Back to "Normal" Almost
Ziva was tired. They were back at work, like nothing had happened. They had gotten off the plane and gone to work, as though they had just woken up from a long night of sleep. Ziva hadn't dared to sleep on the plane, but Tony had insisted and woken her up when she had another nightmare. They took turns sleeping after that, so that he wouldn't be sleeping at the same time as her. The flight was longer on the way back.
They were slumped at their desks and staring into each other's eyes. They were supposed to be doing their paperwork, but neither of them was interested in the computer at the moment. They were lost in their thoughts of Paris and each other. But, they didn't dare speak of it. There was a sigh from the desk next to them. It was Gibbs
Gibbs could see a change, though he didn't know how much they had changed. He could tell they changed because they were lost in each other's eyes the way they used to get lost in each other's eyes. He knew they were exhausted, but he could see that something had made them come back to themselves, or he hoped anyway.
The phone rang and Gibbs answered it. It was Vance calling in to check on everything and make sure everyone was back on time and on schedule and doing their paperwork. He was coming in a little while to collect the paperwork. Gibbs hung up the phone.
"DiNozzo, David, I hate to interrupt the silent pow-wow, you're having, but Vance will be in, in about ten minutes to collect the paperwork. Better get to work on it," Gibbs said.
Both agents jumped and Ziva's face turned red. That was different. Maybe they weren't normal yet. Maybe they were normal. Maybe something happened and that was why her face was turning red. Gibbs didn't know. He shook it off, anything was better than what they had been doing before.
They both started on their paperwork. They gave it to Vance as soon as he was there and McGee looked at Tony.
"So, did Ziva take the couch, or you?" he asked.
"I did," Tony lied.
Ziva had lied to the witness on the plane and said she took the couch. She looked at Tony incredulously. He was covering their tracks as much as she was. She looked away, before she could get lost in his eyes again.
"But, your back… haven't heard one complaint," McGee argued feebly.
"Some things are worth taking the couch over, McGoo, and Ziva's one of them," Tony said quietly, but Ziva heard him and her face turned red again.
"I told you I would have taken it," she argued quietly, knowing that she could keep this up. "I really did not want your back to hurt."
"It's hardly noticeable," he said with a slight wink at her, because his back felt great.
She smirked. "Mon petite pois," she said quietly, "is that a lie I sense?"
McGee looked at the two. They were standing close, nearly on top of each other, definitely invading each other's personal space like they used to do. They were joking with each other, like they used to do.
"No, sweet cheeks, it's not," he said just as sweetly as she had spoken. "That would be a truth. It's where you tell something how it is, you know?"
She laughed and McGee was really confused. Could one trip to Paris really change these two back into who they used to be.
"Um…," he began, but couldn't think of what to say.
Both Tony and Ziva jumped. They looked at McGee and their faces were flushed with color. He knew then that they weren't quite normal. Something was off still, something not nearly as big was off, but they weren't quite what they used to be. Why would they be blushing? Unless, maybe they were hiding something. Had something happened in Paris?
"Yes, McGee?" Ziva asked, walking over to his desk with a playful expression on her face. "Did you have something to say?"
"I was going to ask if you were back to normal," he stated.
"Almost," Ziva said quietly with a smile on her face. "Thanks to Tony, here. He is an excellent listener."
"She talked?" he asked, turning to Tony. "She actually opened up?"
"Something like that, yea," Tony said with a small grin threatening to cross his face as he turned away from McGee to hide the grin.
Ziva nearly laughed, because he was grinning like a teenager who had gotten to go on a date with his biggest crush.
"What's so funny, Ziva?" he asked.
She walked up close to him and leaned up to whisper in his ear. She smiled before doing so.
"That was definitely not your knee," she said quietly and he laughed also.
Yup, they were almost normal and that was great. She was definitely nearly the same Ziva as she had been before. Only now, she had emotions showing on her face when she spoke. They were more obvious to Tony and possibly everyone who was good at deciphering a face that was difficult to read.
A/N – I couldn't sleep, so you get an extra chapter today! This is kind of fluffy, but I think it was necessary to show how they transitioned easily back into almost what they were before Ziva's small trip to Somalia. I hope you liked it. Leave a review and let me know what you think.