Vacation in Sunriver, OREGON

Chapter 11: Caught Gibbs-Handed

About an hour later, there was a knock at the front door. Gibbs got up from the kitchen table and walked to the door.

"Hello?" Gibbs questioned as he opened the door to an old couple standing outside.

"Hiya! We haven't met before, but we're your neighbors from upstairs". The elderly woman spoke. "I'm Julie and and this is my husband Carl".

Gibbs shook their hands.

"I just wanted to ask you if you and your wife could keep it down". The Julie said kindly.

Gibbs was utterly confused. "What?"

"It's just that she must be really loud if we can hear her". Julie pointed at her and her husband's hearing aid, and chuckled.

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Suddenly, everything clicked. The so-called spider bite on Ziva's neck. Tony brushing up against Ziva 'innocently'. Ziva's lingering touches on Tony's arms and back. The glances thrown at each other when they thought nobody was looking.

Gibbs felt his temper rise again, and blood surged through his veins.
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"I'll let her know. Thanks, and sorry for disturbing you". Gibbs said quickly, before shutting the door.

He turned back into house, and yelled at his two agents to explain themselves.

"DAVID!!!! DINOZZO!!!!" He yelled angrily. "GET YOUR ASSES OVER HERE AND EXPLAIN YOURSELVES".

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The two agents quickly came over to Gibbs; confusion written all over their faces.

"I just had a lovely chat with our neighbors upstairs". Gibbs told them, pointing to the ceiling. "Complained about my wife's noise level when having SEX!" He yelled the last word. "Explain". He hissed dangerously.

"But boss, you don't have a wife". Tony joked stupidly.

Ziva whispered his name as he was head-slapped. Hard.

"Gibbs..." Ziva had begun to say, before Gibbs cut her off.

"You lied to me, Ziva. You slept with Dinozzo, and are now in a relationship with him! Don't think I don't notice your change in behavior around him!" Gibbs accused.

"Gibbs..." Ziva tried again.

"Are you that stupid?!" Gibbs interrupted her again. "That stupid to jeopardize your career for him?! You would be willing to break up the team, for a relationship that will never last!"

Ziva was on the brink of tears.

"Boss". Tony warned him.

Still looking angrily at Ziva, he spoke to the both of them. "I want your gun and your badge. Both of you. You're done. You will no longer be on my team, unless you end it. Right now".

Ziva and Tony were shocked. A tear rolled down Ziva's cheek, and she ran away. She ran out the door, grabbed her bicycle, and rode off into the forest.

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"Look at what you did!" Tony exclaimed angrily at Gibbs. "She thought of you as a father! As a person she could trust! And you betrayed her. Don't you get it? She loved and respected you, and you just discarded her like a piece of trash!"

Tony took a deep breath before continuing. "I love her, and I'm going to be with her. She's my everything. She's my Shannon, Gibbs!"

Tony gave Gibbs a disgusting look, before shaking his head. He ran out the door, hopped on his bike, and went looking for Ziva.

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Once Tony was gone. Gibbs let out a huge breath. He felt guilty. Extremely guilty. He sat down on the living room couch, and ran his fingers through his hair. He thought hard about what Tony had said.

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"Ah. There you are". Tony said softly, more to himself than Ziva.

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He found Ziva at the picnic area. She sat on one of the benches, and sat motionlessly. Staring out onto the river. When Tony moved closer to her, she lifted her head to look at him.

She wasn't crying, but it looked like she had. Her eyes were red, and she had dark circles under her eyes. It looked like she had cried away her concealer. Realizing it was just Tony, she looked back out to the river.

Tony sat down next to her, and threw his right arm around her. She rested the side of her head onto his shoulder, and he placed his head on top of hers.

"I'm fighting for us, Ziva". Tony said gently. He rubbed her arm for good measure.

"I know". Was all she said.

"I don't ever what to leave you, Ziva. I love you so much it hurts". He said sincerely.

"And I love you". Ziva said. "I will always love you, and I will never stop loving you. No matter what".

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Tears threatened to show in Tony's eyes at what Ziva had said. The fact that someone loved him with all their heart was honestly the best feeling ever. Even better than sex.
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"I love you". Tony whispered. "And I'll never stop saying that".

Ziva chuckled softly. "Good". She said. "Because I will never get tired of hearing it".

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With that, Tony and Ziva kissed. It was a sweet and salty kiss. Sweet, because of all the love they poured into the kiss. And salty, because of the tears that were running down Ziva's face.

Realizing that Ziva was crying, Tony broke the kiss to look at her. He smiled a smile full of love, and looked at her with pure adoration.

He kissed her tears away, and held her tight in his arms. He put his mouth close to her ear, and whispered "I love you".

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Ziva's mind immediately went into a flashback of yesterday.

"And what would you do with the information I give you, Tony?!" "Will you kiss my tears away? Will you hold me tight? Will you tell me you love me?"

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Ziva broke the kiss and rested her forehead against his. She placed the palm of her hands on his cheek, and rubbed her nose against his.

"I love you".

Uh-oh. They got caught. But at least they don't want to break up! Hopefully Gibbs will change his mind 😬