The Visit
As the elevator at NCIS headquarters dinged gently and the doors slid open, everyone working in the squad room looked up to see who was getting off. All they saw was a hand holding the door open, but no one exited the cab. After a moment, the hand was withdrawn, and the door closed again with another ding. The staff returned to their work.
Had they looked a little more closely, perhaps stood up and peered over their desks, they would have seen a cat strolling from the elevator over to the bullpen occupied by Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs and his team. The cat was obviously and magnificently male. His glossy fur coat was a rich, burnished brown, like a Burmese, although he was larger than the average Burmese, with sleek, well-developed muscles and brilliant green eyes. He walked with his head held proudly high, the tip of his tail waving gently, and glancing from side to side as if looking for someone in particular.
The cat stopped in front of the desk at which Mossad Officer Ziva David sat. She didn't notice him because she was absorbed in the document on the monitor screen. Her lips moved slightly as she read, and her brows were wrinkled with concentration.
Suddenly the cat leaped silently with graceful, effortless strength onto her desk. As he sat down on the edge of the desk, his tail continued to twitch slowly back and forth. For several seconds, he gazed intently at Ziva until the weight of his stare made her aware that she was being observed. She looked up from her computer, but for a moment she was unable to process the sight in front of her. Then she realized who was watching her. She waved the back of her hand at the cat.
"Shoo," she said. "Get away from me."
Her voice caught the attention of Agent Gibbs and the other occupant of the bullpen, Special Agent Tim McGee. As they looked toward David's desk, both began smiling.
"Problem, David?" Gibbs asked.
"I don't like cats," she answered. "Where did this one come from?"
"Well, you know what they say, Ziva," Gibbs went on. "Cats have an instinct for seeking out the one person in the room who doesn't like them."
Ziva made a face showing distaste, then waved her hand at the cat again. "Go away. You don't belong here, and I don't like you."
The cat was unmoved, but continued to stare at her with its beautiful green eyes, his tail still wagging gently.
Gibbs was actually grinning. "Maybe he's hungry, Ziva."
The cat meowed in response without looking away from the woman.
"Yeah, you probably should go and find him some cat food," McGee suggested. "Maybe a can of mackerel or something like that."
The cat turned to glare at McGee, pulling his ears flat against his head and baring his fangs in a vicious-looking grimace, accompanied by a loud hiss.
Gibbs laughed out loud. "Obviously not a good idea, McGee."
The cat returned its gaze to Ziva. "Gibbs," she said, "it's making me nervous. We need to get rid of it."
"Get rid of it?" he said. "What exactly do you mean by ‘get rid of it?'"
"Do something!" she demanded, a note of desperation creeping into her voice.
Still grinning, Gibbs picked up his phone. "Abs?" he said. "You need to come up here."
For a couple of long minutes, Ziva and the cat continued to stare at each other. Finally the elevator dinged again, this time carrying the lab tech.
"Okay, Gibbs," Abby said as she walked into the bullpen, "here I am. What do you…."
She noticed the cat, who had turned with a sharp meow to watch her entrance. She stopped in front of him, her arms akimbo.
"What are *you* doing here, you bad boy?" she demanded with a grin that showed she was more amused than upset. "Are you bothering Ziva?"
"Yes, it is," Ziva told her. "I don't like cats. At all."
Abby glanced at the other woman. "You know what they say, Ziva. Cats always head right for the person that doesn't like them."
"Just get it out of here," Ziva replied.
"All right, you," Abby told the cat. "Ziva doesn't like you. Let's get out of here and find your cl…."
The cat uttered a sharp meow that stopped her from continuing her thought.
"Oh, all right, sorry about that," she said in response.
She held up her arms, and the cat jumped into them, butting his nose into the cleft between her breasts. She, as well as Gibbs and McGee, laughed. "You are such a rascal," she scolded. "Say goodbye to Ziva."
She turned to walk to the elevator. As she did, the cat raised his head above her shoulder, and Ziva could have sworn that he winked at her with his left eye.
After the goth girl and the cat had entered the elevator, Ziva let out her breath. She hadn't realized she'd been holding it.
"Whose cat is that, anyway?" she asked. "Does it live here?"
"Um, it hangs around here sometimes," McGee explained.
"Well, I hope it never comes back," Ziva muttered half under her breath.
Gibbs laughed again. "I think you can count on it hanging around from time to time."
Ziva shuddered.
#####
Several minutes later, Ziva was still distracted from her work by the cat's invasion of her space. She had an uncanny feeling that somehow she knew that cat. The others in the bullpen had responded to it as though they knew it as well. And as if that weren't enough, she thought, the cat had responded in an almost human way to the comments of the others, like it understood exactly what they were saying. What was going on?
The elevator dinged yet again, but this time it was the other member of Gibbs' team, Special Agent Tony DiNozzo, who got off. He walked right up to her desk, put his hands on it, and leaned in toward her with his broadest grin.
"Hi, Zeeeva," he greeted her, stretching her name out cheekily. "Anything interesting happen while I was gone?"
"There was a cat here," she responded through gritted teeth.
"Really? That is exciting."
"No, it's not. I hate cats."
"Well," he said, cocking his head, "you know what they say."
"Yes, I know what they say," she answered, almost shouting. "Yes, I know cats pick on the people that hate them. And this cat certainly did that."
"Tsk, tsk," Tony said tauntingly. "I guess you'll have to learn to like cats so it won't bother you any more."
"It better not come around any more," Ziva said. "If it does, I just may shoot it."
Tony went on. "That would be a little drastic, don't you think? You know, there's another old saying that a cat can look at a king. I guess cats can look at pretty women, too."
Although Gibbs and McGee appeared to be working, Ziva had the feeling they were enjoying her exchange with DiNozzo far too much.
"I've got work to do," she said darkly, hoping Tony would get the hint.
As she turned toward her screen, he strolled back to his own desk and sat down. In a moment he was on the phone, and she dared to glance up at him. What did he know about the cat? A thought struck her. No, it couldn't have been that. Such things were—what was the expression?—old maids' tales. Weren't they?
Suddenly DiNozzo was returning her look, flashing his patented DiNozzo grin. She could have sworn she saw him winking at her with a brilliantly green left eye.
Story Notes:
The story elsewhere in this archive "Issums Bunny" has been slapping around in my brain for several weeks now. I finally just had to let this idea out.
P.S. I have posted a couple of stories under a different name, changed for technical reasons. If you want to know more, e-mail me.
Author's Chapter Notes:
The team is tickled that Ziva has a visitor she's not particularly happy to see.
Chapter End Notes:
The story elsewhere in this archive "Issums Bunny" has been slapping around in my brain for several weeks now. I finally just had to let this idea out.
P.S. I have posted a couple of stories under a different name, changed for technical reasons. If you want to know more, e-mail me.
P.S. I have posted a couple of stories under a different name, changed for technical reasons. If you want to know more, e-mail me.