Here is the second last chapter :) the following one is already ready :D it's just waiting to be posted ;D

I also wrote another fic, a oneshot this time, and I'll post it now :)

Thank you all for your reviews 3

A ship

Tony wasn't sitting at his desk when Ziva arrived at work. She wasn't expecting to see him, anyways. Of course he wouldn't arrive later; he was probably already in Vance's office, listening to his instructions.

The previous night they had come back home at about two in the morning; she wasn't tired, though. She was just confused. She couldn't help thinking about those moments on the balcony… for just one second she had had the feeling that Tony wanted to kiss her. She pushed away that thought and got back to focusing on her work, taking quick glances at the stairs every now and then.

When Ziva saw him going down the stairs, she welcomed him with a smile and he smiled back.

"Hey," Tony said, sitting down on his chair, smiling at her again. Ziva wasn't sure what to say. She felt the need to ask him the details of his mission, but yet she was afraid he wouldn't be able to tell her anything. So she just asked, "So, uh… when are you leaving?"

"Tomorrow," Tony answered, looking at her for a moment. Ziva returned the look, but she added nothing. They got back to work and didn't talk for awhile.

Tony had spent the day thinking about the job he would do on the USS Seahawk. It seemed quite easy, after all: he just had to spend some time aboard, trying to figure out who was stealing classified information. When he found out, he just had to inform Vance, who would send some other agents to help him to catch the man. However, Vance had informed him it was quite a risky job: they didn't know who the man was, they didn't know how dangerous he was. Anything could happen; he had to be careful.

But this wasn't the only thought in Tony's mind. He couldn't stop thinking about the previous night.

God, I almost kissed her. He almost thanked Vance for having to interrupt them. It wasn't the right moment, now it was clear. They both would have felt embarrassed and… no, it was definitely not the right moment.

He was so angry with himself. He had lost control just seeing her in all her beauty and sweetness. It had been a mistake to try to kiss her, he knew it. They just weren't ready.

The hours passed and Tony soon found himself at home, packing. He put clothes and shoes in the suitcase, still thinking of her. While he was cooking dinner, his eyes stopped on one of the photos that were hung on the wall. It was a picture of both of them. Abby had taken it during the last dinner they had had at her place. Ziva had a wonderful smile and Tony was taking a quick glance at her, a glance that the camera had captured. It was a beautiful photo. Tony took it and put it into the suitcase.

They didn't talk much the following morning. They just kept taking looks at each other. Tony tried to understand what Ziva's eyes were hiding, but she was keeping all her emotions inside and she didn't let any part of her body reveal them. Tony kept looking at his watch, seeing how hours passed and how the departure was getting closer and closer. He felt the need to tell her something before leaving, so he caught the moment when she went to the bathroom and he followed her.

Tony entered the women's room behind her. However, Ziva didn't notice him – or pretended to haven't noticed him – until he closed the door behind him and locked it.

Ziva turned to look at him and smiled lightly. "So, you are leaving in an hour, yes?"

"Yes," Tony answered nodding, staring at her carefully. They didn't say anything for a few moments. "I… I don't know if I will be able to phone you when I'm there…" he murmured, without stopping looking at her.

"It is okay," Ziva immediately said, smiling. There was a shadow of sadness on her face and Tony didn't miss it. He sighed and opened his mouth to add something, but Ziva was faster than him. "I hope it will not be too dangerous," she admitted, still smiling a little, with a worried shine in her eyes.

"I'll… I'll be careful," Tony promised, nodding and returning the smile. "And I hope it won't take me a lot of time to… to find out who's stealing classified files. I'd love to be home in not more than a week." He smiled widely, reassuringly.

"It won't be that easy, Tony."

Ziva bit her lip and suddenly Tony felt the need to tell her all those words he had been hiding from her. But "I'll be fine" was all he managed to say.

Ziva sighed and nodded. "You'd better go now," she said. "Vance must be waiting for you in his office."

Tony waited for a few moments before speaking. "Yeah, yeah, I should go," he said. They both smiled at each other and Tony turned. Before going out, he faced her again and said, "I'll try to call you."

Ziva nodded with a smile. "I will be waiting for your call."

Tony returned the smile, then he left.

A week later, Tony was lying on his bed, listening to the sound of the sea coming from the outside. It was night and the ship was silent, rocket by the waves. However, he couldn't fall asleep because he was too lost in his thoughts. It had been a week since the last time he had seen her. It had been a week since the last time he had spoken to her. He had never missed anyone as much as he missed Ziva then. She was always in his thoughts, stuck in his mind with her beautiful smile. The distance between the two of them was killing him. He couldn't even phone her as long as he was on the ship. However, even if he could have called her, he wouldn't have known what to say. He just knew that he would phone her as soon as he could.

He didn't know how much longer he had to stay on the damn ship. He had almost figured out who the traitor was, but he needed to be sure. If he had caught the wrong guy, they real responsible person would escape. He couldn't let that happen.

Tony heard some voices coming from the narrow corridor of the ship, just outside his cabin. He looked at the clock. It was 2300 hours. He stretched his arm to grab something that had been lying on his suitcase since the first moment he had been on the ship. He stared at the photos for minutes, focusing on Ziva's smile, trying to save in his mind every little detail of her beautiful face. He missed her, and sometimes he felt the need to phone her and tell her.

However, he didn't think he would have been enough courageous to say, "I miss you."

A week. That week the office had been much more silent than usually. Tony's jokes were missing; his random and pointless words were missing. Everyone missed him. Ziva could see McGee in a worse mood than his usual happy self. He pretended to be happy because he could finally "work without hearing Tony's annoying voice," but she knew, and McGee knew it as well, that he missed him. They had been trying to calm down Abby, who was afraid that Tony would never come back. Ziva knew that he would come back some day, that he would come back very soon, but Abby's fears affected Ziva as well, and she started wondering what would happen if Tony couldn't figure out who the traitor was soon.

Sometimes, Ziva found herself staring at Tony's empty desk and she felt her heart moaning like a tummy that needs to be fed. She missed him and she was worried, so worried that she felt like screaming and going to save him. Not knowing what he was doing, not knowing how he was doing made her feel even worse. She knew he was fine. Otherwise she would have been told that something had happened to him. But this true fact wasn't reassuring her. What if the man Tony was looking for killed him?

Suddenly, Gibbs came into the bullpen. Ziva pushed away these thoughts and went back to focus on her work.

One day, Tony phoned Vance. He had found out who was stealing classified files from the ship. Vance immediately went into the bullpen and informed Gibbs' team of the news. Ziva felt relieved; Tony was fine and he was going to come back home soon. Vance also informed them that he was going to send some other agents to help Tony to catch the man. In fact, they didn't only have to arrest him; they also had to find out who wanted to buy those files because they had to be arrested as well. It wasn't a job for only one person.

"I think I'll send you, Agent David," Vance said, looking at her.

"Of course," she replied immediately, feeling excited about the idea of seeing Tony very soon.

"You're leaving tomorrow, then," Vance continued. "The ship is going to dock today and it's leaving again tomorrow. You'll be on that ship a few hours after its departure."

Ziva nodded and took a quick glance at Gibbs who looked a little nervous; he didn't like it when the director sent his own agents around the world.

"Come to my office before leaving," Vance said, still looking at Ziva. "I'll give you all the details you'll need."

"Yes, Director," Ziva nodded, then she watched Vance leaving.

Ziva was finishing packing her things when she heard the phone ringing. She hoped it wasn't Gibbs who was calling to tell her he needed her at work. She didn't feel like working. She just wanted to have some rest before the long trip that was waiting for her. She moved towards the table where she had left the phone and answered.

"David," she said.

"Ziva?" The voice gave her a start.

"Tony?" she asked, even though she knew for sure it was him. It was definitely his voice, a voice she had missed so much.

"How… how are you?" Tony asked, sounding a little embarrassed. Ziva didn't say anything at first. She was too surprised to open her mouth.

"I am… I am fine," she said when she was able to reorder her thoughts. "What about you? Are you okay?" she asked then.

"Yes," Tony said. "We… we just arrived at the harbor. I'm off the ship now. We're leaving again tomorrow morning."

"Oh," Ziva murmured, while trying to find something better to say. He had left her speechless. She wasn't expecting him to phone her for real. "I hope it is a nice place," she told him, smiling even if he couldn't see her.

"Well, it's quite hot here, you know… but yes, it's a nice place," Tony said. He paused for a moment, then he added, "I couldn't phone you when I was on the ship."

"I… I know…" Ziva said, biting her lip.

"But I wish I could have phoned you," he added and she almost could see what the expression on his face was like at that moment. She knew him too well. "I wanted to know how you were doing and… you know, to hear your voice."

Ziva blushed a little, then she took a deep breath. "I am glad you called." She bit her lip once again, then she said, "I have been wondering if you were alright. I understand it is quite a dangerous job."

"It is," Tony admitted. "That man is… quite violent. He's had a problem with almost everyone on the ship, even with the cook. He's really a bad guy." Ziva didn't say anything, lost in his words. So he was in danger. She hadn't worried too much over nothing. "I'm fine, though," Tony said a few moments later to reassure her. "You don't have to worry about me…"

"I know," Ziva smiled lightly.

Tony kept quiet for a moment. "I can see your smile," Tony murmured and his words made her blush once again. Why was it so easy for him to understand her even if he was that far away from her? "So, what are you wearing right now?" Tony asked suddenly after a long embarrassed silence.

Ziva was stunned. "Why… why are you asking?"

"I'm just trying to picture you in my mind," Tony replied simply. "Come on, tell me."

Ziva laughed. "Well, uh… I am wearing a pair of grey trousers and a brown t-shirt."

"Sound cute," Tony said, laughing a little. "And what are you doing?"

"Talking to you."

"Seriously."

"Packing."

"Oh," Tony murmured.

"I am coming there… Vance assigned me to the team that is coming to help you," Ziva explained.

Tony didn't say anything for a moment, then he asked, "So we are seeing each other tomorrow…"

Now she really could see him smiling. "Yes, we are," Ziva said, smiling as well.

"That's great!" Tony was now laughing with happiness. "That's really great." He paused for a moment. "Just… don't forget to put McGee in your suitcase, okay? I'm sure he misses me."

"He does," Ziva said, and Tony stopped laughing.

"I was… I was just joking," he stuttered.

"I was not." Ziva smiled again.

Tony didn't speak for awhile. "And do you miss me too?" he asked then, with a serious tone. Ziva bit her lip.

"Yes," she said, closing her eyes, waiting for his reply. Somewhere in the world, he was smiling, she could swear it.

"So do I," he said. They both kept quiet for many seconds.

Suddenly, Tony said, "I really have to go now, Ziva." She could hear the sorrow in his voice, the same sorrow as she was feeling.

"Then… see you tomorrow," she murmured.

"Yeah, see you tomorrow."

The call ended. Ziva kept staring at her cell for few moments, then she decided to go to bed. She lay in her bed for dozens of minutes before falling asleep. His words and his voice were stuck in her mind. Now, she was looking forward to seeing his face too.

Ziva couldn't stand the noise of the plane anymore. She had spent the whole journey trying to sleep and to push away her thoughts. She needed silence in her mind. She had been thinking about Tony in those hours and her brain almost physically hurt. She would get to see him in just a few minutes. The plane had almost reached the USS Seahawk. Only a few miles separated Ziva from Tony. She was as happy as a child on Christmas and her feelings confused her a little. She had never felt like this before. She was really excited and she was daydreaming about that moment. And they only had been far away from each other for eight days.

Suddenly, the little plane landed on the ship. Ziva heard a loud noise and after a few seconds the plane stopped. She was on the USS Seahawk. She jumped off the plane in a hurry, trying to hide her excitement from the other agents that had come with her. The captain of the ship ran towards her and he introduced himself to Ziva. Ziva did the same.

They went inside the ship. When the noise of the plane stopped, Ziva felt much better. Her headache stopped and she found herself smiling with happiness.

"I am here to see Agent DiNozzo," she told the captain. The man frowned and took a deep breath.

"Agent DiNozzo is no longer aboard, Miss."