Ziva hopped out of the shower, her already dark hair darkened further by the water dripping from the loose curls. Tiny streams of water flowed down her body, following the smooth curves. Ziva grabbed the fluffy white towel from the nearby rail and wrapped it around her. She hugged her self tightly, smiling as the snug material warmed her body. She loved the feeling of a clean, fluffy towel after a shower; a little bit of comfort before a long hard day. She grabbed another towel from the same rail and moved into the next room. She looked up at the T.V. that was blaring away in the corner. She always left the 24-hour news channel on just in case something came up; right now it was talking about an oil spillage that had occurred in the Atlantic.
"When will these American people learn?" she asked herself.
She started to towel-dry her dark locks as the news flashed to a different story. A woman with short red hair was brought up onto the screen. She was standing on a podium, obviously making some sort of statement. Ziva reached over and picked up the remote, turning up the volume.
"Today Director of NCIS, Jennifer Shepard released a statement to the public saying that they have yet to make an arrest in the recent killings of Petty Officers Matthew Gray, Stephen Thompson and Jacob Kingsley. Our team was there earlier today and we bring to you the following footage -
As Director of NCIS I regret to inform you that so far we have been unable to arrest anyone in connection with the recent killings of Petty Officers Matthew Gray, Stephen Thompson and Jacob Kingsley. We are however following a number of leads…"
Ziva snorted loudly, they had come to a dead end in every direction they turned, and as of yet there were no new leads to follow.
"…and we do have a suspect we are looking into. At the moment we are unable to reveal names, but I can assure you that we are doing our very best here at NCIS to apprehend the culprit before any more killings occur. Special Agent Gibbs and his team…" Jen motioned to the man stood behind her, "…are exceptionably capable and I trust them completely to close this case and apprehend the culprit of these hideous crimes…"
Ziva tuned out after that. She would only go on and on about how we were doing our best, etc…, so that we sounded like we were somehow near to solving the case. Instead, Ziva stared at the figure standing behind the red haired woman. He was a handsome man, with silver hair lapping his forehead. Ziva paused in drying her hair and sat down in the armchair focusing on the man's expression. She laughed quietly to herself; he clearly didn't want to be there. No doubt he had been dragged along to make a good impression on the public. If they saw who was investigating, then they might be more confident that the investigation was going to a success. It seemed like dumb logic to Ziva but that is what comes from the public relations department.
She watched as Gibbs fidgeted behind Director Shepard and a pang of affection ran across her stomach. She just wanted to get him out of there; he just looked so uncomfortable. The big brave man she knew was looking lost, like a small puppy and she just wanted to scoop him up into her arms and…she stopped herself; it hit her that what she was feeling in her stomach may be more than just friendly affection.
"That's just stupid, Ziva" she said to herself, "he's your Boss, nothing more."
Her mind went back to when she first met him. He'd walked into the bullpen, so tall and mighty, the light shining off his hair. The first thing she had noticed was his figure; even through the shirt he was wearing she could make out the hard outline of his muscular chest. She remembered thinking that he must have worked out somehow, and he looked all the better for it. The main thing that had struck her was his eyes, those eyes; an icy blue that sparkled with veracity and integrity.
A breeze swept through the room, sending a chill over Ziva's damp skin. She hugged herself in an effort to keep warm and the image of Gibbs striking gaze was gone. She stood up and walked through to the bathroom; she was damned if she was going to be late for work.
***
Author's Chapter Notes:
Ziva remembers first meeting Leroy Jethro Gibbs