Chapter 1 – I Knew I Loved You
It was freezing out that night and tony and Ziva were pulling themselves out of the River
"Damnit!, this was my best suit, next time Gibbs wants us to undercover on a nice boat I won't be so easily bribed with an all you can eat buffet"
"Oh shut it tony, we need to get somewhere with reception"
"Boat had reception Ziva"
"Do you think I don't know that, but there's just one problem isn't there Tony, we were thrown of the back of the boat!"
"Yeah..., I know,... that's why I have a crab crawling down my leg"
Ziva let out a teasing laugh
"Well I'm glad someone thinks it's funny, come on, there's a hotel just up ahead that might have a phone"
"How do you know?"
"Ziva", he raised his eyebrows, "This is Baltimore, I used to work here remember?"
"How did we get to Baltimore?"
"They must have known we were there and changed the course"
"Looks like Gibbs is gunna have a hard time finding us"
They walked in silence aside from the quiet squelches of Tony's shoes and the click, click, click of Ziva's heels
They walked in the front entrance of the shabby, worn hotel, to find the lobby empty
"Hello-o, "questioned tony,
"Be out in a minute sonny,...ah, how can I help you"
"Do you by any chance, have a phone we can use", asked Ziva
"Oh no, gosh no, nobody's had reception around here for years"
"And, um,..., how long a walk would it be to the nearest phone"
"Well, if ya ask me I'd say, well it's a good two hour walk in any direction you're headed"
"Well I'm defiantly not walking that far at 2 in the morning so how about we just get a couple a rooms, crash till say about 10 tomorrow and then set off, watcha say zee-vah"
"I guess, Gibbs would understand, what other option is there really"
"Ok then, 2 rooms please, one for me, and one for the lady"
"Oh,...That, might be a problem, sorry but we only have one room currently available"
"Ahh", Ziva sighed, "I'll take the couch",
"Done and done", here's the key
"Thaaaaank you"
"You know Ziva, this place isn't that bad, it's got a heater, to dry the clothes, a bed, your couch, hot water, speaking of which, DIBBS FIRST SHOWER!, tony sprinted to the bathroom"
Ziva went across the road to the local supermarket, got some toothbrushes, PJ's and managed to find clothes for tomorrow, all with the little money they had
"What a gentleman you are tony, letting me have the couch and the second shower" Ziva said impatiently as she walked through the door
HA, tony let out a loud laugh, "well I'm done sweet cheeks, so..., shower's all yours"
"About time"
Tony stood leaning against the bathroom vanity brushing his already gleaming teeth, while Ziva reached for a towel from behind an old grime covered shower curtain to dry herself
"We'll leave at 6 tomorrow morning" said Ziva as she left the room to get dressed in the singlet and boxers she bought from the supermarket across the road, she had also bought tony a pair
"Six?, come on Ziva, you can't be serious"
"Ok then, eight"
"I'll fight you for it, I stay standing more than a minute with you, and we leave at 10"
"Deal"
Tony and Ziva stood in the middle of the room, tony with his feet firmly planted and knees bent
"Ok, ready tony?, 1,...2,...3!"
Within 3 seconds Ziva had tony in a vulnerable position, she pushed on his warm chest still wet from the shower, he lost his balance and grabbed Ziva's arm, they both toppled on the carpeted floor with Ziva pressed on top of Tony
"Well then, guess I win, we leave at 10"
Ziva could feel Tony's warm breath soothing the side of her neck as he spoke, "no, you are on the ground, and it only took me 10 seconds", Ziva was looking into Tony's eyes, a mocking look on her face
"Yeah...but you fell as well", their eyes were locked and they were speaking in whispers
"You hit the ground first Tony"
"Yeah, Head over Heels"
"What?" Ziva scrunched her eyebrows in a look of confusion
A few moments passed, Tony slowly raised his head, they were so close, he felt Ziva's warm breath on his cheek, her soft hand around his neck, he reached his arm around the small of her back, pressing her against him and the other hand behind her head, he pulled her head down and gently kissed her
Ziva groaned "Tony, don't"
"I fell for you a long time ago Ziva, and I think you know that"
"I know" she whispered
Tony slowly rolled Ziva onto her back, he lifted her so they were both upright, Tony kissed Ziva deeply, and Ziva kissed him back
A small glistening tear ran down Ziva's cheek, "Tony, please don't do this, please don't take advantage of me"
"I would never do that"
He kissed her again, this time more passionately, "Ziva,... I love you"
He reached his hands around the back of her neck where here dress was held up by a knot, he untied it and it fell to the ground with a whoosh, she unbuttoned his shirt, each movement became more rushed, Ziva pushed tony backwards until he fell onto the bed, her legs straddling his waist while he pulled her down
"Damn it Abbey, can you trace em or not"
"Gibbs, you can't rush science" she took a big slurp of her caf-pow
"Ok Gibbs, got em, you should be able to call their cells now"
"That's great Abbs but where are they?"
"Well since the phones aren't traceable because the nav-chip wasn't sending out a signal probably due to water damage, but I was able to pick up on the chip we put in Tony's pocket, because of the frequency it runs on..."
"Abbey!"
"They're at a hotel, address 32 Mullen RD Baltimore"
"Baltimore, how'd they get there?"
"The boat was a decoy, they knew we were there"
"Good work Abbs" he gave her a peck on the cheek before leaving the room to find McGee
"Grab your gear McGee"
"Did we find tony and Ziva boss?"
"Hotel about 15 miles south, just off the river"
"Good morning sleeping beauty" Ziva said as she lay on top of tony and kissed him sweetly on his lips
Tony looked at Ziva with a loving and satisfied look, and in a flash had her trapped beneath him while he kissed her, again and again
Ziva softly laughed, "No tony, Gibbs will be here in about an hour, do you want him to walk through the door and see this"
"How does Gibbs know we're here?"
"Turns out the guy that owns this place just wanted some extra cash from some unfortunate people who believed there was no reception here, but there is, our phones were just out from getting wet"
"Too bad, we could have stayed a little longer"
Ziva found her way out of Tony's arms and went to get dressed, Tony did the same
"We're going to meet him outside"
"I don't suppose any of this is going to leave this room is it"
"As long as Gibbs doesn't find out Tony, I don't see what the problem is"
Tony responded by sweeping Ziva up in the air, he held her pressed against the door feet dangling and kissed her, he kissed her so deeply that Ziva's head started spinning
"Tony?"
"Mm hmm" he mumbled between kisses
"I love you too"
He stopped for a minute and their eyes connected, a soft smile spread across his face
"I know Ziva, I know"
They shared one last kiss before they walked outside to meet Gibbs and McGee
"Good to see you Tony"
"McGee"
"What the hell happened with you two last night DiNozzo?"
"We were thrown off the back of the boat boss, cell phones were fried and it was a 2 hour walk to the nearest line"
"So they made you for undercover agents?"
"I think Tony gave it away at the buffet, he didn't exactly fit the profile of a billionaire who knew every rule of etiquette"
"Ziva, he doesn't need to know about my table manners"
"HAHAHA", Gibbs let out a loud bellow and one of his amused looking smiles "DiNozzo, David, get in the car, we got a dead marine in a hotel room, about a 20 minute drive"