Chapter 16 – His Smile

***Trigger Warning*** Implied violence towards females

From nearly the beginning of their time together, she had noticed that he interacted with various others in very different ways. His body language, his facial expressions, his choice of words, and even his smile, were vastly dissimilar depending on the other party in the interaction. Perhaps she noticed the nonverbal cues more than most; it was part of her Mossad training to read body language, facial expressions, tells, and even slight tics of the face and appendages. Despite the popular first-impression of Ziva David as a Mossad assassin, no feelings, no emotions, she was highly trained in people before she came to NCIS.

His smile had captivated her from the start; it radiated across his face and even his eyes smiled at her. Try as she might, every time, yes… Every. Time. He smiled at her and her insides would flutter as though a thousand butterflies had taken flight within. After the second time, she'd noticed that particular version of his smile was reserved for only her.

Her mental image of that smile had kept her going in tough times; notably in the time spent in captivity in Somalia in the monster's lair. Tony's smile had allowed her to slip away from the present horrors and live in her mind during the violent physical assaults perpetrated by Saleem's thugs and the monster himself.

Ziva shook her head to clear away the unpleasant memories; for the most part, the nightmares had stopped. Having the warmth of the man she loved with every fiber of her being next to her at night had been a huge factor in her mental healing. Tony instinctively knew what she needed from him on the now rare occasions when the nightmares came back and terrorized her sleep.

She glanced up from the cold case file she was thumbing through to see him watching her. He glanced around as if he were looking for Gibbs, and then flashed that very smile at her. His eyes sparkled with the love she knew he put into his smile for her. The fluttery sensation tickled her inside as she returned that smile that she reserved for only him. They locked gazes…

"Enough with the eye sex; back to work," Gibbs barked as he passed between them with a fresh cup of coffee.

Ziva glanced over at her partner, he shrugged and turned his attention to the file on his desk. The team was on cold case files for the past three days due to lack of a new case. No new case meant no new bodies, or criminals, but also meant endless, boring paperwork for the MCRT. She was certain all of them were hoping for a call-out just to be able to get out of their chairs and out of the building.

The case in the current file she was perusing was of two female medics who had disappeared in the Syrian desert seemingly without a trace. Local eyes on the ground had reported what was believed to be the two women in a military transport vehicle about a month after their disappearance. Intel had suggested the two were held at a compound in the desert, but efforts to locate the camp were fruitless.

Ziva inhaled sharply at the only known images of the two from their captors. She tried to fight the rising panic, as memories of Somalia bubbled to the surface of her consciousness. She quickly flipped the images over so only the blank sides were showing and looked across the bullpen to Tony's desk.

He was already on his way to hers, "You okay?" He spoke softly so as not to draw attention to their conversation. From the look he'd seen on Ziva's face, he knew something was wrong.

"I am fine," she replied, too quickly for his liking.

He was now bending/squatting next to her chair, his face almost in hers. "Liar," he hissed. "You know I'm gonna keep asking until you tell me." He locked gazes with her; her eyes screamed troubled thoughts, so he smiled at her, that smile he kept only for her, knowing it had a calming effect on the Israeli.

"We will talk about it later; and thank you for the smile." She handed him the now-closed cold case folder, "I think you had better take this one… please?"

When he started to say more, she placed the file in his hands and shook her head to cut him off.

Ziva stood, "I am going to take a quick break to clear my head. I need a few minutes to myself." She wiggled around the man, enjoying the bodily contact as much as he did.

"Fair enough. I'm here if you need me…"

Tony watched Ziva head towards the restroom and returned to his own desk. When he opened the cold case file, he immediately understood why Ziva had to step away. The images made his blood boil; how could anyone, any man, perpetrate this sort of treatment of a female, or any other human for that matter? The two female medics had injuries consistent with repeated beatings, just as Ziva had suffered in Somalia. If their captors were of the same ilk as Saleem, they were pure evil.

As much as he hated to look at the images, a mark on the wall behind the captives caught his eye. He'd seen something similar when he was an agent afloat. A quick search of the computer files for the case showed digital versions already were on file. Tony made note of the case number, and composed a secure email to Stan Burley, making sure to notate the image he'd seen on the wall in the background. Stan was familiar with the marks of the many desert gangs, and Tony was sure the man could identify the one in the pictures. He was hoping the agent would also take the case to follow up.

Ziva returned just as he hit send; he glanced up and smiled at her – his special smile – and was happy when she smiled back at him. He would tell her about his discovery at home that night.

Ziva noticed her partner tapping at his keyboard as she rounded the corner by McGee's desk. He clicked the button on the mouse and looked up at her as she walked towards the gap between their desks. His grin told her all was okay – for now - with the world again, so she smiled that special smile that she had for him only and locked eyes with him. They would talk later; something both had learned to do to keep from shutting the other out. Her insides fluttered as his grin and his eyes smiled even more just for her.