For The Safety Of My Family

The Office

A/N- last chapter was a wee bit longer than expected. Hope ya liked it.
Ellie's POV
"This is Ziva's office" I said quietly as I opened the door. Tony just stood there for a moment as though he was frozen in time. Then he walked in. I noticed my note was gone and the jacket and scarf were back on the coat rack. I smiled to myself. I let Tony walk around a little and take it all in. I walked over to the cupboards and opened one. "These are her journals. She wrote one for every case she worked. I only read the one from the Morgan Burke case," I said. He walked up and rummaged through them. He continued looking at them for almost an hour. Every once in a while, he'd pull one out and read a few pages. And he always put them right back where they belonged. "I can't believe she hid this from everyone," Tony said softly. "Is there anything else here?" He asked. "Not really," I said. "I should probably get back to Tali. She's with Senior and I don't want him to spoil her too much," he said. He began walking back towards the door, but he stopped at the coat and scarf. He picked up the scarf and held it. He put it back after a moment and continued walking. I locked the door behind us.
"Can we go back tomorrow? I wanna read a few of those journals," he said. "Sure. What time?" I asked. "How about I take the team to lunch then you and I go back," he suggested. "Sounds good to me. Just talk to Gibbs," I said.
We returned to the office around six. Tony got caught up with Gibbs and McGee while Nick and I watched. The three of them seemed like the original three. They always worked so well together.
An hour later, Tony decided to leave. "Everyone, lunch tomorrow at the diner on me. Be there at noon. Bishop, can you pick me up?" He asked. "Will do," I replied. Then he walked out.
Soon after, Gibbs dismissed us to go home. I was glad as I had been running on little sleep still.

Gibbs has given us the morning off until lunch, with Vance's approval of course. We were still on call, though.
I got ready for lunch and texted Tony to let him know I was on my way to pick him up.
After a short visit with Tali before Senior took her to his place, Tony and I were off to the diner. "You're a great father," I told Tony. "Thanks. It doesn't always feel like it, you know," he said. "Parenting isn't supposed to be easy. Especially being a single dad to a little girl. Trust me, it's only gonna get harder. Just wait till she's a teenager," I said, making him chuckle softly. "I don't even want to think about what that's gonna be like," he said.
We pulled up to the diner just before everyone else arrived. We sat down together and pulled up one extra chair. "So, how's everyone been?" Tony asked. We talked about our lives since he left, and about life in general. Nick told the story of the art bar fight. Tony thought it was hilarious that Nick got the innocent gremlin in trouble. I told him about the case with the baby, as it was the most interesting thing I could tell him about. When certain details came up, Nick would chime in.
Tony's POV
Nick left to go to the bathroom. I followed a few seconds later. I didn't want to invade his privacy, but I wanted to talk to him. I walked in as he was washing his hands. I leaned against the wall behind him.
"How long have you known?" I asked him. "What?" He asked me, confused. "How long have you known Ellie was the one," I asked, clarifying more this time. "What are you talking about?" He asked. "I see the way you look at her. It's the same way I looked at Ziva when I figured it out. The same look Tim gives Delilah. You watch her every move. I can see how you hang on to her every word. How long have you known?," I explained. "A while," he replied quietly. "You gonna make a move?" I asked curiously. "She doesn't like me. I've tried to make a move. It just doesn't work. Plus, Gibbs will get in the way," he said. "Three things: she does like you, if you make the right moves, it will work, and have you talked to Gibbs? He's gonna let you and her let things happen. Gibbs has seen what Rule twelve does to people. He saw it with Ziva and I. He might even feel guilty for not letting it be easier for us. It'll work out," I said. I turned and walked out of the bathroom, and Nick followed.
Ellie's POV
I saw Nick and Tony walk out of the bathroom at the same time. It was weird.
"What did we miss?" Tony asked. "Nothing. Just us eating," Tim said.
The boys sat back down and we kept talking. I partially zoned out, thinking about the note I left Ziva and if she replied to it.
After a while, Tony paid the bill and we left for the office.
"Sorry to bring it up, but how has life been since Jake?" He asked. "It's fine. And it's been rough. This guy, Qasim, was my boyfriend. We worked together a bit. He actually proposed to me. But I told him I had to get back to him on that. There was this case right after that. I was about to say yes to him when..." I said, trailing off, not wanting to finish the sentence. "He was shot and killed right in front of me. There hasn't been much since. Maybe the every once in a while first date, but nothing much beyond that," I said hastily. "Wow. That's awful, Bishop. Sorry," he said. I just nodded.
I parked outside the house and we walked back to the office.
The jacket and scarf were right where we left them. I noticed a piece of paper tucked in one of the jacket pockets. Once Tony was looking away, i gently put it in my pocket.