Several hours later Ziva wasn't thinking of anything except putting one foot in front of the other and not slowing Tony down more than necessary when she found herself unceremoniously pushed against the rough bark of a tree.

"Here, hang on," he said as he dropped his pack on the ground.

"What's wrong? Why are we stopping?" Ziva came out of her daze with confusion.

"I need a break," he said as he flopped onto the ground. He watched as Ziva carefully lowered herself to the ground, trying not to jar her leg. He did need a break but not nearly as much as she did. She would never ask him to stop or slow down and he didn't want to wound her pride by insinuating that she needed to.

"How far have we come?" She peered back the way they came, trying to pick out anything familiar.

Tony pulled his GPS out of the bag. "We still don't have any cell reception but the GPS is picking up." He fiddled with the settings for a minute. "It looks like we're about nine miles from where we started, give or take."

Ziva toyed absently with some loose pine needles on the ground. "I don't think I'll make it back before dark," she said quietly without meeting his eyes.

"There's no way. We'll travel a little farther and then hunker down for the night. We'll make it back tomorrow. How's the leg feel?" He looked concerned at the blood saturating his shirt, it was starting to seep down the leg of her pants. Traipsing through the forest couldn't be the best thing for her right now but there wasn't an alternative. He wasn't going to leave her alone in the forest and no one would miss them for at least another twenty-four hours.

She shrugged. "It is not so bad now." Tony dug around in his bag and pulled the bottle of Tylenol out triumphantly.

"It's not morphine but it's better than nothing," he said as he shook three pills out into her hand. "Do you want to try another swig of bourbon?"

Ziva grimaced but nodded. She swallowed the pills with the alcohol. It burned all the way down and she coughed but instead of making her nauseated, this time the alcohol ran through her body like fire. It was a nice feeling and she let it carry her away for a moment.

"You ready to keep moving?" Tony asked just as she started to drift off. "I'd like to make it a little farther before it gets dark. It means less walking in the morning.

Ziva nodded and started to struggle to her feet, using the tree to support her.

"Here," Tony jumped up and grabbed her under the arm, lifting her so that she was standing. Ziva surprised herself, instead of feeling indignant and pulling away, she was grateful for the gesture. He put his arm around her again and when he pulled her close she let herself stay pressed securely to his body.

As the last of the sun faded away Tony saw a small grove of trees that seemed to offer a moderate amount of shelter. He led Ziva to them and gently sat her down. "I think this is where we're going to be spending the evening," he said as he began clearing an area to sleep.

"We should keep going. I think we could get another thirty minutes out of the day before it would be unsafe to continue."

"You'll only make it worse if you keep pushing Ziva," Tony replied. "You're exhausted, just sit for a little while." He gathered the sticks and started a small fire that he fed with a few downed limbs he found in the area.

Tony watched Ziva out of the corner of his eye. She was starting to shiver as the sweat dried on her face. He slipped his jacket off and put it over her shoulders. She looked at him gratefully. "You should keep this Tony, you will get cold."

"I'll be warm enough while I'm hunting around for firewood, then we're going to snuggle together for body heat." He grinned at her and she couldn't help smiling back a little.

Tony shuffled around in the dark, picking up dry pieces of wood. He threw them in a pile and sat down next to Ziva. "How are you doing?"

"I'm okay," she paused. "Thank you for everything you've done."

Tony reached up and carefully pulled the pins out of Ziva's hair, letting it fall around her shoulders. He ran his fingers through her hair, combing out the tangles. Her head fell forward and she let him soothe her with his fingers.

"You never told me any of the details of your spontaneous trip back to Israel last month," he spoke casually but she heard the undercurrent of tension in his voice.

"I didn't know that I was supposed to report to you." She turned her head and raised one eyebrow at him. She smiled to soften the words but his hand stilled on the back of her neck.

"I just thought it was odd, you hadn't been back for a visit in three years, you spent all summer there and then you just come home and you're gone again."

"It was, complicated."

"Complicated, you once told me the word complicated was code to make people stop asking questions."

"Exactly. I do not wish to discuss it."

"Is everything okay? Are you okay?" The concern in his voice made tears burn in her eyes. She blinked hard to try to get rid of them.

"I am fine," she swallowed, resigned that Tony was not going to leave the subject alone until she satisfied his curiosity. "My father asked me to return home for a visit."

"Oh," he answered quietly, his fingers resuming their motion on the back of her neck.

"My father had three children and I am all that is left. He is not elderly, but as he says, he is not getting any younger and he would like to see more of me."

"Ziva, I," Tony started but Ziva interrupted him.

"No, you wanted to know. My father did not argue with me when I asked to return to NCIS after Ari's death and I was grateful for that. This time when I returned he asked me to resume my position in Mossad. He promised great things for my career if I returned. My father cried when I told him no. He asked me to come back again to try to persuade me to leave America and stay in Israel where I belong. I am disappointing him but I cannot live there. Ziva ignored the tears trailing down her cheeks but Tony was could see the moisture reflected off the firelight.

He reached out and gently wiped her tears with his thumb. He pulled her close to him and she leaned against his shoulder. "I am sorry Tony, I don't know what is wrong with me."

Tony turned and kissed her head near her ear. "You're in pain, you're tired, and you're hungry. It's been a bad day. Tears are a natural expression of emotion."

"It's not natural for me." Tony pulled her closer and gently placed his chin on top of her head. He didn't say anything, for once not having a witty comeback.

She reached up and touched the spot where his lips had been. "What was that for?" She asked quietly.

"Ziva, I, um," he tripped over his words. "When you were gone and I was on that damn boat in the middle of the ocean I spent a lot of time thinking," he twisted the button on his jacket. "I don't want you to, I mean I think we, we should talk about this another time," he finished weakly.

Ziva looked at him with soft eyes. She reached up and touched his face. "I would like to talk about this, soon."

He smiled and cuddled her close to his chest. There was so much that the two of them needed to say to one another. Things that needed to be said for a long time. He felt like he had started the ball rolling on having that conversation. He held her until he felt her breathing change and he could tell she was asleep.

He leaned back, arranging their bodies to maximize her warmth. He said a little prayer that this adventure would turn out with her none the worse for the wear before he closed his eyes and listened to her breathe until he fell asleep.