Chapter 11
Secret World
~~After the episode, 'IceMan' 2007~~
Ziva tossed her go-bag next to the entryway as she closed the door behind her. As she slipped out of her shoes, she let out a sigh of relief, glad that the recent case had come to a close successfully. It had been full of unexpected twists and turns, but the end result had left her full of thoughts. Ones that she wanted to share with Tony, but was on hold because of Tony's current situation of having to live another form of double life. As she considered this, she shook her head slightly to herself and walked across the living room to the couch and flopped down in it with an exhausted sigh. She reached out to the end table and fumbled for the remote to the TV and turned the TV on to a random channel. As she watched the TV but didn't pay attention to what was on it, her mind somehow found itself thinking about Tony, and the interesting situation he had to deal with, while working undercover. She also thought about earlier that day, when she saw the baby in the mother's arms in the back of the taxi cab as former agent Franks was preparing to leave the area for Mexico. What possible implications that meant for her and Tony's situation. Just then, her phone rang, snapping her out of her thoughts. She quickly pulled her phone out of her pocket and answered it. "Hello?"
"Hey, Ziva." Tony's warm voice sounded over the phone's speaker, bringing a smile to Ziva's face. "You home yet?"
Ziva smiled as she answered Tony. "Yes, I was just watching TV now. Don't know what they were saying because I was thinking."
"What're you thinking about?" Tony asked.
"You," Ziva said, a touch of happiness in her voice transmitting over the airwaves to Tony. "Wondering if you're having to do the job tonight with that Jeanne."
Tony's chuckle reached her ears. He said, "Nah. Got the okay from the Director to be off for the weekend so I can recharge myself. I sure need the break." He let out a sigh over the phone, then continued talking. "Told Jeanne that I had to be out of town on some university conference for professors. She bought hook, line, and sinker." Tony chuckled yet again.
Ziva chuckled to Tony. "What if she looks it up and finds it to be not true?"
"I'm covered there. McGee found a professors' conference happening and so I was able to tell her the 'truth' about it. Emphasis on the quotes, of course." Tony's chuckle sounded yet again over the phone.
Ziva smiled and nodded. "That's good. You're learning the tricks of the trade, maintain your cover. I know it's hard, but that's what allows you to have the most chance for success."
"I'll swing by and pick you up, if that's alright?" Tony said, a hopeful tone in his voice.
"That would be wonderful. I'd rather be anywhere but here at the moment," Ziva said, a smile on her face.
"Be there in a few minutes," Tony said before the line went dead.
Ziva hung up the phone and held it to her chest, smiling. Now she was happy, looking forward to spending some quality time with Tony, because she'd been starting to crave the feel of Tony in her arms as of late.
Forty-five minutes later, Ziva was on the road with Tony, headed to the beach house that belonged to Tony. "Feels good to get out of town for a change, doesn't it?" Tony said as he drove his car.
"Mm." Ziva nodded. "I wasn't sure if you had to be playing the hard-to-get guy catering to that woman's every need just to get us in for the Director's agenda."
Tony nodded. "Yeah, I was able to convince the director that I needed the time off, and also told her that I found this professor's conference and I intend to use it to my fullest advantage." He glanced at Ziva and flashed a smile. "Not one to waste a perfectly good opportunity to spend some time with you."
Ziva chuckled. "At least you find ways to balance yourself, and to de-stress from the mission. And from that woman herself, also. It sounds like she's high-stringed."
Tony smiled at Ziva. "The correct term is high-strung. I like to call her very high maintenance, not just high-strung. She really tests me, you know?"
Ziva scoffed at the remark. "I can see that. Glad you get some time off. McGee know where we're going?"
Tony see-sawed one hand in the air. "Kinda sorta. I told him I'll be out of town, but not exactly where. But did tell him if anything major comes up, he's the one calling me, not Gibbs."
Ziva raised an eyebrow as she looked at Tony. "Not Gibbs?"
Tony sighed. "Gibbs doesn't need to know where we took off of if we're together for the weekend. The less he knows, the better."
"And McGee takes the responsibility to let us know because he knows our little secret," Ziva said as she nodded. "Whoever he reaches first, he can always say that one of us contacted the other."
"You got it." Tony steered the car off the highway onto the road that led to the beach house. "Getting close, now," he said.
Ziva smiled; she'd always loved the solitude of the beach house, because it gave the both of them a sense of a safe haven from the daily worries of life. "Looking forward to spending the weekend there," she said as she laid a hand on Tony's lap, caressing it, feeling the muscles under her hands flex slightly as he controlled the gas pedal and brake.
A few moments after they had brought in their things and deposited most of them near the living room door, they brought the remainder to the kitchen. It was mostly drinks, snack food, and other odds and ends for the kitchen. Tony busied himself with putting the food away as Ziva stepped out onto the balcony to take in the sun setting over the ocean. She breathed in the salty tang of the ocean air and exhaled, feeling relaxed for once as she leaned her hands on the deck railing and admired the scenery.
"Nice sunset, isn't it?" Tony walked up behind Ziva and gave her a hug from behind her and put his chin on her shoulder. "What better way to spend the time looking at the sunset than with someone you love the most?" Tony smiled as he gave Ziva a sidelong glance.
Ziva put her hands on Tony's arms and held them close to her midriff and smiled. "Feels good to be in your arms again," she whispered into Tony's ear.
Tony chuckled quietly. "Your touch calms me. I can never feel comfortable with that woman, tell you the truth. She makes me feel... dirty. I don't know how to describe it," Tony said.
"Out here, it feels clean. Let us enjoy this," Ziva said simply. She smiled and turned and hugged Tony and planted a full-on kiss on his lips.
Tony looked at Ziva and smiled at her as they broke for air. He reached out for her hand and held it. He tilted his head and asked, "What sounds good for dinner? Delivery, take-out?"
Ziva's eyebrows jumped up and a smile formed on her lips. "What about that little pizza place that we passed? Do they deliver?" Ziva smiled at Tony, holding his hand.
"I think they do, let me check." Tony let go of Ziva and smiled at her. "I'll be back in a second." He turned and walked into the house. Tony looked up the number of the pizzeria, and was delighted to see that they did indeed deliver pizza. Smiling to himself, he picked up the phone and placed an order for a pizza with a side of pasta and breadsticks, and some salad to go along with the food.
After the food was delivered, Tony brought it all out to the deck and set it on the patio table. He looked up at Ziva, who was still enjoying the sunset at the deck railing. "Dinner's here," he said to Ziva.
"Oh, wonderful." Ziva went into the house and returned moments later with the plates and silverware. "Here we go," Ziva said as she set the plates on the table.
"Even better than these flimsy paper plates they stuff in the bags with the pizza for you," Tony said as he flashed a smile to Ziva. "That's good thinking."
Ziva nodded. "You know, I saw the lighthouse off in the distance over there. Wonder why it's not shining its light tonight," she said.
Tony looked out over the beach toward the distant lighthouse. "They might be maintaining their beacon tonight. Plus, you have hardly a cloud in the sky, a full moon out."
"That makes sense," Ziva nodded as she returned her gaze from the lighthouse back to Tony. "This food looks delicious." She picked up her fork and started eating her salad.
"If you want, we can head over to the lighthouse later on in the evening," Tony said. "I've always liked it just after sunset, just sitting out on the beach, enjoying the stars and the moon on a cloudless night like this."
"I'd love that," Ziva said as she smiled to Tony. "It's a nice night to be eating out under the stars as the sun sets."
As the last rays of the sun disappeared over the horizon, Tony looked at it, marvelling at how the sky quickly changed to an indigo color, the stars popping out in sharp relief on the night sky, the moon shining its pale light over everything. "Wow, it's always wonderful to see all the stars, away from the city. Look at all those stars up there!" Tony held a hand up to the sky and looked around it.
Ziva chewed on her bite of pizza and looked up at the sky and said nothing. She only smiled at the wondrous night sky as it blossomed in the sky as the sun finally set. She reached out and held Tony's hand.
After their dinner, they had cleaned up, then walked a good distance to get to the lighthouse. Near the lighthouse, Tony found a clean, flat spot to lay the picnic blanket on the ground as Ziva stood holding the picnic basket that carried their dessert and a bottle of chilled wine and glasses. "There we go," Tony said, satisfied that the blanket was smoothed down and ready for them.
"Looks good," Ziva said as she stepped onto the edge of the blanket and sat down with the picnic basket. She set the picnic basket in front of her and opened it. As she opened the picnic basket, she looked up at the sky, and saw a faint shooting star streak across the sky above her. She blinked and shook her head slightly, then flicked her eyes back down to Tony. He hadn't noticed the shooting star, she noticed. "Here we go," she said, as she pulled out the wine bottle.
"Allow me," Tony said as he took the bottle from Ziva and produced a wine bottle opener. He twisted the bottle opener into the cork and then pulled the cork off with a pop!
"Here," Ziva said quietly as she held out the wine glasses for Tony to pour the wine into. A small smile formed on her lips.
"There we go," Tony said, satisfied with his pouring. He put the cork back in the bottle and set it aside and got the dessert out and set it between them, then took a glass from Ziva and held it up in the air. "A toast to a good week," he said.
Ziva chuckled. "I'll toast to that. This case sure was an interesting one, I'll say. Made me think about some things."
Tony's eyebrow raised halfway on his forehead. "Oh? What about?"
Ziva took a sip of her wine and thought about what she wanted to talk about. As she took the wine glass away from her lips, words made their way to her lips and she said, "What if that was me holding the baby?"
Tony set his glass down carefully and slowly looked at Ziva. "Don't tell me you're pregnant, you just drank some wine!"
Ziva chuckled and reached out and gently slapped Tony on his shoulder. "No, I'm not! But, seriously, what if it happened?"
"What got you thinking about it?" Tony asked. He had never considered the possibility of that happening until now. His mind came to a full stop as the possibility of that happening came into sharp relief against the backdrop of how he'd been spending time with Ziva.
"Well, seeing that baby in the back seat of that taxi as Mike Franks was getting ready to leave with his son's fiancee'. How cute the baby looked." Ziva smiled at Tony. "Just wondering how our baby would look if it ever happened that we had one."
Tony smiled at Ziva. "Now that would be interesting to think about. A baby boy, maybe?" He shrugged and tilted his head to Ziva, a smile still on his lips.
Ziva smirked and shook her head at Tony. "I think it'll be a girl, maybe. Curly hair, tiny little teeth peeking through her gums." She smiled at Tony. "Oh, how adorable the baby would be, either way." Just then, a large shooting star flamed across the sky high above her. Ziva gasped and looked up at the sky. "Did you see that?"
Tony blinked at Ziva. "I saw a flash. What was that?" His head craned up to the sky above him and tried to look at what Ziva had seen.
"A shooting star," Ziva said. "Right when I started talking about the baby." She looked back at Tony. "You don't think -"
"Naw!" Tony said, shrugging it off. "Gotta be a coincidence."
Ziva blinked back at Tony. She suddenly had this indescribable feeling that this was not a mere coincidence. She had seen the shooting stars coinciding with what she has talked to Tony about in the past. "I don't know," she said quietly, more to herself than to Tony. She looked back up to Tony. "But there's another question."
"What's that?" Tony leaned back and looked at Ziva.
Ziva let out a sigh. "Rule Twelve. Gibbs?"
"What about him?" Tony asked.
Ziva's head bobbed rapidly in an exasperated nod. "What will Gibbs do with us if he finds out?"
"Fire me, maybe. I don't know about you," Tony said. He shrugged and held his hands in the air. "I don't really get why he has such a problem with it, to be honest."
"Well, no, because what if I left before Gibbs ever found out I was pregnant? Your job will still be safe. In any case, I'll just head on home to Israel because I'm not an agent of NCIS, after all. I think you'll still be able to have contact with me," Ziva said as she smiled and put her hand on Tony's. "I believe it will all work out in the end," she said as she shrugged. Just then, another shooting star streaked across the sky, and this time, only Ziva saw it. She let out a small gasp and blinked.
Tony looked at Ziva. "What is it?"
Ziva blinked and shook her head. "Nothing. Just had a thought in my mind, but it's slipped right now."
Tony sat back upright and looked at Ziva. "So, wait. Are you saying if you got pregnant, you'd just take off with my baby to Israel?"
Ziva swallowed as her head did a slow nod. "Tony, understand this. I want to protect you. If it ever comes to this, I want to have the baby in Israel." She held up a hand, forestalling Tony, and continued on. "Don't worry, I'll make sure you're in the baby's life. I promise you that." Ziva reached out and stroked her hand on Tony's cheek, smiling at him.
Tony reached up and held Ziva's hand on his cheek and smiled at her. "Well, that'll work, I think. It'll be a challenge for me, for sure. But I will do anything to deal with Gibbs and keep him off your back. If it doesn't work out, well, y'know, I can always just pick up and come out for you and start a family with you."
Another shooting star streaked across the sky above them, and Ziva quickly reached out and hugged and full-on kissed Tony.
After a few moments, she came up for air, and said, "I would love that. I think it'll all work out in the end for us no matter what happens."
"Yeah, I think so, too." Tony smiled at Ziva. He looked more squarely in Ziva's face. "Y'know, I think I'd be a good Dad one day, just as you would be an awesome mother one day." Tony reached to hug Ziva, looking at Ziva, "Maybe, one day, we can make it happen."
Ziva smiled and cuddled up in Tony's arms, relishing the warmth that radiated off of Tony. "Just imagine, you and me sitting on the front porch, watching our children run around the front yard playing." Ziva held a hand out skittering in the air, indicating children running around in the yard.
Tony smiled. "Definitely a welcome change from being shot at every so often on the job, right?" Before Ziva could answer, he leaned over and placed a full-on kiss on Ziva's lips.
Ziva reached up and hugged Tony, and made out with him Moments later, Ziva came up for air and looked deep in Tony's eyes. She said softly, "Thank you for this conversation. I feel better because of all the 'what ifs' that was in my mind. I just wanted to prepare myself – and you – for any possibility, any eventuality." Ziva smiled at Tony.
Tony nodded to Ziva and smiled. "I understand. I'd totally do the same for you." Tony encircled Ziva in his arms and hugged her close to him. He looked up at the sky, taking in the beauty of the star-studded night sky. Suddenly, a shooting star streaked across the sky. "Did you see that?" He looked back at Ziva.
Ziva smiled at Tony. "Maybe I did, maybe I didn't. Maybe I want to check your knee out?"
"My knee's fine," Tony said, before realizing what she really meant. When realization clicked in, he slowly smiled as he looked at Ziva's moon-lit face. "Oh, that knee, you're talking about?"
Ziva chuckled and pushed Tony back onto the blanket and laid on top of him and kissed him passionately.
Just then, a shooting star streaked over the sky with a faint roar. Tony sat up and looked at the sky. "Whoa, I heard that!"
Ziva looked up sharply at the sky. "Let's not jinx this! I don't want to get pregnant! Not here, not now!"
Tony guffawed at Ziva. "Just what is it with you and shooting stars anyway? Every time you say something important it seems, a shooting star appears."
Ziva's eyes were wide for a moment as she shook her head and shrugged her shoulders. "I have been asking myself that for a long time. Every time I've said something in the past and a shooting star appears, it's happened."
Tony sat up a little straighter. "You're kidding me." As he saw the look on Ziva's face changed, his eyes went wider and he said, "You're serious? So that means if you see a shooting star appear, something will happen in your life?"
Ziva put a hand on Tony's arm. "Remember when you came and saved me from Ari when I was young? The night before, I prayed and asked for protection, someone to be there for me in my time of need. Just then, a shooting star appeared in the sky. I've always had that ever since. You're the first to know about this."
Tony gasped in surprise. "Oh, wow. A gift that you have? One that you never understood until now?"
Ziva shook her head. "I still don't understand it. The best I can say, is it's Destiny. The same Destiny that's always brought us together over the years."
Tony looked back up at the sky, speechless for a few long moments. Considering what Ziva had just told him, he thought back to the days he had met Ziva, seemingly by chance, but slowly coming to a realization, that it was more than mere chance that they had come together over the years, and now are together on this very night. He reached out and hugged Ziva, still not saying anything, and kissed her on the top of her head.
Ziva smiled and melted in Tony's arms, returning his hug and then kissing him on his lips. As they cuddled and embraced each other, showing their love for each other, the stars wheeled above in the sky above them, and the moon spread its pale light over everything. A shooting star speared across the sky, leaving a light trail across the sky the slowly faded.
A/N: Dear Readers, Thank you for the Reviews, Tweets, Messages, Likes/Kudos.