Rebound
The face looking back up at them from the limo was all too familiar for both Tony and Ziva. The face made Ziva smile and Tony grimace and groan. The face continued to smile as it talked.
"Don't I get a, hi Dad, junior?" Asked Anthony DiNozzo Senior with A sly grin on his million dollar face, his look soon slipped from his face and transforming in to eye brow raising shock as his green eyes found the twos hands entwined at their sides.
"Hi dad." Tony croaked.
"What's all this then?" Seniors eyes twinkled happily. "You two an item now?"
"Yeah." Tony murmured cautiously.
"Oh where are my manners? Get in the car, please!" Senior opened the door beside him and shuffled up the seats to offer more room.
"Um..." He looked to Ziva who was keeping quiet, still surprised her self at his appearance. She gesture from him to go first and let go of his hand.
He released her reluctantly and sat on the seats across from his father where Ziva joined him.
"Dad what are you doing here?" Tony seemed to have found his voice as his brows creased and he narrowed his eyes at his father.
"Why here to see you son!" He cracked a smile that didn't look remotely genuine to Tony
"What's with the limo, the new suit, the driver?" Tony gestured around them as the doors closed and the limo purred in to motion.
"Well I like to travel in style-"
"Stop the car." Tony interrupted and it did so. He stepped out of the car and pulled Ziva with him. They had just reached the security gates and he pulled began to walk back towards his car.
"Junior! Ziva!" the voice called them back "Guys, come on!"
Ziva looked back and almost tried to stop Tony, to reason with him but he was adamant to get away.
They heard the limo pull up to drive next to them and the back window unwound "Get back in this car this instant!"
Tony didn't reply and Ziva put her foot down and stopped, making the limo and Tony lurch to a halt.
"Tony, hear him out at least." Ziva signed at him and crossed her arms
"I have been hearing him out for the past twenty years on his money problems and I'm sick of hearing all the excuses." he stopped and looked at her. Her big brown eyes reflected the moonlight and he shook his head again.
"No Ziva I'm not doing-"
Washington's finest wine bar had a classy amount of remnants filling it this late at night. The jazz music which was preferred by the patrons played deliciously in the wine and saffron smelling air. Tony discarded the olive from his martini and sipped the drink like it was mandatory. Ziva kept up the conversation which Tony was adamant to stay out of. It was mostly about himself and Ziva. Senior seemed overjoyed at the fact Tony had finally "Swept her off her feet" and Ziva was quick to assure him that in fact the roles were reversed in that aspect. They were just laughing about memories of seniors previous visits to DC when Tony interrupted, unable to hold it in.
"Okay enough with the small talk already, spit it out, why are you here?"
"Could you believe I was here to see you Junior?" his smile was extensive but forced.
"Dad pleases!" Tony's patience had run out and he slammed down his glass which tinkled angrily.
"FINE, fine. Son it's about your cousin Crispian."
Tony shot Ziva a look and she held back a laugh at the memory of Tony's cousin on his mother's side who had inherited a fortune from his uncle.
"Yeah what about him?" Tony picked back up his glass after shooting Ziva another look.
"He's not well son, doctor says he's got weeks." Senior shook his head and Tony knew what was going through his mind.
"What aren't you telling me?" Tony narrowed his eyes
"You're the sole heir in his will."
*
"Why, why did he name me? We used to fight all the time as kids!" Tony had been ranting about his cousin ever since senior's mystery limo had dropped them back at the Navy yard.
Ziva opened the Drivers side of her car and leaned on the roof looking over it at Tony's confused face.
"One summer at Uncle Clive's birthday he even tried to drown me in the spa!"
Ziva raised her eye brows and Tony sighed and continued
"Okay fine I may have deserved It." he got in to the passenger seat.
"Wait why am I letting you drive?"
"Because you love and trust Me." she smiled and started the engine and he quickly buckled his belt.
"Tony. Maybe those fights were Crispian's ideas of fond memories; maybe he values you as a family member."
As they drive Tony considered this then shook his head
"Naaaah he's got something behind this, I'm going to see him in London, I'm calling the airline tomorrow."
"A bit of both." Tony gripped the seat as Ziva took a hard turn
"So why do you think your father came here then?"
"Oh I thought you would have got that Ziva, he wants a cut. Y'know for raising me and all that." Tony chuckled darkly and dug the heels of his hands in to his eyes.
"Want me to come to London with you?" She asked after a while.
He looked up and shook his head
"Nah Ziva, for their safety."
She laughed and the rest of the trip they spent listening to the purr of the engine.
*
Ziva found her gaze being pulled to the empty desk across from her own more times than she cared to admit over the first Tonyless day at work. She caught her self missing his running commentary of everything and his incessant jokes and movie references and relaxing them with weak ones of her own she had picked up after her time with him. Gibbs laid a hand on her arm by the end of the day and gave her a parental smile as he passed her to his own desk. She returned it then picked up her ringing phone.
"Hey Ziva it's me."
"Hey, how are you, how's Crispian, how was your flight?" she shot questions like from a loaded gun and he had to wait until she was done to respond.
"Crispian is in a bad way, doctors say his days are numbered, poor guy's only 53."
"Wow, so how are you holding up?"
"I-I'm gonna be a millionaire Ziva."
"What?"
"Well the house and some of the estate goes to our other cousin Grant but he says he wants me to have the bulk of the inheritance."
He seemed less cocky now then he had when his uncle Clive may or may not have left him his entire estate when in the end it all went to Crispian, but that was 3 years ago and a lot had happened since then, they had happened and Tony had matured a lot.
"Ziva...?" His voice echoed from the other end of the line and she snapped back to reality.
"I'm here. Tony- wow- I..."
"It doesn't change anything Ziva, I'm coming home tomorrow. I miss you."
"I do too." she smiled them caught Gibbs observant eye
"Hurry on home Gibbs keeps looking at your desk and he doesn't look happy."
She heard him laugh from the other end.
"I'll be back tomorrow night. I love you."
She looked at Gibbs
"I love you too Tony."
She hung up and caught McGee's eye.
"What?"
"I just thought you were smarter than to pick Tony."
"Oh shut up." she smiled and considered throwing something at him. Then realised Tony must have been growing in her.
"All jokes aside, I do miss the relaxing sound of banter around here."
"I don't, I'm going for coffee." Gibbs abandoned his chair and set out for a caffeine buzz as the remainder of the team looked wistfully on Tony's empty seat.
"Do you think it's because he's not here or because we're cursed so we have not a single case that lasts." McGee settled his fingers back on his keyboard for some pointless typing.
"You want people to be dying?" Ziva tried to keep the humour going as her mind wondered to Tony's new found fortune and what it would mean, she didn't know what she would do if he left NCIS, everything would be so boring without his office drama.
"No of course I don't want that." McGee was saying "I just want some to rob a convenience store or lose some money or smuggle another Australian marsupial on to a submarine."
Ziva blinked at his outburst and turned back to her monitor. In hope that somehow this day would deal to her favour.
"Grab you gear!"
McGee started and almost fell off his seat as Abby marched in to the bullpen fists flying.
"What now Abby?" McGee straitened his balance and dignity.
"We got a missing person, grab your gear!" She planted herself sternly before McGee's desk.
"Who? Has it been 48 hours yet?" McGee didn't go for his gear knowing his orders only came from Gibbs.
"It's been long enough. Tony's desk has been empty all day." Abby gestured to Tony's empty seat dramatically
"Abby, he is in London."
"What?" Abby spun round to look at Ziva "Why didn't he tell me?" she folded over her bottom lip.
"Well it was very last minute, his cousin is very ill and he is settling the estate. He is home tomorrow night."
"Oh!" Abby straitened from his slouch and leaned against Gibbs chair passively. "That's okay then. So what are you guys up to?"
"Nothing we don't have a single case." McGee exhaled and impatiently typed aimlessly.
"Now we do, grab your gear we got a mugged marine."
"Oh fabulous a mugging," McGee groaned and slung his rucksack over his shoulders. "We got a suspect boss?"
"Yep." Gibbs walked on as the other two rushed behind him leaving Abby alone in the squad room.
"Okay, bye guys." She put down Gibbs stapler and sighed before leaving for her lab.
-
Sorry it's been about 4 months since I last up dated, I do love you all. Hope your surviving the hiatus. The Gibbslets