Chapter 12
You Blink Once, You're Gone
~~Post episode, Bury Your Dead, Ziva's Apartment 2007~~
As Tony dozed in bed, his ears picked up the distant sound of a phone ringing. Tony's eyes snapped open, his brain jarred awake at the sound of the phone ringing. As he opened his eyes a bit more fully, for a moment he didn't recognize where he was. Momentarily disoriented, he looked over at the clock and realized that he was sleeping at Ziva's apartment. He sat further upright, letting out a grunt, and turned his head so he could look at the clock better. Blinking his eyes a couple of times to clear the sleep out of them, he noticed that the time on the clock read 10:58. Instinctively, as if he was late to work, Tony flipped the covers off with a yelp and jumped out of bed and quickly made his way to the kitchen, where he heard his phone still ringing. "Oh shoot! I must've overslept," he muttered to himself. Just before he could pick the phone up from the kitchen table, however, it stopped ringing. He stopped at the kitchen table, his brain slowing down. He let out a sigh of relief as he remembered that he had been given the day off. He reached down and picked the phone up anyway and looked at it, noticing it was Ziva calling him. He quickly rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and redialed the number and waited as the phone rang.
"Tony, are you okay? I just missed calling you," Ziva answered after the second ring. Concern was evident in her voice.
Tony stifled a yawn over the phone and said, "Hey, there, Ziva. What's up?"
On the other end of the phone, Ziva's head did a quick shake as she took the phone away from her ear and quickly glanced at the phone, then put the phone back up to her ear. Tony must've been exhausted, she thought to herself as she replied, "Hi Tony, good morning. Did I wake you up?" A small smirk formed on Ziva's lips.
Tony sighed and smiled. "Yeah, overslept a tiny bit. Just missed getting your phone, so here I am." His voice brightened at the end.
"Awesome, I am about to leave the garage parking lot. Just thought I'd call to let you know I'm on my way home. And guess what, McGee's also coming." A short pause followed as Ziva had to maneuver her car through traffic, then she started talking again. "But he's stopping first to pick up some takeout to bring over for us." Ziva smiled internally because she knew that Tony loved to walk around the place with only his boxers on when they weren't expecting visitors.
"Oh? What kind of takeout is he getting us?" Tony asked, a smile forming on his lips. He sighed to himself in relief with the knowledge that he didn't have to fix breakfast after all. He walked over to the coffee machine.
"How does burritos sound to you?" Ziva asked.
Tony guffawed. "Why, that sounds splendid. Good way to give myself a pick-me-up. I'll throw some coffee on while I wait, I guess."
Ziva laughed over the phone. "You got it. Make sure you use the good coffee. Smells better to me."
Tony chuckled. "Righty-o, some gourmet coffee coming right up. You'll get none of the swill they serve at work here, oh no." Tony lowered his voice to almost a whisper. "Hey, thank you for the heads up. See you guys soon, I'll make myself presentable." Tony smiled.
"Awesome, see you soon." Ziva nodded with a smile as she hung her phone up.
A short time later, Tony heard the keys rattling in the doorway. He got up but only made it halfway up before the door opened, then closed. As he saw Ziva walking into the living room and dropping her bag onto the floor next to the door, he smiled broadly at her as she turned to look at him. "Well, look at what the cat dragged in," he said, chuckling to Ziva.
"Hey Tony," Ziva smiled as she walked toward Tony, reaching out to hug Tony as she reached him.
"Gibbs sending you guys home early for the day?" Tony asked in a near whisper, a small smile on his lips.
"Yep. Got our fieldwork done a little earlier than we expected. So, looks like the case seems to be on hold for now, so we shall see as time goes on." Ziva shrugged and smiled at Tony.
"So, what kind of burritos is the Elf Lord getting us, anyway?" Tony smiled at Ziva as he held her in his arms.
Ziva chuckled. "Your favorite. He always remembers what you typically order." Ziva smiled as she patted Tony on his stomach.
"Oh yeah." Tony chuckled at Ziva, then let go of her and walked to the cabinet. "I'll get the table set up for the three of us."
Just then, the doorbell rang. "That must be him," Ziva said as she walked up to the door and put her eye up to the peephole. She saw McGee standing in front of the door, smiling as he held the bags of food in his hands. She quickly unlocked the door and opened it and held her hand out. "Hi McGee. Come on in." Ziva reached out to grab a bag from McGee as he walked into the living room.
"Thanks," McGee said to Ziva as he gave her a quick nod. "Sorry about the delay. Traffic, you know. Managed to find a parking spot close by. Couple cars away from Tony's." McGee flashed a smile to Tony. "And a good morning to you, too, bro."
"Hey McGeek." Tony walked toward McGee, and patted McGee on his shoulder. Tony had always looked at McGee as if he was a long-lost brother at heart.
Moments later the trio sat down at the kitchen table with their food. As Ziva picked up her burrito and looked at the order written on the ticket, she smiled in satisfaction. "Food looks good, McGee. Pulled chicken, as always."
"And some salad to go along with it," McGee said, pointing to her salad. "You always order the pulled chicken burrito, while we men get the pulled pork burritos. Good food to eat while we think, right?" McGee let out a short chuckle as he looked at Tony.
Ziva glanced over at Tony. "Well, at least Tony does." Ziva chuckles as she moved her salad in front of her.
"Moi?" Tony put a hand on his chest, an innocent expression on his face. His head tilted to Ziva.
Ziva chuckled and punched Tony playfully on his arm, shaking her head slightly, a smile on her face. "Yes, you and your food. You always eat when you think."
"What? I do my best thinking while I eat," Tony protested, albeit a bit playfully, as he picked up his burrito. "Now, that's a man's burrito right there," he said, as he held the giant burrito in his hand. "All the protein a guy could want or need for the day, and a day's worth of thinking, done during one meal. Perfect way to start off the day."
McGee chuckled and patted Tony on his shoulder. He pointed at Tony's food and said, "Well, at least for now we don't have to cram our food like at work. No 'gear up' calls today." McGee smiled at Tony and Ziva.
"That's right. We're done for the day, like he said." Ziva nodded at McGee's remark, as she took a bite of a salad.
"That's good. Now the weekend awaits us." Tony smiled as he brought his burrito up to his mouth and took a bite.
McGee smiled as he took a bite out of his burrito. "Yeah. Just felt like coming over and spending a bit of time with you two, you know? Especially after what happened not too long ago." An eyebrow flicked upward as McGee flashed a look at Tony.
Tony sighed. "I guess this morning I overslept. Felt good, though. I certainly needed that after the excitement yesterday of nearly getting myself blown up." He nervously ran his hands through his hair, then reached down and grabbed his mug and took a sip of coffee.
McGee nodded. "Imagine what it was like for us in MTAC, seeing that feed live of your car blowing up into pieces right before our eyes. Not a sound from Gibbs, but I heard someone scream out Tony's name. Thought it was the Director."
Ziva shook her head slightly to McGee. "No, that was me. I almost started crying right there in that room, but I had to push it down. Seeing that car blow up, I thought I'd lost you, Tony." She put a hand on Tony's arm. "It was like a part of me died within," she said, almost a whisper.
Tony gulped hard, realizing that it had affected Ziva more than he had expected. "I'd hate to think about what would happen if I suddenly disappeared in that cloud." He let out a long sigh. "Hope to never have that kind of close call again. Almost gave me a heart attack, for sure."
"After that happened, I had to run to the bathroom and lock myself in and cry for a bit," Ziva said. "Spent a little bit of time getting myself back together so I can do my work for the rest of the day." She gulped back emotions and continued, her voice breaking slightly. "It was hard on me. But I'm happy that it was not you in that car." Ziva let out a sigh.
McGee added, "When I saw her head to the bathroom, I went after her to make sure she was okay. Talked with her about some things, away from everybody else, until she was able to calm down enough to get the job done for the day."
"Playing counselor there, aren't you, McPsychologist?" Tony chuckled.
McGee chuckled back at Tony. "Well, it was hard for us all."
"I don't think I would know what to do without you, Tony," Ziva said, her voice barely above a whisper. A tear formed at the corner of her eyes. "I don't think I can take part of me dying every time I see or hear about you getting killed on the job. Even though I work for the same place as you do."
"Well, I'd feel the same thing if it happened to you too, Ziva." Tony let out a sigh. "We take our chances every time we go out there and do our jobs."
McGee's eyebrows flicked upwards momentarily. "You got that right. Ninety-nine percent of the time everybody makes it home at the end of the day. But it's that one percent of uncertainty that you always have to expect on this line of duty."
Tony nodded to McGee. "I've learned this in police training, and this job emphasizes it: you never know when your call-out is going to become 'end-of-watch' for you. Yet, we do the job because we like to feel like we made a difference in people's lives." Tony looked at Ziva and shrugged his shoulders.
Ziva tilted her head at Tony and looked at him intently. "What did the director say in there when you had your debriefing with her and Gibbs?"
Tony let out a derisive chuckle. "Told her everything that happened on that day. You know, to update her on what was said, what happened, all the way up to when my car blew up." He let out a scoff. "The one thing that ticked me off about the debriefing is this. Shepherd first said that it was alright to 'fall in love' with this woman, but gets on my case for actually falling in love with her? And sleeping with her? I don't quite get it." Tony scratched his head.
"That's interesting. She thought that would probably be the best way to get to her dad, obviously." McGee shook his head.
Tony sighed and shook his head. "You should have seen Gibbs when he found out what was happening. He was furious at her for putting me in that position where my life would be at very great risk."
"Oh, yes. I saw Gibbs coming down the stairs with steam coming out of his ears." She mimicked steam wafting out from her ears. "Can't say I blame him for that one." She let out a sigh and turned to Tony and looked at him. "When I saw you walk into the bullpen, my heart sang and I was so relieved to see you alive." Ziva smiled as she reached out and held Tony's hand.
"Steam coming out of his ears, fire in his eyes, huh? That's Gibbs for you," Tony sighed. "Well, I'll tell you something, though. I'm just glad I don't have to work on that mission anymore. Now I get to enjoy these delicious burritos with you two," he said, and then took a big bite.
After some time and more conversation, McGee suddenly realized how much time had gone past. He got up from his chair and said, "I didn't realize how much time had gone past. I need to take off and do some things."
Ziva got up with McGee, followed almost immediately by Tony. She smiled at McGee and said, "Well, it was wonderful to have you over for a good lunch and a good conversation. Hope you have a good weekend."
"Yeah, a good weekend typing out your story as usual, right?" Tony said as he mimicked McGee typing out on his typewriter. "Or maybe gaming?" His hands changed to mimic holding a joystick and blasting imaginary space invaders out of thin air.
McGee chuckled. "Maybe some gaming after I get some food for the weekend and stuff." He shrugged his shoulders. "We'll see how things go."
"Right," Tony said, chuckling. "And I'll maybe watch some more classics so I can annoy you some more come Monday."
"I'm looking forward to it," McGee said, a small chuckle escaping his lips. "Boss might not, though."
Tony let out a scoff. "Only one thing makes him happy, and that's him mainlining coffee. Black, no sugar. Every day, all day long. If I drink as much as he does I'd be so jumpy I'd be seeing three of you."
Ziva shook her head and laughed at Tony. "Yes, Gibbs and his coffee. Does he ever not have a cup of coffee in his hands?"
Tony laughed. "Only when he's driving or sleeping, from the looks of it."
McGee laughed. "I'll remember that on Monday, for sure. See you then." He turned and walked out the door, closing it behind him.
Tony chuckled as he watched the door close. He then looked back at Ziva and smiled at her. "What do you say, we spend the weekend together?"
Ziva smiled. "I can see you need the time off. Enjoy some quiet for a change. With me, of course." She stroked Tony's cheek.
Tony reached up and held her hand on his cheek. "Mm, your touch. Feels good especially after everything that's happened. I'd rather be alive and be with you rather than that woman, to be honest. She's so danged pushy." Tony shook himself as if trying to shake her out of his mind. He was starting to have this gnawing sense of unease about her. About how Jeanne wanted him to marry her and start a family when he really wasn't feeling it with her. He had been doing his job, but he had made the mistake of allowing his feelings to dictate the flow of things, not the mission itself, he realized.
Ziva looked at Tony and smiled. "I know that it's hard with missions of this nature. That's why I ended up not doing missions of this type anymore. Took too much out of me and I came close to not being able to do my job."
Tony sighed. "Right. Right now, I just want to be with you, and relax. Forget about the last couple of days and just chill." He pointed to the TV. "And watch classics all weekend long until I can maybe forget about this mission. It took a lot out of me." He sighed and whispered to himself, "Never again."
Ziva moved closer to Tony and cuddled up alongside him and said, "I hear that. Do you think you'd feel better if I'm next to you watching classics with you? I'd imagine that'd help," a coy smile started to form on her lips as she slowly ran a finger up and down Tony's arm.
Tony's smile followed hers as he looked down and followed her finger trailing lines on his arm. "Wouldn't think of anyone else to spend time with, especially now." Tony reached around Ziva and pulled her closer to him and he looked her into her eyes. "Glad I can continue looking at your eyes and seeing your feelings."
Ziva planted a full-on kiss on Tony's lips, then sat back after a moment with a smile on her face. "And I'm glad I can continue being with you also," she said.
A/N: Dear Readers, Wanted to say thank you for enjoying this, more to come soon, with this, thank you in advance for the Reviews, Tweets, Messages, and Kudos.