Hi everyone! I was expecting to actually post this on like Friday afternoon. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the first chapter of the second part of this series! Please tell me what you think!

One

Ziva looked up from her book when she heard the sound of the office door opening. Tony emerged from the office, followed by Paige Wilson, a tall brunette with square-rimmed glasses - the therapist he had been seeing twice a week for the last three weeks. Ziva smiled when she saw him and placed her book mark in her book, then stood to greet Tony.

"I'll see you on Friday Tony." Paige said, patting Tony on the shoulder lightly.

Tony smiled a bit. "We'll be here."

"Bye guys." Paige said.

Ziva smiled, waving at her. "Have a good day."

"You too." Paige said before she walked back into her office and shut the door behind herself.

Tony walked toward Ziva, who opened her arms to him. Tony accepted her embrace, burying his face into her dark curls, like he always did after a session with Paige. The first time he had come, he had asked Ziva to go in with him, which of course she did. After stepping out of the office that first day, Tony pulled Ziva to him to thank her for going in with him, and the couple stood there in each other's arms for at least ten minutes.

Ziva kissed his temple softly. "Do you want to go get something to eat?"

Tony shook his head. "Can we just go back to your place and warm up some leftovers or something?" He asked.

Ziva smiled a bit. "Of course." She said, running her hands over Tony's back gently.

Tony stood up and reached for Ziva's hand, tangling his fingers with hers. They walked out of the building and across the parking lot to Ziva's red Mini and sat down inside.

"Do you want to stay at my place or yours tonight?" Ziva asked.

They had taken to switching off whose apartment they spent their time in. Tony had been scheduled to see Paige Monday's and Friday's, so they found a natural rhythm in just switching houses. They were both getting quite the collection of the other's belongings in their respective apartments as well.

Tony shrugged. "Yours is fine. I like your apartment, it's home-y." He told her simply.

Ziva smiled as she put the car in drive. "My apartment it is then. Did you want to stop and get anything from yours?" She asked.

"No, I'll be fine with what's there." Tony told her.

Ziva chuckled. "You should, you fill half of my dresser." She said as they came to a red light.

"You take up more of mine than I do yours!" Tony said, laughing.

Ziva thought for a moment, and eventually conceded, realizing that Tony was indeed correct.

"You are right." She told him.

Tony grinned, turning to look at her. "How'd those words taste?" He asked.

Ziva rolled her eyes. "Bitter." She said with a smile.

XXXXX

Tony toed his shoes off at the door as they entered Ziva's apartment and walked into the kitchen. He opened the fridge and bent down to examine its contents. Half a package of raspberries, some leftover roast chicken and mashed potatoes from the night before, and other random packages of fruits that Ziva enjoyed.

Ziva hung her keys up on the hook beside the door and walked into the kitchen. She walked up beside Tony, resting her hand on his back gently. He turned around to look up at her.

"Let me in there. I will warm up the chicken." She requested.

Tony smiled and backed out of the fridge, making sure he wouldn't hit his head when he stood up straight.

"I was just gonna grab some berries or something." Tony told her. "We ate a little while ago."

"Oh, alright, can you grab some bowls?" She asked.

Tony nodded walked over to the cupboard where she kept the dishes.

"Which berries did you want?" Ziva asked as he reached to grab two bowls.

"Doesn't matter, blueberries and raspberries I guess, don't have to cut them." Tony said.

Ziva took the two containers of berries out of the fridge and set them down on the counter. She reached out and turned on the cold water and popped the containers open to rinse the berries off before she dumped some into each bowl that Tony handed her.

Satisfied with their mid-afternoon snack, the couple migrated back to the living room to relax on the couch. Ziva sat down against the arm of the couch and leaned back, allowing Tony to rest against her comfortably as they ate.

"How did your session go?" Ziva asked. They had realized fairly early on in Tony's therapy that talking about what was happening, both so Ziva knew what to expect, and so Tony could process everything was very helpful to them both.

Tony shrugged. "Okay I guess. Nothing new really, we just talked about coping strategies." He told her.

Ziva nodded. "For nightmares or panic attacks?" She asked.

"Both." Tony told her.

"That is good. What did you come up with?"

Tony smiled a bit, resting his head on Ziva's shoulder as he bit into a blueberry.

"Right now, you help a lot." Tony told her. "And that's good. I like being able to come to you if something's wrong. If it's not putting too much pressure on you."

Ziva kissed his forehead gently. "It isn't."

Tony nodded. "The nightmares are kind of our biggest focus because they happen so often. But you really do help keep me calm, and I feel safe with you."

Ziva smiled. The honor, and pride that she felt every time Tony told her that he felt safe with her was immense. All she wanted was to make him feel safe, and happy, and if she could manage that… she had decided that it was one of the best things in the world, aside from loving, and being loved by Tony.

"And she likes that I'm not scared of you touching me, once I realize that it's you." Tony continued.

He placed both his and Ziva's empty bowls on the coffee table and turned onto his side, resting his head on Ziva's chest. She wrapped one arm around him, and her other hand came up to run through his hair softly. He loved it.

"She just wants me to be able to find ways to ground myself when I have nightmares. We talked about you, obviously, and you rubbing my back, or holding me, or singing. And we kind of went into like when they get really bad and I just can't get out of it having you bring me a cold cloth or something just, so I can feel something that's completely different…" Tony trailed off. "If you don't mind doing that."

Ziva tightened her grip on him. "I will try anything you want to help you Tony. I do not mind at all."

She felt Tony nod against her chest. "Can I ask you something?"

"Of course."

"When you have nightmares, what do they feel like?" Tony asked.

"What do you mean?" Ziva asked.

Tony shrugged. "I don't know, like I know they're scary, but when you wake up, what do you notice first? Or do you notice anything? And what makes you realize that you're safe?"

Ziva thought for a moment before answering. "I think I realize I am safe when I start to see that I am in my own bed, or yours lately, and everything is familiar. Sometimes it is seeing things that helps most, sometimes it can be something like touching my blankets, or holding your hand. I find that smells help too. If I can't smell the cigarette smoke anymore, I know that I am awake and safe." Ziva detailed.

Tony wrapped his arms around her waist. "I kinda wanna say that what helps me calm down the fastest is when I can hear you. Like not even talking sometimes, if I have my head on your chest and I can hear you breathing, you're stable, and steady."

Ziva nodded. "That makes sense." She assured him.

"Behind the bar, and always in the nightmares, I can hear the music and it's so loud that any time I try to call for help it just drowns me out. You're a nice change from that, and that's when I'm like 'oh, okay, I'm not in any danger right now.'" Tony told her.

"I am glad I can help you, even a little bit." Ziva said, his forehead gently.

Tony smiled. "I am too."

XXXXX

Tony pulled the fluffy comforter over himself, waiting for Ziva to finish brushing her teeth and turn off the light. As if on cue, a moment later the hall light was flicked off and Ziva walked into the bedroom.

"Can I turn the big light off?" She asked, referring to the ceiling fan above the bed.

Tony nodded. "Yep."

Ziva hit the light switch and peeled off her clothes before climbing into bed beside Tony. In the month since Tony was attacked, they hadn't spent a single night away from each other, not even one of them in the bed and one of them on the couch. They always slept together, and if they were perfectly honest, they both preferred it like this. They both slept better when they could feel the warmth of the person that they loved next to them.

Ziva reached over to turn off the lamp on the bedside table and they slid closer together shifting into the middle of the bed. Ziva opened her arms to Tony, who willingly settled himself down in her grasp, resting his head on the pillow beside her shoulder. He kissed her shoulder softly.

"Goodnight Zi." He said quietly, his eyes already half-lidded from his tiring day – therapy sessions always made him tired, even if there was six hours between the session and him going to bed.

Ziva pulled him tighter against her and kissed his forehead softly. "Goodnight Tony. I love you."

Tony smiled, completely content. "I love you too."