The Hyatt Hotel: Room 319
Ziva awoke the next morning with fright. She'd dreamt about Michael again, and it was in the same unpleasant manner that she had had the previous nights since his death. For a minute, she was uncertain as to where she was, but when she did, the previous night's activates came back to her. She snuggled closer into Tony and lay next to him until a few minutes later he pulled her closer. She absentmindedly let out a contented sigh.
--
When Tony woke up the next morning, he smiled. Normally, he would be out of the bedroom before his lover awoke, but this time, it was different. He'd slept with Ziva. He'd had sex with Ziva. He looked down at her head, which was lying comfortably on his chest, and tightened his hold on her. She let out a contented sigh and Tony grinned.
--
"Hey," Tony whispered a few minutes later, "are you awake?"
Ziva moved her head so that she was looking up at him. "Yes."
Tony smiled. "Good morning."
"Here in Israel, we say boker tov."
He smirked down at her before kissing her on the lips. "Oh, my little Israeli."
She smirked back up at him, but then her face fell.
"What's wrong?" Tony asked with confusion on his face. Had he said the wrong thing?
Ziva sighed. "I have to go to the funeral today." Tony nodded slightly, needing no more of an explanation. Ziva was dreading the funeral. She knew that she would receive lots of disproving and disappointing looks. She sighed again and snuggled even closer to Tony's naked body.
--
While Ziva was in the shower, later that morning, Tony's cell phone began to vibrate in his pants. He stumbled out of bed and began the search for the missing article of clothing, finally, finding it in the corner of the room. He glanced at the caller id, but didn't recognize the number.
"Hello?"
"Is this Anthony DiNozzo?" The accented voice on the other end asked.
"Yeah, who's this?"
"This is Eli David.
Tony swallowed nervously. "Well what can I help you with Director David, sir?"
Eli laughed. "I would like to meet with you. Say around…noon?"
Tony nodded, but then realized that David couldn't see him. "Yeah, sure. Where?"
"I will send a car to pick you up from your hotel. Expect it to be there at a quarter till."
"Ok. I'll be waiting." Tony chuckled nervously.
"Shalom." David said before the line clicked.
Tony stood, naked, in the middle of the hotel room until Ziva came out of the bathroom, drying her hair with a towel.
"What is the matter?"
"You're dad just called me." Ziva froze.
"What does he want?"
He hesitated for a moment. "He wants to meet."
Ziva stared in shock, her mouth slightly open. "Did he say what it was he wanted?"
Tony shook his head. "No. Should I be worried?"
She nodded slowly. "I would be."
"Great." He mumbled under his breath as he made his way into the bathroom.
--
The Hyatt Hotel: Room 321
Tony was currently waiting, nervously, in his hotel room. After a good breakfast, Ziva had left to attend the funeral, leaving a terrified Tony alone. He was considering hitting the mini bar again when the phone in his room started to ring.
"Hello?"
"Mr. DiNozzo? There is a car waiting for you downstairs." The receptionist in the lobby said.
"Thanks. I'll be right down." He hung up the phone, grabbed his jacket, did a quick glance over in the mirror, and was out the door.
--
In a limo headed to Mossad Headquarters
The ride to, what Tony figured to be, Mossad Headquarters, was quiet. Eli had sent out a limo and the driver was anything but talkative. He finally arrived at a big building and quickly went inside. He looked around at the large lobby. It wasn't extravagant, but it wasn't what he had been expecting. A large desk was in the middle of the room and blue carpet covered the floor. The lighting was dim, making the already dark walls seem even darker.
"Anthony DiNozzo?" The receptionist asked and Tony nodded as he made his way over to her. "Director David is waiting for you in his office. Let me show you the way." The receptionist stood up and led Tony down a long hallway, stopped at the end outside a large door. "Here you are." She smiled.
"Thanks." Tony replied, the woman nodded and then turned to go. Tony stood outside the door for a moment longer, straightening his clothes and messing with his hair, before finally raising a fist to knock.
"Come in!" A voice yelled and Tony turned the doorknob. "Ah, Anthony, it is nice to finally meet you."
Tony chuckled nervously and closed the door, then made his way over to David and took his outstretched hand.
"It's nice to finally meet you, Director David."
"Please, call me Eli."
Tony grinned. "Ok, Eli."
Eli made his way over to the small liquor cabinet and held up a bottle of something golden brown in color.
Tony shook his head. "No thanks. I had a little bit too much to drink last night." Eli smiled slightly and poured himself a glass. Tony waited until he was seated behind his desk again before speaking again. "So, if you don't mind me asking, why am I here?"
Eli nodded. "Do you have feelings for my daughter?"
"Heh. Cut right to the chase, don't you?" Tony scratched his neck behind his ear. "Sure I do. It's hard to work with someone for four years and feel nothing at all for them."
Eli smirked and leaned back in his chair. "What feelings, exactly?"
"Oh, that's," He laughed, "that's a good one." He ran a hand through his hair. "Let's see. I respect her. I know that she could kick my ass at anytime, so I kinda have to respect her, but still. Um, I fear her. She's threatened to kill me a few times." He laughed again. "I care about her. A lot actually." He stared off over Eli's shoulder for a minute. "When she told me you had terminated her position at Mossad, I kind of freaked out a little." He shook himself back to the present.
Eli smiled slightly. "Any, romantic feelings?"
Tony thought for a minute before deciding to lie. "No."
Eli nodded. "That is good." He paused. "May I ask you a question?"
Tony began to reply 'shoot', but realized that that may not be a good way to answer, so he nodded instead.
"Why did you fly all the way out here instead of staying home and recovering?"
"Ziva's my partner." He answered simply. "She was there for me when I needed her, and I wanted to be there in case she needed me." Eli nodded.
"I am glad that my daughter had such a good friend as a partner."
Tony smiled slightly, but then realized something. "Why aren't you at Rivkin's funeral?"
"I am the director of Mossad. If I attended the funeral for every fallen officer I would have no time to get anything done. Ziva is there, as she should be."
"What do you mean?" Tony asked curiously and Eli looked up.
"She did not tell you?"
A bad feeling began to form in Tony's stomach. "Tell me what?"
"That she and Michael were to be married. It had been arranged since they were very young."
Tony sat there in shock as he processed what Eli had just said.
"I didn't realize that Ziva was that traditional." This comment caused Eli to laugh.
"Oh, she isn't, but it is an old tradition." Eli chuckled. "She and Michael were to be married a while ago, but then she went to America and got the liaison position at NCIS, postponing the wedding. Michael stayed here, waiting for her to return. When she returned not long ago, he was delighted, but things kept coming up, missions for example, and the date kept getting pushed further back."
As he listened to Eli explain, Tony felt anger start to bubble up. He realized now, that he never had a chance with her. Even if he did, he wouldn't have had Eli's blessing, and who knows if that would have effected Ziva's thoughts of their relationship.
"So she never had a say in the marriage?"
Eli shook his head. "The Rivkin's are old family friends. Michael and Ziva were matched up some time ago. I believe it was over twenty years ago."
"Matched up?" Tony repeated. "Matched up? She's not a, a, a sock! You can't 'match her up'! Especially not before you know what she's going to be like! Relationships are based on things like, personality and chemistry and love! Ziva's how old? She must have been just a kid when you 'matched her up' with Rivkin. What if she didn't love him? What if she loved somebody else? What if she just didn't want to marry him?" He yelled and Eli was shocked.
"It is not her decision!" He roared back. "You are entitled to your own opinions, but you have no idea as to our traditions. Your opinion does not matter in this particular matter."
Tony stood up so fast his chair almost fell over. "Like hell I do! She's my friend and I care what happens to her!" Tony quickly made his way to the door and tore it open. "It was nice to meet you Director David, but I have to go." And with that, Tony slammed Eli's door and ran out of the building.
--
A bar in Tel Aviv
"What's the reason for this meeting, Gibbs?" Vance asked as he sat down on a stool next to Gibbs.
"Eli David terminated Ziva's liaison status with NCIS."
"I've heard." Vance replied as he ordered a beer. "David himself called me last night."
Gibbs nodded. "Figured he would." He turned to face Vance. "I have a proposition."
"I'm listening." Vance said as he took a sip out of his bottle.
"Since as Ziva was terminated, she has no place to go. All of her things are already back in DC. I know she's not an American citizen, so that means she can't be an official NCIS agent, but I think there's another way she can stay at NCIS."
"Gibbs," Vance warned, but Gibbs interrupted him.
"Let me talk Leon." He sighed and picked up where he left off. "She can work as a translator. Then, if she wants, she can apply for citizenship and get back on my team."
Vance thought that over for a minute. "I'll think about it."
"She's a great asset." Gibbs bribed and Vance sighed.
"I know that Jethro. That's the main reason that I brought her back to NCIS in the first place." Gibbs nodded and Vance looked at him. "I will seriously consider this proposal."
Gibbs smirked and clapped a hand on Vance's shoulder. "I sure hope so Leon, cuz there's not another agent out there like Ziva."
--
The Hyatt Hotel: Room 319
Tony was waiting in Ziva's hotel room when she returned from the funeral.
"How was it?" He asked, startling Ziva.
"Exactly as I expected it would be." Her face was neutral, but Tony read it like a book.
"That bad?" Ziva nodded.
"How was the meeting with my father?"
He was silent for a minute before uttering. "I yelled at him."
"Why?" Ziva asked in disbelief.
"No, I have a better question." He took a deep breath. "Why didn't you tell me that you and Rivkin were 'to be married'." He bitterly quoted what Eli had said earlier.
Ziva sighed and fell down into the chair. "I do not think that is any of your business."
"Oh my god!" Tony yelled, standing up and running a hand through his hair. "We're partners!"
"We were partners." Ziva interrupted, but Tony continued.
"We should trust each other!" There was a frustrated silence between the two before Ziva spoke.
"Because I did not love him."
Tony nodded in understanding. "Do you now?"
Ziva chuckled darkly. "It's hard to love someone who's dead."
"You know what I mean."
"Did you love Jeanne?" Ziva bounced.
Tony glared at her. "I'll admit that I did. Now answer my question."
Ziva sighed and was silent for a minute. "I thought that I did." She took a deep breath. "But I thought that I loved you as well."
Tony's heard skipped a beat and his eyes softened. "You did?"
Ziva nodded slowly and then stood up. "I did." For a moment, neither of them moved. Then in the blink of an eye, Tony had crossed the space between them and kissed her.
The next thing either of them knew, they were in bed again.
--
A/N: Longest chapter so far! This is a good pace! 3 chapters in 4 days (this is the Friday after Legend 2). I hope to keep this up! Please review and please continue to leave your own theories!