Okay, so I know it's been wayyyy too long but I just spent three and a half weeks at the beach and my mummy wouldnt let me take my laptop :'( I did, however, have plenty of time to write so hopefully i can get a few chapters edited and up a little faster to make up for it.
This chapter was supposed to be their discussion but Tony had so much going on in his head and I couldnt get that down as well as everything that has to be said between these two in one chapter, I didnt really want to have a super long chapter after the last few short ones so hopefully I'll get to that in the next one. Anyways, you guys have waited long enough, on with the story..
When his eyes met hers, strangely enough his first thought was not of his sudden revelation but instead was the realisation that this was possibly the first time in the five years he had worked with her that she looked at him and hid nothing. There were no walls guarding her feelings and he was hit with the full depth of the emotion in her eyes.
His second thought was that he cared. Of course, as her partner he was expected to care, but this was different. He cared more than a partner, even more than a best friend, and he knew he would do anything and everything to make this look go away. It was as if it physically hurt him to see her this way.
These first two revelations were pushed to the side almost immediately as he finally came to the third: he had almost lost her.
As always in serious situations he was overcome with an urge to make light of the situation and, in typical DiNozzo fashion, relieve the tension with laughter and jokes. One look in her eyes however, sobered him up quickly and his brain went into cop mode.
Step one, evaluate the situation and eliminate the danger.
Moving slowly, not wanting to push her and bring back the walls that had kept him out for years, he reached down to where the gun sat on the bench between them. He picked it up and gently moved it from her reach, sliding it into the holster at his hip that usually held his own, all the while keeping his eyes trained on her. She didn't appear to want to stop him taking it, but he wasn't taking any chances.
As soon as the gun was safely away he saw her previously tense shoulders slump, either in defeat or relief, he couldn't be sure. Tony knew the next step was to find out what was going on in her head, but he wasn't sure where to begin. He didn't want to push her and while he wanted her to talk to him, he knew if he pressured Ziva into talking about her feelings she would only flee, and right now he knew that would be very bad for both of them.
Running over his game plan in his head, Tony took a deep breath and started the conversation that he knew she never would.
'How did you get here?' he asked, gesturing around the two of them so that she would understand he was not asking about her state of mind, merely how she had physically gotten there. When she was read to talk about the emotional side she would, until then he would try and piece together what he could. On the outside he appeared to be calm, thinking only about the question he had asked. On the inside however, his thoughts were raging and he kept coming back to the one thing that had been plaguing him since he had worked it out. How had he let this happen? How had he missed it?
Before I go, I have a question for you guys. Would you be interested in seeing what the others back at NCIS are up to while this is going on? or should I just stick to telling Tony and Ziva's side of the story? It wouldn't be a case or anything but I was thinking Mcgee, or even Gibbs, would probably have some thoughts on where these two have disappeared to. Let me know :)