Chapter 4

Ziva woke, blinking the sleep from her eyes, and rolled over. Or, tried to roll over. Someone was hindering her movements. She began to panic until she remembered where she was – she had spent the night at McGee's apartment.

She turned her head to look at him and smiled. He was still asleep, mouth hanging open. She wrenched herself out of his grasp enough to turn so she was facing him and laid her head on the pillow again, simply watching him sleep. He was so good to her. She hated to think of Gibbs kicking her off the team. She knew she wouldn't find another group like the one she'd found at NCIS.

Ziva sighed and made a conscious mental decision to herself – she would do whatever it took to let Gibbs know she screwed up, but she wanted nothing more than to stay on the team. NCIS had become her life, and the team had become her family. She couldn't just lose them, as sentimental as that sounded. Her father would say her time in America had made her soft; he did say that about her. But then again, he never seemed to understand the concept of family much, anyway.

The thought brought a chill down her spine and she inched closer to McGee, snuggling into him. No, she wasn't about to lose the team.

McGee stirred as a result of her movements and she hesitantly backed away, giving him some room. He let out a yawn and turned his head to face her. "Morning, Ziva." He blinked a few times, then noticed the distant look on her face and grew concerned. "You okay?"

She turned her head to face him. "What would you do to keep your place on the team?"

He narrowed his eyes. "I'm not sure what you mean."

She raised her head up on her hand. "How important is NCIS to you?"

He snorted. "NCIS is everything to me," he said softly. "You should know that." She didn't say anything, so he continued. "Ziva, you don't seriously think Gibbs would fire you . . ."

"What if I do?" she asked angrily. "I do not know what he is thinking! He probably finds me a liability to the team, someone who is angry and reckless, and would rather not have me around to screw up the integrity of NCIS."

"Ziva, would you listen to yourself?" McGee ordered, firmly yet softly. "You're blowing this all out of proportion. This is Gibbs. He's one of the angriest people I've met. And he's not going to give you up." He paused, steeling his gaze. "And even if he would, I won't let him."

Ziva's eyes softened. "McGee . . . You can't . . . I wouldn't let you risk your job . . ."

"Tony would do the same thing," he interrupted her. "And Abby. And I'm sure the Director wouldn't be too happy with Gibbs firing you, seeing as how she was the one who brought you to NCIS in the first place." He smiled. "You don't have anything to worry about, Ziva. We won't let you leave without a fight."

She returned the smile. "That is the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me, McGee. I would hate to have to leave such a wonderful group of people."

"And we would hate it if you left us," McGee said. He reached over and brushed a strand of her hair from her face. "We better get to work before Gibbs really does fire us."

Ziva let out a chuckle. "I'm sure Tony would just love our reason for being late."

McGee's hand paused on the covers. "And just what would you tell him?"

She grinned deviously. "Nothing that was not true, McGee. I spent the night here and then we lost track of time this morning."

McGee groaned, sitting up and sliding from the bed. He turned around once he was standing. "I really hope you're joking."

Ziva pouted. "You do not like the idea of Tony thinking we slept together?" She hid her smile behind the sheet.

McGee closed his eyes against the image. "I think it's better if we just go to work and stop talking about this."

Ziva's smile widened and she kneeled up on the bed, allowing the cover to fall down around her knees. "Am I making you feel uncomfortable, McGee?"

He tried to keep his eyes off her. The last thing he needed was a raging erection to start the morning. "Truthfully, Ziva, yes." She continued to smile wickedly, inching slowly towards him. He turned away, leaving her pouting again. "But only because you keep trying to change the subject and pretend you just came here for sex."

Her expression fell and was replaced by a blank look. "Ah, I see. I am feeling vulnerable so I have to do something to prove myself, like come here and seduce you."

"Ziva, no, that's not what I meant," McGee quickly said, spinning to face her. He sighed and sat down on the edge of the bed. "I don't want you to just hide everything, cover everything up."

Ziva let out a bitter laugh. "Why not? Gibbs does, Tony does, you probably even do." She fixed him with a look. "So why should I suddenly change how I live my life because you want me to?"

"Because we care about you, Ziva!" McGee cried out, wanting to get his point across. He lowered his voice and continued. "Can't you see that? We can't help you if you won't let us in." His eyes were desperate.

Ziva was silent for a moment, trying to take it all in. When she spoke, it was slow and deliberate. "I will tell you the same thing I told Ducky. I am not used to this. I am not used to opening up to people, having people care enough to want to know my emotions." She looked at him. "I can try. I cannot guarantee anything, but I can try."

"That's all I'm asking, Ziva," McGee replied, smiling.

Ziva returned the smile, then paused. "You are not going to ask me to hug you now, are you?"

He chuckled. "No. I'm not Abby. But," he blushed slightly, "I'd never pass up a hug from you, Ziva."

Ziva bit back her own smile, lowering her head. "That is very sweet, McGee."

"Yeah, yeah, um," he coughed a bit, "we should probably get ready for work, huh?"

"Yes, I will get dressed and see you there," she agreed. She picked her clothes from the floor and retreated to the bathroom to change, as McGee sat down on his bed, shaking his head.

"Never saw any of this coming after than conversation with Tony, did ya, Tim?" he said to himself and smiled. "Crazy." He set out his clothes for the day and waited for Ziva to come back so he could go take a shower.

After a few minutes, he heard the lock unlatch from the bathroom door and stood to bid Ziva farewell. She walked into the room looking more perky than before and McGee wondered what had changed in that short time she was in the bathroom.

"Well, I guess I'll see you at work," he said awkwardly, for lack of a better thing to say.

"Yes, McGee," Ziva nodded her agreement. "I would like to thank you again for . . . being there. I needed someone and you did not disappoint."

He gave her a warm smile. "Anytime, Ziva."

She began to walk to the door, then turned at the last moment. "Tonight, after Gibbs assures me my job at NCIS is safe, you will be available?"

He gave her a confused look. "Uh, sure . . ."

"Good! I have plans for the two of us." She gave him a sneaky grin.

"Um, okay. That kind of worries me, but . . ."

He was cut off by Ziva's laugh. "Do not worry, McGee. I may not be like traditional women, but I know how to show a man a good time." She winked and headed out the door before McGee could respond.

McGee shook his head free of the conversation and turned back to his bedroom. He could ponder Ziva's plans once he was at work. Or, well, on his lunchbreak, sometime when Gibbs didn't have them working their asses off. Right now, he needed to shower and get to work on time, before Gibbs put out a BOLO on him.

Meanwhile, Ziva sped back to her own apartment, plotting out her evening in her head. She figured if she made plans to celebrate, the events of the day would go smoothly and she would still have her job at NCIS. She nodded to herself. Yes, that's how it would work out. And if not, well, she still had plans with McGee. It could be a last evening together before she went back to Israel.

She slammed her open hand on her steering wheel. She couldn't think that way. She had to go into work today with an open mind and hope that Gibbs was doing the same. Her future depended on it.