I'm SOOOO sorry about not updating quicker. I know it's a lame excuse, but this past week has been hectic. I had my last day of work, AP Biology summer work, and then I had to help out at freshmen orientation at my high school. This chapter is a tad bit longer, and it's pretty important, and has some cute little Tiva moments.

Enjoy (:

Chapter Seven

Tony walked slowly up the stairs, not even bothering to take the elevator. He wanted more time to simply think before reaching his intended destination, Ziva's apartment. Tonight was the last time he was going to spend time with her for at least six months, maybe more, depending on his orders. He hoped that tonight would go well, and that it wouldn't hurt too much to leave.

He stood in front of the door, breathing deeply to calm his nerves, before raping on the wood door in front of him. A minute passed before the door opened, revealing Ziva. "Shalom Tony."

"Hey Ziva," Tony walked into her apartment, quickly scanning the place. "Mhh, what smells so good?"

"I made your favorite dinner, chicken parmesan with spaghetti, even though it is not kosher." She walked into her kitchen and Tony followed, having been there many times before.

"You, Zee-vah Da-veed," he elongated the syllables on purpose, because he knows it annoys her, "are my favorite ninja."

Ziva smiled lightly. She would never admit it, but she secretly liked it when he drew out the syllables in her name. "I was not aware you knew any other ninjas."

"Well, if I did, you would still be my favorite." Dinner was filled with pointless banter, the type expected between Tony and Ziva.

It was the night before Tony would be leaving for Afghanistan, and they had spent almost every minute together, as Tony was making the most of his ten day leave. He would go to NCIS every day and visit the team, and would leave with Ziva most of the time, sometimes Gibbs if it was a late night. After leaving, Tony and Ziva went to her apartment most of time, simply to watch movies and eat pizza. Sometimes they would go somewhere for dinner or to a bar with the team.

Ziva had even gone to Gibbs' house with Tony and ate with them and watched the new James Bond movie, Quantum of Solace. Of course, Gibbs had already retired to the basement with his boat and bourbon, so it was just Tony and Ziva watching the movie. When Gibbs came up from the basement to go to sleep, he found them asleep on the couch, Ziva's head on Tony's shoulders and his arm around her. Gibbs could have head slapped them into oblivion, but decided to let them sleep. He knew what Tony was going through and that he needed his friends for comfort.

"Wow, that was amazing," Tony gushed after finishing his meal. "I mean, I've never tasted anything so good in my life."

"Did you even have time to taste it? You dogged it down pretty quick." Ziva asked, still having half her meal on her plate.

Tony had to think for a moment, slightly confused at what she meant. "Wolfed it down, you mean," he said once realization dawned on him.

"Wolf, dog, it does not matter." She brushed off her mistake with a wave of the hand.

"Oh, but it does."

They continued with more playful banter while Tony cleaned off the table and Ziva did the dishes. They found themselves on the couch, Tony with a beer, Ziva a glass of wine.

"So…I'm leaving tomorrow." Tony was the first one to bring up the taboo subject they had been avoiding all night.

"You are." Ziva looked straight ahead to the blank beige wall in front of her so she wouldn't have to look at Tony.

"You know that you are my emergency next of kin and power of attorney, right?"

Ziva thought that was an odd question, since they went over that when he had it changed. "Yes, as you are mine."

Tony thought about his words carefully. "Well, if anything happens to me while I'm gone, you'll be the first to know."

"Oh," was all Ziva could manage to reply.

They lapsed into an uncomfortable silence, Ziva swishing around the wine in her glass, Tony tapping his foot on the coffee table in front of the couch. Finally Tony couldn't take the overbearing silence anymore. "I'm gonna miss you, you know that right?"

"Yes. I will as well," was her stony answer. She was still looking straight ahead, away from Tony.

"Ziva, look at me." Tony grabbed her forearm and turned her so she was looking at him. When Ziva opened her eyes, he could see her eyes glistening with a few unshed tears. She blinked them away quickly.

"What?" Ziva asked sharply. Her eyes were threatening to water over, and she would not cry in front of anyone. Gibbs and her mother had been the only two people to ever see her cry, and she was not about to add Tony to that list.

"What's wrong Zi?" Tony gently ran his hand up and down her arm with his feather-light tough.

She couldn't tell him that she was upset because her best friend, the man she secretly loved, was leaving to go fight in a war halfway across the country and that she didn't know if he would return healthy, or at all. She resorted to her normal answer when she didn't want people to know how she truly felt. "Nothing. I am fine."

Tony sighed deeply. "No, you're not. You always say you're fine, but you have that look on your face that I know you're not fine."

They looked deep into each other's eyes, lost in the depths of the emotion hiding behind them. "I care about you Tony, and I am worried that something may happen to you while you are in Afghanistan," Ziva said quietly, turning her gaze down away from him.

"Oh, Zi." Tony wrapped his arms around her tightly, and she rested her head on his shoulder. He had never seen her like this before and it was killing him. "I'm not going to tell you I'll be fine, because you more than anyone knows what could happen. I will tell you though that I'll try my damndest to not let anything happen to me. Okay?" He felt her nod her head against his chest. "And Ziva?" She looked up at him as he spoke. "I care about you too. That's why while I'm gone, I need you to take care of yourself. Don't take this too tough, alright?"

"Okay," Ziva nodded, and then collapsed into Tony's embrace again.

Ten minutes later, Tony could tell she was asleep, due to her deep breathing and light snores. He picked her up and carried her to her bed, dragging the covers down carefully without dropping her. He placed her gently on the bed and saw that she was still in her jeans and button down shirt. Cautiously he unbuttoned her shirt, leaving her in just the white cami that was under it, his dog tags hanging against it. He picked them up with his fingers and looked at them, dropping them a few seconds later. He went through her drawers and smiled when he found one of his old shirts on top of everything. He took that shirt out and a pair of shorts for her to sleep in. He pulled the shirt over her head, careful not to wake her up, and then gulped when he realized he had to take her pants off. Doing his best to not look, even though he wanted to, he unbuttoned her jeans and peeled them off her legs, replacing them with the red plaid pajama shorts. Guiltily, he stole a glance at her panties, and saw that they were lacy red and blushed.

Just as Tony was about to lean down and place a light kiss on her forehead, Ziva stirred awake. She looked around her room, confused. "How long have I been asleep in here? I thought I fell asleep on the couch."

"Oh, um, you did," Tony stuttered. "Like twenty minutes ago, but I brought you here, 'cause you know the couch isn't that comfortable."

"Oh. Well, thank you." She looked down, and then back up at him with a playful smile gracing her lips. "Why did you change my clothes?"

His eyes widened, nervous that she would pull one of her ninja tricks on him and kill him with a paperclip. "Uh, well, your jeans didn't look that comfortable, so I uh…"

"Tony," she cut him off, chuckling softly to herself. "I am not mad. I am actually quite proud of you that you could get a girl out of her clothes without having sex with her."

"Hey! I don't always have sex on the brain!"

This time she laughed out loud. "Just ninety percent of the time."

He looked at her, and suddenly became more serious. "Do you want me to, um, stay?"

Ziva, who had been lying in bed, sat straight up. "Don't you have to go back to Gibbs' house? All your stuff you need for tomorrow is there."

"Actually, it's all in my car, which is here. Even my uniform." Ziva gave him a questioning glare. "We packed it all today so we wouldn't have to tomorrow morning," answering the unasked question.

"Well, it is rather late, and you are probably too tired to drive." Tony nodded in agreement. "And I would like you to stay, if you do not mind."

"I don't mind at all." They lapsed into another awkward silence, which was rare for them. "I'm just gonna go find and extra blanket, then go sleep on the couch."

"Tony, I am not going to ask you to stay and make you sleep on the couch, which you already said was uncomfortable. We are two adults, we can share a bed."

"Well, if you really wanna get me in bed, all you gotta do…" He was cut off by a punch to the gut. "Oww that really hurt."

"Deal with it. No are you gonna stay or not," Ziva sighed, exasperated.

"Yeah I'll stay. Do you have any pajamas for me or anything?"

"Top drawer, to the left. There is another one of your old shirts you left here after you had that run in with the dog." Ziva started laughing at the memory of Tony chasing a suspect, then being tackled and slobbered on by a dog in an alley.

Tony gave her one of his death glares that he normally saved for McGee. "Don't even get me started. That thing was a beast!"

"For God's sake Tony, it was a poodle!"

"A vicious poodle!" Tony finished changing and climbed into the other side of the bed. They were both lying on their backs, Tony with his hands linked above his head. Inconspicuously, Tony stretched his arms out, letting one drape over Ziva's shoulders. Soon they were both sound asleep.

------

At 0600 the next morning, Ziva was awoken by the blaring of an alarm clock. She tried to move her arm to turn off the noise, but found that she was engulfed by two strong arms and pressed against a warm body. Her eyes flew open to see Tony, still peacefully sleeping.

Carefully, Ziva removed her arm from Tony's embrace to turn off the alarm clock, and then returned to her previous position. Sometime during the night, Tony had wrapped his arm around Ziva, while she was using his chest as a pillow for her head. Her arm was slung over his abdomen and their legs were tangled together.

Ziva stayed awake for a few moments, simply resting her head on Tony's chest until she felt him stir in his sleep. She looked up at him just as he opened his eyes. "Well this is a great way to wake up. Good morning, sweet cheeks," he said as he stretched his arms, returning them to their place around Ziva.

"Boker Tov, my hairy butt." She shifted out of his embrace and got out of the bed, leaving Tony hugging a cold spot where her warm body used to lie.

"Where are you going?" Tony was disappointed that Ziva wasn't in bed with him anymore.

"To get ready. We have to leave soon if you want to get there on time," she called over her shoulder as she walked into the bathroom. The awkwardness they thought would come with waking up in the same bed was virtually nonexistent.

An hour later, both Tony and Ziva had taken their showers and eaten, and they were only waiting for Tony to finish dressing in his uniform before they headed to Quantico. When Tony walked out of the bedroom in his grey desert utility uniform, Ziva felt her breath catch. Everything was setting in, and Tony being in his Marine uniform made Ziva realize that she wasn't dreaming, and that Tony was actually leaving. "What? Is there something in my teeth or something?" He began checking his teeth self consciously because of her staring.

"No, it is just that…"

She was cut off by Tony. "I know, I look incredibly sexy. No need to remind me."

Ziva rolled her eyes. "Yes Tony, that is exactly it. Come on, we have to leave."

They arrived at Quantico at the same time as the rest of team, including Ducky and Palmer, all waiting to say goodbye to their beloved Tony.

"Nice of you to come home last night DiNozzo," Gibbs said as he helped Tony get his stuff out of the trunk of his car.

Tony's face visibly paled. He didn't want Gibbs thinking he and Ziva had broken rule twelve, even when they technically hadn't. "Oh, uh, sorry boss. I, uh…"

"He fell asleep on my couch during the movie last night. It was late when dinner was finished," Ziva said, saving Tony from having to think of an excuse. He looked at Ziva, who simply nodded back.

Half an hour later, it was time for Tony to leave. "Goodbye, Anthony. Stay safe, my dear boy," Ducky said, being the first to say goodbye.

"Thanks Ducky, I will. I'll see you later. You too Palmer." He gave Palmer a slap on the back, who simply nodded in goodbye.

"McGee!" Tony walked up to McGee, giving him a small hug. "I'm gonna miss you, McProbious. Watch out for them, keep 'em safe senior field agent." He leaned in closer to McGee. "Especially Abby, and Ziva."

McGee pulled away. "I will. I'm gonna miss you too Tony. Take care of yourself."

Tony looked over to Abby and saw that her eyes were filled with tears. "Abby, come here."

She came up running to Tony, engulfing him in a bear hug. By now the tears were flowing freely. "I'm gonna miss you so much Tony. You have to stay safe."

"I will. I'll miss you too Abby. Don't worry about me too much, okay?" She gave him a nod before hugging him tighter, then releasing him.

Tony said his goodbyes to Gibbs next. He was about to shake his hand until Gibbs gave him a hug. "You keep safe Private, you hear me? I don't want my best agent not coming back. It's gonna be hell, but I know you can do it."

"I will Gunny. Goodbye." They nodded at each other before Tony turned away, facing the last one to say goodbye to, Ziva.

"Tony," Ziva said as he pulled her into his embrace, holding her tight against him, her holding him just as tightly. "I am going to miss you."

"I'm gonna miss you too, Zi. I'll miss you the most out of anybody. I'll be back though, before you know it." He felt her nod into his chest, and he buried his head in her hair. He placed his hand gently on her chin and lifted her head so she was looking him in the eyes. He could see the tears threatening to fall from here eyes, until a single tear escaped. "Don't cry, you can't cry." He wiped away the tear with his thumb. "If you cry, then I'll start crying, and that wouldn't be very good."

They both laughed lightly. "I was not crying," Ziva said defiantly. "Promise me you will not do anything dumb."

"I won't, you have my word." He pulled her into another tight hug for a few moments before releasing her and looking her in the eyes. "Goodbye, Sweet Cheeks."

"Shalom, ahuvi sheli," Ziva said softly as he walked away.

"DiNozzo!" Gibbs yelled, causing Tony to turn around. "Semper Fi."

Boker Tov – Good Morning

Ahuvi sheli – my love

And you all thought I was gonna have Tony and Ziva get together before he left for Afghanistan, didn't you? I was contemplating it, but it seemed too cliché. Even without that, this chapter still has some cliché Tiva moments, so you should be happy. As for next update, it won't be until at least next week, I'm sorry ): Hopefully though, your reviews will motivate me to write quicker.

Thanks for reading, and please review (: