AN: Thanks to Jen for being a fantastic Beta. Hope you feel better, my dear! Don't make me drive out there and give you Abby-hugs until you're well! ;-) And thanks to everyone who took the time to review! I can't tell you how much I appreciate the feedback. :)
The sound of tumblers turning in the lock as she twisted the key was, as they say, music to her ears.
It had been a long day.
She started out the morning knowing it would be her last morning as an Israeli citizen and it was with a bittersweet taste that she went through her morning routine.
What was left for her in Israel were markers of death, memories of loss, and longing for happier times. What lay ahead of her in America was a chance to start over –as much as one could with a history like hers.
Arriving at the ceremony and finding that part of her new family missing was heart breaking.
She had been given a small warning that morning, that things weren't going to go to plan: a text message waiting for her when she woke up.
I'm Sorry. -T
She tried to call and ended up in his voicemail one too many times and eventually the need to make it to the ceremony on time won over her curiosity at his apology.
As they filed into their seats, she quickly scanned the faces of her assembled friends. Her new family. Despite her years of training her emotions to hide quietly beneath the surface, the disappointment must have shown in her eyes when she came up two short.
As he hugged her that morning, McGee whispered in her ear that he had set up a camera in the corner of the room to capture the event. She knew what he didn't say; she would now have the chance of sharing her big day with the two men who weren't present. And, while it did little to fill the void of the two empty chairs to her left, it offered a small amount of comfort that the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity would not be lost.
Gibbs' absence in the bullpen that afternoon led Vance to send the team home early. And, for the first time in a while, Ziva was happy to not be able to lose herself in her work for another twelve or eighteen hour day. For the first time in a while, she was happy to head home and get away from the sight of the empty desks across from her and to her left.
McGee's understanding and sympathetic smile had been too much to handle for another hour. Despite his good intentions, she didn't know if she could keep herself from smacking the pity off his face.
Ziva turned the handle in her fingers and pushed the door open, blinking as the unexpected smell of lilies wafted through her door and out over the front porch of her condo.
Her backpack hit the floor just inside the door and she quickly scanned the room, her hand twitching over her sidearm, ready to strike at the first sign of an intruder.
Instead, the only thing out of place that she found was the large – no, huge - vase of flowers on her coffee table.
Red, white, and blue, of course.
With an American flag in the center.
And a small note on the coffee table.
She didn't have to read the note to know who they were from. As she pulled her phone from her pocket, fully intending to make a 'thank you' call, the phone rang.
Her eyes flicked over the caller ID and Ziva couldn't help but smile at his timing.
She flipped the phone open, shutting the apartment door behind her quietly.
"Shalom."
"I am so sorry," was his quick reply over the slightly staticy line.
"I know."
"I swear I would much rather have been there," he said. "Mexico is not fun this time of year. Hot. Mosquitoes."
"Yes, I can see how that would make you want to be in DC," she said, smirking as she lightly teased him.
He paused, his tone changing to one of honesty. "Its not why I want to be in DC, Ziva. I would want to be there even if it was twice as hot and had a million mosquitoes. This was your big day- I promised to be there and I didn't hold up my end."
"McGee taped it," she said. "You can see it when you get back."
"That's not the point."
"I know," she said softly.
"I'm sorry," he repeated.
"You're breaking one of Gibbs' rules," she teased, settling down on her sofa, toeing off her shoes and tucking her feet up underneath her. She allowed her gaze to settle idly on the vibrant flowers.
"I'm not Gibbs," he said firmly.
"And I am thankful for that!" she said with a wry chuckle. "Though you two did pull the same disappearing act today."
"Seriously? He wasn't there either?" Tony's voice rose with anger. "Son of a bitch."
"Tony-" she started with a sigh.
"No, Ziva. Don't say 'its ok.' Because its not. We're your 'guys,' you know? We're the guys that are there for you and we both completely bailed!"
"You two are there for me more than anyone else has ever been there for me. Missing this one event does not change that. But I will not lie to you: I was disappointed you were not there."
"Yeah?"
"Yes," she said honestly. It would have been nice to have you there next to me, as you have been all along. "But it is not as if I was alone. I had 'guys.' McGee and Palmer were there. So was Ducky. It was…" she paused, searching for the right words, "like my two brothers and grandfather were standing with me. And Abby was there, of course. McGee even convinced her to leave the dog-collar at home for the occasion. It was nice."
"Two brothers and a grandfather, huh?" he chuckled.
"Mm," she hummed her agreement, leaning over slightly to inhale the rich perfume from the lilies and irises in the vase.
"So you were missing … your …What's Gibbs?"
"Like a father in many ways," she said. "At least, like what I think a father should be like. I wouldn't know as he is quite different from my own father."
"He's about as different as you can get from my father, too."
Ziva shifted, leaning into the pillowing of the sofa a bit more. "Despite that, you did not turn out too badly," she said, surprising herself at the truth she felt behind the words. "The flowers are lovely, Tony. Thank you."
"Small consolation," he muttered, self-deprecatingly.
She rolled his eyes at his pouty attitude. "When will you be back?"
"I'm on base waiting to hop a cod."
"Mission accomplished?"
"Kinda. I spoke to Vance before I called you. I convinced him to let one of the locals handle it from here out."
"Locals?" she asked. "Should I interpret that to mean who I think it means?"
"Yep."
They fell silent for what was really a few seconds, but felt like much longer, as they each tried to find their next words.
She spoke first: "What time do you land?"
"Dunno yet. Hopefully soon."
"I see."
"Why?"
"I was going to offer to pick you up at the base. McGee invited everyone to a Cook-in."
"Cook-out," Tony corrected. "When?"
"Tomorrow afternoon. Vance is in a generous mood. We have leave for the rest of the week. And it is a holiday on Monday. A long-weekend, yes? Apparently this is the official start of summer for Americans and it involves Cook-outs and American Football and fireworks?"
"Hey, you're an American now. You can't call it American Football."
"Do you really want to argue?" she asked, softly, the exhaustion evident in her voice. It had not been a physically demanding day, but the emotional drain of having both Tony and Gibbs absent had tapped her resources.
"Nah," his voice softened. "Arguing with you is about as opposite as we can get from what I really want to do."
It was his gentle tone that piqued her interest. "And what is that, exactly?"
"Tell ya later," he said, his voice suddenly muffled by the approaching sound of propellers. "My ride just pulled up."
She could barely make out his final words as the engines drowned him out, but she thought she heard 'See you soon' before the line clicked and echoed with a dial-tone.