By meekobb · NCIS & Hawaii Five-0
Rated T · 9 chapters · 23,689 words · In progress
Part 3: As Ziva finally makes her decision on their future, the threats lurking over them makes themselves known in ways neither have imagined. (Rated T but will be upgraded to M in the future)
Welcome to Part 3 of the Pu'uwai Series. We are finally into the next installment! We hope that you enjoy it and always reviews are greatly appreciated as we continue to bring you more of Ziva and Steve's relationship and stumbles as they continue to find themselves.
Ziva never truly gave Steve an answer but she never said no and she had continued to wear the ring after. She felt guilty but his reassurances helped only mildly. What surprised her the most over the previous five weeks, that had her truly looking forward to the future. It wasn't that she did not want to marry him. Because she knew she did. She was just still so afraid that something would come and tear them apart as it had for nearly every relationship she had in the past.
Choosing to keep the ring on, perhaps in hope that seeing it often would make it feel real to her. Real and give her the courage to give Steve a formal answer to his proposal. She had been able to tell that despite his words on the plane, he was disappointed she didn't answer then but in that she was very confident that he understood her reservations. Regardless, she would find herself staring at it randomly, and often.
Tony was the first to notice the new addition when she returned to work. Offering her his congratulations, she looked at him and was pleased to see the sparkle she had missed in his eyes. Two weeks after that, he surprised her by nervously asking if Steve would be opposed to going for a drink, a guys night out of course with McGee.
Gibbs was happy for her but kept himself more in control, just giving her a fatherly look to make sure that she was truly happy. McGee said a few words but just overall avoided the subject knowing she would speak when she was ready. Ziva needed ear plugs from all of Abby's squealing.
Everyone's support did little to ease her nervousness that often as soon as she got into work, she would go straight to the bathroom to throw up from all the thinking she been stressing over.
Looking at the calendar, Ziva was saddened that her time with Steve in DC was ending soon if his therapy continued on track. Of course she knew he wasn't 100% happy to go back after all the complaining Danny had been doing for the last month about Agent Jardine's liaison abilities.
"Steve... The woman's impossible! She hates germs, yet her office looks like a bomb site. She's importing all her food and drink from the mainland and her hotel's manager has moved her in and out of every room he has for one reason or another," Danny complained over the phone. "Our case load is growing, someone from the governor's office calls at least twice a day to check on your progress and Chin and Kono are missing you like crazy."
"What about you?" Steve grinned as he leant against Ziva's desk.
"What about me what? Do I miss you? You know, I asked myself that just this morning when Grace asked me how you were. And you know what... I haven't visited the ER, called the paramedics, not even cracked open a first aid kit in over a month... My medical insurer called me to see if I was still alive, which hasn't been such an odd question since I met you," Danny replied as Chin and Kono returned from an assignment. "But yeah... I guess I miss you too. So when are you coming home?"
The question was a hard one to answer. He was almost fully recovered from the shooting and although Hesse was still at large with cooperation from NCIS, the FBI and the CIA, he had been spotted in Europe, Asia and back in the US in the space of a three week period. Hesse was running.
"A few more days... A week tops," Steve replied noting how tense Ziva had suddenly become.
She continued to read the case file on her desk as he continued the conversation. The time flew by so fast that she didn't want him to leave, didn't want to leave his side. Her thoughts strayed to the proposals he made to her. Marriage, work. A life and chance to be loved.
Ziva was so lost in those thoughts that she hadn't heard Danny's question and before she could ask him to repeat himself, Gibbs strolled in calling for their gear. Something about an assault on a female petty officer. "I am sorry Danny. Perhaps we will talk later," she said before kissing Steve goodbye, knowing it was his late night for therapy and she might be home before him.
"You okay Ziva?" Tony asked with a slight frown. "You looked a little spaced out back there."
She nodded with a weak smile. "I suppose it is only hitting me. He is returning to Hawaii soon," she answered in barely a whisper, afraid she would lose the lunch that they shared from her emotions.
"I kinda figured. To look at him, you wouldn't think he'd been shot a month ago," he replied as they headed for the garage level. "I guess the love of a good woman can do wonders."
"Believe it not we have not been all that intimate while being back. Only a few time because either he was in pain or exhausted or it was I who was ill or exhausted," she said as she tossed her bag into the side door and climbed in the front to sit in the back with Tony.
"Not feeling well again, Ziva?" Gibbs asked, his expression full of concern. "When we're through with the crime scene, you should have Ducky check you out."
"I am fine Gibbs. Really. It is likely just everything slowly catching up but I will manage," she smiled and waved him off.
After looking her over carefully he gave a small nod. "If you feel worse come to me. You can take McGee's car back to the office."
Ziva nodded her silent thanks and settled into her seat, her head resting on Tony's shoulder for the ride as he chattered on, likely his own attempts to distract her from her self sabotaging thoughts that he knew her to have.
"So there we where, my buddy and me. Each eating half of the same cow. All for these crappy t-shirts and a photo on the wall. He's struggling, I'm struggling..." Tony was grinning from ear to ear. "My buddy taps me on the shoulder and says. "Hey Tony, does your sweat taste like steak too?"
She laughed lightly and shook her head. "You are too much Tony," she sighed. "How did your guys night work out? You haven't said anything about it."
"Steve didn't tell you anything?" he asked, his smile fading a little having believed he had long dodged the bullet for that night. "I uh... Well... I sorta asked him to keep things quiet."
Picking her head up she shook it slowly. "I asked but all he said was that it was a good evening. He would not elaborate further. Are you okay?"
"Oh fine... Fine," he said as he looked toward the drivers cab. "Are we there yet Probie?"
"Almost, Tony... Just cutting through the mid-morning traffic," McGee replied as Gibbs looked back at them.
"What's the matter DiNozzo? You look like you need to piss... You should've gone before we left," he smirked.
"Ah... Its not that boss..."
"Then what is it? You sick to?" he pressed.
"No boss, I'm fine. Tip top even," he smiled before looking back at Ziva.
Ziva narrowed her eyes and frowned but chose to let it drop until they weren't around others. Thankfully it did not take long to arrive to the scene that was a mess in itself where the petty officer had been assaulted during a break in of her home while her husband was deployed.
Together they walked around the truck to both grab their supplies and for mock privacy. "What happened?" She questioned again, pausing to stare at her ring as she continued to remain in shock about the changes going on. His evasiveness sparked her suspicion that both men were keeping something from her and for her partner to fear her knowing, she knew it would not be something pleasing for her.
"Well... There was a little weirdness... I don't really wanna talk about it," he sighed. "I mean, Tim swore... And I-..."
"Tony. I'm not interested in it like that. I just wished to know if things are well. Steve didn't say anything but I know he has been distracted. I hoped you knew why."
"Distracted?" he asked, shaking his head slightly. "He seemed fine on the night out. Look uh... You gotta swear that you won't say anything."
Ziva looked up at him and frowned with exasperation. "Of course. Tony?"
"We bumped into some of Steve's Navy friends. People he served with on the Enterprise," he began nervously. "And uh... One of them seemed to be really close with Steve."
Ziva stared up at him for a moment as she processed the information. "A female friend?" She whispered, self doubt clouding her face.
"Uhh yeah... Lt. Catherine something..." he replied. "They talked for a while, had a couple of drinks... And..."
She felt like everything was circling around her as she recognized the woman's name. Clenching her jaw and fists, Ziva leaned into the back of the truck to keep from falling over. "He what Tony? Tell me," she pushed. Her tone even, not really giving anything away to the under current of emotions that she was having.
"He introduced her to McGee... At her request, so I'm told. McGee!" he sighed. "And they went back to his place..."
"Steve... he didn't...?" She breathed out, feeling nauseous again as the thundering in her head only caught onto half of what he actually said.
"He didn't what...?" Tony asked before the realization of what she thought he meant, hit him like a ton of bricks. "Oh, Ziva... God no... He's devoted to you... He couldn't stop talking about you all night. And this started before he had a drink... He loves you so much."
She nodded with relief but instead of saying more she just pushed him back away from her before throwing up on the floor in front of his feet. When she was done she sat on the back on the bench to get herself together again. "That is good. I feel better..."
"Uhh... The boys in the garage are gonna love you," Tony pulled a face. "Maybe you should see Ducky or go home and get some rest. I'll call Steve to come pick you up..."
"No. Do not call him. He has therapy this evening and I know he does not wish to extend it longer than necessary. I will be fine. I feel better already," she smiled, through her pale skin contradicted her words. "Go. Go before Gibbs kills both of us. I will stay here and clean my mess up."
"At least let me call Ducky to come and pick you up, just to check you over to see if this isn't serious," he said, checking to see if Gibbs and McGee were waiting for him.
Judging from the expression on Tony's face, Ziva knew she would not win this argument. "Fine. But no one calls Steve. Maybe I can surprise him with homemade dinner tonight. Even if its just soup."
Before her partner could walk away, Gibbs rounded the corner and glared into the back of the truck at them. "Hey! What's taking so long here?"
"Uhh... McGee's driving boss... Didn't agree with Ziva's breakfast," Tony replied as he grabbed his crime scene kit and his camera. "I'm calling Ducky to come pick her up."
Gibbs gave Tony a sideways glance before stepping aside. "Well get in there. Ask Ducky to arrange for a grief counselor too will you."
"On it boss. Feel better Ziva," DiNozzo said as he quickly moved into the house while dialing Ducky's number.
Gibbs examined Ziva more closely for a moment before digging into one of the trucks fridge compartments. "Here... Drink this and wait for Ducky," he said sternly as he placed a bottle of water in her hands. "When he's done checking you over, you do as he tells you. Understood?"
Ziva was just too tired to argue and simply nodded, closing her eyes. She knew that one of the biggest questions that she been struggling with would affect the team in general which was one reason why she put off on the original job offer for so long. She had spoken to Director Vance and human resources to get a better understanding of her options in the previous few weeks but the conversation with Tony had been what clinched at least that problem she had been stressing over since her first reunion in Hawaii with Steve. "Has Director Vance found my replacement yet?"
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"He's given me a dozen or so files to look over," he replied, sitting beside her. "So you've decided then?"
Ziva smiled and nodded. "I think I only just did so today. Just now even. I - I think it is for the best and if I wish for things to work with Steve I must. I know he would come here if I asked, but I cannot bring myself to it."
"You're making the right choice Ziva," Gibbs said plainly, looking her square in the eye. "When you joined the team... You were a broken bird. Jenny knew it... That's why she pushed to get you here. It's taken time... And it hasn't been easy... But you're now ready to start the life you deserve... Your past stowed away where it belongs... I always knew that you being a part of this team would end... Same goes for Tony, and for Tim."
She smiled and layed her head back. "Thank you Gibbs," she said before she felt her stomach rumble again. "Oh for the love..." she mumble, covering her mouth.
"Easy," he said, pulling her hair back. "Let it out... Come on."
It had been only dry heaving but still sucked the energy from her. "Is the flu supposed to last six weeks?"
"No..." he shook his head. "Six weeks huh? Has it been that long?"
"Very nearly. I was ill before Steve came to visit so that has been six weeks. This is ridiculous," Ziva huffed in frustration because as quick as the nausea came, it left her.
It wasn't long before Ducky pulled up in his vintage Morgan, only to get out and retrieve hia bav of medical gear.
"Apologies for being late, but it's so very rare for me to be examining living patients," he said as he walked over to them. "I take it that the nausea has returned?"
Ziva smiled weakly as Gibbs squeezed her hand before walking away to return to work. "Thank you Ducky. I am sorry for bringing you out here like this. I feel almost as bad as I was before."
"Still feeling sick to your stomach I see," he replied with a sympathetic smile as he began to dig through his bag.
"I'll go check on McGee and DiNozzo," Gibbs said, leaving them to it. "I'll see you back at the office."
Once he was out of earshot, Ducky stopped and took a seat by Ziva. "I hate to be indelicate my dear, but you should have gotten over this by now if it is indeed a stomach bug so I just have to ask..." he paused, as if struggling to find the words for a moment. "How long ago was your last period?"
Ziva picked up her head and looked back at Ducky sharply with surprise. "What? I - I'm not sure but I'm on birth control if that is what you are implying..."
"Yes, I am aware... But the pill isn't completely safe... No one form of birth control is," he replied carefully. "Could you have missed a day? Could you have forgotten to use other forms of protection?"
She stammered to find some words. "I don't know Ducky. Perhaps? I'm fairly certain I have not missed because the packet was up to date when I took it last night. Oh my god I can't deal with - this!"
He placed a hand on her shoulder and squeezed it gently. "My dear... I've known you long enough to believe that you can handle just about anything that life throws at you. Sometimes you do this alone and sometimes you d it with your friends and family around you. And we'll all be here for you, regardless of what happens. But the best thing we can do right now is find out for certain. Let me take you back to the office... I'll make a stop at the drug store on the way."
She shook her head. "No. Think I need to be alone for this. We can stop at the store but I would like to go home. If it - if it is true, then I will need to tell Steve right away otherwise I may run from it. I cannot. Not anymore."
"Very well..." he patted her shoulder before escorting her to his car. Following a quiet ride with a brief stop at a nearby drug store, Ducky pulled up outside Ziva's apartment. "Are you sure you wouldn't like me to stay? Or I could call Abby?" he asked with a soft but comforting smile.
Ziva hesitated for a moment before shaking her head as she stepped out of the car and peered into the window at him. "I'll be fine. Thank you Ducky. I will see you tomorrow at the office, yes?"
"Of course... But promise me you'll call me if you need a doctor, or to talk," he said as he saw Steve emerge from the building's foyer.
Ziva smiled tightly and nodded before he honked the horn and drove off. "Therapy?" She asked lightly as she slowly made her way towards him.
"Not until later this afternoon," he smiled as he waved to Ducky. "I was just going to that Deli you like so much. Thought I'd surprise you with some lunch. But from the looks of you, I'd say we should get you into bed. Is it the stomach bug again?"
"It might be," she answered, not wishing to give too much away. "I will take some of their chicken soup if they have it fresh today. Maybe a salad too if you do not mind. I'll just take a shower while I wait." She smiled as she leaned up to give him a closed mouth kiss. "No rush."
"Okay," his smile returned. "I'll also stop by the video store and rent you a couple of movies. Call me on my cell if you need anything else."
Her smile was bright as she looked up at him. "No. I think that is just perfect. I'll see you when you get back. Maybe I'll make dinner if I feel better." With another kiss, Ziva made her way inside.
Once in the safety of the apartment, she went straight to her bathroom and pulled the pharmacy bag from her backpack and stared at the offending pink box. "May as well get it over with," she muttered as she began to undress after turning the shower on to heat. Following the steps, she let the stick sit while she jumped into the shower.
As she finished, Ziva dragged out the motions of turning off the water and wrapping the towel around herself. Picking up the plastic stick, she fell back and sat in utter and complete silence with it wrapped tightly in her hand in shock.
When Steve finally returned, she was still there, staring at something in her hand.
"Ziva... Are you okay?" he asked as he entered her room as she hadn't answered as to whether or not she wanted her soup.
Seemingly frozen in place, she could feel his fingers trying to pry hers off the stick as he spoke comforting words to her until he had it free. Her eyes followed his hand slowly before shifting to his face where she didn't know what to make of his expression, but she knew how hers was. Full of fear.
"Oh..." was all he said upon realizing what she was holding. Getting a closer look at the test, he saw it was positive. With that, he sat down beside her, equally numb for a moment. "Wow..."
"I don't know how to be a mother," Ziva whispered after about a good ten minutes of silence while they soaked up their revelation. "I don't want to screw this up."
"Are you kidding me?" he asked, taking her hands in his. "You're not gonna screw this up... We're not gonna screw this up! I love you, you love me, and together, we're gonna love this kid. Do you hear me? You're gonna be a great mom."
Whatever she had been waiting for in the last five weeks she saw in his face right then. "Yes," she breathed out her answer to his proposal that she put off. "Yes to moving, yes to the job, and especially yes to marrying you..."
"You mean it?" he asked in disbelief, his hands shaking slightly. "I... You... We..." Steve couldn't find the words to describe the emotions he was feeling. Up until Ziva entered his life, it had been so full of sacrifice and tragedy. For the first time since he could remember, Steve was at peace.
He leaned forward and gently caressed her lips with his own for a moment. "You won't regret this Ziva, I'm going to spend the rest of my life making sure of that."
Ziva smiled as best as she could as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders. "I think I'm going to take a sick day tomorrow. Gibbs already knows that I am transferring. I told him before he sent me home for the day."
"Well look, I'm gonna call and cancel my physical therapy nurse and cancel my session for the day, that way I can take care of you and we can celebrate our good news at the same time," he smiled.
She nodded before shivering as she was still in nothing but a towel. "Okay. I'm just going to change but um Steve? Can we just keep this between you and I? I don't know if I want anyone else knowing yet. Not until after the transfer at least in case it might block it. I do however need to tell Ducky something as it was he who originally suggested the possibility to me," she says softly, unsure of how she would break the news later even but she needed that time in the meanwhile.
"It'll be our secret. But I will have to contact the governor about the transfer going through eventually. And Danny, Chin and Kono will need to be told too," Steve replied before placing a kiss on her cheek.
"We can tell them when we get back but limit everyone else to the details? Gibbs we can tell if he doesn't suspect himself already. Maybe invite him to dinner before we leave?" Ziva asked. "And there is one more thing..." She added hesitantly, almost nervous about what she wanted to ask.
"You want Danny's office? You have pull with the task force commander, so I think you could make it happen," he grinned.
She chuckled and shook her head. "No. I'm sure we can figure something out later. I can even set up a desk in the situation room. Our I could always share with you," she winked.
"Now there's an option... Not that we'd get much paperwork done," he chuckled. "So... ?"
She eyed him for a minute before nodding. "I would like us to keep this apartment here. At least then we would have a place to stay whenever we come back to visit. As far as desk space, just ask Chin and Danny to find a place for me and I'll be happy. No special instructions. Got me?"
"Yes Ma'am, no special instructions from me," he nodded. "And I can understand you wanting to keep your ties here in DC. So why don't we talk to the building manager... See how much it'll cost to buy the apartment? It'll be pointless to continue renting the place if we'll only be here part of the year."
Ziva leaned and kissed him hard before pulling away. "I do love you. Now go deal with your calls so that I can change. We can see the manager tomorrow after we sleep. Besides I am sure you are hungry otherwise you wouldn't have left for some lunch."
"You know me too well," he grinned before giving her some privacy while he went to make the calls and serve up lunch.
She slowly made her way back into the bedroom to dress as she eyed her cell phone that she had set on the end table. Blowing out a breath of air, she sat on the edge of the bed and struggled to call NCIS. After getting through the operator and transferred down to autopsy, she smiled when she heard her friend's voice.
"Hello Ducky," she greeted tiredly.
"Ziva my dear! How are you fairing?" Ducky questioned, knowing she would understand its multiple meaning with his carefully chosen tone indicating he was not alone. Likely with Jimmy she believed.
"I am well. Your suspicions were - accurate. Steve and I were just speaking and we have a lot more to discuss but I wanted to get your right away to let you know that our agreed decision at the moment is to keep it between ourselves. I hope you do not mind..."
"No my dear. Not at all. I am just pleased that you are indeed well and resting as you should. Ahh - should I have Gibbs give you a call?"
"Um, no. We were going to have him over for dinner this week to let him know. But thank you. Right now we have a lot to do and not a great deal of time to do it..."
"So then what Tony said is true? That you are likely to leave soon?" The man asked sadly, but she could still hear the smile in his voice.
"Yes. I am going to return to Hawaii with Steve. I must still say my goodbyes to everyone. Abby would not be happy if I do not do that this time. Though, after we tell Gibbs, I think we may have one more dinner here, with everyone. Palmer included. I will let you know the details when I know more," Ziva said as if it helped lift a weight from her shoulders.
"Of course. I look forward to coming. I'll see you in the office..." Ducky prompted knowing she would have taken the following day off with as ill as she had been feeling.
"Wednesday. Thursday at the latest. I still need to get my paperwork finalized with Director Vance so I won't be leaving until the end of next week at best. I will see you soon. Goodbye Ducky," she smiled into the empty room.
"Goodbye my dear, and goodnight."
Hanging up, Ziva looked around and ran her hand through her hair. "What am I going to do?" she asked herself before pushing herself up to head out into the common area.
Authors Note: I know this chapter is relatively shorter than I normally would have liked but with the upcoming content, we decided to end it where we did as it felt appropriate for the storyline that we have worked up.
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"Yes... I'm still doing the exercises. Three times a day... And yes, I promise to come in for a final exam before I leave for Hawaii..." Steve was shaking his head and rolling his eyes as he spoke to his physical therapist. "Okay... Goodbye."
Ziva smiled up at him as she passed, running her fingers over his stomach before she proceeded into the kitchen to heat a kettle of water for tea. "So you are squared away with therapy?" She asked as she pulled down a box of oyster crackers she kept for soups to nibble on.
"Yeah. They want me to go in for a final check-up before we leave but they said I can handle the last of my treatment myself," he replied. "The governor's gonna call me back because she was about to head into a meeting."
"That sounds good. I told Ducky. Invited him over for dinner. I thought it might be good to have him here also when we tell Gibbs. We can have everyone else over the weekend. Did you talk to Danny or the others?" She asked nervously.
"No... I got the machine. So I told Danny to call me back. And don't worry... It'll just be to tell him about the transfer. We should tell them our other news in person when we get back," he explained.
Ziva nodded, letting him know she did hear him but it was taking a lot to settle the nervousness that filled her. "I am scared that I will screw this child up. I am not the best person to have children Steve."
"Why? Because of your past?" Steve asked. "Because of your own upbringing? Ziva... You know how much I love my parents. But I nor my sister had the best upbringing. But I know that we'll be good parents because we've gone through what we have and don't want the same to happen to our kids."
She still wasn't sure about her own confidence but smiled. It might be something that she would finally understand once the time came to hold the child and care for it. It would take time. After all its hadn't even been 24 hours that she discovered.
Taking another cracker to munch on, she found she really didn't have an appetite for that even before dropping the bag with a sigh and grimace. "This is going to take awhile to get used to," she grumbled.
Steve circled her, kissed her neck and began to massage her shoulders. "And we will. I'll go to the book store tomorrow and pick up some stuff on pregnancy and parenting."
Ziva made a face at that because it just made the situation all the more real but conceded quickly. "I suppose it would be a good idea to start reading up. I wanted to invite Ducky and Gibbs for dinner tomorrow. Get that out of the way fast. You know Gibbs would not let me live it down if I moved and didn't share. I don't know if we should just have everyone already..."
"You are tense up about this..." he sighed, sliding his hands up her arms to rest on her shoulders and squeezed lightly. "They love your cooking. So why don't you invite everyone and see how you feel when they're here. You can always pull Gibbs and Ducky aside and tell them in private."
"Of course I am tense! I had almost never imagined myself getting married, and the few fantasies that I did indulge myself in, children was never an option. I had not expected to live long enough to even consider it. No," Ziva sighed, calming down. "We will tell everyone at a dinner. We can shop for the food while we are out tomorrow. Now I wish I could really have a glass or four of wine."
"The prospect of marrying me pushing you to drink huh," he teased, a sliver of doubt clouding his features. "Look... It's not like we have to get married tomorrow. And it will take a few weeks to push the transfer through and get you set up at the office. Not to mention packing and buying this place. Maybe you should stay on and handle everything at this end."
Ziva shook her head defiantly. "No. Absolutely not. Marrying you does not wish for me to drink. It is the overwhelming nature of it all. And I do not want to wait here. I want to go back with you. That paperwork had already been submitted last week. Vance just been waiting for my go ahead to sign off. I had wanted it to be a surprise for you but thought I might have had another few weeks with your therapy. And I really don't have much to pack other than my clothes and a few personal items since I assume that I will be living with you. And now that I think about it, Tony had mentioned not long ago that his lease was due soon so he could move into the second bedroom and maintain everything for us."
"Tony as a tenant... Scary thought," he grinned before cupping her face and leaving a long, lingering kiss on her lips. "Don't feel overwhelmed. We'll take things one day at a time. I know its a lot - to ask you to leave your life here behind. But it's not like we won't ever come back and see everyone. You'll still work for NCIS which means you'll have to come back for debriefs and assessments. And I'm sure that Gibbs will be Vance's first choice when you need NCIS assistance or when he can't come out to Hawaii to assess your operations."
She smiled at his attempts to sooth her nerves. "Tomorrow, may we invite everyone over to break the news? I think it may be best to do that quickly otherwise it would just eat at me."
"Sure... You don't need my permission," he kissed her again. "But it's still early... We can arrange something for tonight. Maybe all go out to that steakhouse Gibbs took us to?"
Ziva had wanted to do something a little more low key and private but also wanted his own input and suggestions as it affected him just as much. "That sounds - good. Their case likely won't keep them late I think. Would you call him and ask him to spread the invitation? I think I want to lay down for a little while now..."
"Sure," Steve smiled. "I'll come and lay down with you as soon as I'm done."
She kissed him before going back into the bedroom and crawled under the covers with a sigh. Despite the support she knew she would have, she was still terrified.
Making a quick call to Gibbs and to Ducky, both of whom accepting the invitations and promising to spread the word, Steve then called the steakhouse to make a reservation before joining Ziva on the bed, spooning with her while holding her stomach protectively.
He understood her trepidation about their immediate future together. Having a child, getting married, starting a life together in Hawaii... All of it. And he also understood how difficult it would be for her to leave her friends... The people she had made her family. But even though a part of him hated himself for it, he was the happiest he'd ever been, in his whole life.
Author's Note: I would like to thank those who follow this series. Please note, that from this chapter and onwards to the completion of the series, it will be written solely by myself. My writing partner originally on this series is no longer able to continue at this time. I do not know how often I will personally be able to write on this project as the muses have not been very friendly with me and I have other projects in progress that have deadlines I must meet. I will do my best to continue and update as often as I can.
I am always looking for new people to write with. If you are interested, please feel free to drop me a PM or email me at thepuuwai .
Thank you.
Since awaking from their nap, Ziva was a bundle of nerves the entire evening as she dressed and worked on the tea to help settle her stomach that seemed to be all tied up in knots. The drive to the restaurant was relatively quiet apart from Steve's reassurances that everything would be fine.
Walking into the entrance, she immediately caught sight of their friends and her fear jumped tenfold. Turning on her heel, she tried to slip past Steve. "I can't do this. I changed my mind...I'll tell them alone at work..."
Steve had somewhat anticipated this kind of reaction from her so he was quick to react and held her from running by her shoulders. "It will be fine. They already knew about the position and what has been offered to you. Other than DiNozzo throwing his fit that time, has anyone else said or did anything to cause you worry? I'm sure they believe it was only a matter of time after all the shit you and I both been through. The only new news is the baby, which I also believe everyone will love and accept. Please do not worry. I love you. They love you. Nothing will change that."
She avoided his intense gaze as he tried to get her to look at him before nodding. "Alright," she replied quietly, still appearing a little unconvinced all would be well. "I am sorry. You are right. I know. I just never expected something like this to happen like it has," she added in a firmer voice, her hands motioning to her abdomen where their fetus was safely nestled inside her.
"I know. Come on. The sooner we do this together, the sooner you can finally relax and let this fear go," Steve chuckled, gently guiding her further into the restaurant. As they got closer to the table, he slid his hand down her arm to hold her hand. Whispering into her ear as he leaned in to drop a kiss to his temple, he told her he loved her again.
Ziva smiled and nodded before turning her attention on their friends. "Hello everyone," she greeted, her tone edged with uncertainty.
Abby seemed to know immediately exactly what her friend needed and she was out of her seat and ran around the tablet to wrap her up in her arms. "Oh! I'm going to miss you! You're going to tell us that you finally said yes to Steve right? Of course it sucks that you won't be here with the team but you need to do this. We can always visit and you can come back. This won't be like that time that we will never ever mention. I know that and we will have to throw you a huge going away party! I have so much planning to do. I have to order the food, the balloons, and cake! Can't have a party without cake!"
Chuckling, Ziva hugged her friend and blew out the breath she'd been holding. "Thank you and yes. I have decided to return to Hawaii with Steve, but please, no party Abby. You may consider this dinner to be a celebration of sorts..." She said carefully as she glanced around at their faces.
Feeling Steve's hand on her back, she turned to smile up at him before sitting down into the chair he had pulled out for her. Looking at the faces of her friends, Ziva couldn't help but to smile. Ducky smiled back at her knowingly. McGee and Tony grinned supportively, but her partner seemed to have an extra glint in his eye of suspicion. Gibbs smiled lightly but his eyes told her that he knew something else was up but wasn't sure what.
Abby had her lips pressed together as if she struggled to keep her mouth shut, which for her was what was happening. Ziva looked back quickly at Ducky and he shrugged slightly, apologetically. "Well, apart from the transfer, I will eventually have to take some time off as well," she started, looking back to Steve who only nodded for her to continue as he rubbed her shoulder. "Steve and I are um, well, we learned last night that we are expecting..."
A round of congratulations sprouted up while Gibbs continued to remain quiet. She wasn't hurt by it as when everyone calmed down to shift their well wishes to Steve, he moved over to give her a hug. "I thought that might be the case as you haven't kept anything down for some time. Are you sure about – everything?" he asked in the way only a father could to his child.
"Yes Gibbs. I am sure. Terrified, but very sure that this is the path I must go now. Of course we will visit and I do hope that you will as well," Ziva replied.
"Of course. Wouldn't have it any other way," he smiled down at her before going to shake Steve's hand.
When all finally settled and the group ordered their dinners, Steve leaned over to drop a kiss to Ziva's neck. "I told you that everything would be fine," he whispered.
She could only turn and grin happily, fully ready to begin the next part of their adventure together.
It took nearly the rest of the week to get the transfer paperwork in order on NCIS' side before the couple could focus on packing and scheduling plane tickets. Between deciding what she should take or leave, helping Steve avoid Danny's questions on how much longer it will be until he gets home, and trying to help Tony move into the second room, Ziva was exhausted as the guys kept trying to get her to rest. If they told her one more time that she needed to stay off her feet, she was going to choke one of them.
"Just because I am pregnant, does not mean that I am handicapped! I am going to be working on the team until the doctor tells me otherwise. If either of you tells me to take it easy one more time, I will choke you," Ziva growled her warning as she glared at Tony and Steve who were each holding boxes that contained her favorite books that she wanted to be sent.
"We just don't anything to happen to you or the baby," Tony stupidly tried to explain which caused her glare to harden.
"The baby is no bigger than a pea, if that. Do not spout that nonsense to me because I will not hesitate to break both your legs and your arms and then you can talk to me about taking it easy."
Steve gulped as he stared at his girlfriend, no, fiance. "Of course. I'm sorry Ziva, but you can't blame us for reacting this way. We both just want to protect –." He shut up quickly when her death glare shifted on him. "I know you can protect yourself but its just instinct..."
Sighing, Ziva turned and collapsed onto the sofa. "I understand that fully Steve and I know that I do have more to consider when I do anything, however you need to trust me to do what I feel is best for both me and this baby. When I am tired, I do go rest but as long as I am capable of going about my normal routines, please let me."
Tony nodded and quickly passed his apologies on before running out of the apartment to go bring more of his boxes in, leaving his friends to talk amongst themselves. "I am sorry Ziva. All I can promise is to try to be more mindful of your wanting to do things," Steve said once they were alone. "I can't help but to want to do everything for you right now."
"It is something that we have to learn together. It will take time. I know that," she sighed as he settled next to her. "You won't always be able to protect me in the field. And neither of us will always be there to protect this child."
He huffed a tired laugh. "Yeah. I'm still trying to wrap my head around us becoming parents. Like you I don't want to screw this up. I'm sorry for causing you this unnecessary added stress. It can't be easy with the move to begin with."
She smiled as she curled up next to him with a sigh. "We can only try our best. I have already come to realize that. We do not have much more here. Just my clothes and some small things. I can always have Tony send anything else I may have forgotten."
"That is true. So anyway. I was thinking. We can just finish boxing things up here today and I know there is a flight that still has seats open for tomorrow. What say we go say our goodbyes tonight and leave tomorrow. I can talk to Tony about finishing things up here for us if you would like. Plus also, surprising Danny will help him stop blowing up our phones."
Ziva couldn't help but to laugh at that. "Yes he is quite anxious for your return. He does not yet know about us, correct?"
"Well he knows that I had planned on proposing. As far as anything else, I don't think so. He is desperate to have Agent Jardine sent back though."
"Nikki isn't that bad. She is actually quite a capable agent despite her phobia," she grinned.
"Maybe, but she's not you. We've all been hoping that you would come since NCIS lost your Agent Owens."
Ziva scoffed and slapped his chest with the back of her hand playfully. "Way to make me feel guilty for putting off agreeing with it for so long. It is not like it was an easy decision to make."
Steve grabbed her hand and held it to him as he shifted so that he could look her in the eye. "I'm not saying it like that. I know and expected it to take some time. I didn't want you to feel pressured into making a choice that you might regret later. If I'm going to be honest, I'm a little afraid even now that you will regret the transfer and engagement. Especially now with a baby added into the mix? It's a lot of stress and I'm sorry for adding on with wanting you to take it easy. Could you at least not try to do so much lifting? For my sanity? I get everything you've said but I just want you to let me worry about the heavy stuff right now."
She leaned in and kissed him when he was finished speaking and nodded. "You can do all the heavy lifting. I will get to be the boss and tell you what to do with it all."
"You mean you weren't telling us what to do anyway?" Tony joked as he walked back in, overhearing the end of the conversation. "Seriously though Zee-vah. Let us guys do the grunt work. That's what we're here for. I'm sorry too, for you know. Just tell me to shove it if or when I get to be too much. I already can't thank you enough for letting me move in here. Saved me a lot of apartment hunting."
"Sure, no problem Tony. Just keep any of your visitors out of my room. In fact, Steve? Could you go to the store and buy me a new lock for the door? Something not so easy to pick," Ziva grinned and winked.
"Hey, hey. I promise not to go in there and I don't really plan on bringing anyone back here except for the team for the occasional dinner and movie. You know me. I prefer to go to the chick's place that way I can get up and run first thing in the morning!"
Both Steve and Ziva burst out laughing as they each threw a throw pillow from the couch at him. It didn't take them long before they resumed their tasks for the evening before heading out together for one last night on the town in DC with friends.
The flights between Washington DC and Hawaii had been relatively uneventful which brought a tremendous relief to Steve and Ziva as they disembarked the plane and made their way into the terminal where they were confident that Danny was waiting not so patiently. Steve didn't tell him that Ziva would be returning with him as he thought it would be a pleasant surprise for their island friends.
"It's about damn time you're home!" Danny greeted before he noticed Ziva trailing a step behind. "And wow! You're here? Are you visiting? Please tell me that you are doing more than just visiting this time because I cannot deal with that Jardine person anymore!"
"Relax Danno. Agent Jardine will be returning to DC soon. Ziva is here to stay. We thought it would have been a nice surprise rather than telling you over the phone," Steve grinned.
"Thank God. Let's get the hell out of here. Kono and Chin are waiting at the bar with the big guy. We wanted to surprise you with a welcome home dinner," Danny said with a sigh of relief as he followed the two to baggage claim to pick up Ziva's luggage. "So – do you two have anything to share?"
Ziva looked over at Steve who raised an eyebrow as if to silently communicate that it was up to her. "No. Not that I know of," she replied with a shrug. "Other than my joining your team, I do not know what you wish to know."
The man looked almost depressed as he glanced over at his friend. "You didn't ask?" he whispered.
"I did, but you know Ziva. She'll answer when she is ready. I'm not pressuring her into anything," Steve said softly as he smiled at her as she pointedly turned away from their conversation to hide her own smile as she went to collect her belongings.
"That sucks. I hope it works out for whatever its worth," Danny offered. "Alright, let's get going. I want my steak already!"
Steve didn't say anything as he went over to take the suitcase from Ziva, earning him an amused glare but no argument. He knew that they would make their announcements at dinner that night so he wasn't concerned too much about lying to his partner.
Dinner was an event in itself with the 5-0 team. Having chosen to stick to water, Ziva managed to earn herself some questions to her choice. Initially she hesitated about telling them right there but Steve nodded as he cleared his throat to speak. They were first his friends and they agreed that he would break the news this time around as she had told hers.
"Well, we do have a few things we would like to share. Sorry Danny but yes I had asked Ziva to marry me. I didn't lie when I said that I didn't pressure her and gave her the time she needed to give an honest answer. This week Ziva said yes," he shared, laughing at the dumbfounded expression on the man's face at being duped.
Ziva chuckled as well. "There is more," she added hesitantly as she looked back at Steve to continue who appeared just as hesitant now.
"We also found out this week that, uh, Ziva is expecting. Hence her choice of water tonight," he grinned at her as he took her hand in his and squeezed gently.
"Wow..." Was all Danny could come out with at first before Chin and Kono passed their congratulations and stood from their seats to come around the table to give Ziva a hug and kiss each and to shake Steve's hand.
"When you said you had news, I thought it was just you being officially a part of the team soon. I didn't think it was anything like this," Kono grinned. "I must admit I do like this just as much, maybe a little more."
She didn't know what else to say but give her thanks. Steve had eventually made his way over to pull Ziva into his arms, having felt like he was too far from her for too long. As he looked down at her, he could see her struggling to suppress her yawns. "Okay guys. I think its time to call it a night. We'll catch up more later as we're still running on east coast time," he announced.
Everyone was quick to call it a night then leaving Danny with the couple as he had been their ride. On the ride back to Steve's house, he had been relatively quiet. As he parked in the driveway, he sat for a moment before speaking.
"So let me get this straight. Ziva's joining the team, you two are now engaged and knocked up?" Danny asked softly.
Next to him, Ziva frowned at the man's overall reaction to their news. "Yes. Are you upset by this?" she questioned carefully.
He sucked in a deep breath before shaking his head and releasing a chuckle. "No. Just wasn't at all I was expecting. I guess I'm just still in shock. I mean, don't get me wrong. I'm happy for you guys. Having a kid is a wonderful experience and I'm sure you two will excel at it. Of course the rest of us and the island will have to invest in Kevlar and bomb shelters with the two of you being the parents," he joked.
Steve frowned before raising an eyebrow as Ziva started laughing with Danny. "Our kid will be great!"
"Yes, it will but you got to admit it is an amusing scenario," she pointed out. "Given your affinity for explosives and mine for knives..."
"Okay. I'll give you that much. Seriously though Bro, I was beginning to think that you weren't happy about everything. You were really starting to get me worried..."
Danny sighed and glanced back at him with a look of shame. "Yeah. Sorry. It's just a lot of changes in such a short time. A man can only handle so much. Hey, what's the plan for this week? I gotta get home to try to get some sleep in because Rachel is having me pick up Gracie for school in the morning."
"Shit. Yeah. I have to run over to the Governor's office to handle the paperwork for Ziva's position. I assume you're going to need to go to the NCIS office at Pearl to deal with your transfer orders, right?" Steve asked her, receiving a nod.
"And some shopping. I have enough for a few days but I do not know how long it will be before my things arrive. If the team gets a case before Tony has a chance to take the boxes to the post office, I need something to hold me over."
Danny looked at them thoughtfully. "Well who knows how long Steve will be with the Governor. She likes to talk. I can take you wherever you need to go after I drop Gracie off at school. Maybe you should look into getting a car soon too. Maybe a station wagon or minivan?"
Ziva's smile dropped as she punched the man in his shoulder, earning a grunt of pain from him. "You are an idiot. We will see you tomorrow," she chided as she grabbed her things from the front with her and exited the car before heading up to wait for Steve by the door.
"You had to have expected a response like that for that comment," the man said sympathetically. "Call before you show up tomorrow. Who knows what you might walk into..."
The detective turned to face him and looked at him questioningly. Sudden realization dawned on his features before they turned into slight disgust. "Man! I didn't need to know any of that! God! What is wrong with you man?!"
Steve chuckled as he grabbed his duffel bag and closed the door. As he made his way into his house, he couldn't help but to smile at himself. At least he was able to just guarantee Ziva and himself some time to sleep in the next morning.
Changing for bed was relatively quiet as the couple was exhausted. After Steve had checked the property that he was sure his friends kept safe for him, he went to check on the tool box to make sure that the evidence his father left him was still safe. Only when he saw it with his own eyes did he relax enough to head up to bed.
When Steve walked into the bedroom, he couldn't stop the smile from his face as he watched Ziva changing into a pair of his boxers with only one of her wife beaters on. "You are just too beautiful for your own good. You know that?"
She spun around and grinned, chuckling lightly. "If that is your line to get you laid tonight, I am sorry. I really am too tired."
"No. I know. Honestly, I am too but I still think you're beautiful," he replied as he walked up to her and pulled her into his arms. "I love you."
"And I love you too but may we go to bed now?" Ziva asked, sliding her arms around his body.
Steve released a sigh and nodded. "Yeah, sure. I'm just going to finish getting ready and will join you shortly." She smiled up at him and pushed herself up on her toes to give him a chaste kiss before leaving to crawl into bed for the night. He went about changing and going through his nightly routines before joining her.
Laying in bed, Steve found it difficult to fall asleep as he thought about everything, both past and present now that he was home. Of course he was ecstatic that he had Ziva with him, but now he could once again try to start working on his father's murder. He knew who did it. Everyone knew who did it, but it was a question of who was behind it because deep down, he realized that no matter how resourceful that Victor Hesse was, to stay off the grid and one step ahead, the man had to have had help. He knew right then that Hesse was no longer the primary and that he would have to look above him.
When Ziva let out a sigh in her sleep, he looked down and held her just a little bit closer. Of course he knew how much she would be able to help if he let her, but the fear of her getting hurt or worse, their child she now carried, had him on edge. They experienced enough turbulence in their relationship that if he kept anything else from her, it could very well be the breaking point. Maybe when he met up with Chin the next day he would ask him how about he could bring Ziva in for full disclosure and get her to promise to keep herself out of the fire. He couldn't help but to snort in amusement. Gibbs would probably have the best recommendation for that – after a promise of a slap to his head.
The weather was perfect, just the right amount of heat tempered by a soft cool breeze as the group began to gather on the beach behind the McGarrett household. It was a relatively small group. With Gibbs, Tony, McGee, Abby, Palmer, Ducky, Vance and his wife seated on the left, they all seemed happy, save for Abby as she kept shooting looks at McGee, whose eyes kept drifting to where Steve's Navy friends Sam and Catherine were seated, and he sure wasn't looking at the SEAL.
Sat in front of Sam and Catherine were Kono and Chin, Joe, Max and Kamekona, and finally Danno, Grace and Mary.
Standing nervously at the altar, Steve looked back to find Ziva, dressed in a white flowing dress and clutching a small bouquet of flowers in front of a developing baby bump. She began to walk toward him, a soft smile on her face, he began to think of the journey they had taken to get to this point. The roads not travelled didn't matter anymore. He wanted to solve his father's murder, he wanted to bring the case that affected his entire family to a close, but he wouldn't risk his or Ziva's life. He wouldn't sacrifice their happiness, their family.
As Ziva reached the altar and the priest began to speak, time seemed to slow to a crawl. All he could focus on was Ziva's smile, her beautiful eyes staring back at him. He had never felt so happy.
That happiness ceased however. What could only be described as roaring thunder ripped their attention away from one another. The priest crumpled to his knees as a bullet burst through his forehead, splattering them both with a river of blood. As they span around to see what had happened. They could only look on in horror as one by one, their friends were shot where they sat, joyous smiles still on their faces.
With Ziva and Steve the only ones still standing, Steve fought hard to move, to protect Ziva from harm, to do something... anything. He finally looked back toward the house to find Hesse holding the weapon that had killed their friends... their family. Two more shots rang out and Hesse's face morphed in to that of his father.
Steve looked down to find Ziva clutching at the two bullet holes in her stomach. He couldn't believe what was happening. As he cradled Ziva in his arms as she bled to death, he looked back to his father who was now walking up the makeshift aisle toward them.
"You have to keep going son... you have to..." John McGarrett said in a cold, detached voice before he held the gun to Steve's head and pulled the trigger.
Slick with sweat, Steve darted upward, gasping for breath as the events of the nightmare shocked him awake. He looked down to find Ziva sleeping soundly beside him, her hand resting carefully where the life was growing inside her.
Gently swinging his legs out of bed, he went into the bathroom to splash some cool water on his face. Staring into the mirror, he tried to tell himself that it was a nightmare and meant nothing, but he couldn't shake the feeling that was knotting in the pit of his stomach.
After a few minutes, he headed back to the bedroom to find Ziva awake and talking on Steve's cell phone.
"No, he's busy at the moment," she answered the unheard question on the phone. Ziva let out a tired groan. "I will tell him. We will meet you at the scene within the hour. I do not know! You ask him later. I am not getting in the middle of that Danny. Good bye." Hanging up, she fell back to the bed before turning her attention to the shadow that was casted over the bed from the bathroom light. "A body was found out on Lanikai Beach. Evidently the police desk did not receive the memo that you have returned to duty."
"Let me guess, they called Danny?" he asked as he went to find a towel so that he could take a quick shower.
She smiled sleepily at him. "And you know that he did not care to be woken by HPD's desk officer."
"Danny doesn't like to be woken by anyone," he yawned. "I'll be done in a minute, unless you want to join me?"
Ziva chuckled as she pulled herself from the warm covers. "I would, normally. But you know as well as I that if I get in that shower with you, we would be much later than I just promised Danny. If it was just a breakfast meeting with him, perhaps, but this time it is work. I will just slip on a suit under my clothes as he too complained about the night tides where the body is located."
"Yeah... get used to the complaints," he grinned. "Start grabbing your gear, Agent David. You're on my team now."
She grinned as she went over to the dresser to get dressed. "Don't forget who you have to go to bed with at the end of the day Boss," she warned with a suggestive waggle to her brows.
"How could I forget, I still have the scratches and bite marks," he replied, his earlier feelings of anxiousness and trepidation, gone.
"I did not hear you complaining," she shrugged as she secured her sig sauer to her belt. "Coffee?"
"Oh yeah, I have a feeling today's going to be a long one."
And right he was. As they pulled up in Steve's truck, only to be met with a very uncomfortable looking Detective Williams, Steve knew this case was going to be difficult.
"What crawled up your backside?" Ziva asked as she eyed their friend and his shifty behavior.
"Uhh... I figured it was best to wait to tell you guys in person instead of over the phone. Max identified the body. A 19 year old girl by the name of Marissa Jameson..." he trailed off, looking Steve square in the eye
Stunned into silence, Ziva blinked as she let the name register. "Any relation to the Governor?" she questioned much softer.
"The Governor's niece..." Steve leant against his truck. "The governor introduced us at a press meet and greet soon after we formed the team... she uh... she said she was sorry about what happened with my father."
She smiled at him as she took his hand briefly. "Then we should get to work to solve this."
"What do we know?" Steve asked Danny as they proceeded toward the crime scene.
"Max and the CSU boys are still going over the scene. Chin and Kono are there now, talking to the lifeguard that spotted her while he was on the night patrol," Danny explained. "Two GSW's to the head, two to the heart. She looked as if she'd had a night on the town..."
Ziva shook her head at the news. Pulling her gloves on as they walked she eyed the area. "Two in the head and chest says she was targeted. Assassination possibly, but definitely not likely a case of mistaken identity."
"Danny, I want you to work with Chin, Kono and Max on the scene," Steve stopped in his tracks. "Call me as soon as you know 'anything', no matter how small. Have Chin call HPD and have them ramp up the Governor's security. Let them know that Ziva and I are on our way."
"Sure thing," Danny murmured, glancing over at Ziva. "Just be careful. Both of you."
"Hey... SEAL, Mossad trained Federal Agent... we'll be fine," he reassured his partner.
"Hey. Human, parents to be with another cold blooded assassin dumb enough to go after the Governor's family. Be careful. We'll all have to be watching our asses on this one I think. Just a bad feeling I guess. Humor me already!"
"I will watch out for him, Danny. And he will not let anything happen to me if he can help it," Ziva replied, offering the Jersey born detective a reassuring nod.
Danny nodded, looking back at his friend again before turning back to the others and helping with whatever was needed. She turned back to Steve and poked him in the side. "Humor him. He has the right to be concerned for us as well. Let's go notify Governor Jameson."
The drive to the governor's mansion was quick and quiet. Breaking the news that Governor Jameson's Niece had been murdered would be one of the most difficult things that Steve would have to do since burying his father. The governor was his strongest supporter, a friend even, he knew that 5-0 had to find Marissa's murderer, no matter what.
Pulling up outside the mansion, Steve and Ziva were greeted by Jameson's security chief.
"Commander McGarrett, I'd like to know why HPD are insisting on buzzing around the Governor's home like hornets, and that Detective Williams insists that we disturb the Governor's rest so that you can see her.
"Police business, Billy. It's important," McGarrett dismissed the bodyguard, strolling right by him.
"Damn it McGarrett, has the Governor's life been threatened!" Billy growled, chasing after the SEAL and his new team member.
Ziva was silent as she stood behind Steve, allowing him to handle the situation. She knew that his emotions would be flying high and was prepared to pull him back if need be.
"Damn it Billy, just go back to doing your job and leave me to talk with the governor!" Steve snapped. "She'll brief you when she's ready. In the meantime, don't interfere with HPD or anyone from 5-0."
"I'm calling Denning, McGarrett. If you won't tell me, you'll tell the deputy governor!" he snapped, storming away to make the call.
Steve and Ziva found the Governor in her study, yawning into a freshly poured cup of coffee, and still in her nightgown and robe.
"Steve, would you mind telling me why I was woken up at this ungodly hour to be told that HPD are beefing up my security?" she asked, clearly unhappy.
"Governor," Ziva greeted with a small smile. She hadn't met the woman yet but she had heard much about her from Steve and the team. "We apologize for the disturbance but if it were not necessary, we would not have resorted to such measures."
"Agent David, I presume... I see he wastes no time in putting you to work," her annoyed expression faltering. A soft smile crossed her lips. "Welcome to Hawaii."
"Thank you ma'am," she replied then glancing back up at Steve, who stood appearingly lost in his thoughts. Nudging him with her elbow, she raised a brow in concern.
"Governor... I uh... I've got some bad news. Earlier this morning, the body of a young woman was found on Lanikai Beach by a lifeguard on night patrol. She's been formally identified as..." he trailed off for a moment, knowing that he was about to hurt a friend.
Ziva continued as he trailed off, pulling the woman's photo from the file that she held that was given to them as they left the beach. "Marissa Jameson," she reported softly.
"M-Marissa...! I don't understand. There must be some mistake..." a full spectrum of emotions seemed to crack the governors usually strong, determined features. As she slumped in her chair, her coffee forgotten. "Tell me that this is a mistake, Steve!"
"I can't do that ma'am... Max personally identified her at the scene. He doubled checked his findings to be sure... there's no doubt," he explained. "I'm so sorry, governor."
"How?" she asked suddenly. The determination and strength seemingly returning. "How did she die."
"She was shot, ma'am. I won't go into detail but we believe that whoever killed her was a professional. I made a point to increase your personal security in case an attempt would be made on your life," Steve replied. "My people are scouring the scene with CSU now, ma'am. I've told them to inform me of any developments, no matter how small."
"I... she came to visit me for a few weeks. When my brother called to ask me if it was okay, I insisted she come out as soon as possible... I planned to take her to some museums today if my schedule permitted it..." the more frail, empty governor had returned.
"Ma'am, I need to know why she went out last night, and where she went, and with who," Steve asked as gently as he could, but he also had a job to do.
"Uhh, she said she was meeting some of her old high school friends who are going to college out here. I think one of them was Amy... Amy Sheridan... she goes to UH."
Steve looked to Ziva, who immediately began taking notes while trying to find her phone. "Can you tell me where Marissa said she was going? Any bars or clubs in the area?" he asked the governor.
Jameson only shook her head as she sat in her chair and stared out the window in her state of shock. "I don't know. She knows the island well enough to navigate it on her own. She spent summers out here with my brother..."
"Do you have any enemies that might be bold enough to get to through your family?" Ziva asked, memories of the first trip out to the islands striking her. "Any legislature that some group may not find favorable?"
"I'm a state governor Agent David. If I'm not making enemies somewhere, I'm not doing my job correctly," Jameson replied.
The agent could do nothing but chuckle initially. That was something that Gibbs often said to her as well, although he did not particularly care for politicians in general. "I can certainly understand that ma'am."
"My people will give you whatever help you need Steve. But I have to make some calls right now. Could we talk later?" Jameson almost pleaded as she got up and moved around her desk.
"Of course Ma'am. I'll be by to update you in a few hours," he replied with a nod. "Again, I'm so sorry."
"Just promise me you'll catch the son of a bitch?" she asked as she stood by her antique cabinet and crossed her arms.
Ziva nodded slightly, unwilling to commit to a full answer but her senses were throwing her off for the situation. "We will do everything in our power and abilities to capture those responsible. If there is anything else that we might be able to do for you...?"
"I'll be fine, Ziva... thank you. Just do what you do best, both of you," a small, grateful smile crossed her lips.
As Steve and Ziva left her office, she scrambled to unlock the cabinet with the key on the chain around her neck. Rifling through it's contents, she pulled out a cell phone and dialled the only number stored on it.
As Steve and Ziva headed back out to the car, he gently grabbed her arm and pulled her into the reception area. "What do you think?" he asked in a low voice.
She looked over her shoulder at the security milling about, two of the men watching them. "Not here," she murmured, deliberately turning her back to the men so that they could not try to read her lips. At a normal volume, she continued, "Let's get back to the office and look up the friend that the Governor mentioned."
Nodding, Steve led Ziva out of the mansion, the way they came in to find Billy waiting for them. "I called Denning, McGarrett, he'd like to be kept in the loop," the bodyguard said with a smug grin.
"And Jameson just told me that I'd get full cooperation from her and her staff, which includes Denning and you Billy, so let me and my partner leave so that we can do our jobs and you can do yours.
Pulling the passenger door open for Ziva, Billy shook his head and muttered, "How can you work with this jackass?"
"I could ask the same of Governor Jameson putting up with you," Ziva commented before she climbed into the truck and pulled the door closed before Steve had the chance to. She glared at him through the window, wishing to leave the property already. Her gaze shift to Steve to express her desire just how much she wanted to get away from there as he continued to deal with Billy.
"Just call the office if anything out of the ordinary occurs!" Steve snapped as he opened the drivers side door and climbed in. Starting the engine, his phone rang and the truck's hands free function activated.
"McGarrett," he said as the truck pulled away, his hand taking Ziva's briefly.
"Hey, it's Danny. We just got back to the office. Max said that he'll have a full report by 10:00am. Chin and Kono are going over what the lifeguard told them and CSU are going over the evidence found at the scene," he said as he, Kono and Chin entered the office and made their way toward the computer table.
"That's good Danny, you covered all the bases," Steve replied.
"How's the governor?" Williams asked.
Ziva sighed audibly. "Sufficiently distraught but I don't know. She appeared to be rather defensive after we told her and more so after we asked about her potential enemies."
"She's a politician, they're always defensive," Danny offered as he leant over the computer table and placed his phone on it, putting them on the speakers. "You're on speakers."
"I understand that, but if you pay attention to body language, she was hiding something. Almost immediately she seemed to go to that cabinet and almost guard it. The way she crossed her arms is defensive. If she wrapped them around herself, then it would be grief. I'm telling you from the training I've had in Mossad and all the interviews I've done over the years at NCIS. She is not telling us something," she insisted.
"I'm with Ziva on this, something was off. There was more to it then just grief," Steve added. "Look, Jameson gave us a name to one of Marissa's friends. They apparently went out last night, Jameson isn't sure. Ziva's sending the info now."
She pulled out her phone and forwarded the information to Kono. "Also, I would look into the Governor as a possible suspect. While she may not have went out of her way to murder her niece, something is may be involved in could have backfired. If anyone asks, we're just looking into Jameson as the probable target."
"Alright, I'll put in a call to the D.A. But keeping tabs on a Governor isn't something easily signed off on," Danny sighed.
"It shouldn't be difficult. Her schedule is probably a busy one. It's a matter of getting her appointment list which I would recommend doing later in the day, even tomorrow after we let the dirt settle. She does need to contact the rest of her family and arrange services so I doubt she'll be running off anywhere. Jameson is too much of a public figure to just go off radar."
"Plus she offered to cooperate. When we get back to the office, we'll work out a schedule for keeping someone with her," Steve explained.
Ziva grimaced. "Not one of us. She and her people know our faces, names. I have no doubt that they would have dossiers as well. Do you have any contacts that can remain relatively conspicuous? I could always see if any of my old resources is willing to go on - vacation."
"Joe... or perhaps Catherine?" he said carefully.
She frowned at the name but kept her eyes on her phone as Kono relayed data back to them. "I need coffee," she muttered to herself before looking out the window as the sun was starting to rise.
"We're making a quick stop for coffee. I'll get the usual early morning order," Steve said. "Danny, call Joe and see if he's available to assist. I'm gonna call Rollins and see if she's free."
"Uh... you got it... but uh... are you sure Catherine would mind? I mean it's been awhile since you guys... well uh... she might not be on leave..."
"Daniel. Shut up," Ziva sighed, throwing her head back against the seat and closed her eyes.
Oh she was pissed, Danny could tell. The only woman to ever call him Daniel was his mother, and she only did so when she was angry with him. Ziva was the second woman in his life, besides his mother, to actually scare him when angry. "Uh... hanging up."
Ending the call, Danny looked to Chin and Kono, who were both smirking. "Real smooth brah..." Chin shook his head. "You so do not get women."
Author's Note: I'd like to thank my followers, both new and old. I'm back to working on the story but it has been difficult with a computer that works only when it wants to. I do have a new laptop on layaway that I anticipate picking up within the next 3 or 4 weeks. Thank you for all your support and I love reviews! Even if I don't respond to each one, good reviews help me get through my work day when I read those cheerful words when I get the email notices.
Throughout getting breakfast and returning to the office, Ziva skillfully avoided the subject of Steve's ex-girlfriend. Even though she knew it was irrational of her to have such hostile thoughts towards a woman she'd never met. It didn't help her sour mood when she went for her coffee only to remember that she really couldn't drink it. It wasn't like she was much of a coffee drinker before but she really wanted a cup that morning, and had to settle for tea. All it did was make her want to ask the doctor, whenever she found one, just how harmful one cup every now and then would be.
Being new to the team, barely two days then after signing the necessary paperwork, the office had yet to be arranged to give her own space so she settled down in an extra plush armchair behind the situation table and bite into some Portuguese sweet bread that she was forced to order. Hawaiian breakfast choices in the fast food setting was very limited for her as most of the options include pork in some form. Another reason for her mood to continue spiraling downward.
"Now what's so important I get dragged away from fishing?" Joe White asked as he entered the situation area. "Where's McGarrett?"
Ziva looked up as she continued munching on her breakfast, as had everyone else. She pointed towards the office. "Tell him he needs to eat too," she mumbled around a mouthful. Her eyes followed him as he went past the group with a nod. Sighing, she sat back in her chair and turned to their friends. "Have we found the friend yet?"
"Yes, Amy Sheridan, 19 year old psych major at UH. HPD are bringing her in for questioning," Chin replied as he punched up her image on the monitor. "She attended the same highschool as Marissa, they were on the debate team together. Took vacations together... the whole nine yards."
"So she wouldn't leave such a good friend alone, without good reason. Unless she..." Kono trailed off when a woman dressed in casual attire entered the room.
"Uh, hey guys... is McGarrett around?" Catherine Rollins asked, glancing around the room only to pause on Ziva for a few seconds.
"He's in with Joe White right now, briefing him," Danny said, stepping into her gaze. "You might wanna go in."
"Okay, sure. Uh, thanks..." she said before slowly making her way into McGarrett's office.
"You okay?" Danny asked Ziva as he flipped open a file and casually began to read it.
She pushed her half eaten piece of bread away. "Just fine. Although I think I just lost my appetite," she replied, trying and failing at avoiding the glass window that separated the team from their guests. "Was this really necessary?" she asked him.
"It's a precaution, remember. Having Catherine and Joe close to the Governor until we catch whoever killed Marissa. For the Governor's protection and to keep an eye on her in case she knows more than she's letting on... like you suggested," Danny replied. "Hey... he's crazy about you, okay. He wouldn't bring you here if he was just gonna dig up the past with her. They're history, nothing but friends. And besides, I heard she hit it off with McGee."
"Perhaps but history and feelings do not leave one so easily. I may trust him but I do not trust her. I do not know White all that well either, outside of our experience in Los Angeles."
Danny sighed. He knew that this was going to cause problems. "He trained McGarrett, and Rollins has helped us out from time to time. Look, Ziva I really-."
Ziva turned to face Danny eye to eye. "My father trained me," she said succinctly.
"Fair point," he conceded. "Look, talk to Steve, let him know how you feel and I'll bet you that you won't have anything to worry about."
"I will if it comes to it. I do need to trust him and maybe I am overreacting. I blame the hormones."
Chin couldn't help but to laugh. "You were there through Rachel's pregnancy with Grace. I'm sure you are used to that reasoning. I think it'll be quite a show as Steve tries to - adapt to these new changes."
"He's Commander SEAL, I doubt that a hormonal Ziva... oh wait, I see your point," Danny smiled sheepishly and darted to the other end of the table, far out of Ziva's reach.
Kono let out a loud laugh as Ziva threw her empty water bottle at him. Glancing back at the office, the group looked towards them as they evidently was loud enough to interrupt. She tried to calm herself down and turn away, focusing on the file that Chin slid over to her with a knowing smile.
Steve exited his office with Joe and Catherine in tow. "Are we having fun?" he asked with a scowl. "Because I seemed to recall we have the Governor's niece lying on Max''s autopsy slab."
"Just waiting on you Boss," Ziva smiled up at him sweetly. "We haven't forgotten about Marissa. We were just discussing the friend when Danny made a comment that was just funny."
"Chin, take Joe up to the Governor's mansion. Kono, it's almost ten, call Fong at CSU, tell him to call me when he's got some results with the evidence. Danny, Cat, Ziva... we're off to see Max," he wasn't smiling. he strode out of the office without another word.
Ziva's smile slowly dropped before she turned to clean up her breakfast. Meeting Chin and Danny's worried looks, they tried to give her a reassuring smile. "Yes, this is going to be a wonderful day."
Steve could hear the ivories on Max's piano tinkling away even before they reached his floor. In any other situation, the music would have been soothing, but today it was simply indicating that Max had completed his work on schedule and was likely contemplating the results.
Following behind a few steps, Ziva was more reluctant than usual to enter the examination room. She stayed further away than that of Steve and Catherine, her face changing to subtle shades of green. Danny seemed to be the only one initially aware and stayed at her side in support. "You need some water?" he whispered.
Her answer was slow but she eventually shook her head. "No, not yet at least."
"Hey Max, you in here?" Steve asked as they reached the door to his office.
"Ahh, Commander McGarrett, Detective Williams. Please come in," the native said with a small smile as he closed his piano's lid and stood. "I see you've brought Agent David and Lieutenant Rollins with you. Welcome also."
Danny waved at him before shoving his hands in his pockets. "Thanks but I'm fine back here," he smiled though it was more of a mirror grimace to that on Ziva's face.
"There's is no cause for alarm, Detective. I have completed my work in the lab. There is no... ahh, the smell of disinfectant. Of course. My apologies," he dismissed the Jersey born detective's reaction before his eyes settled on Ziva. "I wasn't aware that you shared Detective Williams dislike for the smell, Agent David."
"Normally I am fine. It seems that my - stomach is disagreeable today," she smiled at him before covering her nose and mouth with her hand.
"Which would likely indicate a reaction to bad food or preg...nancy," he nodded. "Could I interest you in some green tea? To help settle your stomach?"
Her answer was quick with look to Steve who was busy staring at the bullet holes in the victim. "Bad food. I'll just get something when we leave here."
"Max, could we move this along?" Steve asked impatiently, partly because he knew what Ziva was going through, and partly because he was in need of some solid leads.
"Of course. The victim was indeed shot with precision. both the heart and brain were fatally wounded with the first shot to both. I theorise that the killer is a trained professional, likely with a military background due to his or her need to ensure the victim was deceased with additional rounds to both organs," he began. "The weapon used was a 9mm pistol. Probably military issue, but Charlie will be able to confirm this by testing the bullet fragments."
Catherine was rather quiet since leaving the office. "Any signs she was raped?" she asked as she walked around the tablet to get a better look herself.
"I performed a full examination and there are no signs of sexual contact, penetration or forced penetration," he replied. "There were also no defensive wounds or additional wounds to speak of. I do not believe she expected her death until the last possible moment."
"Did anyone find her cell phone? Maybe we could track her movements over the previous few days..."
"CSU already has it and the provider is going to send the logs to us by the afternoon. They're stuck in the middle of system updates," Ziva interrupted her, looking at Max's collection of trinkets on the shelves.
Danny received a message from Kono, looking at his phone and swallowing down the urge to vomit again. "Uhh, Fong's ready for us with initial findings and Amy Sheridan's been brought in by HPD. Kono wants to know if she should question her."
"Ziva, why don't you go back to the office and help Kono interview Sheridan, find out what she knows about what happened last night?" Steve asked noting Ziva's growing discomfort around the fumes and most likely Marissa's body."
She narrowed her eyes on him briefly before turning to leave without a word. She let the swinging door to the area swing freely as she pushed her way out where she sucked in a deep breath of the clean, odor free air.
"Smooth move, genius..." Danny shook his head, only for Steve to bolt passed him after Ziva.
"Ziva... hey Ziva, wait up!" he called after her. "What is it, what's wrong?"
She glanced back at him before opening her hand where Danny had slipped his keys to her before she rushed out. "Nothing is wrong," she replied, her voice wavering. "You need me to do anything else at the office?"
"Don't do that, don't lie to me," he said, closing the gap between them and placing his hands on her shoulders affectionately
Her eyes flickered up at him and then out towards the view of the ocean in the distance. "I never felt so weak at the sight of a body. I was fine at the beach, I don't know," she offered, avoiding her nervousness about her own issues.
"It was likely the antiseptic, it's strong stuff and you have our baby growing inside you," he replied, planting a kiss on her forehead. "But there's something more... talk to me."
Ziva closed her eyes and pressed her fist against them. "Steve, now is not the time to go on about my insecurities. It's really nothing. If it makes you happy I'll ask Kono to call a few doctors in the area to find an appointment to make sure that everything is going normal. Okay?"
"Okay, but we'll talk later," he reassured her.
"Do me a favor Steve?" she asked, looking up at him sadly. "Keep Danny with you. Don't go anywhere without him. Even if you're with someone else."
"As if I could get rid of him," he half joked. Dismissing her request out of worry for his continued safety. "But I will okay. Won't let him out of my sight. Just try not to crash his car."
She rolled her eyes with a smile. "His car has survived your driving. Just remind him that he gave me his keys without anyone asking," she remarked as she dangled the keys from her fingers. "Might stop off to have a copy made."
"It is a nice ride. But I guess we should consider getting you a car out here since Jimmy bought yours back in DC," he replied as he escorted her to the Chevy.
Pausing before getting in, she looked back at the medical examiner's office where she could make out Danny's figure peeking out, but also the other feminine one. "I'll see you at the office, if not then at home tonight."
"Sure," he leaned down and captured her lips with his. "Love you. Sorry for being a jerk earlier."
"I can be a jerk too. At least I have an excuse to fall back on that is widely accepted for any sort of misbehavior. What's your excuse?" she smiled cheekily.
"No excuses... save for the need to find out what happened to Marissa. Jameson met me when I first landed on the island for my father's funeral. She and my dad were friends. She offered me her condolences and gave me the team I needed to stop things like Marissa's death from happening more often. I owe it to her."
Ziva reached up to place her hand on his cheek. "You will need to separate your friendship from her in this case. Believe me I know how hard it is but right now, you know the Governor is behaving too suspicious."
"I know you're right. And I'll try... but..." he pressed his face into her hand, as her touch was soothing to him. "It doesn't mean that I don't hope you're wrong."
Inside, they were watched by Danny and Catherine. She kept her face impassive but could not help reacting to the intimacy between them. Even if they weren't together anymore, it still hurt. He explained that he was involved when they ran into each other at the bar back in DC but he didn't offer any details. Especially just how involved.
"How long have they been together?" she asked Danny, looking to him quickly to see his reluctance to her question. More likely the topic if she was accurate.
"Uhh... a while. It seems Steve met her when he was leading a SEAL team, some joined mission with the Mossad. They apparently pulled each others asses out of the fire more than once," Danny shifted uncomfortably as he watched Ziva drive away. "I know that he loves her. Wants to spend the rest of his life with her. That's not saying he didn't care about you because I happen to know that he did, and he still does. But everyone has that special someone in their life that they can't shake. For me it's my daughter's mom, for Steve it's Ziva."
Catherine let out a long, suffering sigh. "I don't see how. She's not even that friendly. Why hasn't he ever mentioned her before?"
"Did you ever talk about your exes around him?" Danny asked as he watched Steve make his way back inside.
Scowling, she glanced at him. "Point taken, but still doesn't mean I have to like it," she muttered before turning her back to the window. "It's not like he's the type that gets married anyway. I don't have to worry about that at least."
"Uhhhh. yeah..." Danny suddenly found the copy of Max's autopsy report overly interesting.
His sudden aloofness caused a stir of surprise in her as she stared at him dumbfounded. "You're joking!" she exclaimed, practically shouting.
"I didn't say anything!" his head shot up. "How am I supposed to... he said that you two were... I didn't say 'ANYTHING'!"
"Say anything about what?" Steve asked as he jogged up the last few steps, only to be welcomed by a scowl and a sheepish head shake.
Catherine immediately closed her mouth and smiled quickly. "Nothing," she replied. "Danny and I were just taking the moment to - catch up. Is Agent David okay? She was kinda green there for a bit. Getting used to the local food difficult for her?"
"I didn't say anything!" Danny added quickly as he discreetly made his way back to Max's office.
She rolled her eyes at him as he left, leaving her with her former lover who stared at her suspiciously. "What? I didn't do anything," she muttered uncomfortably under his eyes. Shifting in place, she looked away in hopes that he would just let it go.
"Cath... we talked about this back in DC," Steve folded his arms. "Ziva and I are in a relationship now. What you and I had was special, but we both knew it wouldn't last."
"Steve," Cath sighed then backed off. "Sorry. I just didn't realize how much it hurt to see it in front of me."
"Well I'm sorry. I should be more mindful of your feelings, but Ziva and I went through hell and back together. When I was with the SEALs and when we found each other again. I lost her once and it's one of my biggest regrets," he explained. "You and I... we agreed that we were just having fun, our careers were more important. And that was your idea... that's why I hoped you'd moved on... with McGee. I figured you were okay with being friends."
She shook her head as she stepped away. "Tim is great but it just didn't feel right. He's actually kind of hung up by some girl he works with. We ended up just playing video games. He's pretty good."
"So, you had fun," he smiled softly. "If you're looking for more, find someone. You're an amazing woman who deserves someone who'll love her and treat her right. And he's out there for you Cath. I know it because for a while, I thought I was him... but I was wrong."
"Alright, can we drop this now? I feel sufficiently guilty over my behavior and would like to get back to work. What's next?"
"Next, we go to CSU for the preliminary on the evidence found where Marissa was discovered," Steve nodded as he began to make his way back towards Max's office to fetch Danny and have a final word with Max himself.
"Please have a seat Miss Sheridan, thank you for agreeing to come in at such a difficult time," Kono said as she waited for Amy to have a seat at the interview table before she and Ziva joined her. She was visibly distraught. Her freshly applied eye makeup was already running from the amount of crying the student had done since hearing about her friend's fate.
"You're sure it's Marissa?" Sheridan asked for what seemed the tenth time since the officers from the Honolulu Police Department visited her at her dorm and informed her that 5-0 needed to speak with her. "I knew I shouldn't have let her go..."
Ziva set down a box of tissues that she retrieved before answering. "Yes, we are positive. Can you tell us about when you last saw or spoke with Marissa? Where was she going?" she asked gently, moving to sit across from her.
"We... we were outside Koloka's Bar. We were gonna go onto a club to dance, listen to some music... Marissa... she recognised some guy that pulled up in a limo. Went over to say hello and they started talking. He was some friend of her aunt's or something..." she replied. "She was way into him... hanging on his every word, but the guy was seriously creepy. He kept shooting me these looks, like he knew I was waiting for her..."
"Did he speak to you at all?" Kono questioned curiously.
"No, his driver did. Asked where we were going so that he could drop Marissa there after she had a drink with his boss," she replied. "I told him and tried to persuade Marissa to come with us once again but she said to go on ahead... stupid..."
Ziva narrowed her eyes as she thought about her story. "Would you be able to recognize their faces if you saw them again? Did you notice if any of them stood out, something small could mean a lot."
"I guess... I mean we had a few drinks and it was dark, but I'll try... those eyes... The guy in the limo. I think Marissa called him Ho... something. He had these mean looking eyes, even when he was smiling," Amy explained. "But maybe they had nothing to do with it. Maybe Marissa decided to walk to the club. I could be wasting your time."
Before she could ask another question, Ziva noticed Kono appearing deep in thought. Raising an eyebrow at her, she glanced behind her quickly to silently ask to speak with her outside. Smiling at Amy, she excused herself before heading outside the small conference room. "What are you thinking of?" she whispered.
"Someone connected to the Governor in some way... politicians make enemies and this has all the signs of a professional hit... I think whoever killed Marissa... if it is this Ho character, has only just started," Kono replied. "We need an ID on this guy as soon as possible. And Amy saw him, he saw her. He may come after her to silence her."
"Protection detail it is then," she murmured but was still stuck on other things, some she wasn't even sure of exactly. "The thing I don't get is that as creepy as she says this guy is, Marissa seemed to have no problem going up to him like he was family. She did say that she told her that he was friends with the Governor."
"You said that the Governor reacted strangely to the questions you and Steve asked her when you gave her the news about Marissa?" Kono asked as she watched Amy through the one-way glass. "I hate to say this, but maybe she suspected something like this might happen?"
Ziva shrugged a shoulder. "Who knows? Anyone who felt threatened by a person would have a bad feeling about what could happen. I do think she knows more - but doesn't realize it herself yet. If you have a mug shot collection, I say let her sit and go through it. It would keep her safe here for awhile yet while we wait for the others to get back."
"Good idea. Let's hope Charlie has some leads, McGarrett won't be happy if the killer's a ghost," Kono replied before going to get the mug shot data for her laptop.
"Okay, so I went over everything we pulled from the scene twice. The sand and sea water contaminated the victim's clothing, she was laying there for at least an hour before she was discovered," Fong explained. "But Max did manage to retrieve the slugs from her wounds. There's no doubt they came from a 9mm suppressed glock. The striations on the bullets were matched to several other homicides over the last 3 months."
"Where the victims anyone high profile or connected to?" Catherine asked as she stared at the bullets he had in protective displays.
"Tara's getting the info together for you now, but it looks like it. Japan, China, Here and the Mainland. All successful politicians and businessmen and women by the looks of it," he replied. "There's no doubt that you've got an assassin on your hands. One who's good at getting away quick and clean. No fingerprints, no DNA."
She looked over at Steve, who seemed to be in his own world. "It doesn't help us that they dumped the body where the salt water would eat whatever trace they might have left. Did they find her cell phone? Other personal belongings?"
"We're having trouble with the cell, saltwater damage being what it is. I was thinking maybe Chin could have better luck. As for the rest of it, the contents of her purse... there's not a lot to it," Charlie explained."
"Thanks Charlie, we'll take it from here," Steve nodded before stepping away with Danny and Cath to talk. "Cath, you think you could work with Chin and get that cell working? Or at least get us some info from it as to her movements?"
Fong came over quickly with a clipboard and the evidence bag with the cell phone. While Danny signed for it, Catherine took the bag and studied the phone as she answered. "Sure. What are you going to be doing in case we need to get you?" she asked.
"Danny and I will be going over the other cases back at the office. Chin should be on his way back there now so we should get moving," Steve replied before thanking Charlie once again before they left and skirting the curious glances his ex had been giving him for most of the day.
Author: I would like to thank my followers for their patience in my absence. It has been busy around these parts, between work and trying to get documents together to start school again (yay me!). This chapter has actually been finished for the most part for some time. Usually I like to be a chapter or two ahead when I update the story. I am working on the next chapter already so here's hoping it'll be ready to post by the end of next week.
Arriving back at the office, Steve found Kono going through mug shots with their victim's friend, Amy Sheridan, while Ziva was talking with Chin.
"Hey guys," he said as he joined them at the computer table while Danny and Cath went to find some coffee. Planting a kiss on Ziva's temple, he looked to Chin. "Did you get Joe settled in with the Governor's people?"
"I did, he spent most of my time there talking with the Governor herself," he smirked. "On my way back, I called in at the HPD CCTV monitoring suite and pulled last nights video feeds from the area surrounding the crime scene. I was just about to go through them."
"Ziva, Danny and I can do that while we go over a lead that Charlie found for us. I need you and Catherine to take a look at Marissa's phone and see what you can get from it," Steve explained.
Chin nodded before going to find their other guest, leaving the two standing by the situation table. Ziva looked up at Steve and sighed. "Basically, the only solid information that she was able to give us was that Marissa went off with a 'creepy looking guy' by the name of 'Vo'. And that he seemed to be a friend of the Governor as well as she said that Marissa knew him from visits to her aunt."
"Charlie got a match on the gun that was used, a suppressed glock that was linked to several hits in Japan, China, here and on the mainland. I got us access to the files on those cases to see if they have any leads on who's been pulling the trigger," he explained before noting her unrest. "But first, I think I need to get you some lunch."
She grimaced. "I really don't want to think about food right now Steve," Ziva commented. "After the morgue, I don't think I'll keep anything down the rest of the day. If anything, I might go into your office to rest on your couch for an hour."
"Will you at least consider calling a local doctor to get checked out so that maybe you can get something for the morning sickness?" he asked, escorting her to his office.
Falling onto the leather couch, she made a face at him and carefully sidestepped the mention of a doctor. "Isn't it too soon for morning sickness? And it's not even morning anymore. Really, I think it's more that I didn't get a full night's sleep from being woken up for the case. It'll be an adjustment for me."
"Just do this... for me if not for you and the baby," he practically begged. "Otherwise I won't be able to focus on the case, just on your wellbeing."
She breathed out a sigh, rolling her eyes. Without Ducky there, she begun to feel just a small case of homesickness for DC. "Fine. iAfter/i I rest a little, I will look into a local doctor. I'll even have Kono take me if that makes you happy."
"It does actually," he beamed, and planted a kiss on her lips. "Now rest, I'll wake you in an hour or two."
Ziva made a face at him before laying down and covering her face with her arm. She had never felt anything worse than the nausea that was coming to her in those days, and she knew it was not going to end anytime soon.
Outside of the office, Chin and Catherine had returned to work on the damaged cell phone. Glancing at Steve who had just closed the door behind him, Chin frowned in concern. "How's she feeling?" he asked sympathetically. "I think I have some camomile and jasmine tea in my desk from when I had the flu that she could have."
"She just needs some rest, it's been non-stop since we left DC and she didn't get much sleep last night. But maybe ask her later?" Steve replied gratefully. "Is there anything you guys need? Tools? Something to eat? We could order in from the sandwich place?"
"What about Rainbow? I haven't had them in a while," Kono grinned as she came out of her office. "She's still looking through the mug shots but so far nothing is standing out. I figure try to keep her here as long as possible so I had switched the RAM card to a much smaller one to slow it down."
"Any word on the protection detail?" he asked as he eyed the very frightened, very distraught looking girl as she made her way through the photos.
She checked her watch. "I should be hearing back from HPD as soon as they can arrange something but until then, they're backlogged with that pile up across town and the desk sergeant said that there are other Feds that's giving them issues on another case so they don't know which way is up right now. So for now, she's ours."
"Fair enough. Feel free to order some food for everyone... Ziva's not too hungry right now so I'll run out and get her something later. Danny and I have an appointment with the CCTV footage," he nodded. "Also... when you get a minute, could you find a decent local medical practice for Ziva?"
Kono nodded slowly, pursing her lips as she glanced back at his office where she saw their newest teammate go to lay down, then towards Cath who was working with Chin. "For her - condition, right?"
"Yeah. Hell, if I had my way, I would fly Ducky out here, but I've burned through my airmiles and a couple of credit cards on travel expenses as it is," he nodded, confirming he'd like Ziva's condition kept on the down-low from everyone who wasn't immediate family.
"Dr. Mallard's a medical examiner, not a specialist in certain living changes," she grinned. "But I'm sure Ziva would appreciate the sentiment. I'll check on Amanda then look for someone good."
"Thanks Kono, I owe ya," he replied as he saw Danny began to pace in front of the monitor, having already begun his search through the CCTV videos and open homicide case files.
Waving him off she smiled as she headed back to her office. "It's not a big deal. Just shoot me a quick email or text with Ziva's information and I'll make the calls. Is there anything I should focus on asking so that it helps pinpoint the right doc?"
"Aside from some pretty bad morning sickness, everything should be included in her medical records," he replied.
"Okay. I'll see what I can find. I'll call in orders for loco mocos for pickup," Kono replied before turning to go into her office to check on Amanda.
She brought the cup of tea that she held and set it down in front of the girl. Amanda looked up gratefully, her eyes red with the tears that stopped coming. "Thanks. I haven't seen him yet but it's hard because so many look like they icould/i be him. They're natives but definitely not him. Even the ones that look like gang members didn't have the same - cold eyes."
Kono took in the girl's tired appearance and nodded. "We're ordering from Rainbow Drive-In for lunch. Take a break with us and eat, then we can get back seeing if we can find our mystery guy after. What would you like?"
Amanda hesitated, looking back at the screen before nodding in agreement. "Thanks. I'm not really hungry though..."
"You've been with us all morning. You need to eat something," the young officer replied.
"Fine," she sighed. She thought about her options before answering. "Just the mahi mahi I guess."
Kono smiled before squeezing her should supportively before she left and slid into Chin's office to use his phone and computer where she could keep an eye on their guest. After calling in their order for lunch and texted Steve with the information, she jumped online to look up local doctors for their newest addition to the team.
By the time everyone completed their lunches, brainstorming theories regarding their case while Ziva continued to nap and their guest back to reviewing photos on the computer system until the group could make arrangements for her safety. Conversation flowed with minimal discomfort considering the pink (or possibly blue elephant) that the team had been hiding from their visiting friend.
Kono's cell phone rang, allowing her to leave the group to take the call, as the others sat picking at what remained of their meals.
Catherine's attention turned to the office a few times, although she attempted to hide her curiosity. Several times she tried to say something but stopped herself, unsure if her intrusion would be welcome. While she and Steve had come to something of an understanding, things continued to have an awkward edge since returning to the office.
"Just come out with it Cath," he muttered as he read the forensic report that was just sent to the office.
"Sorry," she apologized softly. "Are you sure it's alright for her, Ziva, to be here with her being sick? Aren't you concerned about anyone catching what she has in the middle of such an important case?"
Steve sighed as he looked up towards his office where his fiance was waking up and rolled the fax in his hands. A quick glance to movement at Chin's office where Kono held up her hand and mouthed her message to him, he smiled. "She's not contagious. We know what the problem is and it isn't contagious so you don't have to worry about it. In fact she has an appointment soon to make sure that everything is as expected. I'll be right back."
He made his way into his office where Ziva smiled up at him drowsily. "How long have I been out?" she asked him, her voice hoarse from her sleep.
"About three hours. It's fine. We just finished a late lunch if you want something. I'm sure Kono can hit a drive-thru on the way to the doctor's office if that's preferred," he replied leaning in to give her a chaste kiss. "Kono got you an appointment with a local doc. She can see you in an hour if you are still willing to go."
She made a face initially and thought very quickly about not going until she was able to get a good look at the hopeful expression on his face. "I'll go, but I thought you would want to go to be there for all the appointments."
Nodding, Steve couldn't deny that he wanted to be there for her, with her. Unfortunately for them, the timing of everything was not ideal. Taking a deep breath and letting it out, he glanced out to their friends and teammates. "Of course I want to be there. I guess they can survive without me for an hour or so."
"Yes, I suppose they can do their jobs just fine. They've done it while you were in DC with me, have they not?"
He laughed as he went to pull her up from the couch before turning serious. "Yeah. But uh, Ziva? You should know that Cath is suspicious. I made it clear that I already knew why you weren't feeling well and assured her that you weren't contagious. Just let her continue to think its food poisoning or something."
Shaking her head, Ziva sighed. "It's fine. We do not have to tell her anything as it is none of her business." Although, if she were truly honest, she was actually angry that the woman would press an issue that she had nothing to do with. The anger wasn't worth its energy because it only pushed to make her realize quickly that it was more draining on her body and present condition.
Steve studied her closely for a moment before nodding his head simply, knowing it might not be in either of their best interest to argue her easy compliance. They walked out together before he quickly gathered what he needed to take with them in case they got pulled back into work as soon as they were done. Kono met them as they headed for the doors, passing him the paper with their appointment details.
"I'm going to open up the photos for Amy to everything in the system that's gotten a mug shot in Hawaii. I don't know how much longer we'll be able to keep her before she caves. I'm ready to call and find out what's going on with her protection detail and safe house so that she could call it a night and try again fresh tomorrow," she reported.
Ziva glanced up at Steve and raised an eyebrow in silent question to him. He shared a look with her before nodding reluctantly. "If it doesn't look like they are getting anywhere, we'll make arrangements ourselves. She'll just have to stay with one of us. We'll figure it out later. Keep me up to date," he said before nodding to his girl. "Ready to go?"
"Let's get it over with," she replied as she pushed him ahead of her out the door. If there wasn't anything she disliked more, it was dealing with doctors. She had her fill after Somalia to last a lifetime. At the moment, considering her history, she just prayed for a healthy baby and knew that its father wished the same based on the concerned expression he held each time he looked at her.
Author Note: I am back on this series! Yay! Aren't you happy? I am! While I am working on the story again, updates are still going to be rather slow, but they are definitely forthcoming, that is a promise. I have many stories that are active and am working on. I am trying to update what I can with what the muses are working with the most. It's taken some time to get back into the Pu'uwai Series since Ziva has left NCIS, and especially harder when H50 had Steve actively dating Catherine, however now that she is gone, I've gotten inspiration back.
I have a new website for those followers that may not know. You can visit by going to (link is on my profile page). You can subscribe to my blog for email updates there. After this update, I will update on my site there before I update on FFnet and post a blog post with any mentions of updates and links. I also will have stories on the website that won't me featured on FFnet as well, eventually. Many things planned.
My bestie and I have a new crossover story/series for anyone interested. This is a pimpage for that. It is Arrow/Twilight crossover. You can find it under FFnet penname meekobuggy titled GamblingHearts. It's not your typical Twilight fic, but we are super excited about it. We're shamelessly trying to promote it as much as possible LOL!
Anyways, here is the much anticipated chapter for Ohana...
Steve sat in the waiting room thumbing through one of the magazines the office had for its patients while Ziva was submitting her paperwork to the office clerk at the window. His eyes often glanced over at her to make sure that she wasn't about to try to strangle the young girl manning the desk. He knew she had been on edge all day between her nausea and with Catherine's presence, but his priorities were with her and the case.
He quickly turned his eyes back to the magazine when he saw she was finishing up so that she didn't notice his watching. Turning the page, he waited until she was seated beside him before he looked up at her.
"This is ridiculous. I don't understand why they need all this information," she complained as she sat uncomfortably, her eyes surveying the room.
With a calming smile, he reached over to take her hand and tried to ease her nervousness. "Relax Ziva. It's routine, you know that. I'll be there with you the entire time," he said, knowing that her anxiety was more than just the invasive questions. "I want both you and our little one to be absolutely healthy. It's hard enough in our line of work and believe me I know asking you to take a step back would get my ass kicked, so this is the next best thing I can ask of you to do to humor me in taking care of yourself."
Ziva huffed before she cracked her neck. "I do not like this," she whispered.
"I know you don't but it will be fine," he assured her. "You're not going to do this alone. Just breath."
Her eyes darted to his before looking away. He knew very well what much of her fears were coming from and he was doing his best to reassure her. She knew her treatment of him as they had gotten closer to the doctor's office was unwarranted but she still hadn't gotten over her aversion of doctors completely. To have anyone that hadn't earned her trust having any control over her, especially with a condition as intimate as their child, put her on edge.
Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes as she attempted to do as he had asked and calm down. It wouldn't do either of them any good if she snapped and killed someone simply because her hormones were off balance. Although, she could not help but smile at the thought of the excuse considering her history.
Steve couldn't help but to smile himself at the expression on her face and found himself curious as to what put it there. "What are you thinking about?" he whispered as he leaned in to kiss her behind her ear.
"Nothing much. Only if pregnancy hormones would be a valid argument for myself if I were forced to kill someone for angering me now," she answered. "I believe Danny and Tony would say yes."
He chuckled as he sat back, nodding in agreement. Before he could say anything else, one of the office nurses appeared at the door, mispronouncing her name badly."Ziva David?"
A low growl escaped her throat as she started to argue with the woman but Steve held her back. He quickly corrected the nurse while he had his hand running up and down his fiance's arm, but the flexing of his muscles as the woman glanced over the two was obvious that he was putting in some effort to hold her back.
"My apologies," she said quickly as her eyes widened and stammered. Quickly she turned to lead the couple down the hall. "Let's get you into the exam room and get you prepared for the doctor. According to the chart, you were supposed to see Dr. Kaeo? Unfortunately not long after you called, she was called into the hospital for a delivery but her partner is available to see you today to get you started. Dr. Mahoe is very good and if you don't like her, you'll still be able to continue with Dr. Kaeo for future appointments. Today was just to get established, correct?"
"Yes. Ziva has also had some severe nausea, so we were hoping for something that might help ease that so she won't be suffering as much as she still wants to work," Steve explained before letting out a grunt when Ziva's elbow jammed him in the gut as she gave the nurse a tight, glaring smile.
Luckily, for the woman's life, she was quick as she wrote her notes and took the preliminary vitals on her before leaving an examination gown on the counter before running out as if she was on fire from the way that Ziva's glare remained on her the entire time. "I do not like her," she said once they were alone.
"Somehow I doubt that there will be anyone that will satisfy you right now," Steve muttered as he sat back in his chair and smirked at her. "I have to admit that this little display was amusing though. Just try to not bite off the doctor's head."
"I make no promises."
"Ziva…" he warned.
She rolled her eyes as she sat annoyed on the table when another nurse entered. "Miss David?" she questioned, this time pronouncing her name correctly. "I apologize for Jessica. My name is Laura and I'll be assisting with the rest of your appointment. If you would just come with me for a few minutes?"
"What do you want me to do?" Ziva questioned, immediately suspicious.
Laura only smiled back goodnaturedly. "I just need to get you weighed and a couple other things. Are you able to go to the bathroom or do you need a little time because we will need a urine sample."
She could only blink for a moment and looked over at Steve who looked back at her. His eyes silently told her to reign in her nature and she could feel her nails dig into her palms. "Okay then," she submitted as she slid off the table and followed the new nurse.
As Laura had said, she only had her weighed and she visited the restroom quickly. She retook her vitals again once they were back in the room where Steve was waiting as he was reading one of the poster displays. She took asked them a number of questions that started to make him uncomfortable to Ziva's amusement before she closed the folder. "Alright now. Dr. Mahoe will be with you in a moment. We just need you to strip from the waist down and put the gown around you. We'll be right back."
Once she was out of the room, Steve smiled over at Ziva as he watched her undress. "See? That wasn't so bad, now was it?"
"Shut up. We haven't really begun yet. The worst hasn't come so keep your mouth shut because this is your fault," she glared at him, but there wasn't her usual heat in it. "I'm going to ask to make sure that she's the nurse that I deal with whenever I come in though. That other one is an idiot."
"She seemed to have voluntarily passed your file to someone else so don't worry about her. Relax before you get yourself more upset over something that you can't control," he attempted to reason with her.
She rolled her eyes as she fiddled with her engagement ring that she wore on her chain around her neck. "Are there any updates with the case?" she asked randomly.
"If there was, someone would call or text."
"But.."
"Relax."
"Steve…"
"Relax."
"Maybe we should reschedule. I don't think I can do this now," she said as she stared at the door nervously.
Sighing, he moved his chair closer so that he could grab her hand. "You will be fine. This all is routine. No one will hurt you and I won't let them. I won't let anyone take you from me."
She looked into his eyes searchingly for a full minute before nodding with a teary smile. "I believe you," she said. She let out a shudder when they heard a light knock on the door before it slowly opened.
"Good afternoon Miss David," a woman not much older than she was entered with a smile. "I'm Belen Mahoe and I'd like say congratulations."
"Uh, thanks?" Ziva replied as she pulled back from Steve, not noticing his initial reaction to the doctor after she introduced herself.
Dr. Mahoe nodded at her before taking notice of who else was in the room. "And this is Dad?" she asked as she moved to take a seat on the other side of the exam table and opened Ziva's chart to review the notes the nurse had made.
"Yes. We found out not long ago. Maybe two weeks ago although I had been filling ill for much longer," Ziva explained.
"Yes. I can see that. It appears your birth control failed while you were on antibiotics for your chest infection," the doctor explained as she raised an eyebrow as she eyed something on the chart. Looking up at Steve, she found him paying particular attention to her patient. "Such a small world…"
Ziva looked at her confused before growing more suspicious and turned to Steve. "You have something to explain?"
He groaned slightly. "There's nothing to explain. I didn't connect the name when the nurse mentioned it before. Only after she walked in and said it fully - Dr. Mahoe and I…"
"The doctor that's about to examine our child and you…" she prompted icily.
"Steve and I dated in high school before he dumped me," the woman said bluntly as she wrote some notes in the chart. "If you are uncomfortable by this history, it's fine. I have no problems and certainly no lingering feelings for your - I don't know what you two are, I'm sorry."
"We're engaged," Steve said quickly, and rather loudly but with a lot of pride that eased much of Ziva's growing anxiety and insecurity.
"More congratulations," Dr. Mahoe said as she looked up with a genuine smile. "Alright. Ziva, it's up to you if you want Steve to stay or go. We need to do a pelvic exam and do a couple more tests. It'll be a little uncomfortable but I'll try my best to get over with it as quickly as possible."
She reached over and gripped onto his hand tightly. "I'd like Steve to stay. I'll be more comfortable if he remained with me," she admitted.
"Very well," the doctor nodded as she stood and went over to the door to poke her head out. It was a moment before she caught Laura passing and informed her she was ready to start. Before long, Ziva was on her back on the table with Steve attempting to distract her from the activity below in between the doctor's questions.
The procedures finished just in time for Ziva to push herself up as her face began to show distress. "Move," she let out as she pushed Steve away. "I'm going to throw up…"
Dr. Mahoe quickly passed over an emesis basin on the counter and held it for her. "Has this been frequent?" she questioned.
"Yes and no. The nausea has been pretty intense for her over the last two weeks, but this I don't know. She hasn't told me if she has," Steve answered as he held her hair back for her.
Ziva groaned as she wiped at her mouth when she was finished, leaning against him feeling exhausted. "It wakes me at night where I need to vomit, yes. It has been very strong with little relief. I've done what books have recommended. Crackers, ginger ale, juices… nothing helps."
"Hmm," the doctor murmured. "It's still early so you need to give it time. I can write you a prescription to help give you a little relief right now but you really shouldn't take it for long. We can give it a try for a week at a time and monitor your nausea. I'll also give you some prenatal vitamins but they will also likely cause some stomach upset as well."
"Lovely," she muttered as she closed her eyes while Steve held her. "We still have to go back to work."
The doctor looked back up from her script pad with concern. "I would recommend you go home and rest for what remains of the day. If you fill these prescriptions and at least start the one medication, it may make you more tired until you adjust to it."
"We have an important case we are working. We cannot just stop working," she snapped back.
Steve rubbed his hands over her arms to soothe her. "Easy there. We can go back to the house so that you can lay down and work from there. We can keep an eye on our guest and still do our job," he said as he raised an eyebrow.
Sighing, Ziva nodded as she gave up. "Fine. Is there anything else doctor?" she asked as she wanted to leave.
"No," the woman smiled as she handed over the prescriptions, as well as her card with her cell phone number. "Just take it easy tonight and preferably for the rest of the week. Give me a call anytime if you have questions or problems. If I don't answer, just leave a message and I will get back to you. I'll leave you to change. It was a pleasure to meet you Ziva, and good to see you again Steve. We'll make sure that everything goes as it should with the little one. Have a good day you both."
After Dr. Mahoe left the room, Steve helped Ziva dress before they made their way out and resolved any issues at the counter. She scheduled her follow up appointment reluctantly and he helped her along as she continued to appear to be rather weak from the ordeal inside the office. "I am thinking it's a really good idea to go to the house now," he commented as he looked at her while he went to open the truck door for her. "I'll drop you off at the house so that you can lay down then head to the pharmacy for you."
She nodded as she pulled herself up into the truck and settled into her seat and put her head back against the seat. He lingered at her side as he watched her. Reaching up he brushed her hair away from her face. "Hey," he spoke softly to get her attention. When she turned her eyes on him, he smiled at her as he ran his thumb over her cheek. "I love you."
Ziva returned his smile back as she rested her hand over his. "I love you too. Now, please. Let's go. If I am not in the condition to return to the office, it does not mean that you should not be making the attempt to do so."
"Yes Boss," Steve smirked as he leaned in to press his lips to her forehead and closed her door. Jogging around, he quickly got in himself and set out on the road for home. All the while, he could not remove the smile on his face all due to the woman sitting beside him.
~o.O.o~
By the time that Steve returned to the office finally, he looked around confused at finding Kamekona eating in the office. His annoyance quickly spiked but he managed to control it as he turned around 360 degrees to look for his partner. "Where's Danny?" he questioned.
"Detective Williams and the pretty lady are downstairs. HPD brought someone in and they went to go question the guy," Kamekona answered in between bites of the loco moco that caused Steve to narrow his eyes.
"Kono and Chin?"
"They took the pretty girl out. I don't know where. They said they will be back soon. Where have you been while everyone was working brah?"
Steve breathed out slowly through his nose. If he had been a cartoon, it might have looked as if it were puffs of smoke coming out. "Was that food sitting on the table when you got here and you decided to just start eating?" he asked instead of answering.
Kamekona paused mid bite as he looked down at his to-go tray, as if he had to contemplate his response carefully. He probably had to, knowing who he was dealing with. "Perhaps…"
"That was my lunch Kamekona. I just took Ziva to her doctor's appointment and home. I haven't had the chance to eat yet," he said through grounded teeth as he closed his eyes shut. "We've been working a case since the middle of the night. What are you doing here Kamekona?"
"Umm...uhh...I forgot…" the big guy stammered as he slowly closed the lid of the tray and pushed it back. "I'll go get you something to eat. I'm sorry brah. I didn't know."
Steve's hand fisted at his side before he simply pointed to the door, indicating his silent desire for the man to leave. As his friend made his escape, he let out a sigh and ran his hands over his head. Pulling his phone out while his went over to check out whatever progress the team made on the case, he dialed a frequent number. "Hey Chin? Can you grab me something to eat on your way back? … Yeah - Kamekona. Thanks."
Leaning over the situation table, he eyed what little information they were able to collect so far while they continued to wait on the forensic reports to come back. He knew he was going to need Ziva back to operational status because her skills were so much more evolved varied than any other on the team with her training and working with multiple agencies.
"What are you into Governor?" he murmured as he eyed the woman's photo, thinking back to their interview with her.