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Tony DiNozzo quietly and carefully crawled into his bed next to an already sleeping Ziva David. As he settled his head down into his pillow, he smiled at the beautiful woman beside him, resisting the urge to reach out and touch her face. She needed the sleep as much as he did.
He was surprised that she hadn't snored like she did when they were undercover. And the thought occurred to him that maybe, at the time, she was simply faking the snoring to aggravate him. Tony smirked, and allowed her steady breaths lull him to sleep.
Gibbs sat close to Abby's bed in the chair; his hand absentmindedly brushing her bangs to the side as she slept. Subconsciously, he longed for her to wake up, even though he knew she should continue to sleep. But he wanted to know what she was feeling...that she was okay, and not in any pain.
When she began to stir, he immediately felt a wash of guilt at his selfishness, and pulled his hand away from her face, placing it on her hand instead.
"Gibbs?" he was stunned to hear her whisper his name before she began to cough lightly.
"Abs," he grabbed the cup of water beside the bed. Moving to sit on the bed beside her, he held the straw to her mouth, which she immediately accepted, taking a long sip before releasing it. "You shouldn't try to talk," he said as he placed the cup down. "Gotta let yourself heal."
"So weird to be breathing like normal again without the trach," she signed. He smirked at her.
"You want 'em to put it back?"
"Hell no," she smiled. He returned the smile, turning his head down slightly in an attempt to somewhat conceal the blush he could feel on his cheeks. It had made him happy to hear what little he could of her voice.
"You feel okay?" he asked, looking back up at her. "In any pain?" She shook her head.
"A little nauseated, and kind of sleepy, but I'm good. What time is it?"
"Almost five," he told her. "Vance wants me to come in for a meeting. Why don't you go back to sleep, and I'll have Duck check in on you till I can get back here."
"You don't have to stay here every free moment you have," she signed. "Don't you have a boat to work on?" she smirked.
"Boat isn't more important then you, Abby," he signed. "And I don't mind being here."
"I'm glad to have you here...but you can't drop everything to sit around here while I heal. You have a job to do and they need you."
"We need you, too," he said. "So let us be here for you, Abs. We want to." She gave him another small smile as she gave in. Then they turned as a nurse came into the room; the same one that had interpreted for Abby earlier. Gibbs stood from the bed as she walked over.
"Good to see you up, Abby," she smiled. "We're having a tray sent up for you with some soft foods. I know it's not the most appetizing stuff on the menu, but for the next few days you'll need to take care not to eat anything that could potentially damage what the surgeon did," she began to pull off the bandage from Abby's throat to change it. Gibbs got a small glimpse of the wound which made his stomach churn. "Are you in any pain?"
"Just tired and a little nauseated," she signed.
"The pain meds cause drowsiness. And the nausea is a normal side-effect of the anesthesia. It should ease off in a little while."
"I'm gonna go meet with Vance," Gibbs told Abby, "I'll see you later," he began to move toward the door and turned to sign, "Love you." After a smile from Abby, he continued out.
Ziva opened her eyes after a peaceful sleep. The first thing she focused on was the back of Tony's head. She grinned, happy to see he had come back and slept. She scooted her body closer to him, relishing in the warmth of his skin against hers.
Tony was roused from his sleep by the feel of warm skin against his. The smell of Ziva filled his nostrils, and he grinned. Not fully awake, he allowed his eyes to drift closed and enjoy the feeling of her against his back. But then he felt her hand slide up over his side, and down over his belly...then down into the front of his pajama pants. As she grasped his quickly hardening shaft, he groaned deep in his throat.
She smiled, pleased at his reaction, and leaned over to kiss his neck as her hand moved up and down. "God Ziva..." he twisted around to face her and crushed his mouth to hers, allowing his hand to glide down her back. One thought ran through his mind in that moment; how did he not notice that she'd been naked when he crawled into bed?
Tony's heart sped up as she pushed him onto his back and moved to straddle him; the sheets seductively slipping down and revealing her body to him. He watched her with hooded eyes as she leaned forward. "I remember being promised the rest of the day in bed with you," she said as her hand snaked down the front of him.
"I had no intentions of breaking that promise," he smiled and his breath hitched as she reached between them and pulled his pants down past his erection.
"Good," she replied as she sat up and hovered over him. His hands traveled up her thighs until he reached her waist, eager for her to begin. She lowered herself down onto him and his head arched back at the sensation as he groaned. His knees bent and his feet planted flat against the bed as he sat up, supporting himself with one arm as he crushed his mouth to hers again.
It was Ziva's turn to moan as his thrust against her; his hand low on her back, pressing her harder against him. The position was perfect; hitting her in all the right places. It caused her to arch against him; one hand going to his shoulder, and the other going behind her on the bed, supporting her as she met each thrust with her own.
She was astonished at how quickly her orgasm was approaching. Tony watched as she bit down on her lower lip and he knew she was close. He sped up his thrusting and heard her begin to cry out; felt her convulse around him. He rode out her orgasm, but stopped as she recovered, as he felt closer to the edge then he wanted to be just yet.
But Ziva began to move against him again and his eyes shot to her, "W-wait, Zi," he said with hitching breath. She smiled deviously as she continued. "Zi...I'm gonna...Zi—oh god!" he exploded into her; his hips wildly thrusting up against her as his vision grayed from the sudden release.
He fell back on the bed; Ziva falling with him. Her face settled in the crook of his neck. When his breath returned to him, Tony's hand went to her hair. "You're a bad ninja," he said as he hugged her to him. She laughed through her nose. "It was supposed to last a little longer then that."
"We have all night," she said softly in his ear before nipping at the lobe. He groaned and flipped her onto her back, settling himself on top of her and looking into her deep brown eyes.
"Careful what ya wish for..."
1 week later...
"You can't possibly tell me that you think a velociraptor could beat a t-rex, Probie," Tony said as he squinted at Tim from his desk.
"I didn't say a velociraptor. I meant a pack of them. If there were a couple more in the museum, they could've taken it down."
"Clearly, you weren't watching the part where he threw the raptor across the room and roared as the banner fell down in front of him: When dinosaurs ruled the earth...," he dramatized with his hands, "Classic moment..."
"I would've seen it if you didn't send me out for more soda," Tim retorted.
"Seen what, McGee?" Gibbs said as he strolled into the bullpen.
"Tony and McGee watched Jurassic Park with Abby at the hospital last night," Ziva explained.
"It was the only thing on tv, Boss," Tony defended.
"Hope you didn't stay up the whole night watching movies, DiNozzo," he said as he fished his gun and badge from his desk drawer.
"Got a case?" Tony stood and grabbed his backpack.
"Dead Navy Lieutenant," Gibbs replied and looked over at McGee. "Need you to call Ducky, then stand by to run evidence."
"They've got a sub down in the lab, Boss," McGee said.
"I know that, McGee," he squinted, "But I need someone who knows what the hell they're doin'," he continued his glare at the agent until Tim picked up the phone to dial. "Let's go," he motioned to his other two agents as he made his way to the elevator.
Tony glanced back toward McGee before getting into the elevator. Tim had a look of disappointment on his face and met Tony's gaze before he was out of sight. Tony furrowed a brow and swallowed as the door closed behind them. He couldn't help but feel a twinge of guilt as they'd left him behind.
"Don't think he's ready for fieldwork yet, Boss?" he asked in a low voice. Gibbs glanced over at him. Recognizing the look on his agent's face, he decided against yelling.
"The tech they've got in for Abby is an idiot," he said, looking back out in front of him. "I need someone I can trust to get the job done till she's ready to come back to work." Tony hoped McGee understood that fact.
"Abby is being discharged this evening, yes?" Ziva asked Gibbs.
"Yeah," he replied, and neither agent missed the brief grin that appeared on his face.
"She will be staying at your house?" she pushed. Gibbs cocked his head.
"If you spare a few mornings and stay with her," he turned to them, "Just in case...until she comes back to work Monday."
"Well we'd have to get permission from the boss," Tony smiled sarcastically, "But of course. No problem at all."
"Do you even have food in your refrigerator?" Ziva smirked. Gibbs cocked his head a second time and smirked at the Israeli.
"That sounded like a volunteer to go grocery shopping," he said as the doors opened and he walked out. Tony snickered and Ziva swatted him in the back on the head before following Gibbs. His jaw cocked before he walked out after her.
"This man has only been dead for a couple of hours, Jethro," Ducky said as he removed the liver probe. "By the look and position of the wound, I'd say he was stabbed. There's not an incredible amount of blood, which leads me to believe his killer gained a direct hit into his heart, killing him almost instantly."
"Professional?" Tony asked.
"Not likely," Ziva spoke up. "Broad daylight, and didn't leave behind the weapon. Not to mention the bloody shoe-print," she pointed a few feet away.
"Wallet's missing," Gibbs added after searching the man's pockets.
"How did they identify the body?" Palmer asked.
"Dog tags, Mr. Palmer," Ducky said as he revealed the metal tags around the man's neck.
"DiNozzo," Gibbs got the agent's attention. "Call McGee; tell him to look up Lieutenant John Gregory. See if he had a registered vehicle. If this was a robbery, they might've found car keys and taken his car."
"Got it, Boss," Tony pulled out his cell and dialed McGee. "Hey, Probie. We need you to look somethin' up," he explained into the phone. Ziva's attention was suddenly pulled to the alley across the street.
"I have been here before," she said to no one in particular as she slowly made her way from the sidewalk toward the alley.
"We're not far from Arlington," Ducky said, briefly glancing back at her before returning to he and Palmer's efforts to put the body into a body bag. Ziva continued slowly into the street.
"I was here looking for Flea," she said quietly to herself as she recalled. She stopped and glared down the empty alley where she'd once spoken to the homeless man that had given her the information.
Tony looked over in her direction as he continued to talk to McGee. He glanced up the street as a car came around the corner. His eyes went back to Ziva as she continued her stance in the street. The car sped up and Tony panicked, dropping his phone as he took off toward her.
"Ziva!" he yelled, pulling her from her trance. She saw the car just inches away from her before Tony pushed her out of the way. Gibbs looked up when he heard him yell her name, and saw the car hit Tony, sending him rolling over the hood and off the other side as the car kept going. He drew his gun and began to fire at the car, hitting the back window.
The car suddenly spun out of control and ran into a utility pole. Gibbs ran to the car, swinging open the door to see the man he'd hit. He'd been shot in the stomach, but Gibbs had hit him in the head. He was dead... not going anywhere. Gibbs turned back toward his agents as he quickly made his way to where Tony had fallen.
Ducky and Palmer were at Tony's side as well as Ziva. "He okay?" Gibbs called as he approached.
"Just got--" Tony sat up as he tried to breathe, "Just got the wind...knocked outta me, Boss," he coughed. Gibbs squinted as he visually assessed the agent. He pulled out his cell.
"Boss, what happened over there? I was on the phone with Tony and the line cut off..." McGee sounded panicked.
"Got hit by a car," he replied.
"Oh my god, is he okay?"
"He's okay. I need you to run a plate for me," he said, turning back to the crashed vehicle, and told him the plate number.
"Uh..."
"What is it?"
"That's the Lieutenant's car, Boss. Tony had me check for any vehicles registered in his name..."
Alright, folks. It's bedtime. Wish me luck, I'm going to look at a car tomorrow—I needz one!! I should have another chapter up tomorrow night :)
