ok here is chapter 25, set during 6x05 Nine Lives,

Chapter 25 – Every Plane has a Silver Lining

Ziva sat on a park bench looking down at her ring as it shone in the early morning light. She thought of Catryn, she really needed to find her, to hold her in her arms once more. The only way of doing that would be to see Michael. Only Michael would help her.

She had asked her father about Catryn and Samara when she first arrived to America as a liaison but he refused to talk about it.

"Stop! Chester! Come back!" Yelled a voice, Ziva looked up and saw a young girl, chasing after a muddy brown dog. The dog ran straight to her and jumped on her lap.

"Oof!" Exclaimed Ziva and the dog landed on her, "Down." She tried to convince the dog off her lap, mentally thanking god it didn't jump on her stomach,

"Sorry," Said the girl, out of breath and pulling the dog off Ziva, "He's only a puppy, we haven't quite trained him," She held up a leash, a collar on the end, "He slipped out of his collar."

Ziva smiled and stood up, brushing her lap clean, "It is ok. He is a very cute dog."

"Yea," Smiled the girl as she knelt down, putting the collar back on the dog, "But exhausting; mum said I could only keep him if I exercised him every morning before school, and well, I'm starting to regret my discission."

Ziva laughed, "How old are you?"

The girl smiled, "Twelve and a half."

Ziva smiled, this girl helped her make up her mind.

She was going to Tel Aviv. She was going to Michael. She was going to find Catryn.

* * *

Ziva yelled into the phone. God, this woman was insufferable! Ziva slammed down the phone then muttered a swear word under her breathe.

"I don't speak Hebrew, but I'm pretty sure you just swore." Smiled Tony; with his usual DiNozzo smile, "What happened? Your Men of Mossad calendar get lost in the mail? …Women of Mossad calendar get lost in the mail?"

"If you must know, it was an airline reservation that got lost."

"You're going to Israel?" Asked Kate

"Not if I cannot get a seat on the flight I want." Tony walked around, staring at Ziva but staying quiet. "What?" She asked, looking up at him,

"Is it a 'what'... or a 'who'?" He smiled to show he was joking.

Ziva laughed, "Now you're speaking in a language that I do not understand."

"Weren't you just in Israel?" Asked Tony, getting a thick book and pretending to read,

"So?"

Tony said nothing.

Ziva stood and started to walk to Tony's space. "What is it that is bothering you so much, Tony?"

"Do I look troubled?"

"As a matter of fact..." Said McGee,

"Actually…" Said Kate,

"Are you getting so hot and bothersome because, um, you think I may be having a little fun?" Tony quickly started to look busy as Gibbs walked in and answered his ringing phone.

"As you know, people go on vacations all the time." Ziva said as she walked back to her desk,

"Normal people."

"I am normal people."

"You're normal people like the people from Ordinary People are normal people."

"Grab your gear. Dead Marine." Called Gibbs,

* * *

"Glad the poor girl's not our neighbour." Ziva told Tony as she eyed the attractive girl who found their dead marine, "Just walking in, helping herself."

"That's because you're a woman, who's on her way to Tel Aviv. If you were a man... Well, let's just say I can understand why the Lance Corporal was so generous with his... tools." He said as Ziva glared at him.

"Background, DiNozzo?" Asked Gibbs,

"Liz Adler. 28 years old, recently divorced..."

"Ziva's right here Tony!" Said Kate incredulous,

"Would you rather I do this behind her back? Didn't think so."

"The victim." Reminded Gibbs,

"Sorry. Uh, that's Lance Corporal Rob Brewer." Tony and Gibbs walked to the body.

"Doesn't that bother you?" Asked Kate,

"Not really." Said Ziva, "He is a man, it's to be expected. It's not like it matters, he just looks. And as he said, I'd rather he do it in front of me, then behind my back."

"How can you be ok with it?"

"Because I know him. He is not the cheating type." And she walked away.

* * *

"Never seen anything like it before." Said Abby as she stared at the plasma, purely fascinated by the rope that their victim had been tied with.

"Rope?" Asked Gibbs,

"Not the rope. It's what's on the rope… The mould, Gibbs. Mould is… fascinating. Did you know there's over 100,000 species of mould? Which is why it's not very surprising that I haven't matched it yet… See these little conidiophores?" Abby indicated a certain picture that she had just enlarged. "That means that the mould is in the sexual phase of reproduction. In a few days, these little appendages will sprout out from the centre, and then... well, then we all know what happens next."

"Are you enjoying yourself, Abs?"

"Yes." Said Abby, now staring at her stomach, imagining it swollen and heavily pregnant. "But you're not… Sorry."

* * *

"And Fornell gave us nothing?" Asked Ziva,

She and Tony were looking over McGee's shoulder as he looked through Fornell's 'Fish and Tackle' case.

"Well, he wasn't in a giving mood. Though he was generous enough to give Kale an alibi."

"You think Fornell would lie to Gibbs?" Asked McGee,

"If he felt he must." Said Ziva

"Says the woman who's being evasive to her friends about her 'vacation' to Israel."

"I am intrigued by how intrigued you are by this, Tony."

"And I am curious that you are curious that I am intrigued. What's his name?"

"I do not believe I said I was actually seeing anyone. Although it would be very difficult to go to Israel and not see anyone at all; it is quite populated, you know."

"Oh, that's cute. I don't see why you're having trouble admitting this. You know, you were in Israel for four months. Plenty of time to hook up with someone."

"In that amount of time, Tony would've hooked up with several someones."

"Hey!"

"What is it you really want to know, Tony?"

"Depends, Ziva."

"On?"

"On what it is you don't want me to know."

"Sorry to interrupt you guys, but I just got into the FBI's true name file."

* * *

"Can't believe Fornell lied to Gibbs again." Tony said conversationally

"Well, technically, he did not lie. He just simply withheld information." Stated Ziva,

"But why would one friend, withhold information from another?" Asked Tony,

"Maybe that friend felt it was the best thing for everyone."

"Best for everyone? Or best for herself?"

"Her?" Asked Kate,

"Or him…What are you doing, McProbie? You writing Fornell's eulogy?"

"I'm checking Kale's cell records." Said McGee,

"Why?"

"Because Gibbs is extremely pissed, and I think that he would want me to."

* * *

Tony looked around the bullpen. No one was there. He was alone. He had the perfect chance.

He stood and walked slowly to Ziva's desk. He crouched down behind her chair and went to open her filing cabinet; it was locked. He lifted the lid to her scanner/printer/fax machine; nothing. He opened Ziva's desk drawers and searched.

"You lose something there Tony?" Asked McGee, as he walked into the bullpen.

"Just my ability to snoop around Ziva's desk without anyone noticing anything. Did she say anything specific to you, about taking a trip to Tel Aviv?"

"Yea."

Tony looked up,

"She did?" He stood, then walked closer, whispering, "So what did she say?"

McGee looked around then lent forward and whispered, "That she's taking a trip to Tel Aviv."

Tony groaned internally, "Thanks for bringing me up to speed."

McGee smirked,

"By the way, boss wants you to take a look at the preliminary police report of Azari's murder case." Said Tony as he started his search again.

"The slaying of that drug dealer, Randall Carlson? Why can't we ask Fornell?"

"Because the case didn't originate with the FBI."

"Local LEOs handled the preliminary investigation… Gibbs asked you to get that file didn't he?"

Tony stood again, irritated. "Fine McGee. I was trying to delegate, but if you're gonna be too lazy to take this responsibility, I guess I will do it myself, as soon as I
finish doing what you're no longer seeing me do."

"Okay." Said McGee smugly before starting to walk to his desk, "But you know Ziva will kill you if she finds out you're doing what I am no longer seeing you do."

Tony looked at the papers on Ziva's desk; he lifted a small stack and saw a photo.

It was an attractive man smiling. He was on the deck of a boat… Topless.

Ziva hadn't actually met someone in Tel Aviv, had she?

Tony was just playing with her; after all they we're engaged, they were having a baby. Sure he was a bit nosey about the whole thing, but who wouldn't be? This was the first she'd spoken of a trip to Tel Aviv.

But this picture… Was Ziva having an affair?

"Then it's a good thing you're not seeing me do it." As he stared at the photo.

* * *

Tony and Ziva walked into their house talking about the case.

"Can we stop? I hate stressing over cases when I'm home." Complained Tony,

"Of course. What would you like to talk about?" Asked Ziva as she went into the kitchen and retrieved a bottle of wine.

"You… Tel Aviv."

"Tony…"

"Just… Why didn't you tell me you were planning to go to Tel Aviv?"

"I only decided this morning. I told you as soon as I knew it was definite."

"When do you leave?"

"Tomorrow night."

"For how long?"

"A week."

"You gonna call?"

"Everyday."

"Good… You know I love you, right?"

Ziva chuckled, "Yes Tony."

"Very good Miss David." And he kissed her deeply, Ziva moaned and carefully placed the bottle on the bench before (still kissing) they ventured to the couch where they fell.

The next morning both had very sore backs, and as they made to get up, hit their heads on the coffee table they'd somehow manoeuvred under to fall asleep.

* * *

"Okay, McGee, what do you see?" Asked Abby as she put a enlarge picture on the plasma in her lab.

"Crunch Berries cereal."

"Okay, now what do you see?" She changed the picture,

"Ooh, French vanilla ice cream with chocolate sprinkles." Said McGee with a smile,

"Interesting. All right, how about now?" She put the last picture on the screen, and walked around to stand next to McGee, "Come on, McGee, say it. We're grownups. Sex. Say it."

"Sex."

"Mould sex. I mean, it's practically mould porn."

"Why are you showing me mould porn?" Asked McGee, confused

"Because this stachybotrys chartarum was on..." Abby walked around to her evidence table and McGee followed, "the rope. The same rope that was used to kill two Marines in the past two days. Particularly when you consider just how rare this mould is. It's okay, McGee. It's deadly, but it's sealed. Now all I have to do is match it." She turned away and went to her computer, when she turned to face McGee again he was looking at the seeled container the mould was in.

"McGee!" She hissed, "Give the guys a little privacy."

McGee smiled to him self then walked around to Abby.

"Abby?"

"Yea?"

"I've been thinking… You wanna give it a go?" He asked nervously,

"Give what a go, McGee?"

"It… I mean, uhh, us. Just if you want, 'cause if you wanna stay friend well I'm fi-" Abby cut his sentence off by kissing him.

"Of course I wanna give it a go, McGee!"

McGee sighed, "Good."

* * *

Tony switched off ZNN then looked over at Ziva; they were alone in the bullpen.

"Picked a hell of a time to leave."

"I will make it up to you." She said in monotone,

"Oh hey, almost forgot." He opened a drawer of his desk and pulled out a neck-support for flights, "It's a long flight to Tel Aviv, if you want you can borrow this thing, you know, helps you sleep on the plane."

"I'm flying first class." Stated Ziva,

"Oh… Never mind… Nesi'a tova."

Ziva looked at him. "See you next week." And with that she left.

Tony stared after her. No hug, no kiss, no 'I love you' no nothing. Just a small comment that meant nothing. He fished out his phone and opened his speed dial.

Gibbs

Ziva

Kate

McGee

Abby

He scrolled to 2 and his finger hovered over the call button.

Tony sighed and closed his phone before banging his head on the desk.

OK, here's the deal; if I get five reviews before I go to bed tonight (2-3 hours away) then I will post chapter 26 tonight!