Chapter 7
'Eagles, Tigers... Oh My!"
~~At Ziva's Place, November 2005~~
As the Saturday morning sun shone through the window, Tony stirred awake and turned his head to look at Ziva's sleeping face. He gazed at the beauty of her face for a few moments. "Ziva, you look like a sleeping beauty, did you know that?" Tony whispered to Ziva, gently moving her hair away from her face so he could look at her better.
Ziva stirred at his touch, but didn't reply. She adjusted herself a bit to be more comfortable, then lay sleeping in bed, obviously exhausted the previous night's activities in bed.
Tony gently chuckled at himself. The long week and the grueling caseload, as well as the stress of balancing job and home had worn him and Ziva out. He shook his head to himself, and quietly got out of bed, allowing Ziva to sleep some more. Grabbing his lounge pants, he padded his way over to the bathroom, taking care to walk quietly.
Moments after he finished using the bathroom, he headed to the kitchen, to raid the refrigerator so he could make a breakfast in bed for Ziva. Finding what he needed, he went over to the stove and started cooking up some pancakes with some fruits in them. It took him a short amount of time for the pancakes to cook, so he prepared the plate for the stack of pancakes. "Oh, can't forget this," he muttered to himself as he got the can of whipped cream from the fridge and sprayed some on the pancakes, making a good-sized heaping on top. Smiling to himself and whistling the occasional scatty tune, he placed the single rose that he had gotten the night before for Ziva on the tray beside the plate of pancakes, then poured out some orange juice and milk for her. "Hope she likes this," he muttered to himself, smiling at the thought of how she'd react when she saw the food. He took a deep breath, and, picking up the tray, walked back to the bedroom, where he saw that Ziva had moved and she lay fully exposed on the bed. Smiling to himself, he set the tray on the end table next to his side, then got into bed in a sitting position next to Ziva. He looked down at Ziva and smiled, then after a moment, he said quietly, "Good morning, Ziva."
"Hm?" After a moment, Ziva stirred awake. She turned over slightly and looked at Tony, her lips forming a smile when her gaze landed on Tony. "Good morning, Tony." She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, taking in a deep breath and yawning, and stretching. She then sat up and said, "What smells really good? Did you cook something?"
Tony reached over and got the breakfast tray and carefully set it on the bed across Ziva's legs. "Made a little breakfast in bed for the both of us. Thought you'd like this."
"Oh Tony! That's so sweet of you to do that." She smiled at Tony, then picked up the rose. "This? Made my morning. My heart sings in joy," Ziva said, the smile wide on her lips. In that moment, nothing was better than being in bed with her best friend and having breakfast together and just enjoying the start of the morning, together.
Tony chuckled and said, "Wouldn't want to be anywhere except right here, with you, at this time. Got an idea where we might go for the day. I'll tell you later what it is." Tony smiled at her.
Ziva saw something in Tony's eyes and she exclaimed, "No, you'll tell me now!" But she was smiling at Tony. "Are you going to take me to that pizza place again?"
Tony laughed. "Not exactly, no. But this place I have in mind is a really awesome place. I think you'll like it." Tony's face indicated that he was not more forthcoming with his plans for the day for the both of us.
"As long as it's not the Navy Yard." Ziva smiled at Tony and tapped his nose before reaching down and taking a bite of her pancakes.
Tony laughed. "Clear on the other side of town from there. You won't have to worry this time." He shrugged. "Well, not unless we get called in today. Knock on wood." He gently rapped the end table with his knuckles.
Ziva let out a small chuckle. "Yes, let's hope not. I could use the day off for a change."
Tony nodded. "Definitely. After what we had to go through this past week, we sure could use the time off. Destress, relax, breathe in the fresh air." Tony wafted the air up in front of him as if he was breathing in the fresh mountain air. "Enjoy the sights and sounds, get out of the house and explore the area around us."
Ziva smiled at Tony and patted his leg. "That sounds better than being in this house all day long and sleeping and doing nothing."
"Or a little bit of this?" Tony started rubbing her thigh, caressing it sensuously.
Ziva smiled. "You still smell like whipped cream from last night. Let's go get cleaned up."
Tony leaned forward and put his head in one hand, laughing to himself. He picked himself up and took a fingertip of whipped cream from the plate and dabbed it on Ziva's nose. "Look who's talking!" he said, smiling to her.
Ziva reached up and wiped the whipped cream off her nose with a fingertip, then licked it clean. "Hey, now!" She reached over and got a bit of whipped cream and dabbed it on Tony's nose in the same fashion, then quickly got up out of bed and ran to the bathroom. "Catch me if you can!"
Tony laughed as he set the tray aside on the end table and followed Ziva and caught up to Ziva just before she entered the bathroom, enveloping her in a giant bear hug and tickling her. "I got you now!"
Ziva let out an excited shriek and laughter and turned around and goosed Tony. "You got me," she giggled at Tony and reached up and kissed him full on.
Tony and Ziva continued on with their lovemaking in the shower. When they finished cleaning up after making out, they got ready for the day. Tony took the tray back to the kitchen and put everything in the sink after rinsing off the plates. He turned to Ziva and smiled. "Ready for the day?"
Ziva's lips slowly formed a smile. "I'm looking forward to seeing what you have in store for me. Brings back memories of you taking me places years ago in New York City. And Rome."
"Nothing like this where you come from, I'm pretty sure of it. Just wait until you see it." Tony smiled.
When Tony and Ziva arrived at the Smithsonian's National Zoo eventually, they paused at the First Pass checkpoint to catch their bearings. They spotted the visitor center off to their left and walked in and noticed that there was also a gift shop inside. "Oh, here we go," Tony said as he stepped over to the information rack, where he filed through the various pamphlets that the zoo offered, finding the zoo map. "That's what I was looking for," he muttered to himself and pulled out a copy.
Ziva smiled as she watched Tony look for and find the map, and then said, "I've never been to a zoo before." She looked around the gift shop, taking in the various knick-knacks that were being sold there: the tiny animal figurines, books on animal conservatorship and the various animals within the zoo, and the various shelves of stuffed animals and animal-related toys. "Those look nice," she said as she stepped over to the shelves of stuffed animals. She stood in front of the small plushie toys and picked one up at random. It happened to be a tiger.
"This is so you," Tony's voice sounded in Ziva's ear. She looked up and noticed that Tony had walked up next to her. Tony held up a stuffed animal. He grinned at her. "This is for you." Tony held out the plushy bald eagle in front of Ziva with a smile.
"Oh, for me?" Ziva reached out for the stuffed animal and brought it close to her, holding it against her chest, looking down at it for a moment, then looking back up to Tony. "Why a bald eagle?"
"I think that the eagle fits you so well because I think that's your spirit animal." Tony raised his finger into the air a little off to the side, flashing a smile to her.
"Oh really?" Ziva raised her eyebrows, a small smile forming on her lips. She wondered why exactly he thought of a bald eagle as her spirit animal. "Do tell."
Tony held up a finger. "Ah, but this is something to be seen. Descriptions alone do not do this majestic bird any justice. You'll see why when you see 'em out there." Tony leaned his head over to Ziva's and looked into her eyes. His eyes told her a lot more underneath that special look he always gives her.
Ziva held out the tiger she'd been holding in her hand. "I think I found your spirit animal here." Ziva let out a tiny roar and clawed at the air as Tony took the stuffed tiger.
Tony took the tiger from Ziva and looked at it, his eyebrows jumping up and his lips widening in a smile. "A tiger, eh?" Tony muttered as he looked at the tiger, then up at Ziva. He let out a small chuckle.
"You'll see why I feel that the tiger is your spirit animal when we see it. It fits you so well." Ziva smiled and put a hand on Tony's cheek and stroked it, then turned and walked around looking at other souvenirs.
Moments later, Tony and Ziva walked out of the building with some of their purchases in a single medium-sized bag. They stopped in the center of the pathway and looked around at their surroundings. "Alright, now where to start?" Ziva turned to Tony.
"Yep, Ziva, Before we go look at the animals, I just wanted to tell you a little something. Reason I brought you here's because I wanted to show you some animals you may never have seen before because they're unique to this country, and North America in general." Tony shrugged and tilted his head to Ziva and smiled. "You know, animals like the bison, the great bald eagle, the wolf, even the bears." Tony's eyes raised to full mast for a split second as he cocked his head toward the zoo. "A lot of small animals and birds unique to this country, too. The white-tailed deer. The cardinal."
Ziva smiled at Tony and took one of his hands and held it. "Let's enjoy the day together and look at the animals." She looked up at the bright nearly cloudless sky. "Nice day to be out here, too." She stepped close to Tony and hugged him from the side.
"Well, let's go, then." Tony smiled and walked with Ziva down the hill, walking through the various parts of the upper zoo level: the cheetah conservation, the Asia trail, the Elephant house. They stopped in front of the American Bison and looked at the majestic beast. "You ever see such an animal like this, Ziva?" Tony said as he pointed to one grazing a short distance away.
"Not in Israel," Ziva said. "Mostly hyenas, jackals, mountain lions, and lots of scorpions."
Tony chuckled. "Nothing like this, then." Tony waved his arm around the expanse of the zoo. "Look at that bird house over there. Let's go see if we can find the bald eagle over there." He pointed to the bird house a short distance away from where they were, behind the Panda House.
They walked out of the bird house a few moments later. "What do you think of those birds in there?" Tony smiled at Ziva.
Ziva smiled. "Those pink birds, what do you call them? Flamingos? I've never seen them up close. Why are they the only bright pink birds in the entire world? I've always wondered that when I read about them growing up."
Tony chuckled. "It's the food they eat. Causes them to be pink. Something about what's in the food that causes that coloring, to be specific."
"Interesting. So they are what they eat, basically?" Ziva raised an eyebrow as she walked alongside Tony past the elephant house.
A shrill eagle cry sounded in the distance. "Oh, that's the sound. That's the bald eagle you just heard," Tony turned to Ziva and said. "Let's go that way," he pointed toward the eagle sanctuary. "Wait'll you see this bird. You'll see why I chose that for you," Tony said eagerly as he led her toward the eagle sanctuary.
Ziva followed Tony, eager to see the bird for herself. She'd seen pictures of the bald eagle, but had no reference as to what they looked like in scale, having never been up close to one. Moments later, they reached the eagle sanctuary, and just then an eagle swooped down onto a large tree near the enclosure and landed near Ziva, causing her to gasp. "Wow, such a beautiful bird," she breathed out to Tony as she looked at the majestic bird, taking a couple of cautious steps closer to the enclosure.
"Yup. The majestic bald eagle. Look at its beauty." He turned to Ziva and looked at her. "Just like you. You're beautiful, you know that?" Tony reached out to Ziva and gently pulled her by his side and gave her a gentle squeeze. He took a deep breath, then as he looked deeply in her eyes, said to her, "The native people that lived on this land believed heavily in symbolism with the animal kingdom. Held a lot of significance to the bald eagle. To them, it stood for power, freedom, and liberty to move ahead. And, any person who has an eagle as their spirit animal is focused, adventurous, a vibrant and well-grounded person, who is a benign soul. On top of that, they believed that any dreams that included bald eagles stood for golden opportunities that might pop up, and positive changes in their life's future."
Ziva looked at Tony and smiled. "Very interesting. I didn't realize they were such big birds. I mean, look at their wings!" She held out her arms wide. "So long and wide."
Tony nodded and smiled. "Yeah, helps them glide on the thermals and heat waves and they fly for very long distances at a time, scanning the ground from afar, seeking food. When they spot some prey, they dive down and snatch the prey."
They walked past the eagle house, past the American trail and the Andean Bear exhibit, where, after a quick bathroom break, they stopped at one of the restaurants that dotted the zoo. Tony looked up at the sign emblazoned on the front of the restaurant. "Look, The Mane. Wanna go get something to eat there?" He pointed up to the sign.
"I'm starving." Ziva smiled. "Let's go get some food." She turned and stepped toward the restaurant.
Moments later, as they sat at the table, Tony and Ziva didn't have long to wait before the waitress came over to take their order. After they had ordered their food, Tony sat back in his chair and looked across the table at Ziva. He said, "What do you think about this place so far?"
"This is awesome. Nothing like this in Israel. I've not seen so many fascinating animals to see in one place, here." She looked back at Tony and smiled. "I think this is definitely one one of my top favorite places to come to, now."
Tony smiled. "Nice escape from the daily grind, I'll have to admit. Slow down, look at the different things and sights."
Ziva tilted her head to Tony and asked in a quiet voice, "We'll go places every once in a while to spend time together?"
Tony held out his hands and shrugged and smiled to her. "Anytime, I would be more than happy to take you anywhere you want to go. See whatever you want. Just so we can spend some time together. Just feels so good to with you too, you know."
"I feel the same with you," Ziva replied as she leaned across the table and reached out to hold Tony's hand.
Eventually after finishing their meals, Tony and Ziva stepped out of the restaurant. They looked around at their surroundings, finding the next spot they wanted to go to. Tony lifted his arm and pointed in the direction that had attracted his attention. "Let's go over here," he said. "I think this is the next place according to the map I looked at earlier."
"Sounds good." Ziva smiled, and walked with Tony as they made their way to the Great Cat house. They stepped into the exhibit and looked around. "There we go," Ziva said quietly. Her arm slowly raised up and she pointed toward a group of tigers lazing around in the enclosure. "Let's get a little closer."
"Ooh, big cats." Tony let out a low yowl, barely above a whisper, as he clawed the air in front of him. "Claws sharp enough to tear you into shreds with one swat and leave you all fileted and ready for a meal." Tony grinned devilishly and waggled his eyebrows.
Ziva chuckled as she stopped next to the tigers. "And yet, they lay there and aren't slashing at their food right now." She smiled at Tony, then looked back at the tigers. "Still, look at 'em." She pointed to the family of tigers.
Tony nodded and said, "I've always wondered why big cats roar and the domestic cats only meow. Maybe the little cats don't have large enough voice boxes to actually roar." He let out a short chuckle at the thought.
Ziva stepped up to the enclosure and knelt down to watch the young tiger cubs wrestling with each other a short distance from the enclosure walls. "Aw, look, they're so cute!" Ziva gushed at them.
Tony stepped up and knelt by Ziva, looking at the cubs. "Yeah, look at that tiger up there." He pointed to the large tiger lounging on a large rock nearby, overlooking the young cubs. "That hombre must be the dad. Look at how protective he is of the cubs," Tony said gently to Ziva.
Ziva turned to Tony. "That's why I picked the tiger as your spirit animal. The things I know and understand about the tiger is this: the tiger stands for a lot of things." She listed them out on her finger as she continued speaking. "Willpower, boldness, mightiness, vitality, courage, energy, and generosity. But the most important thing? You're a king in my eyes, and that's what a tiger is – royal. When your spirit animal is a tiger, it means you're strong-willed, independent, observant, and adventurous. Any dreams that feature tigers may indicate that you may face difficulties in your life, or it means you would stand for your own good health and vitality."
Tony raised an eyebrow. "So that fits me to a T. I didn't realize that the tiger fit me so well. Thank you for sharing that with me, Ziva." He pulled Ziva closer to him and hugged her.
Ziva turned to hug Tony. After hugging each other, they looked back at the tigers. "That explains why it feels so good to be with each other. Our personalities work with each other so well." She interlaced her fingers together and held them together for a second. "Winds together tightly."
"Melds together so well, you mean." Tony smiled. "Let's head on down the path," Tony nodded his head down the direction of the main pathway through the lower section of the zoo.
Ziva nodded. "Sounds good."
They left the cat house and walked past the Think House to the reptile discovery center. Curious, they decided to step inside the exhibit. One of the first things they saw were the turtles. "Wow, that's a big turtle," Ziva pointed to a large tortoise that was some five feet wide and looked ancient. The tortoise slowly lifted its head and stared at Ziva. Its eyes looked as they had seen a lot in his lifetime.
"Wow. Old feller," Tony said, reading the placard next to the tortoise's exhibit. "Says here he's some ninety years old."
Ziva turned sharply to Tony. "That old? I didn't know they lived so long. So that means he'd be older than our parents."
Tony guffawed as he stepped away from the turtles. "Older than my dad, even. I can't imagine the things that were happening back in his time." Tony nodded his head back toward the tortoise. "Still in the horse and buggy era back when he was still an egg."
Ziva chuckled. "You're bad," she said to Tony.
Tony let out a chuckle. "It's true, though. Back when the stage coaches were still the primary mode of road travel, he was just becoming a toddler, I bet."
Moments later, they stepped in front of the Gila monster exhibit. Tony turned his nose up as he looked at the lizard, which was just starting its molting. "I've never really cared for lizards, to be honest."
Ziva chuckled. "Me either. They're all over Israel. Different kinds, but the same idea, nonetheless." She waved a dismissive hand toward the lizard.
Tony let out a short, derisive chuckle. "This lizard reminds me of this person we had back at the station. You know, when I was working for Baltimore PD. She was a real 'zilla, if you know what I mean."
Ziva stared at Tony blankly. "Zilla? Another of your idioms?" She let out a short scoff. "What're you saying?"
Tony chuckled. "A zilla is a person, typically a woman, who has a very... overbearing... personality, let's leave it at that. Doesn't get along with anybody unless things were her way."
"Ugh, we could do without those." Ziva shook her head in disgust as she walked away from the Gila monster. "I've never really cared for their lot."
Tony nodded with a smile. "Every time I had to work on the same shift as that woman, I'd look for ways to get out of the building and do my job by working out on the field. It's what motivated me for so long. Really, I did pretty much anything to get away from that woman." He sighed. As he opened his mouth to say more, his phone rang. A scowl formed on his face as he looked down as he pulled his phone out of his pocket. "I wonder who could be calling on this fine day," he muttered to himself as he flipped it open and looked on the display. He gasped as Gibbs' name appeared on the display.
Ziva looked at Tony, noticing the look on his face. "Who could it be?"
Tony held up a finger as he answered the phone. "Yeah, Gibbs, what's up?"
"Drop whatever you're doing and gear up. Come in to the office now." Gibbs' voice was curt. It carried a tone that left no room for argument.
Tony gulped, taken aback by the terseness in Gibbs's voice. "Something happen?"
"Not on the phone." Tony heard Gibbs let out an angry sigh. "I need you in here now. Find Ziva, I can't get a hold of her. Or McGee. Where are they?"
Tony mouthed to Ziva, "We need to go." Bringing the phone back up to his mouth, he said to Gibbs, "Alright, coming in. I'll see if I can find 'em on my way in. Sounds like something big."
"Just get in here ASAP," Gibbs growled in Tony's ear and then the line went dead.
Tony took the phone away from his ear and flipped it closed with one hand, slowly shaking his head. "Gibbs must be pissed. We gotta go, now."
"Right." Ziva did not say anything further as she turned and walked with Tony out of the zoo, holding his hand.
Tony turned to Ziva. "You need to call Gibbs and report in. Give it a couple minutes before you call."
"What about my car?" Ziva asked. "I left it at my apartment, remember?"
"No time." Tony shook his head. "I'll call McGee and let him know. Gibbs wants everybody in, sounds like." Tony pulled his phone out to call McGee.
"I see." Ziva nodded as Tony made the call. She had a sudden sense of dread, as if there might be something happening that wouldn't have good results for the mission. She shook the feeling off, focusing on the job at hand, switching from enjoying her day out to on duty mode.
Tony flipped his phone closed. "Got a hold of 'im. McGee's on the way in, gonna meet us at the garage." He had a satisfied smile on his face as he put his phone back in his pocket.
Ziva smiled. "Good. I'll make the call." Ziva pulled her phone out and dialed Gibbs.
~~A week later, at the NCIS building~~
At the orange bullpen, after Gibbs had made his abrupt farewell to the team and left Tony in the charge of the team, leaving with Ducky, everyone stood silently, staring at the closing elevator doors. After a few long moments, Tony slowly sank down into his chair, letting out a deep sigh. He leaned forward over his desk, set the badge and gun on the desk in front of him, and put his elbows on the desk and put his head into his hands. After a moment, he let out a small grunt as he grimaced while rubbing the stress out of his head. The most recent case had taken a lot out of him. He was still trying to process Gibbs' sudden departure, trying to understand why he would just quit over what had happened.
"Tony?" Ziva called from across the aisle. She stepped toward Tony's desk and put a hand on Tony's shoulder. Her face was etched with concern.
"I'm alright." Tony held up a hand. He let out a sigh, then said, "I just need to clear my mind. This sure threw me for a loop. Would be nice if we could just go home and rest up." He shrugged his shoulders as he added in a quiet tone, "Sure could use the break."
"Yeah, a day off, especially after this case. I'd probably just chill around my apartment and do nothing." McGee smiled. The tiredness was evident on his face. "Can't believe he just walked off, though." He sighed.
Ziva took a couple steps toward Tony. "The weekend off sounds great. At least a day off tomorrow." Ziva smiled, then turned around to her desk and got her bag and set it on her desk.
Before Tony could say anything, he heard from above him a voice that said, "Go home, team. You've done enough for the day." He turned and looked up. Director Shepherd leaned onto the railing above Tony and smiled and nodded to him. "Get some rest and come in Monday," she said.
Tony smiled at Director Shepherd and nodded. "Sounds great." He turned to the rest of the team and said, "You heard her. Get out of here. See you all Monday." He waved them along, and watched them go. Ziva was the last to depart, along with Tony, because they had to stay and clean up some paperwork and get them secured.
As the rest of the coworkers left the room, Tony looked around the bullpen, noticing that it was just him and Ziva. He shifted his gaze across his desk to Ziva. "Ziva, you got a moment?" he asked, stopping her in the middle of organizing her bag.
Ziva looked up at Tony as she zipped a compartment closed and started checking another compartment. "Yeah."
"I'll walk out with you, if that's alright?" Tony walked around his desk toward Ziva.
"Sure" Ziva finished packing her bag.
Moments later, after Tony and Ziva entered the elevator and the doors closed, Tony clicked the elevator stop switch, which brought the elevator to a sudden stop. He looked over to Ziva.
Ziva's lips formed a questioning smile. "What is it?"
"Ziva, I want you to understand something. Two things, actually. Since Gibbs left me in charge of the team, that means I get to make the rules, right? Well, in the book of DiNozzo rules, there's no such thing as Rule 12." Tony smiled as he leaned his back on the rail of the elevator car, looking at Ziva, as he smiled and took a deep breath.
Ziva looked at Tony, a slow smile forming on her lips. "Are you telling me that I can hug and kiss you here?" She slowly walked up to Tony and leaned onto him.
Tony chuckled as Ziva approached him. "Just be within reason, and I think things will be fine."
Ziva suddenly hugged Tony, and started kissing him passionately for a couple of moments, causing Tony to lose his balance just slightly. Quickly regaining his composure, he returned the hug and kiss. As he hugged her, his rump made contact with the elevator stop switch and triggered it back on, causing the lights to come on and the elevator car to start moving. It didn't move very far before it came to a stop. The doors slid open, revealing a very surprised McGee.
"What's this?" McGee said.
Tony and Ziva quickly separated themselves and looked at McGee. After a split second, Tony spoke up. "What're you looking at, McGeek?" He flashed a smile to McGee as he straightened his shirt and cleared his throat slightly.
McGee snapped out of his surprised stare and blinked. "Uh, nothing worth mentioning." He had seen what was going on, but had the better sense to keep it to himself. Not worth creating a big issue out of something that could be innocuous.
Tony held up a hand. "What I mean, is what are you doing coming back up here? You can go home now."
McGee smiled at Tony. "I just realized I had forgotten an article in my desk. But it can wait." He waved it off. "I can go home and play games. Or write."
Tony raised an eyebrow as he stepped off the elevator. "Sounds like a good idea. What do you write about, anyway? Not children's stories, I don't think." Tony chuckled.
"Oh, you'd think so, but no. I could be writing game stories. I could be writing technical documents. It could be anything." McGee shrugged and smiled a noncommital smile.
"C'mon, seriously, what do you write about?" Tony tilted his head to McGee.
Ziva quickly stepped in between the two. "You boys, put a rest on it. Let's get some rest. We're all tired." She turned and walked away to her car.
Tony looked after her. "She's right. Forget I asked. Let's get some rest." He patted McGee on his shoulder. "I'll see you Monday."
"Sure thing... boss." McGee shook his head a couple of times. "Still not used to calling you 'boss'. It's not the same."
Tony started walking to his car, and McGee walked alongside of him. Tony held up a hand as he looked over to McGee. "Off the clock, I don't expect you to be calling me 'boss'. We're just friends off the job, okay?" He smiled to McGee.
McGee looked at Tony, then smiled back. "Thanks. I guess it's just, well, all that's happened the past few days. Gonna take me a while to get used to Gibbs not being there at his desk."
Tony chuckled. "I guess I'll be claiming that desk as mine. We'll see, though. I'm not ready yet."
Just then, Ziva's car pulled up alongside them. The passenger side window rolled down. Ziva called out, "Hey, there."
McGee glanced over and saw that it was Ziva. "Hey there. Was just saying goodbye to Tony." He turned back to Tony and said, "See you on Monday."
Tony waved to McGee as McGee started walking away to his own car. "You bet," he called out after McGee. He started walking a few steps, then looked over to Ziva. He said, "What's up?"
"What are you doing for the weekend?" Ziva asked Tony.
Tony nodded. "Oh, yeah. Just thought I'd head out to the beach house. Why don't I come by and pick you up a little later and we'll head out there?" Tony asked Ziva, a smile on his face.
Ziva smiled and nodded. "I'll wait up for you at my place. See you then." She put the car in gear and drove off.
Tony smiled as he walked to his car.
Later, at the DiNozzo beach house, Tony and Ziva went through the motions to get settled in for the weekend. Ziva noticed that Tony had been largely silent during the drive to the beach house, absorbed in his thoughts. She had left him alone and let him think and drive, while she contemplated the recent events. Ziva stopped whatever she was doing and looked up at Tony. "I can see you're thinking. What's on your mind?"
Tony blinked and looked up at Ziva. "Oh, some things. Trying to make sense of it all at work." He sighed as he put his clothes down.
Ziva chuckled. "It's been an interesting week, for sure. But -"
"I wanna tell you something," Tony said, almost cutting her off. He held up a finger in the air and said to her, "From now on, if there's any problem with any of the coworkers, come to me. I know I've said it before back there, but I just wanted you to remember."
Ziva gulped as she nodded. "Got it. It wouldn't have happened if -"
"No." Tony put a finger on her lips. "I know what's been said. But don't let it get to you. Yes, there might some people who might be a little sensitive with how you seem to handle things. But I'll take care of it."
Ziva smiled gently at Tony. "And what about our roles? Home and work?"
Tony held out his hands as if he was comparing the weight of two things. "Work, life. We do our best to keep them balanced, our way."
"No, I meant, I thought we don't bring work home?" Ziva let out a sigh, because she had been looking forward to putting work aside for once. She looked up at Tony, waiting for him to answer.
"Yeah. Just wanted you to listen, because that had been on my mind now. Everyone's been getting on each other nerves lately. Good thing the good director gave us the weekend off for a change." Tony smiled at Ziva.
"Yeah, I understand, and I'll keep it in mind." Ziva nodded as she took a deep breath. She looked up at Tony and said, "I'll let you deal with it on the job." Ziva smiled and reached out and took a hold of Tony's hand. "Tony, I have a better idea for us instead of talking about work. Let's just focus on us. Just enjoy our time together this weekend, you know?" Ziva stood up from her chair and stretched out her arms.
Tony looked deep in her eyes, which had been communicating her desire to just be with Tony as a couple. He tilted his head slightly, then said, "Yeah, let's do that. That sounds great, indeed."
Ziva leaned down and grabbed Tony's other hand and gently pulled him up from his chair. "You can follow me and see what I've got in mind." Ziva turned and guided Tony with her.
Tony let out a low chuckle as he saw the twinkle in Ziva's eyes as he held Ziva's hand and walked alongside her. "I can see what you're thinking. I bet I know what it is, too." Tony waggled his eyebrows at her.
Ziva turned and grinned at him. "It may not be what you're thinking of," she said, winking at him. "Just know that it's something good and relaxing for the both of us," Ziva flirted with Tony, snapping her finger at Tony as she turned to walk away, leaving Tony standing there.
"Hey, wait up!" Tony quickly tried to catch up to Ziva.
Ziva quickened her pace and smiled at Tony. "Keep up with me, if you can!" She turned and sprinted from the room.
"Hey now!" Tony ran to catch up to Ziva, but she was quick. He followed the sound of her laughter throughout the beach house, finding her moments later in the large poolroom. "There you are!' Tony said, noticing Ziva in the pool doing laps, wearing nothing at all.
Ziva swam up to the edge of the pool. She looked up at Tony and said, "Care to join me?"
"Sure, why not." Tony smiled at Ziva as he walked over to one of the poolside chairs and stripped to his boxers. He quickly strode to the edge of the pool and jumped into the pool. Moments later, he surfaced and swam closer to Ziva, but he stopped because his boxers floated to the surface.
"Oh, my," Ziva looked at the boxers floating on the surface. She lunged for the boxers and snatched them out of the water just out of Tony's reach. "Lose something?" A mischievous smile formed on her lips.
"Hey, give it here!" Tony lunged after her, but missed. She was like a ninja under his hands. "Hey, now!"
Ziva swam away from Tony a short distance, then quickly turned and threw his boxers to the nearby beach chairs. "Now you gotta go get it!" Ziva laughed at Tony.
Tony's eyes followed the trajectory of the boxers. "Now I gotta go get it," he said to himself. He swam over to the edge of the pool and jumped out to retrieve the boxers. He hadn't gotten halfway there when he heard the sound of water splashing across the poolroom floor. He turned to see Ziva walking away from the pool. "Hey, where are you going?" He stared, transfixed, at the beauty of her nude body as she made her way to the hot tub.
Ziva turned and looked back at Tony. She winked and smiled at him as she said, "I'm not going anywhere... except here." With that, she climbed into the hot tub.
Tony chuckled at himself, and turned to Ziva, his boxers forgotten on the floor. "I'm going to get you now!" He quickly strode over to the hot tub.
"Oh!" Ziva squealed in laughter and quickly moved to the far side opposite from Tony as he climbed into the hot tub, causing the water to wash over her breasts in waves.
"Oh, yes!" The hot water stung Tony's skin, invigorating him, as he walked over to sit next to Ziva. He positioned himself over one of the jets and let it blow hot bubbly water onto his back and neck, and sighed deeply as the stress was massaged out of him by the jets. "That's the spot, yes. That feels so good."
Ziva chuckled. "That's why I wanted to be here. It feels good to be here with you," she said as she sat next to Tony and looked in his eyes. She leaned over on his shoulder and put her hand on his lap.
Tony smiled at her touch. "Even better with you sitting next to me here in this hot tub." He reached around her and held her in his arm.
Ziva smiled. "Feels especially good to just relax like this. No worries for the weekend. Let's hope, at least." She looked up into Tony's face and smiled.
Tony chuckled. "They'd have to come in full riot gear to drag us away now. That'll be the day," he said to her. He closed his eyes and smiled at the thought. "Especially not after what happened."
"It's going to be different now," Ziva whispered to Tony. "I mean -"
"I know what you mean." Tony put a finger on her lips. "But it can't be helped. We just have to adjust and do the best we can. Gibbs said it best: adapt, overcome, improvise. I think that's what the Marines go by, anyway."
Ziva smiled and nodded. "We get taught that too, in the IDF. It's just said differently."
"Ah, yeah, so there's not that much difference. No matter what happens, though, we stick together. As best friends and more." Tony smiled back to Ziva. "We're always there for each other."
Ziva closed her eyes and leaned her head on Tony's chest, smiling. "That sounds good. We stick together no matter what." She hugged Tony tightly, then looked up and planted a passionate kiss on his lips.
Tony said nothing but returned the kiss and hugged her in a close embrace. Ziva suddenly moved and sat on top of him, and hugged him even closer, and started kissing him even more passionately.
Tony smiled and went along with the kissing and embracing. After a few moments, he came up for air. "Hey, let's head on inside and explore each other. It's getting a little hot here."
Ziva smiled and nodded. "Good idea. Let's get out of here and head to bed."
"Let's do that." Tony smiled and helped Ziva get out of the hot tub. After he got out of the hot tub, they both walked over to the pool chairs and put on their robes and flung their towels over their shoulders. Tony flicked the light switch off as Tony and Ziva walked out of the doorway leading to the pool room holding their hands together.
A/N: Dear Readers, Wanted to let you know that the time frame in this chapter is before and after the episode, Hiatus in season 3. Also Thank you for the Reviews, Tweets, Messages/Kudos.