A week after Kate's move, Tony found himself sitting by his computer, awaiting a facebook message. She had called him once they arrived to their new home but they only got to talk for a brief moment since Kate and her family had a lot of things to do around the house. It had been seven days and Tony was starting to think that Kate would never talk to him again. Of course, that was a ridiculously stupid thought, but Tony couldn't help it. He was starting to go insane.

He clicked on Kate's profile and began to browse through her pictures. There were so many of Kate and him together, and it only made Tony miss her even more.

Then, to his surprise, a message box appeared in the bottom right corner of his screen. It was Kate.

Tony instantly smiled and even though he wasn't the best at typing quickly, his hands went to work on the keyboard.

Caitlin Todd: Hey

Anthony Gibbs: hi. it took you awhile :P

Caitlin Todd: yeah. sry bout that.

Anthony Gibbs: nah, its ok. so wutcha been up to?

Caitlin Todd: lots and lots of unpacking!!!

Anthony Gibbs: haha bummer! ;)

Caitlin Todd: yeah well…it's better than just leaving all these boxes unpacked!

Anthony Gibbs: lol. true.

Caitlin Todd: :) so how's it been?

Anthony Gibbs: good…it's rly lonely w/o u tho.

Caitlin Todd: :( yeah it's lonely here too. but once school starts im sure we'll be a-okay!

Anthony Gibbs: hopefully

Caitlin Todd: :/ so…has the new fam. moved in yet?

Anthony Gibbs: uhg…don't remind me!

Caitlin Todd: oh plz Tony! im sure they're fine!

Anthony Gibbs: no. no they arnt

Caitlin Todd: wuts wrong w/ them??

Anthony Gibbs: they just…idk.

Caitlin Todd: ha! have you even TALKED to them?!

Anthony Gibbs: yes! yes I have! and I dont like them!

Caitlin Todd: my goodness Tony! wut r they like? only my parents met them when they agreed to buy the house from us.

Anthony Gibbs: they're…well…there are only two of them.

Caitlin Todd: oh yeah?

Anthony Gibbs: yah. single father and one daughter. she's our age.

Caitlin Todd: cool! u show her round town yet?

Anthony Gibbs: noooooo. cuz I dont like them. remember?

Caitlin Todd: anthony gibbs! you have to be nice to ur neighbors! didn't ur parents teach you ANYTHING? lol :)

Anthony Gibbs: :P actually my mom keeps telling me to go talk to her and like…go out to eat w/ her or sumthin. but im so ba so im not :D

Caitlin Todd: hah. suuuure. anyways, wut's her name?

Anthony Gibbs: who Ziva?

Caitlin Todd: well idk…is Ziva the girl who moved into my old house?

Anthony Gibbs: yessum!

Caitlin Todd: then yes, Ziva. wait…wut kinda name is 'ziva'? where's she from??

Anthony Gibbs: Israel.

Caitlin Todd: ooo. that's pretty cool! do u no why she moved here?

Anthony Gibbs: yeah. her dad's a mossad officer.

Caitlin Todd: wait FER CEREAL?!

Anthony Gibbs: haha yeah. well…former mossad I guess. he's workin for the embassy now. even got the plates to prove it!

Caitlin Todd: haha. oh i c. so…what's Ziva like?

Anthony Gibbs: idk.

Caitlin Todd: well…what's she look like?

Anthony Gibbs: idk.

Caitlin Todd: TONY.

Anthony Gibbs: uhg fine fine. she's like…kinda tan-ish. u no…darker skin. and…she's got brown hair that's like super wavy-curly. idk how to describe it. im a guy.

Caitlin Todd: haha. keep goin'!

Anthony Gibbs: um…she's got…eyes…

Caitlin Todd: well i'd hope so!

Anthony Gibbs: lol. i don't remember wut color. OH and she wears these REALLY tacky cargo pants.

Caitlin Todd: :( don't be mean Tony! I'm sure they're fine!

Anthony Gibbs: yeah…i guess ur right…anyways…she's just…there.

Caitlin Todd: mmm. is she pretty?

Anthony Gibbs: ………i guess so, yeah.

Caitlin Todd: good :)

Anthony Gibbs: good? y is that good?

Caitlin Todd: because…now u have something to distract u with!

Anthony Gibbs: …w/e u say kate.

Caitlin Todd: haha. ooop! I g2g. tell me more about this 'ziva' later, ok?

Anthony Gibbs: yeah. bye. ttyl

Caitlin Todd: mmhm :) bye.

Caitlin Todd has signed off.

Tony sighed and closed out of the FB Chat box. Kate had brought up an interesting subject: Tony's new neighbors. He didn't actually hate them, but he didn't necessarily like them either. What bothered him the most was that it only took five days for a new family to replace Kate's. He didn't want replacements. He wanted the real McCoy.

Nah, that wasn't all that was bothering him. What was really bothering him was his talk about Ziva David, his new neighbor. The first day she arrived, Jenny had made Tony go over and say hi. So reluctantly, he did. He had shaken both Ziva's and her father's hand and found that oddly enough, they both had strong handshakes.

For some reason, this bothered Tony. Not like, really, really, really bothered him. He just thought it odd that this girl who just looked like any other girl – besides the fact she was clad in cargo pants and a black t-shirt in 80 degree weather – had such a strong handshake. In fact, it was a little intimidating.

He shook his head a bit and scoffed. Him, Tony Gibbs, intimidated by a woman? Only one woman could every intimidate him, and that was his own mother.

None the less, she was a mystery all right. But not enough of a mystery to actually take interest in her. He would just watch from afar and try to avoid any contact with this new family.

Tony closed his laptop and proceeded to walk downstairs to the

living room where his mother was sitting and reading the newspaper.

"Tony," she said without looking up from the paper.

"Yes, mother?" Tony responded innocently.

"Have you been outside today?"

"Noooo," he drew out.

Jenny sighed and set down the paper, along with her reading glasses. "Your father and sister are out shopping for school supplies. I suggest you either go meet them at the Staples or find something else to do, outside."

Tony grumbled and glared at his mother. He felt like his father right now, which kind of made him proud.

"Don't glare at me!" she half laughed. "You should know by now that your father's glares, or anything resembling them, do not work on me!"

Tony frowned and grabbed his wallet from the coffee table before slipping it into the pocket of his basketball shorts.

Before he could slip through the door, his mother asked him the question that he had been dreading most, "Why don't you bring Ziva with you?"

Tony growled and walked out, slamming the door behind him for effect.

Ziva was not on Tony's good side yet, and he didn't want to have much to do with her.

He felt a little bad though, since he didn't know anything about her. But none the less, she was not Kate, and therefore, he did not and would not like her.

He walked across the street over to Kate's, no, Ziva's house. There was no car and no lights on, and he really hoped that it meant no one was home.

He looked down at the door bell and saw something odd. Was it…new? No, it couldn't have been. That doorbell had been the same old, dingy doorbell that never worked for years. He rang it just to make sure, and much to his surprise, a long chime sounded.

They changed the doorbell! Damn them!, he thought.

Tony waited for the sound of footsteps and when he didn't hear any he began to make his way across their yard and back across the street.

"Excuse me?" came a voice from behind him.

"Dammit!" he cursed silently. Slowly, he turned around to find one Ziva David standing in the doorway.

"Tony, is it?"

He nodded and walked back up to the door.

"Did you need something?"

"Uh…yeah," he said as he studied her. She wasn't wearing her cargo pants anymore – the only outfit he had seen her in so far. Instead, she had on dark skinny jeans and a light grey V-neck. Her hair was pulled back with a clip and for the first time, Tony noticed her eye color: They were a deep brown, yet they still sparkled in the DC sunlight.

Ziva noticed him checking her out and so she raised an eyebrow. "Tony?"

"What? Oh, yeah!" He mentally slapped himself. Now wasn't the time to be such a man-whore, especially just after the recent loss of his girlfriend. "I was wondering if you wanted to go get some lunch with me. Maybe I could show you around?" he said, using the dullest voice he possibly could.

Ziva stared at him awhile before walking back into her house. Tony followed.

He examined the inside of the house. It felt so much bigger with so many things missing. There were boxes on the floor and bubble wrap was everywhere. He imagined this was exactly what Kate's new house looked like right now; a complete mess.

"Aba?" Ziva called.

Tony listened as she then proceeded to speak ever so quickly in what he presumed to be Hebrew. When she was finished, she turned back around to face him. "He says that it is okay as long as I am back before it gets dark."

Tony nodded. "We probably won't be out that long anyways," he said rudely, but Ziva just ignored it. She had already sensed that Tony didn't really want to be here the moment she first saw him outside.

He followed Ziva outside the house and they began to make their way down the street.

"Yes well, we are very lucky he said yes," she added, trying to make conversation. Frankly, she didn't really understand why he was acting so awfully toward her. They barely knew each other. What did she do wrong?

"Why's that?"

"Well normally my father is a bit…how do you Americans say it…up tight?"

Tony nodded and she smiled, proud that she got an American saying correct.

"May I ask where we are going?" she asked as she followed Tony down the sidewalk.

"Bethesda," he answered shortly.

"Bethesda?"

Tony sighed. He hated showing people around his neighborhood. Was it really that hard for her to just pick up a map? Why did his mother insist on him being Ziva's personal tour guide? "It's just a town with a bunch of cafés and little shops," he described in as little words as possible.

Ziva nodded her head even though she didn't quite fully understand the concept of this, "Bethesda". "Is it where kids from our neighborhood go to hook out?"

Tony couldn't help but smirk. "I think you're getting 'hook up' and 'hang out' mixed up."

"Same difference!"

"They're two completely different things!"

"Well then which do you do in Bethesda?" she asked sternly.

"Both!" he teased.

She glared at him and he raised an eyebrow in return. "That does not help me Tony."

"Well I'm sorry, but I can't help you." He looked away from her coldly.

Ziva suddenly stopped walking and watched as Tony continued down the street for a few steps until turning around.

"What are you doing?"

"Waiting."

"For what?"

"For you to apologize."

"Rule number 26: Never apologize; it's a sign of weakness."

Ziva scoffed. "Whose rules are those?"

"God's," Tony smirked, thinking of his father as the Almighty one.

"I think you are confusing your rules with the Ten Commandments."

"Same difference," he spat back her words.

She glared at him and he glared right back.

"Well?"

"Well what?"

Tony sighed, deeply annoyed by their conversation. "Are you going to drop it and continue walking, or are you going home?"

"Are you going to apologize?"

"No."

"Then I am going home," she replied in all seriousness before walking in the opposite direction.

"See you around," Tony grunted, but she said nothing. Dammit, he thought. His mother was going to kill him for this.

Tony waited a few minutes until Ziva was out of his sight. Then, he himself began to walk home. When he finally arrived back, his mother was in the exact same position as she had been a few minutes ago.

He tried to sneak past her, up the stairs, but it was no use.

"Tony?"

"Yikes!" he whispered. She sure sounded pissed.

"Tony, I thought I told you to go have lunch with Ziva."

Tony gulped but said nothing.

"Well, do I get an explanation?"

"I," he began, choosing his words carefully. "I left my phone!" He quickly snatched it from the table, thankful that he had left it there in the first place. "Bye!" he said and quickly ran out the front door.

Tony made his way over to Ziva's house…again. He hated lying to his mother, knowing that somehow she could always figure him out, and as he approached her door, he hadn't the slightest clue as to what to say.

After minutes of just standing there thinking of the best possible way to get Ziva back, he rung the door bell.

The door opened and Tony expected to see Ziva with an annoyed look on her face. Instead, he was greeted by a man, her father, Eli David.

"Hello Anthony, how may I help you?"

Tony cleared his throat, a little thrown off. It shocked him that he remembered his name; though, he suspected that all Mossad officers had good memories.

"I'm here for Ziva."

"Ah yes, she was expecting you! Ziva said you had to get some things from you house, and that you would be back shortly."

Tony stood there agape at the man before him. "Right…well, I'm back now."

"Yes, yes you are. For a moment there I thought you were going to…blow off my daughter. But that wasn't the case now, was it?" he teased.

"Er, no sir! I would never do something like that!"

"Father, I hope you are not scaring away Tony," came a voice.

Tony and Eli looked up to find Ziva halfway down the stairs. "No, of course not. I was just telling him to have you back before dark."

Ziva rolled her eyes and continued to walk down the stairs. "Okay, I am ready now."

Tony opened the door for Ziva and nodded at her father.

"Goodbye Ziva."

"Bye, Father."

Once outside, Tony immediately stopped Ziva from walking anywhere. "How did you know I would come back?"

Ziva shrugged. "You do not come off as someone who would be that mean."

"Ah, but I was being rude before," he admitted.

"True."

Tony frowned. "I want to apologize for that. I was being a jerk, and I'm sorry."

"Thank you, but aren't you breaking rule 26?"

"Nah, they aren't my rules anyways," he said as he began to lead Ziva down the street towards Bethesda.

"Oh? Then whose are they?"

"They're my dad's. He never apologizes. Unless it's really called for, like with my mother."

Ziva laughed. "Does he have a rule for everything?"

"No, but he's got a lot. Hesays there are 50, but I can only remember about 20 of them."

"What are some other rules?"

"Well my favorite is rule 23: Never mess with a Marine's coffee."

Ziva raised her eyebrow and Tony elaborated, "My father was a marine. He's very strict about his coffee. Rule 23 is one rule I will never dare to break!"

"I will try not to forget that one."

"Oh trust me, once you get to know my father, you never will!"

Ziva grinned and Tony couldn't help but smile back. It was the first time he had really seen her full fledged smile, and he hopped it wouldn't be the last.

"Maybe you can come over for dinner one night. You know...to get to know my family a little better?" he suggested, not knowing where his proposal came from.

"Sure, that sounds nice."

Relieved she had said yes, Tony continued to lead Ziva down sidewalks until they had finally made it to the heart of Bethesda. After showing her around a bit, pointing out all of his favorite places—i.e. the Movie Theater, Starbucks, and Potbellys—and finally explaining the difference between "hook up" and "hang out", he took her to the little Italian store to buy a splice of pizza. There, he found out more about her.

"So do you guys move a lot?"

"I guess you could say that. I've spent most of my time in Israel, but we have moved to places such as Ecuador and France. Though, only for a short period of time."

"So this is your first time in the states?"

"Yes. Have you ever been out of the country?"

"On vacation, yeah. But I've lived here all my life," he said frowning.

"Then you are lucky!"

"Why's that?"

"Trust me Tony, moving isn't as fun as it sounds. You leave a lot behind."

Suddenly, Tony's mind wandered to Kate. He wondered what she was doing right now. She's probably already made a ton of new friends, he thought to himself.

Ziva noticed him fading off and could almost see the fumes escaping from his ears. "Should we go home now?" she suggested, not knowing what was bothering him.

"Hmm?" he asked, snapping back into reality.

"I asked if we should go back now."

"Oh…yeah that's fine," he replied slowly as he stood up from his seat. He opened the door for Ziva, and she thanked him with a smile as she walked out of the store.

Fifteen minutes later, and they found themselves on the street between their houses.

"I had a great time today, Tony. Thank you for showing me around."

"Don't mention it. I had a good time too." Surprisingly enough to him, it was the truth.

"Well, goodbye," she said and turned to leave.

Tony turned to leave as well when out of no where he turned back around and grabbed Ziva's shoulder. She whipped around and stared at him confused.

"I should…give you my number!" he stumbled out. Never before had he acted so un-cool while exchanging numbers. He had no idea why he was acting like this until once again; he saw her smile, shiny white surrounded by the soft pink of her lips.

"Okay."

"Okay," he reiterate, mesmerized by her beauty.

"Tony?" Ziva asked when she noticed he hadn't moved an inch.

"Yes?"

"Do you…need something to write it on?"

"Wha-? Oh! No, no…I'm good!" he stuttered and pulled out the receipt from their lunch. Ripping a portion off, he wrote his number down onto it and handed it to her.

She took it and continued to smile. "Thank you. I will see you soon, yes?"

"Yeah…see you soon."

And with that, Ziva jogged over to her front door and entered her new house, leaving Tony alone in the street to think about everything that had happened today.

To put it simply, Tony was confused, mostly by himself. For some reason, he wanted to hate Ziva, but after today, he just couldn't.

They had started off on a rough note, and for that Tony felt idiotic. He was never like that around girls, especially the pretty ones. Though, maybe it was just the whole Kate thing that had his brain in a twist.

"Kate," he sighed silently as he entered his house and walked upstairs to his room. He hadn't thought about her that much since his outing with Ziva. But now that he was back on that topic, it was hard to get his mind off of it. All he wanted was to see her again, to have her back home where she belonged, or even to hear her tell him that everything was going to be okay.

But he knew that wasn't about to happen.

As he laid his head down upon his pillow, he tried to push any thought of Kate aside. It was tricky, but after a few minutes, all Tony was thinking about was Ziva David.

So, maybe Kate was right? Ziva was a good distraction.

A/N: OH. MY. GOD. THIS CHAPTER TOOK SO FREAKING LONG TO FREAKING TYPE! LIKE IDK WTF WAS GOING ON IN MY HEAD BUT I WROTE SOME TOTAL BULL IN THE BEGINNING! sadly...this isn't much better......

i REALLY apologize. this chapter is CAH-RAP! and it's long. so it's just a TON of crap for you to have to read :( review please. ill update asap.