Mission: Interrupted

Chapter 38 - Ziva's New Man

As was her usual habit, Ziva carried her lunch to a shaded spot next to where Keg Creek met Freeman Lake. It was quiet and allowed her time to get out of her own head and relax, and today she especially needed to get out of her own head. Since the night out with Alanna and Melissa, the cat was officially out of the bag and it seemed everyone on set was scheming to get her and Norman to spend time together. Yesterday morning Denise and Scott brought Norman to her, asking that she make him an expert with a handheld RPG launcher. He had two major scenes with one in the last half of the season and they needed him to be natural with it. What followed was a day and half of incredible awkwardness – the kind normally reserved for 8th graders fumbling their way through their first game of 'Seven Minutes in Heaven'. When Greg had dragged Norman away for a couple of re-shoots, Ziva snuck away to eat lunch in private.

Just as she was finishing her sandwich, Ziva heard the unmistakable sounds of a pursuit through the undergrowth on the opposite side of the river. Quickly, she stashed her trash into her lunch bag and silently made her way down to the river's edge to see if she could identify who, or what, was making the sounds. Just as she'd narrowed in on the location, a dark blur came scampering out on the opposite river bank followed by a larger animal. Both shot out from the underbrush and plunged into the river. A strangled howl came from the second, larger animal and Ziva realized it was a brown speckled dog chasing a rabbit. The rabbit practically skipped across the water and disappeared into the forest, but the dog sank in and got pulled into the current.

Seeing that the dog was exhausted and losing the battle to get to the other side, Ziva made a split decision and jumped in to intercept the animal. The current was strong, and while she was strong swimmer the fact that she was trying to keep herself and a panicked 80 pound dog afloat was almost more than she could handle. Finally, she was able to drag herself and the dog back to shore within a half mile or so of where she had left her lunch remains. They collapsed onto the rocks, soaked and chilled from the frigid spring water; Ziva worked to control her breathing and just as she turned her head to get a good look at the animal, she felt him lay his head on her stomach and turn his startlingly human-like eyes on her and just like that... she was a goner.

"Well, shit."

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Andy watched Norman wandering around the set approaching some of the cast and then walking away with a worried look on his face. Feeling curious, he intercepted the man as he was headed back towards the lunch area.

"What's up, Norm? Looks like you need some help."

"Have you seen Ziva anywhere? I was supposed to finish up training with her this afternoon, but she's not in her office."

"I've heard she takes her lunch down on one of the riverbanks. Maybe she just lost track of time." He'd barely finished his sentence before Norman took off in the direction of the river. Andy took off after him and they'd only gotten 50 yards when Ziva came walking out of the tree line followed by what, at first glance, appeared to be a wild beast. It was tall and very lanky, with huge paws that it kept tripping over; signifying that it was still in the puppy stage which was frightening considering its head was even with the tall woman's waist.

The two men were so distracted by the huge dog that they didn't realize that Ziva's hair and clothes were wet and she was carrying her boots and lunch bag.

"What the hell happened to you?" Norman asked when he took a closer look at her. "And where the hell did this... this... horse come from?"

Ziva chuckled as she reached down and scratched the dog behind his ears and was rewarded with a lick across her palm. "This guy was chasing a rabbit and fell into the river which was getting the best of him. So, I gave him an assist."

Norman stared at Ziva as he swallowed down his instinct to scold her for taking such a risk. Then he knelt down and began scratching the animal behind its ears. The pup loved the attention and leaned into Norman's chest, trying to climb into his lap and tipping him backwards in the process.

"Whoa, whoa there, buddy!" This was answered with a vigorous licking of Norman's face which caused Andy and Ziva to burst into laughter. "He's strong for a dog that looks like he's half-starved and mangy."

"Yeah, and no collar on, so I'm guessing he was dumped." Andy shook his head at the thought. "I'll text you the name of a good local vet if you think you're gonna keep him."

"That'd be fantastic; thanks Andy." She looked down at Norman who was still petting the dog. "Come on, I've got to change and we need to finish your lessons so I can get paid." Ziva extended her hand to pull Norman off the ground. "Andy, can you meet me tomorrow morning around 7:30? Scott's asked me to work with you on a couple of scenes in the mid-season premiere episode."

"See you then," Andy nodded as he walked back towards his trailer. "By the way, what should we call your new man?"

"Uhhh..." Ziva looked down into the light amber eyes of what promised to be a gigantic animal  "Hey buddy, you've been rather rude! I saved your life and you haven't even told me your name." In return, the dog cocked his head to the side and studied Ziva with his human eyes and let out a wail that sounded like a combination of a wolf's howl and the braying of a hound dog.

Ziva chuckled and looked back up at Andy. "He says his name is Waylon."

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Back in her office, Waylon laid into a turkey leg that Norman snagged from the caterers and Ziva make him a bed out of some towels she found in the bathroom.

"So how do you feel about the RPG Launcher scenes? Anything in particular you want to go over again?" Ziva stripped down to her underwear, throwing her wet clothes in a pile and pulling on a clean tank top. She was sitting in a chair and removing her prosthetic when Norman came around the corner.

"I'd like to practice a little more on my movements after I've fired so I'll look..." He stopped abruptly when his eyes landed on her. It was the first time he'd seen her without her prosthetic on; their one physical encounter had been so spontaneous that most of their clothes had remained on. The reality of her missing leg slammed into him like tsunami wave and he felt as if his body was made out of liquid. He kneeled in front of her and tentatively placed his hand on the remaining length of thigh. When his eyes met hers all the feelings he'd been holding back came flooding out of his eyes and he raked his fingers over toughened skin at the end of her leg, causing Ziva to suck in her breath at the intimate touch.

"Norman, you don't have to..."

"Yes I do!" He cut her off and nuzzled his face into the palm she'd cupped his cheek with. "What are we doing, Zeev? My god I miss you so much and I don't even know how we got here; walking around like we're strangers... like you aren't the woman who changed my life... the woman who can make me insanely happy just by grinning at me." He paused and placed several small kisses where his fingers had just been massaging. "Can you forgive me for being such an idiot?"

Ziva swiped the tears out of the corners of her eyes. She felt a loosening in her chest, a long-held breath that she just realized she'd been holding. "You are an idiot, Reedus... but dear god do I love you. I still get butterflies when I know I'm gonna see you. And then when I do see you? It's like one of those ridiculous slow motion scenes in a cheesy 80's movies where the handsome guy walks in to scene with a sappy love song soundtrack," she laughed through her tears and was awarded a smirk and raised eyebrow, causing her stomach to flop. "I feel like a teen with her first big crush, and while it can be a little exciting in its own way, I'm tired of not being able to touch you when I want and lay in bed sharing my body and soul with you." She pulled his head to her chest and ran her fingers through his hair while he wrapped his arms around her.

The kiss that followed wasn't as gentle and was just beginning to heat up when Waylon did what he did best... wailed.