Sixth chapter :) Here it is. I just finished writing the last one, the eight :D

Anyway, I hope you'll like this one! Thank you all for your nice reviews!

6. A night

They had been working on their case reports all morning. It was a quite boring day, Tony wasn't even in the mood to make lots of jokes, so the hours passed slowly. Nobody had seen Gibbs yet, but there was no chance he hadn't come to work. Gibbs never got sick and, above all, he never missed a day of work. At midday, he finally showed up in the bullpen, walking in a rush towards his desk.

"DiNozzo, David," he said, taking a quick glance at the two agents. "Director Vance is waiting for you in his office." Tony and Ziva exchanged a look.

Then Tony turned his face to Gibbs and asked, getting up, "Is something wrong?"

Gibbs smirked, but he didn't raise his head from the screen. "I don't know, DiNozzo. Why don't you go in there and find out?"

"Right, boss," Tony immediately said. He waited for Ziva to get up then they both went up the stairs without talking. They both wondered why Vance had called them and they hoped it wasn't something bad.

As soon as they reached Vance's office, the secretary announced their arrival to Vance. They knocked then they entered the room.

Vance was sitting at his desk. He welcomed the agents with a nod, then he started talking. "The SecNav and I have been invited to a party. There will be a lot of directors of different agencies and we can't exclude the option that there might be… disorders." Tony and Ziva nodded slowly, exchanging a quick look. "I expect the two of you to come with me and to escort me."

"Sure, Director," Tony said for both of them.

Vance got up. "I want you to be here before nineteen hundred. We're leaving for the restaurant together. While we're there, I expect you not to be under my feet, but to have a look around and to notice and report whatever strange thing's happening that catches you eyes, okay?"

"Yes, Director," Tony said, with his arms crossed over his chest.

Vance didn't say anything for two seconds, then he spoke. "Okay, you can go."

The two agents nodded and walked towards the door. Before they left the office, Vance told them, "Oh, and don't forget the evening dress."

For the first time in her life, Ziva didn't know what to wear. She kept looking at all her dresses in the wardrobe, trying to figure out which one would be better for the night. She was actually quite confused because of her indecision. Why did she care that much? Why was that so important that night?

Tony.

She immediately swept away that thought from her mind and went back focusing on the dresses.

This one is too short. This one is too low-cut at the front. I can only imagine what comments Tony would do if he saw me in this.

There he was again, in her mind, influencing her choices on the dress.

Great, Ziva thought, even though she had to admit to herself that, after all, she was waiting for the moment when Tony would see her.

You are so vain, she thought with a smile. She wasn't sure it was vanity, though. Maybe she just wanted to feel… liked by him. However, she was confused. She had never felt like this before.

Tony was rather nervous. He kept moving around, looking at nothing in particular, adjusting his jacket and tie. He felt hot, even though it was quite cold that night. He couldn't help looking at his watch every minute, seeing how seconds passed without her being there. Ziva wasn't late, though. It was still only eighteen thirty, so there was no reason why she would have been already there.

Then why am I already here? he wondered. The answer was simple: he couldn't just stay home any longer. He was even more tense at home. Ziva wasn't the only reason, though. He was also concerned about the work he had to do: he knew that something could go wrong, there was always the possibility that something bad could happen. It was a big dinner between important and powerful people, the best chance for terrorists to kill a bunch of them.

Suddenly, Ziva arrived. Tony didn't even notice her at first. He wasn't watching the street when she got out of her car, so he only saw her when she said, "Hi," to him. He turned slowly.

It took him a few moments to pin her down. Tony was dazzled by her beauty and he let himself take a quick look at her dress. It was simple, but yet wonderful. It looked amazing on her, she looked amazing. He had to try his hardest to control himself and he succeeded. Ziva didn't even seem to have noticed the dreamy way he had been looking at her. Which was a good thing. Maybe.

"So, uh… where is Vance?" Ziva asked, looking around, trying to see the director in the dark.

"He phoned me a few minutes ago… He's coming in about ten minutes, then we'll be ready to leave," Tony replied, still looking at her. Ziva bit her lip and nodded, while Tony was taking a deep breath.

It was going to be a long night.

Tony stuck an open-faced salmon sandwich in his mouth and started to munch.

"Oh, yoo aav too troy thos, Zova," he said, still chewing the sandwich.

Ziva gave him a dirty look. "Has anyone taught you that you must not speak while you are eating?" she asked, narrowing her eyes. However, she let slip a smile. Tony swallowed and took another canapé.

"Hey, try one of these. They're delicious," he said, giving it to Ziva. She shook her head and didn't take it. "Why not?" Tony protested, with a scowl.

"Because, like I told you last time we had to protect our director during a dinner, we are not here to eat," Ziva said, smirking and taking a look at Vance.

Tony leaned on a column. Some few seconds passed."Everything seems fine, right?" he asked, looking around. His eyes stopped on Ziva, who was still observing the hall.

"Yes, it does," she replied with a nod. Suddenly, she noticed that Tony was staring at her. "What?" she asked sharply, trying to hide her embarrassment.

"Nothing," Tony lied, immediately looking somewhere else. He noticed that Vance was staring at him and he wondered what was wrong. With a small movement of his hand, Vance made him understand that he wanted to talk to Tony. The agent left Ziva near the dining table and walked towards him.

"Everything okay, Director?" Tony asked, worried as soon as he reached the older man.

"Yes," Vance said, staring right into his eyes. "I just need to go upstairs with the SecNav."

"Do you want us to come with you?"

"No, I'll be fine," Vance answered. "The SecNav has his own escort, anyways."

"Okay." Tony nodded. "Is there anything else?"

"Yes." Vance paused for a moment. "As long as I'll be upstairs, you and Agent David can have a break."

"Thank you," Tony replied, nodding again and smiling a little. Vance didn't return his smile. He just left and Tony went back to Ziva.

"So, what did Vance say?" Ziva asked as soon as Tony was near enough to hear her.

"He needs to go upstairs with the SecNav and he wants us to have a break," Tony answered with a huge smile. Ziva didn't say anything. "So, uh… what about going out on the balcony?" Tony asked, with his hands in the pockets of the trousers.

"I do not know, it might be a little too cold outside…" Ziva said, bending her head a little.

"Oh, come on." Tony laughed. "Is Ziva David actually afraid of cold?"

"I am not afraid of cold," Ziva protested. "I just like warm more."

"Okay. I'll go alone, then." Tony started to move towards the French window. Ziva snorted and she followed him.

Outside it was as cold as she expected. It was May, but there was a strong cold wind that made her shiver. Tony had just leaned on the railing and was looking at the skyline of the city. There was a beautiful view of DC from there.

"It's wonderful, huh?" Tony asked, feeling her presence behind him.

Ziva leaned on the railing too, beside him. "Yes, it is…" she murmured, looking at the scenery.

Tony turned his face a little, just to be able to look at her. Ziva exchanged the look. He didn't really know what to say. There were too many thoughts in his mind and he felt like he just needed to say a few words, but at the same time, he felt like there weren't enough words to express his feelings. In particular, there were a few words that begged him to be said, but he just couldn't let himself told her those words.

You're so beautiful.

Of course, he'd already told her she was beautiful, but right now it would be totally different. They wouldn't be words pronounced in the middle of a conversation. It would be a deep thought, with a deep meaning. He didn't know if he was ready to say it, and he didn't mean to embarrass her either. So he just kept quiet.

The silence became more and more awkward as time passed. Tony was now determined to say something.

"You were right, it's quite cold," he told her, and soon he realized that, for the first time in his whole life, he had said something about the weather to start a conversation.

Ziva nodded. They were still looking at each other. Tony saw her shivering and he wondered whether she was just cold or thrilled. She turned her face and went back staring at the view of Washington DC. The wind made her hair stream and Tony smiled while looking at it. Her hair was a little messy now because of the wind. Ziva tried to adjust it, but the wind was so strong that it was just impossible. Soon they were both laughing, amused by heir weird hairdo and by her tries to adjust it. Their laughter faded into smiles and they were now staring at each other intensely.

Without moving his gaze from her, Tony murmured, "What a great night, huh?"

A wonderful little smile showed up on Ziva's lips. "Yes, it is…" she agreed. Their gaze became more and more intense and Tony could see her eyes shining. He heard a voice inside of him, a sweet voice this time, a voice that told him to break the distance between their lips. Looking at her, he thought that he would probably listen to the voice, after all. As soon as he made up his mind and started to lean closer, a voice coming from behind them said, "DiNozzo."

Tony almost had a heart attack. He rapidly turned and saw Vance standing just outside the French window. Ziva turned to face Vance as well, still trying to adjust her hair and, if Tony had looked at her, he would have seen her blushing a little. Tony moved towards the director, a little afraid that Vance had seen too much.

"Yes, director?" he asked, standing right in front of him.

"I need you to do some work for me," Vance told him, staring at him carefully.

"Sure." Tony nodded, crossing his arms. Vance took a quick look at Ziva, who was a few feet away from them, pretending not to be listening to the conversation. Then the director went back to stare at Tony. "USS Ronald Reagan."

Tony felt the world falling apart around him. USS Ronald Reagan. That name reminded him of one of the worst times of his life. However, before he could say anything, Vance added, maybe noticing his reaction, "You aren't going to spend more than a few weeks this time."

A few weeks…

These words were both reassuring and scaring. He was afraid he would be reassigned, but "a few weeks" meant a fast job, not a permanent one.

Meanwhile, "a few weeks" also meant a lot of time, anyways, especially now that things were that good with Ziva.

"Someone's stealing files on that ship. Classified files," Vance explained. "We have to catch whoever's responsible. We can't let him sell those files. You're going to that ship to do some investigations. We need to know who he is and who he's planning to sell those files to."

"Sure," Tony said again.

"I'll give you all the details tomorrow…" Vance added. "Come to my office as soon as you arrive at the Navy Yard." Tony nodded while Vance paused for a moment, before saying, "We'd better go back inside now." He turned and Ziva followed him, taking a final quick glance at Tony, who returned the look and went after her.