Author's Note: Wow. I am humbled and grateful. You are all so magnificent and I am running out of adjectives to describe how much your reviews mean to me! Keep them coming, please! I am so sorry it has been a little while since my last update. Real life has been so busy I can hardly keep up with myself! To answer some of your questions: sorry, but you will not find out why Ziva is running until around Chapter 16, but I will answer some of your other questions (i.e. who is "her/she") much sooner than that (within the next two chapters, I promise!).

*Spoiler alert* I am actively working to finish this story before September because with all of the spoilers I've tried to keep myself out of lately, it seems as though my story may be closer to canon than I had even intended! At least parts of it. So I would like to have this done before I become disillusioned by the new season.

Disclaimer: I still, as of right now, own this story premise. But that's about it. And Lewis Carroll owns Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There.

Warning: The flashback in this Chapter is rated M for smut. If you are under 18 or do not like to read that, then I suggest you stop at the present time.

You take my hand and drag me head first, fearless.

November 27, 2015

The next few days had passed without incident and Tony and Ziva had settled into a new domesticity much like their previous one before Ziva was in hiding. At the moment, Ziva was in the process of washing their clothes in the large kitchen sink with dish soap and hanging them on the rod in the bathtub. Tony had spent all morning pouring over numerous maps, making marks in red, as he absentmindedly watched a football game on the television. The day before they had celebrated Thanksgiving by watching the Ravens win and making love on the floor in front of the fire place as post-game celebrations crackled from the t.v.

Once Ziva had finished with the clothes she walked over to sit next to Tony at the table who was in the process of closing the maps and storing them in the rucksack.

"So I was thinking..." Tony started, turning toward her after zipping the sack up.

"Oh, you were?" Ziva grinned as Tony playfully glared at her implication.

"Yes. And since today is Black Friday, I thought that we could go down to the store and stock up on food. It'll probably be easy to blend in with the hundreds of other people out there." He paused a moment and Ziva watched as he looked out of the bay window, a sudden worried expression on his face. "Hopefully there are hundreds of other people out there."

Ziva tilted her head at him, eyebrows knitting together, and completely ignored his suggestion. "Why is this day a color? Why not Blue Friday or Purple Friday?"

Tony turned back toward her with a look that Ziva was clearly able to distinguish as disbelief. "You have lived in the States for 10 years now and you still don't understand the concept of Black Friday? I'm not telling you. And also, Miss David, in Maryland during football season, every Friday is Purple Friday."

Ziva glared at him as he stood from the table, leaving her sitting there. "It is Mrs. DiNozzo, thank you."

Tony winked as he walked into the bathroom. "Bundle up! It's cold outside." He offered before closing the bathroom door, not missing her muttering 'asshole' under her breath at him.

Forty-five minutes later they were both bundled up, somewhat due to the weather but mostly in an attempt to hide their identities, as they walked up to the front of the grocery store. Ziva's backpack had been emptied and she carried it on her back as they walked into the store. Tony immediately grabbed a cart and pulled out their list while Ziva headed toward the produce section.

"Hey," Tony said to Ziva who was in the middle of picking some fresh tomatoes for the pasta salad she was making for dinner. Ziva lifted her eyes before glaring hard. Tony was holding two melons up to his chest wearing a wide smile.

"Tony!" Ziva hissed and motioned for him to put the melon's down while glancing around to make sure no one was watching him. "You are worse than a small child."

Tony stuck out his lip in a mock pout before squeezing the melons once more and then dropping them back onto the produce shelf. Ziva rolled her eyes and let her head drop before she allowed herself to chuckle. For all of his immature antics, Ziva could not help herself from missing him, even when he acted like a child in the grocery store. Though she was reminded why she had stopped letting him grocery shop with her almost two years ago. In fact, it had been their first Thanksgiving together that she had forbid him from grocery shopping with her ever again. She felt Tony move beside of her and she put the bag of tomatoes into the cart before kissing his cheek. Ziva was suddenly glad that some things-some people-never changed.

They meandered through the store for the next two hours, leisurely grabbing groceries and enjoying being somewhere that wasn't the small cabin. Tony had behaved himself to a small extent after the melon fiasco, though more-so after Ziva had threatened to obliterate and then throw away the box of condoms when they returned to the cabin. After a while, they paid in the cash Tony had brought with him and left the store. Then they stood outside putting as much as they could in fit into Ziva's backpack.

"Here." Tony held out his hand, asking for the backpack that Ziva was now zipping closed.

"No Tony, I can carry it." She shook her head at him, lifting the pack in her hands.

"Please?" Tony's green eyes were pleading and they looked too much like another set of green eyes she could never say no to. Ziva bit her lip, not really wanting to give in but realizing an argument with him right now would be futile.

"Fine." Ziva handed over the backpack. "But I am carrying these."

She reached down and scooped up the two leftover bags consisting of bread and a mix of fruits and vegetables.

"Fine by me." Tony offered her a smile before sliding the backpack on his shoulders and beginning the journey across the parking lot toward the woods. Ziva followed him and thirty minutes later they were walking back up onto the porch of the cabin. They made quick work of putting everything away and then finally drifted over to the couch.

"I feel like all we do is sit on this couch." Tony groaned as he laid his head down on the throw pillow.

"We do." Ziva went to sit on the other end of the couch near his feet. "Move your feet."

She didn't wait for a response before she picked both of them up and sat, letting his feet fall onto her lap.

"No." Tony opened one eye to look at her and then sat up, pulling his feet in. He grasped her around the waist before lying back down, pulling her with him.

Ziva struggled for a moment before giving up and moving to find a comfortable position on top of him. Tony wound the ends of her hair between his fingers as he shut his eyes again. Five minutes of her listening to his heart beat passed before Tony spoke again. "You wanna read me a story?"

Ziva's eyes flickered up toward him, her head tilting slightly. They did that often in their life before Ziva left and she hadn't realized he had missed it as much as she did herself. She nodded before moving to slide her hand underneath the couch, removing the book she had placed there the day before. Tony grinned, she always hid books beneath the couch. When he was at home cleaning after she left he had found 15 of them hidden there. He couldn't bear putting them back on the shelves so they would still be there when she finally came home.

Ziva grinned sheepishly before settling back down, cracking the book open to begin where she had left off. "'It's very good jam,' said the Queen. 'Well, I don't want any to-day, at any rate.' 'You couldn't have it if you did want it,' the Queen said. 'The rule is, jam to-morrow and jam-yesterday – but never jam to-day.' 'It must come sometimes to jam to-day,' Alice objected. 'No, it can't,' said the Queen. 'It's jam every other day: today isn't any other day, you know.' 'I don't understand you,' said Alice. 'It's dreadfully confusing!'"

"I'm with Alice there. What's that even supposed to mean?" Tony interrupted.

Ziva rolled her eyes. He never simply listened to the story. "It's a play on the Latin word iam, Tony."

"So you understand obscure literally references but you can't seem to figure out common American idioms?" Tony looked at her incredulously.

"Shut up, Tony." Ziva warned in a sing-song tone. The truth was, she really did understand most American idioms now, she just enjoyed it when Tony became exasperated and corrected her. If he was allowed to be childish at her expense, she was allowed to annoy him at his.

"This is why I prefer movies. Easier to understand. Much more entertaining to quote." Ziva glared at him and he winked, urging her to continue on with the story.

Before long Ziva's voice had trailed off and the book forgotten, both having fallen asleep. A soft snow began to come down and when they awoke three hours later, the ground was covered in a light dusting; the first snow of the season.

December 4, 2013.

The plane had taken them 2 hours from BWI to Orlando, which had not been enough time for Tony to drive Ziva completely crazy but had been just the right amount of time for him to annoy the hell out of her. He had insisted on talking the entire flight, to everyone, and she had wanted to kick him numerous times for that. It wasn't that he was simply making conversation with their fellow travelers, it was that he had come up with this elaborate story for the two of them, telling anyone who would listen how they had fallen in love and the details of his proposal before launching into a monologue about the extravagant wedding they had just come from. In all honesty, it mostly annoyed her because the people whom he had fashioned them to be were ridiculously in love and over the moon happy about their nuptials. Not the people who were currently on their way to a sham honeymoon after their sham courthouse wedding so they would not end up in federal prison. On the other hand, it had given Tony the opportunity to touch Ziva inappropriately without the fear of death by paperclip or credit card. Ziva knew he was milking this for all it was worth when he looked over to her and winked.

"You are going to die a slow, painful death, Tony." She gritted out in his ear at one point when he had shoved his hand between her crossed legs, not nearly high enough to be offensive but just far enough to be rude.

"Oh, it'll be worth it." He had responded under the guise of kissing her cheek.

On her end, Ziva hadn't removed his hand the way she would have 8 years ago. Instead, she left it there even when he used his thumb to draw suggestive circles on the top of her thigh. Ziva was a mix of happy and disappointed when the plane finally landed and they were free to leave. At baggage claim she had fielded various "Congratulations" with a simple "Thank you" while Tony grabbed their luggage. By the time they had checked into their hotel Ziva was exhausted and flung herself onto the bed, not noticing for a moment that it was the only one. She didn't open her eyes again until she felt the bed dip and Tony on top of her.

"Tony." She warned but kept her eyes closed.

"What, Sweetcheeks? Do you not understand what a honeymoon is?" She could tell he wore a smart-ass grin on his face without even looking at him. He began kissing her neck and she simultaneously fought the urge to throw him off of her and moan, opting to do nothing but continue to lay there as he continued.

"You are very hilarious." Her eyes rolled despite being closed and she bit her lip as his hand snaked underneath the lace dress she hadn't yet taken off.

"We both know that if this were your real honeymoon you would be parading around in your birthday suit by now." Tony whispered in her ear before biting down on her earlobe.

Ziva frowned and opened her eyes, despite the rush of pleasure shooting through her body at his actions. "Why would I be in a birthday suit on my honeymoon?"

She could hear Tony chuckle near her ear. "You, my dear, are one hell of a catch."

Ziva wasn't sure if he was being serious or making fun of her so she opted to say nothing and instead reached down to fumble with the belt to his dress pants. She would have to play along now since it was clear he wasn't going to stop and it would not be very appropriate for her to deny her husband on their honeymoon. Her breath hitched as he used both hands to pull her dress up and over her head in one swift motion. Her skin flushed at the realization that she now lay in front of him in only her panties, which really was only a scrap of fabric covering the front of her.

"Tony…" He stopped his trail of open mouth kisses down the front of her body to stare up at her.

"Do you trust me?" He whispered against her skin, causing goosebumps to appear across her torso.

Ziva nodded before watching him continue his travels downward. He held her gaze as he used the tips of his fingers to remove her panties, not once looking down, although she could tell he really wanted to. She felt all of a sudden grateful mixed with a startling need to make this real. She opted for kissing him fully on the mouth once he traveled back up her body. She felt him snake a hand behind her back before pulling her flush against him and moving them underneath the covers.

"I don't want anyone else that may be watching to see you…if I don't even get to." She knew he hadn't meant it the way it had sounded and she smiled at his thoughtfulness.

"You can look." His eyebrows rose prompting her to continue. "I mean, of course…if you do not want to…"

She did not have to finish as she watched him lean back a moment before taking her in. Ziva blushed as his eyes traveled from her own down her chest to her stomach and finally resting on the triangle between her thighs.

"Jesus Zi." His swearing made her blush an even deeper red.

"Tony?" He averted his eyes back up to hers. "Can you…" She trailed off but placed her hands on his pants for emphasis. He grinned at her before making short work of his dress pants, leaving his boxers on and attempting to adjust himself quickly under her watchful gaze. She helped him remove his tie and began unbuttoning his dress shirt before she looked at him again. Tony was looking at her so thoughtfully that she stopped unbuttoning and reached up, pulling his head down to hers, kissing him so passionately that her head swam making her lucky she was already lying down. When he broke the kiss she quickly undid the remaining three buttons and pushed his shirt down his shoulders. He leaned back, pulling the shirt off and throwing it to the side before taking her right knee and bending it.

Ziva grabbed his biceps as he put her leg over his shoulder and kissed her calf. Her other leg fell to the side, aiding in the new position. He leaned down and kissed her lips briefly before pulling back and looking into her eyes. "You ready?"

She nodded as he moved forward, pretending to enter her. For a while they timed their moans by playing off the other, completely in sync. It wasn't until sometime later when Tony thrust just an inch too far, causing the tip of him to hit her in just the right spot. Ziva's eyes flew open at the sensation and she bit back a moan. Tony paused, a look of horror marring his features. He bent down to her ear.

"I am so sorry Zi. I didn't mean…" Tony frantically apologized.

Ziva grabbed the back of his neck. "Just…do not stop."

His features turned to confusion before she kissed him fully on the mouth and raised her hips up to once again meet him. Tony groaned at the contact before pulling back and thrusting again. A few more times and it was too much. "Ziva, I can't…"

"Tony….please?" Ziva was begging and she wasn't even entirely sure what for.

"What do you want?" He had stopped his thrusting again and held himself above her using his arms.

"I want you." The confused look on his face propelled her into action and she reached down, pulling his boxers down just far enough to free him. His eyes widened again.

"Are you sure?" Tony searched her eyes for anything that wasn't complete consent.

Ziva thrust her hips upward again, giving him his answer. Tony quickly kicked his boxers off underneath the covers. He reached his hand down, slowly guiding himself into her, moaning at the wet heat. Ziva snapped her hips as he entered her, taking him in fully without warning.

"Fuck, Zi, you are so tight." Tony murmured against her cheek.

Ziva groaned at his choice of words before bringing him down for a kiss. "I need…more."

She wasn't even entirely sure what that meant at this point as she was so far gone, chasing her looming orgasm. He let her leg fall from his shoulder and she took that as her cue to flip them over. She sat up, causing him to move deeper inside of her and she couldn't stop his name from escaping her lips.

"Fuck, I'm gunna…like this, it's too much…I need you to…" Tony wasn't able to form a complete thought long enough to vocalize it. He wanted to wait for her but he wasn't sure how realistic that would be at this point unless she was teetering on the edge as well. He had waited 8 years for this.

Ziva grasped for his hands on her hips, lacing their fingers on one hand. He moved his other to her center, flicking his thumb where he knew she needed it. Ziva let out a cry, grinding down on him. It wasn't too long before she was gripping him like a vice and screaming his name so loud that he was sure the entire floor could hear her. It was too much for him and he came hard inside of her, clamping his eyes closed and groaning out an expletive.

An hour later they lay still entwined and Tony reached out, grabbing Ziva's hand and lacing their fingers together again before kissing her forehead and drifting off to sleep.

A/N #2: Okay, so I promise this is going somewhere and that this chapter was important to the story as a whole, even if it doesn't seem like it! Review, please?