I try to update once a week, but since I haven't updated last week I think it is only fair to update twice this week.

Enjoy.

Disclaimer: I don't own NCIS.

Chapter 5

Nobody said a word and everybody had to cope with what just happened. Because of the fact that Ziva already knew who stood there in front of her, the shock wasn't quite as big for her as it was for McGee. What rather shocked her was that Tony introduced Amelia suddenly to the whole team. Even if she didn't know how she and Tony could clear the air between them, she knew that the first step in the right direction would be to get on with Amelia. After all, the girl wasn't responsible for their problems. She did nothing wrong.

She got up and approached Amelia. „Amelia, hi. I would like to apologize for yesterday. I was a little bit shocked and did not know how I should react. I think I have reacted the worst way possible and I'm sorry. Maybe we could start over again?"

For one moment Ziva thought that Amelia would decline, but then the girl beamed at her and offered Ziva her hand. „Hi, I am Amelia. But you can call me Jo. It's a pleasure to meet you. I've already heard a lot about you and I'm relieved to know that you look after my dad. "

Amelia had the feeling that she said something wrong, because Ziva stared a little bit cautiously and uncertainly at her dad, who avoided her stare completely. She wasn't sure, but something happened between the both of them and she decided to find out later what exactly happened. At the moment she only wanted to save the situation, before it's completely ruined. She looked over Ziva's shoulder to a man, she recognized with the knowledge she owned about the team, as Timothy McGee.

„And you must be McGee, right?"

„Em ….yeah, I'm Tim McGee. I'm sorry, normally I am not so laconic."

„I imagine, I mean you write whole novels." This got McGee's attention. „You read my novels?"

„Yes, or better said, the passages which my Dad had allowed me to read. I haven't read a complete book yet." replied Jo while shooting a specific look to Tony at the last part of this sentence.

„Hey, I still remember the deal, we have made. You wait until you are 15 years old and in return you're allowed to furnish your room completely new and after your taste. You should have negotiated harder if you liked to read the book so urgently and, nevertheless, you wouldn't dare to break our deal, do you?"

Jo shrugged with the shoulder and turned back to McGee again. „They're only a few months."

„When is your birthday?"

„In October. On the 16th of October, to be exact."

Ziva liked Amelia. She was pretty, clever and very open. She reminded Ziva a little bit of Tali. She was just like her. With that thought Ziva knew for sure that she will protect this girl. Even if it didn't look as good for her friendship with Tony at the moment, she would be there for the girl, if she should get in trouble. She smiled and tried to get out even more details of Jo. „What are your hobbies?"

Tony sat down at his desk. Everything was running well and Jo could do the rest without him. „I like to do many things in my free time. I like to read a lot of books, watch movies with my dad, I'm in a Spanish course and in a French course, once a week I take ballet lessons, play soft ball at school and my dad taught me how to play some music instruments. For example, I play the piano, guitar and violin."

„Woah! You're quite busy." When Amelia mentioned the piano, Ziva had to look briefly at Tony who looked full of pride at his daughter while he listened to her. Didn't he want to take some lessons from her a few years back? Obviously it was one of the first attempts from Tony's side to get closer to her. It was sweet. Sweet and so typical for Tony.

What surprised Ziva even more was that Gibbs just sat at his desk and listened to Jo. The surprising thing at this picture of him sitting silently at his desk was that little smile on his lips while he listened to her. At that moment Ziva knew that Amelia will never be safer than with the team. Nobody would let something happen to her.

„Okay, my little Einstein, you can go on bragging later. There is still somebody I have to introduce you to and if I won't do it in the next minutes, she'll kill me and make it look like an accident." Everybody knew who he was talking about. Abby.

Amelia said her goodbye to Agents McGee and David and of course also to Uncle Gibbs, with the promise to soon visit again. She made her way to Abby's lab with her dad and after that she'll make a beeline to Uncle Ducky.

Tony just came back from his break which he had taken later than the others so that he could drive Jo home. So nice it would have been to have her a little longer at NCIS, she had to go home. She didn't want to waste more time for her homework. Sometimes he really asked himself where she has this correctness come from. Not from him, that he is sure of, but he can also not imagine that she got it from Joan. Sure, Joan was an orderly person, but she also knew how to celebrate. After all they got to know each other that way. Was it how he raised her? But to him it made no difference, he was just grateful that she wasn't one of the many teenagers who are shouting at their parents and do forbidden things.

Introducing her to Abby was easier than expected. The two got on from the first minute and although Abby was angry at him for not knowing earlier about Amelia, she forgave him eventually. But not before letting him wait for his absolution for ten or so minutes. Abby immediately invited herself over for dinner the next day. Amelia was totally thrilled by Abby's look and Tony feared that soon he will have a Goth as a daughter. But she calmed him down on the drive home and said that it wouldn't be her style.

When Ducky was told that Abby will be over for dinner on Sunday, he also invited himself over and Jo couldn't wait for the day to be over. She agreed to cook something with her dad. So no matter whether he wanted to or not, he was assigned to be in the kitchen and cook dinner tomorrow by his daughter. Tony considered whether he should invite Luisa too and decided to ask her tomorrow. Tony was glad that tomorrow was Sunday and that he finally can get a good night's sleep.

Because nothing urgently was on his agenda for the day he decided to stop for coffee. He got his wallet out and looked at the queue when he suddenly stopped. There, on the bank beside the coffee stand was Ziva, but she wasn't alone. No, Adam Eshel was there also. Had she not said that it was just a one time thing? A moment of weakness? Tony's stomach flipped and he just wanted to turn around when he admonished himself internally. You have told her that you're going to stop with that thing they had going on for years. You have told her that you're out. Be a man, Anthony DiNozzo Junior! Be a man, go get your coffee and behave yourself civilized.

Determined, he went to the coffee stand and ordered himself a coffee. Ziva was shocked when she noticed him, but he kept a straight face and didn't let on any emotion. When he got his coffee, he turned around and walked past them when he briefly stopped to greet them. He wasn't sure why he stopped. Maybe it was the little masochist in him. He couldn't prevent that you can clearly notice his discomfort because of that meeting in his choice of words. „Agent David, Officer Eshel. Nice to see you again."

Only now noticed Adam Tony's presence but when he did, he smiled friendly at Tony. „Ah, Agent DiNozzo. It is also nice to see you again." Ass kisser.

„Now if you'll excuse me, I have overdrawn my break long enough. I wish you a nice afternoon." Tony didn't wait for an answer and walked towards the NCIS entrance. Only after he put a few meter between him and the two Israeli's, he dared to breathe deeply again. But he was proud of himself. Instead of running away hurt, he posed himself to the situation. The first step was done and he hoped that the others will be as easy like that.

He walked faster when he heard Ziva calling after him. The last thing he wanted to do is starting another argument. Not when they haven't even recovered yet from the last one they had. It wouldn't end well. He made it to the lift, but when the doors were about to shut, they opened again by a small hand between the doors. A hand he knew very well. Ziva entered the lift silently and pressed the button for their floor, but Tony was sure that it wouldn't be all.

And he was right. As soon as the doors were shut, she pushed the emergency button, so that the lift stopped and she turned to confront him. „It is not like it looked."

„Not my business." Tony said monotonously, while he strictly looked straight ahead.

„He was just here to clear a few things."

„Not my business." Why did she make it so hard for him to treat her like a normal colleague? Be normal colleagues who don't know that much about the private life of the others and also do not want to know.

„I am sorry for what I have said to you this morning. It was inappropriate and the words had been spoken out of fury. You know that I do not think like that about you. You are more than this. Maybe you were like this when we first met, but now you are." She waited for a reaction. For something. But he remained silent.

„Tony …" tried Ziva over again, but Tony interrupted her rather harshly.

„I have understood, Ziva. Don't worry, our partnership won't be bothered by our argument. I am a big boy, I can take this. And now we have to go back to work, before Gibbs gives us both a head slap for being late." He leaned a little bit forwards so he could reach the emergency button and gave her a small smile to calm her. Today, he wanted to avoid another confrontation and if she has the feeling that the situation was still at its lowest, she wouldn't let him leave.

When the lift finally reached their floor, the two agents stepped out and went to their desks. She briefly glanced over to him again, but he ignored her completely. She sighed. It didn't seem like they are on their way to their normal relationship. Not even close.

To go shopping on the weekend was not easy. So many people went shopping on weekends, because most think that nobody goes then. That was one of the craziest idea he ever heard. The stores were overcrowded and the fight for the best food has had begun. Who arrived last, has lost. If Tony had the choice, he wouldn't set one foot in a supermarket on Saturday, but because his daughter had the excellent idea to invite Abby and Ducky for dinner without knowing whether they had some food at home, he had to go shopping and hoped to find something edible.

To be honest, Tony felt a little bit lost in the overcrowded supermarket. Everybody bumped into someone and also everybody seemed to know exactly what they wanted. All at once Tony felt the urge to go out of the store, which is why he oriented himself again and searched for the next best steaks he could find. He could get a hold of some broccoli, six carrots and a cucumber. He would make a few noodles and a sauce. He already had the noodles at home and the ingredients for the sauce too. He needed only the steaks. For drinks he could offer red wine for Ducky and Abby. He always had a red wine at home.

After he got the steaks, he pushed the shopping cart further without paying attention to the people in front of him and he promptly crashed into someone.

„Ouch!" Tony heard and only then he noticed that he just ran into somebody with his shopping cart. The woman had dropped a bag with lemons from the shock, that are rolling on the ground now.

„Oh god, I am so sorry! I haven't paid attention to where I was pushing my cart. Are you hurt?" It was really embarrassing for Tony being somewhere else with his thoughts and running into a woman.

„Yes, I know, nowadays you need a special license for a shopping cart. It is not as easy to push one in front of you as it looks like. It is hard work to do something like that." The woman answered sarcastically.

Tony wanted to just respond something sarcastic when the woman finally turned around. Tony stopped breathing for a moment. She was beautiful. Long, curly, blond hair, azure eyes, a head smaller than him, sportily and just fantastic. Now he was even more embarrassed.

He gave her his best smile. „Maybe you can tell me where I can acquire this special license?"

The woman lifted an eyebrow and grinned at him. „Ah! A charmer and a good looking one too. How rare." She kneeled down to pick up her lemons.

„Wait, I help you." Together they collected the lemons again and had them well stowed away in the bag again. „By the way, I am Tony."

„I am Elena. And what leads you on a Saturday evening in the supermarket hell?"

„I had to buy some things for dinner tomorrow. And you?"

„I had no lemons and because my staff didn't think it was necessary to tell me that little fact on time, I had to come here. "

„Lemons? What do you work?" asked Tony.

„I own a bar and we urgently need lemons for our drinks."

„You own a bar? How is it called, maybe I have heard already of it?" for some reason he didn't want that meeting with Elena to end.

„The bar is called 'District'. So nicely it is to speak to you, but I have to go. My people are already waiting for the lemons." Both had to grin at this statement.

„Well, then Elena. Maybe we see each other again. I promise to practice my skill in pushing the shopping cart."

Now she had to laugh out loud. She had a wonderful laugh. „Then we'll hope for the best, aren't we?"

„Bye."

„Bye, Tony."

The only thing he could do was to watch her go. Hadn't he wished for a chance to get over Ziva? Tony had the feeling that he was just given his chance. Elena. Tony already planned a visit to the 'District' and its beautiful owner. All at once he saw a light again in the everlasting long tunnel, which was his life.

Until next week :)