Los Angeles: OSP Bullpen
After she voiced her idea aloud, Ziva excused herself. She was most likely in the lab, the only place with insured privacy, but no one checked to make sure; she obviously wanted her privacy.
Gibbs, Hetty, Callen, Sam, and Eric were still talking to the director, discussing flight plans and the next step.
Ducky, now short on time, was in autopsy setting up a video chat. Because the bodies couldn’t fly commercial with the rest of them, the Los Angeles medical examiner would need to finish with the bodies there, and Ducky wanted to see the autopsies, to supervise and give feedback.
The remaining four agents, the forensic scientist, and the psychologist were discussing the latest development in the bullpen.
“Well, this sucks!” Abby declared.
“Which part?” Tony asked. Not only was there another body, but he could read Ziva now, after more than four years. She was thinking about going back to Israel. She would think that she was saving lives, when all she would be doing is killing herself. Tony wouldn’t let her go.
“The rest of you are so easy to cheer up!” Abby interrupted his thoughts. “With Gibbs, it’s a hug, then he’ll go home and work on his boat. With you, it’s a hug, a cookie, and a few movies. With McGee, it’s a hug and some geek-speak"”
“Hey!” McGee broke in, embarrassed.
Ignoring him, she continued her rant. “But with Ziva…Well, the only thing I know she likes to do is fight!”
“And shoot,” McGee added.
“And mess up English expressions,” Tony tried to lighten Abby’s mood, but ended up earning himself a punch in the gut from the usually-happy Goth.
“This isn’t funny, Tony! I’m completely at a loss here!”
“Well, you guys have a gym, right?” Dom asked, trying to help.
“Yeah. So?” Tony didn’t see what that had to do with anything.
“If she likes to fight, why don’t you just box with her, or something?”
Tony laughed bitterly. “I don’t think a murder charge will make her feel any better.”
Kensi, Dom, and Nate exchanged confused glances.
“We don’t follow,” Kensi finally admitted.
“She’s Mossad,” McGee said.
“Well, she used to be. Obviously, she’s NCIS now. But the training is still there,” Abby elaborated.
“Sam could probably take her,” Nate said.
“I’d give it about five minutes,” Tony scoffed.
“He’s a SEAL,” Kensi said.
“In that case, Tony, it’d take longer than five minutes,” McGee pointed out.
“So just how long would it take, McCalculator?” Tony asked. “Come on, make a guess.”
“I don’t know…It might take about twenty, twenty-five minutes. It’d probably be pretty close, but"”
“You guys, stop!” Abby was done with this conversation. “Ziva can’t wait until we get back to DC! We need to figure something out for right now!”
“Well, if you’re interested, we’ve got a punching bag upstairs,” Nate said.
“Go, Tony. Tell Ziva about that. It’s the only thing we can do for now,” Abby ordered.
“Why me?”
“Because you’re the closest one to Ziva, after Gibbs.”
“But I need to tell Jeanne"”
“Shut up about Jeanne!” Abby snapped. “You can live without her, if it comes to that! You’ve done it before! But if Ziva goes back to Israel… none of us will see her again. You and Jeanne could probably work something out. But if Ziva leaves…Even if she survives disobeying her father…” her voice trailed off. She knew she hit him below the belt with the last part, and she felt bad, but it had worked. She could see the pain and understanding in his eyes.
Flashbacks flew behind his eyes. There were the many times his father had disciplined him after he had disobeyed him as a child…and then the memory of leaving Ziva in Israel the last time…coming at a close with the time spent with Saleem in the Sahara. He wouldn’t, couldn’t let it happen again. He nodded. “Okay, Abs. I’m going.”
Los Angeles"OSP Lab
“Ziva?” Tony called, walking into the lab tentatively. He was more than a little uncomfortable with the task ahead of him, especially considering what Ziva could do to him if he said the wrong thing.
“What do you want, Tony?” she asked, tired.
“I just wanted to make sure you were okay,” he answered. He noticed that her eyes were slightly puffy, but decided that it would be best to pretend he didn’t.
“Oh. I was expecting Abby.”
“So was I, but she said I should do it.”
“Why?”
“Who knows? It’s Abby. She thinks differently from the rest of us. She might think that I can relate to you best, because we both have fathers who could play any and every villain from any Disney movie.”
“All right. But what could you possibly have to say that would make me feel better?”
“For starters, we don’t know for sure that your father is the killer.”
“It most likely was not him. He knows many people who would gladly kill for him. I know he is behind it, though, Tony. Like Gibbs would say, I can feel it in my butt.”
Ordinarily, Tony would have laughed at this mistake, and she never would have lived it down. This time, however, there was nothing amusing at all. Still, he couldn’t help but correct her. “It’s gut, Ziva. You’ve got a gut feeling.”
“Ah, yes. I apologize, Tony.” Her voice held as much emotion as one of Ducky’s corpses.
“Rule number six,” he said reflexively. Again, he couldn’t help it; it was a habit. “Anyway, you didn’t let me finish. I know you like to let off steam by fighting, so"”
“I’m not going to hit you, Tony.”
“Good, because the offer doesn’t stand. It’d be hard to have your six from a hospital bed. Actually, as upset as you are, maybe even one of Ducky’s tables. Anyway, as I was saying, there’s a punching bag upstairs, completely at your mercy.”
“I do not find that amusing, Tony. I will not hit McGee, either.”
“It’s kind of funny that you thought I meant him,” Tony said, grinning in spite of himself. “Seriously. There is a punching bag upstairs. Apparently, Sam uses it when he gets upset. He used to be a SEAL. I recommend you use it,” he finished authoritatively.
“Why should I listen to you?”
“Because I can tell you’re thinking about going back to Israel to please your father!” he shouted, his temper getting the better of him. “If you can listen to him, why not someone who actually cares about you? I’m not letting you go back to Israel alone again! Even with everyone in this building on your six, I still wouldn’t like it! I will not have a repeat of this summer! So you’d better get that thought out of your head, Agent David!”
She blinked, surprised at his outburst. “And if I say I want to go back?”
“I’d say you know how to lie better than that, Ziva. If you wanted to go back, you wouldn’t be working your butt off trying to become a citizen here. Don’t try to play hero and go back to Israel to save lives; you can do that from here, and actually live long enough to enjoy it. Besides,” he added, calming down, “I’m your Senior Field Agent. You have to listen to me.”
As they started toward the stairs, she said sincerely, “Thank you, Tony.”
Author's Chapter Notes:
Ziva's understandably upset about the new development in this case, and as we all know, Abby's in charge of making her feel better.