A/N: I know I promised an earlier update, and I failed. With that, I am truly sorry. Btw, have you seen WTF? Of course you have! I really liked it. If only it wasn't Ziva's second to the last episode...

Don't worry, there are no season 11 spoilers here. At this point, I think everything is already AU. All mistakes are mine. In other words, this is not beta-ed. (how does that beta thing work anyway?) I've been on this site for years now, and I still couldn't grasp how it is done. Haha

Disclaimer: I don't own NCIS.

After hearing Tony's outburst, it took Ziva a few moments—few troubling moments at that—to collect herself. She could not think of anything say that would make him understand. She's leaving, and probably not coming back. How on earth can she convince Tony to trust her in this if she herself is not sure of the outcome of what she's about to do?

He knew she's leaving the country. Of course he knew. He's Tony—her ever loyal and overprotective partner who is always willing to drop everything and risk his life for her.

What an idiot.

In the end, she chose to look away and keep her mouth shut. It was, after all, way better than lying to him.

Tony waited for her to say something… anything. But she remained stony faced and stubbornly silent. He sighed in frustration. "You know what? Forget I asked." He got up from the bed irately, hurt. "You obviously had made up your mind to exclude me from all this. Again."

"It is not like that." She murmured, her voice pained. "Please do not make this about us."

"Us?" He shot her an incredulous look. He stood up, pacing. "Do we even have an 'us' to talk about? The last time I've checked, all we have is this… f-ffriendship." His attempt to mimic the way she said that fucking word months ago did not go unnoticed.

"Tony…"

"This is not you." Tony told her, his voice firm.

"I—" She took a couple of steps towards her partner, but halfway though it, he gestured her to stop.

"Only cowards run away." He said, a somber expression etched on his face. He grabbed his coat before heading for the door. But before he left, he managed to utter words that felt quite like a punch to her gut. "And the Ziva I know do not run away from anything."

Adam Eschel is a very patient man. He'd been staying in a fancy hotel room for days now, keeping tabs on someone he haven't even heard of until two months ago, but not once did he complain about it. He'd spent most of the days waiting for something eventful to happen, for the other shoe to drop, as the saying states, but things are proving to be more boring than he anticipated. Not that he cared one bit. He was given an unlimited tab—he had his agency to thank for that—hell, he's basically paid not to care.

He was humming to himself, fresh from the shower, and clad with only a small towel clinging loosely around his waist, when his phone rang. At first he ignored it, thinking of it as another one of the routine calls he receives from Tel Aviv, checking on him. No, scratch that. People in his line of work do not get checked on. It's the mission those people are more concerned about.

The ringing did not stop.

"Yeah. Yeah. I'm coming." He ran a hand through his hair, making rivulets of water trickle down his neck. He answered the phone without checking who the caller was.

"Adam, it's me." The caller told him, urgency thick in her voice. "Can you talk right now?"

"Ziva?" He moved the phone away from his ear to glance at the screen. He can't help but smile when he realized that he guessed it right.

"Are you alone?" Adam's mood deteriorated the moment he recognized the tone of her voice.

He pursed his lip. "Go on. It's safe to talk."

"We may have a problem."

"I think I already got that part." He spared a quick glance at the busy street outside the veranda of his hotel room, before sliding the glass doors close. "What's wrong?"

The other end of the line went silent.

"Ah." Adam frowned as he wriggled himself into his clothes, moving his phone from one ear to the other. "I do not think I even have to guess who your problem is."

Ziva could only manage a sigh.

"Why don't you just let him help?" He asked, already with a clue as to what her answer would be. "He seemed too eager to help you with Bodnar months ago."

"I cannot risk his life because of my past mistakes."

"Yet you are willing to risk mine."

"Adam..."

His attempt of a joke proved to be of bad taste, but it was already too late to take it back. It is not as if she forced him into this. She merely asked for his help. Agreeing to do it was purely his decision. He could not stomach letting her work alone in this… and given all the things he had learned by now, he's almost certain he's doing the right thing. "I know, I know. What do you want me to do?"

When she narrated her plan, he just found the perfect opportunity to start executing his.

The climate in Paris never failed to make him feel uncomfortable, yes, but for Ziva, he's willing to make an exception.

Tony managed to drive all the way to Gibbs' place on autopilot. Hell, the thought of going to his boss did not even cross his mind until he was already halfway across his yard, crossing the gravely path with determined steps.

Gibbs was just finishing the hull of his latest creation when he heard someone park a car outside. He already had an inkling as to who it might be. His gut churned.

When DiNozzo finally reached the landing, he did not waste any more time. "Gibbs, something's up with Ziva"

The bossman merely grunted in response, but he did not really need to say anything for Tony to piece things together. Of course she told Gibbs. Gibbs would have already slapped the upside of her head from here to Timbuktu by now if she didn't.

"How much did she tell you?"

"Whaddya think, DiNozzo?" He went on working on his boat.

Tony saw two mugs of bourbon sitting on his work bench, waiting for him. He narrowed his eyes at his boss. He was expecting him. "When's she leaving?"

"I don't know."

The sanding sound went on and on, much to Tony's annoyance. He considered swiping that goddamn sandpaper away from his boss' hands to relieve his ears of their misery, but in the end, he chose not to. He has more pressing concerns at the moment. "Who is after her, then?"

"I don't know."

Tony knew that pissing off his boss would not be the best of ideas, but he did not seem to see the point in trying to stay on his good side. With his partner leaving, he has pretty much accepted the fact that he's destined to fuck up one point or the other. Why prolong the inevitable? "What is she planning to do?"

Gibbs crumpled the sandpaper he's holding before throwing it in one corner none too gently. "All I know is she's not coming back."

"And you are still letting her?" His voice was a mixture of incredulity and frustration. "Boss, this is Ziva we're talking about."

He looked up from his boat, and his eyes swept across the room, spotting that familiar look on his senior field agent. Gibbs' jaw tensed. After saving Ziva from that hell hole all those years ago, Gibbs never thought he'd see that look on Tony's face again. "Take a seat."

Tony obliged, albeit in half protest. He had a feeling Gibbs will do his thing again and suddenly make him realize how stupid he sounded.

"Don't unleash your Jedi mind tricking skills on me now." He grumbled. "You and I both know how bad this is."

Gibbs picked up his drink and handed Tony the other. The latter drank the whole lot in one gulp. He almost choked, forgetting how strong that thing was. It's been too long since he'd been here last.

"I'm worried."

Gibbs took a swig from his glass. He swallowed it like water. "I'd be surprised if you're not."

Tony glanced at his boss, a sliver of hope running across his face. "So what are we waiting for? I'm sure you've already planned something by now."

"There's nothing I can do." Gibbs replied impassively.

"Oh, come on!" He stood up abruptly from his seat, then gave his boss a look that basically screams 'are you fucking kidding me right now?' "You will just let her pursue her plans that you and I both know will only get her killed?"

"What do you want me to do, chain her to my boat?" Gibbs replied, not letting Tony's frustration get to him.

"If that's what it takes, then yes, do it."

Gibbs almost smiled at the thought. "She won't appreciate that."

Tony's patience was getting thinner by the minute. "Why are you being so nonchalant about this?"

"I'm not." His boss answered curtly.

"Then why-" Tony's words got stuck in his throat when he saw the expression on his boss' face. It's decades worth of pain and regret, all fused into one painful look.

Gibbs got up from his bench and stood directly in front of his agent. He shoved his index finger on his agent's chest. "Because it's not me who can keep her from leaving, DiNozzo."

Tony stared at his boss blankly for a full tenth of a minute before his words finally sunk in. "You think I—of all people—can change her mind?" How can she stop Ziva, when he cannot even convince her to tell him what she's up to? And did he just try to do that a little while ago? Look how well that ended.

"That's almost next to impossible, boss." However, as he said it, an idea suddenly crept into his mind. A brilliant one at that. An impish grin slowly made its way to his face.

Judging the way his boss was looking at him, they're both thinking along the same lines. "Hasn't stopped you before."

"If I do this, I will make a lot of people unhappy." A ghost of a smile was threatening to escape from Tony's lips as he spoke. "Losing my job could be the least of my problems."

"Two cups, Tony." Gibbs reminded him, as he poured two fingers of bourbon onto his glass. "Thought you would've already figured that out by now."

He did wasted a lot of time, working things out. "Yeah."

"Now, go." Gibbs ordered. "Get outta here."

"Thanks, boss. Good talk."

Tony was about to turn back to the stairs when his boss called him out again. "Hey, Dinozzo?"

"Hmm?"

"Here." Gibbs drew a piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to Tony. "I heard he wants to talk to you."

"Wha—" His mouth halted the moment he saw whose number was scribbled on it.

It's Adam Eschel's.

A/N: I won't promise an immediate update this time, but rest assured, this fic won't go unfinished. In fact, the next chapter is almost done. Thanks for reading! (We may all survive 11x02) xo