[NCIS Fic] Taking Chances (5/8) - Ziva/Abby

[jaina47]

Title: Taking Chances
Fandom: NCIS
Characters: Ziva David, Abby Sciuto, L.J. Gibbs, Jenny Sheppard, Tony DiNozzo, Timothy McGee, Eli David
Category: Drama, Action, Romance
Genre: Slash
Prompt: #1 Beginnings
Word Count: (Total) 15,148
Spoilers: Very mild ones for 3.17 "Ravenous" but it veers off from the episode very quickly.
Summary: Ziva invites Abby over for dinner. Romance and complications ensue.
Rating: R
Disclaimer: These characters belong to DPB, CBS, Paramount, et al. No copyright infringement is intended.
Author's Note: Heh. What to say? This author's note might get to be longer than the entire fic. :p  First up, a big thanks to ncruuk.  Her comments not only pointed out some stylistic choices I hadn't thought about before, but also kept me laughing through the whole thing. I actually enjoyed the whole editing process. I don't think that's every happened to me before.

Second of all, if you think you've read this fic before, you would be right.  I started this fic in March of  '06 and wrote the first three parts before I got stuck and stopped writing it. I always meant to come back to it, but it just never quite worked out. When I realized it was the last fic I had to complete to finish fanfic100 I decided it was really time to buckle down. Plus I rather like the symmetry of this being the first fic I started for fanfic100 and the last I finished.  


In case you were just waiting to tune in until the old stuff had all been re-posted, this is the second new part! Enjoy!

My Little Damn Table

Part One || Part Two || Part Three || Part Four



Part Five

"You're going to wear a hole in the carpet," McGee pointed out calmly. 

Ziva stopped abruptly and resisted the urge to speak to him sharply.  It was not his fault that she was being confined to the building until further notice.  It was Gibbs' plan to keep her safe.  She had chosen not to remind him that Ari had managed to slip inside the Navy Yard and into the heart of NCIS itself to carry out his mission.  If a Mossad assassin was coming after her now, there were very few places that she was truly safe and this was not one of them.  It was in fact one of the two reasons that she did not want to be here.  She did not want to be responsible for anymore collateral damage spilling out onto the people around her.  Ziva was well aware that bullets did not always hit their intended targets and they were just as deadly when they hit someone they had not been aimed at.  It had been terrifying enough with Abby with her this morning. This was worse.  There was no way to protect everyone here.  Someone else would get hurt - or perhaps killed - and that would be because of her, as well.

Almost as bad as that was the inactivity that Gibbs was forcing on her along with his protection.  He would not even let her get out and begin to discover who was after her.  She had her suspicions of course, and she had shared them with both Gibbs and Jenny earlier, but this was her problem and her life in danger and he wouldn't even let her fight back.  It was infuriating.  She was not some helpless person to be protected and held back for her own safety.  She didn't want to have to wait. 

"The carpet is the least of my worries," Ziva said, her frustration clear.  She pivoted and marched back toward him.  "Have you found anything in-"

"No," McGee jumped in quickly.  "I haven't. For the third time.  You need to give me a chance to work.  I don't have much to go on yet.  You should go see how Abby is coming with the evidence she's processing.  She might have something new for Gibbs and Tony."

McGee's suggestion sparked something inside of Ziva immediately.  Yes, there was the possibility that Abby might have discovered something, but she could always call Gibbs and Tony herself; she didn't need Ziva there to act as messenger.  Ziva, however, needed to see her.  She hadn't forgotten - even in the sudden turmoil into which the day had been thrown - about how upset Abby had become when she had seen Ari's picture in her apartment. 

Ziva grimaced; she had been an idiot to leave that picture out, but honestly nothing about the previous evening had been planned.  Inviting Abby back to apartment and cooking dinner for her had been a spur of the moment decision, and she had certainly not expected the evening to end with Abby in her bed.  

Not that she regretted it.  Abby had intrigued her from the moment that she had joined NCIS.  She had met Abby in her court clothes, looking very little like her usual self, and she had even complimented her on them, much to Abby's dismay.  They had immediately gotten off on the wrong foot, though slowly they had begun to respect one another.  It was something that Ziva had been forced to work for to earn from Abby.  In the beginning it had seemed futile, but even then she had liked that Abby was not intimidated by her, and even stood up to her, pushing back when there was something that she felt strongly about. 

Now she wanted a chance to explain to Abby why she had that picture. She wanted to tell her that, in Abby's arms, she had gotten the first good, restful hours of sleep uninterrupted by nightmares that she'd had in months.  Going down to her lab ask her about the evidence would be the perfect opportunity, and Ziva admitted to herself, probably the only one that she would get as long as Gibbs was refusing to let her out of the building. 

For just a moment, everything in Ziva rebelled against being held against her will, even by Gibbs.  She imagined simply walking out the gates.  She could do it and it would not be hard.  Eventually the people who were after her would find her.  It would not be hard and she would make it even easier for them.  Then they would die or she would.  It was that simple.  She actually took a step toward her desk, going for her backpack and gun, before her brain caught up with her body and she remembered why she was waiting here.  It was the disappointed look that she knew would see on Gibbs' face.  That alone held her back.  That and the unfinished business waiting downstairs. 

Ziva sighed.  She was going no where and she knew it.  She turned to McGee. 

"I will be back."

"Mmm-hmm."  He nodded, but didn't look up from his computer screen. 

Ziva wondered if he had found something.  She opened her mouth to ask and then snapped it shut again.  No, he would not appreciate that and he would let her know if he did.  He knew how anxious she was to resolve this.  The only thing she could do for now was talk to Abby and she needed to stop putting it off, even if she didn't know precisely what she was going to say yet.

***   ***   *** 

The door was locked.  Ziva had tried it twice before knocking.  No one had answered.  Ziva would have been worried if she had not known how loudly Abby liked to listen to her music.  She could hear and even feel the faint vibrations of the thudding base coming through the door.

She hesitated, uncertain what she wanted to do next.  She could always call Abby and ask to be let in.  The sudden absence of noise made her decision for her.  Ziva knocked again. 

"Abby, it is me, Ziva.  Let me in." 

There was a moment of silence and she couldn't see anyone moving inside.  She thought Abby might not respond.  Then the door was being pulled open. 

"Did Gibbs send you?  Because I haven't had a chance to finish looking over his evidence yet. He should know that."  Her arms were folded across her chest, and she was rocking back and forth from heel to toe.  She also wouldn't meet Ziva's eyes even as she tried to catch her gaze. 

"No," Ziva said slowly.  "Gibbs did not send me."  She reached out cautiously and touched Abby's wrist.  "I wished to speak to you."

Now Abby's gaze flicked up.  "About work?"

"No," Ziva repeated.  "About last night.  And this morning." 

A frown darkened Abby's usually cheery face.  "I don't want to talk about it."

"Abigail," Ziva pleaded gently.  "You must let me explain."

"What is there to explain?" Abby exploded.  "You have a picture of that man on your dresser.  Why?  Why would you do that?  I was really starting to think that you were okay, but..."

Ziva squeezed her wrist gently, trying to get her attention.  "Just give me a chance to explain it to you."

But Abby shook her head.  "There's nothing to explain.  It was just a one night stand, Ziva.  You don't owe me an explanation."

"Abigail." 

The gentle note in Ziva's voice when she said her name was too much for Abby to take.  She couldn't stand it.

"Don't call me that," she bit out quickly, before shutting the door in front of her and locking it, leaving Ziva on the other side. 

She leaned her forehead against the door and closed her eyes, trying to regain her composure as she felt tears welling up in her eyes.  It had been a very long and very bad morning.

She had enjoyed the previous evening very much, enough so that she had stayed and spent the night when Ziva had asked.  She had been looking forward to waking up with Ziva and maybe even getting to know the enigmatic Mossad Agent a little bit better.  Abby was intrigued by enigmas.  The love of discovery was what had led her to science and specifically forensic science.  It applied in her personal life as well, and there was a lot about Ziva that she still didn't know or understand.

What she had gotten instead of the morning that she had been anticipating was a very rude surprise on awakening. Finding out that the woman she had spent the night with had a picture of the man who had killed her best friend sitting on her dresser was enough of an emotional blow.  Having it followed up by running for their lives, a car chase, a gunfight and finally running to Gibbs was a lot to deal with. 

She wasn't sure what Ziva had to say.  Abby couldn't imagine anything that would make it alright for Ziva to have that picture of Ari Haswari and she hated that too, because she was starting to like Ziva a lot.  She hated the feelings of betrayal that it had stirred up within her. 

She clenched her fist and sniffled.  With her other hand she swiped the tears away and rubbed her nose.  She couldn't think, couldn't deal with all of this right now.  If she did, well, she would probably fall apart, and she couldn't fall apart because Gibbs and his team needed her.  After this, then maybe she and Ziva could talk. 

With an uneasy heart, Abby went back to work. 

***   ***   ***

"Officer David! Just the woman I was looking for," Jenny drawled as the elevator doors slid open.

"Director?"  Ziva sounded puzzled.  She was doing the best she could, really.  She had gone down to speak to Abby in her lab, but before that she had been trying to think of any additional information that might be helpful to Gibbs or anything she might know about the men who were after her, but she had forgotten in the haste of the fight.  Still it was painfully obvious to her that she was not at the forefront of this case, and she had no idea why Jenny would be looking for her otherwise.

Jenny stepped into the elevator, and hit the door close button. She waited until they had shut behind her before she began to speak.

"I just received a call from Director David."

"Oh?"  That was...interesting, Ziva decided.  She wasn't sure what it meant yet, but she knew that it had to mean something.  Life was one giant chess match for her father.  Every decision was a move, and every move a part of some greater, far reaching strategy.  She had learned that long ago.  "What did he wish to know?"

"He heard that his daughter had been attacked and he was very concerned." Jenny's jaw clenched.  "He implied that if we could not keep you safe then perhaps you should go home where you could be better protected."

Ziva frowned.  "That was very solicitous of him."  Too solicitous, in truth.  She had lain in a hospital for two weeks when she was eighteen with injuries sustained when her squad had tried to detain a suicide bomber.  He had not visited or even called until the last day when she was about to get out.  Oh, he had his sources, she was certain, but it was not the same at all.

"I thought so too," Jenny agreed.  The tone of her voice said she also shared Ziva's skepticism.  "So what do you think he really wants."

Ziva considered it.  "To embarrass you.  Or more specifically NCIS by making this into an incident."

"Do you really think he wants you to go back to Israel?"

"I am not certain," Ziva said with a shake of her head.  "I believe he is angry, because I have not told him what he wishes to know.  Perhaps he thinks bringing me home will be a punishment for me or perhaps he is truly concerned.  I do not know enough of his motives yet."

"I was afraid you were going to say that."

Ziva raised a questioning eyebrow. 

"For now," Jenny explained. "I have to take your father's statement at face value - that of a concerned Deputy Director and father.  To that end, I assured him that we take our agents' security and safety very seriously and we will be dealing very harshly with whoever attacked you."  She paused and took a deep breath. "He seemed somewhat satisfied with that response, but he also said that if we weren't able to find your attacker within twenty-four hours or there was another attack on you, he would be recalling you immediately."

Ziva tensed immediately.  She loved her country and she was proud of it.  She had served it with honor, dignity and courage since she was sixteen years old.  She had never turned down an assignment, but this agency, this team was different and she was not ready to go home.  Never mind that her father might be trying to kill her. 

"Thank you for letting me know, Director."

The elevator doors opened and Jenny stepped out.  Ziva followed her automatically, stopping when Jenny halted after a second later. 

"Ziva."  Jenny laid her hand on Ziva's arm in a comforting gesture.  "Gibbs is doing everything he can to get these people into custody.  Neither of us will let you go back.  I guarantee you that."

Ziva shook her head.  She was well aware of the realities of the situation.  "You cannot promise that."

Jenny smiled full of confidence.  "Maybe not," she said softly, "But would you bet against Gibbs?"

The question caught Ziva off guard. She considered it for a moment and then answered honestly, despite the uncertainty still swirling in her head.  "No, I would not."  She smiled briefly.  "Thank you, Jenny."

Jenny surprised her by giving her a brief hug and smile.  "Anytime, Ziva."

The gesture, once familiar, surprised Ziva.  They had been good friends once, and perhaps there had been a subtle flirtation beneath it, but they had never truly had a chance to act on it.  Once she had joined NCIS, she had seen more of Jenny again, but there had been a distance between them - the distance necessary between Officer and Director and Ziva hadn't tried to change that.  Still the gesture was comforting and Ziva savored its brief reassurance.  She was smiling when she pulled away.

It was only then that she realized that they had taken the elevator back down to the floor where Abby's lab was located and the scientist in question was staring at them with an unhappy expression.