Author's Note: This is my first NCIS story so I hope I have characterization correct (mostly?). I do not ever use a beta so all mistakes are mine. This story flips back and forth between present time (two years in the future) and past events. It's pretty obvious since I included dates but also past tense is in italics. Also fair warning, this story is going places (and by that I mean there is so much middle to this story it'll rival Moby Dick). Also, this story is dedicated to screamerdavid because she made me an awesome gif. :)

Summary: AU. Two years after the end of Season 10 and Ziva is on the run. TIVA. Sorry not much of a summary but I can't without spoiling the whole thing. Mostly rated T with a smattering of M (very heavy M at times).

Spoilers: Through Season 10.

Disclaimer: I own nothing aside from my story idea. We all know who owns these characters and we're none too happy about it at the moment.

You take my hand and drag me head first, fearless.

November 22, 2015.

"Tony?" Former NCIS Special Agent Ziva David attempted, unsuccessfully, to keep the tremor out of her voice as she quietly called her former partner's name. Still she stayed down despite her increasing need for societal contact, crouched underneath a makeshift tent of leaves and sticks. It had become home to her in the last month due to the proximity to the river which emptied into the waterfall miles away. Ziva had come across many rivers in the last 10 months and had tried to navigate using waterways alone; which hadn't proven too easy despite her training as she quickly realized just how many rivers the state of Maryland had. This one, however, was easy for her. Gunpowder Falls. Which meant that soon she would be in southern Pennsylvania.

It was mid November now which Ziva knew by making marks every night on one of the business cards she had kept stashed in her backpack and also because it was cold and the air smelled of falling leaves and snow, which meant that soon she would need to find real shelter before the snow actually began falling. The further North she continued would mean higher chances of snowfall sooner rather than later. It was unfortunate luck that her path had led her North rather than South but she hadn't dared turn around; Tony had told her not to.

Now, Ziva shook with anticipation. She knew Tony was there. He had to be. She felt that all too familiar feeling stir in the pit of her stomach. It was a feeling she had grown accustomed to in the 8 years they had worked together. Now, when she hadn't seen him in nearly 10 months, the feeling was undeniable.

"Zi?" Her heart lept when she heard his voice echoing off the trees. She scrambled upright, leaving her bag behind as she moved toward the voice. The leaves crunched underneath her boots as she frantically searched through the heavily wooded area.

"Tony!" This time she didn't care about the emotion in her voice. She felt the beginnings of tears well in her eyes as she moved toward the voice calling her name again. She could hear him moving too and her heart thudded loudly in her ears. Ziva kept moving toward the river, she knew he had followed the waterways, knowing she was, and he was probably not too far off of the riverbank. When she spotted him a few yards away, carrying a rucksack much larger than he, eyes searching for her, she broke out in a grin and a run. She clambered quickly over fallen tree branches and nearly barren bushes. Ziva threw herself at Tony once she was close enough to ensure that he would catch her. She heard him wheeze as she crashed into him, wrapping her arms tightly around his torso and burying her face in his large winter coat.

"Tony." She sobbed against his chest. There was a time when she would have cared about showing such emotion, especially in front of Tony. But now, now she felt as though she could cry for days as long as he was there to hold her and kiss the top of her head just like he was doing at the moment.

"Ziva." Tony whispered into her hair and pulled back, moving his hands to her face to look at her. Ziva blinked, letting the unshed tears fall onto her dirty cheeks. Tony grinned and kissed the tip of her nose before wiping the tears away and pulling her back in.

They stood like that for what seemed like ages before Ziva pulled back, grasping the sides of his coat. "We should, uh, take shelter, yes?"

Tony grinned at her and nodded before allowing Ziva to take his hand to maneuver them toward her makeshift shelter. Once there she sat down, looking up to him when he hadn't moved or spoken.

"Tony?" Concern filled her voice. He hadn't said anything aside from her name since she saw him and alarm bells began to go off in her head. "What is wrong?"

Tony shook his head and looked down at her before taking the rucksack off and dropping it to the ground. "Nothing. I just thought that maybe you would like a better shelter for the night." He grinned and motioned to the discarded pack. "I have a tent in there."

Ziva nodded, letting the worry about his behavior take a back seat to her excitement over the prospect of proper shelter. "Oh yes, I would like that very much."

Tony bent down and began pulling out the materials needed for the tent and made quick work of setting it up, allowing Ziva to tie the appropriate knots. Once assembled, Tony grabbed the sleeping bag attached to the bottom of his pack and motioned for Ziva to climb into the tent. She kicked her shoes off outside before crawling in and sprawling out. Tony followed suit, pulling the sleeping bag over them.

Ziva shivered as she curled up against Tony's side, her left arm resting across his chest.

"You cold?" He spoke into her hair.

Ziva shook her head. "No. This is nice." She let her cheek rest in the crook of his arm as he pulled her in tighter to him, obviously not believing that she wasn't still cold. They stayed that way until the sun had completely set and they could hear the faint call of an owl in the distance before Ziva broke the silence.

"I have...missed you." She craned her neck, trying to see his face in the darkness but could only feel the rise and fall of his chest. She was suddenly afraid that he had met someone in the time she had been away and was only here now to help her as her partner for a short period before returning to his life. The thought terrified her. Even if she truly had no claim to him.

"I missed you too, Sweetcheeks." Ziva let herself smile at the familiar nickname before something else dawned on her. Her stomach flipped and she gripped the soft flannel of Tony's shirt.

"Tony?" Ziva whispered into his neck.

"Hmm?" Ziva could tell he was close to sleep now but she had to ask one last question. She had to know.

"Where is she?" Ziva had asked so softly that she wasn't sure Tony had even heard her. He was taking so long to answer that the knot in the pit of her stomach was growing by the minute and she nearly opened her mouth to ask again when he spoke.

"With Gibbs." His reply was short and to the point and it was clear she wasn't going to get any more information from him tonight so she nodded and let her eyes drift closed. She had spent the better part of each day for 10 months thinking about this and one more day to have her questions answered wouldn't hurt.

Ziva let her eyes drift closed, the exhaustion finally catching up with her, and hoped that tonight would allow her some peace, finally.

January 28, 2015.

NCIS Special Agent Anthony Dinozzo brought the truck to a screeching stop by the edge of an embankment along the Potomac River, quickly shutting off the engine and hopping out of the car. He glanced to his right, making sure that his partner, Ziva David, got out of the truck as well. He grabbed her hand when she caught up to him and they made their way down the embankment toward the river. When they were well off any path Tony stopped and looked around, making sure they hadn't been followed. He pulled her close to him, wrapping his arms around her tightly.

"Follow the Potomac until you get into Rockville or Bowie. After that go East until you find the Chesapeake Bay. You'll be able to take various waterways North from there. Remember not to stay in one place too long. Keep going North. I'll find you. I promise." He whispered into her ear and she nodded.

Ziva wasn't going to tell him that she was trained for this. That she had spent months in the wilderness before. That her father used to play games with her and her siblings which required them to disappear in the wilderness until they found their flag and returned triumphantly without being caught. She wouldn't tell him any of this because this time she was afraid. This time she wasn't sure that she would return triumphantly without being caught.

"Tony?" There were so many things she wanted to say that she hadn't and was now terrified that she would never get the chance to but he stopped her by placing his lips on her mouth hard.

When he pulled away he looked into her eyes. "Zi, whatever you do, don't turn around. Don't go back. Promise me."

His eyes were frantic and she could tell that he was every bit as terrified as she was. "I promise."

He pulled her back in to him and kissed the top of her head, smoothing his hands down her hair. She could tell he was remembering her and it broke her heart. "Tony, I..."

He cut her off and pulled back, looking into her eyes. "No. Don't. Tell me when I come for you."

She stared at him a beat before relenting. "Okay."

He kissed her again before pulling back and letting go. "Stay safe. You promised, okay?" He waited for her to nod before turning around and climbing up the embankment, leaving Ziva there to stare after him.

Once she could no longer see his retreating figure, Ziva ran and she didn't stop.