Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS
Tony walked into the men's bathroom and leant against the sinks. He felt like an idiot. An idiot who had failed. He had failed to find Ziva, failed to protect her. He had been forced to return to the US, leaving Ziva on her own, with no back up, no one watching her six.
A week after resigning due to Parsons, Ziva decided to take a trip to Israel. She needed to go and sort out some things surrounding her father's estate, but she also wished to see Schmeil and some of her homeland. A day later, as Tony was buying a ticket to join Ziva, SECNAV was killed in an attack, Gibbs was attacked in Iran, and just as he was about to go to Israel, Tony was attacked in his own apartment. Fornell was able to get to Tim before he was attacked, but that left Ziva as the next target. Tony set off to find her as soon as possible and make sure she was safe.
However, during his travels, Tony had asked too many of the wrong questions to too many people and started to attract the wrong kind of attention. Someone who had connection to the terrorist who killed SECNAV, took aim, and for what felt like the millionth time to Tony, attempted to kill him.
Tony was ordered home immediately by multiple people with higher paid grades and security clearances than himself. He had argued that he had not found Ziva, that she may need help, but his protests fell on deaf ears.
Tony kicked the wall. Why had he not been more careful? Why had he taken risks when asking questions? Where the hell was Ziva? Tony had not seen Ziva in three months and whilst he followed the clues that she had left, he was scared that he would never see the beautiful Israeli. He had fallen in love with Ziva and was afraid that he would never get to tell her.
The bathroom door opened and Tim walked in. Tony was rubbing the foot he had kicked the wall with.
'What did you do?' asked Tim.
'Nothing' Tony answered back. Tim could tell it was best not to push the matter. 'What do you want McGee?'
'Gibbs wants us in MTAC. Ziva's made contact.' Tony jumped and followed Tim to MTAC. Gibbs and Vance stood in front of the screen, Ziva's face plastered on it. She looked tired, but unharmed and alive. Tony let out a sigh of relief.
'I am back in Tel Aviv' said Ziva. It appeared that she was explaining what was going on.
'There's a flight to Germany in a few hours. Make sure you're on it. You can get another one to the US from there' instructed Vance.
'Yes director'
'Are you OK?' asked Tony. Ziva gave him a weak smile.
'Yes. Tired, but OK Tony. I will see you soon.'
It was a four-hour flight from Tel Aviv to Germany, and then another eleven to DC. After a quick visit to his apartment for a shower and change of clothes, Tony decided to stay at the office, catching up on work. They were still investigating the bombing that killed SECNAV. Tony wanted to be at the office when Ziva arrived.
The elevator dinged. Tony looked up from his computer and saw Ziva stepping off the elevator. He let out a sigh of relief. She had made it. He had seen her with his own eyes. Tony stood up, walked over to Ziva and pulled her into a hug. It felt so good to have her in his arms again. Tony bent his head towards Ziva's ear
'I love you' he whispered quietly so that only Ziva could hear.
Ziva took in a deep breath and let it out. The past few months had been rough, constantly travelling, moving under the radar. She had gotten the message about Benham Parsa and the target that was on her back. She kept moving, leaving clues for Tony to track her down.
However, once she heard that Tony was forced to return to the US, she knew that she had to be more proactive. Making her way back to Israel, Ziva sought help from Mossad, even though the thought of returning to that world, however brief, made her stomach churn. Now that she was back in the US, with people she loved and trusted, Ziva was starting to feel better.
Thank you for reading. Two more chapters to go