AN: M'kay, I'm hoping that you're willing to give me another chance after that booger of a chapter the last time. This one is not like the last chapter. Chapter 8 is light, fluffy, funny and full of music...it is much more like my usual writing. Oh, and if you read Fix You, extra awesome points to you, my friends. Yeah, and I'm sorry if you were wanting a big lunch scene, it just wasn't in me.
Disclaimer: I don't own NCIS...Big. Shocker. There.
I also don't own the music, or the places, they exist. I also don't own the radio station or the DJ, they are also both real...but by three Ugly Ed may be on...but Charlotte is definitely on at noon.
Enjoy!
Chapter 8: Sir-see
They got back in the car and Tony checked the CD player, they had listened to all the songs on the album.
He switched the radio on and flipped through the stations until he got to one that sounded like it wasn't playing country music.
A deep announcer voice shouted out,
"KLAL, Wrightsville, Little Rock."
And a woman's voice sang the station identification, "Your number one hit music station! Alice 107.7!"
"Do you mind if we listen to the radio?" Tony decided to ask.
"I don't care," Ziva shrugged.
"Hey, it's me Charlotte and it's twelve on the dot. Time for your Nineties at Noon, here on Alice 107.7," the DJ said before a violin sound played over the radio.
"Awww, yeah," Tony laughed as the song started, Ziva looked at him, confused.
"What?"
"This song. It's perfect to dance to."
"Well, don't."
"I...I can't help it!"
"TONY!"
"What?"
"Just. Drive. The. Car. ...Or else..."
"Or else what?"
"I will."
"Hell, no."
"That's what I thought," she grinned smugly and he mocked her.
"What was that?" she asked, raising her eyebrows threateningly.
"Nothing, nothing at all."
The song kept playing and Tony groaned.
"What is it?" she asked him, frustrated at his immaturity.
"I've got to SING!" he shouted.
She closed her eyes and sighed, "Whatever...do whatever."
"YES!"
So he sang along with the song,
(It's strange that our feelings have grown)
So grown (Toora)
About how you feel
Now (Toora)
I (Toora)
Must (Toora)
Say (Toora)
More (Toora)
Than ever
Things 'round here will change
I said, Toora (toora), loora, toora (toora), loorye (toora), aye (toora, toora, toora)
Come on, Eileen
Oh I swear (Well, he means)
At this moment
You mean everything
"Stop," she demanded.
"Just a sec."
Oh, my thoughts (I confess)
Well, they're dirty
Oh, come on, Eileen
At this point, Ziva was having a hard time keeping the laughter in.
"What?" Tony asked.
"That,"laugh, "was," laugh, "HORRIBLE!" uncontrollable laughter.
"It couldn't have been that bad."
"Oh, it was."
Continued laughter.
"You are a truly sucky friend, David. After everything I've done for you today..."
"Oh, because it takes a lot of stomach to tell some high school kid and some pretty-boy coach that you're my boyfriend," she rolled her eyes.
"I think you mean 'guts', otherwise, I'm calling that a fat joke and I will turn this car around and give your cell number to Dustin and Gabriel."
"Guts, whatever. The point is, you didn't really do much."
"Whatever. The point is, we're almost back to Searcy, what do you want for lunch?"
"I don't care."
"Fine, gas station grub it is."
"NO."
"See, you do care. Lemme think. On the way to Judson Hill, I remember passing a Chinese place, a few Mexican restaurants, some fast food places, and that's about it. Wanna just grab some fast food?"
"I don't ca- I mean, sure. Sounds fine," she caught herself, as he looked at her slyly.
They got to Searcy and drove down Race Avenue, which seemed to be the main drag of the town. They stopped in Wal-Mart parking lot to decide between Burger King, Subway and Arby's.
Tony demanded Burger King, Ziva said she would prefer Subway.
After sixteen rounds of Rock, Paper, Scissors and still no winner, they settled on neutral territory. They ate at Arby's.
After eating, Tony glanced down at his watch.
"Man, it's only 1:05. We've got two hours to burn. What are we going to do with two hours?!"
"We could call to check in with Gibbs and McGee?" Ziva offered.
"Bad idea. If Gibbs wants to talk to us, he'll call. That's Rule Number One of Gibbs-care: Do not approach Gibbs, wait for him to approach you."
"We could drive around?"
"Hmmmmmmmmmmm, no," he made a big show out of pretending to consider it.
"I don't know then, Tony. What can we do?" she sighed.
"Oh! I know! Abby wanted me to send her a postcard. Why don't we go back to Wal-Mart and look for postcards?" Tony offered.
He didn't give Ziva a chance to respond as he ran out of the restaurant.
She followed him and they silently drove back to Wal-Mart.
They found the postcards on a display covered in Arkansas Razorback items.
Tony picked up a foam hat shaped like a razorback and put it on.
Ziva shook her head and laughed.
He smiled and said, "You know Ohio State probably shouldn't make one of these. A hat shaped like a Buckeye could be...weird."
"Weirder than a hat shaped like a boar?" Ziva asked.
"Hey, hey, hey, it's a razorback. Not a boar," Tony corrected, laughing.
"Postcards, Tony," she reminded him.
"Oh, yeah."
They looked at the rack of postcards and settled on two.
One showed a river running through some hills that were covered in dense forest and there was a man fly fishing in the river.
The second one was a white card with a big, red razorback in the middle.
They paid for the cards and went out to the car.
Tony pulled out the Razorback card and took a marker and wrote on the front.
Aren't you an LSU fan? Ha ha!
He wrote on the back,
Abs,
We just got here. Haven't even been to our hotel room yet. Thanks for the CD. We listened to it on the way here. I don't know if this card will get to DC before we come back, so I'm not saying much...not that much has happened. I've got a great story to tell you when we get back. Ziva might not want me to tell it, but I will to you, Abs, 'cause you'd really like to hear it. (Not to mention, I'd like to see Ziva's reaction – ha!) Oh, we met a guy today who could have been McGee's clone. He's read some of your stuff in some forensics journal. His name is Jem Lee and he said to say 'Hi'. I'm running out of room, so I'm gonna say bye.
Bye, Abs,
Tony
P.S. Ziva says 'Hi', too.
They drove around until they found a post office and Tony ran in and bought stamps and mailed the postcard to Abby at NCIS.
"Soooooo, what now?" Tony asked as he climbed back into the car.
"I don't know. I've never been here. I've never even been to Arkansas, let alone...whatever this place is called," Ziva shrugged.
"I should've asked," he mumbled.
"Asked what?" she asked.
"How to pronounce the town's name. I should have asked the postmaster how to pronounce the. town's name," he clarified.
"Oh...well, then, I suppose we'll just have to wait and ask someone at the hotel, yes?" she said.
"Yeah," he agreed, "How 'bout we just drive around? Sightsee?"
"Whatever," she complied.
He looked at the clock, it was 1:45, they had an hour and fifteen minutes to blow.
They pulled out of the post office parking lot and he turned the radio back on.
I've got another confession to make
I'm your fool
Everyone's got their chains to break
Holdin' you
Were you born to resist or be abused?
He shouted along to the next line,
Is someone getting the best, the best, the best the best of you?!
She laughed at him, as he headbanged in time with the song.
"Very attractive, Tony," she teased.
"Chick magnet," he joked.
They drovethrough the campus of Harding University, past First Security Stadium and Harding Academy.
A song started up and Tony shouted, "Awwww! This is my jam!", he cranked up the volume and sang along.
Bikinis, cars, cigars and danger
Martini hangovers
He ain't no stranger to
London, Paris, New York and Japan
I'm bringin' home the bacon in a fryin' pan
L.A., Rio or China Town
If you're down then I'm your mystery man
Doing what I can
With a continental international plan
So
Come on now
It's on now
This playa's here to stay
Lemme break it down, make you understand
Don't you know you're history?
I feel it
I mean it
This playa's here to stay
You're a woman
He pointed to Ziva.
I'm your man
He pointed to himself.
It ain't no mystery
"That song sounds like you," she laughed.
"Yeah, the first bit is a reference to James Bond...you know...the whole song might be...but if I recall correctly, the song was on the Austin Powers soundtrack. That's a funny movie," he rambled.
They drove past a small park and library, a building across the park said "Yarnell's Ice Cream Co."
Everyone is changing
There's no one left that's real
So make up your own ending
And let me know just how you feel
'Cause I am lost without you
I cannot live at all
My whole world surrounds you
I stumble then I crawl
You could be my someone
You could be my scene
Know that I will save you
From all of the unclean
I wonder what you're doing
I wonder where you are
There's oceans in between us
But that's not very far
They both sang along on the next line.
Can you take it all away?
They stopped singing and looked at each other oddly.
"Not the type of music I would have pictured you listening to, Zee-vah," he taunted.
"You don't know the part of it, Tony," she grinned.
"Half, Ziva, I don't know the half of it," he corrected.
"Whatever," she brushed him off with a smile.
Another song started on the radio and Ziva turned the volume back up.
"I really like this song, Tony. Do you know it?" she asked.
He chuckled and started singing.
Start bending me
It's never enough
'Til I feel all your pieces
Start bending me
Keep bending me until I'm completely broken in
She was taken aback that he knew the song and when he stopped singing, she started.
Shouldn't be so complicated
Just touch me and then well
Just touch me again
Then they sang together, neither one looking at each other. Not paying attention to the words. Just singing to be singing.
Can you help me, I'm bent
I'm so scare that I'll never
Get put back together
Keep breaking me in
And this is how we will end
They had successfully wasted forty-five minutes and decided to start heading back across town, as they were now on the opposite end of Searcy as their hotel.
It was getting close to three and they didn't want to get stuck in traffic as parents rushed to pick up their kids from the school that they knew was close to their hotel.
Unfortunately, it seemed they managed to hit every red light in Searcy.
While setting at a red light
I think I'm done nursing the patience
It can wait one night
I'd give it all away if you'd give me one last try
We'll live happily ever trapped if you just save my life
Run and tell the angels that everything's alright...
He thought about asking her several things, but couldn't get up the nerve to.
Finally, he settled for, "So, Ziva...have you ever really, really, really wanted to kill me? Like, hated my guts?" How romantic.
"Hated you, no...wanted to kill you, yes...very yes," she said, thoughtfully.
I'm looking to the sky to save me
Looking for a sign of life
Looking for something to help me burn out bright
"That was a strange question, Tony. Why would you ask that?" she asked, curiosity getting the better of her.
"No reason. I just thought that if we're going to be sharing a hotel room, then we should lay all of our cards out on the table now. I've never hated you, and even if I wanted to, I couldn't kill you," he explained.
I'm looking for a complication
Looking 'cause I'm tired of trying
Make my way back home when I learn to fly high
Make my way back home when I learn to
"You couldn't kill me? What do you mean by that?" she asked insinuatingly.
"I mean that if I tried to kill you, you'd kill me first," he covered-up.
Fly along with me, I can't quite make it alone
Try to make this life my own
"You're absolutely right," she laughed.
They pulled into the parking lot of the hotel at 2:55, they had caught every red light and got stuck behind a line of minivans picking up third graders from the nearby elementary school.
Tony climbed out of the car and opened the trunk. He got his and Ziva's suitcases out. She handed him his backpack and took her luggage from him.
He led her inside and up the the check-in counter.
A broad shouldered boy in his late-teens, with a rich tan and neat haircut, stood behind the counter. His name tag read, "Brent".
"Excuse me, Brent," Tony called, Brent walked over in front of him.
"Yes, sir?" Brent asked in a Southern drawl as thick as molasses.
"We need to check in, is there any way we can go ahead and do that?" Tony asked.
"Lemme see yer room number," Brent requested.
Tony showed him the papers.
"Room four fitty-three, yeah, you 'n go 'head 'n check-in," Brent said checking the paper and turning to a computer moniter.
He typed in some stuff and scanned two card keys, he handed the keys to Tony and said, "'Ere ya go, Mr. DiNozzo. Room four fitty-three. Y'all have a nice stay."
Tony and Ziva took their stuff to the elevator and rode up to the fourth floor.
They navigated the hallway to room 453.
Tony slid the card in the door and the light flashed red.
"Aw, come on!" he moaned.
He tried three more times before Ziva pushed him out of the way and grumbled, "Let me do it."
She took his key, slid it in the door, the light blinked green and she effortlessly swung the door open.
"Lucky," he mumbled as he walked past her, into the room.
She chuckled.
"Oh, crap...this is not right," Tony said once he was in the room.
"What?" she demanded, muscling past him to see what he was looking at, "Oh...that could be a problem."
"...Uhhh...what are we gonna do?" Tony said, setting down on the only bed in the room.
It was a soft queen-sized bed, but it was only one bed.
"Call down to the desk," Ziva offered.
"Right," Tony said, picking up the phone and calling down to the desk.
"Front desk," Brent's voice answered.
"Brent, this is Tony DiNozzo, up in room 453."
"Oh, yeah, Mr. DiNozzo, is sumthin' wrong?" Brent asked.
"There's only one bed in here, Brent," Tony said.
"Yeah, it said so on your papers, Mr. DiNozzo. You booked a one bed room," Brent explained.
Tony mentally slapped himself for not reading over the papers.
"Can we exchange for a two bed room, Brent?" Tony asked, desperately.
"Sorry, Mr. DiNozzo. We've got all these people here with the gas comp'nies, and people came in to work flood clean up and there are some power crews here from the last tornado, they've got all the two bed rooms, Mr. DiNozzo. There's nothin' we can do," Brent explained.
Tony sighed in frustration, "Thanks for trying."
"Yes, sir, Mr. DiNozzo," Brent replied.
"Oh, and, Brent, one more thing," Tony said before hanging up.
"Yes, sir?"
"How do you pronounce the name of this town?
Brent chuckled, "Sir-see. It's pronounced Sir-see."
"Thanks, Brent."
"You got it, Mr. DiNozzo."
Tony hung up the phone.
He fell back onto the bed and lay there, "This is the only room left, we'll just have to deal with it," he said.
She sat on the edge of the bed and sighed, "It's not that big of a deal. Not to mention, it could be worse."
"How's that?" he asked, a smile forming at the corners of his mouth.
"You could be here with McGee," she teased, laying down in the opposite direction as him, putting her feet in his face.
He laughed and pushed her foot out from under his nose, "Oh, and by the way, it's pronounced 'Sir-see'," Tony explained.
"So, here we are in Sir-see, in a one bed hotel room and no idea what we've got to do to catch this guy?" Ziva summarized.
"Yeah, that's about the gist of things," he nodded.
"Sounds like fun," she smiled.
AN: Thanks for reading! I hope it's an improvement from last chapter. It's hard to write in between tornadoes, testing and band stuff. Like, now I'm writing and watching them issue tornado watches.
To get Brent's accent, I would say the line out loud and write down how I said it. So, Brent sounds like me.
Heh heh heh...I liked making them sing. I also like playing with their world...Bwa-ha-ha-ha!!
The songs are:
1 and 2: Come On, Eileen by Dexy's Midnight Runners
3 and 4: Best of You by Foo Fighters
5, 6 and 7: Ain't No Mystery by Smash Mouth (how very Tony that song is!)
8 and 9: Blurry by Puddle of Mudd
10, 11 and 12: Bent by Matchbox 20
13, 14, 15 and 16: Learn to Fly by Foo Fighters
...I don't know enough of the members of the bands in the story, so this time, it's just musicians that I was listening to at the time I was writing the story.
So...Joey Ramone, Tyson Ritter, Jack Johnson and Sean Mackin all want you to review!
The millions of flying ants that have taken up residence in my bedroom want you to review, too.
This chapter is dedicated to the citizens of Clinton, AR; Damascus, AR and Stuttgart, AR. Because the tornadoes that hit those cities are part of the reason why this chapter has taken so long.
It's also dedicated to my cousin, Megan, who's high school graduation is the reason that I couldn't post this on Wednesday. She's the first member of her family to finish high school...and I'm wondering, what do you guys think I should call her baby? His name's William Dristen, but I'm not calling him Dristen.
...Oh, and there are people that have lived in Searcy for years and still can't pronounce the city's name!...And Yarnell's is a real ice cream. It's available in Arkansas, Oklahoma, parts of Texas, Tennessee, Mississippi, parts of Alabama and parts of Florida; if you see it, pick some up, it's really good! My favorite is called Whoo Pig Chewy!, but Triple Play and Angel Food Vanilla are both really good, too!
And this is a late add, but it's also dedicated to my friends Ashley, Tyler, Ben, Wren, Jessie, and Courtney. Congratulations to the Class of 2008!
And it may be a while before I update this, because I leave for Florida this Thursday and go straight from Florida to Chicago, so it will be June before there's another chapter.