Florida
"You're going to Florida to watch for any signs of the Reinosa Drug Cartel," Vance said sternly. "And that's final, no more arguments, Agent David!"
"Yes, sir," she said unwillingly and left the office, heading straight for the break room, nearing tears and going to lunch without Tony or permission from Gibbs.
They all watched her go. Tony saw the expression on her face. She looked like she was ready to cry. He noticed that she wasn't heading for the elevators. What had Vance said to her to put that expression on her face? Tony glanced at Gibbs who was staring at him as he stared after Ziva.
"Go, DiNozzo," Gibbs said with a knowing look on his face.
Tony didn't need to be told twice. He nearly leapt out of his chair and nearly ran toward the break room, where he found Ziva still fighting the tears that were in her eyes and the hopeless expression on her face.
"What's going on?" he asked her as he sat down and took her hand in his on top of the table.
"Vance is sending me to Florida for the summer," Ziva said sadly. "Work. I hate this! I do not want to go! Why can he not have the Florida team checking out the Reinosa Cartel? Why do I have to go?"
Suddenly, Tony was very sad too. He didn't want Ziva to go. But, he sighed and reasoned with her anyway.
"Because you are very good at what you do, Zi," he said quietly, lifting her chin up so she could look at him. "Listen… I'm… well, I'm not going anywhere, okay? I'll still be the same Tony when you get back and I'm only a phone call away, you know that, right?"
He knew that was what was causing her to be sad and he knew that whatever was going on between them was very unspoken. He was terrified of actually saying this, afraid that she would run when she heard the raw emotions in his voice. But, he was glad to see that she wasn't running. He was glad to see her sitting right there.
"We will be okay?" she asked.
"Absolutely. I promise," he said quietly and stroked her cheek with his thumb. She leaned into his touch.
Needless to say, they both felt a little better and a little more free with that promise out there. However, Ziva didn't end up spending the whole summer in Florida. She had a nightmare on her second night there and it was the kind that only Tony's arms could comfort. She tried to call him, but it wasn't the same and he could tell by her voice that it wasn't the same. She could tell that it was hurting him too. She didn't sleep for another five days before she called her doctor and asked for a note to return home, because she wasn't sleeping so far outside of her comfort zone and it wasn't healthy.
Vance unwillingly allowed Ziva to come home, feeling like he was being let down and set back by Ziva now. Vance didn't know what was going on between the agents, but he had to let it go, because, when he saw Ziva the morning of her return, after DiNozzo picked her up at the airport, he could tell that she wasn't entirely healed, but that she was more comfortable with family around her.
Vance spent the entirety of that day watching the two agents and the way they interacted around each other. He could definitely see a difference from the last time that he had stood on the catwalk and watched them nervously. They were doing their best work now, even better than before her time in Somalia. He wasn't sure what was going on between them or if something was going on between them, but he knew that whatever it was, he wasn't going to question it, because they were doing good work.
Sure, she wasn't completely healed but that would take some time. She seemed to be on her way there. Now he understood why she had reacted to the news so wildly. He thought back on the conversation.
"I'm sending you to Florida to watch for the Reinosa Cartel. You have to watch for any of them and since you look like any nationality I'm sure you can pull of Hispanic well," Vance said.
Ziva shook her head wildly. "Director Vance, no! Please! Let me stay in DC! I can't go to Florida! I can't go now! I... I just can't!"
"You're going, Ziva. That's an order!"
"Please," she pleaded.
"Unless I get a note from a doctor saying exactly why you can't travel to Florida for work, I am considering this a part of your job to do as I say. Which means, that you are going to Florida, is that clear?"
Ziva muttered some argument and looked as though she was about to cry, but was holding back.
That was when Vance had spoken again. He knew now that there was something more behind this reaction and he didn't know what it was. He shook his head and continued to watch as the two were standing close to one another and getting lost in each other's eyes after doing their paperwork. He shook his head one more time.
A/N – I was originally going to do more than one chapter on Ziva's time in Florida, but it sounded long and boring when I did it out, so I put it all in one and I think everyone still gets the same information. We've got some of Vance's point of view here, which I think is good for a change. At least he's realized that she's not fully healed. Good for him. And, I'm glad Ziva didn't spend the whole summer in Florida! That makes the rest of my story possible! Leave a review!