Author's note:
Hello, my dear readers! Three weeks have passed and I'm here with a new chapter for you. :) This summer is stressful, hot and dry as hell, but writing this keeps me sane. Thanks for all the support, reviews, follows and favourites – you're just awesome, people.
To all those Guests– I love you and you make me smile all the time. Thank you for all your contributions, I truly appreciate them.
My lovely Debbie, thanks for the review and making me laugh. :D Hope the cold shower was good. Considering I talked to Rachel while she was editing it, it's pretty hilarious, now. :D She knew very well you might need it. Thank you so much for everything.
Thank you CB, for stopping by and dropping me a review. Glad you like the story so far.
Same goes for you Anonymous 16, it really makes me happy when people appreciate my long and stretched writing.
Chapter is dedicated to no one else but to my dear sister Athena, who truly keeps me sane over the last few days. Thanks, sweetie. :) I truly appreciate everything you've done for me.
And congratulations, Mine1986, to your awesome and amazing family achievement! I'm truly happy about that news. :)
Anyway, onward with a new chapter! What this chapter is about? Well, we have to resolve one thing or two and if I remember, there are two nosey friends who decided to find out how things between our pair really are, am I right? Go read and, hopefully, enjoy!
Disclaimer:
I do not own NCIS or the characters.
Towel – Chapter 23
*** WHERE WE LEFT OFF ***
They leaned in simultaneously, kissing each other unhurriedly, thoroughly enjoying it. It naturally felt better and better by each passing second. Eventually, she broke the kiss and lightly caressed his face, getting off of him. She reached for the sheets that were just next to her, as Tony had thrown them away when he had jumped out of the bed earlier, and threw them across their warm, exhausted bodies.
This time, it wasn't for making a barrier so they would stop touching each other and titillating one another. She wanted to snuggle with him and the homely feeling included sheets as well. Turning on her side, she flung one of her legs across his, put one of her hands around his torso and lay her head down on his chest. He embraced her with a wide smile, feeling content with the way she nestled against him. This was a definition of 'homely'.
*** AND NOW WE CONTINUE ***
They both focused on calming their breathing, first. After the expenditure of energy, there was an urgent need to gain some strength back. Ziva was intently listening to his heart beat, feeling it also under her palm. Smiling widely, revelling in the way they cuddled, she was being lulled to sleep by the rhythmic echo of his essential organ.
The events of the day suddenly dawned on her with a crushing force. All the stress with the Dearing's case and whether they would even manage to arrive at this hotel on time came to her. All the way here she'd had to listen to Abby's rambling long. Tony's advances and love-making in the afternoon. Rehearsal dinner where she'd been forced to deal with her relationship with Tony once and for all. Another talk with Abby. And then those amazing hours with Tony in this very bed. She couldn't help but feel tired. It had been an exhausting day.
Tony absently played with her hair, trying to say something. But he wasn't able to put a coherent sentence together. He actually had no idea what to say. There were many things he would love to tell her, but he couldn't find the right words. It still felt so surreal to have her in his arms. The fact that they made a couple. He'd desired this for a long time, and now when he finally had it, he could barely contain himself. His mind kept digressing from thought to thought, distracting him.
He looked down at her, smiling as he saw her snuggled at his side, obviously dozing off. He couldn't blame her, this had been an emotional day and he felt worn out, too. Still, there was one thing he wanted to talk about with her before the morning came. He needed to know and come to a mutual understanding with her about this matter, because it was essential for the next day and their behaviour towards each other.
"Can I ask you something?" He said quietly, weaving his fingers through her hair while grazing the fingers of his other hand over her naked back.
"Hm?" She mumbled sleepily, soothingly caressing his chest in an unconscious gesture. She didn't bohter to open her eyes and listen to him attentively. She felt too tired for that.
"How it will be when we get back to DC?" He asked her, trying to find out when he could finally shout from the rooftops how much he loved her.
Her eyes fluttered open as she pondered the meaning behind this question. And since misunderstandings were often thing for them, she took it in a different way than he had meant it. "Well, I guess that's enough for the trust." She commented annoyingly, trying to lift herself up. It was obvious that he had doubts about her loyalty to this relationship, thinking that she might pretend that nothing had happened between them.
He rolled his eyes and shook his head, laying her back on his chest, hurrying with an explanation. "I didn't mean it like that." He assured her, guessing her assumptions about his question. He gave out a silent sigh of relief when he felt her relax against his body again as she waited for him to express his thoughts better.
"I meant..." He continued, rubbing his forehead thoughtfully. "How do you want to tell the others about us? Do you want to tell them here or when we return home? Or do you want to keep it a secret?" He questioned her. They needed some strategy to face Gibbs with all of this, and to inform their friends.
She sighed, both in relief that he trusted her and weariness because she kept misunderstanding him and it irritated her. She had to learn how to read between lines better. "Keeping it a secret doesn't make any sense." She stated with a hint of a disappointment in her voice.
It would be exciting to hide it and have secret dates, practice secret winks, touches and yearning gazes. But, truth be told, they'd had enough of that during their partnership and friendship. Only now, it would have a deeper meaning. Besides, she truly wasn't sure whether she would be able to keep it a secret for long. After all those years, she just wanted to show the world that she was happy with the love of her life.
"You know very well that Gibbs knows and I'm sure that McGee and Abby suspect something." She explained further. If Gibbs had given them his blessing, he knew for sure. And she couldn't not notice that their two friends had been overly nosy and curious tonight. No doubt that they had their own suspicions.
Tony, who was thinking in the exact same thing, just grimaced. "Sure they do. Because they have to poke their noses everywhere." He muttered under his breath while Ziva put her hands on his chest and leaned her chin against her hands, so she could look up at him.
He hadn't meant it in a bad way. He loved their friends dearly and if he was supposed to be honest with himself, he was quite nosy, as well. Actually, it was clear that McGee had learnt nosey-ness from him, which Tony was proud of. But Abby's interruptions in the afternoon, the fact he'd had to lie about his whereabouts to McGee, and all the concerns about affecting the whole team with this relationship was getting on his nerves.
She ignored his comment on purpose, not wanting to stir the pot any further. After all, she could blame neither Abby nor McGee for their curiosity. They had given them bunch of reasons to suspect that there was something going on between them with their behaviour at the dinner. She, rather, reached her hands towards his face, gently caressing his cheek with the back of her fingers.
"I want to tell them. And I want to deal with Gibbs as soon as possible. But I insist on what I said earlier." She explained, getting lost in his eyes quickly. She loved the warm, affectionate gaze he was giving her.
"This is Jimmy's and Breena's wedding. It's their weekend and we have to think about them. They deserve all the attention and I don't want to steal their spotlight." She said, watching him nod in agreement. Not that they were so overly confident that their relationship would become a number-one topic all of a sudden, but it would certainly interfere with the wedding merrymaking. And neither of them wanted that.
"So, we'll tell them. But a few days after we get home, so we can get to know the situation and prepare ourselves to deal with everything." She continued, still caressing his face, thinking about the mountain of work that was waiting for them back in DC. They had left in a hurry, so some things needed to be done before they could face the world with their relationship.
He smiled at her, putting the strands of her hair behind her ears lovingly. "That was what I was asking you – how it will be when we get back to DC? We have to come up with some plan to convince everybody to give us a chance." He clarified. He agreed with her, because to wait a few days before telling everyone was actually a genius plan. He was aware of the paperwork that Vance expected to be finished as soon as they returned.
She returned the smile, glad that he had nothing against putting off telling anybody about their relationship for a while. Some things just needed to be done first. "I'm sure we will. We just have to handle it carefully. That's why I want to wait a few days and prepare the ground. We can actually show Gibbs, in the meantime, that we are able to make it work." She added another wonderful idea that had emerged from the formulating plan. It was a great chance to show that their boss didn't have to worry about the unity of the team.
The grin he gave her was enough for her to know that the understanding about their work being in the first place for most of the time was reached. It was needed to convince Gibbs and Vance, to calm down Abby and McGee, and, also, for themselves. They needed to learn how to separate their work and personal lives. Neither of them doubted that they would make it, though. After all, if Gibbs had agreed with them getting together, the belief in their own confidence wasn't too hard.
She lifted her head to bring it closer to his. He didn't need anything else as he buried his fingers into her hair, grabbing her by her skull and attaching his lips to hers. They found the leisurely rhythm immediately, moving their mouths and enjoying the sweet kiss of love and affection they felt for each other. It was a sealing of an agreement, much more pleasant than a hand-shake.
With the passion between them, it was no surprise that the hands started to roam, touching the naked flesh of their bodies, bringing up the heat between them once more. She used her hands on his chest as leverage, crouching on the bed to get better access to his mouth. He remained lying there, enjoying rubbing his hands all over her skin while she forced him to change the angle of the kiss.
She slowed down the kiss, not forgetting her exhaustion as she released his lips gently, adding one last, light peck. "But this means something, unfortunately." She started to explain another thought that had come up in her mind, while she was devouring his mouth.
He only managed to raise his eyebrow at her in question, though neither confused nor scared. He trusted her, so he didn't make any false assumptions. They needed to learn to stop misunderstanding each other and jumping to conclusions, so he figured, why not start with it now? So, he gave her the time to finish her thought and explain what she'd meant by her statement.
"If we are supposed to act like everything is usual between us, you have to... We have to stop with the constant touching each other." She said, unable to mask the sadness deep inside her. His touches had become euphoric for her and she'd gotten addicted to touching him. But, for the sake of evading any questioning from their friends and boss, they needed to act professional. At least in public.
"But that will be so hard." He whined. But he understood her concerns. They wanted to wait a few days and prepare for the fight, so it was reasonable to not show how things between them really were. Otherwise, people would demand answers immediately, not giving them any chance to postpone the explanation.
She ruffled his hair with a sigh, not keen of the idea, either. "I know, honey, I know. But it's necessary." She tried to comfort him, using her sweet soothing voice, hoping to lessen the disappointment not only for him, but, also, for herself.
His face frozen in an awkward, stiff smile upon hearing her call him a term of endearment. Not that she hadn't used such words in the past, but this time he knew she had meant it for real. That it wasn't pretended or for teasing purposes. She'd used the endearment because she wanted to, because it was what couples usually did. And that made it so special.
She stared into his face for a while, trying to digest what was wrong with him. "What?" She decided to ask when she couldn't find any reason why he would have such a discomfited expression.
"You called me 'honey'." He uttered in a tone that showed that he was shocked by it, but in a pleasant way. He'd never guessed that she would be the first one in using endearments.
Her face grew red as a rose, and she lowered her head. She was aware that she'd called him that, but it had been so natural that she hadn't registered it. He had been looking at her like some plush toy – in this case teddy bear with a huge heart with an 'I love you' inscription in his hands. And because bears were associated with honey, she'd just thought it was accurate. Not to mention that she felt a strong urge to hug him and never let him go.
"Well, I..." She tried to explain herself tentatively, not knowing what to say. She wasn't sure whether he minded it or was pleased with it.
He assured her that it was the latter when he took her by her chin, lifting her head up. "I love you, too, my sweet little ninja." He confessed, leaning in and kissing her with a huge smile on his lips.
She moaned appreciatively, unable to fight the smile, as well. She stretched out her legs and lay on his chest again, wanting to fulfil her urge and embrace his muscular form. She pressed her body tightly to his, hugging him with a crushing force while changing the angle of the kiss as he demanded. He truly was the best teddy bear in the world. And with the most precious heart in his hands, hers.
Even though kissing her was heavenly, some of the biological needs of his body started to show, and Tony was forced to break the kiss. He looked deeply into her eyes, tracing his thumb across her lower lip. "I promise I will behave. But now, I would welcome if you let go of me, because it's me who need to use the bathroom now." He told her sweetly, chuckling at her duck-like pout of feigned disappointment.
She rolled off obediently, letting him to get up so he could go to the bathroom. He gave her one last, light kiss before he headed in that direction, hoping she wouldn't get bored just as he had. Her eyes followed him and his naked ass across the room until it disappeared behind the door. She plopped back down on the mattress. At first, she just lay there for a while staring at the ceiling, but then she turned on to her side.
The bed felt cold without him next to her, and she wanted to feel his warmth right away. Burying herself deeper into the sheets, she breathed in his smell, savouring his scent. Maybe it seemed a bit pubescent, but people deeply in love behaved like that and she didn't have any problems with it. Certainly not now, when she was on cloud nine, completely captivated by her own feelings towards him.
The wave of exhaustion hit her again and her eyelids started to feel heavy. Soon, she was dozing off, twisted in the sheets, too tired to wait for him and his loving embrace. But she couldn't find the right position – at first her hair started to scratch so she turned on her back. But that wasn't comfortable, either. She turned in the bed for a while before she finally found the best sleeping position on her stomach. After she did, she sighed contentedly and gave in to the tiredness.
Tony couldn't get a sight any better than the one that awaited him once he exited the bathroom. There was the woman who owned his heart, sprawled on the bed in a slumber as only the bottom part of her body was covered by the sheet. It ended just above her derriere, and her naked back deliciously offered itself to him. Her hands were flung around her head, mostly covered by her brown hair.
He smiled mischievously, going over to the bed and crawling on it. Carefully, he embraced her waist, tapping his fingers all over her sides as he bent down and started agonizingly slowly kissing her lower back. She moaned, giving him a sign that she enjoyed it and that she wasn't asleep yet. It was setting her skin on fire, but she was too tired to engage in another round of amorous plays.
So she let him to worship the skin on her back with his kisses, which he did very thoroughly, not leaving out any inch of her divine body. She either moaned or sighed to express her pleasure, depending on how much strength she had to use her voice with. He was sending her into heaven with the feathery brush of his lips, and it was obvious he was enjoying it quite as much.
Once he got to her neck, lightly teasing it with both his lips and nose, she managed to raise her hand and ruffle his hair from behind. "Tired?" He asked her with a whisper into her ear while nipping her earlobe.
"Uh huh." She managed to get some form of confirmation out of her mouth, smacking with her lips adorably.
"Wanna go to sleep?" He whispered another question while he cheekily cupped her breast, managing to get his thumb between her body and the sheet beneath, flicking it over her nipple.
"Uh huh." She responded in the same way as before, adding a light moan to show him how much she liked his attention. He smiled and nodded in understanding, suddenly feeling a bit uneasy. He wasn't sure whether their relationship meant that they could also share a bed when it came to regular sleeping. Sure, she had slept next to him and snuggled against him during their movie nights, but he wasn't supposed to know about that.
Experience was telling him that he should assure himself that she wanted him to stay for the night as well. Whether she wanted to wake up next to him in the morning, or whether he should rather go back to his room. He simply needed to know, because he was used to sleeping in his bed alone. And sometimes he preferred it, so maybe she had the same habits. After all, many of the women he had been with hadn't been too fond of cuddling afterwards, and neither was he.
He had to admit that his sleeping attitude had been changing lately since he had started to spend his nights on her couch. But that was only because of her presence in his arms. It was different, when he was supposed to sleep next to a woman who was only a one night stand for him, or when he was next to a woman he loved and that meant a world for him. And he wanted to know her point of view on this. It was something he could learn about her.
"Do you want me to leave?" He asked her uncertainly, anxiously waiting for her reaction, because he feared it. She could take it all wrong again, and he didn't want that.
She was ready to deliver another moan as her response, but then she stopped herself as her mind processed his words. She forced her eyes open, blinking rapidly to disperse the sleepy mist all around her. Luckily for him, she was too tired to dig deeper into why he had asked her such a question. Instead, she just turned over on her side, facing him as she looked at him with puzzlement.
"No, I want you to stay." She told him, not quite comprehending the meaning behind all of this. She had considered it a sure thing to sleep and wake up next to him from now on. They made a couple, so it was expected.
He stared at her awkwardly, his heart melting at her words, but feeling confused with himself. He didn't know how he should explain it. He couldn't tell her that he had half-expected her to kick him out of the bed, because that was exactly what had happened to him before with other women. That would give her the wrong impression that he was thinking about her as a one night stand. Which wasn't true at all, since he was deeply in love with her.
"I just thought... that maybe you need some space... or something. But, you know, just forget it. I really don't know what..." He stammered, hoping she would forgive him for his clumsiness. He knew that he'd had to have sounded like a complete idiot.
He was silenced, though, as she put her arm around his waist and rolled on top of him, forcing him to lie down. "No, definitely not. I don't need any space. I need you." She protested drowsily, throwing one of her legs over his, getting comfortable on his chest.
"I need only you. Because I love you." She mumbled, already half-asleep. His body made a fantastic pillow and the moment she snuggled up against him, she started to doze off once again.
He smiled, sighing in relief as he stretched out his arm to turn off the light, letting the darkness fill the room. "I love you, too. Sweet dreams, my princess." He whispered, kissing the top of her head as his arms enveloped her and he nestled into the sheets.
She just raised her hand, unable to reach his face in her state of sleepiness. So she just touched his body in a random spot and mumbled something about good night. He took her hand, kissed it and put it on his chest as he watched her breathing steady out. After that, he allowed himself to relax and close his eyes. Not even a minute passed by and he was sound asleep, holding her in his arms as the most precious treasure in the world.
Right at 7 AM, Abby energetically led McGee through the hotel's hallways, straight to Tony's room. She really wanted to carry out her plan and find out whether her suspicions about Tony and Ziva were right. Just to be sure that McGee wouldn't try to back out, she'd gone into his room and dragged him out of there so he would help her. She didn't sleep much last night, because she had spent a lot of time sitting at the bar, talking with the handsome barman. But this matter was way too important, and she had enough energy for it.
Tim stumbled after her, cursing under his breath. Abby had gone totally insane, but he didn't have any other choice but to obey her. When Abby started to focus on something, no one could ever talk her out of doing it. No matter how crazy, unfeasible or discourteous the idea could be. He truly didn't want to intrude their friends' privacy, but she had shown up at his door, expecting him to follow her and not taking 'no' as an answer.
They stopped in front of the door and Abby pushed him forward, looking at him expectantly. He sighed wearily, pulling the key from Tony's room out of his pocket. "Abby, I don't really think that this is a right thing to do. I understand you care and all, but..." He tried for the last time to prevent her from stepping into Tony's room to obtain her 'solid proof' about the significant change in Tony and Ziva's relationship.
He was cut off, however, when Abby rolled her eyes and snatched the key from him. If you want a thing done well, do it yourself, she couldn't help but think as she stuck the key into the keyhole as quietly as she could."And you have to understand that I just need to be sure." She answered with a sigh.
She wasn't happy about doing this, either. But her family could be in danger and she needed to know the facts before she could act. And she couldn't go to Tony or Ziva and start questioning them when she didn't know whether her hypotheses were right. She needed evidence and that was to be found, hopefully, on the other side of the door. She knew it was rude, but those two weren't giving her any other choice.
She turned around to look into McGee's pleading face, raising her hand as if she was making a promise. "I don't want to become a creepy stalker and take any photos, Tim. I just want to peek inside, that's all." She swore to him, trying to calm him down. She didn't mean to snoop around too much. Just a little bit to ensure the evidence.
"Fine." He uttered with annoyance, knowing it was useless trying to talk her out of it. She'd made up her mind long ago.
He watched as she noiselessly unlocked the door, putting her hand on the doorknob. She raised her forefinger of her free hand and put it in front of her mouth to sign him to be quiet. Then, she turned the doorknob and opened the door slightly. The crack was big enough for her to stick her head inside and look around. Tim leaned against the wall, waiting for her inspection to be done.
She scanned the room quickly, gathering all information her eyes could register and quickly making guesses in her mind. One thing was quite evident – Tony wasn't present in the room and he probably didn't spend his night there. The bed was made up very neatly as if no one had touched it. A wrinkle here and there, but nothing that would testify about the fact that the bed had been used for sleeping last night.
She pulled her head back, looking over at McGee. "He's not there!" She informed him about her conclusion in a loud whisper.
Tim was surprised by the information, even though he had expected it. Things were getting real all of a sudden. Not that he had anything against it, but it was so uncharacteristic of them. Both Tony and Ziva suppressed all those feelings they had towards each other most of the time, so it was a bit strange to know that they had apparently decided to act on them. Either way, he firmly believed that it was for the better.
Before he had a chance to stop her, because he had been deeply lost in his thoughts, Abby pushed the door open and entered the room. She looked around herself as McGee went right after her, ready to reprimand her for what she had done. His words died on his throat when he glanced around and found out that she had been telling the truth. Tony wasn't there, although Tim tried to find the merest sign that he was.
"Tony?" Abby called out quietly, opening the door to the bathroom and checking it, as well, for assurance. No success in finding the man, though.
"It seems that he didn't spend the night in here at all." Tim commented, realizing that nothing had changed in the room since the afternoon when he had come here. Only, Tony's bag with his clothes was now on the floor and his tuxedo was hanging on the nearby wardrobe. And the tie he had worn to his suit at the yesterday's dinner was lying on the bed.
Abby nodded in agreement. Except for Tony's clothes, the room was untouched. It meant only one thing – Tony hadn't slept in here. She stopped in front of the other door in the room, pondering whether the answer to her questions could be there. Ziva was supposed to be on the other side, and Tony most likely with her.
"So... This door?" She asked Tim, pointing at it, feeling the excitement over an important discovery in her veins. It was like waiting for DNA results, or ballistics.
McGee nodded and went over to her, because he didn't want her to step into someone's room without their consent once again. "Look, Abby, we already know that Tony isn't here. We don't need to intrude on Ziva's privacy, as well." He persuaded her. It was obvious that Tony had to be in the other room with Ziva. After all, in the last few months, there hadn't been any other woman Tony would have shown his interest in.
"I just want to peek inside for a second, I swear." She assured him once again. The fact she knew that Tony wasn't in his room didn't represent the ideal form of solid evidence she needed to assure herself that those two were together. If it was true, she needed to see it.
Tim gave out a weary sigh, backing out and sitting on the bed with his head in his hands. He resigned on trying to reason with Abby. It didn't have any meaning with such a stubborn character. "Whatever. Can't believe I'm here, being your accomplice..." He muttered under his breath, feeling so helpless.
Knowing Ziva, he knew that Abby could expect some death trap on the other side of the door. It was inhabited by an ex-Mossad, after all. He didn't want to know what Ziva would do to them if she knew what they were doing here. It was too dangerous, but Abby refused to see that. She'd just made up her mind to find out the truth, not caring about any consequences.
Abby looked at him, making a mental note to award McGee for his bravery once this was over. Then, she breathed in and out to prepare herself and opened the door to Ziva's room a crack as quietly as she could. When she didn't hear any movement, any words, or anything in general, she very carefully stuck her head inside to look around and find out what was going on.
The image she saw would stay in her mind forever and it made her heart melt. Never had she seen something as adorable as the scene in front of her. As the morning sun lit up the room, Tony and Ziva lay in the bed, comfortably tangled together in the sheets. He was spooning her, with his right arm flung over her body as his hand was intertwined with hers, and their legs were entangled.
There was no doubt it was an amorous embrace as they slept peacefully next to each other. Tony's bare chest pressed on Ziva's naked back, who had the sheet tightly wrapped around her breasts. She held their entwined hands in front of her mouth on the pillow while her other hand held his right arm. His left arm was above her head and his face was buried in her hair, nuzzling her neck.
Abby couldn't help but smile in happiness at their peaceful sleep. They were evidently satisfied with lying together in the bed like that. The content smiles on their faces and the way they held each other were more than enough. She suddenly felt very bad for staring at them like that, so she pulled her head back and closed the door noiselessly. She didn't need any more proof. This was what she had been looking for.
She turned around and leaned against the door, sighing happily. "They are so cute together." She uttered dreamily, unable to help herself.
McGee snapped his head in her direction. "So, it's true? They are there? Together?" He asked her, surprised by the fact he was taken aback by it.
Although Tony had hinted that he had decided to act on his feelings, and Tim hadn't had any reason to believe otherwise, it still surprised him. Maybe because one thing was to hear about it and another to see it with his own eyes. Such a miracle was a must-see. So, he stood up and went over to the door without a second thought. He wouldn't believe until he saw it.
Opening the door carefully, he peeked inside, too, and was very happy with the sight he was welcomed with. He also noticed the clothes on the floor, so he didn't have to guess what had been happening in this room during the night. Abby, in the meantime, pulled herself together and wiped the smile off her face. Worriedly, she sat on the bed and sighed thoughtfully. She had gained her evidence. Now the question was, what she should do with it?
"Well, it's about time." He commented, closing the door as he went back to the bed and sat down next to Abby.
It still felt surreal, but everyone who had seen Tony and Ziva together had to admit that they were made of each other. They perfectly filled in what the other one lacked and they complemented one another in one of the most unique ways McGee had ever witnessed. The harmony between them, the dynamics they had... It had been written in the stars that those two should end up together.
When she neither agreed nor disagreed with his statement, he nudged her. "What? I thought you'd be happy for them." He said with a questioning raise of an eyebrow, wondering why she looked so upset.
She sighed deeply once more, crossing her arms across her chest. "I'm happy for them. It's just... I'm not sure if this is happening for the right reasons." She said contemplatively, biting her bottom lip.
"I don't want anyone to get hurt, and knowing these two... This might get pretty painful if it doesn't work out." She expressed her concerns, waving her hand in the direction of the door with Tony and Ziva behind it. The consequences could be disastrous, they all knew that. One of the reasons why Gibbs ensured Rule 12 – team was supposed to be united.
"What do you mean?" He asked her curiously, soothingly rubbing her arm. He understood her concerns because he'd had the same. Tony had assured him, however, that he didn't have anything to worry about.
Giving out another sigh, she stood up because she needed to walk when she was contemplating. "Ziva... She might claim that she is fine and this wedding doesn't influence her behaviour at all. But I can't stop the feeling that she might be affected by it more than she's letting on." She said thoughtfully, making few steps back and forth.
Ziva had made a very solemn promise, but Abby still had doubts. The change of her behaviour, now clearly caused by Tony, had been abrupt and unusual for her. And Abby couldn't help but wonder what was behind her desire to change. One explanation was suggesting itself – her friend had been recently betrayed by a man who had proposed to her and she'd considered the marriage with him. That wasn't something you just throw behind yourself. It had to leave some marks.
"I'm afraid that Tony might be just a comfort for her, nothing more. I'm not sure if she knows what she wants and whether she is ready for a serious relationship. Sadly, I sometimes think that Tony doesn't know that, either." She further explained, wincing at her own words. She didn't like to think about her friends like that. But she also didn't want to censor her own thoughts.
He watched her with a puzzled expression, trying to understand her thinking. "Wait, are you suggesting that Ziva is using Tony?" He asked her, not quite believing that she would accuse Ziva of something like that. Sure, Ziva was sometimes selfish (who wasn't, after all), but to suggest that she slept with Tony just not to be alone, and of giving him false hopes, was way over the line. Tony had seemed pretty sure about his success, so McGee believed that if Ziva was with him, it was because she reciprocated his feelings.
"It might be like that." Abby countered immediately, knowing that it could be the other way around, as well. But she chose not to think about that. Tony being on a path to self-destruction, using Ziva to satisfy his fantasies about her wasn't an idea she'd love to develop in her mind.
"I'm not saying she does that intentionally. I just... We both know that Tony is crazy about her. And I know that she's attracted to him. If they were both weak just for a minute, they could..." She trailed off in the end, stopping herself before she could finish the sentence with 'destroy everything'.
"Ugh. What I'm even saying... I sound like a freak." She reprimanded herself, feeling disgusted by her own thoughts. Her thinking wasn't right. She should support her friends and not question their motives and tell them what they were supposed to do according to her opinion.
But she was seized by a great fear. She was scared that if one of them didn't reciprocate the feelings, if they did just one wrong, though little step, everything could go to hell. Ziva could leave, Tony might be left heartbroken and the whole family would fall apart. She had vowed to herself that nothing like that would ever happen after Ziva had returned from Somalia. She had promised to guard the unity of the family whatever it cost.
On the other hand, she was happy for their friends. If they'd gotten together for the right reasons, if they had finally admitted that they loved each other, she should launch fireworks or something. This was a fantastic breakthrough and success for both. But only in case they had stopped playing 'cat-and-mouse' game and they weren't hiding behind their masks anymore. She truly hoped that Ziva was ready and Tony was, as well.
She flinched when she felt McGee's hand on her shoulder, turning around to face him. He took her by hand and led her back to the bed, sitting her on it as he sat beside her. "It just shows that you truly and deeply care in your own, quirky way, Abby." He assured her that she wasn't a bad person for caring about her friends. He was understanding her concerns, but he didn't try to convince her about the opposite. That wasn't his job, so he chose another approach.
After Abby smiled at him, squeezing his hand in gratefulness, he continued. "Which is amazing, but you have to realize that they are both adults. They make decisions for themselves. We can't tell them what to and what not to do." He told her, defending his friends. He knew that Abby was aware of that, as well, but it couldn't hurt her to remind her so.
"Besides, Tony has grown up enough to know what he's doing. He wouldn't go so deep with this, if he wasn't sure. He assured me about that." He told her and Abby sent him a surprised look. That meant that Tony had to be sure about Ziva's feelings if he was risking so much. And that was good news. Also, it showed why McGee was being so calm about this.
"Just have some confidence in them, OK?" Tim asked her to do this little thing and stop being so overly curious about the fate of their friends. It could backfire on them and both Tony and Ziva could get very angry with them. And since he and Abby had only the best intentions, he didn't want to be accused of sticking his nose where it didn't belong.
She nodded in agreement, promising that she would do so. "I know you're right. But I will talk with Ziva about this." She said with a sigh. She needed to know how seriously Ziva was invested in it and whether she was ready for a serious relationship. She just wanted to assure herself about that, because she didn't want to witness any heartbreak.
Tim squeezed her hand once more, nodding with resignation. "That, I can't forbid you to do. Just please, don't tell her that we were here. I want to live." He pleaded her. He didn't want their friends to know about how they had intruded on their privacy. And he was sure that Ziva would kill them for that.
She chuckled and turned to hug McGee with her typical Abby-crushing hug, thanking him for being so understanding towards her. She knew that he drove him crazy quite often. "Don't worry, I know how to handle it." She assured him.
They fell into silence after she pulled back, but both smiling. Remembering the scene on the other side of the door, Abby had to admit that despite all her worries, she was happy how things had turned out. Tim had been right – it was about time for these two. Seeing them to dance around each other was a torture. Especially knowing that to interfere was inappropriate, because they were both stubborn and they had refused any help.
McGee watched her for a little while, soothingly rubbing her back. "Come on, we should leave before they wake up. And Jimmy is expecting us." He told her and stood up, offering his hand to her.
She accepted it, sending the last look to the door to Ziva's room. They stepped out of the room, closing the door behind them. Still quietly, she locked the door up, pulling the key out of the keyhole. Then they left the corridor together, stopping by at the reception desk to finally return the key with an apology for not doing so sooner. In the meantime, the sleeping couple didn't have a slightest idea about their little visit, and both McGee and Abby hoped it would stay like that.
The End of Chapter 23
The End of Part 3
Well, I hope you are not angry with McGee and Abby. I promised you that their little visit won't be that disturbing. Those two have no idea that they have been watched in their sleep.
We finished Part 3 of this story, and we're heading to Part 4, that will focus on the wedding itself. I think I can promise three more chapters and an epilogue. Then, I will wrap this up and start writing a new story that I hope you will all enjoy.
As for the next chapter, next update will come on September 7th. I'm leaving on vacation soon, and I will have limited internet access, so you have to wait until I get back. Then, we'll see. I badly fucked up my laptop, so let's hope I will have some device to write on.
Have a nice rest of the August, enjoy the summer, go sunbathe and have a great time! See you in September. :)