NCIS
WHERE'S DINOZZO?
DISCLAIMER: NCIS and characters do not belong to me.
Summary: Tony goes missing and no one knows where to start looking for him. Will they find him and will Ziva finally tell him she loves him, or will it be too late?
CHAPTER 21: THINGS HAVE CHANGED...
THE SQAUD ROOM...
The door to the stairs opened as Abby and Kate walked in and made their way of to Tim's desk. Abby sat down and pulled Kate onto her lap.
"We tried to take the elevator, but..." Abby began. "It's kind of in use right now." Tim told her. "Ziva and Tony," Abby guessed and Tim just nodded. "So is everything, okay?" Tim inquired as he went to stand beside his wife and daughter.
"Yeah, Ducky said she's fine, just a little shaken from being kidnapped. How long have they been in there?" Abby asked looking down at the sleeping child in her arms. "Since you took Kate down to see, Ducky," Tim told her and Abby looked up in surprise. "That was twenty minutes ago." Abby replied.
"They have a lot to work out." Gibbs said from his desk, speaking up for the first time.
THE ELEVATOR...
"I want to work things out, but..." Tony began, the sadness never leaving his eyes. "You are afraid I will leave again, yes?" Ziva asked and Tony nodded.
"It seems when something happens you always go running. When I killed..." Tony began.
"Do not go there, Tony. I am tired of running, I-I would like to work this out." Ziva said and he looked into her eyes. "All right, we can try." Tony told her and she smiled a real smile for the first time in a little over four years.
"I am sorry, I did not mean things to happen the way they did." Ziva said. "I know and I want you to know..." Tony began, but seemed unable to finish what he was saying. "Wanted me to know what?" Ziva asked. "I've missed you to and while Agent Martin sat at your desk...I always imagined it was you there." Tony told her and flipped the emergency switch.
She just smiled as the elevator doors opened and the both stepped back into the Squad Room.
THE SQAUD ROOM...
"Looks like they have worked things out," Abby whispered to Tim. "It doesn't mean that Ziva is coming back to NCIS though." Tim reminded her.
"How much," Abby asked. "Twenty." Tim replied.
It was later that day when Gibbs and Ziva went to talk to the director, after Ziva had talked to her very unhappy father.
"She's coming back isn't she?" Tim asked Tony.
"She is going to resign from Mossad, and then she said something about a meeting with Gibbs and the director. She's coming back." Tony said and Tim pulled out his wallet and handed the twenty dollars to Abby.
"How long has Kate been asleep?" Tony asked looking down at her.
"Since I brought her back up here, we had to take the stairs though. Ducky said she was a little shaken about being kidnapped." Abby replied. "Then she's all right?" Tony asked sounding worried.
"Yes, she'll be fine. If it were not for, Ziva who knows what would have happened," Tim replied.
"So did you and Ziva work things out?" Abby asked. "We're working on it." Tony replied.
"Things will work out for you." Abby assured him with a smile and a yawn.
No one had realized it had gotten so late.
"I guess we better head home. See you tomorrow, Tony." Tim said as he took Kate from Abby and helped Abby to stand up. "Thanks, Probie, see you two tomorrow." Tony said as Abby and Tim headed for the elevator, Tim carried the sleeping girl in his arms.
"They do make a good family." Said a voice from behind Tony and he turned to see Ziva. "I know. We have a lot to catch up on…where are you staying?" Tony asked.
"I-I have not decided yet." Ziva told him in surprise. "You can stay with me." Tony offered.
"Tony, I do not think that is..." Ziva began. "Relax, Ziva. What I mean is since you just got back and have nowhere to stay. You can take the bed and I will take the couch." Tony told her.
"The last time I was in your bed, Tony..." Ziva began. "I know what happened. Where will you go? It's late." Tony reminded her.
"I will find a place. I just cannot go back to your apartment right now, Tony." Ziva told him. "I know, I und..." Tony began as Gibbs walked over to get his things from his desk.
"Ziva, do you have somewhere to stay?" Gibbs asked. "No. Tony, offered to let me stay with him, but I cannot stay there." Ziva replied.
"I have a spare room that you can use, until your stuff gets here and you get your own apartment again." Gibbs said and started to walk to the elevator.
After a minute, Tony and Ziva followed getting into the elevator.
"Are you sure? I don't want..." Ziva began. "I wouldn't have said anything if I wasn't sure, Ziver." Gibbs told her. "All right, I'll start looking for an apartment tomorrow." Ziva said.
A WHILE LATER...
TONY'S APARTMENT...
That night Tony took a shower and then sat on the couch after putting in a movie. He was happier than he had been in years.
'Ziva was back, but would things be different this time?' Tony wondered and before long fell asleep.
Hours later, there was a knocking at the door, for a minute Tony was a little disoriented.
0900 HOURS
Then he realized he was lying on his couch and someone was knocking at his door. He got up and when he opened the door, he was surprised to see...
"Ziva, what are you doing here? Do you know what time it is?" Tony asked not knowing the time himself.
"Yes, Tony. It is nine o'clock on a Saturday morning." Ziva said and when he looked back to check the time, he realized she was right.
"What are you doing here?" Tony asked. "I came to see if we could just spend the day catching up." Ziva said.
"How did you get here?" Tony asked. "I had Gibbs drop me off." Ziva said.
"All right, let me get dressed and then we'll go. Do you want to come in and wait?" Tony asked. "All right," Ziva agreed after a moment of hesitation.
Stepping into Tony's apartment brought back many memories.
From the time before they started dating, to the night they first talked about the baby, their future and finally the night she left.
A few minutes later Tony came back into the living room and saw the look on Ziva's face.
"I thought about moving, but after you left...I couldn't." Tony said grabbing his coat and wallet they walked out the door.
They climbed into his car.
"So where are we headed first?" Ziva asked. "Have you eaten yet?" Tony asked her.
"No, but I have missed a lot, haven't I?" Ziva asked. "Yes, everyone was pretty upset when you left." Tony told her. "Even you?" Ziva asked.
"I was so angry with you. Mostly because you left without saying goodbye to everyone else, I already knew you would not say goodbye to me. After you left and Agent Martin became part of the team, Abby refused to warm up to her and you know how Abby gets along with everyone." Tony told her.
"Yes, I do know. Speaking of Abby...I noticed that she and Tim are now married." Ziva said.
"McGee waited for you to come back and only when you showed no sign of coming back did he finally ask her to marry him. Then they waited until after Kate was born, because they thought you would come see Kate and then come to the wedding. After that..." Tony let the sentence trail off.
"What else has changed with you since I left?" Ziva asked. "I've dated a few people, but nothing ever got serious. I haven't had a real serious relationship since..." Tony began.
"Since I told you I could not marry you. I know, I to have dated a little and have not had a serious relationship." Ziva replied as he parked in the parking lot of a park.
"If you wouldn't have lost our baby, would you have married me?" Tony asked as he turned to face her. "I-I do not know. I do not think we will ever know." Ziva said sadly looking down at her hands.
"I know that we will probably never date again, but can we start over as friends?" Tony asked. "Who said we would never date again?" Ziva asked looking up into his face.
"Ziva..." Tony began. "Why did you say it like that, Tony?" Ziva pressed. "Because Ziva the last time we dated and I asked you to marry me, you said no. I can't go through that again." Tony told her.
"You said you do not want to date. Because you are afraid I will hurt you again, but you want to start over as friends. We were friends and then that turned into something more, something I will never be able to forget. The truth is, Ziva...I don't want to be your friend again. I never stopped loving you, even after everything you did to me. I never..." Tony began.
"I know, Tony. I have never stopped loving you, the only things that have changed...are years and everything that has happened." Ziva said.
"If we still love each other, why can't we try dating again?" Tony asked. "Because I..." Ziva began. "What?" Tony asked.
"I think I would like to try again, but I would like to take things slow." Ziva told Tony and he smiled at her, and this time no sign of the sadness. "So have you been apartment searching yet today?" Tony asked.
"No, not yet, are we going to have breakfast first?" Ziva asked him.
THE CAFE...
He started the car and they soon reached a little cafe.
They were eating, when a giggle from a little girl reached their ears. Tony and Ziva looked over to see a little girl in pigtails standing beside their table and looking at them.
"Hi." She said. "Hey, Kate, Where...?" Tony started to ask, but it was at that moment the Tim came over to the table.
"Caitlin Annabel McGee, how many times have you been told not to run so far ahead like that?" Tim asked his daughter. "I saw Unca Tony." Kate replied.
"I know, but..." Tim began. "Hey, McGee, Hi, Kate, do you remember me from yesterday?" Ziva asked.
"Yes." Kate replied and threw her arms around Ziva.
At first Ziva was surprised, but returned the hug.
"Forgot to warn you, she gives hugs like Abby." Tony told her and Ziva smiled down at Kate. "She's more like Abby..." Tim began. "Yeah, but she has your br..." Tony began.
"Finish that sentence, DiNozzo and I will kill you leaving no forensic evidence." Said a voice from behind Tony and he looked to see Abby.
Ziva laughed a real laugh for the first time in years.
It was almost as though nothing had changed...but so much had.
"What are you doing here?" Tony asked Abby and Tim. "Having breakfast, then have a few other things to do…why are you here?" Tim asked.
"Ziva, showed up at my door at nine o'clock this morning and we decided to spend the day catching up." Tony replied. "Would you like to join us?" Ziva asked.
"No, we have a lot to do. If you two don't have anything planned tonight, you can come by for dinner." Abby suggested.
"Sounds good to me, what about you, Ziva?" Tony asked. "I will be here." Ziva agreed.
"Great, I'll tell Gibbs...see you later." Abby said as Kate gave Ziva another hug and then gave Tony a hug.
Soon the three had disappeared from sight.
"You didn't tell me she was so much like, Abby." Ziva said turning back to face him. "I wonder..." Tony began, but stopped himself.
"What do you wonder, Tony?" Ziva asked. "Nothing...never mind," Tony said. "Tony, you can't start to say something and then say never mind." Ziva told him.
"I was going to say...I wonder what our child would have been like." Tony said and saw the pain in her eyes. "Oh...well I..." Ziva started to get up, but Tony grabbed her arm.
"Zi, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring it up. Don't leave." Tony said. "If you do not move your hand, I will break it." Ziva told him. "Ziva, you cannot run every time we mention or think about our baby." Tony said removing his hand and she sat back down.
"I sometimes wish...that Gibbs would never have let us break rule 12." Ziva admitted looking at the table. "You wish we would have never started dating? Because when we were dating that was the happiest time of my life." Tony asked her.
"Yes, Tony, I wish we had never dated. Because if we never would have started dating, I would never have got pregnant or lost the baby," Ziva said.
"Are you saying that you do not want to give us a second chance at dating?" Tony asked.
"That is not..." Ziva began. "That's exactly what you did say. You're changing your mind about us dating again, aren't you?" Tony asked.
"No, I am not. I guess I am still a little scared of...us." Ziva told him. "I should have told you years ago, Ziva..." Tony began. "Told me what, Tony?" Ziva asked.
"That as long as we're together...I won't let anything or anyone hurt you." Tony told her.
They paid for their breakfast and left the cafe. When they got into the car, Ziva leaned her head against the seat.
"I..." Ziva began. "What?" Tony asked.
"It's just feels like I've found my home again." Ziva said and then without warning he leaned over and placed a gentle kiss on her lips, pulling away after a moment.
"Sorry, I know you wanted to take things slow." Tony said, but she just reached over to him.
"I could have killed you if I didn't want you to kiss me." Ziva told him with a smile and he laughed.
"That's true. So are you ready to go search for your apartment?" Tony asked. "Yes, I am ready." Ziva told him.
They spent the entire day, even after they found an apartment for Ziva. They talked and it seemed that everything was as it had been years ago.
ABBY AND TIM'S HOUSE...
1800 HOURS...
Finally, at six o'clock they headed to Abby and Tim's house for dinner. Tony knocked and they heard little footsteps.
"Kate, wait!" Tim called as Kate opened the door and threw herself into Tony's arms.
"Hey, Kate," Tony said as he picked her up and carried her into the living room, where he sat her down. "I see that you do not fear children anymore, Tony." Ziva whispered.
"That changed the day that Abby and Tim showed me, Kate and then let me hold her." Tony told her.
"Ziva, my dear," Ducky said stepping forward.
"Hello, Ducky," Ziva said as she looked around the living room and noticed that Jimmy Palmer sat with a young women and a child about a year old. "Hey, this is Breena and our son, Sean." Palmer said introducing his wife and son to Ziva.
Ziva was still surprised at how many things had changed since she had left four years before.
Soon, they were all gathered around the living room, since the table was not big enough for all of them.
Everyone began to joke and talk, Ziva just sat there in silence finally feeling as though she were finally home.
AFTER DINNER...
After dinner was done and all the dishes were put in the dishwasher, Tim sat down beside Tony.
"You seem happier." Tim said. "I'm just glad Ziva's back." Tony said as he glanced over at her and she smiled at him.
"Is everything okay with you two now?" Tim asked. "Yeah, it's different now. I guess it took more than a little time, we're still working on some things though." Tony told him.
"So what is going on with you two now?" Tim asked. "I was with her when she found an apartment and we just ended up spending the whole day together." Tony told him.
Abby sat beside Ziva and noticed when Tony looked over at her, that Ziva smiled at him.
"So what's going on with you and Tony?" Abby asked. "After breakfast he was with me when I found my apartment. Then we ended up spending the day together." Ziva told her.
"He was in really bad shape when you left and almost resigned from NCIS. Every day he checked his e-mail and you could see the hope leave his eyes when he did not find one from you, every letter that was sent back to him...it tore him up, Tim suggested that he go find you and talk to you. Tim had him almost convinced to, but Tony never found you and after a couple of months he finally gave up." Abby told her.
"I know..." Ziva began. "I don't think you do know how much you hurt him." Abby said. "I do know, because I was hurting as much as he was." Ziva told her.
"We all waited for you to come back. Tim waited on asking me to marry him, because he wanted to wait until you came back. Then I waited on getting married, because we were waiting for you to come back..." Abby said.
"Tony told me." Ziva replied.
"The day Kate was born I thought you would come see me and a few months later when Tim and I got married I expected you to be there...but you weren't. Ziva, you...you became my best friend after you became part of the team. Then the times I..." Abby began.
"I know, Abby. I could not be here, because it hurt too much! I couldn't be there when you got married or had Kate, because it reminded me of what I wanted and had lost!" Ziva yelled and now everyone in the room was looking at her.
Ziva stood up and walked out of the house, slamming the door behind her. Gibbs made a move to get up, but Tony beat him to it and went after Ziva.
Now everything in the room seemed tense.
They heard a car start and then leave.
Soon Palmer, Breena, Sean, Gibbs, and Ducky left, leaving just Abby, Tim and a crying, Kate.
It took half an hour to calm Kate down, then Tim and Abby tucked her into bed.
A few minutes later, they reached their room.
TIM & ABBY'S BEDROOM...
"Did you really have to attack her like that?" Tim asked her.
"Tim, she was my best friend and she left. She hurt every one of us and hurt Tony the most. I had to tell her, I couldn't let her think that coming back here was going to be the same as it was when she left." Abby told him.
"Abs..." Tim began. "I had to make her realize it, Tim." Abby said as she climbed into bed and turned her back to him.