A/N: This chapter isn't quite so long. Oops. What can I say? I like to end things on an interesting note, so the chapters can be longer/shorter depending on how I want to end it. c; And for those of you going "Wait, what? What happened with Tony and Ziva?" you shall find out throughout the chapters, through Ziva's memory and conversations. ;) Enjoy.

I don't own NCIS.

"I love you, Ziva. You know that, right?"

In his arms, she only nodded in reply and snuggled closer to him, her warm breath on his skin. It was a cool night, but she hadn't noticed. The only thing that mattered now was that he loved her, and, she loved him, though she couldn't bring herself to say it quite yet. There had been too much in her past stopping her… but he was okay with that, she'd thought. He'd say the 'I love you's and she'd say nothing, yet he'd understand.

Ziva smiled at the memory, her eyes on the wall. Jacob had left an hour ago, and she was alone now, free to spend her time however she wished - unless, of course, her boss called with a new investigation or lead to follow. This left her alone with her own thoughts, and as much as it scared her earlier, she'd found herself remembering the good things and pointedly ignoring the bad parts of the before. Before… Jacob, before Britain, before everything.

The final month, when they'd stopped resisting and gave in, when everything had been perfect. And then Vance had found out and his anger was double Gibbs's. It hardly helped that McGee had been injured by a gunshot, and the Director seemed only to have blood in his eyes when he'd reassigned them. He'd begged her to stay, promised he'd quit, but she knew better. She'd let him go.

"Ziva, please, stay. We'll find a new job. Even being a local LEO is good with me."

She looked at his brilliant green eyes for only a second, and regretted it instantly. Her gaze switched to the floor. The pain in his eyes was almost unbearable… after all that they'd been through - the years as partners, the injuries, the love, and the fights, there would be nothing left to show for it. And though she was far from being "okay" with what was happening, she knew better than to question. She'd have to stay strong and hope that he wouldn't cry, wouldn't break down.

She knew that she couldn't stand it if he did.

Her cellphone buzzed angrily in her pocket, forcing her out of her memories, but Ziva was glad for it. Their parting had been all too much for her. Even a year after she'd found herself flipping through her old phone's contacts, staring at his name, and his picture, though she'd never pressed call. There'd been no point. They'd been issued new cellphones, new phone numbers.

"Hello? Ziva David speaking," she declared. It didn't take long for her to realize that the caller was hardly baring good news, for there was a pause and an intake of breath. Slightly annoyed, she rolled her eyes and waited patiently.

"Ziva, we need you in the office, ASAP," came the voice of her boss, his words quick and accent clear. "We have a bit of a… situation, you might say. A US Marine was found dead this morning. Apparently he was part of an operation, because we've got guests."

Confused now, she scrambled to her feet and was out the door quickly, too many possibilities running through her head at once. As far as she knew, McGee was completely out of the Agency because of his wounds, Gibbs had perhaps retired, and Tony… well, she didn't know. But what were the possibilities that it could be one of them? "Guests…?"

No answer. Her boss simply ended the call, and she rolled her eyes. This man was like a younger version of Gibbs. They were enough alike that she'd once thought Gibbs had trained the man sometime in his life. But, as far as she knew, Gibbs never let his team members go unless he had to. And Britain? He'd never been there, had he?

Ziva weaved through traffic, reaching the small building that housed her agency in simple minutes. She propelled herself into the office faster than normal, eyes on everything and nothing in particular. If there was even a chance that the 'guests' were people she knew… it would be like old times, wouldn't it?

She was paying so little attention to her surroundings that she walked into something heavy. With a grunt, she fell to the floor, and the object - person? - did as well. Ziva quickly stood once more, turning to apologize, when she stopped. Her eyes met his, and after a few heartbeats of silence, she turned on her heel and vanished.

This couldn't be happening.