A/N: I own nothing. Except for my very active imagination. =)

The music was pounding almost visibly through the door. Ziva hesitated only for a split second before raising her fist and pounding. "TONY!! TONY, OPEN UP!" She yelled. No answer.

"Dinozzo, open the door or I will open it for you!" She yelled even louder. Just as she braced herself to implode the slab of wood, it opened, but just a crack, enough to see a slightly bloodshot Tony.

"What? What's up? Gibbs didn't call. Can't be anything important," he slurred. Ziva pushed the door open just enough to see a half-empty bottle of vodka clutched in his hand. Sighing, she let herself in, closed the door behind her, turned off the music, and wrestled the alcohol out of his hand.

"Hey, hey, what're you doing?" He stumbled over to his couch and grabbed her wrist. "Gimme the bottle, Ziva."

"No, Tony. You are intoxicated." Now she could not do what she had been trying to convince herself for the last hour to do, tell him how she felt. If he was drunk when she told him, not only would he not remember but something might happen that just should not happen.

"So what? We're off duty tomorrow. And I—I……oh, Jeanne…" he drifted off, and Ziva's heart sank. Of course, Jeanne, the woman Tony had been seeing for the last year or so.

"What about Jeanne? You should be with her if you have the day off, no?" Not that she wanted him to be with that pretty French girl.

"I can't. She's—she's…..oh God, Ziva, she's dead." He slumped onto the couch. "Why do you think I'm getting drunk like this?" Then he focused on her. "Why are you here?"

Think quick, Ziva, she told herself. "I just came here to see—to tell you something. But I can see you are not in the mood to hear what I was going to say. So good-bye." But as she turned to leave, he grabbed her wrist again.

"What is it?" She dropped her gaze so she couldn't stare at those lips of his. After a second, he let out a laugh. "You wanted to sleep with me, didn't you?"

"No, no! Tony, that is not—" But he interrupted her.

"Come on, you do. Come here." He pushed her towards the couch and started kissing her hard. She wanted to continue, but not if he had his mind somewhere else.

"Tony—no, Tony, stop!" But he pinned her to the cushions and made her forget her surroundings with that amazing mouth of his. As he pushed down her jogging pants, she closed her eyes and let him do what he wanted with her. She should not be letting him do it, but deep down she wanted it too much to say no.

*****

When she woke up, Tony was slumped on top of her, snoring. It took her a moment to recall last night's events, but when it all rushed back she gasped. She had slept with…Tony. She had to get out of here before he woke up. She tried to push him off of her, but he was a dead weight. There was no escaping. Instead, she smacked him in the head. "Tony. Tony! Dinozzo!!" With a snort, he woke up.

"What? What's—" When he saw her, he grinned. "Hey, Ziva." Then he looked down, and his grin faded. "What happened?" He pushed himself off of her and closed his eyes as he struggled to dredge up what had happened. Suddenly his eyes popped open. "Holy crap, Ziva!" His eyes were filled with horror. "Holy crap. Did we…sleep together?" His head dropped into his hands. Ziva bit her lip, uncertain as to whether last night could be considered sleeping together. That was all the answer he needed. "God, Ziva, I'm so sorry. I was really drunk and miserable and….how bad did I hurt you?"

"Tony, it is ok. I…you….just forget about it. You said Jeanne is dead?"

"Yeah. Killed by a sniper. She…I…," Tony trailed off. Then he started shaking. Concerned, Ziva got closer and laid a hand on his arm. "Tony?" Then she realized he was crying. Tony was crying. As much as she had been trained against any emotion, seeing this man cry was too much. With no hesitation, she brought him close to her and held him.

"Tony, Tony. It will be all right. I know you loved her, but you will find someone else. It will all be okay. There are other jellyfish in the sea." Like me, she thought.

He sat up slowly and looked at her. "First, Ziva, it's fish. There are other fish in the sea. Second, I wasn't in love with her. I mean, I cared about her, but I'm in love with someone else." Here he looked away. "Getting close to her was just an assignment. The Director wanted an insider to help get La Grenouille."

"You…were not in love with her?" Maybe she had a chance after all. But Tony had said he was in love with another woman. "I am very sorry to hear about her, though."

"I'll be okay. But what I did to you…Ziva, I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have. I mean, I was drunk, and I wasn't thinking straight, and—" His lips were stilled by her finger as she gave him a small smile.

"Tony, do not worry about it. I know you were not in the greatest of moods. Just forget about it." Not like she would, though. She would always remember sleeping with Tony Dinozzo.

"What were you doing here? We didn't have an assignment, did we?" Tony was now relaxed, though his eyes remained troubled.

"No, it was…nothing. I will just be on my way." She stood up, but she was stopped by his hand on hers.

"Ziva, what is it? Are you okay?" He stood up, his hand still on hers. She was aware of how close he was to her and tried to keep breathing.

"I just came by to say something, but I see now it would be pointless." It had always been pointless.

"Tell me. What is it? Is it something I did?"

"I just—" She took a breath and pulled away. "I just came by to tell you how I feel. But there is no point now."

"How you feel? Ziva, are you saying—are you saying you're in love with me?" For once he was not slow. She would have preferred him to be slow like he usually was.

"Yes, Tony, that is what I am saying." She looked him in the eyes and saw something in them she had never seen before. "But you are in love with someone else, so please just forget I ever told you. I should not have considered telling you in the first place. I will see you tomorrow." But as she turned to leave, she found herself quickly pushed back until she was against a wall. Tony was right there, too. And he looked angry.

"Did you think I was going to laugh at you or something?" He was in her face now, and definitely angry. But there was also that unknown…feeling in his eyes. What was it? "Ziva, the one I'm in love with is you. I'm in love with you. There is no one else." She could feel him, his body pressed against hers. And she loved the sensation.

"It is…me? You are in love with me?" Could it be true?

"What do I need to do to convince you?" he asked. He looked thoughtfully at her for a moment, then leaned down and kissed her. A soft brush of lips, that was all. Her heart skipped a beat.

He pulled back to look at her, then they were in each other's arms, lips clinging, tongues dancing. This time, when they reached the couch, Ziva didn't fight him one bit. She took what she wanted, and he did the same. Their hands and teeth were all over one another, and moaning and sighs filled the room.

*****

When Ziva awoke this time, she didn't try to push Tony off. She smiled to herself, kissed him gently, then closed her eyes. Everything was all right now.