...Of the Good Part
"So we meet again." He says the words aloud, trying to make it real. If he is speaking out loud it must mean someone is listening. Light glints through the theologically ambiguous stained glass, and Tony tries to believe.
"I know what you're doing here," he continues. "Teaching me a lesson." Because if there is anything Tony DiNozzo understands, it is narrative structure. He and Ziva, they have been building and building and building. They are almost there, on the cusp of their turn. He has been feeling cocky, certain her reluctance is gradually transforming into acceptance.
They are almost there.
"But that's not how things work in real life, with real people. At least not in the life I'm living." In the life he is living, a normal case on a forgettable Friday has taken a turn, and his partner is once again doing battle with death.
She will not fight alone. He is ready to make a deal. "Get her through this, okay? I'll let her go later, if I don't have to let her go like this."
His God is a businessman- stingy too.
At least Tony has been raised to negotiate.
"Get her through this," he repeats. "Get her through this, and I'll hold up my end of the bargain. I'll walk away." Right in the middle of the good part.