A/N: Thanks for the reviews guys! I hope you enjoy this chapter. I decided to make the first entry a Prologue, this will actually be the first chapter =D HAPPY 4th OF JULY!

Day Off

Chapter One: So Much for a Day Off

Ziva nudged her sleeping passenger as they arrived at the foot of a cold mountain. No cars were around yet, not even the sun was completely awake.

"Tony…"She whispered in his ear. A smile graced his features. Her hand lightly traced the curves of his face, following his neck, down his arm than finding its way to his hand. The smile grew. She found the spot she wanted and…

"OW! OW! OW!" Tony erupted in a loud scream, almost immediately awake. Ziva found his pressure point, one all too familiar to the agonized agent.

"Stand and shine." Ziva chuckled, releasing her victim.

"Rise."

"I have already.." Ziva responded sternly.

"No, David, Rise and Shine!" He shook his hand rapidly, slowly getting out of the car, than slamming the door shut.

"Someone is cranky."

"Well I wouldn't be if SOMEONE didn't show up at my house hours early." He glared in her direction as he grabbed everything he needed out of the car.

"I was fifteen minutes early, Tony." Ziva replied, exasperated.

"Well fifteen minutes are hours in DiNozzo time."

"Is that like dog years?" Ziva chuckled. Tony pretended he didn't hear her, as he fumbled in his bag. He pulled out a map.

"Okay, campfire."

"Tony, it's only the two of us."

"CAMPFIRE!" He yelled louder. Ziva covered her ear as she angrily turned her attention to the map.

"Okay, so we are here." Tony pointed to a spot on the map. Ziva nodded. "We are going to hike up the north side of the mountain, until we reach this point." He pointed again. "Following this trail." Tony grinned, quite proud of himself.

"You really thought about this Tony, I am impressed." She rubbed his back.

"Well, I am a highly trained Special Agent. I am vastly experienced in the area of geography."

"Well let me give you a quick hint." She said as she turned the map 90o. "We are here." She pointed at a different point.

"Oh…" Tony grimaced. "Well than…" He reorganized his thoughts. "Upward and Onward!" He started up the mountain. Ziva just laughed, following him at a brisk pace.

XXX

"Do you think we should say some words, or pray…or something?" The scruffy older man said to another. He was short and stocky wearing overalls and a backwards cap. Over his shoulder he carried an open shot gun, no longer loaded.

"Are you crazy, Mike?" The clean-shaven man responded. He was taller, thinner, but not skinny. He would be handsome, if he was not covered in blood. Animal, possibly? "This was nothing more than a pest." He reached into a bag and pulled out a bag of yellow liquid. He poured it over the freshly buried mound. "Coyote piss, it'll keep the scavengers away."

"Hey, you are a smart man Billy." The man named Mike smiled. Bill rolled his eyes.

"Let's just get out of here before it gets dark, alright." They left the fresh dirt and walked back to an old pick-up and the edge of the clearing. In the back were two completely dressed deer carcasses.

"Ayo, Bill!" A younger kid, maybe 19 or 20, ran up to them. "What do we do with the asshole's truck?" The boy had a creepy grin on his face, obviously amused with the whole situations.

"Ah little brother," Bill cackled. "Burn it." He grabbed the kid around the neck and gave him a noogie, messing up his hair. "We'll never have to worry about that ancient whistle blower again!" The three men laughed as they grabbed the gasoline from the back of the truck.

XXX

"TONY YOU HAVE BEEN SAYING THAT WE 'ARE ALMOST THERE' FOR SIX HOURS!" Ziva screamed. "YET WE ARE NO WHERE NEAR THE TRAIL."

"Calm down, calm down." DiNozzo said, trying to calm the ninja before she struck. "If we just…turn here and…" he turned the map sideways, than sideways again "turn…here…we should be at the camp site." Tony smiled uneasily. Ziva grabbed the map.

"DINOZZO!" Ziva yelled. "This is a map of Mt. Kinder NOT ." She hissed. He found her hushed tones slightly more terrifying then her screaming ones. Tony grabbed it back.

"Oh…that explains a lot." Tony grinned sheepishly, Ziva just glared and raised her hand for a 'Gibbs slap'. Tony ducked."And, Ziva warrior of the woods, you didn't notice EITHER!" Ziva suddenly put her hand up in order to shush the babbling agent.

"Do you hear that?" She whispered, barely audible, she reached for her gun. "Voices."

"Woah, woah, Ziva…" Tony said, quickly placing a hand on Ziva's firing arm. As quickly as he touched her, she grabbed his arm and twisted it behind his back. She wasn't causing any damage, but he was definitely uncomfortable. "All I was trying to say." He whispered between winces. "Is that this is a PUBLIC park, there are bound to be other and you do NOT need to shoot them all!" Ziva released him.

"Sorry…it was a…"

"Reflex, I know." Tony spat, rotating his shoulder.

"Well in that case, I am asking them for directions." Ziva began to walk in their direction.

"Let the record show that I am not the one asking for directions, and this should in no way affect the bet." Tony mention, running ahead of Ziva. She just rolled her eyes, but she couldn't hide the smile that crept onto her face. Though this was not the ideal situation, she was glad to be in the situation with him. She almost felt..safe…with him; like nothing could ever happen. Ziva knew it was foolish, even stupid, but she couldn't help it. She shook herself out of her trance as she caught up with her excited partner.

XxX

"Excuse me?" Ziva yelled out, unable to hide the annoyance from her voice. No answer, but she clearly was heard. "EXCUSE ME!" She screamed again. The three gentlemen she was addressing turned to face her, hiding something behind their backs. The smell of a fresh kill filled the air, reminded her of hunting with her father.

It was obvious that the youngest of the three was checking Ziva out. His eyes started at her face than traveled down her body, than back up. Protectively, Tony stood in front of her. Ziva sighed loudly, exhibiting her discontent with his actions.

"Just a reflex…"He whispered so the three wouldn't hear him. "Hey guys, we are just a little lost and were hoping that you could point us in the right direction of Trail AB." Tony didn't feel comfortable with the three gentlemen. He felt almost as if they were hiding something, and he knew Ziva felt it too. 'Rednecks…' He said in his head.

"Sorry ya'll" The middle-aged man replied in a light southern drawl. "We're not too familiar with the trails around here. We just come up here for sport."

"Game hunting is illegal throughout these woods." Ziva responded.

"You gonna do something about it, honey?" The younger boy spoke. He had a smug smile plastered on his face. Ziva almost said something, but in the end decided not to. She didn't want any trouble, not today. She just smiled and placed her hand on her gun…just in case.

"Mind your MOUTH CJ." The clean shaven man spoke again. "I apologize for him; he's really a sweet kid once you get to know him. Doesn't really trust…strangers."

"Listen, we are not trying to cause any trouble, we just want to find our way." Ziva took a step in front of Tony.

"The ranger's truck is about 100 meters down that hill." The oldest man finally spoke. "Haven't seen him, but he may be back there now." Ziva noticed the other two men's uncomfortable demeanor.

"Thanks a ton, boys." Tony snidely replied as he started down the mountain. Ziva remained for a second, eyeing the three. She flashed a quick smile and headed down after Tony.

XxX

"Are you some kind of idiot?" CJ directed this comment towards Mike. Mike just shrugged his shoulders.

"Listen boy, they are distracted, now is the time to high-tail in out of here!"

"Mike's right, CJ." Bill closed the hatch of the truck. "We leave the ranger's truck, they're just civilians. It's not like they will know any better." The three of them piled in the car.

XxX

"There's the car, just like they said." Tony said, but Ziva didn't respond. Her eyes were fixated on the area around her. Something wasn't right. "No ranger to be found," Ziva walked around to the driver's side.

"He has a radio; I'll call in to see if they can help us." Ziva responded. "Hello?" She spoke in to the handset, no response.

"Ziva?"

"What Tony, can't you see I am trying to get us out of this mess." Tony disregarded her rude tone.

"Well you are going to have a hard time when the radio lines aren't attached." He lifted up the cleanly sliced wire.

"This has been cut purposely. Oh, Tony…" Ziva pointed toward the steering wheel. Blood covered the top half, almost as if somebody's head had been smashed in. Tony shook his head.

"So much for a day off." Ziva took out her gun, than handed Tony her spare.