Okay, another one! Haha, it's a post ep, this time for The Voyeurs Web, where Tony's birthday dinner goes to pot and Ziva offers to treat him. It had to be done, didn't it.

Kicking The Dog When He's Down

Okay, he'd wanted this night to end in sex, but it clearly wasn't going to. She hadn't even let him bring the bag of skimpy nightwear. But she had paid for dinner. And he was right to assume that he could drown his sorrows in a surf and turf, especially considering he wasn't paying for it. Some male part of him told him that it was wrong to let her pay for the meal, but her driving had caused him to lose many meals already, so he figured she owed him for that, at least.

"How did you not know she was married?" Ziva pressed, highly entertained by the fact that Tony had been stood up by a married woman.

"She didn't tell me," he said simply.

"You did not see the ring on her finger?"

"She wasn't wearing one," he defended. "I'm not blind, Ziva."

"They were having marital problems then, yes?" she realised.

He laughed hollowly. "Well, she was definitely sleeping around. That's a big marital problem."

"So you were not the only man she-"

"You mind if I don't think about that one?" he interrupted.

"I am sorry," she smiled. "You should not kick a dog when he is down, yes?" she remembered from earlier that afternoon.

He grinned, drinking the wine that filled the glass before him. "Maybe you're less of a probie than I thought," he complimented.

"Trust is a virtue that is earned, not given," she nodded.

He looked stunned. "Wow."

"What?"

"You actually remembered something I said," he remarked. "I'm impressed." She went to make a comment, but he cut her off. "No, I don't mean it like that. It's just...well, a lot of girls aren't too interested in what I have to say."

She raised her eyebrows. "Gibbs did tell me to observe you, so I suppose that means I must listen to what you have to say."

He knew that beneath the teasing there was a real intent, and he raised his glass. "To plenty more observant listenings," he toasted.

She raised her glass, clinking them together. "We shall see."

END