The Following Conversation (Part 1)

The call was cut. The screen first turned to an array of bright colors before it was shut off completely on their end too. It went totally dark and black as night. Ziva stood there staring at it for another short moment, unable to fully comprehend what had just happened. There was little that had been said, but it was telling words. She wondered why her father had had those questions in mind. Then, there was that glare toward Tony at the end of the call that seemed to mean more to him than it did to her. She breathed in, trying to comprehend it all.

Ziva felt assaulted by her father's questioning. But, she also felt very triumphant; she had finally done something to please herself instead of pleasing him all the time. She felt like she won for the first time in her life, in regards to her father; basically she had ignored what he was asking of her and done something for herself; she was no longer his Mossad Officer and she was free to make her own choices, and she had let him know that.

Of course, Eli David wasn't happy about this. No. not at all. But, Ziva was more than happy. That was what mattered to her now. She didn't care about making her father happy anymore, because that was impossible. She wanted to make a life for herself and if that life was going to include Tony, then that was what she wanted to do, with or without her father's approval. She had long ago stopped searching for his approval and now she was able to show that to him, no matter what the cost. She knew that Tony would have her back through anything and everything.

All in all, Ziva felt finally freed from her father's reigns. The call had ended and she had proven to him that she was making her own choices and she was proud to do so. But, she was also confused as to how he knew about her relationship with Tony and why he wanted to talk to her about it, why he had such a strong opinion on it, why he wanted to warn her about him after all this time, and what had caused this call to take place at all.

"Is there some case that I did not hear about?" she asked, finally turning around to face Gibbs, figuring he must have been the source of the call… or the reason behind the call, since he was in the room.

"Nope," Gibbs said simply, with a sideways glance toward Tony before his eyes returned to Ziva.

If there was no case that involved Israel or Mossad then there was no reason to be using MTAC to call Eli David, the Director of Mossad. Ziva felt her eyes narrow as confusion set in inside her and her curiosity grew a little more as she stood there.

"Why did he call?" she asked, the confusion clear in her voice. Gibbs and Tony could also hear that she was doubting whatever Eli's motives might have been, but she could see a sideways glance exchanged between the two of them, and she realized that her assumption was wrong. He didn't call them. They had called him for some reason.

Ziva's eyes narrowed again. This time it was the old, wild, and dangerous expression that was captured on her young face. She didn't know why Gibbs kept glancing at Tony or why either of them would have called Eli David in the first place. She realized that whatever this call was about, was not only something to do with Tony, but something to do with her as well, since she had been called into the room. She was suspicious now. She was going to double check herself this time before assuming though, since the last assumption had been wrong.

"Did you call him, Gibbs?" she asked, her suspicion obvious when she spoke.

"Nope," he repeated, shaking his head slightly.

"I did," Tony muttered, staring hard into Ziva's eyes as hers finally traveled over to him when he finally spoke up, still looking a little pale.

Ziva's heart was racing a little and there was a knot in the pit of her stomach. Why had Tony called Eli David of all people to call from MTAC without having business involving Mossad? Why had he used NCIS for this time to call him?

Ziva felt a little panicked. She could feel a knot in her chest clenching tightly as the panic set in from the memories of dealing with her father throughout here life. She was very worried. Anything involving her father never ended well. What was going on that she didn't already know about? She was so confused by this move. She was barely breathing from the knot that had moved from her stomach to her chest, but she was also nearly hyperventilating and could feel a panic attack coming on; something she hadn't experienced since before going to Paris with Tony and finding comfort in her partner and soul-mate.

Ziva closed her eyes for a brief moment, and remembered that Tony never did anything without having a very good reason for it. He wouldn't hurt her on purpose and he knew that this had to be worth whatever pain she would be going through in seeing him once again. She was already beginning to calm down, just realizing that Tony had a good reason for calling her father.

She opened her eyes and looked up at Tony once again. He knew that this was hurting her, but she could see that he had to do it, for some unknown reason. His eyes told her that, even though his mouth couldn't at the moment. There was definitely some good reason that Tony decided to call Eli David today. She relaxed a little more, but was struck with more curiosity and more confusion at the same time.

She wanted badly to know what Tony could possibly have for a reason to call her father when they had no case. She wanted to know what had made Tony see that it was okay to call him. What had off-set the need to keep Ziva happy and safe and sacrifice it a little to talk with her father for a few stolen minutes in MTAC? She wanted to know that. But, she also knew that she wasn't going to get that information just yet and she would have to wait for it.

A/N – Ziva is a little confused. We see her almost lose trust before she remembers what Tony is like and that she would trust him with anything. We also see that trust showing itself in her thoughts. Let me know what you think!