Disclaimers disclaimed.

Reminder: this story is rated 'M' for a reason.

Chapter XXXI - Finally!


"Ugh", Bishop grunted as she entered the bullpen and sat at her desk. "I hate Mondays!"

"You and me both", McGee chimed in after taking another sip of coffee while going over files at his desk. "They're always worse when it starts with going over resumes and personnel files to fill the team vacancies while you're in the middle of tracking a terrorist cell to take down."

"Vacancies, as in plural? I thought we would only be replacing Torres?" Bishop looked over in confusion.

McGee sighed and pointed across the bullpen at the two empty desks. "We already had a vacancy that I was trying to fill before we got the call about Tali's kidnapping so I put it on hold. Now Torres has turned out to be a traitor so I have two slots to fill. We can't be down two agents while trying to track down this cell. With Tali and Hunter back, and Amadi and Benjamin in custody, it's back to just our team working this case."

"Two probies in the middle of a case like this?" Bishop shook her head and voiced her disapproval, "I don't think that's a good idea. Can't we get at least one transfer so they'll only be new to the team but will still be a very trained NCIS agent? I can't see us being able to completely focus with two probies around that we'll have to be teaching. If we weren't searching for The Tribe, then it would be okay, but not right now."

"I agree. My plan wasn't to hire a probie at all but the inner office hire sheets are thin right now. All the agents looking to transfer are mostly ones that have never been in the field before so it would still be like hiring a probie anyway."

Bishop shrugged while she clicked through her emails. A comfortable silence falling between them as McGee went back to reading files.

A short while later, the silence was broken as the SecNav entered the bullpen. "Agent McGee, I need a word."

McGee stood, "yes Sir?" He looked over to Bishop and shrugged at a her puzzled face then took the stairs up to the Director's office to see what SecNav wanted.

When the door closed behind them, SecNav explained his the reason for his visit, "As you know, Director DiNozzo is still out on medical leave and now Agent DiNozzo is on family leave to take care of her husband and daughter since they are home now. With there still being a terrorist threat in DC and having the Assistant NCIS Director away at a security conference, I am putting you in charge as the acting Director of NCIS. You are the senior most agent, so I'm trusting you to get the job done. I know that you are more than capable."

McGee momentarily blanked out but quickly got himself together. "Wow, thank you sir. I appreciate your vote of confidence and I will definitely handle the matter."

SevNav nodded, "Good, I have another pressing meeting I need to get to at the Pentagon. If you need anything call, although I'm sure you can handle it. Good day, Director!"

McGee gave a sincere nod as he watched the man exit the room. This is crazy! Man, I have to call Tony and tell him I'm his new temp. He laughed at the thought of what kind of jokes Tony would make up upon hearing the news. Hmph, that's weird. Tony's phone, however, kept going to straight to voicemail. McGee just chalked it up to him resting, but something seemed off. Still, he tried to ignore it and was brought out of his thought process when there was a knock at the door.

"Yes, come in."

"Hey", Bishop peeked her head in before fully entering with a huge smile, "so the building is buzzing already that you're acting director."

"It's been less than five minutes", McGee chuckled.

"Yeah, but as soon as SecNav got on the elevator there was an agency wide email sent out. So, have you called Tony yet? He's going to have so many jokes", the younger agent laughed.

"Actually I did, but his phone isn't on."

"That's odd", Bishop looked curiously then pulled out her phone to try her luck. When it went straight to voicemail, she called Ziva to get the same typical voicemail greeting. "Hm, Ziva isn't answering either. Both work and personal phones are off."

"Maybe they just want a little break from everyone to finally enjoy being home. I'll stop by there during lunch."

"You will not find them there", came a voice from behind them as neither of them noticed the door to the office had opened.

Both turned their attention to the door out of curiosity and McGee spoke, "Orli, hi please come in ... and why exactly won't they be there? Do you know why they aren't answering their phones?"

Orli smiled politely as she fully entered and closed the door behind her. "Well, their phones are locked in a safe at home, but they have left."

"Why would they leave and lockup their phones", Bishop asked.

Orli cleared her throat and looked towards McGee, "Ziva advised me to come here today to inform you that they are now acting under 'Plan Z'."

"Damn", McGee immediately sat down to turn on the computer. "When did the threat come and when did they leave?"

"Yesterday morning around 7:30AM. They left shortly after on a chartered plane."

"Wait", Bishop was more confused, "what is 'Plan Z' and where are they?"

As McGee typed away on the computer he explained, "'Plan Z' is Tony and Ziva's safety plan to get away whenever they feel there is a credible threat against the safety of the family. One in which they deam it unsafe to be at home, the Navy Yard, or Israel. The three most probable places to track them down if you were looking for them."

He paused to make sure that Bishop was following so far, when she nodded he continued, "After Eli David passed, he left his entire estate and fortune to Ziva. As you can imagine, it included a multiplicity of homes, cars, a yacht, a jet, and a whole lot of money. However, Ziva barely uses any of it so some of the houses were either sold or rented out. There is, however, one house in particular that is so remote, and honesty so completely beautiful, that Tony and I convinced her to keep it in the event that they just needed a getaway. Shortly after III was born, there was a threat put out against the DiNozzo's but we quickly neutralized it. From that point, we came up with a plan to use, just in case there was ever a need for them to get away to keep the kids safe. It was only to be used if there were no other options for safety."

"'Plan Z'", Bishop said as she followed along.

McGee stood and walked over to a safe which only few people knew Tony had in the office. "Exactly", he responded as he opened it and removed a laptop, flash drive, and burn phone before closing it back. "The use of the letter 'Z' is because the place they went to was the last item mentioned in Eli's will. The 26th itemized piece within Ziva's inheritance."

"They are at the villa." Knowing the contents of the will, Orli knew exactly where the DiNozzo's had gone.

Bishop, however, needed more information. "What villa?"

"It's a villa on a remote private island in Maldives", McGee answered. "It's a beautiful beach front property but also safe in that it is far away from any resorts and, if anyone were to find it with them there, there is a security system to lock down the house and a completely impenetrable panic room. The property is one of few in which has that kind of security."

"So, are you saying that Ziva, and essentially Tony since he married her, is a multimillionaire?" Bishop was fascinated and didn't hide her smile at the given information.

"Yeah, basically", McGee chuckled then got serious. "But since they went to Maldives under 'plan z' and not for a vacation, then we have a problem. We need to neutralize the threat in order for them to return home." He paused to check the time, "They're 9 hours ahead now so they should have gotten there and be pretty much settled in. Orli, did Ziva give you any information on the threat?"

"She didn't have to, I heard it when she took the call. I wrote the number to be traced", she pulled out a piece of paper from her purse and handed it to Bishop. "Ziva said that she wants only your team to know about this for now. I would assume she will give more instructions when you contact them. As far as the threat, the man that called Ziva's laptop sounded Israeli and knew of the current case concerning The Tribe and my helping you. Neither I nor Ziva recognized the voice but we agree that he must have some previous association with Mossad. He spoke of the Mossad of the past and of Eli, then made a threat to drag the DiNozzo family to hell before insinuating that Tali had been taken again."

"Oh my God ..."

"They are fine Agent Bishop", Orli interrupted her gasping outburst. "Tali was in fact safe and in the house but Tony and Ziva did not want to take anymore chances."

"They did the right thing", McGee agreed. "Bishop, run that trace in Abby's lab. Fill her in on what's going on. Have her hack into Ziva's laptop remotely to pull up the voice file from the call and run it against the files we have on Israeli men for voice recognition."

"How do you know the call was recorded", Bishop asked puzzled.

"I installed the program on both their laptops myself. It auto records any calls that come through for safety purposes. You'd be surprised how many threats they get. I know Ziva would never disable the recording program so the voice file should be there. Since they immediately put the plan in motion, all their electronic devices are locked up in the house. I'll get them later, for now, Abby can remotely access it."

"Okay, on it boss", she left in a rush to head to the lab and get to work.

"How much longer are you staying Orli? We could use the help to neutralize the threat and get them back home."

"Actually, Ziva has asked that I return to Mossad so I can inform the director. My plane leaves in 2 hours. I will, however, be able to help from my end in Tel Aviv. Also, Ziva said you'd have the contact information I'd need to reach her."

"Yes I do." McGee quickly jotted down three phone numbers and handed them to her. "The first two are for Ziva and Tony, the last one is my line. Please, let me know as soon as you've returned to Israel."

"Of course, thank you Agent McGee." They shared a hug and small pleasantries before Orli exited to be on her way back to Mossad.


After setting up the laptop and burn phone, McGee put the office in SCIF mode and made a video call. After a few moments, the call connected then Tony popped up on the screen.

"Hey Probie! Are you in my office?"

McGee chuckled, "yeah, we're in SCIF. Oh, and I was made acting director by SecNav an hour ago since you and Ziva are on leave."

"Whoa, nice McStandIn! Don't get too comfortable in my chair though."

"Promise I won't", McGee laughed.

"So, I see Orli came to you .. how far are we from tracking down these douchebags? I mean, I love this island but I can't enjoy it knowing there's a threat on my family's life."

"Well, we're not close yet but I just sent Bishop to run the trace on the call and Abby is accessing Ziva's laptop to get the voice file. Orli just left to head back to Tel Aviv. She said she'd keep working on it from her end. Hopefully by the time she lands I can have some more answers for you boss. I just wish we could have started this yesterday, you guys got a head start."

"Trust me, we thought about calling but we trusted Orli to relay the message since she was at the house. It was a long flight though, so I've been thinking a lot. I think it might be beneficial to talk to Hunter Amadi and see if he might know some information concerning The Tribe. Maybe his father said something that he may have heard but didn't really pay mind to that could be useful." He paused and McGee watched as Tony's face scrunched up. "Uh, Probie, as soon as you have something concrete, call us alright? I need to go now, Ziva just walked by looking less than happy."

"Alright, will do. Go make sure your wife is okay. And please, you guys be safe Tony!"

"Likewise McDirector!"

They both cut the call simultaneously, and McGee took the office out of SCIF mode. Taking Tony's advice, he set out to go to the hospital and talk to Hunter.


.


At the villa, Tony wondered the house until he found a weeping Ziva in the wine cellar drinking straight from the bottle while leaning on the wall, trying to keep herself standing.

Well this can't be good.

Slowly he walked over and tried to removed the bottle from her grasp, but Ziva pulled it away. He sighed, "babe, what's wrong?"

"I am perfectly fine Tony."

"You're crying and drinking wine straight from the bottle, I'd say that this is not you 'fine'. What the hell happened?"

"Tali happened."

Tony looked at her confused. "Okayyyy, what did ninja junior do?"

"Nothing." Her response was quick and short with a hint of frustration. Tony gave her a look to try answering again with the truth. She sighed deeply, "our daughter has now pushed her anger to me because we are here. In my frustration, I may have brought up my past encounters that prove my understanding in what she is going through right now ... in particular ... Somalia. Now I feel like crap."

"I'm sorry Zi, all this will pass. Tali will get through it, we just need to be patient and you need not finish that entire bottle."

Reluctantly, Ziva handed the bottle over then raked her hand through her hair. "I know she needs time. I am not forcing her to get through it quickly. My problem right now is not the argument we just had ..."

"Then what's the problem", he interrupted while sitting the bottle on a nearby table.

"For the first time in a long time, I can see Saleem and his men in my mind. I just want to blur them out again, that is why I came down here."

"Ziva, I'm sor ..." The words came to a halt as Tony tried to pull his wife to him and she pushed him away. He looked deep in her eyes and the battle between broken Ziva and strong Ziva. It's something he hadn't seen in years. He sighed as he took a seat in the only chair that was in the room. After a few moments of silence, he looked up at her and spoke again. "Baby, please, you have to fight that feeling. Tali needs you strong right now. There's no room for Saleem and his men to cloud your mind. They are dead and can never hurt you again. Our baby girl needs to see the strength you gained after you survived so she can push past her demons too. I know you can do this Zi, please, be strong. Do whatever you have to do to get all that negativity out of your head."

In one sudden and swift move, she was straddling him where he sat. Her lips crashing onto his in a wave of fiery passion. Even if he wasn't injured, Ziva was in control and Tony understood her to need to be, so he let her— despite his own pain. This was the only way for her to reboot and refresh so she could be strong. Well, it wasn't the only way, but it was what she felt she needed at the moment. No emotional love making, just a satisfying fuck that would heighten her senses and knock out her fears as it always happened with Tony whenever she was in this state of imbalance.

Quickly, she did away with his belt then lowered his shorts and boxers. With one rough movement, she ripped open his shirt, causing him to wince slightly from the pain is his shoulder ... she didn't care. There was no time to care. Leaving his lips, she latched on to his neck. Biting down on his pulse point then suckling there as she hiked her dress up further and slid her panties to the side. Without warning, she came crashing down on his pulsating manhood and moaned deeply. She rode him without inhibition. He moved his hand to her hip to try and slow her pace but she was overpowering him and showed no mercy.

There was only one thing she wanted and that was release. She needed to get rid of the pent up frustration, the guilt, and the worry. He knew what she was doing and give in. Moving his hips to match her rhythm and forced himself to thrust upward— deeper into her, creating more friction and hitting her spot. She moaned in ecstasy, so close to her point of destination. Her head flew back as she cried out his name. She felt him grow harder inside her and her walls clenched his shaft even more.

Primal, that was the only word to define who she was at the moment. Her chest heaved as her breath hitched in her throat, she was almost there. Capturing his lips again, their tongues explored each other in her effort to taste him completely and build up his climax too. She didn't just want to come, she needed him to come with her ... deep in her— in an explosive release. He was getting closer too. His desire to give her what she needed outweighing his own fear that his shoulder may be worse after this. Hearing her moans was enough to keep him focused on the task at hand.

Focused on washing away every emotion she didn't need. Every vision she didn't want. Putting her in the place she so desperately felt like she needed to be. This was it, the moment she had long been waiting for. Her movements became choppy. She was on the edge and so was he. Leaning her head back, her lust filled eyes bore into his and finally she spoke her need. "Come with me, please", she said breathlessly. Her voice was almost unrecognizable to them both but he did as he was instructed. With three more hard thrusts, they both fell over the cliff. Screaming as their orgasms hit simultaneously. She collapsed on him trying to control her breathing as she wrapped her arms around his neck. In an instant she felt the relief that she craved and, on some level, he did too. They sat there in momentary bliss. Temporarily forgetting the threat on their lives and the world around them completely. Finally, there was a small sense of peace ... finally!


Possibly OOC, I don't know insert 'shrug' here

But if it doesn't make sense, it will soon ... just bare with me.

We have about 9 more chapters to go and everything will be finished.

Oh, and I need your opinion, I made a quick mention to how Tony and Ziva got reconnected earlier in this story. Since then, I've been messing around with really exploring a storyline to it ... kind of prequel, if you will, to this story. Need you guys to review to tell me if you want me to do it after this ends. Please, let me know!

Later Peeps!