Doctor's Appointment

They walked into the squad room with nearly vacant expressions on their faces. Gibbs was staring at them, but they didn't even seem to notice. He didn't dare ask what happened, because he could see that whatever it was it was devastating to both the agents. They hadn't even told him that they were in a relationship together yet and something was very wrong at the moment. He wished that they felt safe enough to turn to him.

Gibbs studied Tony first as he sat down and started to fiddle with the picture that he always kept on his desk of Ziva in Paris. Then he stared at the blank computer screen. His eyes were puffy and red, as though he had been crying and Gibbs also noticed that a few times his eyes looked as though they were filling with tears and he kept shooting Ziva concerned glances.

Ziva was also very quiet that day. She walked in with red and puffy eyes as well and was staring at her Israeli flag (or more like glaring at it, as though it was at fault for whatever happened). She would shoot Tony concerned looks as well and looks of love, but sorrow. Gibbs shook his head.

There was definitely something that happened this morning and he was having a hard time thinking of what could devastate both of them and worry both of them at the same time. They obviously hadn't broken up (if they were really together) if they were sharing worried looks. But they were both hurting. Had they had a fight? Had something else happened? Had someone died and he hadn't heard about it?

Gibbs was usually much better than this at reading his agents, but he just couldn't put his finger on what he was missing in these two. Yet they sat there. His computer dinged and he was silently glad that they didn't have a case today, because these two were obviously in no condition to work. It was an email from Tony.

Got a doctor's appointment tomorrow morning at nine. It's important. Can't miss it. Can't reschedule. Got to go to it. Tony.

Gibbs wondered if perhaps there was something wrong with his health or her health, because a moment later he got another email, only this one was from Ziva.

Sorry I was late this morning. I want to let you know ahead, I will be late again tomorrow. I have a doctor's appointment to go to that I cannot miss. It is very important to go to. Ziva.

They said basically the same things. Gibbs sighed. What was going on with them? Were they going to the same appointment? Were they going to different appointments? Were they doing something that had nothing to do with a doctor? Was one of them sick? Was it counseling of some kind or something different? What kind of doctor were they seeing tomorrow in the morning when they were supposed to be working? What kind of appointment were they both going to that was so important that they couldn't miss it no matter what?

All of the questions circled in Gibbs' head, but he didn't dare to ask them. He just replied to them with a small okay, knowing that whatever was going on, they weren't ready to share it with anyone. If their relationship was any evidence on how long it took those two to open up, then he wouldn't ever know what was going on with his agents.

So, the following morning, he ignored questions from McGee and Abby and worried about Tony and Ziva quietly, still glad that they didn't have a case at the time. He noticed that it was the second day in a row that they showed up in one car, solving one of the riddles. Wherever they had gone, they had done so together and they both looked a little better this morning than they had yesterday.

They were still as silent as ever, but they looked like whatever they were going through, they were dealing with it a little better and it wasn't showing as much on their faces. McGee tried to ask them where they had been the past two mornings, but neither one of them so much as looked at him, forget answering him. Gibbs decided to keep a close eye on these two from then on, because he hadn't seen whatever this was coming and he thought that perhaps he should have. Perhaps there was some clues in the past that could help him figure this out. Although, judging by the looks on their faces, he didn't really want to figure it out. He sighed again.

Tony looked at Ziva and their eyes met for the first time in a couple of days. It was lunch time and he tilted his head toward the window. She nodded.

"Going to lunch, boss," Tony said quietly and that was the first thing the man had said in two days.

"Me too," Ziva said, also speaking for the first time in two days.

Once they were outside, Ziva walked into Tony's arms and wrapped her own around him. "We will be okay," she whispered to him. "We can do anything as long as we do it together."

He nodded in agreement. Those were the same words he had said to her the previous weekend, knowing that this was a possibility. But, knowing it was a possibility and going through it were two totally different animals and he was glad that he wasn't going through it alone, just as he was seeing that Ziva was glad that she wasn't going through it alone. He loved their silent communication more than anything right now, because they could say so much with so few words.

A/N – another sad chapter. I had to put up two, because they definitely go together. Review and tell me your thoughts.