AN: Here we go! A new series of one shots, based on the theme: "Summer Love!" This will continue through the end of summer, maybe longer depending on what you guys want, and if I have more ideas.

Tony sat less than patiently at his desk. Gibbs had forbid them from going home until everyone had finished their paperwork. Unfortunately, he was nearly a month behind. Every so often, he would receive fiery glares from across the row, as his co-workers waited for him to finish. "You know, we could all be out of here a lot quicker if you help me, Probie!"

"Nah," McGee sat contently at his desk, sipping from his Seussical coffee cup, "I'm enjoying this." he took a long slow sip, relishing the moment

"You suck, McRevel," Tony growled under his breath

Ducky marched down the corridor happily, dressed in a Benjamin Franklin costume. He was merrily whistling 'Yankee Doodle' as he marched. "Good afternoon, gentlemen! Will the two of you be joining the noble rebels, in a valiant fight against the Lobsterbacks this evening?"

Tony felt the flashback coming. The costumes, the horses and all their excretions, and of course, the poo bucket. He felt a shudder down to his very soul, "No thanks, Ducky. You have fun though!"

"Sorry," McGee told him, "We might be here a while."

"Ah," Ducky sighed, "It is a day for celebration, not for paperwork! Many office buildings aren't even open today! Jethro has gotten a bit sadistic in his old-" Ducky stopped abruptly, noticing how Tony and McGee's eyes were now glued to their paperwork. A deep chill going down his spine, "You're standing right behind me, aren't you Jethro?"

"Don't make me start slapping you like I do DiNozzo," Gibbs cautioned

"I wouldn't dream of it!" Ducky smirked, "What about Miss David? While I am certain she would object to petticoats and corsets, I think she would enjoy a good fight."

All heads in the bullpen turned to Ziva's desk, which was now vacant. She'd been there an hour ago, but no one had seen here leave. She had already finished her paperwork, but it wasn't like her to disobey a direct order. "Maybe she had to use the head?" McGee suggested

Tony opened his mouth to speak, but his voice was drowned out by the sounds of fireworks across the bay. It was still going to be light out for another hour or two, but that didn't stop the festivities. "That's gonna go on all night, isn't it?"

"Well, considering you're in the nations capital on Independence Day?" Abby ran up to them, dressed in costume like Ducky. Compared to sleeping in a funeral gown, wearing corsets and skirts wasn't a problem, "Its gonna go on for days! Ready to go to war, Ducky?"

"I will not be participating in the actual fight, dear," Ducky linked arms with her, "I'm a bit too old for that."

"Oh," she said, feeling a bit stupid, "Well, we can watch! Any of you coming?"

"Not on my watch!" Gibbs told her, "Unless DiNozzo finishes up right now, you're gonna be here all night."

Tony began to quickly fill in the last of the blanks, "Done!" he handed Gibbs the mountain of papers from his desk, "That's the last of it, boss!"

Gibbs looked around at his team, staring up at him expectantly. Abby pouted, her lower lip trembling a bit. "Well? What are you waiting for, a permission slip? Go!" he ordered happily, "Get outta here!"

Tony initially ran for the elevator at full speed with the others, but he stopped just short of the doors, "Hey, you know what? I'll catch up with you guys later!" he walked back, nearly bumping into Gibbs, "Sorry, boss. Have you seen Ziva?" she still hadn't come back, and that had him worried a bit

"No, she probably snuck out while you were doing your papers." somehow, Tony didn't think that was the case

Only one thing now stood between Tony and Ziva. Unfortunately that thing symbolized privacy, security, and most importantly that he was not allowed. Ziva had been in the men's room so many times that when she enters, she is usually greeted with a chorus of, "Hi, Ziva!" but this was different. It was one thing for a woman to go into the men's room. It was quite another for a man to go into the women's

"I'm gonna get pepper sprayed, or tasered," Tony thought to himself. He finally found the courage to push open the door. The light was off, so he guessed no one was inside, and it was safe to look. "Ziva?" he called, "You in here?"

"Go away, Tony!" a voice in the darkness ordered

"Found ya!" Tony flicked on the lights, looking in the direction on where Ziva's voice had come from. Now he had another obstacle in his path; a locked stall door. "Ziva, Gibbs said we can go home now. You want a ride?" he offered

"No! I do not!" she snapped, "I am fine, Tony!"

Tony dropped to his knees, crawling under the stall door, "If you're 'fine', why are you hiding in the bathroom in the dark?" he'd half-expected her to start kicking, screaming, possibly shooting at him once he started to crawl under. But she didn't even move. He found her sitting on top of the water tank, curled up in a ball. Her makeup had run down her cheeks, creating twin trails of gray across her face. "Hey, what's wrong?" he placed a hand on her shoulder, making her flinch

"I just want to be alone, Tony," she insisted. He knew something was wrong for several reasons. Apart from her strange behavior, she was using his name alot. That usually meant she was either pissed or scared; sometimes both.

Another round of fireworks went off, these one visible through the little window, just outside the building. She jumped a bit with each sound, her fingers and toes curling up. A sudden realization dawned on him, "You're afraid of fireworks, aren't you?" he kept his voice soft, knowing she wouldn't want him announcing it to the world

"Yes! Are you happy!"

"No, not really," he sat down on the seat, not checking to see if the lid was down; it wasn't. His backside sank into the cool water, "Ziva, please tell me you flushed!" a look of horror was painted across his features

Ziva burst out laughing, "Yes, I did," she assured him, "Come on, my little wet butt, let's get you dried off." she managed to slip out from behind him, taking his hands to pull him out of the bowl. She dragged him over to the electric hand dryer, "Bend over!"

Tony shoved his rear end under the blower, "Heh, you gave me a blow job in the ladies' room!" he smirked, just wanting to see Ziva's mortified expression, "Seriously though, you're afraid of fireworks?"

"Yes," she sighed, leaning against the wall, "I have been ever since I was a little girl."

"The bombings?" he asked, not wanting to probe too much into her dark past, but wanting her to open up a little, and maybe let herself heal

"Air raids," she explained, "Explosions, rockets flying through the air, the smell of sulfer..."

"Sounds a lot like fireworks to me," it certainly made sense. He suddenly found himself shouting as the blow dryer shut off in the middle of his sentence, "Sorry." he added at a normal volume

"My mother was killed in an air raid when I was seven," she told him, "It...it was very hard on my family. Our entire house was destroyed. We lost our home, our mother, and all our possessions in one night."

"Oh," Tony felt horrible for asking, "I'm so sorry, Ziva. I didn't know."

"Care to guess which one night that was?"

"July fourth?" he asked, already knowing the answer. He wrapped his arms around her protectively, "Come on, let's go home. We'll watch movies that are really loud, so you can't hear them. And we can have popcorn, so you won't smell the sulfur, and we can watch them with the curtains closed so you won't see them either."

She nodded, laying her head down on his shoulder, "Alright."

"Hey," he lifted her chin, "Its okay to be afraid. Everyone's afraid of something."

"What are you afraid of? Commitment?"

"You."

Later that night, Tony lay awake, watching the bright glow of the fireworks shine through the curtains. Ziva was sleeping soundly, snoring like a fog horn under his arm. A few dozen more firewoks brought the display outside to its climax, waking his sleeping lover. "Sorry, Ziva. Looks like they're gonna go on all night and then some."

She sat up, yawning, "I suppose there is one thing we could do to drown it out?" she suggested

"Oh?" Tony didn't miss the hint of mischief in her voice

"We could make our own fireworks," in the blink of an eye, she had him flipped over on his back, her legs straddling him, leaning down to give him a long deep kiss

"God bless America!" Tony breathed