a/n: Thank you for all the wonderful reviews. I'm glad you all liked the first chapter.

And now, here is the second:

Tony's POV:

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-=-

There is nothing better than looking up from my desk and seeing Ziva.

I don't even mind the bruises and scrapes. I mean, I mind them. I don't like them. But just seeing her back at her desk… back at NCIS… back where she belongs…

It's been hard to keep the smile off of my face all day.

"Alright, well I'm off." McGee says as he puts on his coat. "I'll see you guys tomorrow."

"Goodnight, Tim." Ziva says and I too begin the process of packing up.

"Hey, Ziva," I start, looking over at the Mossad liason, though I'm sure she'd rather be called an NCIS agent. "I'm cooking some of my famous DiNozzo quesadillas tonight, you should come over."

"DiNozzo quesadillas? How well can an Italian cook Mexican food?"

"Very. So, what do you say?"

She gives me a small smile. "No thank you, Tony."

"Some other time then." I reply, hiding the disappointment as I stand up and put my backpack on. "Night."

"Good night."

Day one with Ziva back went well. We talked. Sure, it was mostly superficial… but perhaps that's the way to go for now.

And it's not like I had been expecting her to accept my invitation. I'd bought the ingredients on a whim. Quesadillas were my specialty in college: shredded cheese, pineapple salsa, and ground beef all grilled inside a flour tortilla… They were legendary on campus.

And they're good to eat during movies. And Ziva likes movies, and I had been planning to watch one with her.

Okay, not planning… more hoping…

But she's not coming over which is fine. It's understandable even.

And on the bright side, now I don't have to compromise on what movie we watch.

I sigh, slipping into the elevator with several other agents.

Maybe I should just pick up some take out.

-=-

Nothing like Big Wong's egg rolls and a film to make a perfect Monday night.

I crouch down, sorting through my DVD collection.

Do I want to watch a Drama? Action? Romantic Comedy?

I smile, pulling out Hitchcock's Psycho.

Horror.

Perfect.

It's probably a good thing that Ziva didn't come over. She would've wanted to watch something funny.

That's one of the odd things about her. She doesn't seem like the type who would enjoy a comedy, but that's all she'd want to watch back when we had our weekly movie sessions.

Wow, that was a long time ago.

I place the DVD into the player before grabbing my food and plopping myself on the couch.

When did the movie nights stop? When Gibbs got back from Mexico?

We should do them again. Obviously not now. I mean, she doesn't want to spend more than five minutes in my presence.

Then again, maybe a movie night is just what we need.

I jump as the phone rings, throwing the remote across the couch.

The movie hasn't even started and I'm already jumpy? Maybe tonight's not the night for horror…

I'm just about to pick up the phone as I hear a knock on the door.

Seriously? Since when am I so popular…

"Anthony DiNozzo," I answer as I make my way towards the door.

"Good evening sir, I'm Richard Scott and I'm calling to help you consolidate your debt."

Well that figures.

"Consolidate my debt huh?" I mumble, opening the door.

"Yes, sir, I'm prepared to of-"

I hang up as I see Ziva standing awkwardly on my doorstep.

Ziva is on my doorstep?

I'm saved the trouble of greeting her as she begins to speak, "Hi Tony. I am sorry for coming over unannounced, but Abby has her bowling league tonight, and I did not feel like cooking. And then I decided that quesadillas sounded really good, even if they are cooked by an Italian."

She's cute when she's nervous.

"How'd you get here? I thought you weren't driving yet." I respond, putting my phone in my pocket as I rest against the doorway.

"Not legally." She smiles so I do too. "Right, well I am sorry to invite myself over, but-"

"I think I should be the one apologizing." I interrupt, ushering her inside. "I decided to go with take-out over quesadillas, so it looks like you won't get to taste DiNozzo's world famous cooking tonight."

I send her a large smile and she looks at her feet – is she embarrassed?

"But I picked up enough to feed three people, so we should be okay."

"I am sorry for barging in on you… I just…" She stops, seemingly unable to think of words.

"Hey, don't worry about it, Ziva. I like the company. Let me go fix you a plate and then we'll watch a movie."

"It is okay, I can fix myself a plate."

"Nope, you can't. Because you're going to go pick out a movie for us to watch."

"I can do that," She says and I walk happily to my kitchen, not bothering to conceal the smile on my face.

"It looks like you already picked one out, Tony." I hear her call from the living room.

Oh right. Psycho.

"I think I'm more in the mood for a comedy though." I reply, hoping she buys it.

"Are you?"

She doesn't.

Ziva has always been able to tell when I'm lying. Even when she can't see me.

"I am now."

And it's true. Laughing is good. Watching Ziva laugh is better.

I throw a little bit of everything on her plate, though I give her the rest of the egg rolls; I know how much she likes them.

"Hey, what do you want to drink?"

"Water is fine. How does Airplane! sound?"

"Sounds good."

I grab Ziva's meal before heading back towards the TV.

"Your dinner, milady." I say, placing the plate on the coffee table. She takes her seat – the seat she sat on back when she would frequent my home.

"Thank you, Tony." Her voice is soft and I send her a large smile before reclining into my own chair.

"Anytime, Ziva. And I mean it." I add quietly, hoping she understands just how serious I am about that.

She nods, and we fall into a comfortable silence as the move begins.

-=-

I don't know anything I'd rather do than see Ziva laugh. See Ziva happy.

I tried to watch the movie more than her, but it was tough. Her smile shined through her scarred face, and it was beautiful.

I know she could probably feel me watching her, and I know she probably thought it was creepy, but she didn't comment on my stalker-esk behavior.

And she really seemed to be enjoying the movie, though once the credits started rolling she left almost immediately.

It was an awkward goodbye. Everything about our relationship is awkward right now though.

She thanked me for dinner. I told her it was no trouble. She walked towards the door. I stayed in the living room. She said goodnight. I told her to drive safely.

We both shared a laugh at the notion before she finally walked out, closing the door lightly behind her.

-=-

Perhaps our relationship hasn't changed much. Clearly it's still on rocky ground.

But rocky ground is better than nothing.

And seeing as how a few weeks ago she held a loaded gun to my chest, rocky ground feels just fine.

Better than fine, actually. Rocky ground feels flippin' great.

-=-

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There it is. Hope you enjoyed some Tony/Ziva interaction.

If anyone can correctly guess the song I'm referring to with the title of this chapter, I will give you a virtual cookie.

(Hint, the name of the song isn't exactly the name of the chapter)