Hospital

"Tony." Ziva said approaching him, as he stood outside the Senator's hospital room. He turned to face her. As she approached, she caught glimpse of Wendy talking with the Senator.

"She is still interviewing him?" Ziva asked.

"He keeps falling asleep. She interviews for a while and then he slept for a half hour. Now, she just started up again."

"Sooo. This is your Wendy?" Ziva asked.

"Yes." Tony asked in a very short manner.

"Is it not interesting that you should cross paths this way?" Ziva asked.

"Yes, especially considering she used to be a music teacher and not a journalist."

"Gibbs said I am relieving you." Ziva informed him. This earned a frantic response from Tony.

"You are staying here, now?" Tony asked.

"Yes Tony, Gibbs wants you back at the Navy Yard." Ziva informed him.

"But I can't. . ." Tony started to panic.

"Should I call Gibbs, Tony?" Ziva asked teasingly.

"No, okay I am going." Tony said reluctantly, as he looked back at Ziva and then back at the hospital room where Wendy was interviewing the Senator.

Not long after Tony left, Wendy returned to the hallway, surprised that Tony had left.

"Hello Wendy." Ziva said with a smile.

"Hello. . ." Wendy said.

"I am Ziva." Ziva said. Soooo. How did you and Tony meet, anyway?" She asked.

"I met him in High School. I was his Music teacher." She stated with a little laugh.

"High School!" Ziva was taken aback by how long they have known each other.

"He was in high school? And you were his teacher?" Ziva asked completely surprised by the revelations.

"So how long have you worked at NCIS?" Wendy asked.

"It has now been six years, nearly seven." Ziva answered.

"I can't believe Tony has been working with Gibbs for eleven years now." Wendy said. She looked down and away from Ziva. "He has never lived or worked anywhere for that long before. Oh, that Senior moved him around a lot." Ziva nodded in agreement that she knew that from Tony's past stories as a child moving from boarding schools to summer camps to different homes once his father divorced again.

After a long silence and sneaky glances at each other, Wendy finally turned to Ziva with a sassy grin.

"Is there something you would like to ask me, Ziva?" She asked.

"The Tony that I know has been challenged when committing to relationships. Basically, he never lets a relationship progress beyond the fourth or fifth date." Ziva said. The comment made Wendy laugh, as she identified Ziva's lingering question.

"Really? We were together majority of the time he was in Baltimore and then we were engaged for the first year that he was at NCIS." Wendy informed Ziva. Wendy gave another soft laugh at the look of shock in Ziva's face.

"You want to know why we called it off?" Wendy said with a grin.

"I was just curious. . ." Ziva started to say, but got tongue tied from being embarrassed.

"It was a mutual decision. I am older then him, and I really wanted to get married fast. When the big day approached, Tony learned that he was set to inherit ten million dollars once he married. His father never told him that he had a trust fund. As a result of this information, we hit a stalemate. Tony wasn't ready to turn into his father. How many cops have that kind of money sitting in the bank? It is naive to assume nothing bad would come of that. Senior never approved of his being a cop anyway." Wendy explained, stopping to look over at Ziva and finding her reaction very amusing. "I really wanted to get married. So after our breakup, I spent six months in Mexico and married a man I dated while on the rebound. I spent six years in a loveless marriage." Wendy openly explained the details which Ziva was taken aback by all the details.

". . .have you ever met, Senior?" Wendy stopped and asked.

"Yes, he has been visiting Tony and us a few times a year for the last three years now. They have better contact now. In fact, we had Thanksgiving dinner at Gibbs' house this year and Tony's father was staying at Gibbs' place." Ziva explained and was being treated with a perplexed Wendy from those details. "It was Tony's father that spilled the marbles that Tony was actually engaged at one time. Until then, McGee and I especially did not know that detail about Tony. Gibbs never brought it up. Even Ducky and Abby never brought it up either. . ."

"Well Abby never forgave us for calling it off. Tony said she gave him a really hard time for years about it. I don't know what is more surprising though about what you just shared with me, Ziva. Maybe the fact that Gibbs had everyone over for Thanksgiving dinner, Senior staying at Gibbs' house, or that Tony is contact with his father again. Tony and Senior really had it out back in 2002 when he learned about the trust fund for this first time." Ziva squinted at her and nodded as she processed all the history that she just learned about Tony.

"Had it out?" Ziva asked perplexed by the statement.

"They had a really big, memorable argument." Wendy restated with a smile, as she started to pick up on some of Ziva's English-language challenges.

"Oops, he is awake again." Wendy said as she reentered the Senator's hospital room.

Squad Room

"Boss?" Tony said in a worried tone, as he approached Gibbs' desk. McGee stifled a chuckle from his intense entrance.

"Tony." Gibbs said strongly, looking him over.

"Why did you call me back here and send Ziva to be with Wendy?" Tony asked. Gibbs stood up, treating DiNozzo with a stern glance. McGee could not contain his chuckle this time, which earned him an annoyed glance from DiNozzo.

"I am sorry Boss." Tony said realizing that he had just questioned Gibbs' orders. "But, Ziva will ask Wendy a million personal questions about me." Gibbs continued to stand there, treating DiNozzo with a stern glance.

"Boss?" DiNozzo said again, starting to get concerned at the way Gibbs would not answer his questions.

"I just met Eric Rodriguez." Gibbs said. "He was making threats against the Senator because of his stance against immigration. He is being deported back to Mexico."

"Wow, really that is surprising." Tony said in response, becoming agitated and ready to just back away from Gibbs. DiNozzo was now getting a full dose of the Gibbs stare and his interrogation mode. McGee stopped typing because he wanted to give his full attention to listening to their discussion now. He was interested in where this discussion was going and learning why Gibbs was so focused in Eric Rodriquez now and back in interrogation room.

"They [the government] can do that to him?" DiNozzo asked in surprised.

"Yes, he is divorced now with no family in the United States. He is living on a visa and his ex-wife married him in Mexico—not in the United States."

"But he has a son." DiNozzo added.

"He is not the biological father, and he is not listed on the birth certificate." Gibbs retorted. McGee was now confused as he tried his best to follow this conversation.

"How do you even know that Tony?" McGee asked. "You have been at the hospital with the Senator this whole time." McGee blurted out.

"McGee." Gibbs warned softly. Gibbs shook his head and directed DiNozzo over to the elevator.

McGee was left in the squad room completely confused, and he now regretted his attempt at getting answers from them.

"McGee." McGee said into his ringing phone. "What? When did the Senator die? Thanks Ziva, yeah I will tell Gibbs, when he gets back. No, no he is in the elevator right now with Tony. I don't know what is going on. Are you coming back here then? Alright, I will see you then."