Ziva was surprised to find Tony already at their reserved table, the waiter bringing a bottle of wine and setting it and two wine glasses on the table as she approached. Tony spotted her when the waiter moved away and he stood.
He cleared his throat, "Hey."
She lifted a corner of her mouth, "Hello."
She scooted in on the other side of the booth and he sat down again, "I got the wine you used to like, I'm assuming that hasn't changed."
Ziva looked at him, her lips slightly parted, but she closed them when she saw the look on his face, "No, nothing has changed, Tony."
He laughed, "I beg to differ. A lot has changed, Ziva." He finished pouring her wine and poured himself a glass, taking a sip and then spinning it in a circle with the stem. Scratching his nose, he searched his brain for anything to talk about, "So, um, thanks for switching to dinner. Gibbs had McGee and I go pick a witness from Elkridge this morning. Traffic was a nightmare, so I knew I wouldn't make it back in time."
Ziva nodded and tried to ignore the knot in her stomach that formed when she heard Gibbs' name, "It is fine. I do not have anything else to do right now." He narrowed his eyes at her as she took a sip of her own wine.
"Right now? What does that mean?"
She turned her head like that was a crazy question, "I am looking for a job."
He swallowed and Ziva could see the nervousness in his eyes, "Oh, so you're staying?"
She looked away from his eyes and into the waiter's as he took their orders. Once Noah was gone again, she looked at Tony again and sighed, "Yes, I think so. I am happy when I am here, in DC."
Tony nodded slowly, "Oh, okay. So um, where are you thinking of applying to?"
She took a long sip of her wine as she thought about the answer to his question. "I am not sure. I have not done this in so long, I do not really know what is out there. I do not see myself standing behind a register all day long or sitting behind a desk all day."
Tony chuckled and let a smile spread across his lips, "Well, on some days you sat behind a desk all day long when you worked with Gibbs. Especially if he was in a bad enough mood just to make you stay until all the paperwork known to man was finished."
She laughed softly, "Yes, that is true."
He sipped his wine again and reached for the bottle to refill it, "The only fun part is throwing things at McGee."
She smiled, "I went to visit McGee and Delilah, Abby too. They seem well."
Tony nodded, "Yeah, they're good. McLilah seem pretty happy. McGee is sickening most mornings with that goofy smile on his face."
Ziva chuckled, but her smile grew for her friend, "I am happy that he is happy."
Tony shrugged a shoulder, "Yeah, me too. Abby was dating some guy, Dale, I think. But she broke up with him recently."
She nodded, genuinely interested in the update on her family, "How are Ducky and Palmer doing?"
He nodded again, "Good. Ducky is the same, Palmer and Breena are trying to have a kid."
"Good for them. I think Jimmy will make an excellent father."
Tony laughed, taking a gulp of his wine and waited while Noah put their food on the table, "I agree. Can't be any worse than mine."
Ziva furrowed her eyebrows at him, "Your father is trying, Tony. How is he doing?"
Tony was sawing off a piece of his steak with his knife, "Okay, I guess. He had a mild heart attack a few months ago. He must be fine, because he's getting his way on flights and hotel rooms again, even though the doctor told him to take it easy on the flying and traveling." He ate the piece of meat and when he was finished chewing, he picked up his water glass, "But at least we know where I get my damn stubbornness from."
"I am sorry to hear about his heart attack." Ziva said. She pushed her salmon around on her plate, looking up at him again when he spoke.
"He likes you a lot, Ziva. He asks about you all the time."
She smiled a little, nodding, "I care for him as well."
"He liked Ellie okay, but he still asked about you every time I saw him. He still tells me that I'm an idiot for not marrying you."
Ziva pressed her lips together and looked down at her plate. Tony chuckled and finished off his second glass of wine. He reached for the bottle and poured a little more in hers and filled his up again.
She softly cleared her throat, causing him to look up at her, "And how is Gibbs?"
Tony watched her as he lifted his wine glass again, taking a swallow, "He's the same stubborn, head slapping, coffee drinking, amazing investigator super hero." She nodded, pushing the food around with her fork. She waited until he spoke again to look up at him, "Have you seen Gibbs yet, Ziva?"
She shook her head, and she could feel her cheeks burning with embarrassment. A few seconds later, she could still feel his eyes on her face, so she made herself meet his green eyes, "I am not sure what to say."
"To him or to me?" He asked quickly.
"To Gibbs." She replied.
He put down his eating utensils and sat back, crossing his arms and looking directly at her. She also put down her fork and placed her hands in her lap, "So, you know he knows you're here, right?" She swallowed.
Yes, she knew he knew she was back in town. Not because Abby, Tony, McGee or Delilah told him, she knew they wouldn't, but because he was Gibbs and he knew everything, "The longer you wait, David, the harder it's going to be for you to talk to him." He let out a breath after staring at her, unfolding his arms and picking up his fork and knife to cut a piece of steak. After chewing the bite, he used the fork to point at her, "I'd figure it out soon, David, and get your ass over there and talk to him. It's killing him that you haven't."
That was enough to make her angry, "Is that what you wanted? To make me feel guilty about not talking to Gibbs?"
He sighed, shaking his head and pouring himself another glass, and finishing off the bottle. "No. But it was an added bonus."
She rolled her eyes, "Fine. I will go talk to him. But I do not want to stay here and talk to you." She began to slide out of the booth, and he let her get so far as to stand up before stopping her.
"Wait, Ziva."
She sighed, rolling her eyes again, "What do you want to say, DiNozzo? I do not have time for these games."
He was about to open his mouth to argue with her that technically, in fact, she did have time to play games, but his phone rang instead. He sighed and reached for it, but he and Ziva already knew who'd be calling at this time of night, and they both knew their evening was about to be cut short. He ended the call and looked up at her, standing up and pulling out his wallet, "Got a lead on the case."
"I assumed." She replied. He walked behind her, paid the bill and walked outside, standing next to his car with his arms and ankles crossed. She got tired of waiting on him to speak, so she did instead, "Thank you for the lecture."
He nodded slowly, because okay, he deserved that. "Ziva." He paused again, unsure of how to arrange his words, "It's hard for me, okay? It's hard for me to put you leaving behind me."
She nodded slowly and walked around to where he was leaning against his car, "I know." She said softly. "But I am back, Tony. I am here standing in front of you. Why is it so difficult for things to return to the way they used to be? I do not understand why it is hard for you to talk to me."
He moved one of his hands to rub it over his face, "It's hard because I kissed you. I kissed you, and I meant it. But I guess that didn't matter to you."
Ziva took a step towards him and it made him move his head back, "I told you that I had to spend some time alone, Tony. I needed to fix myself. You said you understood."
"I did, Ziva. I understood that I wasn't going to see you everyday anymore and that you no longer had my back. It sucked." She swallowed and looked into his eyes through the darkness. His phone beeped again and he looked at it, sighing a little, "That's McGee texting the address to me."
She nodded, "You should go."
He put his phone back on his belt clip and nodded, "Yeah." She walked around her car and opened her door, stopping to look at him again.
"It meant a lot, Tony. It meant more than you know."
He put his arms over his opened door and flipped the keys in his hands, "You're too late, Ziva." She turned her head just a little, waiting on him to continue, "I've met someone, and I'm crazy about her. I love her." Ziva looked down at the ground beneath her feet so he wouldn't see the hurt on her face. When she got the courage to look at him again, he was sitting in his car, "We had our chance. I think it's best if we leave it in the past."
He closed the door and immediately put the car into reverse, speeding out of the parking lot.
About a week later, Ziva sighed and looked up at the leasing agent, wondering how many ways she could kill him with the BIC pen in her hand.
The man, Mr. Matthews, looked at her and chuckled nervously, "Only two more, Ms. David."
Ziva finished the paper she was signing and looked up at him without moving her head, "It's Dah-veed." She said sharply.
His face changed to look even more concerned, "Oh, I'm so sorry." He flipped the page she finished and pointed at the next line, "And here." The pen made something of what looked like her signature, and she was beginning to wonder if she was even spelling her name right, "Okay, and initial here, sign at the bottom and you have just leased your very own apartment."
She dropped the pen on the desk and flexed her hand. He stood and shook her hand, handing her keys. "Thank you."
"My pleasure, Ms. Davi-" He stopped when she gave him the kill eye for almost mispronouncing her name again. "David. When can we expect you to move in?"
She lifted a shoulder, "I do not have much, and it will not take me long at all. I have a few things in storage, but I will have to purchase the rest. I will probably be done in a couple of days."
The fake smile the man had plastered on his face almost the entire time she was with him was back, "Great! Well you let me know if you need any help, okay? Any help at all!"
"Okay, thank you." She shook his hand again and headed up the stairs to her new place. She opened the door and stepped inside, immediately rubbing her hands against her arms to warm them up.
It was cold and empty.
A few hours later, she was putting her books back on the bookshelf she had in storage. She placed a few of them too close to the edge and they fell to the hardwood floor with a thump. Groaning, she knelt to the floor and stacked them again.
She picked up one of the books that somehow turned upside down and landed face down on the floor, causing the pictures that were inside to fall out. She picked them up, looking at each picture. One was a picture that she guessed McGee, or maybe Jimmy took. It was of her and Tony at a crime scene, him standing with his arm around her shoulders, looking at her and smiling, and her looking down at the camera around her neck. Abby had found the picture looking through the ones at the crime scene, printed it and gave them each a copy. She didn't remember what Tony was laughing about, probably some American phrase she had gotten wrong.
But it wasn't even the way he was looking at her that made tears well up in her eyes.
It was the way things used to be so easy with the two of them.
She sighed and flipped to the next picture. It was one of the whole team holding their drinks up after a successful case completion. She couldn't remember what the case was about specifically, but remembered that Vance, even though he wasn't in the picture, had stopped by to offer them all congratulations.
She smiled at the picture, wiping off the little bit of dust that was on it. Again, there was Tony next to her, a big smile on his face. He had his arm around her waist, holding her body tightly to his own. She remembered the touch burning through her shirt. She sighed and placed the two pictures on the top of the stack of books and stood with them all.
After she was finished putting her books away, she went into her new bedroom where more boxes waited to be unpacked, something she was already tired of. She opened one, and then another, and finally found what she was looking for. She picked two frames out and walked back over to her dresser, putting the photos inside.
She placed them on the mantle in the living room and stepped back, looking at each one of them again.
Sighing, she decided that tomorrow, she definitely would be going to talk to Gibbs.
It was time.
The next day, Ziva stood beside her new car, her arms and legs crossed, leaning against it. She was parked outside of Gibbs house, on the street in front of it.
She tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear and sighed, walking a few steps into his yard. If the conversation with Tony was any indication, this was not going to be a good reunion. She loved Gibbs-and she knew Gibbs loved her. But he didn't like the way she'd left him, and she knew he was going to be a little unforgiving about that.
She was at the front door now, her hand hovering over the knob. She finally put her hand on the cold metal and stepped inside, finding the place hadn't changed one bit. She headed through the kitchen and opened the basement door, hearing the familiar sound of wood sanding happening down below. She took a couple of steps down and looked up at him to find him staring right back at her through his safety glasses.
She took the last step so that her feet were on the concrete and crossed her hands in front of her belt. She waited a few more seconds and looked down at the floor, and then back up at him, "Hello."
Gibbs looked at her through his safety glasses, and quickly looked back down at the bookcase he was building. He threw the tool he was holding and the glasses from his face onto the structure, walking a few steps towards her.
Ziva swallowed the lump in her throat, as he stared at her, "How are you doing, Gibbs?" She asked softly.
He chuckled a little, shaking his head. "How am I doing? Well, lets see." He looked up at the ceiling as if he was pulling his memory from the clouds, "I lost my first agent to a dirt bag, also known as your brother, when he put a bullet hole right in the middle of her forehead. I lost my second agent twice, the first time, I put my own life, and the lives of my two other agents to go and rescue her, and then she leaves again." Ziva looked down so that he wouldn't see the tears welling up in her eyes, "So now, I loose my third agent because she has a huge heart, and she can't let it go, so she goes to get revenge on a guy that fucking shoots her."
She gained the courage to look up at him again, only to learn that he was pouring himself a drink. "I am sorry that you lost one of your agents." She closed her mouth so that she could get some moisture back into it, "But that is not my fault. I do not think it is fair for you to blame that on me."
He had already finished the glass he'd poured himself just a couple of minutes ago, and now he was pouring another. He stared into her eyes from across the room, and Ziva could see the hurt in them. Her gut clenched when he stepped towards her again. "I'm not gonna do this. Go, Ziva. Go home."
"Gibbs I-"
"I don't want you around me. I can't trust you. I won't anymore. Go home."
She was hurt, but she fixed her face so it wouldn't give her feelings away, "I am not going anywhere, Gibbs. I am going to stay." She swallowed, "This is my home."
Gibbs shook his head, setting down his drink and reaching for his safety glasses, "I've heard all of this before, Ziva. I give it exactly 6 months, and you'll be gone again."
She swallowed again, but she shook her head, "You are wrong Gibbs."
He chuckled like she said something funny and picked up a piece of sandpaper, starting to sand as he turned to her to speak again, "Then stay away from me."
Ziva stood and stared at him for several seconds before turning on her heel and heading up the basement steps.
Several hours later…
Tony was sitting at his kitchen table, a case file open in front of him, his laptop off to the side a little. He was trying his hardest to concentrate, the light above him the only one on in his whole apartment. He heard his bed move in his bedroom where Vanessa was sleeping soundly. He put the pen that was in his hand down on the table and leaned back to rub his face.
His lack of concentration had little to do with the fact that his initials are A.D.D, and it had little to do with the fact that he and Vanessa had an argument earlier about their lack of spending time together.
Tony's argument was that they had just spent about 4 hours together, with dinner and a movie, and that his job demanded a lot of his attention.
Her next words echoed in his head, "No, something else is demanding your attention. It's not work and it's definitely not me."
Tony side and stood to get himself a bottle of water.
He couldn't seem to turn his mind off. He wasn't particularly concerned about working things out with Vanessa, she was a great girl and she was putting up with a lot of more crap than most women would've.
But the fact that she knew something else was up with him suggested that she knows him a little more than he knew her.
The case wasn't bothering him, because truthfully, it was solved. He was only working now and skipping out on sleep to catch up with the paperwork.
Yes, technically, it could've waited, and he could've technically had a romantic evening with Vanessa. But since he still couldn't get his former partner off of his mind, he didn't think it was appropriate to sleep with her when all he could think about was her.
The next noise heard made his heart speed up and put his hand on his right hip, searching for his weapon that wasn't there.
The voice he heard was female, and she was yelling and beating on his apartment door. He looked down at his watch next furrowing his brow at the 0200h time.
"What in the hell?" He said out loud and looked over at his bedroom door to see if Vanessa had stirred. She hadn't, so he walked over to the door and looked through the peephole to find Ziva was the one making so much noise in the hallway. She continued beating on the door, yelling loudly for him to open the door.
He swung the door open and immediately started to try and calm her down, "Ziva, what are you doing? I've got neighbors!"
She pointed her finger at him, "It is all your fault, Tony!"
Tony winced when he heard one of his neighbors yell 'shut up!', "Ziva come in, you need to be quiet."
"I am not going in there with you!" Tony had enough. He grabbed Her arm and pulled her body into his, pulling her inside where she continued to shout at him, "Get your hands off of me DiNozzo or I will hurt you." He had gotten all the way into the living room before she fought her way away from him, pushing him backwards so hard that he stumbled a little.
He stared at her for a second, dumbfounded. He'd been out with her drinking several times before, but she had never, ever been this intoxicated.
He remembered that his bedroom door was open a little, and even though he knew she could probably sleep through a train horn, he didn't want Vanessa to wake up to the argument he knew was about to happen with the Israeli. To his relief, his girlfriend was still sleeping soundly, so he shut the door and walked back into the living room where Ziva stood with her arms crossed, staring at him with eyes that wanted to kill him.
He sighed and stood across the room from her, turning on a lamp so they could see each other better, "Do you think you can talk to me calmly and not shout to tell me what in the hell is going on with you?"
"Screw you, Tony. I do not want to speak to you at all. I do not care who hears me."
"What happened? I've never seen you like this." She narrowed her eyes at him.
"Maybe I have changed. You were so insistent that I was different, perhaps I am!"
He rolled his eyes at her and walked to the kitchen to get her a glass of water and some medicine he knew she would need in a couple of hours. He returned and found her still standing like a soldier with her arms crossed. He didn't know how much she drank, but he knew it was a lot more than usual. How she was managing to stand up straight and not fall over was beyond him. He sat down in the chair that was across the room from her and tried to talk with her again, "I'll sit here all night if I have to, Ziva."
Her voice was a little lower, but still just as harsh, ? Go make love to her, DiNozzo. That is all you're good for."
That was enough to make him stand up again, but he didn't dare take a step towards her, "You leave her out of this. Vanessa has nothing to do with whatever your reasoning is for acting this way."
"She has everything to do with it!" Ziva yelled back at him.
He groaned internally, "Ziva will you please sit down and talk to me?" She stared at him, her eyes as narrow as they could go without being closed, "You sent me there, DiNozzo. You knew how he would act and you did not care. You sent me there thinking that I would be welcomed back into his life with open arms, and he hates me. He told me to go back home and not be around him!"
"Gibbs?" Tony replied. He was in complete shock, mostly at the level of alcohol in her body, but also that Gibbs words was what got her this way.
"I am done. You do not want me here, Gibbs does not want me here, so I am going somewhere else. Neither of you have to worry about me anymore." She finally moved from the spot she had stood in the whole time, heading towards the door. Tony stood and grabbed her arm, holding it tightly.
"Ziva, I don't know how you got over here, and frankly I don't care. But you're not leaving here in the state you're in. You can stand there all night like you've been doing, or you can lay down on the couch."
She stared into his green eyes and spoke through her teeth, "Let go of me."
"You're not leaving here." He said again.
She tried to move from him, but he held her arm tightly and pulled her into his body again.
She continued to fight him, and in any other circumstance, he knew she'd already have him dropped on the floor. But this time he was winning, and continued to push her back until her back hit the wall. "Let go of me!"
He held both of her arms, his body pinning the rest of hers against the wall, "I'm not letting you leave."
Ziva turned head so that she didn't have to look at him anymore. He finally let go of her arms, but didn't move back from her body. She looked into his eyes again and then down at his dry lips. She pressed hers together so she wouldn't press her lips to his.
They both still breathed hard, the fight wearing both of them out. Tony looked down at her face and spoke softly to her, "You okay, now?"
She looked up to his face again and couldn't help it anymore. She leaned up and wrapped her hands around his neck, holding him in place as she buried her mouth into his. Her head was swimming and she couldn't figure out whether she was dreaming or if she was actually kissing him again.
Her question was quickly answered when she felt his arms wrap around her waist, crushing her against the wall and his body. Ziva moaned into his mouth and Tony quickly broke the kiss, letting go of her and stepping back a little. "I can't, Ziva. I love her. It isn't fair."
She watched him as he went over to his hall closet and grabbed a pillow and blanket, walking back over to her, throwing them down on the couch.
He looked at her again and walked away, walking down the hall and into his bedroom, shutting the door behind him. He looked at Vanessa as she slept soundly and shook his head in the dark silence of the room.
What would happen next?
He didn't know.