Ziva was walking upstairs to her apartment at the end of a boring paperwork Thursday, thinking about what she was going to make for dinner. When she reached the flight just below hers, she practically ran into her neighbor, Clarissa.

"Hey Ziva! I was just looking for you, would you like to come over for dinner? I know it's really last minute…" Clarissa trailed off and twiddled with her hands nervously. She was a single mother with a five year old boy named Joe. She and Ziva never really got past small talk in the hallway, and Ziva was surprised by the invitation.

"That would be nice. Um, when would you like me to come over?"

"The food will be ready in about an hour, so whenever you're ready you can just come on down."

"Okay then I'll see you soon." Ziva walked up the rest of the stairs, her mind churning. She'd never been invited to someone's house for casual dinner before, not in D.C. What should she wear? And what should she bring? In Israel it was customary to bring a small gift, and she didn't have time to go buy something! She decided that the best person to ask in this situation was Abby.

Brrring. Brrrring.

"C'mon Abby, pick up the phone!"

"You've reached Abby Sciuto, I'm super busy right now, so I'll call you back later!"

No Abby then. Ziva went through the rest of her options: Ducky, Gibbs, McGee, Tony, Palmer. Ducky was too old fashioned, he might have her dressed for a fancy dinner party bringing a pie, and Gibbs would just show up in flannel and jeans, carrying alcohol. McGee rarely involved himself in social situations, so she couldn't call him. Tony would know what to do, she concluded.

Brrring. Brrring. "DiNozzo."

"Tony."

"Hey Ziva, what's up?"

"I have a, um, question for you."

"Okay, shoot." She swore he tried to sound like Gibbs on purpose sometimes.

"I have a dinner invitation, and I don't know what to wear or bring, what do Americans bring when invited to dinner?"

"Ziva, you surprise me, I thought you'd know exactly how to dress to please a man on a date." His words were light, but she could tell he was upset by the news. "Just wear that little piece you were wearing undercover with the dumpster guy. You know, the orange one."

"My dress is coral, Tony, and it is not a date. My neighbor asked me to come over to dinner tonight."

"Oh. Well in that case, wear whatever you'd like, maybe something nice but not too dressy, like one of your nice flowy shirts and a pair of pants. As for what to bring, call her up and ask her."

"Thanks Tony. I appreciate it." Ziva looked around for Clarissa's phone number, then dialed. Clarissa answered, and told Ziva she didn't have to bring anything. When Ziva questioned further, Clarissa insisted again that she shouldn't bring anything, just herself and some food containers for leftovers.

Confused, Ziva hung up with Clarissa, and changed into the clothes Tony had suggested. She decided to call him again, to see what she should do now. She only had about 20 minutes until dinner, but it was still enough time to whip together some sort of food.

"Tony, what do I do?" she asked before he could greet her. "I'm supposed to not bring anything. Do I just not bring anything? That doesn't seem right to me."

Tony laughed in response. "She was just trying to be polite, Ziva. Bring a snack or some dessert, it'll be fine."

"Oh. I can do that. Thanks Tony." Ziva was about to hang up when she heard Tony's voice from the receiver, "And Ziva. Good luck over there. I know you'll do great."

She smiled to herself as she cut some veggies and arranged them around red pepper hummus on a plate. Within a couple of minutes she was ready to go. Holding her dish, she looked herself over quickly through her full-length mirror and was pleased with the result. She felt comfortable, but with her hair curling around her shoulders, she looked nice. And she had some food to bring. She stepped out of her apartment and walked over to Clarissa's apartment.

When Clarissa opened the door, it was anything but what Ziva expected from the apartment. It was set up in much the same way as hers was, but it gave a completely different effect. One thing caught her attention more than everything else. There were little frills and doilies on every available surface.