50 Sentences Expanded

21. Fool – Tony raised the beer to take another sip and chided himself for ever believing that Gibbs would show.

Fool – Part 2

Gibbs strode into NCIS headquarters at five past eight in the morning. He nodded to the security guard as he stepped through the metal detector. There was an elevator waiting when he pressed the up button, and so Gibbs felt that the morning was off to a good start.

And then Ziva slipped in behind him.

She didn't say a word as the metal doors closed. Just stood to his left, eyes on the door.

And for several moments, he was entirely uncomfortable. He stood stock still, coffee in his right hand, NCIS backpack slung over his right shoulder.

But before the elevator reached the second floor, Ziva silently reached out and flipped the off switch. And when she turned to face him, the marine in him cowed slightly from the burning in her eyes.

"Gibbs. We need to talk."

"Not now, Ziva. Not now." He reached across her for the switch to get them moving once again, but she slapped his hand away, and stepped between him and the button panel.

"Yes, Gibbs. Now."

After seeing her docile side for so long, Gibbs had almost forgotten how ferocious she could be. Almost.

She crossed her arms over her chest, the fabric of her green sweater bunching. She glared.

"Ziva, I-"

"You had better have a damn good explanation for your absence last night."

Of course she knew. Tony must have called her when he didn't show.

"He was a wreck, Gibbs. When I found him he was busy drinking himself into a stupor. He was really looking forward to dinner with you! So you had better give me a good reason not to beat the Marine out of you. All that talk of honor, tradition, and respect. Pshaw! Were you respecting Tony when you stood on- stood him up? Yes?"

Gibbs didn't know what to say to make her understand. He had to admit that he hadn't thought the evening meant that much to DiNozzo. Just a date among a string of dates for NCIS's resident playboy. He was half shocked that Tony had even asked him.

But deep down, he knew it was different. Tony had acted different. And now, hearing from Ziva just how upset Tony was, well, it hit him hard.

"Ziva…" She raised an eyebrow, her mouth still set in a severe frown, her eyes sparkling with ire.

"I didn't know it meant so much to him."

She frowned deeper. "How could you not have? He has been ecstatic for two weeks. He kept asking Abby what he should wear. He really wanted to impress you! Show you he could be different than what you think he is when he's with all those other women. All those other men." She gave a heavy sigh, and turned her eyes away, to face the door.

"Ziva, I was… I was…" He couldn't make his lips form the words he needed to say; the words that shouldn't even belong in Leroy Jethro Gibbs' vocabulary.

"You what?" She was glaring at him again.

"I was afraid." And silence. Ziva wasn't sure how to respond, and Gibbs was afraid of how she would.

The frown line disappeared from her forehead, and her lips relaxed into a straight line.

"Of what? What could you possibly be afraid off?"

Gibbs closed his eyes and remembered back to the previous evening. To standing in front of his bathroom mirror, dressed for a casual dinner. The dinner would change everything. Even his acceptance had changed things. His Tony. The one he had watched grow over the years. The one who had saved his ass on multiple occasions. The one who always sought his approval, his loyal St. Bernard.

But it was more than that. Gibbs hadn't missed the subtle changes over time. The looks that lingered too long. The leg that pressed gently against his when they ate steak dinners on Gibbs' couch. The jealousy that flashed in those green eyes whenever Gibbs had someone else on his arm. The hand that brushed against his when they drove in the car, or as they rode the elevator. Brushes that could come off as accidental, unless you knew what to look for.

And all of that wouldn't matter, except that he felt the same.

He opened his eyes back in the present and gave Ziva the softest look he could manage.

"It would mean something, Ziva." She puzzled her eyebrows together in confusion.

"Is that not the point?"

"Yes, but I was afraid I couldn't give him what he wanted. I… was afraid I couldn't give him what he needed me to give. Myself, Ziva. I haven't given that in a long time. Why do you think I have such a bad track record with women?"

"Not always. And Tony is not a woman, Gibbs."

Gibbs snorted quietly and shifted his weight from foot to foot . "I know that. I don't have a great track record with anyone."

"But Tony is different. He only wants what you're able to give. He is much too self-destructive, Gibbs, and he knows that you are the only one who can save him from destroying himself. He has been searching for a long time to find someone who could do that."

Gibbs met her eyes, and tried to convey his understanding. How could he have not known that Tony would do something stupid if he didn't show up? And Gibbs knew Ziva was right. He was the only one who could pull Tony away from the edge.

And that was why they worked. Both professionally, and, if he could let it happen, personally.

"I have to fix this."

She glared again. "Yes, you do. But do not give him false hope if you are not going to follow through." She stepped closer to him until her face was inches from his own. "Because then I would have to kill you."

"I don't plan on giving him anything other than the truth, Ziva. And he can take me or leave me."

She reached back and flipped the switch back to on.

"Good. Fool is not a good look for you Gibbs."

And she exited as soon as the doors slid open.

A/N: Okay, finally this is up! And before anyone freaks, I am planning a part 3. But some reviews of support would make that happen lots faster!

And I have revised this fic. So I corrected the typos I saw (if you see one I missed, please let me know) and I tried to put Gibbs a little more in character. But then again, it's hard for him to be normal Gibbs when he has to talk about his feelings.

One more thing, if any reader is an Inception fan, I have a fic up right now called Triptych: A Life in Ten Acts. If you like the fandom, please check it out!

Disclaimer: NCIS is the property of Donald P. Bellisario and Don McGill.