Oh, yeah, hi guys, remember us?
Didn't think so.
Anyway, we'll just pretend we totally didn't fall off the face of the earth. (We were going to pretend we had an excuse, but uh, well...) Hope you enjoy this last chapter.
A C T V
s c e n e i
Tony was seated at his desk, alone once again in the bullpen. Ziva had left to go down to Abby's lab sometime ago, and he really was not sure where McGee and Gibbs had disappeared to now. He tapped his pen on the desk top, and contemplated the news he had learned earlier in the day.
Ziva was in love with him, and he was in love with her. Therefore, it should be a simple matter to speak with her, and admit his feelings to her. And yet . . .
Sighing, Tony stared down at the blank sheet of paper on his desk. Why he had thought to write to her, the woman whose desk was approximately two feet from his own, he would never know. Yet for some reason, about twenty minutes ago, it had seemed like a good idea.
Now, twenty minutes and a dozen or so crumpled sheets of paper later Tony was beginning to rethink his original assessment. "It is quite clear I was born without the gift of words," he muttered to himself.
The entire concept of not knowing how to approach a woman was a very foreign concept to him. Talking with women, especially attractive women like Ziva, was some what of a specialty of his. Unfortunately, he had a strong suspicion that none of his usual pick-up techniques would fly with Ziva.
"Damn it," he swore, dropping his pen. "This is not working."
"What is not working?" Ziva asked as she appeared from around the corner without warning.
Tony jumped at her sudden arrival. "Don't do that," he complained.
Ziva grinned at his discomfort, but it did not seem the same as it usually did. Ziva seemed a little unnerved, and it seemed to Tony that she was looking at him as though seeing him for the first time.
"You okay?" he asked, as she headed for her own desk.
"What? I am fine," Ziva replied sitting down.
"You sure? You look a little, I don't know, rattled," Tony explained. After all, Ziva never looked even the slightest bit fazed by pretty much anything they saw, and it concerned Tony that she seemed upset.
"Perhaps I am just tired, we did just finish a very disturbing case," Ziva said quietly.
"Yeah," Tony replied, thinking back on the many bodies that had accumulated during their investigation. "There anything I can do?"
Ziva shot him a strange look, "Why would you wish to do something for me?" she questioned.
Tony shifted uncomfortably in his seat, as he forced himself to meet Ziva penetrating gaze. He had to think of something to breech the subject, and he had to think of it now. But what to say? Everything he had managed to come up with, just seemed so, corny. "Because," Tony stammered, "Because there is nothing in the world I care for as much as I care for you," he blurted. Blinking in surprise at his own admission Tony blushed. "That's weird isn't it?" he muttered.
Ziva just stared at him a long moment and Tony was about to open his mouth and take it all back, make some stupid joke or something, anything to get her to stop looking at him like that, but finally Ziva seemed to find her voice. "No," she said with a small shake of her head. "It's not weird. For, I . . . I was about to say the same thing."
"You were?"
Ziva nodded and looked away coyly, "Yes, I, I think I love you Tony."
Standing up, Tony crossed the distance between their desks. "Really," he asked suggestively. "And just what about my charming persona has attracted you?"
Ziva smiled, like Tony, she clearly felt more comfortable falling back into their usual banter. "Oh, I don't know," she replied. "It could have been your juvenile antics, or perhaps your incessant need to quote movies. Or maybe it was that cute look you get just after Gibbs head-slaps you." Ziva paused a moment then added more seriously, " I think maybe it was everything together."
Tony smiled genuinely at her, and she continued, "So tell me then, what is it about me that caused you to first suffer love?"
"Hah, suffer love," Tony repeated. "Isn't that true. I mean of all the women in the world I could fall for, I fall for you, the only one who could, and given the chance would, kill me with a paperclip."
"I don't actually need the paper clip," Ziva quipped smiling up at Tony innocently.
A C T V
s c e n e ii
Some time later Ducky walked into autopsy. The stunning total of nine bodies that had accumulated from the case had finally been taken care of, and he knew them to be stored in the drawers. That was why he found it so odd to see an extra body lying on one of the autopsy tables.
"What in the world. . ." Ducky murmured as he moved over to the autopsy table. He was shocked to find none other than Agent Lee lying fully clothed on the autopsy table.
"My dear, what are you doing?"
Lee cracked one eye open, and it widened to about the size of a quarter. "Dr. Mallard! I was. . . just resting!"
Ducky stared at her dumbfounded for a moment or two before clearing his throat. "Yes, well I'm afraid you'll have to rest somewhere else. This is an autopsy room not a hospice."
"Uh, oh yes, right," Agent Lee agreed, sitting up and dusting herself off. She gave Ducky a somewhat vacant smile and disappeared into the back room. Ducky thought of calling out to her to tell her she had gone the wrong way, but he exprected she would realise on her own and come back out soon enough.
Only she never did.
"Oh dear," Ducky murmured to himself.
Just then Palmer walked into the room, grinning widely and holding what looked like a small container of some sort. His grin faltered and vanished upon the site of Ducky, and he attempted to hide the container behind his back.
"D-doctor Mallard! You haven't happened to have seen Agent Lee have you?"
Ducky frowned. That boy was running an awful lot of errands for Agent Lee these days.
"As a matter of fact, I just spoke with her, Mr. Palmer. Unfortunately, she seemed to be quite distracted, and walked out the wrong door – I was just going to check on her."
"Oh, I can do that!" Palmer said quickly. He scooted past Ducky and then disappeared into the through the same door Agent Lee had gone through.
Scratching his chin, Ducky went to his desk to retrieve the file he'd come for, and left with only a momentary glance at the back room. It wasn't until ten minutes later that he returned, realising he'd forgotten a form, only to find his autopsy assistant lying on the table this time. Not only that, Palmer was saying the strangest things.
"I will kiss thy lips, hoping some poison does yet hang on them to make me die with a restorative. Thy lips are warm! Oh happy dagger! This is thy sheath—"
"Mr. Palmer! What in heaven's name are you doing?"
Palmer started and dropped the scalpel he had picked up off the nearby table.
"Rom—I mean, Michelle's dead!" he cried, distraught.
"What?" said Ducky.
"She's poisoned! Oh woe—"
"I'm not dead!" Agent Lee shrieked indignantly, popping up from the other side of the autopsy table. Her hair was badly ruffled, her shirt was on backwards, and a strange rash of pinkish red blotches had broken out across her face. "And I'm not poisoned! I'm only mildly allergic to latex!"
Ducky looked between the pair of them and cleared his throat loudly.
"I do believe you will find better help for that affliction at a hospital, this, however, is an autopsy room."
"Y-yes, Dr. Mallard," said Palmer meekly. He and Agent Lee promptly skittered out the door.
A C T V
s c e n e iii
Dressed in a stylish black dress, Jen stepped into the theatre with the other play-goers. It was about half an hour before the performance so Jen took her time to wander through the elegant old building before making her way to her seat.
A red velvet curtain was drawn across the stage and the audience was slowly starting to fill as people made their way to their seats. Jen made her way down the aisle to find her seat. She was pleasantly surprised to find herself in the very front row of the balcony section, giving her an excellent view over those below her on the floor level.
Her seat was on the end of the row, and three of the four seats next to hers where full. The one right next to her seat, however, was as of yet unoccupied.
Sitting down she smiled awkwardly when the young woman two seats over smiled at her.
"Is Ducky not coming?" The woman asked politely.
"Hmm?" Jen replied a little startled. "No, he had other business to attend to. He gave me his ticket."
"Oh, that's too bad," the woman said, "He does love all the Shakespearian works the best."
Jen nodded, "That does sound like Ducky," she agreed.
"But what about his other seat?" the woman questioned, gesturing to the seat between them.
"His other seat?" Jen asked confused.
"Oh, Ducky always brings a friend," the woman said, as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. "He didn't give you them both?"
"No," Jen replied, suddenly wondering if perhaps there had been another motive behind the good doctor offering her his ticket to the play.
"Oh, well perhaps he gave it to another friend then," the woman said. "In fact I think I see someone coming now."
Enter Jethro.
Jen looked around but could see no one coming their way. "You do?"
"Yes, I'm quite sure of it."
Enter Jethro. Stage left.
"I still don't see. . ." Jen replied.
ENTER JETHRO.
Gibbs suddenly appeared at the entrance of the balcony level. He looked remarkably handsome in his black suit jacket and dark pants. Slowly he starting walking down the aisle toward them. Jen just stared at him. Gibbs, at a play? It was not something she'd ever thought she'd see.
"Hello Jen," he said casually, as though they were passing each other in the elevator at work, though she could tell, if she looked very closely, he looked a little out of his element.
"Jethro," she replied when she finally managed to find her voice. "I didn't expect to see you here."
His only response was a small grunt as he slipped past her into the seat. The woman on his other side just smiled a friendly smile at them both. "I hope you enjoy the play in Ducky's place," she told them.
"I'm sure we will," Jen responded for them both, when it became clear Gibbs was not going to.
Soon the theatre lights dimmed, and the curtains rose revealing the actors on stage. Knowing better than to speak during the performance, Gibbs and Jen watched the first portion of the play in silence.
Jen was not sure what to think about Gibbs' presence. On the one hand, he was a friend of Ducky's and it was technically possible that the doctor could have simply offered him the ticket as he had with her. But then, on the other hand, Gibbs was most definitely not a play person. He was a go down to the basement, drink bourbon, and build a boat person. Therefore some coercion must have taken place on someone's part for him to even be here. And then there was the entire matter that Ducky had not told her of the second seat, and had most definitely not mentioned Gibbs coming.
Add to all that, hers and Gibbs' former relationship and all her of finely tuned instincts from her years as a NCIS agent were screaming set up. Whose she was not quite sure.
When the curtain finally dropped at intermission, Jen got up from her seat, all too aware of Gibbs getting up behind her. She made her way out into the common room outside, and turned around, and found herself face to face with Gibbs.
"So," Gibbs began, "do you want to tell me why I am here?"
"I wha—?" Jen stammered.
Gibbs fixed her with his piercing blue eyes. "Going to a play does not really sound like something I would do with my spare time," he told her seriously.
"Yes, I had that same thought," Jen replied. "I kinda thought maybe someone was trying to set us up," she confessed.
"Hmm," Gibbs said, as though he was considering the idea. "I suppose then it would be expected of me to do this," he said as he leaned in and kissed Jen.
At first Jen stiffened in surprise, but soon she leaned forward into the kiss. Gibbs placed a hand on her cheek as he deepen the kiss. "Jethro," Jen whispered breathlessly as he finally broke the kiss.
Riiipp.
The sound of paper tearing filled McGee's apartment as he tore the sheet out of his type writer. Silently he re-read the last paragraph to himself.
At first Jess stiffened in surprise, but soon she leaned forward into the kiss. Tibbs placed a hand on her cheek as he deepen the kiss. "LJ," Jess whispered breathlessly as he finally broke the kiss.
Mentally head-slapping himself, McGee wondered just what the hell he had been thinking. Gathering up all the papers scattered around from his hours of work he quickly fed them all through the shredder kept next to his desk.
Wearily he pushed back his chair and headed for his bedroom. Maybe tomorrow he would come up with a new idea for his next book he thought as he walked into his room, barely sparing a glance for the large book left lying on his counter. One of Sara's she had forgotten at his house by mistake. The title standing out against the plain black cover – The Complete Works of William Shakespeare.
~fin~