Tony went to sleep that night with peace of mind. He woke up a few hours later because he thought he heard someone yelling his name.
"TONY!" It was Ziva.
He was wondering how she found him when he remembered that he had his phone with him and that Gibbs probably had McGeek tracking it. He cursed himself for not leaving his phone in his car.
Ziva's yelling was getting louder, almost like it was right outside his tent. There was also a bear in front of his tent, and he didn't know until he heard Ziva's gun go off, so he grabbed the .308 he 'borrowed' from Gibbs and put a round through the bear's skull.
Ziva was still shooting the bear until Tony poked his head through the tent flap.
"Ziva, that bear's already dead. You can't kill him again." She turned her flashlight on him and saw that he was wearing that same stupid grin on his face.
"Hello, Tony." She shined the light in his beard. "What is that thing on your face?"
"You like it?"
"Maybe if it was shorter and did not have twigs, feathers, and dried animal blood in it."
"So, why're you here?"
"I had to get away from NCIS for awhile. I had McGee track your phone and that is how I found you."
The wind started to pick up. The bitter cold mountain air hit Ziva, and she pretty much knocked Tony over to get into his tent. Tony tried to kiss Ziva, but she stopped him.
"What?"
"Your beard, Tony. Shave it off first."
"Okay. Hand me that bag behind you."
Ziva handed him the bag, which contained scissors, a razor, shaving cream, a bottle of water, a mirror, and a tin cup.
"Light, please," Tony said. Ziva shined her flashlight on Tony and he started to get rid of his beard. The process took him about half an hour. Finally, he looked like the Tony that Ziva knew.
"Much better," she said. "So how long have you been here?"
"I've been moving from spot to spot for the last three weeks. I set up here five days ago. How long have you been looking for me?"
"I left three days ago. Gibbs was pissed."
"Well, he is stuck with McGee. I'd be upset too."
They both started laughing, and their eyes met. So did their lips. The feelings that they felt for each other had boiled over. Nothing could stop what was happening between them Tony loved the feel of Ziva's soft skin, and this thing that was nothing quickly became something.