A/N: Okay, so I originally received a drabble request from someone on Tumblr a month or two ago, and I only just remembered that it was still in my ask box. So I spent some time on it last night, and it turned out a bit longer than what I anticipated. And from what I've written, I feel like there should be another chapter to this. So let me know in a review if you want me to continue with this piece. Thank you!

Disclaimer: Disclaimed.

Freezer

"Clear!" Tony set his gun back in its holster as he examined the cool metal room.

"Clear!" Ziva's voice echoed through the empty warehouse as she secured the east side of the building.

He strode over to the far side of the freezer where a large, silver cylinder stood humming in the corner. He stopped in front of it, peering into the foggy glass window just above eye-level. Pulling his jacket sleeve over his hand, he wiped the mist from the glass. He jumped back in shock as a pair of steely blue eyes stared back at him.

"Hey, Zi. You'll wanna see this!" He leaned around the back of the cylinder, hoping to find a handle to open it with.

The click of Ziva's heels filled the silence of the room as she entered it, stopping by Tony's side.

"Is that-"

"Lieutenant Michael Sanders." Tony kept searching for some sort of handle or lever that would open the container.

"We just spoke with him less than three hours ago!"

"Well, I guess someone wasn't happy about that. Look." He pointed his finger to the mouth of the Lieutenant.

"His lips have been sewn together." Ziva leaned closer to the window to see if there was anything else unusual about him.

"Aha! Found the little bugger." The soft hiss of air sounded as the seal of the container was finally broken.

Tony and Ziva both stepped back from the cylinder as the door slowly sung open.

"That's a lot of blood." Tony winced as he followed the trail of blood that lead from Sanders' mouth to his abdomen, where a large gash covered his bare chest.

"Probably caused by the killer threading the needle through his mouth whilst he was still alive… and conscious." Ziva stepped forward and put a hand to the Lieutenant's forehead. "Tony…" Her brows furrowed in realisation as she reached behind her for Tony's wrist, placing his hand next to hers.

"He's still warm."

"Meaning whoever killed him was just here." They shared a look of concern whilst Tony grabbed his cell and called Gibbs.

"Hey Boss, it's DiNozzo. You're not going to like what we've found." Ziva watched Tony as he mindlessly wandered around the storage container-turned freezer, explaining to Gibbs what they had discovered.

She sighed and ran a hand through her hair in frustration. Just a few hours ago they had questioned Sanders about the rape and murder of Petty Officer Amanda Scully, and now he was dead in a freezer with his mouth sewn shut. They hadn't come to this warehouse intentionally. The team was invited to a Military gathering to celebrate the return of a special operations marine squad, which the late Petty Officer was a member of. Of course, they weren't there to celebrate. The team was working on a low profile, trying to get some information about the Petty Officer's demise. Their main suspect, Lieutenant Jason Shields, was in attendance at this gathering. So Tony and Ziva were assigned the task of keeping a close eye on him throughout the night, and if Gibbs gave them the go ahead, they'd bring him in for questioning at the end of the night.

Fifteen minutes ago, however, Lieutenant Shields slipped out the back door and headed for the warehouse just a few blocks from the celebration. She and Tony followed the Lieutenant, only to loose him once he entered the premises.

So that's how they got here; standing shoulder to shoulder in an industrial freezer in front of the dead body of Lieutenant Sanders. Tony in a wonderfully fitted dark blue suit and matching tie, and Ziva in a short sleeved, teal green silk dress. They definitely were not dressed for what turned out to be a leg race through the back streets of D.C.

"Cell reception is pretty weak down here. I could barely understand what Gibbs was saying. But from what I could make out, he's calling Palmer to come and collect the body for autopsy." Tony flipped his phone shut and slipped it into the pocket of his pants.

"Lieutenant Shields is probably long gone by now. We should head back to the Navy yard."

"Good thinking, ninety-nine."

Ziva flapped her hands and pointed to Tony when she finally remembered the television reference. "Be Smart!"

"Close, but no cigar. It's Get Smart." He smiled down at her and placed his hand on the small of her back as they began towards the exit of the walk in freezer.

"Close enough." Ziva returned his smile.

They were only a few metres from the doorway when Lieutenant Shields appeared from behind a group of crates that was stacked right outside of the freezer.

"Federal Agents, stop and put your hands where I can see 'em!" Tony shouted as he reached for his gun. Ziva ran forwards, but it was too late. The Lieutenant had sprung forward and slammed the heavy steel door in her face. The sound of metal shifting against metal confirmed her prediction that they were being locked inside the freezer.

"Hey! Lieutenant Shields! Open this door before I break though it and snap your neck!" Tony hit the door with his fist and fiddled with the handle, but it was of no use. They were trapped in that freezer with little-to-no cell reception until Palmer arrived. And seeing as he lived in the other side of town, they wouldn't be rescued for at least another forty-five minutes.

Ziva leaned her back against the door and slid down it until she was sitting on the cold, hard floor.

"Missed it by that much." Her defeated tone filled the silence as Tony walked over to her. He stood over her, eyes beaming as he slid off his jacket and draped it over her shoulders, joining her on the floor. "Thank you." She smiled sweetly at him and hugged his jacket closer to her, the warmth of his body heat lingering inside the jacket. He had the biggest, goofiest smile plastered on his face, and Ziva had no idea why. "What are you so happy about, Tony?"

"Your 'Get Smart' reference was perfectly timed, that's all." He smiled down at her and gave her a gentle nudge with his side before he stood and made his way back over to the Lieutenant's body. He lifted his left hand and placed it over the Lieutenant's glassy blue stare, closing his eyelids.

Ziva got up and stood behind his right shoulder. "Are you okay?" She placed a tentative hand on his shoulder blade which slid to his bicep as he turned to face her.

"Yeah, I'm fine. It's just a shame to see him dead. He was a nice guy, you know? Pretty wife, two loving kids. All he needed was a white picket fence and he'd be living the American Dream." He smiled sadly at her.

She hated to see him like this. Although it was rare, it did happen. And every time a case affected him like this, he would just slap on a smile and try to get through the day. Some evenings she would offer to keep him company, sharing dinner and a movie with him to take his mind off the past day's events. But there were always times when she knew he just needed time to himself, to think about everything that had happened. Time to pull himself back together.

"I know, Tony. What Shields did was terrible, and it can never be taken back. But we need to keep a level head, we need to move on. Because if we let every case affect us like this, then we are never going to get our jobs done. We will never be able to catch the monsters that do this to people." She slid her hand down his bicep to meet his own.

She watched his eyes lock on to hers; those wonderful green, calming eyes that she sought solace in countless times. And every one of those times he accepted her; he comforted her and reassured her that everything was going to be alright. So now it was her turn. Now she was the one to comfort Tony; to help him through this. And even though this case didn't seem like the type that would usually cause him this much grief, she was now his rock, his pillar. She was now his. And she would do whatever it took to help him through whatever was causing him this trouble. Because she knew that it wasn't just this case that was causing him so much distress. It was likely that this case was the trigger, or the final straw, to push him over the proverbial edge. And later, she would get to what was really the cause of his discomfort. But for now, they were smack bang in the middle of a case. And she knew that talking to him now, trying to get to the bottom of his problems, was not a good idea. No, not at all. Because that could, and most likely would, jeopardise their working relationship. Albeit, maybe only for a day or two, but those days could be crucial, and messing up then could potentially take them back to square one. No trust. No faith. No partnership. And she sure as hell did not want that to happen. So she squeezed his hand gently and gave him a reassuring smile, which he returned. She watched as he reached into his pocket with his other hand and pulled out his cell to check the time.

"We're going to be here for a while; may as well make ourselves comfortable." They both took a seat on the floor and leant back against the wall.

Ziva's thoughts began to drift back to what Tony had confided in her the week before.

'It's like half of my brain is still stuck in that elevator.'

That sentence burrowed itself into her mind, replaying over and over like a broken record.

The elevator. Her thoughts took a turn into the direction of the conversations they held in that elevator only a couple of months earlier.

'We slipped.' She stood, moulded to his side as she regained her balance.

'Did we? I thought the Earth moved.' Her eyes struggled to leave his lips.

'You're sweating.'

'It's hot in here.'

'I had not noticed.'

'Really?' He raised his hand and brushed a few stray hairs from her face, causing a content smile to grace her features.

The ring of a cell phone broke the silence, and it took Tony to check his phone before they realised it was hers. Only as she answered the call, did she take her hand from his chest, which had been resting there since their 'slip'.

"You okay, Ziva?" His low, husky voice pulled her back from her daydream. She turned her head, rolling it against the wall, to meet his gaze.

"Yes, just… thinking." She gave a small smile, an effort to reassure him that she was okay.

"About what, if I may ask?" He undid the top button of his shirt and began to loosen his tie. His eyes never leaving hers.

"The bomb. The explosion. The elevator."

"Me too." Her eyes widened as his words registered in her mind. She definitely did not expect him to say that. She was anticipating a joke; a witty comment; a movie reference. Not a meaningful, two worded sentence that made her heart flutter. No, definitely not that.

She watched him finish fiddling with his tie. She was speechless. What was she to say to that?

They sat in silence, watching each other watch the other. Then Tony spoke up.

"What did you mean when you said 'Well, no, Tony's never going to change'?"

"When?"

"When your father called and offered to help us find Dearing." She thought back to that moment.

'My father says it's all over the news in Israel.' She covered the mouthpiece of her phone with her hand, directing her speech to Tony.

'Can you ask The Great Eli David if maybe he could help us find Harper Dearing?'

'He's actually offering that.'

'Oh, fantastic. Well, while we're asking favours here, is there any way he can get us OUT OF THIS ELEVATOR?'

'Yeah… Well no, Tony's never going to change, Abba. And we are fine. We are fine, yes.'

Of course, she had never meant that in a bad way. She would never want Tony to change. He is perfect the way he is. But obviously he was unsure about that, so she clarified.

"Tony," she sat up and turned her whole body to face him, "I was trying to defend you. My father has never really… liked you. And I do not want you to change just because there are a few people in this world that do not like you for who you are, my father included," she took one of his hands in both of hers, "Over the years that I have known you, I have watched as you've grown into a more mature, caring man. But you are still Tony. You are still the man who occasionally acts as a child. You are still the man that makes jokes at crime scenes to lighten the mood. You are still the man that the team and I love. We do not want you to change who you are. I do not want you to change who you are, because then you would not be Tony. And that would mean that I would no longer have you in my life," she gave his hand a gentle squeeze, "And yes, Tony, I do consider you to be in my life. You are the closest person, the closest friend, to me, and I could not bear to lose that; I could not bear to lose you. I guess… I could not live without you."

Silence.

Did she really just say all of that? Did she really just show her true feelings for him?

She could feel her heart race; her pulse quicken. She searched his eyes for an answer. They were soft, caring. Definitely not angry. His mouth opened, a reply forming on his tongue.

"Ziva, I-"

The heavy doors of the walk in freezer swung open and Special Agent's Gibbs and McGee stormed in, checking the freezer for an enemy before seeing Tony and Ziva on the floor against the wall.

"DiNozzo, David, you guys okay?" Gibbs and McGee holstered their weapons as Palmer steered the gurney through the doorway.

"Yeah, Boss. We're fine." Tony stood and offered his hand to Ziva, helping her to her feet.

"I want an incident report from both of you by Monday. For now; get some rest over the weekend. I'll call if I need you." The three of them watched as Gibbs strode over to Palmer who was analysing the body.

"How'd you two manage to get locked in a freezer?"

"Long story McGoo. Don't you have to help Gibbs with something?"

"I'm just glad you guys are safe." McGee gave a nod and a smile as he began towards Gibbs and Palmer.

A/N: Thank for reading! Reviews are always appreciated. Let me know if you want this as a multichapter.