Chapter 2

At precisely 6:57 p.m., Tony stood outside Ziva's door with a dozen red roses. He hoped the roses wouldn't be considered too cheesy or over-the-top but he really hoped she'd get the message. She answered the door barely moments after he knocked and invited him in. Her eyes registered surprise at seeing the roses and she smiled as she took them from him and headed to the kitchen to fill a vase with water for them. She set them on the table and took a moment to smell them.

"These are beautiful, Tony."

"Glad you like them."

Tony looked her over. She was wearing a black mini skirt and a cream-colored blouse that teased at her cleavage without being revealing. She wore just enough makeup to enhance her eyes and her hair curled down to frame her face and shoulders. She was, in a word, stunning.

"You look beautiful, Ziva."

She smiled at the compliment and as Tony gazed at her, another nagging doubt nipped at his mind. Her smile practically screamed, "Mission accomplished."

"Shall we?" he asked, glancing at the door to indicate they should go.

Ziva nodded, her smile softened and she led the way to her door, locking it behind her as they exited. They were quiet as they left her apartment building. In the car, a tense silence filled the air. He couldn't explain even to himself how her smile had made him feel though he had the uncomfortable feeling women had felt exactly like that when he had dressed to impress. Ziva kept stealing curious glances at him and he glanced over and smiled a little.

"Tony? Is something wrong?"

Tony stiffened for a second and then relaxed. "No, sorry. Just don't know what to say at the moment."

Ziva chuckled. "Tony, are you actually nervous?"

Tony pulled up to a red light and he looked over at her. She had a curious little smirk on her face as she regarded him, wondering if he actually was. He smiled a little self-deprecatingly. "A little, maybe."

"Why? You certainly were not nervous in that hotel room when we were pretending to be married."

"That was different."

Tony ignored the green light just long enough to see her expression turn from curious amusement to confusion. "What do you mean?"

He turned back to watch the road. "We were under cover. We were being watched, maybe even listened to. Had to play the part. No time to think about anything else. This isn't under cover. It's real and I'm not playing a game trying to fool anyone, least of all you." Tony could see Ziva's expression as she regarded him. Puzzled curiosity. "During that op, we got a taste of what could be. Over the last couple of weeks I've been thinking about it."

"As have I. I think we'll have a lot of fun together, Tony."

Tony smiled. "That was never in question. That op though…I was really scared you were going to get killed. Made me think about the future. Either one of us could have died."

"Tony, I know you acted in order to save me…"

"And I'd do it again," Tony interrupted, "but that's not the point. The point is that I was thinking that we could have more than fun."

They arrived at the restaurant and Tony parked. He turned to her and held her gaze. "Do you understand what I'm trying to say?"

Ziva's expression was a mix of amusement and questioning. "I think I do," she assured him, leaned over and kissed him on the cheek.

Tony sagged with relief. "Great," he said, his smile stretching across his face. "Come on, hopefully Helena will be here."

"Who is Helena?"

"Owner. If she's here, she'll ensure we have a great table. I'm one of her favorites."

"So you've brought dates here before."

It wasn't a question and Tony frowned a little but let it go, realizing he shouldn't be surprised she thought that. "No," he said softly, smiling a little. "You're the first date I've ever brought here."

It was Ziva's turn to be surprised and she blinked before recovering. "I am flattered."

"Good." They exited the car and Tony took her hand as they walked to the door. Her hand felt small and soft in his hand and though he knew she could beat the crap out of him with those hands, for now, he just enjoyed her softer side.

Helena was indeed there and she hugged Tony, happy to see him. Her face lit up when he introduced Ziva. "Anthony, this is wonderful. I have just the perfect table for both of you. Come with me."

As Tony expected, they were seated near the fireplace. It was near enough to enjoy the flickering flames, but not so close to be roasted by the heat pouring out of it. Tony smiled and thanked Helena who then left them to look over the menu.

Tony smiled. "I've tried most everything on the menu. I've never had a bad meal here."

Ziva nodded and focused on her menu. When she decided, she relayed her choice to Tony and he smiled. When their server came to take their order, Tony ordered for both of them and ordered a bottle of good red wine. Ziva looked surprised again, but Tony was looking at the server, not at her so he missed it. Ziva swallowed hard. The wine he had ordered was not cheap.

After the server walked away, Tony smiled back at Ziva and for a moment neither knew what to say. Laughter bubbled up unexpectedly loudly from a nearby table and both Ziva and Tony looked over as the woman covered her mouth and blushed, realizing a moment too late how loud she was. Ziva and Tony smirked a little and looked away and Ziva took the opportunity to look around the restaurant as a whole. "This is very nice, Tony. How did you find this place?"

Tony smiled. "A couple of months after I started at NCIS, I had a long weekend and I stumbled on it while out for a run. My first apartment was just a couple of blocks from here. I came here for dinner that night and been coming back at least once or twice a month ever since."

"The hostess seemed to know you quite well."

Tony smiled and shrugged. "She loves all her regulars."

Conversation stopped as the server returned and poured their wine. They sipped delicately on their drinks and then their server returned with their salads. They both ate in companionable silence and the lettuce was so crispy, they both laughed as neither could avoid the crunch.

"The dressing on the salad is very good," Ziva said after swallowing a bite. "I've never tasted anything like it."

"It's their house dressing. I've been trying to get the recipe for years but Helena won't give it up.

"I did not know you could cook."

"I can cook a few things. I kind of like it. It's like doing science experiments you can eat."

Ziva laughed. "That sounds like something Abby would say."

Tony chuckled. "She might have. Got me thinking about food in a different way. Made it fun, instead of a tedious chore."

"That is true. I love to cook." Ziva smiled and took another bite and looked thoughtful for a moment while she chewed and swallowed. "I cannot be sure but I think this has malt vinegar in it."

Tony froze and then his eyes grew wide. "I never thought of that. I'm going to try it with that."

Ziva blinked. "You've been trying to duplicate the recipe?"

"Yes. Been trying on and off for years. I've come close but there's always something missing. Could be that vinegar. Thanks, Ziva."

"If you figure it out, I would like the recipe as well."

Tony smiled. "Absolutely," he vowed and looked thoughtful for a moment. "Maybe we can cook together sometime soon then."

"Oh, I am sure we will." Ziva grinned playfully across the table.

Tony smiled back though he suddenly felt a little uncomfortable. It may or may not have been sexual innuendo, he wasn't sure. He didn't have time to think about it further as their entrees arrived and more wine was poured. Conversation was light as they ate and they fell into a companionable ease as their hunger was sated. As Tony promised, the food was very good.

Helena stopped by their table toward the end of the meal. "Anthony, I trust everything is to your satisfaction?"

Tony looked at Ziva and smiled. "Everything has been wonderful, Helena."

Helena smiled and looked over at Ziva. "In all the years Anthony has been coming here, this is the first time he has ever brought a date. You must be very special."

Ziva blushed but nodded demurely. "Thank you. Everything is delicious."

"I am so happy to hear that. I hope to see more of you in the future. Now, if you both will excuse me, I must get back to the kitchen." She smiled and padded off and left them alone again.

Tony smiled. "Would you like to have dessert? They are just as wonderful as the rest of the food."

Ziva smiled and shook her head no, her hand dropping as though to protect her stomach. "I don't think I could eat anything more." She finished the last of her wine.

By some unspoken agreement, it was time to leave and Tony signaled for the check. After he paid the bill, they walked quietly to the car and Tony held the door open for her and closed it once she was inside.

"So what do you want to do now?" Ziva asked him, her voice held a hint of sultriness.

Tony smiled, neither acknowledging or ignoring her tone. "Well, I know of a place that does some live theater - short plays, skits and sometimes dramas and musicals. They do multiple shows an evening. They also have a dinner theater with a longer production. The shorter ones usually last 30-45 minutes. I thought maybe we could go check out one or two of them.

Tony glanced at her out of his peripheral vision and saw the surprise on her face once again. "That sounds very nice, Tony."

He smiled, relieved she liked the idea. "Great."

The theater was only about ten minutes away and they arrived on time as the next show was almost set to start. Tony bought tickets and they found a table close enough to the stage to see everything but not so close that it was overly loud. The place was near-full, there was only one small table or two that were empty and after a server brought their drinks, the show started.

In moments the crowd was laughing as the actors were comedy geniuses and the skit was a comedy of errors. During one of the scenes, one actor smacked another in the back of the head and both Ziva and Tony laughed loudly, unable to hold it in. The actors got into an argument before the other returned the head slap and the scene morphed.

Forty minutes later, Tony and Ziva left the theater still laughing as they chatted about the skit.

"Did you see the look on the tall actor's face when he got slapped by the short guy? I think that was improv."

"I believe so too," Ziva agreed. "The woman who had the cane…I thought she was going to trip Sam when he kept forgetting to say the magic word."

Tony laughed. "That would've been slapstick at its best. I would've loved to see that."

They chatted on and what seemed a very short time, Tony pulled up in front of Ziva's apartment building and he got out and walked over to open her door for her and took her hand to help her out. "Such a gentleman," she teased him with a smile as he closed the door and locked it.

As they walked upstairs, Tony chuckled again. "Did you notice the actor in the background whose shirt kept riding up and he kept trying to pull it down?"

"You mean the 'serious' salesman?" Ziva asked as she unlocked the door.

"Yeah, him. His facial expressions were classic. He reminded me of Laurel from Laurel and Hardy."

Ziva laughed as she stepped inside. "I have not seen Laurel and Hardy since I was a child and it was only once."

"Oh, Z, you gotta see them again. They were hilarious."

Ziva nodded as she closed the door behind Tony and he helped her out of her coat and hung it up for her on the coat tree before doing the same for his own.

"Would you like a drink?" she asked.

"Sure," he said with a smile.

"Sit down." She poured some wine for both of them and joined him on the sofa, sitting close to him. He put his arm around her and she leaned into him, resting her head against his chest. "The restaurant and the theater were lovely, Tony. And you even managed not to make a silly joke the whole time."

Tony chuckled. "Hey now, what's wrong with silly jokes? Laughing's always good."

"I meant that they were not completely…what is the word? Uh…corned?"

Tony chuckled. "Corny."

She snapped her fingers. "Yes, that's it. They were not corny."

Tony squeezed her arm a little to give her a hug. "Oh come on, you like my corny jokes and you know it."

"Sometimes…maybe, perhaps." She teased and looked up at him. He leaned down and lightly kissed her lips. He smiled at her. "Do you want to watch a movie? Should be something decent on tonight."

Ziva chuckled. "You and your movies. Certainly, we can come up with something better to do than that, yes?" She leaned in and kissed him lightly, her lips warm on his.

He smiled and kissed her back, one arm wrapping around her of its accord. They pulled away briefly before she kissed him again, this time trying to deepen the kiss.

A flash of memory from the undercover op flashed in his mind and as tempting as it was to give in, there was too much at stake. "Wait, Ziva, need…to talk," he said against her lips.

She pulled back briefly, her eyes concerned. "Tony? What is wrong?"

"Nothing. I just…I don't want to rush…" He found himself out of breath all of a sudden and paused to take a deep breath.

Ziva chuckled. "We will not rush but I have thought about nothing else all week," she took advantage of his silence to kiss him again, stealing his breath away and straddled his lap.

Tony wanted to keep going, he loved how she felt against him but as difficult as it was, he placed his hands on her hips and pushed her back a little.

"Ziva," he gasped against her again.

"Shut up and kiss me, Tony," she said against his lips.

"Wait, Ziva. Ziva!" He forcefully pulled back and held her steady. "I don't think you understand what I meant."

She was breathing hard and the confusion in her eyes made his heart ache a little. "What?"

Tony gently pushed her off of him and she sat back, confusion and frustration warring in her face. Tony rubbed both hands down his face. "I didn't intend for us to end up in bed tonight."

Ziva blinked once, her face frozen in a cross between disappointment and confusion. "But this is what we both want."

"Yes, but that's not all I want." Seeing the expression on her face, Tony groaned with frustration. "God, I'm making a mess out of this."

"Tony, what are you talking about?"

"I mean that I don't want a one night stand."

"Yes, I get that. You want friends with benefits."

It was Tony's turn to look at her, dumbfounded. "How do you even know that expression?"

"That is the right one, right? Friends with sex?"

Tony huffed out a laugh. He couldn't help it but at least things were becoming clearer.

"That's the right expression but that's not what I meant."

Ziva hesitated a moment, her eyes searched his.

He brought his hand to her cheek and lightly stroked it. "Ziva, I care about you a lot. There was a connection between us right from the start. I think we could have more than just a night, more than friends with benefits." Tony reached down with both hands and reached for hers, lacing his fingers between hers. "I meant a relationship."

Ziva's mouth fell open, shock completely erasing every other emotion in her face. It took a moment and then her face lit up in a smile. Tony started to smile back but her smile kept changing, growing into amusement and then laughter. "Oh, Tony, I have to admit, I believed you for a moment. You did say I should laugh more and…" She chuckled a moment longer and glanced back at Tony who simply stared at her, not a trace of amusement in his face at all. She blinked again and the laughed died. "Tony?"

For a moment he just wanted to get up and bolt but he needed her to understand. Gaining control over his wayward emotions, he attempted to smile though even he felt it fail. "I wasn't joking. Tonight was about showing you I was serious about you. Not here to use you."

She searched his face. "You are serious?"

Tony's face, already warm, grew hot and he flinched internally. That Ziva found this funny, maybe he played the part of the womanizer a little too well. "That really so hard to believe?"

Ziva frowned but met his gaze. "Honestly, Tony, yes it is. You have never once shown that you could be serious about relationships."

"That was because until you, I hadn't met anyone I would consider being serious with."

"But you would with me?"

"Gibbs' rule 12, never date a coworker. I know you haven't been on the team very long but I've never broken his rules lightly."

"When he finds out, he will…"

"He already knows."

"What?"

"Before I asked you out tonight, I told him I was going to break rule 12."

Ziva's jaw dropped again. "What did he say?"

Tony shrugged. "Doesn't matter. There are no official rules against agents dating. Not much he could say except 'keep it out of the office.' I think we could be really good together and I would like to try." Tony held her gaze, searching her eyes the way she did his, hoping to see some glimmer of recognition that they were on the same page.

Ziva looked away, all traces of laughter gone. "You have talked so much about your conquests, I thought that is what you wanted."

Tony sat back down and reached for her hands with his own, his face serious. "Ziva, you're an amazing woman. I wouldn't use you like that for a one-off. I know I talked a lot of crap at work but I'm not all about sex and frat parties."

Ziva's stunned expression kept him talking, trying to reassure her. "Do you really think I'd break one of Gibbs' rules if this was just about getting off? I wouldn't do that."

Ziva visibly stiffened as she thought about everything she'd just heard. After a moment, she stood up, pulling away from Tony's light grasp of her hands, and paced, her countenance upset. "I am sorry, Tony, but I do not think this is a good idea. There is too much at stake."

Concern flashed across his face and even Ziva could not dismiss the flicker of pain she saw in his eyes. He stood up. "Ziva? I promise, this is not a joke. I'm not playing you."

"I realize that," she said, and swallowed hard. "But I…I can't do this."

Tony couldn't take his eyes off of her. She seemed torn over the situation and he hated seeing her look so upset. "Ziva, I realize I've led you to believe that I'm nothing but a player but with you…"

"Please, Tony, stop," Ziva commanded though there was no heat in her words. "I did misjudge you and it is a lot to take in. I just…I just thought we would have some fun, get the sexual tension out and go forward from there."

Tony winced. "I never intended for this," he waved between them, "…to be casual. I thought we could do this and still work together without our jobs being affected. Otherwise, I never would've taken the chance on us."

Ziva nodded, her face sad and grim. "I understand now. I am sorry I laughed. I really thought you were trying to make me laugh. Tonight was really very nice but I cannot do this, Tony. I am sorry."

"What do you mean you can't?"

Ziva swallowed hard and Tony could practically see the thoughts racing through her mind as her eyes gave her away. Whatever she was about to say wasn't going to be the truth, but he had the impression she didn't want to lie either.

"I am not ready for anything serious. I still…want you, Tony, but friends with benefits is the most I could give."

It was Tony's turn to be surprised. "But…at work, you've given me such a hard time about my one night stands. I thought you believed one night stands were immature. I thought you wanted something serious."

"I was teasing you, Tony. Banter, like we always do. I had no idea you would take that seriously. I am not ready for…for this."

Silence followed her words, a heavy, mood-dampening and thick silence. As the words sank in, Tony stiffened and the mask came down over his features. He cleared his throat before speaking, his voice as stiff as his body. "Then, I guess it's better that we know this now rather than later." He stood up and walked to the coat rack and grabbed his coat and put it on.

"You are leaving?" Ziva asked, puzzled. "Tony, we can still-"

"No," he interrupted, a touch of bitterness in his voice. "I don't want to just 'have fun' with you, Ziva. I could get that anywhere." He unlocked the door and turned the doorknob before turning back to look at Ziva, who still stood there stunned. "Good night, Ziva," he said in a quiet voice before opening the door, stepping out and closing it softly but securely behind him. If he had looked back, he would've seen Ziva's eyes water as she watched him go.

He held his head up high as he walked to the car, wondering if she was watching him out the window. He kept his posture straight until he had driven away.