AN: Finally I get to write the scene that originally popped into my head! Or at least part of it. I'm not entirely sure. For some reason my fics have a tendency to take on a life of their own.

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Tony forced himself to breathe through the tightness in his chest. She was entirely too close to him. "It's fine, Ziva."

He stepped back and continued to unfold the thick quilt. She moved and he thought she was going to walk past him to the bed but she grabbed the blanket instead.

"Don't be stubborn. Sleep in the bed."

In an instant he was furious again. "Did you ever consider that maybe I want to sleep on the couch? Who am I kidding; since when do you consider what I want?"

He wasn't surprised in the least when she slapped him. He threw the blanket onto the couch with one hand and caught her wrist with the other. "Did I strike a nerve, Agent David?"

In an instant, he hit the floor hard and she was on top of him. His back ached in protest, already sore from chopping the wood. She glared at him. "Aren't you the one who taught me Rule 16, Agent DiNozzo? Did you not think I would apply it to you?"

He used the adrenaline rush from a new surge of anger to flip her off of him, pinning her beneath his body. "I figured you forgot that when you forgot Rule 1."

"Never let suspects stay together?" He hated it when she was sarcastic. He used it as a defense mechanism or a joke; she used it as an attack.

"Never screw over your partner. But you knew what I meant didn't you?" He rolled off of her and to his feet.

Assuming they were done was, apparently, a mistake. She was on her feet a second after him and shoved him. "And how exactly do you think I screwed you over, Tony?"

He spun around and stepped toward her with enough force that she stepped back. "How did you screw me over, Ziva?"

He took another step and so did she. "After six months of the closest friendship we've ever had you showed up at my door at 2am crying."

Step, step. "And when I let you in, you kissed me."

Step, step. "The way I had wanted you to kiss me for years."

Step, step. "And you practically dragged me to my bed."

Step, step. "And you let me make love to you."

Step, step. "And I fell asleep with you in my arms."

Her back was to the wall now so his next step brought them within two feet of one another. "And when I woke up you were gone, Ziva. No note, no phone call, no text message."

He took one final step, their bodies now separated by a hair's width. "You want to know how you screwed me over? You made it impossible for me to keep ignoring the fact that I've been in love with you for a long time. Then you broke my heart."

As soon as the words were out of his mouth he felt deflated. Anger gave way to hurt. He refused to let her see him cry so he stepped back and turned away, intent on returning to the couch. Before he could take a second step her hand caught his.

Her yank turned him back toward her and he focused his eyes on the floor, willing himself not to meet her stare.

"Tony, please." Her voice contained a raw emotion he wasn't expecting and he couldn't help it. His face rose.

What he saw surprised him and shattered him at the same time. There were tears trickling down her cheeks and, despite his own pain, he lifted the hand she wasn't grasping to wipe them away. "What, Ziva? What else could you possibly have to say?"

When her voice came it was quiet. He barely heard her over the pounding of his heart and the popping of the fire. "I'm sorry, Tony. I was not trying to hurt you."

His own voice was soft in response, as much as he wanted to yell at her again. "Well that's what you did. And I don't even get to know why."

She stared at him in silence for a long minute then closed her eyes and slid down the wall, dropping his hand. He turned to walk away again, but it was her voice that stopped him this time.

"Fear."

Sighing, he stepped beside her and sank down next to her. "You're a ninja. You're not scared of anything."

"I'm scared of this. You. Us."

This time when he took her hand it was gentle. He entwined his fingers with hers. "What are you scared of, Ziva?"

Her hand tightened in his. "I'm scared of losing you, Tony. With everything else I've lost, I couldn't handle that. You're all the home I have left."

Her voice had cracked on the last few words and the tears were flowing now. He released her hand to wrap his arm around her and pulled her tight against his side. "I've got news for you, David. You're stuck with me. You're all the home I've really ever had…And I told you years ago. I couldn't live without you."

He felt the release in her body before he heard the sobs start wracking her frame. He pulled her into his lap and wrapped both arms firmly around her and finally let go of his own tears as well.