "Oh, look! There's a helicopter!"
Ziva turned to Tony, smiling. "Can we ride in one?"
Tony chuckled. "I don't know, we'll see if I can arrange for a ride. Maybe the bodyguard'll pay for it."
Ziva laughed. "Yeah! Maybe he will! I can ask him." She winked to Tony, a mischievous gleam in her eye. "He can't say no to Abba's girl."
Tony laughed at Ziva, then his eye caught sight of an empty bench. "Hey, let's go sit over there," he said, pointing to the bench.
"Sure!" Ziva quickly walked over to the bench, pulling Tony with her hand, causing Tony to have to keep up. She moved through the crowd in a way that it seemed like the crowd just parted before them.
"Ah, there we go, thanks," Tony said, smiling to Ziva. He sat down on the bench, inviting Ziva to sit next to him. He sighed, looking out at the view. After a moment, he looked down at Ziva. "Ziva, it's really good to be with you for my birthday. How's everyone been back home?"
She didn't immediately answer the question. She smiled at the scenery. "I'll remember this day for the rest of my life." Ziva paused for a moment, then looked at Tony and sighed slightly. She shrugged her shoulders slightly and said, "My Abba's been working a lot. I sometimes never know if he's coming home each night or not. Often, he does come home and spends time with the family, but more and more, he goes away on these trips." Ziva shook her head slightly.
"I see." Tony looked out the window briefly, then looked back at Ziva. "You said something about your mother – I'm sorry, your Ima – wanting you to be a singer like her?"
Ziva nodded. "But my Abba, I don't think he wants me to be a singer. He keeps saying that he has plans for me. And Tali."
"Plans? What kind of plans?" Tony muttered the question, more to himself than to Ziva.
"Well, I'm sure that my Abba and Ima still want me to focus on schoolwork for now. But for the future, I'm not sure." Ziva shrugged. "I don't think I'll be like Ari, though."
"Ah I see, wow...looks like your Abba and Ima want to make plans for you and Tali and they're not quite in tune with each other. But, still, I guess it's out of their love." Tony paused for a moment, then looked at Ziva. "Speaking of. You see Ari?"
"Not very often. He did get to spend some time with his Ima, then not too long ago my Abba sent him off to military training somewhere, I'm not sure where." Ziva shrugged.
Tony nodded, "I see. He's not around to give you a hard time anymore, I guess."
"Yes." Ziva's reply was short. She looked out the window at the skyline, pondering things.
"Hey, do you still go to that library?" Tony turned to face Ziva more squarely." "Miss Donna still there?" Tony remembered the memory he had.
Ziva looked at Tony and smiled. "Yeah, Miss Donna's still there. Jennifer takes me there to visit with her all the time. They're best friends, now." Ziva nodded with a smile.
"That's neat, that's good to hear." Tony smiled and let out a deep satisfied sigh.
"Yeah, Tony, I'm curious. I overheard Jennifer say something about you working for the Baltimore PD? What's that mean, exactly? Are you a policeman?" Ziva asked Tony
Tony nodded, "Yeah, kind of. More like a cadet trainee. I joined the force a few months ago. They put me on protection detail to begin with. Gonna try to make a career out of it." Tony turned to Ziva and smiled, happy at the thought of being a cop.
Ziva's eyes widened in delight. "Ah I see, that's cool." Ziva nodded with a smile, then turned to look out the window. "Look, we're above the clouds!" She pointed out the windows.
"Yep, we are, indeed." Tony looked at Ziva with a smile.
Ziva didn't notice Tony looking at her. Her attention was drawn to a certain shape a cloud had formed. "Look, a heart!" She pointed to the cloud, then turned to Tony. "You see it?"
"Where?" Tony looked out the window, looking for the shape. "There?" He pointed to a cloud that wafted by, then suddenly saw the cloud that Ziva had seen. "Oh wait, there it is! Yeah, that's a heart shape, alright." He let out a chuckle.
Ziva looked up at Tony, then at the cloud. "Do you have a girlfriend?"
Taken aback by the candid question, Tony took a double take at Ziva. He answered after a moment, "Nope, no time for 'em right now. Just taking my time and focusing on my training right now." Tony smiled at Ziva.
Ziva nodded and smiled slightly. "Me either. I mean, I don't have a boyfriend yet. I'm not in any hurry. My Ima said that I have plenty of time to think about that later. Can I ask you a secret?" Ziva put a hand on Tony's forearm.
Tony blinked. "Why, sure." Tony nodded.
"I'm going to wait for that right person to be my soulmate one day." Ziva smiled at Tony, then tilted her head to Tony, her face changing to one of curiosity. "Tony, do you believe in soulmates?"
"Hmm." Tony sat back and considered the question. "Well, I think I believe in soulmates. Talking about them and finding one are two entirely different matters, but yes, I believe that love at first sight can happen, and I also believe that love over time also can happen." Tony turned to look at Ziva. "You just never know when one will just pop up like that." He snapped his fingers at the last words.
"So my Ima was right, that it's not always an overnight thing." Ziva sat back and kicked her feet on the bench slightly, thinking.
"Hey." Tony said softly, looking at Ziva. "I have a good feeling one will come at the right time for you. Don't give up hope." He smiled softly at Ziva.
"Thanks. I'll keep my hopes up." Ziva smiled to herself and looked out the window at the ever-changing clouds of the skyline, leaning on Tony's shoulder, holding onto his arm. After a few long moments, she looked up at Tony. "Tony, I'm hungry. Where could we go and eat after this?"
Tony chuckled. "Yeah, I'm getting hungry too. I also think that Jennifer and the bodyguard are about to get ready to call for a search party for us. Ready to go?" Tony smiled down at Ziva.
Ziva giggled. "Let's just leave 'em here and go out the back way," Ziva whispered conspiratorially.
"Ha, there is no back way. Only down the elevators into the lobby. You silly girl." Tony shook a finger in the air, chuckling at Ziva. He stood up and got ready to walk over to the elevators.
"Yeah, but one more thing?" Ziva quickly got up and stopped Tony, stepping in front of him.
Tony stopped and looked down at Ziva. "What's that?"
Ziva looked up at Tony, pulling out a camera from her purse and holding it up to Tony. "Can we have someone take a picture of us here?" She wanted to capture the memory with Tony in posterity, so she could remember him.
Tony smiled at Ziva. "Sure thing, we can find someone to help us with that." Tony patted Ziva's shoulder, then flagged a couple down and asked them to snap a few pictures.
After a few pictures were taken of Tony and Ziva together, Tony and Ziva thanked the couple, then they made their way to the elevator and went back down to the lobby to meet Jennifer and the bodyguard.
Jennifer and the bodyguard got up from the bench they were sitting in across from the elevator lobby. "Enjoy your time up there?" Jennifer asked Ziva.
"Yes!" Ziva jumped up and down and started blabbering on about what she saw up there, the décor in the elevators, the skyline.
The bodyguard's gravelly voice filled Tony's ears. "Enjoy your time up there?" He rocked his head back and forth, causing his neck to fire off a rapid succession of cracks and pops.
Tony chuckled at the bodyguard. "She had a wonderful time up there. Her first time."
Jennifer glanced at Tony and whispered, "So worked up. Pacing the lobby. All work and no fun." She tilted her head slightly toward the bodyguard.
Tony chuckled. "Well, maybe I got a solution to that. How's pizza and ice cream sound?"
Ziva jumped and down in joy. "Yes!" She pantomimed pulling a slice from the pizza and trying to pull the strings of cheese and dumping it on top of the slice, as if remembering the last time she ate pizza, five years prior.
Tony chuckled. "Wait til you see this pizza. Nothing like it anywhere else in the world."
Jennifer and Ziva giggled.
The bodyguard growled. "Pizza? What's that?"
Jennifer scoffed at the bodyguard. "You've never had pizza? Oh my gosh, it's so good."
"Never had pizza," the bodyguard shrugged. "Be interesting to see."
"You're such a greenie!" Ziva piped up at the bodyguard. She was laughing at him.
Tony laughed. "You just wait. I know this one place that serves awesome pizza. And an awesome ice cream parlor right next door to it. Their ice cream is out of the world." Tony held up a finger and thumb together, in an "A-OK" sign.
"Really? Let's go there," Jennifer said, smiling.
Ziva jumped up and down in excitement. "Let's go!"
"Lead the way," the bodyguard said, holding his arm out to the entrance way of the building lobby.
They left the Empire State Building, and drove out to the pizza place. Once they arrived there, they got seats for themselves and ordered up a large cheese pizza and drinks for themselves.
Tony grinned. "Salad for you, some chicken wings too?"
Ziva nodded, smiling. "Yup."
"Yeah, I got the same as well," Jennifer said. "Helps with the acidity," she added, pointing to her chest slightly.
Tony chuckled. "Got it. You know how they cook their pizza? In a wood fired stone oven. Stick it in there, wait 90 seconds, pull it out. Done to perfection."
Jennifer gasped. "Really, that short of a time? My pizza takes like twenty minutes to cook in the oven."
Tony nodded. "They run that oven real hot. Like eight-nine hundred degrees?"
"Wow!" Ziva breathed out in amazement, looking around at the décor of the pizza joint. There were pictures of people who had visited the place in the past, artwork on the walls. She looked at the crowd packing the place. "Lot of people here!" she said.
Tony nodded. "This is one of the best pizza places to hang out at, I'm telling you. Forget the big box pizza chains like the ones we passed on our way over. They mass-produce their pizzas. Here, every single one is made from scratch."
Just then, the pizza arrived. "Here you go," the server said. "Careful, that's hot there," he directed the last to Ziva.
Ziva held up her plate to receive a slice as Tony served out the pizza to everybody. "There you go, everybody. Enjoy."
Ziva tried to pick up her slice, but it flopped around in her hand. She had not had New York style pizza until tonight. "Uh! How do you eat this pizza anyway? It's not like the pizza we had a few years ago, Tony."
Tony laughed. "No, this is New York style pizza. Real thin. You eat it like this," he said, demonstrating how one would pick up and fold the slice lengthwise, like a taco, then tilting his head sideways and taking a bite from the end.
"Oh." Ziva's face scowled in a bit of a puzzled look as she watched Tony take a bite, then tried the same thing for herself. It took her a couple of tries before the slice finally cooperated enough with her attempts at grabbing a bite from the pizza. "Real floppy. But tastes real good," she said around the pizza, blowing air across it to cool down the vulcanized cheese a bit.
Tony nodded as he chewed on the pizza, then after he swallowed his bite, said, "Yup. All flavor without the bloat."
Jennifer chuckled around the pizza she ate and nodded.
The bodyguard watched them eat for a moment, then picked up a fork and knife. "Not me, I'll do it this way. That looks like it'll spill all over your lap if you don't do it right."
Ziva turned to the bodyguard and laughed. "You're such a wimp!" she said in Hebrew.
The bodyguard sat up a little straighter and set his fork and knife down and said in Hebrew, "Fine, I'll try it this way." He picked up his slice, trying his best to fold it the right way, but he flubbed it slightly, and when he took a bite, a dollop of sauce exploded out of the slice and dripped down onto the front of his shirt.
Jennifer laughed at the bodyguard. "Don't tilt the pizza, you tilt your head to take a bite!"
The bodyguard groaned slightly, then put the slice down on his plate and tried to wipe the sauce off the front of his shirt, trying to not make the stain worse than it was already, but he spread the stain a little in the process.
Tony shook his head slightly and put his head in his hand. "Maybe you should have stuck with the fork and knife, after all," he muttered to the bodyguard.
Ziva turned to Tony, a stricken look on her face. "Oops? I didn't mean -"
Tony chuckled and held out a hand. "No, it's fine. He didn't have to follow your suggestions, he could have just stuck with the fork and knife if he didn't feel that confident with the pizza."
The bodyguard spoke up. "Tastes good, though." He took another bite, this time using the fork and knife.
"See? Not bad, huh? Now you can go back and tell Eli that you had pizza for the first time ever." Tony smiled at the bodyguard.
Eventually, the waiter came out with the check, and Ziva grabbed it out of his hands and jammed it into the bodyguard's hands. "Tony can't pay for himself because it's his birthday today!" Ziva smiled at the bodyguard.
Jennifer gasped in surprise. "Ziva!"
"What? He told me it was his birthday today," Ziva looked at Jennifer and smiled, waving sweetly. She hopped down from her seat. "C'mon, Tony. Ice cream!" She pulled Tony from his seat and dragged him outside the pizza joint toward the ice cream parlor next door.
Jennifer chuckled and quickly got up from her seat, clutching her purse. "See you next door," she said to the bodyguard before exiting the building.
The bodyguard grunted to himself. He shook his head and sighed as he pulled out his wallet to pay for the dinner.
Shortly thereafter, he walked over to the ice cream parlor, where they had just put in their orders. "Oh, there you are," he said to himself and walked over to him.
Ziva turned to him. "What d'you want?"
The bodyguard scanned the menu, then made a decision for himself. "I think I'll have one scoop of vanilla. Sprinkles on top," his gravelly voice made its way across the counter to the cashier.
"Sure, no problem, coming right up." The cashier rang in the order. "That'll be coming right up in a few minutes."
"Alright, sounds good." The bodyguard turned to look at Tony and Ziva, only to find that they had already sat at the table.
"Your card, please?" The cashier asked.
The bodyguard's head snapped around. "What?" He blinked at the cashier, then looked back at Ziva, who was giggling at him from her table. He shook his head slightly and sighed as he turned back to the cashier. "Sure," he said as he pulled out his card. He glanced at the register's display, which had the total on it. More for this than the dinner? Dang, he thought to himself.
Tony shook his head at Ziva, chuckling slightly. "Sticking it to the man, huh?"
Ziva chuckled as the server brought out the ice cream. "Yup. What I want, I get."
"Ah, here we go," Tony chuckled. "You sure you're ready for your banana split? That's a monster, right there."
Jennifer's eyes were wide as saucers. "My goodness, I've never seen so much ice cream in my life until today." She spread her hands out on the table, looking at the size of her ice cream bowl.
The bodyguard looked at his scoop of ice cream with sprinkles on top. His bowl was dwarfed by the others'. He looked up at the others' ice cream bowls, his eyes full of shock and surprise. "You all get these monsters and I get this dinky little thing?" He raised his own ice cream bowl up with a single, solitary scoop with a spoon sticking out the side. "No wonder the bill was so big," he muttered to himself.
Ziva turned to the bodyguard and smiled mischievously. "You complaining?"
"Uh, no." The bodyguard's voice sounded like a dump truck full of gravel dumping out its load. "Just didn't expect the size of your ice cream, that's all."
Tony and Jennifer guffawed at the bodyguard. Tony shook his head and said, "That's New York City for you."
Eventually, they finished up and headed out of the parlor. Tony turned to Ziva and asked, "Where to next?"
"Remember what I said up there in the Empire State Building?" Ziva replied.
Tony chuckled as he got into the SUV. As Ziva got in, he looked over at her and shook his finger in the air. "I think I know where to go. I just remembered this little outfit." He turned to look in the back of his SUV, where Jennifer and the bodyguard had just gotten into. "Y'all ready?"
"Yup!" Jennifer smiled, clueless as to what was to follow.
The bodyguard nodded. "All set."
"Righty-o." Tony pulled out of his parking stall and drove.
Eventually, they reached the outfit. Through the windows the bodyguard and Jennifer caught sight of a helicopter sitting on a helipad. Ziva squealed in delight. "Yes! Yes!"
"You ever been up in a helicopter?" Tony grinned at Ziva.
"No, this is my first time!" Ziva opened her door and got out and sprinted a few steps toward the helicopter and stopped and looked back at the SUV.
"Wait up!" Tony ran over to Ziva. "You sure you want to go up this soon after we just ate?"
Ziva nodded and smiled. "Yeah, I'm good."
Jennifer held up her hands. "Oh, no, I'm good here on the ground." She smiled at Ziva. "You can go, if you want."
The bodyguard shook his head. "I ain't going up there in that thing." He gulped.
Ziva turned to the bodyguard and said in Hebrew, "We're going on it. Pay the man." She turned and grabbed Tony's hand and skipped over to the helicopter.
"Ride for how many?" The tour pilot leaned against the counter as the bodyguard walked up. He had a slightly bored expression on his face as he pushed himself off the counter and made his way over to the cash register.
The bodyguard looked at Ziva and Tony. "Just those two," he said as he pulled out his credit card.
The pilot nodded, and said, "Alright, that'll be $600."
The bodyguard let out an audible groan as he handed over his card. He turned back to Ziva and Tony and growled out at them, "That's more than dinner and ice cream put together!"
Ziva smiled and waved sweetly. "That's my birthday present to Tony." She held out her hands to the bodyguard, then took Tony's hand and guided him toward the helicopter as the pilot rang up the sale.
"You're sneaky, you know that?" Tony muttered to Ziva, smiling. "You're a little scary at times."
Ziva laughed. "Because you're my best friend."
The pilot walked up to the helicopter. "Ready for your flight?" he smiled to Ziva.
Ziva turned to the pilot and smiled, clasping her hands together. "Yes, it's my first time up in a helicopter."
Tony chuckled. "You can take us over the entire city, can't you?"
The pilot smiled. "Sure can. Great view up here today."
"Even better than the Empire State Building?" Ziva piped up.
Tony nodded. "Just wait til we get up there. You'll see everything."
The pilot chuckled. "That's right. You can see clear into Philadelphia on a clear day up on the helicopter, on some days."
"Wow," Ziva breathed out in awe, as she climbed into the helicopter with Tony.
The bodyguard stood there watching Ziva and Tony and shook his head slightly. "That girl is something," he muttered.
Jennifer shot him a look. "No, you are something." She let out a chuckle. "Just let her enjoy her time here. She's having a wonderful time here."
The bodyguard turned to look back at the helicopter, which was just now taking off into the sunset. His neck creaked as his head turned. "Right. I'm supposed to be her bodyguard, but yet I'm stuck here because my full stomach does not do well with plane flights."
Jennifer laughed because she had suddenly realized what Ziva had been up to the whole time, scheming to cause the bodyguard to be thrown off of her so she could spend some time with Tony. "I figured as much. It'll only be an hour or so before they'll be back. Don't worry. They'll be fine."
Back on the helicopter, as the pilot banked over the Manhattan skyline, Tony leaned over to Ziva and shouted over the whine and roar of the helicopter engine and blades whopping overhead, "What do you think?"
Ziva smiled then shouted back at Tony, "I really enjoy it! Too bad Abba isn't here with us to enjoy this!"
Tony nodded. "My dad either. Their loss," he replied, shrugging his shoulders.
"I'm glad it's us together," Ziva said. Suddenly, she grabbed Tony's hand and pointed out the window with her free hand. "Look! The lights on the Empire State Building!"
Tony turned his attention to the lights on the building. "Yeah, that's beautiful. They light up the building almost every night. Always something different with the lights every night."
"That's cool, how the lights are on the Empire State Building. And how the sunset bounces off the building just so." Ziva smiled at Tony, then looked back at the building, holding Tony and leaning on his arm.
Tony sighed in happiness as he looked down at Ziva, then out the window. "You got that right, my little friend."
A/N: Hello Readers, Wanted to say Thank you for your time to enjoy reading this, there will be more to come soon. Thank you in advance for the Reviews, Tweets, Messages even the kudos.