Title: Berlin

Chapter: 2

Note: We all need a breath of fresh air after that horrific car accident… so let's pretend for a second that it did not happen. This is the ending to a story written prior to Season 10: Berlin.

Washington D.C.

Ziva moved along the aisle of the plane, pushing Bodner ahead of her by his handcuffs. She had been wrong about him showing his face in public—he had assumed that nobody would be looking for him in Berlin. Letting his guard down had been his first mistake; assuming that Ziva would not find him was the second.

"You do not have to do this, Ziva," Ilan whispered hoarsely in Hebrew.

Bodner had barely spoken two words to her the entire flight. Ziva was already exhausted from lack of sleep and irritated that she had to spend the last fourteen hours sitting next to Bodner. She twisted the man around by his wrists and felt a little satisfied when he grimaced. "No, Ilan… you were the one that did not need to do what you did," she spat back in their native language.

"You needn't pretend that you and your father had been close," he returned, narrowing his eyes at her. "My decision was for Israel."

She inhaled and puffed out her chest, meeting his gaze. "Your decision," she said, "was for you, Ilan." Giving him a push, she shoved him past the cabin and toward the stairs, where a dozen armed Mossad and NCIS officers were waiting for him on the tarmac.

At the bottom of the steps, she led him to Director Elbaz.

"Thank you, Ziva," the woman said, inclining her head.

Ziva narrowed her eyes at her and nodded. "NCIS will be interrogating him before he leaves the country?"

Elbaz nodded once before signaling her people to transfer him into the armored van.

Ziva watched as Ilan was walked to the vehicle. He glanced back once, and she felt his eyes boring into her. A wave of sadness washed over her. Sometimes it felt like everyone from her old life chose the wrong path. The people that she had relied on during her Mossad days were disappearing. Her safety net was now Schmeil and her NCIS family. As if on cue, she suddenly felt Gibbs' presence beside her.

"Nice work, Ziver," he said, clapping her on the shoulder.

She breathed in and bit her lip. The emotions that had built up in the past two days were rushing around inside her, threatening to overflow. The kiss between her and Tony, the adrenalin from capturing Bodner alive, the long transport… she braved a look at her boss. He was looking back at her curiously.

"You alright?" he asked, brow furrowed.

She nodded and bit her lip. "It has been a long trip."

In that moment, Tony approached. A look of concern was evident on his face as he looked at her. "Boss, they're ready to leave with Bodner."

Ziva braved a look at Tony. His eyes searched hers, looking for answers that weren't there. She had built such a wonderful life in D.C. The thought of following her heart and risking the team dynamics (and her job) was terrifying.

Gibbs, who had briefly exchanged a few words with Director Elbaz, turned back toward the agents. "Let's go," he said, scooping up Ziva's luggage and starting toward the car. Tony picked up his own bag and followed, leading Ziva by the small of her back. They tossed the bags easily into the trunk.

"It's time we finish this," Gibbs said as he opened the driver's side door and entered the car.

Phoof

NCIS Headquarters

Tony was exhausted and the lights in the observation room were doing nothing to keep him awake. He glanced sideways, looking at Ziva. She stood a few inches from the glass, watching the interrogation intently. Bags were visible under her brown eyes, and her tired expression mimicked his own.

"How long had you been planning to murder Director David?" Tony heard Gibbs ask. He didn't listen to the response, focusing instead on Ziva's face. It had been weeks since she had slept a full night. It occurred to him that despite this, she still looked so beautiful. She wore very little makeup and her long, dark hair was pulled up in a loose ponytail. He turned back toward the glass and tapped his fingertips against his chin lightly. This thing that had happened between them was hanging in the air, making the room feel smaller. They hadn't spoken much after boarding the plane, mostly due to Bodner's presence. The unspoken words were spinning through his brain, suffocating him. He had no idea if she hoped he would just forget about it, or if she expected him to start the conversation.

He took a breath and cleared his throat, still facing the glass. "We need to talk," he said simply.

Ziva turned her head, briefly looking at his profile before facing the interrogation room again. She did not argue. "I know."

Tony looked past her, ensuring that the door to the observation room was closed. "About what happened, Ziva…"

"We kissed." The words were matter-of-fact.

He blinked, not expecting her to be so… frank. The plane ride home had been a fury of thoughts and images. The future of their jobs at NCIS versus the undeniable feelings he had for her, the sense of… contentment that he suddenly felt when she spoke the words out loud, and the realization that he had been fighting these feelings for a long time came crashing down. During the flight, a quote from the movie, Speed, had kept jumping into his head. Relationships that begin under intense circumstances never work out. Was that what this was? Much of their job was defined within the parameters of "intense circumstances." What if the powerful feeling he was experiencing wasn't love, but just a side effect of adrenalin? He looked up at her and realized all at once that what he felt was real. Maybe if this had happened seven years ago, the Speed quote would have rang true. Standing in front of him now, however, was a woman that he knew better than anyone else. She was funny and smart, strong and courageous. He knew what she was feeling (most of the time) by looking into her eyes and was reasonably sure she could do the same.

She seemed to be gathering her courage. He noticed her fiddling with an ink pen, tapping it against her palm. She looked down. "Tony…"

He grabbed a hold of the pen, simultaneously stopping her repetitive movements. The room was still. In the background, Gibbs was asking Ilan another question. It was silent for a few moments. Tony swallowed, his throat dry.

Ziva reached up and touched the side of his face gently. "Our relationship has always been…"

"Complicated," he finished.

She dropped her hand and nodded. There was a beat of silence before she added, "if we go down this path… we cannot take it back."

He met her gaze. "Are you saying you want to try?"

She inhaled slowly and nodded again. "Yes."

Tony's heart leapt. He wanted to shout, to grab her and kiss her again, feel her lips and her hair and her…

As if sensing his elation, she added, "We need rules."

His thoughts came spiraling back down, eyes landing on the man sitting in front of them. "We have rules, Ziva," he said, thinking of Gibb's list. His mind settled on the first one that popped into his head, Rule #12: Never date a coworker. He had already broken this one a few years back, a fact that had earned him the wrath of Gibbs.

"Did you know about the peace treaty that Eli David was working toward?" Gibbs was heard asking. Ilan gave a noncommittal response, prompting a follow-up question. Tony stared ahead for a few minutes, appearing interested in the interrogation but lost in his thoughts. Ziva, for her part, was quiet, watching the interaction between Gibbs and Ilan. Ten minutes later, their boss rose from his chair and gathered up the files lying on the table.

"We have to tell him." Tony said flatly. There was no alternative. They needed to be honest from the start; Gibbs deserved that much.

Ziva was silent for a few seconds. "I know," she replied.

Tony watched as Gibbs shot Bodner one last glare and stalked out of the interrogation room. He exhaled sharply, not realizing he had been holding his breath. "I need to do it alone," he finished.

Ziva grasped his hand and gave it a squeeze before releasing him again. "I know," she said.

Phoof

Gibbs' House

Gibbs heard his front door open and close, followed by the sound of quiet footsteps above his head a few seconds later. The weight and pattern to the step suggested a male visitor, Gibbs' gut decided quickly. He kept sanding the piece of wood in front of him, back and forth, until it felt smooth under his fingertips. A few minutes went by before he felt the air pressure of the room change, signaling that the basement door had been silently opened. Whoever had entered his house unannounced was moving in his direction very slowly. It was either an incredibly inept burglar or someone very undecided about the decision to visit. He guessed the latter. Blowing the sawdust off the wood in his hands, he carried it to the circular saw and grabbed his safety goggles. As he measured and cut the angles he needed, he saw his senior field agent descend a few steps and sit down. Even through the heavy dust, Gibbs could see the nervous expression on Tony's face. He turned off the saw and pulled off his goggles.

"Gonna sit up there all night, DiNozzo?" he said.

Tony looked up, making eye contact for the first time. He cleared his throat. "Hey, boss." He folded and unfolded his hands, leaning forward on his elbows but still not making a move to stand.

"Something on your mind?" he asked, the answer obvious.

Tony took a deep breath and pulled himself easily to his feet by the handrail. He ran a hand through his hair and slowly descended the stairs, as if marching to his death.

Gibbs raised his eyebrows and picked up a hammer and his two pieces of perfectly angled wood.

As he reached the bottom of the stairs, Tony pulled out a stool and sat down. A few seconds went by. He rubbed his palms on his jeans. "Ah… see, I'm having trouble…"

"That's obvious," Gibbs remarked dryly. He chose a nail from a small drawer on the workbench and hammered the wood together. Afterward, he inspected his work and set the piece down.

Tony chuckled and rubbed the back of his head. "See, there's all these rules… and we—err—I am trying not to break any.

Gibbs twisted the hammer in his hand, watching Tony. He had a feeling where this was going, but wanted to hear the words out loud.

"Um, boss?" Tony said. "Will you put the hammer down?" He visibly swallowed.

Gibbs suppressed a smile and set the hammer down on a shelf behind him. Without anything left to do with his hands, he dumped two mason jars of nails out on the table and poured bourbon into both. Turning toward Tony, he set the makeshift cup down in front of him.

"Thanks." He took a drink and started again. "You say it's better to seek forgiveness than ask permission, but if I don't ask permission, I'd have to break rule number six and apologize later, which is a sign of weakness." He was rambling now, twisting the drink back and forth with his hand, staring at it intently. "And then there's the one about secrets… you know, if you want to keep it a secret, don't tell anyone."

Gibbs took a sip of bourbon, feeling the liquid burn as it slid down his throat. As Tony spoke, he noticed another member of his team sitting quietly at the top of the stairs. Stealthier than Tony, he hadn't heard her enter. Also unlike Tony, her eyes held no apology. The look on her face confirmed his suspicions.

"But secrets seem to never stay that way, you know?" Tony didn't notice Gibbs' distracted look, and was continuing his monologue without taking a breath. "And then we're back to the apologizing and the head slapping." His head shot up, making eye contact with Gibbs for the first time since he started talking. "Which I'd really like to avoid, by the way."

"Out with it, DiNozzo."

Tony took a deep breath, eyes flicking toward the ceiling as if saying a quick prayer. "Something happened in Berlin… with Ziva."

Gibbs raised his eyebrows, making sure to keep his expression neutral. "Gonna have to be a little more specific."

Tony looked him dead in the eyes this time, his face serious. "I kissed her."

"Rule number twe…."

"I need permission to break it," Tony interrupted.

"We need permission." It was the first time Ziva had spoken. She rose from her seated position on the stairs and made her way down the stairs toward the two men. She stopped and stood next to Tony, being careful not to touch him, as if to say nothing will happen unless you say it can.

Gibbs tapped his glass against the table thoughtfully. He, and probably everyone else on the team, knew this would come to a head eventually. Watching their relationship over the years was like watching two magnets hurdle toward one another. There had been periods of anger and distrust, when he wondered if they would implode, followed by a constant return to "normal." He thought fleetingly of Jenny, and the hard choices they had made, and tried to remind himself that every relationship was different.

"The minute it interferes with this team," he said, "You're transferred."

Tony didn't break eye contact. "Okay."

Gibbs picked up his glass and swallowed the last of his bourbon. He moved past the two agents, still standing side-by-side, and added, "turn off the lights when you leave," before setting his empty glass on the bench and going upstairs. As he switched off the lights in kitchen and living room, he wondered how he would have felt if the two agents had decided not to ask his permission before jumping into a relationship. When he had found out about DiNozzo and EJ, he'd been livid. Somehow though, this was different. This wasn't about sex-perhaps that was their saving grace. Gibbs realized that not one shred of his being worried whether it would work out or not and he was only slightly concerned about what the other team members would think if Tony or Ziva decided to indulge them. McGee, Abby, and the others had probably seen it coming, just as Gibbs himself had. Things eventually have to change, he thought, and they deserve to be happy.

Tony exhaled and let out a chuckle. "Well, that was easier than I expected." He shook his head. "I thought you were going to sit this one out?"

Ziva turned to face him. "All I could think about was being called to investigate your… disappearance tomorrow morning." She smiled, and added, "I am sure Gibbs would be very good at hiding a body."

He chuckled, "And that made you decide to come save my life—because you couldn't live without me."

She smirked. "I was thinking about all the paperwork."

Tony rolled his eyes and kissed her forehead, letting his lips linger for a few seconds. "Are you ready for this?" he asked. "Now that Gibbs knows, there's no going back."

She smiled, taking his hand and pulling him toward the stairs. "We shall see," she answered.

As they shut off the basement light and left Gibbs' house, Tony breathed a sigh of relief. The conversation with his boss could have gone a very different direction, and he was grateful to be outside, with Ziva, free and clear. He let out a laugh and swung her around to face him on the sidewalk by her car. The streetlight glowed above them, bathing the pair in soft white light. It was April, but the evening air was chilly now that the sun had set. Ziva smiled back at Tony and wrapped her arms around his neck. He hadn't kissed her since they were in the hotel in Berlin. Part of him had been worried that Gibbs would stick to the rules, making a relationship impossible without transferring divisions. As she pulled him closer, all his worry melted away. He wrapped his arms around her and as their lips met, he felt sparks of electricity shoot up his spine. Her lips were softer than he remembered. After a few seconds, he leaned back, severing the connection. "I could do this forever."

She smiled and looked down momentarily. "We will see."

He kissed her nose and breathed in deeply, inhaling the scent of her. They stood in front of her car. "Well, not letting this interfere with our work is going to start a lot sooner than I thought," he said. "See you tomorrow morning?"

She gave him one last peck on the lips. "Tomorrow morning."

He watched her shut the door and start the engine before turning toward his car. It was then that he noticed Gibbs standing in the window, watching them leave.

He saluted his boss, hoping he knew how thankful he was for the stamp of approval. Knowing that Gibbs did not consider this endeavor to be a mistake was enough to silence the remaining doubt in Tony's mind.

Phoof