***
"Can we stop by Ziva's place?" I ask on the way home.
"She'll be very busy packing…and I have to pack as well you'll see her tomorrow" he said concentrating on the road.
"Is that is? Dad we might never see her again, I know you love her…please do something about it before it's too late!" I say, I just can't help myself.
He doesn't answer and continues to concentrate on the road.
"You're not arguing back so I must be right" I say playing idly with my fingers.
"We're just friends, working partners…that is all" he replies
"That's a load of bull and you know it" I argued.
"Alright! I love her! I've loved her ever since I clapped my eyes on her! But what do you want me to do? She's going away for god knows how long…she might be killed…and I can't bare to go through at again…are you happy?" he shouts.
"Please, please tell her…we can go now, dad it's not too late…drop me off at Gibbs, I'll go someplace else while you two sort it out. You can't go away and not tell her"
"No, we'll go together" he said, looking at me for support.
"She makes you happy, she makes me happy!" I said in reassurance.
"You don't think I'm a bad person for falling in love again after your mother?" he says. Now I realise what this has all been about…my mom.
"She would want you to move on, I want you to move on…I know she'd love Ziva" I tried to convince him.
"She doesn't love me" he said. I was going absolutely mental by now-why can't they just get on with it!
"How do you know, you've never discussed it with her have you?…you may be a man of many things but a mind reader is not what you are, what have you got to loose? She's leaving tomorrow, you'll probably never see her again!" I say, it is a very painful thing for me to admit out loud. Ziva has been part of our lives for too log for her not to mean anything. I love her like a mother and if there was anything I could do I would move the earth just to stop this from happening.
"We're going home, I'm going to pack and sleep, I have to be up early…" he says changing the subject.
"So that's it?" I said "you're just going to let her go?" I ask him. He doesn't answer and the rest of the journey in silence.
He knows I'm right; I know I'm right! Everyone knows the situation is that they belong together and the only people who can't see is the pair of them.
"Will you be home in time for my graduation?" I ask.
"I don't know, Bethany…right now, I don't know anything, I don't know what's going to happen, ok" he says
I keep my mouth shut for the remainder of the journey.
***
When we get home he goes straight to the closet and pulls out a load of boxes and heads into his room slamming the door behind him. Within a matter a matter of hours my father had transformed back into the man I didn't know.
I pulled out my cell phone and tried to call Ziva but she didn't pick up. I assume she'd be packing to…also avoiding my father.
A couple of hours later, my father popped his head around my bedroom door.
"You hungry? Was gonna order take-out, want some?" he asked matter-of-factly.
"Well, actually I thought…" I began,
"I was gonna call all the guys, get them to come over and I was going to cook a meal…I mean, I need to get used to doing the cooking for myself, don't I?" I said sitting up.
"Bethany, it's a nice idea but we have no groceries or anything…no one will have time." he said, crushing my hopes.
"How do you know? I'll call them all now, I was going to make lasagne!" I said. He shook his head at me.
"I don't think anyone will feel like it, tonight, Bethany, I'm sorry" he said without another word and left my room. My cell phone began to ring shortly after that.
"Hello?" I say.
"Bethany, it's Ziva" she sad sadly. I got very excited all of a sudden.
"Hey! You ok? I tried calling your home phone" I said.
"I'm sorry, I've packed it" she said blankly, even though I couldn't see her face I could hear that she'd been crying.
"Why don't you come over for a bit?" I ask.
"No, I'm really busy, I was just calling to see if you and your father were ok" she said.
"We're fine…dad's a bit upset though," I say, I can't lie.
"Could you tell him I said that I'll see him so time. He won't be able to contact me once I get back to Israel" she said.
"Just wait, I'll go get him…hang on" I said jumping off my bed.
"No!" she says quickly, "Don't make this hard for me, Bethany" she said.
"You're not even going to say goodbye?" I ask
"I can't bare to say goodbye to your father Bethany, it only makes it more real" she says, I can feel my heart breaking…I fear hers is already broken.
"Ok, do you have any idea when you might be back?" I ask.
"My position at NCIS has been terminated…I'm not coming back, I'm not allowed, once I get back they'll most likely kill me" she says bluntly.
"Can't you just talk to your dad about this?" I say.
"No, I can't. What's done is done….there's nothing anyone can do" she said.
"Please come over, we can talk properly" I beg.
"No, I can't…goodbye Bethany, you've been a good friend to me. I'll never forget you…Shalom" she says, I think she's crying now.
"Shalom" I say. My Hebrew is very limited. My father on the other hand has been learning it. If only he'd put it to good use.
Before I knew it, my last connection between myself and Ziva had be cut off.
She was gone…
***
It was about 4:30 when I was woken by my father running around the apartment, doing some last minute packing. His boat wasn't leaving until 0900 but Ziva's flight was at 0730. I got up and got dressed and found him staring out of our apartment window across the city.
"Good morning" I say quietly.
"It's a beautiful day…the sky is so clear, a good day for setting sail." he said not even turning to face me.
"I've got a delivery of groceries coming at 11 for you. I've left some cash at the bottom of my sock drawer. My emergency credit cards are in the safety deposit box…and I mean that it's only for emergencies and for paying the rent…you should try and get yourself a job…you're stunts at the jazz club won't be enough.
To support you" he said.
"are we going to see Ziva off, the rest of the team are?" I ask. He doesn't answer for a few minutes. I can think of nothing to say in between this.
"If I see her now, I'll won't be able to let her go" he says, his pain is killing me.
"I'm gonna go for a drive in your car…you wanna come?" I say.
"To where?" he asks, facing me for the first time in our conversation.
"Just around DC…" I say innocently, I do have a plan up my sleeve.
"Alright, I trust you won't crash it while I'm away" he said smiling a little. I smile back.
"You know when I crashed it wasn't my fault…Abby proved my innocence on that front!" I laugh a little.
He grabs his stuff and I'm surprised how little there is of it. I help him take some of it down to the garage and dump in in the trunk.
I sit down in the driver seat and I'd forgotten how good it felt to drive a mustang. He steadily clicked in belt into the socket.
"No scratching the paint work, ok!" he said. I pushed my foot on the gas as far as it would go and I took off at a screeching speed out of the garage.
"Whoa, Jesus Christ Bethany, slow down" he said gripping the side of the interior to support.
"Did Ziva teach you this" he laughed.
"We've got to hurry, or we'll be late and miss her" I said focusing for the blurry road.
"Who? Ziva?" he said.
"Yes, we're going to the airport, you are going to face up to your feelings! We'll meet the rest of the team too" I say as more of an order. He knows he can't argue with me.
***
He shuts up for the rest of the journey and I speed into the terminal. I pull into the nearest parking spot and my dad is out before I fully come to a stop. He's off before I call him to wait for me. I lock up the mustang and chase after him.
I can see him running ahead of me…he's at least fifty meters ahead of me and I can see him ducky desperately between people.
NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS
"I thought Tony would be here" Abby said.
"It doesn't matter, Abby. He's probably getting ready for his trip" Ziva said, trying to mask her own disappointment.
"Final call for flight 307 to Tel Aviv, Final call for flight 307 to Tel Aviv" called the speaker above their head. Gibbs approached her and pulled Ziva into a hug.
"Take care of yourself now, Ziva…don't go and get yourself into trouble" Gibbs said into her hair. She pulled away and looked at Abby briefly before Abby flung her arms around Ziva's neck.
"I'm going to miss you so much, Ziva!" Abby said, tears falling. Gibbs pulled her off Ziva who turned to McGee.
"Take care, McGee" she said. She pulled him close into a loose hug.
"It's gonna be strange without you around" McGee said.
"I hope we will be reunited again soon!" Ziva said.
"Shalom!" she said turning to board the plane.
***
We were so close to the terminal and I heard the final call for her flight. My dad started yelling her name.
"Ziva!" I heard him shout, "Ziva!" He said, I could see them all huddled together. I saw Ziva turn around when she heard my father calling her name. She smiled, her face sparkling with tears. The closer he got to her the more he accelerated. When he reached her he took her in his arms and spun her around, holding her as close to him as he could possibly manage. The rest of the team were slightly stunned by this but said nothing. I finally caught up with them, slightly out of breath.
"Hey, you made it!" Gibbs said coming over to me. He put his arm around me and we watched my father and Ziva embrace. They had merely seconds to say their goodbyes…it was all very romantic.
" I'm so sorry, I've been such an ass, I don't want you to go!" my father said into her ear, not loosening his grip on her.
"I don't want to go, but I have to follow orders, Tony" She cries into his jacket.
"I love you" he says. I feel a lump rise in my throat. It makes me sad to think that maybe this is all too late.
"I love you too, Tony" she says. They pull apart from their embrace.
"How romantic…"Abby whispers to me. I smile.
"Excuse me miss, but you really have to get on the plane now" the flight attendant says to Ziva. They step apart.
"I'll wait for you, I'll wait however long it takes." My father tells her. She nods, wipes her tears. He raises his hand to her cheek and rubs the tears from her eyes.
"Goodbye, Tony" she said, turning to get on the plane. My father looks absolutely broken. She hands her flight ticket over to the ticket collector and walks slowly down the passage. She stops for a moment. She turns around and starts running back towards Tony. She jumps into his arms and kisses him passionately on the lips. He returns the kiss. It is short and sweet and she breaks off from and completes her journey to plane, this time, not turning back.
He stands there looking down the passage where she had just disappeared down.
"Dad, it's time for us to go…your boat leaves in a hour" I approach him. He pulls me into a tight hug.
"It's ok, dad…everything will be ok" I said, rubbing his strong back.
"DiNozzo…" Gibbs says approaching us.
"It's time" he says.
***
We drive to the dock and the rest of the team follows behind us. We get there in plenty of time. My father was right…it is a lovely day, the clearest skies I've seen in a long time.
He wonders off to register and already with him not at my side I feel very alone even though Gibbs, Abby and McGee are standing right next to me. Although it's a clear day, it's quite breezy down by the coast and the wind whips my long hair around my face.
"How are you holding up?" he asks me. I'm not really sure so I can't answer him honestly.
"I don't think it's really sunk in yet…it's going to be the longest six months of my whole life" I say, the summer does seem an awfully long way away.
My father returns having left all his things on the ship…this is it.
"They want me to board the ship now…and report for duty" he tells Gibbs, for some reason, he can't quite look at me.
"Go on then, the sooner you go, the sooner you can come back" Gibbs tells him. He pauses before he continues, "Tony, six months is a long time…I'll do my very best to get this team back to the way things were…I promise" Gibbs says sounding sincere. My father shakes his hand. He turns to McGee next.
"So long, Tim" he says. He never uses McGee's first name; it's always Probie or McGee or any other nick-name he can think of. At times I think his name calling of McGee is quite mean and I am proud of him that in this situation he uses none of those.
Next in line is Abby.
"Bye Abs, see ya'round" he says, it's all too emotional for lots of words to be said. Last but not least, he turns to me. He pulls me into a strong hug.
"You stay out of trouble! I know what you're like!" He jokes. I laugh.
"Yes, dad…I'll be fine, I'll miss you though" I say trying to smile.
"Of course you will, I'm a misable guy!" he flashes his smile to us all.
"Seriously though, if you need anything, Gibbs will help you out…I love you, see you soon" he says putting his hand against my cheek. I turn my face towards the warmth of his rough hand.
"I know, I'll be fine" I say bravely.
"If you're good, I'll send you a post card!" he says backing up from us all in preparation to board the ship.
"You told her to stay out of trouble so now I'm telling you the same thing…behave!" Gibbs jokes, he's also trying to make light of the situation.
And then he's gone. My dad has disappeared…it's all over for now.