(no subject)
"Gibbs, I can't do this."
Leroy Jethro Gibbs turned and looked at the woman, who was right now as far from his usually confident and capable agent as she could be. Right now, she wasn't a Special Agent, she wasn't a former Mossad operative, and she definitely didn't ooze the calm superiority of someone who had been raised as the perfect weapon. Instead, she was pacing up and down until her long skirt swished continuously, she was wringing her hands and frowned so hard it looked painful.
Right now, Ziva David was just a nervous girl.
Gibbs sighed. "'course you can."
She shook her head harshly. "No, this was a stupid idea. I mean, Tony of all people? He's probably not even out there, he got cold feet, just like the last time, and--"
"Ziva, shut it."
She bit back the rest of the sentence and stared at her boss for a few seconds until she shut her mouth so hard her teeth clicked. And then, God help him, her eyes went wide and suddenly looked suspiciously moist.
"What if this was a dumb idea, Gibbs? What if we screw it up?"
He stared at her, blinking slowly. Then he sighed, dug out his cell phone and speed-dialed a familiar number.
He didn't have to wait long for a slightly confused answer, but before superfluous questions could be asked, he barked, "DiNozzo. Your bride's freaking."
Ziva blinked when he shoved the cell to her ear without waiting for a reply, and even that was a relief because it turned her panic into puzzlement for a bit. Her hand came up, and she took the phone with slim, shaking fingers. She didn't say anything, just listened, with her expression all tense and nervous.
And for some reason, his Senior Field Agent seemed to find the right words, because suddenly Ziva's face smoothed over, and she blinked a little harder while the corners of her mouth twitched in the tiniest smile. "Okay," she said and snapped the phone shut.
She ran her thumb along the edge of the phone, still shaking, but now more lost in thought than panicking. When she handed the phone back to Gibbs, he didn't even have to voice the question to have her answer it with a slightly self-conscious smile.
"He said he needs me out there." Her voice trembled, and Gibbs cocked his head and looked at her curiously. Fondly, too. He wasn't sure when exactly he'd started caring about her this much.
He raised his arm and offered it to her, and she gave him a shaky little laugh while she took it. Yeah, she was one of the girls at heart, all right.
Click for much bigger version.
Original is pencil on A4 sketch paper, done over the course of roughly two weeks, but planned for much longer. It's not quite how I imagined it, but I am still really, really pleased with the result. ♥