A/N: I suggest listening to "Still of the Night" when you get to the lyrics. Now, enjoy!
Chapter Ten
Back at the office, the team was once again at their desks. Abby was analyzing the tuft of fur that McGee had found, even though Tony knew it would be a match to Kort in his wolf form. Besides, there didn't seem to be a whole lot to do on the Madison case . . . and he did have to see Jeanne. . . .
He stood up and grabbed his jacket. "Cover for me, will you, Ziva?" Luckily, Gibbs was refilling his coffee cup and McGee had just left to take a leak—or so Tony assumed.
"Uh, sure," she replied. By then, Tony was on his way out of the building via the elevator. At least a half hour later, he was knocking on the door of Jeanne's apartment and back in the game as his cover.
Jeanne's face peered warily at him from the slightly-opened door. "Yes?"
"You did want to see me, did you not? Jeanne, what's wrong?"
Sighing, she opened the door further and stepped back, inviting him in. It didn't take long before she asked what had been on her mind all day: "Tony, was any of what happened last night real?"
Wow. That was rather blunt and to the point. Now, how to answer . . . "Uh, well," he started, but was interrupted by Jeanne's relieved look. "So it wasn't real?"
"Uh, actually, I hate to burst your bubble, but . . ."
Her green eyes widened in horror. "Oh, God. You really can turn into a wolf." She rapidly moved away from him.
"Jeanne, I had to shift to save your life!"
It didn't appear that she was comprehending what he was saying. Clearly, the PTSD was kicking in—that, or she just couldn't believe it.
"That other one was a she-wolf, wasn't it?"
Tony was surprised by the question. He met her gaze and instead ended up looking past her at the dark windows. Startled, he looked at his watch and saw it was seven o'clock at night. Had he really spent all afternoon at his desk? It sure didn't feel like it. Then again, everything about this case had him on edge.
"Tony." Jeanne's voice was sharp. "Answer me!"
DiNozzo forced his mouth to move. "Yes, she was. Why do you want to know?"
She refused to answer. When she finally spoke, her voice was low. "Get out, Tony." Before he could even protest, she was ushering him out of her apartment. The door slammed shut in his face when he turned back to look at her, gauge how she was taking this. Not well, obviously.
When Tony made it back on the streets, a figure was leaning against his car. Its features were distorted since it was hidden in shadows. However, this person's scent and his night vision made it easy for him to identify it.
"What are you doing here, Ziva?"
His partner relaxed her position and took a few steps closer to him. "I was looking for you. It actually makes sense, what Kort and Meghan said, and I figured it wasn't safe to travel alone at night."
"Ziva, how did you get here?"
"I ran."
He knew without asking that she'd shifted to do it. "Are you crazy? What if someone saw you?"
"No one did." She shrugged. "Besides, you know how poor Statics' night vision is. You hungry?"
"Not particularly."
Ziva went around to the driver's side door and opened it. "Come on, then. I'm driving you home."
"Correction," Tony said as he slid inside his Mustang, "I am driving you home. Besides, I don't want you wrecking my 'Stang."
She rolled her eyes and went around to the shotgun seat. Before her door was even shut all the way, Tony's Mustang had pulled out of its parking spot and was on the road. The Mossad liaison shut it, buckled up, and glared at him. "Don't ever do that again."
"Of course not," the movie buff replied with a smirk.
...
From the dark shadows of an alley, two figures watched the two NCIS Shifters. One looked at the other and ordered, "Follow them, but stay out of sight."
His companion nodded and took off on a motorbike, grumbling, "How often have we gone over this?"
Once the taillight was a small red dot in the distance, the boss melted into the shadows, watching, waiting . . .
...
After ten minutes of silence, Ziva suddenly switched on the radio. Tony had left it on the classic rock station, and the opening notes of a Whitesnake hit filled the Mustang.
Oh no, Tony thought, mentally cringing.
In the still of the night
I hear the wolf howl, honey
Sniffing around your door
In the still of the night
I feel my heart beating heavy
Telling me I gotta have more
In the shadow of the night
I see the full moon rise
Telling me what's in store
My heart starts aching
My body started shaking
And I can't take no more
No, no
Now I just wanna get close to you
And taste your love so sweet
And I just wanna make love to you
Feel your body heat
In the still of the night
In the still of the night
Over here baby
DiNozzo was uncomfortably aware of Ziva's brown gaze boring into him. She warned, "Don't even think about it, Tony."
But how could he not? After all, it wasn't Jeanne's name inked in ancient letters on his back.
Not that Ziva knew.
In the heat of the day
I hang my head down low
And hide my face from the sun
Through the light of the day
Until the evening time
I'm waiting for the night to come
Ooh baby
In the still of the night
In the cool moonlight
I feel my heart is aching
In the still of the night
"Abby was playing this song earlier, was she not?" Ziva asked suddenly.
"Yeah, but come on, it's not like the radio station knew that." Tony suddenly became aware of a single headlight in the rearview mirror that had been there for a few minutes. "Hang on, Zi. We're being followed."
He instantly swung left onto a side street. The motorbike followed. Tony finally lost it after a few more turns and shooting back out onto the main street. All the while, "Still of the Night" kept playing. It wasn't as if the radio station knew they were being tailed, after all.
Ooh, baby
Ooh, Lord
I can't keep away
Need to be closer
I can't keep away
Can't keep away
Can't keep away
I can't keep away, no
You gotta give me love
Got to give me some loving everyday
Can't keep away
Ooh, baby
Ooh, Lord
Ahh
Tell me here, baby
Without warning, pain erupted on his right shoulder. "What was that for?" he hissed, turning to Ziva. The Mossad liaison was glaring at him. "Get your mind out of the gutter, DiNozzo!" she growled.
"Will you quit reading my mind?" Tony made a mental note to dampen his thoughts whenever his partner was around. There was no telling what she'd do if she knew everything that went on in his head.
In the still of the night
I hear the wolf howl, honey
Sniffing around your door
In the still of the night
I feel my heart beating heavy
Telling me I gotta have more
Ooh! Mama
Now I just wanna get close to you
And taste your love so sweet
And I just wanna make love to you
Feel your body heat
In the still of the night
Oh, yeah
In the still of the night
I will be sneaking 'round your door
He could tell Ziva was growing nervous . . . of him, maybe? That was crazy; he wouldn't intentionally do anything to hut her! Besides, she would definitely have him down on the floor, bleeding, in three seconds flat, in either this form or her wolf one.
It wasn't like he wanted to do what the song said anyway . . . right?
In the still of the night
In the still of the night
Ain't nothing gonna stop me now
Still of the night
Still of the night
Still of the night
Still of the night
Still of the night
Still of the night
Still of the night
Still of the night
Still of the night
Another song came on after that—something by Van Halen—but Tony wasn't really paying attention. He was much more focused on Ziva: her scent, the Israeli accent that became more pronounced whenever she was upset about something, her underneath him on their undercover mission last year . . . okay, now he was stepping into forbidden territory. She would kill him is she found out how he secretly felt about her . . . unless she felt the same way . . .?
"Tony, you can pull up here. We're at my apartment building," Ziva said, bringing him back.
The senior field agent stopped the Mustang, watching his partner as she climbed out. "You want me to walk you in?" he asked before he lost his nerve.
A startled look flashed briefly across her face before she replied with a slight smile, "Sure. I'd like that, I guess."
As they walked up the steps, neither of them were aware of the black-clad person hiding in the deep shadows, snapping photos, one after the other. When Tony drove off in his Mustang, the man snapped a photo of the license plate before fading away. His employer and friend was going to be pleased, he thought as he drove off.
What he failed to notice were CIA Agents Trent Kort and Meghan Volkov, who were in human form at the moment and watching him from an unmarked car. They silently followed the man as he drove through the dark streets on the same bike that had been tailing their NCIS counterparts.
Hope you guys liked this one. :D I enjoyed writing it, since I really like the song used in this chapter. Please review and let me know what you think.
~~Brambleshadow
