Chapter 8 –
Tony watched Tali saunter into school in wonder. God, for a kid who'd gone through that much, her head was screwed on unbelievably straight. It gave him hope, in a way. Talia David would not have to be fished out of a bad place like her sister. Of course, that did not make Ziva any less brave or strong or smart, but it was comforting to know that Tali wouldn't have to take salvage in a place of desperation. Desperate times do not always call for desperate measures.
Sunday's rainclouds had lingered and were beginning to gather again. Part of him hoped for a little sunshine. It fit the mood after all. The sisters' lives were finally beginning to pick up. This was the part of the movie where there was a montage to an inspiring song.
Then again, montages had always irritated him. There were too many little successes for two or three minutes of screen time. Celebrate the small things in life. Maybe small successes – like Ziva getting this job, for example – would be one of them.
...
Major Frank Raimey was waiting for Tony when he arrived in that morning.
"DiNozzo...where ya been this morning?" The sides of his thick lips were downturned but he did not look angry. Irritating in the office as they may be, Danny and Tony were unstoppable. They'd put away more bad guys than the rest of the department that year.
"Sorry, Major, just running an errand," he said casually, falling into his chair.
"What kind of errand?" The Major looked disapproving – well, more so – that an errand had been run on his time. There was always another bad guy out there to be caught.
Tony gave the Major his most charming smile and held up a brown paper bag. "The kind with bagels?"
Frank glared at him for a moment but quickly snatched the bag out of the detective's hand and picked out the roundest, largest bagel for himself. "Good answer, Anthony."
"Not a problem," said Tony, pulling out a file that had been resting on his desk for a few days now. "Oh hey, about that girl I told you about, Ziva –"
"Oh yeah, I was gonna mention that to you. A girl came in and applied for it yesterday, she was great. She had office experience and had a miniskirt to die for. We're probably gonna go with her."
"With all due respect, Major, I don't know if your wife would approve of you hiring a young piece of ass in a miniskirt."
Frank looked sheepish. Danny walked in from the bathrooms and sat at his desk, which was next to Tony's.
"What are we talking about?" he asked.
"This office assistant job," Tony explained, then looking to the Major. "My girl's better. She's got instincts, brains."
"Your girl?" Danny questioned. "Since when is there a girl?"
"She's not mine..." Tony stammered. "I just think she'd be good for the job, okay?"
"I get that, Tony. Look, I'll give her a shot, okay? No promises though." With that, Frank took another bagel and disappeared into his office. Tony felt a little downhearted. He had been hoping for something a little more concrete than "no promises". Ziva would just have to kill it in her interview. He hoped she could do that.
"So who is this girl?" Danny asked, leaning across his desk and locking his fingers together. "And why are you so keen to get her to work here?"
"She's...she's nobody. And it's not really about her working here, it's more about her not working where she words now."
"Doesn't sound like nobody. And what's she doing now?"
Tony chewed the inside of his cheek. Nonchalantly, he picked up a bagel and lifted it to his lips. "You remember that girl from McGee's bachelor party?"
Danny spluttered, nearly choking on his coffee. "The stripper?! Still, Tony?"
"When you say it like that..."
"It sounds stupid? Well you're right! It is stupid!" He slammed his hand against the desk, making a loud thump. A few heads turned but most ignored them.
"Dan, you don't know her," Tony defended.
"Neither do you! You could get an STD or somethin'."
"Shut up, Danny," Tony said, his voice low. He was angry. His fists were clenched underneath the desk. One more bad word and Danny would be out for the count. "It's not like that. She's amazing. She's beautiful and smart and totally selfless. We're friends."
Danny looked at him, studying his face closely. A few seconds too long, apparently. Tony looked away, feeling too much like one of their suspects. "You don't want to be just friends, though, do you?"
"It's like I said, Dan, it's not like that. She's not like that. She's not some cheap hussy who uses her body to get what she wants. She does it because she has to."
"Jeez, the way you talk about her, you'd think you were actually falling for this girl."
It was a backhanded comment, with no real insight behind it on Danny's part. Yet Tony's shoulders tensed, his jaw clenched and he stared at the floor. He couldn't defend himself against that one. It was an insult against Ziva. It wasn't an insult period.
Danny looked back at Tony and his eyes widened. "Tony, you've got to be kidding me."
"Look, you're supposed to be my best friend. You could at least be a little compassionate here."
"She's a STRIPPER! What do you want me to say, Tony? I mean, a little fantasy or two, I'd understand but THIS?"
"I'm not stupid. I know – you don't, but I do – that friendship is all I might ever have from her. She's been damaged real bad on the inside, and her life is busy. She told me that when she first met me. She doesn't have time for a Tony DiNozzo."
"So you're trying to fix it so she does have time?"
"I'm trying to help her. I know her now. I couldn't watch her end up like another one of those kids Narcotics bring in. She can have a better life. Just...don't say anything to her, when she comes around later. I don't want her to know anything. Not when she's starting to properly trust me."
"And if it doesn't work out?"
"Then I suck it up and deal with it," Tony said, but it was obvious that he hoped and believed he would not have to do that.
"There's a million out there just like her."
"No there's not."
Danny felt sorry for the guy; he handed over his bagel as a pity gesture. "Zebra can't change its stripes, you know." Then he called out to someone across the room and left Tony alone with his thoughts, which were quickly accumulating.