So I wrote this for my friend Elisa, and I really really like it. I dunno why. Haha. Set at the end of season three, beginning of season four, when Ziva has been at NCIS for a year. I don't own NCIS...

"Hey, Ziva. Have you ever skipped stones?" DiNozzo asked, looking over at Ziva from his desk. The senior field agent had been typing away at his computer, finishing up a report for Gibbs, when the thought randomly came into his mind.

Ziva looked up from her own computer and glanced at him with a curious expression on her face. "Skipping stones? No, I have not, Tony. What is skipping stones?" she asked, tilting her head to the side, and biting on her pen.

"You've never skipped stones? How have you not skipped stones? It is like an American pastime!" Tony exclaimed, his jaw dropping. He stopped typing and stared over at his new partner.

"I am not aware of all of the American pastimes, Tony. You should know that. I was raised in Tel Aviv, do you not remember?" Ziva said, trying to stifle a laugh at his shock. Her new partner did seem to humor her from time to time. It always seemed like he forgot that she was not an American citizen.

Tony smacked his forehead and shook his head. "Right. Right. I should know better. Well, since you need to get used to all things American, do you want to go skip stones tonight after work?" he asked, his voice cracking. Tony looked around to make sure that Gibbs was not going to come around and smack the back of his head. Then again though, Gibbs technically couldn't. The leader had asked Tony to show Ziva American ways, and that is what Tony was offering to do.

Ziva laughed and then shot him a confused but curious expression. "Sure," she said slowly, wondering if she would regret it later or not.

DiNozzo smiled to himself and said, "Good. I hope you don't mind getting a little wet later on."

When they got off of work a few hours later, Ziva grabbed her things and followed Tony down to the parking garage. "Do you want me to follow you to where we are going or..." she trailed off, looking up at him.

"I can drive us there, Ziva. It's not that far away from here and we shouldn't be there too long," Tony replied, smiling. He wanted to make sure that she felt safe. He was, after all, supposed to be making sure that she was okay.

Fifteen minutes later, Tony pulled into a parking lot that was close to a small river. Small stones surrounded the river, and the trees blew with the wind. It was a cozy November evening and the NCIS agent had to calm himself before he made an utter fool of himself in front of Ziva.

"Why are we here, Tony? Why are we at this river?" Ziva asked, getting out of the car and following him to the edge of the river.

Tony bent down and picked up two stones, handing one to Ziva. "We're here because we are skipping stones, Ziva. This is what Americans do. Just watch me," DiNozzo said, looking down at her for a second before turning to face the river. The senior field agent then threw the stone across the river and it skipped over the water a few times before finally sinking to the bottom.

"See? That is how you skip stones," Tony said, watching Ziva again.

Ziva, who had been watching Tony's stone, scrunched her face up, trying to figure out how it actually skipped across the water for so long before it finally sank. Ziva tried to throw the stone, but it didn't even skip once before it sank to the bottom of the river.

Ziva frowned while Tony chuckled at her failed skip. Ziva turned when he laughed and shot daggers at him with her eyes. "Do not laugh, Tony," she threatened, her eyes slits. "I have never done this before."

Tony stopped laughing when he saw the daggers in her brown eyes and then took a step behind her. Wrapping one arm around Ziva, the senior field agent handed her another stone. "Here. Try again, Ziva," DiNozzo said, grabbing her wrist with his hand.

Then, when Ziva went to throw the stone, Tony helped her release it, and the stone managed to skip across the water a couple of times before it ultimately sank.

Ziva laughed as she watched the stone and then turned around to look at Tony. "Did you see that, Tony?" she asked, a giant smile on her lips.

Tony smirked and then nodded. "Yeah, Ziva. I saw that," he replied with a laugh, backing away from her and grabbing another stone to skip.

They stood there like that for a good twenty minutes. No words were shared between the two partners. The only noise was the stone hitting the water before it sunk.

It was a perfect escape from reality; it was a perfect escape from their job. Every couple of minutes Tony would look over at Ziva, a stupid grin just plastered on his face. It was fun to watch her expressions. It was fun to watch her try something new, something American.

After a good half an hour, Tony moved behind Ziva again, but she didn't notice until he whispered, "Hey, Ziva. Look at me," into her ear.

Jumping slightly, she turned around and her eyes searched Tony's curiously. "What is it, Tony?" she asked.

DiNozzo held up a ring, the sunlight glittering off of the stone that was in the middle. "Here," he said sheepishly, handing her the ring. "I...I figured you've been here a year. Thought you should get some sort of gift for lasting this long," DiNozzo joked with a laugh.

Ziva's jaw dropped slightly and she took the ring from him, slipping it on her hand. She held her hand out in front of her and then studied the stone. "Topaz...my birthstone..." she murmured, hoping that Tony wouldn't hear her.

"Yeah. It's your one year present and your birthday present," Tony said, taking her hand to look at the ring. The senior field agent was smiling; he was glad that Ziva like it.

"Tony, I love this...thank you."

"Happy birthday, Ziva."