DISCLAIMER: NCIS and it's characters all belong to CBS. (Unfortunately) I don't own them.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: As I said - this is a sequel to I don't know what she said..., but some stuff happened since then and I took a moment to review my OTP for the series. Reviews will be most welcome. Oh, yhea italic indicates Hebrew, and this - 'indicates thought'
ARCHIVING: Only with the permission of the author.

For better or for worse...
By Shadower

 

Part One

She took the hand of the woman sitting at her side. A head tilt later a pair of dark eyes locked with her own "Are you sure about this?" her response was an amused smile.

"It's kind of late to change your mind, no?"

"I know, but still..." the smile faded as the woman pressed her lips to one side of her mouth.

"Did you change your mind?"

"No!" she shook her head "Not at all, I'm just... nervous... I guess." The dark eyes smiled at her.

"You don't need to be. We're going on vacation, it's going to be nice: just the two of us. No work..." a seductive smile played across her lips. The conversation was silenced as the stewardess announced that they have landed safely in the 'Ben Gurion International Airport' "and we thank you for flying El-Al". It was an hour before they finished with passport control and retrieved their luggage.

"Wow..." the other woman nodded "this place looks amazing..."

When they finally entered the greeters' hall, the two paused for a moment as they surveyed the crowd. The area was packed full of people. With this airport being the only international airport in the country, many people came and went at every given moment, and now was no exception. But the bright marble and the tall windows added a little to the roomy effect.

"Ziva!" a woman dressed in a blue, knee high skirt and a white shirt approached them and the women smiled, then hugged. "Welcome back." Then she turned to Ziva's companion "Nice to finally meet you face to face." Her accent had a small amount of American mixed in with the Israeli. The two shook hands.

"It's great to finally meet you too." Her smile was pleasant, but the spy's trained eye saw the fatigue across her girlfriends' features.

"I think we should leave here. It has been a long flight and I think we'd be more comfortable off our feet."

"I bet you would..." Ayelet smirked at her friend. Ziva actually blushed. "Dror is waiting for us at home. He thought it would be best with the luggage and all." She explained as they headed out towards the elevator "Not to mention, it gives us some time alone together." The ride to Ayelet's wasn't long, especially by American standards, but it made for a good ice breaker between the women who had not seen each other in a long while, and the two who have just now met.

"He just takes a while to get used to, that's all."

"I don't think I'm used to him yet..." was the half mumbled response as the three walked up the few stairs leading to Ayelet's house.

"We're home!" the house was silent, and the two agents exchanged a look before going in. "Dror? Are you here honey?" She called out "Put you suitcases here, I'll get you something to drink first. The jetlag will be a little better if you try to get used to time difference right away." She was rambling a bit, but the women didn't seem to mind. "What can I get you?"

"She'll take coffee, the strongest you have..." she was cut off before she could continue

"And for you, the freshly squeezed stuff?" Ziva smiled

"You have it?"

"Of course I do." Entering the kitchen, Ziva picked up a note from the island

"'I went to the store, be back in a few minutes. Dror.'" Ayelet smiled with relief and turned on the electric pot, getting out a couple of mugs and a tall glass. The two sat down after a motion from Ayelet who tended to the various drinks. "I still don't understand why you insist on having us over. These days are hectic enough without us being here. We can always get a hotel room." The brunette came back with their drinks, setting them by a small plate with various cookies.

"I know that, Ziva, but you came here from the United States after too many hours of flight, and after these two weeks it'll probably be months before I will see you again. Even though you live thousands of miles away you're still one of my best friends... Look, I won't make you stay if you don't want to, but keeping you here can also be a positive thing: I can make you cook." The two guests had to laugh at the shit eating grin that crossed their hostess face. When a hand snaked its way to grasp Ziva's the three women exchanged looks. "I'm glad you two got together. The relationship you had before wasn't good for you." Her remark earned her a raised eyebrow from the two. "What? I'm entitled to my opinions." The door opened and Ziva resisted the urge to reach out and grab her gun.

"I'm home!" came the call seconds later. The woman stepped out and greeted the man at the door then showed him in.

"This is Dror, My fianc, Dror, you remember Ziva, and this is her girlfriend that I told you about - Jenny Sheppard." The tall man hugged Ziva.

"Whatever she told you about me it's not true." He assured his redheaded guest with a smile as he shook hands with her.

"Which one?"

"Both." He joined them for a cup of coffee before he apologized for having to go to work and left the women to talk.

"Let's get you settled in." the brunette offered once the second cup was emptied and the three felt a lot more comfortable with each other. Once the awkwardness of the meeting was over, the three could talk about almost anything. Jenny being able to understand and even speak Hebrew was a relief to their host who even though managed to acquire an American accent, wasn't very comfortable in a language she didn't use daily.

They were shown into a spare room in the house, conveniently altered into a second bedroom, to set their things. They smiled as they were left alone for the first time in over 24 hours. "She's nice, very motherly." Jenny stated as she sat down in the bed, Ziva nodded and sat down next to her.

"She was this way ever since she started living on her own." She took Jenny's hand in hers entwining their fingers.

"What did she mean by your relationship with Abby not being good for you?" Dark hair spilled over Ziva's face as she looked down, sighing deeply. She had never given Jenny the full account of her relationship with the forensics expert, thinking that it wasn't appropriate to talk of one's ex with their current, at least, not yet.

"Abby and I were... are... different... in many ways." She lifted her head when a warm palm rested itself on her cheek, pulling her into looking at the grey-blue eyes she knew so well. She shifted uncomfortably, looking away.

"Ziva, we don't have to talk about it if you don't want to, but please don't shut me out..." she smiled as the brown orbs returned, a small smile painted across the lips in front of her and the spy leaned forward and captured the redheads lips in a quick but passionate kiss.

"Never again." She promised in a voice that was barely a whisper, a voice that Jenny felt more then heard. A voice that made her tremble. She pushed herself, resuming the contact of their lips. The kiss started slow, a request to enter the mouth that she knew was now hers. A smile graced her lips when the electric jolt, their tongues meeting, was sent through her body. She ran her hand through dark curls and felt Ziva's hands on her, one at her waist pulling her closer, and the other threaded in her short hair, her ear in the space between Ziva's thumb and forefinger.

Ziva's hand trailed a path down, across the delicate neck, down, painting a feather light trail from the top button of her blouse until she reached her destination on Jenny's knees. Even through the kiss the redhead could feel the strong hang flexing, then contracting under her knees as the younger woman pulled her legs on top of her own, and then brushed down her calf muscle to remove her shoes.

She let only the tip of her fingers touch Jenny's leg as she raised her hand again, resting it against Jenny's outer thigh, gently caressing with her thumb. When a moan escaped her lover's mouth and entered her own, she couldn't help but smile. Breaking the kiss she lowered her lips to the inviting neck presented to her. Her lips closed slowly on the throbbing pulse point. Jenny's grip on her hair tightened and Ziva could almost see how the older woman bit her lower lip, in an attempt not to cry out.

"Ziva..." The redhead hissed through clenched teeth "I..." dark locks moved to the other side of her neck "god... we sh... we should stop..." Ziva's eyebrow was raised quizzically as she raised her head. She couldn't help the smug little smile at the flush that she knew she had caused in the woman in her lap. The hand in her hair changed its position.

"If we continue, then we won't get out of this bed today, and personally, I could use a shower."

"Me two..." the Israeli purred

"I've noticed..." surprise and a little hurt flashed through her face. Grey-blue eyes smiled at her. "Come on, let me off." Ziva tightened her hold and shook her head. "Ziva..." Her tone was a little threatening now. Still, the same reply. A slow grin appeared on the former agent's face and she pulled sharply at the hair in her hand, causing the woman to shift back, she then added her weight to get them both on the bed, where she ravaged the mouth beneath hers for a few long moments. When she came up, they were both panting for air, Ziva's eyes slightly glazed. Jenny stood up and Ziva growled, resting her head on her hands.

"I can join you." she offered with a glint in her eye

"You could, but we shouldn't. We are not home, Ziva." She crossed her arms, feeling a bit like a mother scolding at her child for inappropriate behavior. 'Great, now I can't sleep with her even if I wanted to.' Ziva sighed and sat up

"I will get you for leaving me like this..." she stated and rose from her seat grabbing a towel and throwing it to Jenny. "You need to ask her where the shower is. I haven't been to this house yet."


Jenny turned and draped her arm over Ziva. 'Wait...' she opened an eye and let herself fully wake up before opening the other. Ziva was gone. The first time this happened she was startled. Now, she knew her lover was just downstairs. Rolling onto her back she contemplated going back to sleep for a few moments before she threw the light blanket off, got up and dressed. When she entered the kitchen she saw the three Israelis deep in conversation. She noticed that Ziva was more relaxed than she has seen her in a while, and she couldn't help the smile that crept to her lips as she hugged her from behind.

"Good morning." she greeted after a small kiss. Ayelet was smiling at them, Dror seemed a bit surprised.

"I didn't know you spoke Hebrew." he remarked after he greeted her in return.

"You can't work one on one with the Mossad for several years without picking up something." Ziva raised an eyebrow "Well, I couldn't." Ayelet got up, and pointed out the chair next to Ziva's. The woman smiled and accepted the offer, sitting down next to her girlfriend.

"I'll pour you some coffee, what do you want to eat for breakfast?" Dror grasped her hand

"I'll do it." She leaned in and kissed him, her hand resting on his cheek when they parted. Ziva returned her gaze to them, after the semi illusion of privacy, a content smile on her lips as her hand took hold of Jenny's, entwining their fingers.

"What do you have?"

"Cereal, breads, cheeses, eggs, do you want an omelet?" Ziva turned to look at her and nodded

"Uh... yes." The man parted from them and went to get the ingredients. "Are you two exited yet?" The couple exchanged a quick look and beamed

"Excited, giddy, nervous... I'd be thinking about running away to get married if we weren't less then a week away."

"Don't you dare even say it! The bride to be exclaimed, We'd still need to pay the bills, but we won't have the checks to cover for us!" The man laughed and raised his hands

"Hey, I was only suggesting."

"Bad suggestion... Even Jethro had three ceremonies." Three heads turned to her.

"Your boss?" Ayelet asked, a confused look on her face, Ziva was in the middle of a bite so Jenny answered.

"Her Boss, my subordinate." Dror raised his eyebrows in appreciation.

"You go girl!" Ziva nearly choked, and the other three chuckled.

"Cocky bastard. Marring my best friend doesn't give you a right to patronize. If anything, I'd start being more careful..." Ziva growled, only half joking

"I'd listen to her dear, you haven't seen her angry yet." Jenny shuddered, a memory tugging at her consciousness. It went unnoticed by all except the woman who currently held her hand, and she refused to meet the look in the Grey-blue eyes.

"So what do you want to do today?"

"I have to go by the Mossad. They'll want me to debrief them about a few things in person." Turning to look at her, the redhead couldn't hide her surprise.

"What?" the surprise was also evident in her voice "Why?"

"I am still a Mossad officer. I still have to answer to them." She shook her head, technically, and by training, Ziva was Mossad, in any other way she had become NCIS, and like any other agency director, Jenny was very territorial when it came to her people. Specifically this one. The blurry lines didn't help. On the contrary, she wanted them defined. She wanted Ziva to be hers, completely.

"Ziva, the Mossad buildings are in Tel-Aviv, right?" She shook her head

"It's closer to Hertzelia." The woman reweighed her options.

"You go, and I'll take Jenny out to the mall, we'll wander around for a bit, or catch a movie, and then you can catch up with us. Does that sound ok?" Jenny thought for a moment, and then nodded. All in all, there wasn't so much she could do today, without Ziva. She had some old acquaintances in the country, but she didn't trust herself to be over the jetlag on their first day in the country, and she preferred to be able to think straight when talking to her friends. Ziva nodded as well.

"Do you want my car too?"

"No, I dont think that will be necessary. It's not as if we're headed in two very different directions." Across the table a different conversation was taking place.

"Do you think you can face him today?" Ziva squeezed the redhead's hand affectionately.

"It doesn't matter, I have to."

"I can command you to rest a day... Ziva, I see the apprehension in your eyes, " in a blink of an eye, it was gone "and I..." she took a deep breath "Ziva, you can't possibly be ready for this."

"You're right, I'm not. At least, not completely. But I need to get this out of the way. We came here for a vacation, something nice, just the two of us. No work. But for that, I need to go and brief them. I won't be too long, and you can live for a while like the regular people do. Catch a movie, close your phone, Condoleezza probably won't need you today, and if she does, well, that's too bad."

"Ziva..."

"Jenny," she cut her off "you can always stay here. You don't have to go because I'm going. It probably won't take more then 3 hours anyway." The older woman shook her head.

"No, I'm up, so I'll make the most of it." After they dropped Ziva off, Ayelet drove them towards the sea shore.

"I can't believe she said that!" She gave the woman at her side a short look of surprise and shock, before returning her eyes to the road "Can she really do that?"

"Probably, but it's illegal, so she probably won't." The brunette blinked, her jaw dropping in surprise.

"She says I know her too well, but I know absolutely nothing..."

"It's not easy to get into Ziva's heart enough to know her well. It took me quite a while to do so." her response was a smirk.

"That's not true. We used to talk of you a while after you met." Jenny's eyebrows rose in surprise "Of course I didn't know you were an NCIS agent, or that NCIS existed for that matter, but that wasn't the..." she paused for a moment, trying to find the correct word "topic? subject, anyway."

"She used to talk about me, with you, when we were on assignments?" 'That doesn't sound like her...'

"Not during the assignments, and she wouldn't talked..." she shook her head "I'm sorry, I haven't spoken in English like this in quite a while, I'm a bit rusty..." her apology was waved off "After the first time you two worked together and she came to see me, she was furious. It was an hour before I got her talking about something that wasn't you." she smiled and put the car into a vacant parking spot, shutting off the engine "This is us. Lets go."

The redhead took a moment to survey their surroundings. They were in a marina, a mall that overlooked the sea to their left. Between the mall and the several tens of dozens of boats, was a wide walkway which housed a few restaurants and cafes that offered their patrons the view and breeze of the marina. The red brick floor combined with the slightly orange hue of the walls next to it made the place look like a whole other country then the semi-military structure they have left minutes before. The only thing that struck the woman as an eyesore was the security guard looking into a woman's bag at the gate. "Why is he looking in her bag?"

"To make sure no one brings a bomb into the place." The answer was given so matter of factly, that Ayelet didn't even notice Jenny had stopped dead in her tracks. "Are you OK?" Concern was apparent in her eyes.

"To make sure no one brings a bomb..." The redhead mumbled, ending the sentence with a huff. "I'm OK, it just takes a while to get used to the Israeli way of thinking after not being here for a while." She offered with a smile, Ayelet shrugged, as a flash of pain appeared then disappeared in her eyes

"What can I say, we value life."

"You have lost someone." It was a comment. She opened her bag for the guard and bid him a good day, he smiled at her and returned the greeting.

"I don't know anyone who hasn't." her tone made the older woman's heart break inside. She turned to face the brunette and took her hand. That earned her a sad smile, and a deep breath. "We didn't come here to be depressed though, I actually brought you here for my hidden agenda. Coffee?" Jenny's surprise at the quick change of pace flashed through her features.

"I never say no to coffee." The two chose their seats and ordered. "I can't say your comment wasn't intriguing," The brunette smiled "not everyone admits to having a hidden agenda." Ayelet shrugged

"Not everyone has a spy as their best friend, and a director of a federal agency as a house guest, either. You can say I'm special." 'Why is she putting herself down, why like this?' The brunette ran a hand through her hair, as if trying to collect her thoughts, trying to find the words for them. "She could read me, and I could read her, ever since we met. I'm sure she told you about it." the redhead nodded "That made sure we had no secrets from each other, her work not included. She kept silent, and I didn't ask. The legend that is the Mossad is... ingrained too well in Israelis for me to ever think of it. But..." she huffed, crossing her arms in front of her "when it comes to people in her life, in my life, we talked about it all... I think... She told me about Ari, about you, about your Gibbs, and before they started dating about Abby too." She shook her head "After the third date she stopped talking of her. She doesn't usually do this unless something was really wrong with it all. I can't get it from her and I'm worried."

"You were wondering if I might know."

"Yes." Jenny entwined her fingers and rested her lips on them as the waiter brought them their drinks. "Thank you." She raised her head to smile at the young man before he left.

"I've been trying to get her to talk about it for the past couple of months."

Part 2

Return to NCIS Fiction

Return to Main Page