Okay, I'm on a bit of a roll... Act 4 is in the can.
Disclaimer: It's called fan fiction. By definition, it means that it is written by an amateur writer.
Monday morning, Gibbs came to Bethesda to check on his Senior Field Agent. He brought along someone he thought could help Tony out. "Hey, Boss," Tony stated. "Hey, Ka–" Tony stopped mid-sentence. Although the woman that came with Gibbs resembled his former partner, he had been told about her death.
"I expected you to do that," Rachel noted. "Kate and I do resemble each other."
"I take it you're not her just because of that resemblance."
"No, I'm not," she replied before formally introducing herself. "Doctor Rachel Cranston."
"So, Rachel, are you here as family, or as a doctor."
"A little of both, actually," she replied. "I know you've suffered being shot at, as well as a nasty blow to the head. I'm here to try to help you with your memory. Have you been able to recover any pieces of your recent memory."
"It's hard to tell when you don't know what you're looking for. I did, however, have a strange dream."
"That's a good start. Tell me about your dream."
"I have this dream where I'm in my childhood home. In the middle of the room is a baby grand piano. I sit down and start to play. As I do, this woman comes down the stairwell as begins to accompany me on vocals. I don't recognize her, but there's just something about her. She's like Kelly LeBrock in The Woman in Red. Hell, she's even wearing a red dress herself."
"Can you tell me anything else about her?"
Tony closed his eyes to recollect his Woman in Red. "She had long brown hair, with as slight wave to it, chocolate-brown eyes, and a slightly olive-tan complexion. She wore a gold Star of David on her neck, so she's Jewish. For some reason, I'm thinking she may be Israeli."
Gibbs and Rachel were hopeful about Tony's memory. They knew exactly who the Woman in Red was. "DiNozzo, do you remember anything else."
Tony flashed back to the gunman. "Before I shot him, the leader said 'we will not rest until the Jew Cancer is stricken from this earth.' Sounds like someone wants to start the Fourth Reich."
"Do you remember pulling the trigger?"
"Yes," Tony recalled. "I don't know what it is, but his antisemitic comment somehow made me resolve to take him out."
Since the team was still off the active case rotation, Tim had a chance to go out on a lunch date. He met his date at a small cafe near the Navy Yard. "Hey," Tim noted.
"Hi, Timmy," Tali replied.
"So, how's Ziva doing?"
"She's a little better. She hopes that Tony will recover his memories."
"You know, Gibbs went to see him with Rachel this morning."
"How did that go?"
"Well, he remembers shooting at the gunman, but not much else. However, he has dreams about a woman in red."
"I take it that Tony is Gene Wilder," Tali quipped. "Who has the role of Kelly LeBrock?"
"Actually, both Gibbs and Rachel think it may be Ziva."
Tali thought of something before replying. "Tim, you know that Tony and Ziva have moved in together, right?"
"Yeah," Tim noted.
"How much of a shock do you think it would be to him if he found out he's living with his girlfriend."
"I never thought of that," Tim noted. "You're right, that would be a shock. After all, before Ziva, he never let anyone into his personal space."
"Any chance I could talk to Rachel?"
"Sure," McGee answered, writing down the doctor's cell phone number.
"Thanks, Timmy."
Rachel met up with Tali at the dance studio later that afternoon. "Thanks for coming," Tali replied.
"I hope I didn't catch you at a bad time."
"You've caught me at the perfect time. I have an hour before my next class."
"So, McGee told you about our progress with Tony."
"Pretty much," Tali replied. "I had a crazy idea that I'd like to run through your head. It's something I thought might help fill the holes in Tony's memory.
"What sort of idea do you have?"
Tali quietly explained her plant to restore Tony's memory of Ziva.
Ziva was surprised when she heard a knock on her apartment door the next morning. She opened it to find her baby sister. "Hey," she stated. "Gibbs said I could steal you today. Apparently, you still have quite a bit of comp time built accumulated."
"What are you up to, Tali?" Ziva inquired.
"Either Tony's going to get his memory back, or he's going to fall in love with you all over again."
"So, what does Gibbs think of this plan?"
"Both Gibbs and Dr. Cranston think that it's crazy, but that it just might work."
Tali brought Ziva to a boutique dress shop. "Can I help you," the store clerk asked.
"I'm looking for something in red for her," Tali replied, pointing to her big sister. "Something that will turn her boyfriend's head."
"Something to knock 'em dead, I take it," the clerk commented.
"I do not wish to kill him, especially since he is just about to be released from the hospital," Ziva replied to the clerk's idiom.
"We'll settle for 'turn his head,'" Tali continued. "Also, my sister's 12 weeks along, so we will need a little wiggle room for her baby bump."
"We should still be able to help you find a dress that fits."
Ziva spent all day trying on dresses. Most of them were too uncomfortable for Ziva, or did not look flattering on her. "This is the last one," Tali noted. "If this isn't the one, we'll try again tomorrow."
When Ziva emerged from the dressing room, Tali was mesmerized. The crimson dress perfectly accented her body. It wasn't too tight, but it did show a little bit of her baby bump. More appropriately, it did not feel to tight. "Zi, that's the one."
"I agree," Ziva answered as she looked in the mirror. If this does not attract Tony's attention, Ziva thought to herself, I do not know what will. "We'll take it," she said to the sales clerk.
The clerk arranged for some alterations to accommodate Ziva's pregnancy. "The dress should be ready on Friday."
"That will be just fine," Tali responded as she presented her credit card to make the sale.
**foof**
It just wouldn't be NCIS without pop culture references, or Ziva not understanding a figure of speech.
I'll be away from my computer and likely will not have a chance to do any writing this weekend. However, I do see all of my feedback, so please leave a comment in the box below, and I'll be sure to see it.