Chapter 10
Rule Ten
~~ After the episode "Dead Man Walking" in 2007~~
Tony had just walked into the kitchen at his place and placed the grocery bags on the counter after dropping his backpack next to the doorway in the living room, when he heard a phone ring. "Damnit," Tony muttered as he looked down at the two phones he had on him. The undercover phone's display was off while his personal one was lit up. Looking at the display, he smiled at the name that showed up on the display, and answered the phone. "Hi, Ziva," Tony said as he smiled and breathed out a sigh of relief, glad that the Zilla was leaving him alone for the time being. He felt at ease as he heard Ziva's voice on the phone, and he needed that because this recent case had taken a lot out of him.
Ziva said over the phone, "Hi Tony, I got your coded messages on my phone. It's alright, I understand you had to go while I was busy wrapping up the case with Gibbs. Took a bit longer than expected, but it all worked out."
"Ah, that is good to hear. So, I just got home. How does the idea of you coming over for dinner sound?" Tony raised his hand and ran his hand through his hair, hopeful that Ziva would be able to come. He had been missing the quality time that they spent with each other as of lately.
"Yeah, I'm just now pulling out of the parking garage," Ziva said. Tony could hear the sound of her car engine over the phone speaker as she accelerated out of her garage. "Do you want or need anything from the store?"
"Yeah, get dessert of some kind. See you soon," Tony said as he smiled at Ziva's voice, relieved that Ziva would in fact be able to come over after all and spend the evening at least with him. He had been wanting to visit with Ziva, and talk about some things that had been weighing on his mind lately.
"Okay, will do." Ziva's line went dead as she hung up.
Tony hung up his personal phone and looked down at the other phone that was for undercover work. He took a deep breath, glad that it had been quiet for now. Hope she doesn't call tonight, I sure need the night off, he thought to himself as he stood up and walked to the kitchen to start preparing food. As he went through the motions of preparing the food, the minutes passed by without his notice as he started cooking dinner. Suddenly, he heard his doorbell ring. Putting down his dish rag and spatula, he quickly walked over to the living room door and looked through the peephole and saw that it was Ziva. He quickly opened the door and smiled at Ziva as he welcomed her in. "Hey Ziva." he said.
"Hi Tony," Ziva smiled as she waved at Tony with her free hand as she held up a bag of food. "Got some sweet rolls and dessert on the way in," she said.
"Perfect." Tony smiled at her. "Those sweet rolls'll go well with the chicken Alfredo and salad. A perfect ending to a long day of work, right?" Tony smiled and waggled his eyebrows as he stirred the food he was cooking.
Eventually, after Tony had finished cooking the food, he ladled out a heaping helping onto two plates, one for Ziva and one for himself. As he took the plates to the kitchen table, Ziva got two wine glasses and a bottle of wine and poured out half a glass for both, then sat down at the table.
Tony sat down in front of his dinner and pulled himself up with a loud sigh of relief and satisfaction. "Now, then, dinner, right?" He looked up from his food to Ziva and smiled as he reached across the table and put his hand on hers.
Ziva smiled and said, "Tony, yes, after a long week for both of us trying to crack that case, right?" Ziva reached with her free hand for her salad fork and held her fork over her salad and looked deeply into Tony's eyes, and smiled at him.
Tony smiled and let out a scoff as he said, "Yeah, definitely a long and draining week for us. Glad that's over with, though." He jabbed his fork into a piece of chicken and twirled his fork to pick up some fettucine and put it in his mouth.
Ziva put her salad fork down and looked at Tony. "Tony, I've noticed that you've been busier lately, and we did not have the chance to see each other much like this all week. But something's up, I can feel it. Is everything okay?"
'I'm fine. What could be concerning you?" Tony tilted his head as he looked at Ziva, then he took a bite of his food and looked down at his food as he ate, as if he was preoccupied with his thoughts.
Ziva tried to look into Tony's eyes, but his eyes were locked on his food as he munched away. She sighed and said, "I guess it can wait until after dinner?" Ziva saw in Tony's eyes as he glanced up at her, telling her that he wanted to enjoy the dinner with Ziva without discussing work.
"Mm-hm," he muttered through the food in his mouth as he nodded to her. After swallowing the bite, he said "Look, I do my best thinking when I eat. Something I wanted to talk to you about, but I need to think first." An eyebrow raised on Tony's forehead as he smiled at her.
Ziva smiled and nodded as she took a bite. "Yes, it's delicious. I must learn how to savor food like you do one day," Ziva smiled and reached out her hand to Tony's hand and caressed it as she looked at him.
After dinner and dessert, they cleared away the kitchen table, then sat on the living room couch next to each other. Letting out a sigh as she sat down, she turned and looked at Tony. Seeing something in Tony's eyes, she suddenly had this feeling that Tony had been stressed out about something, but she wasn't sure why. She tilted her head to Tony and said, "Alright, I can tell something's on your mind. What's on your mind?"
"Well, not much. This little issue called work. And sometimes, the things we are forced to do as part of our job. Yeah, it's been stressing me out a lot lately." His face was etched with some of that stress as he had been trying to figure out what he really needed to say. He wasn't sure how Ziva would take things, with regard to him seeing Jeanne as part of his undercover work. Would she take it personally and assume he's really a player?
Ziva raised an eyebrow. "Is that why you're leaving work to see a doctor? For your stress? Because I've been noticing you disappearing randomly from work from time to time."
Tony blinked at Ziva, his face blank. He had no idea what she was talking about. "What makes you say that?" he asked.
"Well, because the other day, I found this business card on the floor. It had a Dr. Benoit on the card if I recall correctly. Is that the doctor you're seeing for your stress?" Ziva looked intently at Tony's eyes, studying them, reading for any hint of clue as to what went on behind those eyes, seeing the internal struggle within.
"So that's where the card went. I thought I'd lost it." Tony let out a short chuckle. "Yeah, she's a doctor, but not the kind you're thinking about. No, she's the real source of my stress."
"How so?" Ziva's face carried the slightest hint of puzzlement, most evident in the subtle furrowing of her forehead. "Tell me, Tony. You know you can tell me anything." Ziva smiled as she reached out and put her hand on Tony's lap.
"Yea, you are right." Tony raised his hands in the air and shrugged as he let out a long sigh. He looked up to the ceiling to try to frame his thoughts, then he looked back down to Ziva. "Apparently this mission I'm on requires me to violate Rule Ten to get the job done." Suddenly, his eyebrows raised as a new thought entered his mind. "Speaking of, Ziva. How's your friend Roy?"
Ziva fell silent as she thought about Roy. After a moment, she said quietly, "He passed away this morning. I helped his parents gather his belongings. They'll have him cremated, like I said at work today."
Just then, Tony's phone rang. The undercover one. He looked at it and just let it ring. "Ah, it can wait," Tony said.
Ziva gave the offending phone the hairy eyeball. "Who could be calling you at this time? And why do you have a different phone? That ring tone is not the same as your phone," Ziva said as she looked back at Tony.
"Ziva, please. It's work-related -" Tony started to say.
Ziva shut Tony down, "Tony, please! Talk to me. What exactly is going on with work? You seem a little odd lately. Secret mission that I don't know about?" Ziva raised an eyebrow and smiled slightly at Tony.
Tony let out a chuckle. "Yeah, well, this one came from the top, pretty much. I'm on an undercover mission, and I have to wing it alone." He let out a sigh. "Just... dangling out there on a limb."
"Ah, I see. Director Shepherd asked you to do an undercover mission solo?" Ziva raised an eyebrow, mulling over the recent news Tony just told her.
"Yup." Tony sat back and nodded. "Can't say too much about it, but I can tell you this: my target is that doctor on the business card you found."
"So, who is Dr. Benoit?" Ziva asked.
"Jeanne. She's a doctor of some sort. Not sure what kind yet." Tony smiled at Ziva.
Ziva let out a chuckle. "She attractive?"
Tony let out a chuckle back to Ziva. "Yeah, but she's not my type. Too high-strung. Too 'zilla' for me." His face twisted into a little bit of a disgusted look.
Ziva laughed at Tony. "So, why did Director Shepherd pick you for the job? Why not McGee?"
Tony laughed. "Have you even seen the McGeek? I don't think he even has any clue how women work in general -"
"Oh, and you do?" Ziva shot back, but was smiling at Tony.
"Oof!" Tony acted as if his heart got stabbed, then smiled at Ziva. "Didn't expect that from you. Anyway, I have no idea why, but apparently she thinks that I'm the perfect fit for the mission. She says I'm like the type of guy to be a ladies' man and that would work the best in this case.
Ziva held up a finger in the air, and said, "Wait, isn't this related to this case that Shepherd was trying to investigate on her own? Ziva wondered aloud, more to herself than to Tony.
"Yep." Tony nodded to Ziva. He stopped himself to come up with the next few words and put them in a way that made the best sense to him. "So, Rule Ten. This zilla wants me to break it. I'm afraid of blowing it with the job and I'm also afraid of blowing it with her, jeopardizing any chance of success with resolving this case."
Ziva shook her head at Tony. "What's this Rule Ten I keep hearing about? Another rule that Gibbs came up with? I can never keep his rule numbers straight."
"Yeah, took me a while, too. Rule Ten means, never get too personal with someone in a case." Tony made air quotes around the phrase as he looked at Ziva.
"Oh, right." Ziva paused, finger on her lips as she considered the thought, recalling the day Tony had warned her not to get too personal with the case. "Tony, was that what you were trying to tell me other day?"
Tony nodded and smiled slightly. "Yes, I was just looking after you as my partner, and I didn't want you getting hurt, especially from Gibbs. I know how he is when it comes to someone violates his rules, trust me." Tony reached out and held Ziva's hand.
Ziva nodded. "Is it about Roy, how I handled the case? Or is it about what you're going through right now?"
Tony let out a sigh. "Both, really. I was doing my best and trying to make sure you were on track on the case and not getting too involved, and yet I have this zilla on the other hand, this Jeanne woman wanting more out of me than what I can give, considering the situation I find myself in." He shrugged and threw his hands up in the air.
"Are you saying that you're getting too far involved and personal with her in this case? Is that what you try to tell me?" Ziva reached out and grasped Tony's hand. She could see the mighty struggle that Tony grappled with in his face.
Tony nodded. "Yeah, at first, I didn't realize the lengths I may have to go in order for this mission to succeed. I mean, I talked to the Director about it, and well, she gave me the okay to proceed at my discretion." Tony let out a sigh, then swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat. "She basically wants me to have sex with her to get close to her."
Ziva's eyes suddenly lit up with comprehension. "I think I know what you're talking about. Honeypot mission." Ziva smiled. "Old trick in the book."
Tony's mind fell over itself. "You know about using sex as a means to get information or goods as part of the mission? I didn't learn this in the police academy," Tony muttered to himself.
Ziva chuckled. "I get the picture. I had one case while I was working for the Mossad where I was investigating one guy. I had to pretend to fall in love with him in order to get close to him – and the information we were after. I had no choice but to sleep with him." Ziva let out a sigh. "The trick in succeeding is being a very, very good actor. And above all, you must never fall in love with the target."
"So, wait, our undercover mission worked because we were able to make it real, because, you know." Tony smiled. "But this is different. This is one high-maintenance woman that I do not even care for. Always wanting this and that and the next thing, and now she wants a family with me and for me to say, 'I love you' to her face?" Tony shook a finger in the air. "Nah. The only woman I will say that to is the one and only Ziva David that's sitting right here with me," Tony said with a smile on his lips.
Ziva was touched by what Tony had just said. "Aw, that's so sweet of you to say!" she exclaimed, smiling at him. Letting her smile drop after a moment, she said, more seriously, "So, with this mission, the best thing you might have to do is just go with the job, and adjust whenever you need to. But always, try to leave some time for us so you can talk about these things you feel. So, I can maybe help you succeed at the mission." Ziva smiled at Tony. "I don't envy your job. Us women agents have it easier, because men are driven by the thing between their legs, while you have to deal with all those emotions that women will throw at men."
Tony laughed. "Didn't expect that from you," he said. "That something you learned in training?"
Ziva smiled and nodded. "Yes, the Mossad trains us to use any means possible to achieve our mission goals. Including sex."
Tony let out a low whistle. "Wow, you Israelis don't leave anything to chance," Tony muttered to himself as he pondered what Ziva said.
"So, your struggle is that you are trying to hold off on saying 'I love you' and committing to marriage while you're doing your job? Ouch, that's gonna be hard," Ziva said and clicked her tongue.
"Right, and not blow the cover that I've maintained with her. For all she knows, I'm just a college professor that she just fell in love with. I cannot ever let her know the real me for obvious reasons. So, that means sleeping with her to make it look real for her."
"I can see why it is so hard when on one hand you have this woman who wants you to commit to a family with her, and yet, on the other hand, we're truly meant be for each other but we can't make any commitments at this time even when we want to. The best advice I can give you is this: don't blow the cover, and do what you have to do. But if you screw up, I'll be coming after you with the paperclips." Ziva smiled and winked at Tony, but her eyes were serious as she looked at Tony.
After a heartbeat, Tony's face broke out in a smile. "You know I won't. And I always keep you close to my heart even as I'm doing my best to be convincing on the job. I'm glad we had this talk because it helped me with a couple of things that had to do with this woman."
"Yeah, I feel the same. Thank you for sharing things with me so I can understand better what you're going and how we'll be able to adjust with this Rule Ten thing." Ziva reached out and patted his hand and smiled at him. "We'll work through this together, like we always do."
Tony smiled at Ziva. "Alright, enough of work talk. How does watching a movie with me sound?" He got up from the couch and took a couple of steps towards the entertainment center.
Ziva chuckled. "Sounds like a good plan, a movie with you would be nice." Ziva smiled at Tony as she reached out for his hand and grasped it for a moment.
"Okay, I'll find something for us to watch. But before I do, this is what I want to do with you," Tony leaned down and nuzzled into Ziva's neck and made a low purring sound as he kissed her gently on her neck and hugged her.
Ziva moaned and chuckled at Tony's touch, especially as he caressed and kissed a particularly sensitive area on her neck. She waved him toward the entertainment center after a moment and said, "Alright, alright, Tony. You go ahead pick a movie, we can cuddle and just relax together." Her senses tingled with his very touch.
Tony let go of her and looked at her, smiling, for a moment, before he turned and walked over to the DVD shelf on the entertainment center. After a couple of moments rifling through the DVD collection, he pulled out a DVD. "How's 'Goldfinger' sound? Classic James Bond movie."
Ziva smiled at Tony. "Whatever you want is fine with me," she said." She sat back in the couch and settled down to wait for Tony to come back.
"Righty-o," Tony said as he slid the DVD into the DVD player. He returned to the couch and sat next to Ziva and snuggled up to her. "It sure feels good to be here with you. You know, just kick back here, watch the movie, put work aside for the night."
Ziva chuckled to Tony. "Best way to end the night. Watching movies, eating stale popcorn if you had any, laughing at the funny scenes or hanging onto the edge of your seat with each action shot." She looked up at Tony and smiled.
Tony chuckled and said, "Enjoying this movie with you, I couldn't ask for anything better. Except maybe for this," he said, then leaned over and held Ziva into his arms and planted a full-on kiss on her lips.
Ziva let out a small chuckle as she returned the kiss and cuddled up with Tony as the movie started playing on the TV screen.
After about an hour or so of watching the movie and the off-and-on making out, the jarring sound of a phone ringing snapped them out of their lovemaking activity. Ziva looked sharply in the general direction of the phone nearby, then looked back at Tony. "That's the second time the phone has rung already. Does this zilla always call you at all hours asking for help with something or another?" Ziva asked as she sat up. She let out a scoff as she threw her hand up in the air. Why did this have to happen right now? She thought to herself as she put her shirt back on.
Tony nodded at Ziva as he got up from the couch. "I guess I need to get that." He let out a sigh as he strode over to the counter and picked up the phone and answered it. "Hello, Tony here."
For the few short moments that Tony talked on the phone, Ziva watched Tony for a few minutes, listening to their conversation. From how the conversation progressed, she got the sense that Tony would be needed, so she quietly stood up and walked over to the table and started to gather her things. She quietly whispered to Tony, "Work-related?"
Tony put his hand over the phone and whispered to Ziva, "Yeah." He then took his hand off the phone and talked into the phone, saying, "Yeah, Jeanne, I'll be over to help out with it." He hung the phone up and saw that Ziva was standing at the table.
"Do you need to go now?" Ziva asked, slinging her purse over her shoulder.
Tony sighed and walked around to Ziva and held her hands. "Yeah, she's calling for help with her plumbing, or something. Like her toilet's backed up or something. I don't know," Tony said as he shrugged his shoulders. "I really don't wanna leave, but it's this job."
Ziva nodded with understanding. "Yes, it's the job. You do what you have to do to get the job done."
Tony let out a short scoff. "Yeah, it's basically that." Tony's lips cracked into a smile, because he felt at ease just now, because he realized that Ziva fully understood the struggle that he went through, and so he stepped over to Ziva and gave her a hug, and planted a kiss on her lips.
After stepping back from the kiss, Ziva said, "You'll call me after you get done?"
"Yeah, if I can tonight. If not, first thing in the morning." Tony smiled at Ziva. "What about you?"
Ziva smiled back at Tony. "I'll wait for your call at my apartment. It's okay." She stroked his cheek, then took one of Tony's hands.
"Yeah, sounds good. Let me get ready then we'll head on out," Tony said as he walked around to gather his things for his mission. Once satisfied he had everything he needed, he took Ziva by the hand and walked out the door with her until they reached their own cars.
A/N: Hi Readers, wanted to say thank you for enjoying this chapter, also thank you in advance for Reviews, Tweets, Messages, Likes/Kudos.