Far Away

Inner Compass

They searched for almost a full day before orders came down to give up.

Tony wasn't surprised.

Word was then passed down that they were going to continue on to Greece. The ship would be docked for three days, but Tony would need to spend part of that time making calls about the jumping incident.

He stood at the railing, watching the coast come into view, debating whether or not he should call Ziva.

On the one hand, it would be nice to see her again, but he also wasn't sure if he was ready to have that conversation. He didn't want to hear her talk about whoever that guy was. It was easier to pretend everything was okay.

His mind was made up by time they pulled into port.

He went ashore, reasoning that the bad news could wait another five minutes.

His screen flooded with notifications when it turned on, but he ignored them and went straight to call.

She answered immediately. "Tony."

"Hey."

"Are you in port?"

"I'm calling you, aren't I?" He cringed at how rude he sounded and forced a laugh to take the sting away. "I'm in Greece. Souda." He heard frantic typing on the other end. "Ziva?"

"I am getting my plane ticket," she said simply.

She was clearly eager to see him, and he wasn't quite sure what to make of that.

"How have you been?" he asked.

"Fine. How about you? I am sure it was a long three weeks on the ship."

"Longer than you can even imagine. Someone jumped overboard last week."

"Jumped?"

"Mmhm. Speaking of which, I have to deal with that while we're in port, so-"

"I understand. How long are you in Greece?"

"Three days."

There was more clicking, and then the sound of a printer spitting out papers. "Me, too."

He couldn't help but smile. "Amazing coincidence."

"I thought so."

He glanced back towards the ship. "I should go back and take care of business. What time should I expect you?"

"Do not worry about me. I will find you."

"Are you sure?"

"Absolutely. Go take care of what needs to be taken care of. I can handle myself."

"I know." He sighed. "Alright. I'll see you later."

"See you." She hung up, leaving him to stare at the open water in silence.

***

It never even crossed her mind to call Michael until he was barging through her door.

"What are you doing?" he asked, eyebrows shooting up his forehead as he took in her duffel bag and travel papers.

"What does it look like, Michael?" she responded, exasperated.

"It looks like you are packing..."

"There you go."

"But why? Where are you going?"

"Where does not matter to you. I will be back in three days."

"Why so sudden?"