Previously:
"DiNozzo you'll get to sleep in the doghouse!" Gibbs warned the other agent.
"You got a doghouse, boss?" Tony mischievously inquired.
"I'll build one" said the gray-haired agent as he left the room.
"I don't know if I should feel worried or happy that he like me enough to build me someplace to sleep in..." wondered Tony, readjusting the duvet over both of them, before lightly kissing Ziva's cheek. Falling asleep with her snuggled into his side once more.
It was still dark outside when she started tossing around in bed, waking the person next to her.
"Ziva?" Tony asked, sleep letting his voice sound hoarse. "I need to wake her up somehow, without getting myself killed in the process," mused Tony as he slowly grasped under her pillow, pulling her gun out from under it. "Gun secured, I just hope she hasn't got a knife hidden somewhere."
"Wake up, Sweet Cheeks," nudged Tony, causing Ziva to instantly bolt upright. Breathing heavily, her instincts kicked in as she searched for her gun. To her alarm she soon realized, that it was gone.
Cursing herself for not being alert enough in the first place, she took in her surroundings. "Wh... Tony," finally noticing him sitting beside her. "Just a dream."
"Bad dream, huh?" the agent gently inquired, not daring to touch her yet.
"Yes."
"Wanna talk about it?"
"No," stated Ziva shortly as she lay back down, staring at the ceiling, with Tony closely watching her.
"Gibbs was here," Tony told her as he lay back down, too.
"Here?"
"In this room, when we slept," he clarified, causing her to spin around, facing him.
"What did he say?"
"That I'm going to sleep in a doghouse if I'm doing any 'funny business' with you," grinning at her as he told her so.
"Funny business?" Ziva asked, looking at him confused since she was unfamiliar with the term.
"Make a move on you; 'sleep' with you, stuff like that," Tony explained.
"You are still here, he did not throw you out, yes?" smiled the Israeli, eyes sparkling with mischief in the moonlight.
"No. Guess that's a good sign then..." countered Tony as he tugged one of Ziva's loose curls behind her ear.
"Maybe I should talk to him," said Ziva, looking once again into Tony's green eyes.
"Maybe," contemplated Tony, "But for now, let's get some more sleep before discovering if Gibbs' second B is gonna bite us."
(Gibbs' House – Wednesday morning – 9 am)
Having showered while letting Ziva sleep a few minutes longer, Tony was now downstairs, fixing breakfast for them. He had just set the tea down onto a tray, when he heard Ziva's footsteps softly descending down the stairs.
"Gibbs' not here?" Ziva asked as she watched him putting down the last slices of French toast on a plate.
"I think he is with his boat. Haven't seen him yet. Also, I'm pretty sure he already ate," Tony answered, while he took the tray and walked out onto the porch, Ziva following him.
"Thought we could make use of the good weather, it's gonna turn nasty later today," explained the agent when he saw Ziva looking strangely at him, before they both sat down.
Smiling, Tony wordlessly handed her one of the toasts.
"Todah," she replied as she smiled back at him.
"Prego!"
"I think I should go talk to Gibbs now," Ziva said, once they have finished their meal and Tony was collecting the dishes.
"Yeah, might be a good idea, he won't kill you at least."
"But he'll kill me instead," thought Tony as his partner made her way indoors.
(Gibbs' House – Basement – 10:10 am)
"Tony said you came into the room last night," stated Ziva as she played with the sand paper in her hand.
"Uh-huh."
"Gibbs..."
"Just keep it out the office," he gruffly replied, effectively cutting Ziva off.
"And IT out of my house," Gibbs added in afterthought, causing Ziva to playful knit her eyebrows together.
"Don't throw me that look, you know what I mean," he warned, as he looked smugly at the Israeli.
"So you are ok with me and Tony?" inquired Ziva.
"It's your choice," Gibbs told her shortly, concentrating on his boat again.
"But I … We care about your opinion..." stated Ziva as she took the sand paper out of his hand.
"Ziver, firstly: it's time for your own set of rules, secondly: you shouldn't waste time just because of one of my rules," the older agent said, finally looking at her.
"So... is that a yes?" Ziva said, flashing him an almost pleading glance.
"You want to hear me say it out loud?" Gibbs huffed, seeing her expression not changing the slightest or her eyes leaving his face. "Alright, yes I am. As long as you don't start breaking my other rules, that's it. And don't betray my trust at the rules I just told you."
"So much for my 2nd B..." mused Gibbs as he looked at the young female in front of him.
"I will not," smiled Ziva happily.
"Not you I'm worried about," huffed the agent in return.
"Todah Gibbs!" she said, surprising Gibbs as she gave him a hug, one that could rival Abby's hugs at any day.
They continued to work on the boat a few more minutes before Gibbs broke the silence.
"Abby is coming over at 2:30 pm."
"McGee?" Ziva asked, nodding at the fact that Abby would be coming over soon.
"Made the mistake to tell his parents that he had finally a week off. Gone to visit them now, but he wants to call you when time lets him," stated Gibbs, causing them both to grin at the image of McGee most likely being mothered by his parents.
After Ziva had gone to talk to Gibbs, Tony had waited for a few minutes in front of the basement door. Hearing no shouting coming from downstairs, the agent felt it was safe for Ziva to be alone with Gibbs, so he made a trip to his apartment. Needing fresh clothes and wanting to pick up some more movies for them to watch.
Having finished those tasks, he phoned Ziva, learning about Gibbs' response to them being more or less together. But instead of returning to the house, he had spent some extra time with cleaning his apartment. He wanted it to be in neat condition if he and Ziva decided that they needed a break from Gibbs house before he drove back to the Gibbs' residence.
Hearing no noises, Tony put his bag into the quest room before he checked the other rooms in search of Ziva.
Finding her nowhere and seeing her outdoor shoes still in the hallway, he figured that she must be downstairs with Gibbs again; the only place where he didn't wanted to go yet.
So Tony settled down on the couch, newspaper in hand. However, he wasn't able to concentrate for long on it. Therefore, he was soon nervously pacing up and down the porch shortly after.
That was till Tony saw his boss standing in the door, watching him with his ice-blue eyes.
"Ziva told you," stated Gibbs, hiding his grin at seeing his senior field agent so edgy.
"Yes... Boss about the no-house-rule," started Tony uncertainly.
"That's NOT debatable DiNozzo," Gibbs replied, going into Boss-mode.
"I wasn't going to, just wondering if anything else beside IT isn't allowed..." stuttered Tony, causing the older agent to turn his Gibbs stare into an almost laughing expression.
"Just don't do the other stuff in front of me," Adding, "that often," as he saw Tony's expression.
"Don't want you to get a concussion," explained Gibbs smirking.
"Got it boss.." replied the agent, "and Thanks." "Ziva and I can actually be together!" thought Tony smiling to himself, more than pleased with current events.
Also his grin was soon replaced by a frown, when Gibbs slapped him - hard.
"That was for breaking rule' 12 in the beginning," Tony's boss said. "Don't ruin it. Ziva and Abby are important to me. Everybody who hurts them, will suffer by me," Gibbs warned his agent.
"Don't think anything would be left of me, if I hurt Ziva."
"Yea, I know," smirked his boss.
"Abby would help destroying the evidence of my death," added Tony.
"And I would make sure that they both get away with it, Tony."
"I figured that one," mumbled the younger agent.
"It's time for lunch," Gibbs said looking at his watch before he went indoors. "Come on DiNozzo," calling his agent to make him help with dinner.
(A few minutes later)
"Boss?" started the agent, wanting to ask the one question he had in mind since he started to dutifully cut the vegetables.
"Yeah."
"Where's Ziva?"
"Basement. Fell asleep in the boat," replied Gibbs, causing Tony to blink before the younger agent took off to the basement door.
"DiNozzo!" calling his agent back, "Let her sleep."
"But it's uncomfortable there."
"Nope," said the gray-haired agent as he threw Tony a stern look.
"But I'm bored..." moaned Tony inwardly. Then it struck him, "Wait … IN the boat? When I went down there last week it wasn't even recognizable!" Gibbs raised an eyebrow at this.
"Lots of work can be done when two people work on something together."
"We're only here since Monday... When did they actually worked on it - together," thought Tony as he added the last vegetables into the lasagna, before his boss put it into the stove.
"Help me with getting some wood from the attic," Gibbs ordered as he left the kitchen.
"You got your stock of wood there?" Asked Tony, meeting his boss with disbelief.
"Dry and safe from most insects."
"Ah..."
"Now move," ordered Gibbs, who was already a few meters ahead of his agent.
"Drudge Tony to the fore..." mumbled Tony as he followed his boss upstairs.
"Heard that, DiNozzo," the other agent smugly said as he pulled the attic staircase down.
(Once back down in the basement)
"Slept well, Ziver?" the gray-haired agent asked, after he carefully had woken her.
"Yes, best sleep in a month," grinned Ziva, producing a smirk on Gibbs' face.
"I'm no good for getting a good sleep?" whispered Tony as he leaned on the hull, watching Ziva as she stretched and then furrowed her eyebrows at Tony's words.
"...later Tony..."
(Gibbs' House – 2:30 pm)
The gray-haired agent had barely opened the front door, when he saw something black running past him into the house.
"Hello Abs," he said to the already disappeared Goth.
"Yay! Ziva!" squealed Abby as she rushed into the living room to Ziva, giving the Israeli a bone-crushing hug.
"Abby..." Ziva tried to get the attention of her friend.
"Abs!" Gibbs called out after he had shut the door. "Abs, you're crushing her!" he told the scientist as he pulled her away from Ziva, effectively breaking the hug.
"Keep calm and nice, Abs," he ordered, earning a grateful smile from Ziva, as he went back to the kitchen.
"I'm so excited! You're an agent now! No more sending you off to another country! We need to have a party!" Abby rattled excited.
"I am not sure Abby," said Ziva, once her friend took a break to breathe.
"Okay, than a small party, just the team, me, Ducky and Palmer!"
"Abby!" the former Mossad officer was half shouting by now, shutting Abby up for a second. "I am not even sure if I want to work for the NCIS," explained Ziva calmly.
"You can't leave us!" Abby screamed loudly at the other woman, causing the men, who where in the kitchen repairing the stove, which had stopped working in the middle of being used, to look into the living room for a second.
(Kitchen)
"You think it was good to let Abby loose on Ziva? She's still coming to terms with the whole situation," Tony questioned after they had turned their attention back to the task at hand.
"Abby will convince her," stated Gibbs firmly.
"You planed this!"
"Maybe."
"Boss, this could backfire!" Tony didn't know if he should be aghast or concerned.
"It won't. Coddling Ziva won't help her. She can't keep brooding things over in her head. This would only lead to second thoughts. Which aren't good for her. She needs to trust her first instincts."
"That's the second time I heard you say something that long," said Tony, marveling at his boss little speech.
"Ouch!" looking flabbergasted at the older agent, who just slapped him - again. "I'm getting a concussion at this speed."
"Then stop making misplaced remarks," replied Gibbs smugly, while his agent couldn't help but wonder if his boss enjoyed hitting his head a little too much.
(Living Room)
"Please Ziva!" begged Abby, close to tears, "You can't leave. We already lost Kate and Jenny. We can't lose you, too."
"No one stays forever Abby," said Ziva, having a faraway look.
"This is even worse than them dying. You would leave us willingly," Abby exclaimed. "What's so wrong with working for the Navy? You did nothing else before," she questioned, looking her friend into the eyes.
"I worked for Mossad before. It would close that book of my life for real. I am not ready for this..." admitted Ziva after she had diverted her gaze from the black-haired woman.
"Aww Ziva!" finally understanding what went on in Ziva's head. Abby pulled her friend into another, yet more loosely, hug. Willing her friend to finally relax and not to go stiff like she did after Abby came racing into the house earlier.
"It's chapter..." Abby corrected, her voice muffled by Ziva's hair.
"What?"
"Close a chapter of your life..."
"Stupid idioms..." muttered Ziva as Abby let go of her, so that both could sit normal on the couch.
"You know, I can help you to find ways to communicated with your friends from Mossad without other people knowing," Abby stated after a while.
"Abby, you really..."
"Shush, don't! I will help you! Whether you want or not. I know a friend who has those amazing pieces of technology."
"You sure?" questioned Ziva, still uncertain about the offer.
"Positive," grinned the Goth, giving her friend another hug. One which Ziva, who was now a bit happier with her current situation, gladly returned this time.
"Stove's dead," announce Tony as he joined the girls of Gibbs' team in the living room.
"Dead?" Abby asked.
"Yep, gone to the stove heaven," joked Tony. Confusing Ziva even more.
"DiNozzo!"
"Boss..." whined the agent, having been slapped again. Seeing Gibbs glare at him he quickly shut up.
"Pizza is on the way," stated Gibbs, taking a seat – the last seat – on the couch next to Abby and Ziva.
"You two ok?" He asked them. "Yes/Yep," both simultaneous answered, smiling widely.
Then Abby stood up, just to shoo Gibbs to make room for her so she could sit on the other side of him, making him sit in the middle.
"Abs?" Gibbs asked, a bit confused at her actions.
"I missed you guys. No one is coming down to visit me, except Ducky and Palmer. It's sooooooo boring," she told them as she cuddled into his side.
"DiNozzo, if you want to keep standing there you can organize some drinks," Gibbs smugly replied, once Ziva had imitated Abby's position. Not without him noticing the teasing smile Ziva gave Tony as she settled in next to him. Or Tony's expression when he saw the last seat being taken for that matter.
(Gibbs' House - 09:15 pm)
With the second pizza that day Abby, Ziva and Tony found themselves once again in front of Gibbs' TV watching one of Tony's movies. Abby having decided that she wouldn't leave till later that night.
That's when the power went off. Leaving them without TV and surrounded by darkness.
"Guess someone didn't like the movie," said Tony and if it wouldn't have been pitch black he would have seen Ziva and Abby staring at him.
"You guys alright?" came the voice of Gibbs out of the dark, making Tony jump in surprise, while Ziva laughed at Tony's reaction.
"Yes Gibbs," she replied as the older agent went into the kitchen, coming back with a set of candles and some flashlights.
"Storm must have cut the electric somewhere. Could take some time," Gibbs stated as he lit one of the candles, placing the rest of them on the table along with the flashlights.
"So no more movies tonight," assessed Tony, sounding rejected.
"Abs, you better stay tonight," Gibbs said.
"'K," replied Abby, who was fiddling with the candles.
"I'm sure Ziva won't mind if you sleep in the same bed as her," Gibbs smugly stated.
"Yay!" squealed Abby, making Ziva chuckle as she was 'attacked' by the Goth once more.
Neither she nor Tony had told Abby anything about them yet, and Gibbs was clearly taking advantage of it. But one person wasn't happy at all.
"Boss," said Tony in a low voice as he indicated for his boss to follow him.
"What is it?" Gibbs asked casually, when they arrived in the kitchen.
"What is this all about? I thought you weren't against us and now you tell Abby something like that," growled the younger agent, eyes blazing with anger.
"I don't have anything against it. Doesn't mean I need to let you two near each other every time," said Gibbs, smirking at his agents display of anger before he went back into the living room.
"Second B," growled Tony as he went back to the others also.
TBC...
A/N: OMG, it's been ages since the last chapter..
I hope you will like this chapter, also I'm not sure if everyone is more or less still in character.
#Gibbs having a bit of fun in ordering Tony around.. (And I had a lot of fun writing it. Need to make up for the lack of slaps in season 6 =P.. dunno.. 5 or 6 slaps by now? =D)
Special thanks to coahime (who always helps me to persuade my Muse and entertains me soooo much. Luv ya =])
And also thanks to JediMasterMiraxHorn
Review please?