Chapter Eighteen - "After the Storm"
Melissa walked off the elevator and headed towards the bullpen. She thought everything would have worked out perfect; or rather she thought things were better between her and Tony. Only after three hours of waiting she figured he wasn't going to show up. At least she had had Abby and McGee there, so it wasn't a total loss for the night. She walked into the bullpen to find Tony sitting at his desk reading something. She walked behind her desk and put her bag down.
"Tony here early and doing paper work, do my eyes deceive me?" Melissa said as she put her badge and gun on his desk. When he didn't answer Melissa walked out from behind her desk and over to Tony's. "Tony."
"What?" Tony said as she shook his head. He looked up from the letter and at Melissa.
"You okay?" Melissa asked.
"Yeah" Tony said to her.
"So what are you reading then?" Melissa said as she tried to steal it from him, but Tony ripped it away before she could grab it.
"Nothing" Tony said to her.
"Must be something if you don't want anyone else to read it" Melissa said to him.
"It's a letter for my father, okay" Tony said as he folded it back up and placed it in his desk. Melissa paid close attention to what he was doing, because she knew she was going to have to figure this out for herself. She knew he wasn't telling the truth and was going to figure out what was going on. "He was supposed to come up next weekend, but when I got home yesterday I got a letter saying he wasn't going to make it."
"I'm sorry" Melissa said asking like she believed it. "So is that why you didn't show up last night?"
"No something else came up" Tony said. "Rain check?"
"Yeah sure, you aren't the only one that didn't show" Melissa said as she walked back over to her desk.
"When are you going to learn Missy?" Tony said to her.
"Okay yes I expected too much for him" Melissa said to him. "But he's my husband; he's supposed to be there. He just has issues with this place."
"Issues?" Tony questioned.
"When I got transferred he wasn't too happy we had to move. Something about moving here he didn't like. Even after time passed he got more distant and I thought it would pass, but it hasn't. He works more and we barely see each other." Melissa said to him.
"I'd say maybe in time, but seeing how it's been two years and you seem to say nothings changed" Tony said to her. "I'm not sure it will, to be honest."
"I don't think so either" Melissa said to him. "You know it's funny when I was with my old team he and I were talking about maybe having kids. He wanted them so bad, but because of my job I couldn't have kids at the time. We moved here and I got this job and I thought great we could finally settle and have that family we both always wanted. Then he said he didn't want kids anymore."
"Hey" Tony said, he got up from his chair, out from behind his desk and walked over to Melissa. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into a hug. "You deserve better than him."
"I just have loved him for so long, I don't know how to love anyone else" Melissa said to him, as a few tears rolled down her checks. Tony moved back slightly. He placed his hand under her chin and gently lifted it up so they were looking into each other's eyes. He took his hand and wiped away her tears.
"You are a wonderful person Missy, you deserve someone who loves you and will be there for you. Someone who will protect you and he's not it" Tony said to her. "You deserve someone who will be good to you and treat you like a queen."
"Sometimes I wonder if you are the perfect guy Tony DiNozzo" Melissa said to him.
"Not perfect, far from perfect" Tony said to her.
"If I didn't know your deep dark secrets, you'd be my perfect guy" Melissa said to him. She then leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. "Thank you Tony. For everything" She whispered in his ear.
McGee walked off the elevator and turned towards the bullpen, when he noticed a familiar looking figure in front of him. Then person had their eyes locked on what could only look like the bullpen. McGee walked up to them to find that it was in fact Ziva and she was looking at a close moment between Tony and Melissa.
"Ziva?" McGee said just to make sure his eyes weren't playing ticks on him. After all she had been gone for two years. She turned and looked at McGee with a smile on her face. He could tell she was happy to see him, but hurt by what she was just looking at.
"McGee." Ziva said to him.
"When did you get back?" McGee asked.
"It is complicated" Ziva said to him. "I am here for my psych evaluation."
"So you are coming back to NCIS?" McGee questioned. "But I thought?"
"Abby told you?" Ziva asked back.
"She didn't want there to be… she slipped up" McGee said. She started to say Abby didn't want there to be any lies between them, but then he remember she was lying to Gibbs and Tony as was he. "We were at my place and she said something and it came out. She begged me not to say anything, but she didn't really say much herself."
"It does not matter much anymore" Ziva said to him. "I ruined everything McGee."
"Not everything" McGee said to her. He reached out and took her hand in his. "You still got Abby and Me."
"I shouldn't, I left you two too" Ziva said to him. "I would understand if you needed to make Tony believe you were angry at me too. He will question it."
"I know, things will work themselves out" McGee said to her. "You just have to believe."
"Not this time" Ziva said to him. "We put our hearts on the line for each other and there is nothing left to give. Tony has moved on, I should too." Ziva said to him before walking away. McGee watched her leave not really sure what just happened. He then turned back and headed to the bullpen. Once he got there, Tony was walking back to his desk; Melissa was clean up around hers as if things were just like any other day. He walked over to his desk, put his stuff down and then turned to face Tony.
"Something the matter McGee?" Tony said.
"Just wondering why you didn't show up last night" McGee said to him.
"My Dad called and then something came up" Tony said. McGee had a feeling that something that came up was Ziva. "I'll make it up to you all, okay?"
"Sure" McGee said to him.
"Are you sure that's it McGee?" Melissa chimed in.
"Yeah, I'm sure" McGee said as he sat down. He really wanted to yell at the two of them. He watched as they went back to work as if nothing just happened, but he couldn't stand by and watch this. He stood up again. "You know what there is something else."
"What?" Melissa said as she and Tony stopped what they were doing and looked at him.
"I thought we were friends, family even and every one of you don't have the decency of telling me…" McGee started to say, and wanted to end with what was going on, but ended up with. "Malachi"
Ziva stood outside the door that lead to Dr. Bronco's office. She knew she could either go in and talk about everything and maybe find her way back on the team. A team she wasn't even sure wanted her anymore. Or she could just walk away and move on. She walked away once before. She turned away from the door and there stood Gibbs right behind her.
"I was just coming to look for you" Ziva said, even though she knew it was a lie.
"Ziva" Gibbs said. She knew he didn't buy it for a second.
"I was going to find you" Ziva said.
"You are avoiding" Gibbs said to her.
"What do you expect?" Ziva questioned him. "I am not wanted here anymore. Why should I do this if it will be for nothing?"
"It's not for nothing" Gibbs said to her.
"Really?" Ziva questioned. "Then tell me that you forgive me" Ziva said to him. She only asked because she knew he couldn't do that. As she expected he hesitated and then couldn't even find the words to say. "That is what I thought."
"It's not that simple Ziva" Gibbs said to her.
"I get that. What I did was not that simple either" Ziva said to him. "I did what I did and I have to live with the fall out."
"But you don't have to do it alone" Gibbs told her.
"I am alone" Ziva said to him. "You, Tony , this team is the closest thing I have to a family and I screwed that all up. I walked away, because it was easier than facing what really happened."
"Now you can face it" Gibbs said to her. "He won't hate you forever, give him time."
"And you?" Ziva said.
"I trust you Ziva, you know that. Right now I'm still trying to understand it all" Gibbs said to her. "I don't hate you, I could never hate you. I just want to be able to see it from your point of view to fully understand it."
"I have told you everything" Ziva said to him.
"Have you?" Gibbs questioned. "You should go and talk to her, but know my door is always opened" Gibbs said, before giving her a small smile and walking away. Ziva took a deep breath and walked over to the door. She put her hand on the doorknob and turned it, she walked in and there was the person sitting her chair that Ziva was trying to avoid.
"Hello Ziva, I've been expecting you" Dr. Bronco said. Ziva closed the door then walked over to the empty chair and sat down.
"What do you want?" Tony said. At first Tony and Melissa had no idea why McGee had said Malachi, but once they turned around it made perfect sense.
"I need to speak with Gibbs" Malachi said to them.
"He's…" Tony started to say before Gibbs interrupted him.
"He's here" Gibbs said. He stopped at his desk and looked at Malachi. "Why are you here?"
"I need to speak to you about Ziva" Malachi said to him. "Somewhere else perhaps."
"Anything you have to say about Ziva can be said in front of my team" Gibbs said to him. Malachi walked into the bullpen and over to Gibbs.
"Ziva is not well" Malachi started to say. "We are concerned for her."
"We?" Tony questioned.
"Her father, me, her family" Malachi said in response to his question.
"Is that the same father and family that left her to die in the dessert?" Tony snapped.
"That is in the past, Ziva and her father have moved passed it" Malachi snapped back. "She should not have been on this mission. She could have gotten all of us, herself killed."
"Why didn't her father pull her off the mission?" McGee asked.
"Director David did not see what I saw, until the mission was over" Malachi said. "It was like she was reckless, wanting something to happen. The last time she was like this was when Tali was killed."
"Her sister" Tony said to himself softly.
"The Ziva I saw was not the Ziva I know, was not the Ziva she is now" Malachi said to them. "She was someone else completely. I tried to talk to her, but she would not listen. She was focused on what her father wanted from her."
"So why are you here?" Gibbs asked again.
"She thinks highly of you and cares for you deeply. We were hoping you could talk to her" Malachi said to Gibbs. "I have known her a long time, she needs help. She is not okay." He said. "She is not like most people. She internalizes, she was taught emotions are weaknesses, but I know that is not who she was becoming. She was becoming something better, she was happier now. I believe something might have forced her back to who she used to be. She is not that person anymore, she is better than that. She is better here with all of you."
"We thank you for your concern" Gibbs said to him. "Be sure to let Director David she is in good hands"
"Thank you" Malachi said before heading out the bullpen and back to the elevator. Once Malachi was gone Tony walked out from behind his desk and over to Gibbs.
"What was that about, Ziva is perfectly fine" Tony said to him.
"Maybe right now she seems it, but if you've been through what she went through would you be fine?" Gibbs questioned him. "You saw her Tony, all this is, is a front"
"You know her Tony, she's good at keeping things to herself. No matter how much she trusts us, there are still some things she'll never tell anyone" McGee said to him. "It's just who she is."
AN: So I have a plan, well kind of. I am trying to have a method to my madness. Trying to put in a bit of why I had Ziva do what so did, so that way they could find a way back. Otherwise this wasn't going to be a happy ending story and I need to happy ending for it, even if I had to force it. Now that I have kind of thrown this into the mix, my question is where do you see the story more going Zibbs or Tiva? Just kind of what to hear which way you think it will go, because it will end with Ziva happy with someone. (was supposed to be Tony, but we'll see.)