Well, since today has been.....interesting for me, I figured I would go ahead and post a new chapter for yall. Today started about 6:30 when my family set off for a four hour drive to Louisville for a dr. appointment. About two hours in, we had a right front tire go flat. Luckily my cousin lived thirty minutes away so we switched vehicles with her and drove on to Louisville, arriving an hour late. Even better was the fact that the doctor was actually running an hour late, so we didn't have to wait very long. Then we had to return my cousin's truck and get ours (which my cousin had gotten a new tire for while we were gone). So we figured out that we were on the road for 10 hours and at the dr's office for 2 hours. So, I'm exhausted, but dang glad to be sitting on my comfortable bed where I can STRETCH!! haha
Enjoy this chapter! Thanks for all the reviews thus far I enjoyed them all!
Tony walked down the sidewalk; his destination unknown. Originally he'd planned on tailing Ziva and Jeremy, but he thought better of it. That would only lead to a possible confrontation that he would give anything to not have right now. Instead, Tony decided that he truly did need a walk to clear his mind. He had to figure out a way to tell Ziva what kind of man this was she was dating, but every way he came up with ended with Tony either brutally injured or murdered by numerous sorts.
"Tony?" Tony heard from a small sidewalk restaurant table to his right. "I thought you were still at the office?" Ziva asked, standing up from the corner table where she and Jeremy had just sat down to eat.
'Great,' Tony thought to himself. He had not wanted this to happen, but apparently fate was against him at the time. "Um, Probie and I were getting kind of hungry, so I offered to go get something to eat," he offered. "I didn't mean to interrupt you two," he said, this time sincerely.
"Come eat with us," Jeremy spoke up for the first time. "I'm sure Ziva would not mind; besides it would give us a good chance to get to know each other."
Ziva opened her mouth to say something, but Tony spoke first, "Thanks, but I really need to get back to the office before Abby goes all Hannibal the Cannibal on McBurger. Maybe some other time."
"I look forward to it," Jeremy smirked. The two men looked at each other, each silently sizing up the other, and Ziva felt the tension grow.
"Be sure to get Abby another Caf-Pow. I am sure she has probably inhaled the one you gave her already," Ziva said, breaking the silent struggle between the two men. Tony nodded his head and headed back down the street.
"Intriguing man, that partner of yours," Jeremy said, putting an icy tone on 'partner.' "It's a pity you two did not work out."
"Jeremy, do not start that, please," Ziva sighed. "It was well over two years ago."
"I am not so sure about that," Jeremy said his voice cold.
"I am not going to sit here and listen to you accuse me of going behind your back," Ziva said, standing up to leave but Jeremy grabbed her hand. Glaring fiercely down at Jeremy's hand and then at his face, Ziva said as calmly as she could, "Get your hand off me," as she jerked her arm away from his hold and left the table.
NCIS
"Why were you following us?" Tony heard a voice whisper in his ear as he stood in front of the sinks in the men's restroom.
Gulping, Tony turned around to see a very angry, yet confused Ziva standing not two inches from him. "I honestly had no idea you two were anywhere near," he said, holding up his hands in innocence. "If I'd known, I guarantee you that I would have gone the complete opposite direction," he told her.
"I do not believe you," Ziva replied.
"Ziva, there is no reason that I can think of for me to follow you and your boyfriend," Tony said. "I don't have a death wish."
"What is going on, Tony?" Ziva asked, referring to whatever was going on with him, Abby, and McGee.
"Alright, you caught us," Tony sighed. "We are actually planning a surprise birthday party for you, but since you are so nosy, I guess it'll just have to not be a surprise."
"Tony! Will you stop with the joking and tell me the damn truth?" Ziva exclaimed. "Why do you not trust Jeremy? Are you still jealous?" she accused.
"Jealousy has nothing to do with this," Tony said, staring back at her. "There is something about the man that I do not trust. I can't tell you what it is," he half-admitted. "I just have a gut feeling."
"Well, my gut is telling me that you are wrong," Ziva replied. "Jeremy is the nicest man I have ever met."
"Since when did the nice men become so protective of their women that she can't even ride in a car with her partner?" Tony asked. "And don't tell me that that was not what he was yelling about that day. Or, is it the fact that your partner just happens to be the man you dated for three months?" Tony finished his jaw muscles tight.
"It is complicated," Ziva told Tony.
"That's what you told him," Tony said quietly. "I'm sure you coming into the men's restroom to talk to me is exactly the kind of thing your boyfriend is not happy with," he told her. "So let's make this easy: stay here as long as you like, and I will leave," he told Ziva as he slipped past her and out of the bathroom. 'Abby and McGee better have found something,' Tony thought to himself as he walked towards the stairs-he'd decided the extra work out would be beneficial right about now.
Abby's Lab
"Please tell me you found something," Tony said, walking into Abby's lab.
"The man is the portrait of a perfect citizen," Abby grimaced as she said it. "He's never been arrested, never had a traffic ticket, nothing," she explained. "I searched every database I could think of."
"How about any aliases?" Tony asked.
"I couldn't find any. I put his driver's license photo through the system, but didn't get a match," Abby explained.
"Have you tried international databases?" Tony asked.
"I'll try. Do you really think he is foreign?" Abby asked.
"At my apartment he had an accent that he didn't have when he came here this afternoon," Tony explained. "I didn't recognize it though."
"I will widen the search," Abby said, spinning to face her computer and began typing.
"Thanks, Abs," Tony said and left her to do her magic.
Tony's Apartment
Tony walked into his apartment that evening frustrated with everything. He knew there was something about Jeremy Holdset that they could not find. This was not jealousy creeping in and taking over, Tony told himself. He knew what jealousy was, as he'd been living with that every day since he let Ziva go.
Going into his room to change into more comfortable lounging clothes, Tony spotted a note lying on his bed. Picking it up, Tony quickly scanned what it said before crumbling it up and tossing it on the ground. He did not need empty threats to worry about tonight.
Why had he let her go? Tony wondered to himself as he threw himself down onto his couch. The answer was simple: Jeanne Benoit. Instead of spending his free time the way he truly wanted to, Tony had to assume the identity of one Tony DiNardo. He had to act as if she was the only one he cared about, but the truth was he still longed for the nights he spent with Ziva. It hurt him to see Ziva worry about him so, without knowing the truth of why he broke up. He could not go back and change the past. Too much had happened.
A half hour later, Tony grabbed a beer out of his fridge and leaned back against the counter to take a drink or two. It was then that the hairs on the back of Tony's neck stood straight up. He felt someone watching him, and decided to move away from the window. Just as he made to move, Tony heard the sound of breaking glass and felt something pierce his side. Falling onto the floor, Tony struggled to get to his phone before he totally blacked out.
He was only a foot from his cell phone when he felt his strength give out on him. He lay there on the floor feeling the blood slowly pour out of him, and prayed silently that someone would find him before it was too late.
Please don't hate me!! I promise to update as soon as I can. Or, I could leave ya'll in suspense... Depends on how evil I am and how convincing your beggings are.
