This is a long one, over 2000 words :)
Set during 6x24 Semper Fidelis
Chapter 62 - Flimsy Ice
Abby woke early that day and started to prepare breakfast for herself and McGee. She'd never been the best cook (she was a baker at heart) but she could make a great breakfast fry up. Eggs, bacon, and beans. Orange juice, mushrooms, buttered toast for her Timmy and her favourite French toast for her self.
She heard the alarm go off in the bedroom and McGee mumble something to him self, before she heard slow heavy footsteps carry him to the small kitchen to the source of such a delicious smell.
"Wow." He commented before kissing her gently, "Morning."
"Morning Timmy!"
"You're up early."
"Mhmm." Abby nodded enthusiastically, "I felt hungry."
"Do you know who's taking over for you, now you're on maternity leave?"
Abby shrugged, "I requested that Kate fill in for me, butt she might be taking Ziva's place."
Tim thought, "I supose we may not need someone else… The team managed fine before I joined the team, so I don't see why it wont work with just Tony, Gibbs and me."
Abby nodded, "Exactly. In fact before Kate joined there was a while when it was just Tony and Gibbs, they managed ok, but obviously there were some disadvantages."
"Obviously."
There was a short pause while the two ate in comfortable silence.
"Abby?" McGee asked eventually,
"Yes Timmy?"
Tim swallowed and tried to prepare himself to what he was about to ask, "I was er- I was wondering-"
"Yea?"
"If you uh- Well if you want to, ah."
"If I wanted to what?"
Three words, Tim told himself, three little words. His heart beat fast as he slowly opened his mouth then licked his dry lips and swallowed again.
"Move in.. here?"
Abby looked up at him curiously.
"Move in together?"
McGee closed his eyes and took a breath, "Well… Yes."
Abby smiled, "Well duh McGee, I've been unofficially living here for like ever."
Tim let out a sigh of relief.
Meanwhile in the DiNozzo residence Ziva was trying to convince Tony into letting her go into work that day.
"I'm not caving Ziva, you're eight months pregnant and you are going to stay here."
Ziva and Tony had made up in a sense. Tony had apologised for not trusting her judgment and she had apologised for not telling him about Michael's visit to DC. But their relationship was still tense. Tony still had some suspicions about Ziva's strange behaviour, in truth she was acting oddly out of her guilt. She hadn't seen or spoken to Michael since she'd slept with him, but she radiated guilt and she new Tony was going to figure it out sooner or later.
Trina came in and kissed her parents on the cheek before making her way to the kitchen as she prepared breakfast.
Ziva walked over to Tony an led him to the living room away from Trina.
"Tony."
"I'm not going to back down Ziva."
"I know Tony. I just thought, I am eight months along, can you please organise for the study to be turned into the nursery, if you don't have time we can hire somebody."
Tony looked sheepish, "I forgot about that."
"I know." Ziva laughed,
She raised a hand and ran her fingers through his hair and behind his ear.
"Kiss me goodbye?"
Tony grinned, "I think I can do that."
Ziva's arms wrapped around Tony's neck as he bent down to her and their lips met. The kiss was slow and gentle. Loving. It was perfect, but tarnished at the same time. Because no matter how well they communicated their love with that kiss, they both knew it was going to be the only truly loving thing they did that week. Because they both knew something was wrong. Tony knew something had happened with Rivkin that night, and Ziva knew that Tony would find out, and when he did, she doubted he'd ever truly forgive her.
* * *
The slightly smaller then usual team were at SecNav's house, working alongside the FBI and I.C.E. investigating the death of an I.C.E. agent.
Kate was collecting evidence she would later be testing in Abby's lab, at the moment she was brushing powder over a glass window where their deceased had pressed against before his death.
"Oils from his face when he pressed against the glass." Said an I.C.E. agent watching Kate,
"Maybe." Kate said, "But the powder is sticking. Might be an adhesive."
Ducky, having just moved the body found something rather interesting, "Uh, Agent Todd, Agent DiNozzo."
They made their way over and photographed a small device that had been under the body.
Kate bent down, and using tweezers she picked up the device by a wire, "A bug. Probably from the wall."
"Boss," Tony called as Gibbs walked over, "we found a listening device. Looks like it was stuck to the glass."
"Agent Sherman flails against the door. It gets dislodged. Falls under his body." Kate proposed,
"Whatever happened here…" Fornell said to Gibbs,
"Is still happening." Gibbs finished, "Is it functional?" he asked Kate,
The I.C.E. agent who'd been talking to Kate, took the tweezers gently from her,
"Damaged." Kate told Gibbs,
"Best not to take any chances." Said the I.C.E. agent, and before they could stop her, she dropped the bug and smashed it with her shoe.
* * *
"Heavy footfalls on the lawn leading to the patio." Kate pointed out,
"Agents stationed at the perimeter converged on the house after Sherman went down." Explained the I.C.E. agent, Agent Foster-Yates,
"They didn't catch his attacker. He didn't get out this way."
"Unless he could cross a lawn without bending a blade of grass."
"It isn't impossible with the proper training."
Tony scoffed, "Sometimes she's worse then my wife. She can do that trick where you put your ear to a rail and you can hear a train coming. The two got completely different training, but are both complete ghosts."
"You get this same training?"
"As Kate?"
"And your wife."
Tony laughed, "My wife is Mossad. And Kate's as good as. She has years of Secret Service training behind her. Me on the other hand, well I can eat a bucket of chicken in one sitting and," he paused for a fraction of a second, "I have X-ray vision"
While Tony and Agent Foster-Yates were talking, Kate had noticed something was off, but she wasn't quite sure what. She quickly climbed up a large tree, and looked around. She now had a much better view of the area.
"Where'd she go?" She heard Tony ask,
"There are a few branches missing up here, giving a clear view of the property. He could study the patrol pattern. They go in, he goes up, and then he goes out that gate."
The ring of Kate's cell sounded and she pulled out the phone, checking caller ID, "It's Tim."
"Hey, Gibbs wants you guys to come back, you have to fill in for Abby at the lab."
"I'm up a tree." Smiled Kate, "but I suppose I could fill in."
"You suppose?"
"Yes."
"Why are you up a tree?"
"Investigating, why else?"
"Why is he calling you and not me? I'm the senior field agent." Tony called,
"I don't know why he didn't call you, Tony."
"I did call Tony." McGee said over her,
"He's not making any sense. Perhaps having a baby dumbs you down." Kate said with a hint of teasing in her voice,
"You're the one not making sense, babies have nothing to do with it." McGee continued to say over Kate's voice,
"He said he called you."
Tony pulled out his cell, "I'm not getting a signal. How come you're getting a signal and I'm not?"
"Because I'm up a tree."
"Oh." Murmured Tony, he turned to Agent Foster-Yates, "We solve cases all the time like this."
Kate hung up and jumped down the tree, landing elegantly,
"What did McGee have to say?" Asked Tony,
"To the Bat Cave." Kate grinned,
* * *
Down in Abby's lab, McGee and Agent Foster-Yates were going over the position reports of the I.C.E. protection detail to make an animated model, as Kate had tedious job of reconnecting the bug found under the body.
She started to swear under her breath in every language she knew.
"Interesting choice of words, Agent Todd." Said Foster-Yates with her eyebrow raised,
"Do you know how annoying it is to work with this very delicate smash of electronics when, if you'd been intelligent enough, it wouldn't be necessary because it would never have been damaged? Do you make a habit of destroying evidence at crime scenes?"
"You can put it back together?"
"Of course."
"Then what's the problem?"
Kate glared, she wanted nothing else but to attack the smug I.C.E. agent in front of her. But she restrained, knowing that the death off Foster-Yates would only complicate the case further.
* * *
Ziva sat in a small café, Michael had contacted her, asking her to meet him here. She went to tell him that the night they shared would never be spoken of.
"I can not stay long, Michael, I have a lot to do." She wanted to keep this meeting as short as possible,
"That's okay. Join me for a drink." Michael smiled as a waiter asked for an order, "Another vodka, just a splash of soda this time, please."
"Nothing for me, thanks." Smiled Ziva, her hand running over her stomach,
"Tell me." Smiled Michael once the waiter had left, "This is what a relationship looks like. How was your day, dear?"
"Do not call me dear." On the table her cell phone began to ring, the caller ID flashing. The two looked at her husband's name awkwardly.
Tony had unknowingly stubbled across a café holding Michael and Ziva. He had heard their conversation and watched with green eyes. Michael appeared to have his hand holding Ziva's rather intimately. His cell phone was out and he was calling his wife. He watched as Ziva answered her cell.
"Tony I am busy, what do you want?"
"Can't I check in on you on your first day of leave?"
"I suppose." Ziva said stiffly, obviously trying to hurry the call along.
"Why aren't you at the house?" Asked Tony,
"I am out, how did you know?"
"Well dear," he said, "I called the house first."
"Oh."
"Who are you with, Abby?"
"Uh, no. No, I am by myself."
"Oh, good." Said Tony, "Because the school called me, they said Trina's sick, they want her to be picked up." That was the truth, the school had called, and Tony had been about to pick her up to drop home when he passed this café and saw Michael Rivkin sitting alone obviously waiting for someone.
"I will go now." Ziva said, and she hung up.
At the table Michael looked at her, "You have to go already?"
"My daughter is sick, I need to collect her from school." She stood, "I'll see you later?"
Michael stood too, and brushed Ziva's hair behind her ear. His lips met hers softly, and the gentle kiss had Ziva raising her hand to Michael's face, not to slap him like she wanted, but to caress his cheek.
She pulled back, feeling sick. "I have to go."
After she left, Michael sat back down, his new Vodka and Soda arriving.
"Thank you." he said dismissively,
"You're welcome." Tony said as he sat down, "Is this seat taken?"
Tony had a movie reference at hand, but decided to cut to the chase. "How long have you been sleeping with my wife?"
"You've come to chase her away from me." Said Michael,
"She's my wife."
"Yet you believe she has not been faithful? What does that tell you?"
Tony glared, "Mikey, Israel. In the very tan flesh. Trip to L.A. did you good."
Michael smirked, "Ziva prefers darker skin."
"How does she like being played? 'Cause I think we both know, this 'romance', this adultery, isn't kosher."
"I can understand your suspicions," Said Michael, "After all the two of you have been skating on flimsy ice since she came to Tel Aviv. To visit me."
"There's an El Al flight tonight out of Ronald Reagan at 8:25 p.m. Lands at Ben-Gurion tomorrow evening."
"I'm not finished spending time with Ziva." Michael said slowly and smugly,
"NCIS says you are."
"Ziva's very lucky to have a man like you in her life." Michael said, "Almost like a big brother… Like her replacement of Sha'ul and Ari. Or her father."
"I've got some work to do, and you clearly have some drinking to finish, and after that, I think you should start packing."
"You can question my feelings for Ziva all you want." Michael stated, "Unfortunately, you can't question her feelings for me. Can you?"
"Say good-bye, Mikey." Said Tony, "Get on the flight. Leave my wife and family alone."
* * *
Tony sat at his desk, staring across at Ziva's empty one.
"Rule Number 11, DiNozzo." Gibbs said,
"I'm already married to her, Boss, I can hardly follow that rule, I mean, why would you- That's 12." he paused, "11; When the job is done, walk away."
Fornell and Tony spoke for a small while until it was just Gibbs and Tony in the dark bullpen.
"So what's on your mind?" Asked Gibbs,
"Rivkin's been in town." Tony whispered,
"I know."
"With Ziva."
"Guy doesn't listen." Said Gibbs,
"I think they're having an affair."
Gibbs nodded, "You stay on it… Just don't let it ruin your marriage."
Tony understood.
* * *
Tony walked from Abby's lab, he had asked Kate to email Ziva about the case, about the terrorists, but make it seem like an accident. He also asked her not to tell Ziva anything about the tie to herself. Ziva would have read the email by now, he pulled his phone out and dialled.
"Tony?"
"Are you at home?"
Ziva frowned, "Not any more. I am going to my old apartment, I have an errand to run."
"Ok." Tony hung up and slammed his fist on the elevator button, Rivkin was at the old apartment. He hadn't left.
* * *
Ziva arrived outside her old apartment building quickly, much quicker then she expected. She walked to the door not noticing Tony's car double parked and made her way inside and up the stairs. She had to talk to Michael. He'd done enough damage.
As she came out of the stair weld to her floor she heard strange noises. Getting closer to her apartment she realised the noise was of a fight. The door to her apartmment was ajar, Ziva pulled her SIG out and moved quickly into the room to see Michael choking Tony.
"Stop!" she called, but Michael tightened his grip. Tony was struggling and the two fell backwards onto a glass coffee table, it smashed and Michael's grip loosened enough for Tony to crawl away.
Michael stood and Ziva yelled, "Enough." but yet again he ignored her. Michael pulled a shard of bloody glass from his side and held it in his hand like a dagger, his eyes screaming murder to Tony.
"Michael don't!" yelled Ziva.
She felt terrible, she was useless, she couldn't get in the fight to pull the men off each other, or rather, pull Michael off Tony.
Michael was advancing on Tony.
"Michael stop!"
He advanced faster and Tony pulled out his gun and shot three times, hitting the man above him each time.
Michael fell to the ground and Ziva rushed forward, "Tony." She breathed,
"I'm fine." He spat at her, "Go help your boyfriend."
Ta Da!
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