A/N: Thank you everyone! The reviews were lovely! =] A big thanks to Montana Angell and BritishNinjaChick, as they have reviewed every chapter! I appreciate everyone's input, so please, tell me what I can do to improve or whether you liked it people!!! This chapter is quite long so I hope you don't get bored with it! Oh, and there is a slight spoiler to 'Recoil' from series 5. Annie
Oh, and the Disclaimer: I do not own El Tango De Roxanne or NCIS.
The woman pulled on her black sweater and tied her hair back in a bun. She walked out the door and said 'Hi' to the little girl sitting on the wall outside her house and she got into her black Mercedes. She knew where she was going, she'd been there many times. She knocked three times on the door, and smiled when it was opened.
"Oh! Hi! Come in, come in! I've just opened a bottle of wine." Smiled the woman who had opened the door. The woman in the black sweater walked into the living room, turned to the smiling woman, pulled out a gun and shot her twice in her stomach. She stood over the woman as she slowly bled to death.
"Oh Claire." She whispered as she stroked the woman's long blonde hair. "See, you don't deserve to be happy. I wasn't. So why should you?" She stood up and smiled. "I'm afraid the layout of your house, is very, erm, well dated. I'll set it out like mine! At least you'll be dead in a nice house."She started to move the furniture around, whilst the woman on the floor whimpered and took her last breath.
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Ziva filled the glass up with water and slowly sipped from it. Tony had left early in the morning, muttering about an emergency at work, but Ziva knew better. After her breakdown the night before, he had got scared and ran. Where she'd fought him, she had given him a fat lip. She kept apologising, but Tony, just kept saying it was fine. She knew he hated her, and she hated herself for letting her guard down. She snapped out of her trance when she heard a knock on the door.
"Hello Ziva!" The cheery woman sang.
"Oh, Jane, hi." Ziva mumbled. Jane was in her mid-thirties and was a very beautiful woman with long, straight dark brown, hair. She was always a very happy person, but Ziva had heard that she'd been left at the altar and it had left her scarred when it came to relationships. She was a regular at the restaurant that Ziva Meir worked at. They got on well and had planned to go out one night.
"Erm I do not want to seem rude, but, what are you doing here?" Ziva said.
"Oh, I know. I thought I'd come over for some girly time, you know. You're not busy are you?"
"No, actually the opposite. Oh sorry, come in." She said when she realised the poor woman was standing outside.
"So, how's things with the boyfriend?" Jane asked when they were on the sofa.
Ziva was a little shocked at the question, but answered it all the same. "Erm good thank you yes."
"Is it hard, him always being away from you?" Jane was genuinely curious and had sat forward.
"No, we actually get along better that way. We are very happy. He understands me, gets I need. He is always there when I need him. We are best friends, and I would happily lay my life on the line for him." Ziva smiled
"Do you love him though, that's the question?" Laughed Jane.
"I... I think I do... Yes! I love him!" Ziva laughed. She realised that she was no longer talking about Tony DiGraznio, but Tony DiNozzo and she laughed and kept laughing. "I love him! That's why I told him that last night!" She carried on laughing, at the first feeling of love that she'd had in years.
Jane looked puzzled. "I'm sorry? I don't understand."
"Oh do not worry! I am having a metal moment!"
"Err, do you mean mental moment?" Jane was getting a little scared at the laughing woman. Ziva just laughed.
"I am sorry. That was very unlike me." She giggled again. "Come on, shall we watch a film? Tony has loads."
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The following Friday, Tony came to stay again. Ziva was a little afraid of what she'd say after she had finally admitted to herself about her feelings, but she was looking forward to it. It was during the week when she didn't see him that she realised how much she actually missed him when he wasn't there.
"We're going out tonight!" Tony said when he walked in the door. "Come on, put on a dress, we're going dancing!"
"Tony? I do not think..." Ziva spluttered. Dancing with Tony? That would be bad for her emotional state at that particular moment.
"No buts, come on. I'm taking you out." He laughed.
"About last week, I am sorry Tony. It was wrong of me..." She said looking down.
"Don't you dare apologise for that. You don't need to." He whispered. "Now come on. You are in need of a good dose of fun!"
"But last Sunday, you ran out the door?" Ziva asked puzzled.
"I told you. We found another body and Gibbs was already pissed at me." He then closed his eyes and winced. "Sorry Boss!" He smiled as he waved at the camera in the hallway. Ziva laughed.
"And you are sure that was it?" Tony nodded and she smiled again as she ran into her room to get changed.
When Ziva emerged from the room, Tony's jaw dropped. She was wearing a sparkling black dress that came to half way down her thighs. When she turned, Tony could see that it was backless. Her hair was pulled back into a messy bun, and she had a small red flower tied into the hair tie. She was wearing black strappy high heels that made her legs look long and slender.
"Are you sure that'll hold? We're going dancing." He said as he untwisted one of the straps.
"It should do, I've been dancing in it before. Is it too much? Do I look ok?" She said worriedly.
"You look... look amazing Ziva. Just... amazing." Tony stuttered.
"Close your mouth and come on!" She laughed as she took his hand and led him out the door.
At the club, Ziva was met with men's eyes all over her. Tony would put his arm around her waist to make it obvious that she was with him, and she liked it. She heard the beginning to El Tango De Roxanne and grabbed Tony's hand.
"I love this song!" She laughed as her eyes twinkled.
The stood close to each other in the piano intro and began to gradually walk in circle around each other. As soon as the violins started, Tony grabbed her back and pulled her towards him, and they began to dance. He led, and Ziva let him. She moved her legs in ways Tony had never seen before and she moved gracefully and beautifully. Her arms moved around her and she ran them down her body as her head turned in time to the music. Tony was excellent at leading and he danced like a true tango dancer. Soon people gathered around to watch the couple dance so wonderfully, and Ziva beamed. It was obvious that their passion wasn't an act.
During the violin solo in the middle, they slowed down and Tony put his face close to Ziva's until they were just centimetres away from their lips touching. They moved slowly and Tony's hands ran down Ziva's dress. She breathed heavily and looked into his eyes. When the music built up and started again, she let go and danced on her own, and turned and twisted and eventually glided back to Tony and they danced together again. They danced more energetically this time and as the song got louder and started to finish he turned Ziva and she moved into him. They were standing with her back to his chest when the song reached its end, and they were both panting. The audience around them clapped and cheered, and the couple laughed.
"Well done Senorita Meir." Tony whispered.
"It was all you Senor DiGraznio." She whispered back as they bowed.
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They walked up the stairs into the flat laughing, but stopped when they saw Charley's door had been kicked open. Ziva ran into the flat, with her gun drawn, Tony close behind and she tried to find Charley. However, when she did, she wished she hadn't.
"Tony!" She called brokenly. "She's dead." Charley Atkinson was lying on the kitchen floor with a gunshot wound to the head. Blood covered the floor, and Charley.
"Oh God. The kids!" Ziva cried as she ran into the children's room. She pulled the covers back, to find they weren't in their beds. She checked the flat calling their names as Tony called for backup.
"I can't find them Tony. What if... what if something has happened to them? We should not have gone out." Ziva was close to hysterics now.
"Hey, calm down. What would we have done Ziva? We still wouldn't have known that someone was here. More than likely a silencer was used." She nodded slowly.
"The serial killer?" Ziva whispered.
"Doesn't look like it. The door was broken down, in all the other cases, the killer was let in. Also this place is a mess, all the other scenes have been tidy." Ziva nodded again and she walked over and closed Charley's eyes.
"Zee, you can't do that, this is a crime scene now, we can't change anything."
"I am only closing her eyes Tony. I will not sit here and look into her eyes. I can not!" She stormed out and Tony sighed.
"I'm so sorry Charley. I truly am."
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Tony came back into Ziva's apartment with McGee following closely behind.
"Ziva? It looks like the kids are at their grandmother's. An officer's going over there now." Tony said carefully. He didn't know how she'd react to anything when she was in a mood like this. It was exactly the same when she'd had to shoot her serial killer 'boyfriend'.
"Thank God for small mercies." McGee whispered.
"Small mercies!" Ziva screamed. "Their mother is dead McGee! That is not a 'small mercy'! That is hell on earth!" She was screaming and kicking the walls. She punched the door and her hand went through, making her knuckle bleed. She ignored it and continued to kick things.
McGee went to put his hand on her shoulder, but Tony put his hand in front, stopping him.
"Don't Tim. You can go now, I'll take care of her." He whispered so Ziva couldn't hear.
McGee nodded and turned to walk out.
"Oh, Tony?" He called. "Boss said you're to stay with her in her room from now on. He says he doesn't want to risk anything." He looked at Ziva and waved. "I'm sorry Ziva." He nodded to her.
"So am I, Tim. So am I." She sighed. She collapsed , and both Tony and McGee ran towards her. Tony got there first and caught her before she hit the floor.
"I got her. Thanks." Tony said. McGee nodded at them and walked out.
"Hey Zee, I got you." Her eyes opened again and she blinked several times.
"I am sorry. Thank you. It's just been a very draining week." She said as she pulled herself up.
"I know. We need to clean that hand." He said as he grabbed her by the waist and supported her as he pulled her into the kitchen.
That night Tony slept on the floor, next to Ziva's bed. He noticed that she wasn't snoring, and realised that she probably wasn't asleep. He sighed and rolled over, wishing that he could do something to comfort her, but he also knew that Ziva would talk when she's ready. He would just have to wait for her heart to open up again.
A/N: Quite a long chapter (well for me anyways!) I don't know how good the dancing bit is, as I am a musician, not a dancer. I love the Tango De Roxanne though and thought that because we knew that Ziva used to dance, and we saw Tony dance with Paula, that it would be nice to have them dance together. Let me know if you think it was a bit too much! Listen to the Tango De Roxanne from Moulin Rouge and then you'll sort of understand what I was thinking when I wrote this! Well I hope! Maybe my mind's just odd!! Lol! =/
Oh and the killer, is mentally unstable, that's why she changes the house around and stuff. I know, it's pretty lame, but I wanted this to be a Tiva story, not a casefic, so please, please tell me what you think!