Chapter 5
"Two Cups.. Job and Home"
~~Around September/October 2005~~
As Tony looked around the orange bullpen, he sat back and let out a soft sigh of relief as he closed his desk drawer after putting his paperwork away. As Tony was about to get up from his desk, he looked up at the desk across from his, where Ziva sat, typing something into her computer. He shifted his gaze to McGee and saw that he was putting his things in his bag. "Hey, McGeek." Tony nodded to McGee as he looked up at Tony and said, "Your turn to pick where we head out for a bite, right?"
McGee's face, having had a neutral look, looked as if he shifted gears, as his lips widened into a smile. "Yep. There's this place having a special on their monstrous-sized burgers today. Maybe you're man enough to eat one of 'em?" McGee grinned as he pantomimed holding a giant burger and trying to take a bite out of it.
An eyebrow jumped up on Tony's head. "Sounds really good, considering the fact that I lost my burrito this morning. I'm famished," Tony muttered to McGee as he chuckled.
A tapping sound came from Ziva's desk, causing the both of them to look to Ziva. "Well if you'd have thought about getting me that breakfast burrito, I would've not taken your burrito," she said. She had heard what Tony had said. She shot a wink and a grin to Tony.
Tony grimaced as he gave himself a head slap, as he said, "Well, maybe I should have thought of that." He looked to Ziva.
Ziva chuckled. "Maybe I was hungry as well, and did not have time to fix myself a breakfast." Ziva raised her eyebrow and smiled.
"You could always come along with us, right, Tony?" McGee looked around at Ziva then Tony with a smile. "You are part of the team now, after all."
"Valid point there," Tony agreed with McGee, a smile on his face.
"Awesome, so where's this burger place I heard you talking about at, anyway?" Ziva looked up at McGee.
"I'll show you. You coming with us?" McGee smiled at Ziva.
Tony raised an eyebrow and shrugged and tilted his face. "Sure, why not. Join the club." He waved Ziva to the elevator.
Ziva smiled at Tony as if she saw something in Tony's eyes. "Sure thing. Just give me a few minutes to close up here and drop something off for Gibbs when he gets back from getting his coffee," Ziva said as she looked at Tony and McGee.
"Sounds good, see you then." McGee nodded with a smile, walking to the elevator.
"See you down there, Ziva," Tony said as he grabbed his bag and walked behind McGee to the elevator. He spun around on his feet as McGee entered the elevator and looked at Ziva. He held out his hands in front of him and mimicked texting out on a phone. He mouthed the words to her, "I'll text you." He slowly nodded his head and smiled to her as he stepped backwards into the elevator.
Ziva blinked as she repeated the motion to herself, and tried to figure out what Tony had said. She looked down at what her hands were doing, and realized what Tony had just told her. "Alright -" Her voice trailed off as she looked up and noticed that the elevator doors had closed behind Tony. She smiled and slowly shook her head to herself. She looked back to the screen of her computer and started closing down the programs that were open on her screen. As she was finally logging out of the system, her phone dinged once, then twice. She quickly turned the desk lamp off and her computer monitor off. She then quickly grabbed the phone and flipped it open, and read the messages bubble on the screen. She smiled at Tony's name and opened the text. It read, "Saw Gibbs going up." Then the next bubble appeared, and it read, "He up there yet?" Ziva smiled as yet a third bubble appeared, saying, "You ride with me to restaurant."
Ziva typed out a reply to Tony as the elevator dinged, "Yes, just walked in." As Gibbs quickly walked out of the elevator, Ziva hit the Send button and closed the phone, plunging her into darkness.
Eventually at the burger joint, Ziva sat across the table from Tony and McGee, looking and listening to Tony and McGee rib each other about work. She chuckled at the jokes they threw out at each other. "Oh you both sure like to wrack each other's minds, right?" Ziva smiles.
Tony chuckled at Ziva. "Well, he's the probie." He looked over at McGee. "No offense to you." He looked back over to Ziva. "Sure was different when Kate was here, though." He sighed. "We'd invite her out, she'd always say no, or come up with some excuse not to come."
McGee smiled his trademark neutral smile. "She was very modest, I'll admit. Always kept to herself outside of work. But on the team, she was fun to work with. Challenged us to think outside the box sometimes."
Ziva looked to Tony. "So, a team player, but you don't know much about her outside life." She raised an eyebrow. "Would that explain the phone sex dream you had about Kate?"
Tony guffawed. "Only because she played so hard to get. No, I never went out with her. Only imagined what it would be like, but she's just too modest, like McGee said."
McGee tilted his head to Ziva. "Did you realize she was a former Secret Service agent, reporting directly to the President?"
Ziva sat back and looked at Tony and McGee. "I read in the profile," she said, her face neutral. "Big responsibility to have on one's shoulders, yes?"
Tony nodded. "Yeah. Case spilled over to NCIS jurisdiction so we worked together, figured some things out together. Gibbs plucked her from Secret Service, hired her on."
Ziva nodded. "And so now, NCIS has changed focus on to counter-terrorism? Where I enter the picture."
Tony smiled and nodded. "It would appear so. Director's got the hots for you, Ziva. Had to, in order to have hand picked you to work with us."
Ziva nodded. "It may be related to what happened in Cairo with her where I came into the picture, years ago." Her mind flashed back to the Cairo mission that Jenny Shepherd was involved on, and how close it had gotten to going pear-shaped for them.
McGee smiled at Ziva. "Very possible," he said, his voice quiet.
Just then, the waitress came out with their order of burgers. "Here you go," she said, as she set the orders down in front of them.
Ziva's eyes grew wide. "That's a burger?" she asked incredulously. She picked it up and looked at it. It was the size of a small cantaloupe. She held it up with one hand, barely, and pointed to it. "You expect me to get all of this?!"
Tony grabbed his burger and squished it down enough where he could grab a monstrous bite. Bits of lettuce and a slice of tomato exploded out the back of the burger, and Tony opened it up and put the tomato back onto the burger, then slammed the bun back onto the burger as if he was closing a book. "Yup, now that's a burger." He picked it up and took a huge bite out of it.
Ziva looked on with slight disgust, but couldn't look away. She gulped as she looked down at her burger. She smashed it down a little, then tried to take a bite out of it, but failed. "Oh! How can you Americans eat such huge burgers and not get fat all the time?" She shook her head. "I've never seen them this big."
Tony laughed. "Oh, yeah. This is the land of big eats. Out in Texas, you've got the 72-ounce steak challenge. Even McDonalds here have gotten into super-sizing their burgers."
Ziva scoffed. "McDonald's, supersized? Not like this!" She pointed to her burger. "At least the pizza didn't get supersized. Or least, not since last time I ate pizza in New York City."
McGee shifted his gaze to Ziva. "You've been to New York City before?" His eyebrows shot up.
Ziva's eyes flicked to Tony for just a split second; Tony had reached out under the table and put his hand on her leg and gave it a gentle squeeze. She caught a look in his eyes that said, "No, not here, not now." She turned to McGee and smiled. She nodded and said, "Yeah, when I was very young. I came with my Abba for a couple of days. Had pizza with him there."
"Oh, nice." McGee smiled. "Enjoyed it there?"
Ziva laughed. "It was too short of a time to spend there. I didn't have a real chance to truly enjoy the sights of the city."
"Must have been a real quick trip your dad took you on," Tony said, using the American term rather than the Israeli term.
Ziva looked at Tony and said, "Yes, it was a business trip he was on. Stayed only a couple of days. I remember the trip for a different reason. That annoying bodyguard that my Abba sent over with me."
McGee looked at Ziva. "Must have not given you much space?" He picked up his burger and took a bite.
Ziva flashed a look at Tony, and her eyes said volumes to Tony. The glance was brief enough that McGee didn't quite catch it, before Ziva looked at him. Her eyes had told Tony, "we'll talk later." She said to McGee, "Never more than five meters away. Wouldn't let me out of his sight. Still, I managed to slip from him for a few minutes, so I could enjoy a bit of privacy."
Tony's eyebrows raised up as he took a bite out of his burger and quickly chewed it as he listened to Ziva recount how she had to deal with the bodyguard. He quickly swallowed his bite and took a sip. He said, "Well, from the looks of things, I don't think you need bodyguards now."
Ziva smiled. "My time with the IDF, as well as Mossad." She chuckled. "How does Gibbs know about all the weapons I carry on me."
Tony chuckled. "He just knows. I swear he even has eyes in the back of his head."
McGee smiled. "He's a little scary at times. Always expect the unexpected from him."
"Mm," Tony nodded around his bite he had just taken. He was agreeing with McGee.
"Hard to work with, Gibbs?" Ziva asked as she took a sip of her drink.
"Not really, just keeps us on our toes a lot. Expects a lot out of us, I think," Tony said.
Ziva finally managed to get a bite out of her burger, her cheeks puffed out from the food. She set the burger down and slowly chewed it until it became more manageable, then she swallowed the bite. "Finally, a bite." She pointed to the burger. "Much better than McDonald's."
McGee smiled. "Also more expensive. But, you get what you pay for."
Tony smiled as the waitress came up to the table and set the bill down in front of Tony. "Here you go, y'all. You enjoy your food?" the waitress smiled at the trio.
Tony smiled back at the waitress. "Very good burgers. We'll have to come out here more often. I honestly didn't know about this place until McGee here told us." He held out a hand to McGee.
McGee smiled at the waitress. "I pass this place on occasion to and from work. Had to come this way for a few days when I got detoured due to utility work a few weeks back."
Ziva smiled and grabbed the bill and handed it over to McGee. "You picked, you pay." She turned to Tony and smiled. "Isn't that right?"
Tony let out a small chuckle as he put his head in his palm. "Well, it wasn't that way back then. But I guess we can do it this way now." He reached out with his other hand under the table and gently squeezed Ziva's leg as he said that.
"Oh," Ziva said.
McGee smiled and said, "No, it's fine. Whoever picks the restaurant, pays." He wiped his mouth off with his napkin, then held up a finger.
The waitress was at their table in a flash. "What can I do for you?"
McGee smiled up at the waitress. "Could I get a box to go for my food? And could I have a slice of your cheesecake to go?" He held up a credit card with the bill.
The waitress flashed a smile to McGee as she took his card and bill. "Sure, no problem, I can ring that up for you and I'll be back with that box for your food as well."
"McGee, taking off already?" Tony looked at McGee.
"Well, I need to go finish my writing. Editor's waiting for my copy of my manuscript." He turned to look at Ziva. "It sure is nice meeting you. I think you'll make a fine addition to our team."
Tony guffawed at McGee. "You still banging away on that typewriter of yours? Why don't you just write your stories on the computer? You must got ten computers in there."
McGee chuckled. "Two, and no. I like using a typewriter while writing because it helps me to think more carefully when writing my story."
"Less chances for error," Ziva said, smiling at McGee.
The waitress came back with the credit card and check. "Looks like that card went through. Here you go." She handed the box to McGee, then the credit card and check. "And there's your food box. I'll be back with your cheesecake in a second," she said before turning on her feet and walking back to the kitchen.
McGee smiled at the waitress and said, "Thanks," then turned back to Tony. "Just ironing out the details in my story now. I write to escape sometimes," he said to Ziva.
Tony smiled at McGee. "I thought it was all about gaming when you got home."
McGee let out a small chuckle. "Not always." He looked up as the waitress returned with his slice of cheesecake in a box. "Thank you. Give the chef my compliments," he said to the waitress as he handed her a $10 bill.
The waitress smiled and took the bill from McGee. "I'll tell him that."
McGee flashed a smile to the waitress, then turned and looked at Tony and Ziva and nodded. "Guess it's time for me to hit the road and get back to my story," he said.
"Yeah, see you at work tomorrow?" Tony smiled to McGee.
McGee nodded once as he got up and gathered his two food boxes together. "Yup, back to the daily grind tomorrow."
Moments after McGee left, Tony and Ziva looked at McGee walking out the restaurant and watched through the window as McGee made his way toward his car. They then looked at each other, then burst out laughing. "That annoying bodyguard! How could I forget that one?" Tony smiled at Ziva.
Ziva smiled, but there was something in her smile that wasn't a smile. "Yeah. So glad I'm rid of him. So, why the sudden change? You've been a little standoffish here."
"Rule 12." Tony said simply.
Ziva's face turned puzzled and she shook her head. "I'm sorry? Rule 12?"
Tony's smile was short, as he reached out for his drink. "Yup. One of Gibbs' rules is to never fraternize with your coworkers. But something happened between him and that director in there." Tony shrugged. "I could tell there's something between 'em, but not what exactly."
Ziva tilted her head to Tony. "So, McGee? Does he know?"
"Well, McGee's a good guy, but no, he doesn't know. But be careful around him because he doesn't miss much, for a probie." He pushed his plate away, having finished his main meal.
Ziva nodded slowly. She was starting to get a fuller picture of how the people on her team ticked. But there were holes in her picture of Gibbs. "What's Gibbs like, other than the obvious front he puts on?" she asked Tony.
"He sees everything." Tony held up a finger. "If we're to do this relationship between the two of us, it's gotta be low-key. Nobody is to know about it, especially not Gibbs."
Ziva smiled, her smile tight on her lips. "I see. He doesn't get too close to his team, then. Like a Marine?"
"Yes, exactly like a Marine," Tony said, smiling to Ziva. He finished off his drink.
The waitress came back. "Would you two like a dessert?"
Tony's smile faded from his lips. "Do you have a banana split? Caramel on mine instead of fudge."
"I'll take the same, but add fudge to mine," Ziva smiled at the waitress.
"Righty-o, I'll bring that out to you in a flash," she said before she disappeared from the table.
Ziva turned to Tony and put her elbows on the table in front of her and put her chin in her hands. "So, did you ever check the voice mail on your phone?"
Tony drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly as he reached into his pocket and pulled his phone out. "I must have missed it. Case had me hoppin' all over the place, you know." He looked down at the display on the phone and could see that there was one message waiting for him.
"Ah I see." Ziva blinked at Tony. She had noticed the almost immediate change in Tony's face, then looked out the window, trying to stuff her tears back down. She didn't understand the sudden change that Tony had done on her in front of McGee moments before.
Tony listened to the message, then hung up the phone. "Destiny, calling us?" He slipped the phone back into his pocket. "I think so. I mean, look at us, we're together again." He smiled to Ziva. Tony reached out and rubbed Ziva's lap.
"But? At work, there's no us?" Ziva looked at Tony.
"Ziva, it's for the sake of work, and our relationship. The two cannot ever mix. At least, not when Gibbs is involved at work." Tony sat back and glanced out the window, then his eyes darted about the area as he tried to make sure there were no prying ears or eyes nearby. "I don't know how Gibbs would react if he found out," Tony said softly.
"Oh, that would make sense." Ziva leaned over the table toward Tony. "So, how do you want us to handle things?" She felt that she knew, but wanted to make sure from Tony so as to avoid any confusion in the future.
"Since you are working with us and you're my partner now, it wouldn't be a bad idea to keep our relationship low-key. You know, so Gibbs doesn't find out." Tony leaned back in his chair and smiled at Ziva.
Ziva smiled. "So, two lives. A work life and a home life." She tilted her head to Tony. "Somewhat like how the Mossad teaches their agents. I'll think of it that way," she said.
Tony winked and clicked his tongue. "My very own secret agent, I like that." He held up a finger in the air in front of Ziva. "Your mission is to never let Gibbs find out. We do our jobs, and I think we'll come out okay."
Ziva smiled back to Tony. "I think I can handle that," she said to him.
After a week-long work week, Tony, McGee, and Ziva had closed out another, minor case. This case had been a more open-and-shut case of a Marine being assaulted as he exited a bar. Just a simple case of drunk fighting. McGee looked up from his desk. "Nice change from the usual cases, huh?"
"Hm?" Tony looked up at McGee, then said almost immediately afterwards, "Oh, yeah. Disorderly drunk case. Metro could have handled that one but they wanted NCIS on this because it had to involved a Jarhead."
McGee picked his bag up and stood up. "Yup. Simple cases like this at the end of the week are the best. More chance to destress," he said, smiling. "See you next week." McGee walked out to the elevator.
Ziva smiled and said, "Let the weekend begin, right?" Ziva leaned forward on her desk and folded her hands together, looking at Tony.
Tony glanced quickly at Gibbs' empty desk, then back to Ziva. "Yup, I'd like to get us out of here as soon as possible before he catches us." He stood up with his bag. "Where would you like to go?"
"Anywhere but here" Ziva chuckled as she stood up and grabbed her bag, following Tony's motions.
"I got a place we could go to," Tony said quietly to her as he walked alongside her to the elevator, smiling at her, waggling his eyebrows.
A couple hours later, as Tony and Ziva stepped out of the car on the well-manicured driveway in front of a stately beach house, Ziva slowly looked around the surrounding neighborhood. She looked across the street and could see a restaurant and a small tourist store nearby. She turned back to Tony and said, "This is an awesome place. You come here often?"
Tony turned from looking at the house, to look at Ziva. He nodded and smiled at her and said, "Yeah, this is one of the best beach homes that I've ever lived in. I'm lucky that this house is in the DiNozzo family. Came down through my mother's side." Tony waved toward the house. "Let's get settled in, shall we?"
Ziva smiled at the beauty of the property. The trees dotting the landscape added to the grandeur. "Yeah, this property is so lovely," she breathed to herself. Just then, she noticed something. "Tony, that gate's open. Is it normally open?"
Tony looked at the gate leading up to the house, then back to Ziva. "Yeah. My aunt Adelaide must be here now. She knew I was coming, I sent her an email." He smiled and tilted his head toward the house. "She's really nice. Takes care of the place when she's not in Boston. She's been like a second mom to me since my mother passed away."
Ziva smiled at Tony. "That's so sweet that she was there for you when you needed someone." She turned to the house. "You said it passed down through your family?"
Tony nodded to Ziva. "Yeah, this was my aunt and my mother's childhood home. Belonged to my grandparents, left it to my mother and her sister Adelaide when they passed away." Tony looked at the house, then turned back to Ziva with a sudden thought in his mind. "You realize that you're the first woman I've ever brought out here?" he blurted out to Ziva.
Ziva's mouth hung open in surprise. After a couple of moments, she said, "Wow, I am so honored to be your first to be with you at this lovely house." Ziva smiled at Tony as she walked by him up to the house.
As soon Tony and Ziva walked up the porch and up to the door, Tony knocked on the door. No response. On a whim, Tony tried the knob and found it unlocked, so he quietly opened the door and stepped inside. "Aunt Ade?" Tony called out, somewhat loudly.
A clattering sound came from the kitchen, followed by a quiet muttering. "Tony," Ziva quietly said to Tony. She reached for her gun, out of habit.
"No!" Tony quickly reached back to Ziva and stopped her in her tracks. "Leave it alone. It's just my aunt. She's real hard of hearing." Tony's eyebrows flicked upwards like a pair of startled birds, before settling down in place in time with his shrug. "Well, practically deaf, to be honest." Tony started walking to the kitchen.
"Ah." Ziva let him pass. She watched as he walked to the kitchen, then followed a few steps behind him.
Tony reached the doorway, where a woman was bent over, looking for something in the pantry. She hadn't noticed Tony enter the room, so he flicked the light switch. "Aunt Ade! It's me, Tony!" he called out across the room.
Adelaide quickly stood up and looked in the direction of the door. "Tony!" Her face widened in a smile and her loud voice boomed across the room, startling Ziva slightly. "Glad you're here! You made it here okay?" She held up a hand in an "Ok" sign.
Tony smiled and nodded to his aunt. "Yeah, smooth drive. Glad to get away from work," he said loudly. He pointed to the counter. "What're you doing?"
"Oh, I was looking for a trash bag, which I just found behind the mop." Adelaide held up a trash bag. "Just got done cleaning the house up." She craned her neck around Tony. "Who's that?" she signed/said to Tony, indicating Ziva.
He turned from Adelaide and looked at Ziva, then back to his aunt. "This is Ziva." He then voiced the letters out as he fingerspelled them, "Z-I-V-A".
Ziva looked at the two and smiled in awe. She hadn't realized that Tony also knew a bit of sign language. She waved at Adelaide. "Nice to meet you," she said.
"Nice to meet you, too!" Adelaide's loud voice boomed across the room, reverberating off the walls into Ziva's ears. She smiled widely at Ziva.
"Oh, yeah, that's another thing. You'll get used to her loud voice eventually. This is my aunt Adelaide. My mother's sister. Been there since, well, my mother left us." Tony turned and smiled at Adelaide. "Remember the girl I told you about when I was over in Israel?" he asked Adelaide in a louder voice.
Adelaide's brow furrowed in thought as she tried to dig deep within her memory banks. "That name rings a bell, Tony."
"Remember I was the basketball coach over there? That exchange course that I had to do in college?"
Adelaide drew in a long gasp, then said, "Ohhh, yesss!" She signed the word "yes" with emphasis. "She wanted a book of New York City?"
Ziva nodded and smiled. "Yes, that's me." She turned to Tony. Her eyes flashed to Tony, "You told her?" But she was smiling to Tony. She was touched by how Tony had told someone he was apparently very close with about his little friend.
Tony's eyes sparkled back to her as he said, "Yeah, she wanted to know how I was doing in school. She loved hearing stories about 'my little friend' and how you were doing."
"Yes!" Adelaide's voice bounced off the walls of the kitchen, startling Ziva yet again. "He said you were one of his best pupils in basketball!" She pantomimed shooting baskets.
Ziva smiled quickly to Adelaide. She tried to settle down a bit; she was not used to hearing a profoundly deaf person talk so loud. She was slightly concerned for her own hearing, but it was just an irrational thought. Yet it must have shown on her face, for Tony turned to Ade and made subtle signs to lower her voice slightly, mouthing the words "It echoes in here."
"Oh, sorry!" Adelaide spoke softer this time. "I didn't realize it echoed. I wasn't wearing my hearing aid, you see." She smiled slightly abashedly. "I didn't realize you'd be here so soon.
Tony chuckled. "That makes sense why you didn't hear us come in at first. I was beginning to wonder if your battery was dying on you." He pointed vaguely to his ear.
"Oh, no, I just didn't like hearing the clank and clatter of my cleaning," Ade said to Tony.
Tony chuckled and shook his head. "Well, that's wonderful that you're here for me. Us, I mean," he added, pointing to himself and Ziva.
Ade smiled at Tony. "Well, not a problem. I wanna ask you, though. Could you help bring a couple of boxes out to the car for me?" She pointed toward the garage. "They're out there."
Tony looked toward the door leading to the garage, then back to his aunt. "Oh sure, yeah, I'll help out." He turned to Ziva and said, "Ziva, be right back."
"Oh that's alright. I can wait," Ziva smiled to Tony, waving him toward the garage.
Tony smiled at Ziva and said quietly, "Dinner? Let me know what you want." He made a quick book-like sign, then a phone sign, then turned to the garage door.
"Here, let me get the trunk," Ade said, her voice booming out, but not as loud as before, as she followed Tony to the garage.
After Tony loaded up the boxes in the trunk, Tony slammed the trunk shut. "All done, Ade." He smiled as he looked at her.
His aunt walked around the car and faced Tony. She tilted her head toward the door. "This woman, you work with her? She looks nice."
"Yeah." Tony reached up behind his head and scratched at an itch that formed there. "She got assigned from Israel to work with us, in cooperation. You know, sharing intelligence between ally countries."
"Oh? Sounds interesting. You like her?" Adelaide asked Tony. When she saw Tony's face change, she stood up a bit straighter and smiled at him and said, "Yes, you like her, alright."
Tony smiled a bit abashedly and said, "Well, yes, but -"
"Obvious!" Ade smiled as she signed/said the word, then held a hand out and using two fingers on the other hand, she quickly brought them downwards, as if she was quickly reading something. "I could read you a mile away!" she exclaimed.
Tony laughed. "Yes, you can." The smile quickly faded on his lips, as he grew serious. "My problem is, I like my work, but I really like Ziva also. But, our boss, well, he could go really hard on you if he ever found out you were dating on the job."
"Ah!" Ade held up a finger and smiled a noncommital smile and shrugged. "You two just do your jobs. Keep it separate, and if they don't ask, you don't have to tell." She shrugged yet again and smiled at Tony, patting his shoulder. "I think you'll do just fine," she loudly whispered to Tony. She signed and mouthed the words, "You keep her close to you and protect her."
Tony smiled and hugged his aunt. After a couple of moments, he stepped back and said, "Thanks. I will keep her close. Have a good night and drive safe."
"No problem," Adelaide's bright voice reached Tony's ears as she waved at Tony goodbye. She stepped into her car as Tony stepped to the side and pressed the garage door button, and as the door rose up, she started the car.
"I'll send you an email," Tony called out as the car backed out past him and he looked at Adelaide.
Ade stopped the car when she came abreast of Tony, and looked out the window. "I'll see you around. I'll look forward to your email." She waved to him through the window, and said, "Take care, and love you."
"Bye," Tony said as he waved at her. He stood in the driveway, watching her drive off into the evening.
Later in the evening after dinner, Tony and Ziva headed out to the beach, where Tony placed the blanket for him and Ziva to sit and enjoy the chilly but beautiful night, with nobody around them as far as the eye could see.
Ziva sat on the blanket, looking out over the ocean, noticing the beam of light sweeping out over the ocean. She looked over at the source of the light. "Oh!" Ziva breathed out a sigh of awe, as she looked back at Tony. "This is such a beautiful getaway spot." Ziva looked at Tony and tilted her head to the side a bit, smiling at him, her eyes sparkling, awestruck by the night beauty.
"Oh yeah. I just wanted to bring you out here, you know, get away from the daily hustle and bustle of the city. I've not told anyone else about here." Tony let out a sigh as he looked around the land. "So many good memories with my parents here. Mostly my mother and her sister, here, though, 'cuz my father kept running off on business trips all the time." Tony paused, then turned his head to look at the lighthouse off in the distance. He pointed toward it, and said, "See that lighthouse out there?"
Ziva nodded, and said, "I see it. I wondered about it."
Tony looked back at Ziva and said, "Yeah, well. That's where my dad proposed to my mother, so the story goes." He shrugged his shoulders. "This place's always held special meaning to my mother largely for that reason."
"This is lovely, so did you, yourself, ever go to the lighthouse out there?" Ziva pointed in the direction of the lighthouse, holding her hand close to her body, but her finger pointing out. She imagined herself there with Tony, him proposing to her one day, like she did from time to time, imagining various places that he might one day propose.
Tony nodded. "Yeah, but I've never been up it. I've never gone back there, though, since my mother passed away." He let out a sigh and looked out over the ocean, watching the beam of light sweep out over the oceans, the light probing through the darkness.
Ziva smiled at Tony, looking out at the lighthouse. "Will you take me over there one day?" It was more of a rhetorical question.
Tony smiled, and looked at her for a moment. He then slowly nodded, and said, "One day, maybe I'll take you up the lighthouse, even."
For a few moments, only the sound of the ocean lapping on the beach surrounded them as Tony and Ziva cuddled each other on the blanket, looking at the ocean waves, then looking up at the millions of stars dotting the cloudless, moonlit sky as the lighthouse swept the skies over the ocean.
"It's beautiful out here. The stars, the moon." She looked down at the ocean, watching the waves crash onto the beach, taking in the sight of the foam cascading over the sand and dissolving into nothingness before the next wave washed over the previous wave. "Even the ocean," she added.
Tony looked down at Ziva, reaching his arm around Ziva and bringing her close to him. "Indeed, it is lovely." Tony nodded with a smile, his eyes sparkling at Ziva in the dark.
Ziva took a deep breath and smiled. "Definitely a nice getaway from work. Speaking of, I think it went well, don't you think?"
Tony smiled in the dark; the moonlight shone off his teeth. "Yeah. As long as Gibbs doesn't find out, and we don't tip him off, I think we'll make it just fine." Tony gritted his teeth and muttered to himself, "That stupid Rule 12's gonna trip us up if we're not careful."
Ziva let out a short chuckle. "What's so important about this 'Rule 12', anyway? What does Gibbs have to say about us working together while we're, you know, together?" Ziva flicked a finger back and forth between her and Tony.
"Glad you brought that up," Tony smiled. "Basically we need to separate work and fun. You know, live two lives for a while."
Ziva's eyebrows arched high above her eyes in understanding. "Ah. Like undercover, sort of." She smiled to Tony.
Tony chuckled. "Yeah, sort of. You know Gibbs sees everything, so it'll be a challenge for us to hide things from him. But I think we can do it together." Tony held up a finger and whipped it once in the air. "Advantage we have is that we're already partners at work. But just need to keep this part low-key."
"Ah." Ziva smiled, then changed the subject. "Your aunt's a sweet person. What'd she think of me?" She smiled at Tony.
Tony chuckled. "Thinks you're a sweet person. Likes you a lot. Says to keep you close to my heart." He sat back and looked up at the stars and smiled to himself.
Ziva smiled and looked up at the stars. "I could hear bits and pieces of the conversation, she spoke so loud."
Tony chuckled. "Yeah, she's not that bad when she's wearing her hearing aids. Half the time she doesn't wear 'em, though. Something about the feedback." Tony scoffed at the last word. "Oh, god, the feedback. That sound never really leaves you, the shrill whistle of the hearing aid, and me having to tell her to adjust her hearing aid and make it stop squealing."
Ziva laughed. "I can imagine." Suddenly, a burst of shooting stars shot across the sky, causing Ziva to gasp in surprise at the sudden awe and grandeur streaking across the night sky. "Oh!" she exclaimed. "Look!"
Tony looked up at the sky, seeing the shooting stars also. He glanced over to Ziva, then looked back up at the sky. He said, "You think that Destiny's talking up a storm here? Look at all those shooting stars." He pointed up at the sky.
"Yeah, they are so lovely." Ziva turned over to look at Tony more squarely. "You know, when I called you the night before I came over, the moment I left a message on your voicemail, I saw one huge shooting star." She made a whooshing sound as she traced out an imaginary shooting star streaking across the sky. "Just went across the sky at the same time I said the word Destiny, even."
Tony chuckled lightly, and looked at Ziva. "For some reason I cannot fathom, it seems like destiny talks to us throughout the cosmos." Tony reached out and held Ziva's hand. "I think we're meant to be together. Don't you?"
"Yes, I think we're meant to be together. I do believe in signs, and what I'm seeing so far, takes my breath away." Ziva shook her head slightly. "All these things happening at the same time we're together, I don't believe they're coincidences."
Tony smiled as he looked at Ziva in the moonlight. "Do you realize that the moonlight makes you look even more beautiful?" Tony's voice was low, sultry, as he reached out and stroked Ziva's hair away from her eyes.
Ziva smiled as she sat up and twisted her hair up into a bun. "And you're handsome in the moon, also," she said as she leaned over to kiss Tony on his lips. After a moment, she sat back and said, "This is better, don't you think? Making love on the beach."
Tony chuckled, then planted a full-on kiss on Ziva's lips, kissing her passionately for a few moments. Then, he came up for air and smiled at Ziva.
On the bright Sunday morning, Tony stirred awake in his bed, and looked over, noticing Ziva not in bed. He let out a small grunt as he pivoted his legs out of bed and stood up and stretched the sleep out of him. He threw on his robe and padded out to the kitchen, finding Ziva there in the kitchen, cooking. He walked up behind Ziva and hugged her from behind, looking over his shoulder at her cooking. He could see that she was making some omelets. He rested his head on Ziva's shoulder gently, and asked softly, "What're you making?" Tony reached up and rubbed her stomach, holding her close to him.
"Oh, good morning Tony," Ziva said, glancing quickly at Tony. "Some omelets, I thought you'd enjoy 'em."
"Ooh, that sounds good." Tony said, pressing himself into her slightly.
"Mm, not now, Tony. Food now, that later," Ziva reached behind her and patted Tony on his leg. "Breakfast's almost ready," Ziva said, chuckling as she set the pan down on the stove and looked at Tony.
Tony chuckled at Ziva. "Those looks good. I can help you with toast and coffee?" Tony pointed to the coffee machine and toaster, his eyebrows raising slightly, questioning.
"Sure, go for it." Ziva winked her eyes at Tony with a smile.
Eventually, after having their breakfast and cleaning up their mess, they had spent a bit of time walking on the beach, enjoying the ocean air. They had returned and were freshening themselves up for the day. Ziva had gone inside to get ready, while Tony plopped himself down on the patio chair to wait for Ziva, when his phone rang. Startled out of his thoughts, he quickly pulled his phone out of his pocket and looked at the display. It read, 'McGee'. He muttered to himself, "What could he be wanting at this time?" Tony let out a sigh as he hit the Answer button and brought the phone up to his ear. "Hey McGee, what's up?" Tony asked into the phone.
McGee's voice sounded tinny over the speaker. "Hey Tony, Where are you? Tried to call you, got no answer. Stopped by your place, you weren't there. Ziva's not answering either. Everything okay?"
Tony looked up at the sky and rolled his eyes a bit. Gotta remind her of that, he thought to himself. He looked back down and nodded and said, "Yeah, everything's fine. I'm not sure about Ziva. Maybe she's not answering because she's sleeping in," he said. "I'll check on her when I swing by. What's up?"
McGee sighed at Tony. "Well, we got called in. Big case got dumped in our laps and Gibbs called for an all-hands-on-deck. So we need you both here as soon as possible."
Tony scoffed. "Are you serious, Probie!?" Tony threw up his other arm into the air in frustration and disgust. "And I'm not even finished with the weekend over here. Why now?"
Ziva came out just in time to hear Tony saying that. She quietly walked over next to Tony, and quietly asked, "What is it?"
Tony looked at Ziva and saw the slightly puzzled look on her face. He held his phone away from his mouth and whispered to Ziva, "It's McGee." He held up a finger to his lips, signaling Ziva to keep quiet, then brought the phone back to his mouth. "So you want us over there now?"
"That's what I'm trying to say, Tony." McGee's voice sounded over the speaker.
"Okay, we'll be there soon. I'll check on Ziva on the way in." Tony looked at Ziva and mouthed to her and pantomimed holding a phone, "Phone, turn it on, please."
"So, work calls," Ziva whispered to Tony, then turned around into the house to get her phone from the kitchen counter where she had left it on the charger, turned off for the night. She shook her head to herself slightly as she turned her phone back on, and her screen lit up with several texts that had gone through.
"Sounds good, see you when you come in." McGee's line went dead as he hung up.
"Well, that's that." Tony flipped his phone closed, completing the call. He sighed, then said to Ziva, "That's why we can't let things like happen. They could put out a BOLO on us if they don't hear from us after a certain amount of time."
"Ah. Just wanted a nice quiet weekend," Ziva smiled. "I guess it's just like the Mossad. Always on call. Not like a regular job."
Tony shook his head and smiled. "Nine-to-five? Never expect that you'll be working a regular nine-to-five shift here. Your weekends are theirs also, especially if we're on call."
"So, it's pretty much the same, then." Ziva slumped against the wall. She let out a sigh, then said, "Well, back to work, I guess."
Tony smiled. "Hey, cheer up. With you there, it makes my work a little more, uhm, how can I say it? More fun."
Ziva chuckled. "We'll figure things out. Thanks for having me out here for the weekend, though.
Tony blinked and smiled at Ziva. "Hey, I wouldn't have brought you out here if I didn't think so highly of you. We'll make it work," he said, softer this time, as he reached out and put a reassuring hand on hers.
"I hope so," Ziva said, smiling. She suddenly reached up and pulled Tony in to hug her, and she hugged him tightly.
Tony smiled, as he reached around Ziva and enveloped her in his hug. "I'll always be there for you, and protect you," he whispered to Ziva.
Ziva kissed Tony full-on, hugging him closely to him, not letting go for a few long moments. After those few moments, she broke the kiss and said, "And I'll be with you, always."
A/N: Dear Readers, this would be the post episode #4 Silver Wars in season 3 on NCIS. More to come up soon, and wanted to say thank you for the Reviews, Tweets, Messages/Kudos.