Previously:
Tony then got hold of the towel hanging near by. Wrapping her in it, he picked her up bridal style and carried her over to the bed. He took a moment to just watch her after he laid her on it, before pulling the blanket over her half asleep form. Kissing her, he then headed for another shower – a cold one.
(Gibbs' House – Saturday – 6:20 am)
It was in the early morning, the sun was barely up, when Ziva sneaked out of bed and tiptoed downstairs.
As she reached the kitchen she stopped short at the doorway. Inside the room she saw Gibbs putting his special brand of coffee on, still clad in his sleeping shorts and t-shirt.
"Boker tov, Gibbs," she greeted him as she entered the room.
But instead of a greeting she was met by silence. Not thinking anything of it, she went over to fill the kettle with water in order to make tea.
While doing so, Ziva could feel Gibbs' icy stare boring into the back of her head. She tried to ignore it for several minutes as he continued to watch her closely. Finally she couldn't help but to start to squirm under his piercing gaze.
In the end she admitted defeat and turned around so that she was facing him, awaiting his actions.
Ziva didn't have to wait for long before Gibbs stepped into her personal space, effectively pinning her between the counter and himself. He stared at her for some time, searching her eyes for something she couldn't grasp while she bravely held his gaze.
After what seemed like an endless time to her, he raised his right hand and lightly slapped her.
"For letting him do that to you," he whispered in her ear, smirking to himself as he moved away from her. Not knowing what to say she kept standing rooted to the spot.
"You want some pancakes?" Gibbs asked, acting completely normal as he opened the fridge.
"Please," she quietly said, watching him closely as his back was turned to her.
"Why is he not mad? Is he waiting for Tony to come down before kicking us out?"
"Stop thinking," ordered Gibbs as he returned to the kitchen counter.
"See it as your 'Get out of jail free' card or in this case 'Get away with breaking the Rules' card," explained Gibbs, staring her down till she mutely nodded.
(Ziva's Room – 6:57 am)
When Tony woke up, he felt a chill run over him. Without having opened his eyes yet, he patted the spot next to him on the bed, wanting to pull Ziva close again.
But all he touched was air as he found the bed empty. Frowning he cracked an eye open.
"No Ninja," thought Tony lazily, rolling over onto his stomach he tried to fall back asleep.
Having found no sleep after several minutes Tony sighed and got up to shower.
As he later entered the lower floor, he found Ziva standing at the kitchen isle with a large knife in her hand, cutting some fruits for breakfast.
Knowing that he couldn't sneak up on his ninja anyway, especially when she had a dangerous weapon in hand and could easily kill him with it, he walked over to her, giving her his best smile as she looked up.
"Good Morning, Zeevah."
"Boker tov, Tonneey," teased the Israeli back, watching him out of the corner of her eye as he made his way around the isle.
"Missed ya," Tony whispered in her ear as he wrapped his arms around her waist.
"You are awake early," observed Ziva, leaning back against his chest.
"Bed was too empty without you," he whispered, kissing her neck and nibbling on her ear alternately, eliciting a quiet moan from Ziva.
Before it could go any further, they were interrupted by a cough.
"Oh, hi Boss," greeted Tony cheerfully.
"DiNozzo."
Tony slowly let go of his 'prize' and went around the counter, taking a seat on the opposite from Ziva.
He grinned cheekily at her, but when she only gave him a fake smile in return, his mind went on overdrive. He looked inquiring at her. What he found made his already present frown deepen, before realization struck him.
"Is it too late to run?" wondered Tony briefly when Gibbs appeared behind him.
"You know what for," Gibbs gruffly growled as he slapped his agent, using quite a bit of force, which caused Tony to gasp.
"No one showers that long," the older agent explained as he set the freshly bought rolls on the table, before making his way over to the fridge once again.
"Busted," mouthed Tony, making Ziva smile.
"You regret it?" she mouthed back. Tony shortly grinned and shook his head vehemently, making both of them smirk.
(Later that morning – Tony and Ziva are alone in the kitchen)
"You think he's going to build that dog house now?" Tony asked warily.
"lo."
"Huh?"
"Io means no," explained Ziva absent minded as she leaned further back on her chair so that she could look from the kitchen over the lower floor of the house.
"Oh. I forgot. What are you looking for?"
"Gucci."
"Did he came back?"
"No," Ziva said crestfallen. At the same moment Gibbs came back.
"Cat food is gone every day. So he must come back once in a while," he pointed out, grabbing a water bottle and disappearing out of sight again.
(Seconds later - Gibbs' garden)
"Ziva!" called Gibbs. A few seconds later, she was standing beside him.
"Look at the neighbors porch," the gray-haired agent said.
"Boy found his girl," commented Tony, who had followed Ziva.
"Girls, DiNozzo. Mrs. Hadgins has three female cats," stated Gibbs, causing Tony to stare at him as if he was speaking a different language.
"Why don't you go over there, Ziver," suggested the team leader, "Mrs. Hadgins doesn't mind company."
The Israeli looked at him, considering the offer for a moment before she nodded, "I will be back soon."
Tony gave her a scared look as she left him alone with Gibbs.
"What is it, DiNozzo," questioned Gibbs, after his senior field agent had stared at him for some time.
"I hadn't planned on it to happen, boss," Tony quietly said, causing Gibbs to raise an eyebrow.
"Not like that anyway," stuttered Tony.
"DiNozzo," Gibbs called out, abruptly interrupting Tony.
"You screwed up, so you needed to make up," commented the gray-haired agent more quietly this time.
The younger agent just stared at him.
"I was married four times. Sex works better than flowers or chocolate," smirked Gibbs knowingly.
"Yeah..." trailed Tony off.
"Next time, find another place. Understood?"
"Yes, crystal clear." Tony nodded, his gaze on the neighbor estate where Ziva had picked Gucci up, cuddling him to her.
"We need to talk about Ziva's apartment," broke Gibbs through his agent's thoughts, his eyes equally fixed on their Israeli.
"You think that's a good idea, Boss?"
"Can't put it off forever, DiNozzo."
Together they made up a plan of action, till they were interrupted by the return of Ziva, who was holding Gucci in her arms.
"What were you talking about?" Ziva asked, having noticed the sudden silence upon her return.
"Your apartment," said Tony, watching her reaction.
"Oh," Ziva muttered as her eyes became distant again.
"Do you know what you want to do with it?" Gibbs softly asked.
"I do not want to go back there," admitted Ziva quietly, while stroking Gucci behind his ears.
"That's ok, no one will force you too," assured the gray-haired agent, "But we need to sort it out soon."
"Lots of work," mumbled Tony.
"Problem, DiNozzo?"
"Nope."
"Good."
"When do we start?" Ziva asked then.
"Vance gave us this week off, so we got the weekend left," commented Gibbs, causing the other two to nod in agreement.
"So, what are we doing first?" Tony questioned.
"Pick up everything Ziva wants to keep. Then we remove the broken stuff and take the wallpapers down," proposed the older agent as he looked at Ziva.
"Over the week we can let someone come to clean the floors and repaper the walls," mused Tony.
"Exactly."
"Today?" Ziva quietly asked.
"Would be the best," said Gibbs, standing up from his chair.
"Can we eat first?" Tony wondered which earned him two smacks to the head.
"Hey, no fair," he protested as he followed his laughing partner and smirking boss.
(In front of a rental car – 12 am)
"I'm sick," commented Tony as he staggered out of the car.
"Get the car and boxes and meet us at Ziva's apartment, DiNozzo," said Gibbs, ignoring his agents comments and hit the accelerator again.
"On it, Boss," said Tony, mumbling something like, "Thanks for your sympathy," as he went to get the car.
(Ziva's apartment block – 12:37 am)
Upon arriving at Ziva's apartment block, they swiftly made their way into the elevator.
As they left the elevator a short time later, the Israeli suddenly stopped. Gibbs who was walking right beside her till then, turned around and looked at her questioningly, his eyebrow raised.
"Gibbs, I don't have a key," Ziva remembered.
"I got it," the older agent gently told her as he took the key out of his jeans-pocket to show her, while his other hand came to rest on the small of her back, softly pushing her forward to her apartment door.
"You ready?" he asked her in a caring voice, his hand on the doorknob.
"Yes," she muttered, her eyes fixed on the door, blissful ignorant of Gibbs' gaze resting on her.
"Alright," the agent said, turning the knob and giving away the sight behind it.
Seeing the mess that was once her home, Ziva sighed.
"Come on, let's get started," Gibbs gave her hand a gentle squeeze and urged her forward.
Once inside, Ziva saw the whole extent of the chaos she created. In the meanwhile, Gibbs stood back and let her take in the situation, while he checked if he had missed any broken things.
"I will try to find a new apartment soon, yes?" Ziva finally said.
"Why?" asked Gibbs, looking up from his task.
"I do not want to burden you."
"You aren't, Ziver. I like having you at my house."
Seeing the sincerity in his eyes, she smiled.
"Let's pile the stuff and furniture you want to keep, before DiNozzo turns up with the boxes," he suggested.
"I do not see any furniture worth keeping. There is not any without a dent," she observed.
"Good, you will be spending most of your time with DiNozzo and later moving in with him anyway. Renting your own space would be a waste of money..." deadpanned the gray-haired agent.
"Gibbs!" shrieked Ziva laughing.
"I'm right, and you know it," smiled the agent.
"Maybe," she meekly acknowledged.
He then changed the topic back to the apartment, "Table looked pretty intact, last time I checked."
"Where should I put it?"
"You could store it at my garage for the moment."
"Okay," she agreed.
As she looked around, her eyes came to rest on another object, "My Piano."
"Thought so," smirked Gibbs.
"It took 4 movers to get it up here."
"DiNozzo and I will handle it."
"Want to keep any kitchen stuff?" Gibbs questioned, having taken out his notepad to make a list.
"No."
"Food?"
"No."
"Chairs?"
"No."
"Lamps?"
"No."
"Carpet."
"No."
"Wardrobe, dressers, coat rack?"
"No."
"Books,"
"No," she replied absent minded before she snapped out of her trance, "Yes!" she nearly screamed, giving him an evil look, "Stupid question," which made him grin broadly.
"Just checking if you know any other word than no," he smugly replied.
"Bed?"
"Yes."
"Which one?"
"Mine."
"DVD player, DVDs, CDs, Computer and other electronic knickknack?" "Which noone needs," Gibbs added in mind.
"Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes and Yes, Gibbs," Ziva smirked at him as he shrugged at her last answer.
"It was worth a try," thought the agent.
"Pictures?"
"Yes, but some aren't meant for Tony's eyes."
"No problem, I'll take care of it," stated Gibbs, knowing fully well what kind of pictures might appear.
"I wonder what kind of pictures she has of Ari," pondered Gibbs.
"Curtains, bed sheets, other clothing?"
"Yes."
"Alright, adding your weapon arsenal we should have everything covered," grinned Gibbs smugly, causing her to roll her eyes in mock annoyance.
"What do we do with the rest?"
"I have organized a company to come over tomorrow and take care of everything else, don't worry. It will spare us work and energy."
Just then Tony appeared.
"Hey Boss, got the boxes," he greeted but was ignored by Gibbs.
The older agent only took some of the boxes from him and gave him a sheet of paper with the order to pack the things on the list, before he went to collect the pictures around the apartment.
Tony then looked more closely at the paper, "'more electronic crap', typical Gibbs," thought the senior field agent amused.
"You feel better, my little hairy butt?"
"Yeah, driving at a less suicidal speed helped a lot."
"I like Gibbs' driving."
"Of course you do," muttered Tony.
"What was that?" Ziva questioned, narrowing her eyes at him.
"Nothing," he quickly said before kissing her cheek. Only then did he notice what she was starting to collect and sort on her couch.
"Where did you get all those weapons from?"
"I bought them at several stores around the world," stated the Israeli as if it was the most normal thing in the world.
"You had them hidden here?" an astonished Tony questioned, his eyes scanning the apartment, "Didn't see any of them on Monday."
"Yes," she replied, knitting her eyebrows together again.
Tony seeing this expression, hurriedly changed the direction of their conversation, "I'll go pack your DVDs and other electronic crap," putting the word crap into quotation marks while saying it.
"Todah." smiled Ziva knowingly.
"You poor TV," said Tony under his breath as he knelt next to the broken TV and patted his fallen friend, "You were such a nice piece of multimedia, 55'' Flat screen, Dolby digital, Surround Sound, HD ready..."
"Tony!" Ziva interrupted him laughing, "It is gone, yes? Let it go," she said, patting Tony's cheek as she leaned down to his level.
A while later Tony and Ziva where in her bedroom, packing the last of her stuff.
"You going to take your bed too?"
"Yes."
"Why? The one at Gibbs' place is good," argued Tony, adding a bit quieter, "And I got a nice bed too."
"I'm NOT sleeping in your bed, Tony."
"Why?" A crestfallen Tony muttered.
"It is not like I do not want to sleep at your place. It is just that you may have stopped having another girl every few days, but you still took them home, yes?" Ziva said as stepped really close to him and cocked her head. Her eyes were sparkling with amusement as she watched his reactions.
"What do y.... Oh..." whispered Tony against Ziva's lips, just before she kissed him.
"How about we put yours in my spare room and buy a new bed for us then?" Tony suggested once they needed to drew apart cause of the lack of air. His hand came around Ziva's back hugging her more tightly to him.
Tony turned his head then, looking at her bed, "Maybe we could..."
Ziva put her index finger on his lips to shush him, turning his head to her in the progress, "Tony, Gibbs is here," giving him a pointed stare, "We should not play with fire, yes?"
"When you two are done playing grab ass, might as well help me disassemble the bed DiNozzo," interrupted Gibbs as he came back into the room with a toolkit.
"Aww, boss," whined Tony while Ziva slowly freed herself from his embrace.
It was already late that night when Gibbs and Tony returned home, having taken the rental back to the shop, after they had dropped Ziva and her stuff off at Gibbs' place.
When both men entered the living-room they saw Ziva sprawled out on the couch, fast asleep.
As Gibbs made a move to pick her up, Tony intervened, "Boss, I can carry her."
"After having pulled a muscle in your arm today? Don't think so," stated the older agent, gently lifting Ziva.
"Stupid piano, why do they build them so heavy," thought Tony as he followed Gibbs upstairs.
TBC...
A/N: Also I'm not happy with everything in this chapter, I hope you'll still like it.
Small number of reviews (under 5) = makes Muse go on strike (again and again and again..)
Large number of reviews (above 5) = makes Muse very happy and write faster =)