A/N: Sorry I'm behind on updates. I'll try to get to the finale chapter by the end of the holiday weekend. This summer is going to be sooooooooooo long!

Tony let Ziva in the door first, and had no sooner closed it behind them than he wrapped her up in his strong arms. It was a change from the usual routine, since the Dana incident.

"Are you ok, Zi? I'm so sorry." Tony had buried his face into the top of Ziva's hair and though she barely understood his mumbling, she immediately knew the sentiment he was trying to convey.

Ziva gently pushed him back, allowing him to see her face; to see her look him in the eyes. "I am fine, Tony. Thank you." She walked into the kitchen to begin dinner, after depositing the day's usual items as she normally would.

Tony stood there, shell shocked. He shouted as he put away his own things, "That's it?" He followed Ziva into the kitchen, where she had already begun working at the stove. "Seriously?"

Ziva did not turn around, but continued cooking as she responded in all earnestness. "What did you expect me to say, Tony?"

Although she wasn't looking, Tony furrowed his brow at the idea. "Oh, I dunno…how about, yeah it was awful, but I didn't let it stop me. Or, it brought back a lot of bad memories, but I got through it. I mean, you're acting like nothing about this case bothered you." He shoved his hands in his pockets and nervously rocked back and forth on his heels.

"Tony, it would seem you are the one who is bothered, currently." She smirked into the sauce pan, knowing full well that he would be further irritated that she didn't need to turn around to realize what he was doing.

"So, what if I am bothered? At least I'm not afraid to admit it. I can't even tell you how much this whole case bothered me. And the worst part is, I'm not sure which part bothers me the most!" He ran his hands through his hair and stormed out of the kitchen towards the bedroom.

Tony jerked off his tie and threw it in the corner of the room, haphazardly. He sat down on the bed with a huff and pondered the last few days' events. He had never met Agent Macy, but Tim had filled him in while they were combing the Desert desert last summer. Neither was entirely sure, but between the two of them had figured she had something to do with Gibbs' mysterious past. She was another piece of his enigmatic puzzle, of that much they were certain. It didn't matter. Tony never took the death of a fellow agent lightly. And seeing how greatly it affected Gibbs didn't help to settle the increasingly bad feeling in his stomach that something big was about to go down. He threw himself backwards on the bed, sighing. Just once, he thought, he would like a normal, relaxing summer. A summer to actually use some of his vacation time and head to the beach. A summer to stay out until the sun went down. A summer to not have to worry about anyone. And to think, her murder had only been the tip of the iceberg with this one. He closed his eyes, remembering the look on Ziva's face when he began questioning the Petty Officer about the rape accusations. She covered it well, but he could see the storm brewing in her eyes. He'd tried hard to stand just a little closer to her, always be within touching distance without actually touching. He stayed in the shadows and tried to let her take charge of the questioning, but when she faltered, he was there to pick up the slack. Sometimes his own strength amazed him. He wanted nothing more than to sit in that corner and curl into the fetal position, forgetting everything that he knew. Even forgetting the woman he loved, because sometimes…sometimes, it was just all too painful.

He was startled from his fitful sleep by the sensation of his shirt being unbuttoned. When he cracked his eyes open and tried to dispel the dream from reality, he finally focused on Ziva straddling him and looking like a child who'd been caught with her hand in the cookie jar. The mental analogy caused him to crack a smile. "Can I help you with something, David?"

"I am sorry, Tony. I did not mean to wake you. I was only trying to get you into bed." She broke eye contact to resume her task. He realized she was already in her pajamas and that it was dark.

"I can see that," he chortled.

"You know what I meant. If you are awake now, you can finish undressing yourself. I made alfredo for dinner if you are hungry. It is in the refrigerator." She moved to get up, only to let herself be pulled down beside him.

"I'm sorry I snapped at you earlier. I know this was hard on you and you were only trying to be professional. I want you to know I think you did a great job." He kissed her forehead.

"Thank you, Tony. I am glad you appreciate how difficult it was for me to…maintain myself."

"Contain."

"Excuse me?"

"It was difficult for you to contain yourself, not maintain yourself."

"I truly think I meant maintain." She furrowed her brow, contemplating the definitions of both words.

Tony shrugged and wrapped his free arm around her, enveloping her. "Same difference," he mumbled into her hair.

Ziva shot up from his embrace, pointing her finger at him in the dark. "Aha! You see? Same difference!" She crossed her arms over her chest triumphantly.

Tony laughed and rolled himself up to change out of his work clothes. "Alright. You win this round, David."

Ziva cocked her head to the side as she furrowed her brow and climbed under the covers. "We play for the same team, do we not?"

Tony climbed into bed beside Ziva and gently kissed her goodnight. "We do."