Tony opened his eyes and scanned the dimly lit hospital room. The windows admitted nothing but darkness. He could see the light from a television of the adjacent bed flickering on the wall, but the drawn curtain prevented him from observing his roommate. Murmured conversation regarding arteriosclerosis told him he probably didn't want much to do with whatever was happening over there.

He groped awkwardly for the bed controls with his left hand and raised himself to a sitting position to get a better idea of his condition. His left foot was propped up on a pillow and his entire right arm and shoulder were immobilized. He wiggled his fingers to make sure the blue cast on his arm was protecting only fractures and not concealing nerve damage. Movement was limited due to the measures taken to set the arm, but everything in his hand seemed to be in working order. The pain was minimal, so he must have been given something. He clearly remembered the events that had led to his injuries, but everything after that was a blur. He'd arrived at the hospital and waited for a while, then there was just a blank during which he must have been treated.

The clock on the wall indicated that it was just after five. Had no one come to check on him all afternoon? He thought he could remember Ziva arriving in the Emergency Room, but the memory was fuzzy. It was possible he just imagined it after spending the morning with her. They could still be occupied with the investigation and getting updates on him by phone. Ziva's presence felt almost tangible, though. He tried to remember her saying goodbye. His eyes suddenly found her gray coat draped over the back of the chair next to his bed and her olive backpack sitting on the floor next to it. He sighed audibly; she was here and couldn't have gone far if she'd left all of her stuff.

The murmurs on the other side of the curtain ceased as light footsteps tapped the tile and a moment later Ziva sank into the chair. She opened the Washington Post she'd brought in with her and began to read. Tony watched her for a little bit before saying, "Hey."

"Oh!" She looked up in surprise. "You're awake. How are you feeling?"

"You mean other than the broken bones and aching body?" He grunted slightly for effect as she sat next to him on his left side. "Never better."

"I meant in the head. You were a little off when I first got here."

"Off?" His lips certainly felt fine as she kissed him gently.

She drew back just before he could move his hand from where it was resting on her thigh up to play with her hair. "I believe the nurse in the ER called you 'hoopy.'"

"You mean loopy?"

"Yes, loopy." She smiled in a self-satisfied way and moved back to the chair, folding her paper and placing it on the wide window ledge. "Do you remember anything that happened after you came to the hospital?"

"They had some real emergencies, so I had to wait. I remember a nurse telling me she was going to take me somewhere and someone was telling me about…" He blinked as the experiences in the waiting room and hallway came back to him in a flash. He sucked in a rapid breath. "I was afraid you were dead."

She took his hand and squeezed it. "We've been over this. I'm fine. You're the one stuck in the hospital bed for once."

He smiled and stroked his thumb along the back of her hand. "Hospitals aren't so bad. They wait on you hand and foot. I haven't missed dinner, have I?"

"I saw some orderlies passing out trays on my way back from the bathroom, so I don't think you've missed what's sure to be a delicious meal." She rolled her eyes and pulled her hand back. "I think I might run out and get something a little later."

"I'm sure they'll get you a meal. In Tel Aviv they fed me every time I visited you."

"That was a different hospital and you would have starved if they hadn't because you practically never left my room."

"Those kosher meals weren't bad. Speaking of never leaving, why'd you have to go use another bathroom?" He pointed at the closed door of the bathroom visible just beyond the curtain.

"Because I respect the 'Patients Only' sign on the door."

"That's just for show. Anyway, what are you thinking of getting? Pizza?"

"You're going to eat whatever they bring you then eat a pizza later?"

"Not a whole one. But I am injured and need to keep up my strength to ensure a full recovery." He winked, drawing another roll of her eyes. "You can have whatever I don't finish."

"Unbelievable. You'd better watch your weight or I'm always going to have to be on top to stop you from crushing me."

He was about to respond when man with a tray walked in, followed by a generously proportioned young blonde in a colorfully patterned top, who flounced into the room dragging a cart with various apparatuses attached. Tony nodded to the man, who set the tray on the bedside table, then grinned at the woman. "Hello."

"Hi, Mr. DiNozzo. I'm Maryanne and I'm your CNA for the next…" Her face lit up as she looked from Tony to Ziva and back again. "Omigod! I totally saw you guys on the news earlier today! You were at the Zoo and you saved the pandas and fed the elephant! That was so awesome! So are you guys a real couple? Because they keep showing you kissing…"

"And what do you think Tony and Ziva would do in this situation?"

"Abby, will you stop it?"

"You're the one who's always bringing them up."

"Because I'm worried, not because I want to think about them…that way."

"You have no investment in this relationship, so that makes your interest a little weird. And possibly kinky. Can we trace this all back to that day she handcuffed him to his chair? Should we have gotten you some therapy after that?"

"I'm concerned about what's going to happen with the team."

"Aw, you're afraid they'll break up and you'll get caught in the middle? It's not like they're gonna force you to choose who to live with in front of a judge, McGee."

"No, but you aren't actually that far off. Wait a minute…does this handwriting look familiar to you?"

"A little. What are you talking about with the break up thing? You don't think they're going to…"

"I didn't mean them and you need to focus, Abby. Look at the envelope and concentrate."

"I can't concentrate unless you tell me…oh, ginger snaps!"

"Ginger snaps?"

"It's like spork, but good."

Tony peeked under the lids of the various dishes on his tray. The chicken smelled pretty good and so did the soup. He made a face when he got to the vegetables. "You want some carrots and peas to tide you over until you get our pizza?"

Ziva made a face, sticking her tongue out a little. "I've had enough hospital food to last me a lifetime, thank you."

"Bet you wouldn't say no if offered you my brownie. Which I am not offering, by the way." He covered it with his hand as she made a grab, realizing too late what she was really after. "Hey! Who said you could have my tiny ginger ale?"

She popped the top on the half-size soda can and took a long sip, smacking her lips in satisfaction. "I'm sure you can call Maryanne to get you another one."

"I can't believe she was hitting on me right in front of you."

"She was doing a pretty pathetic job of it if that was what she was doing."

He stopped trying to cut his food one-handed and speared the chicken breast with his fork, raising the whole thing to his mouth to take a bite. "Mmm. Not bad. I wonder if I'll need a sponge bath in the morning."

Ziva looked at him critically. "You're being released tomorrow. If you can't manage to clean up on your own, I can assist you."

"I can't ask you for a sponge bath! Not while I'm laid up, anyway."

"Why would you need me to bathe you in any other situation?"

"Not bathe me…take a bath or a shower with me, yeah, but that's different."

"I still fail to see the distinction."

"Remember the last time we took a shower together?"

"Before I left for…my business trip? You slipped and almost dropped me."

"Oh yeah." He'd forgotten that part. He'd had her pressed against the wall with her legs wrapped around his waist and when he'd tried to step back his foot had slipped. "But I didn't actually drop you and we were already done and…we're getting off the point. If I let you help me out when I'm like this that's what you'll be thinking about the next time we try to have…" he trailed off when he heard a laugh from behind the curtain.

A voice drifted over, "Don't stop on our account."

The elderly man's scandalized wife chastised, "Harold!"

"I'm in the gosh darn hospital, Edith! Let me have a little fun." He pulled back the curtain to peek at Tony and Ziva. "You'll have to forgive my wife for being such a prude. And you should probably forgive me for finding your wife so foxy. Rowr. I doubt you'll blame me, you lucky dog."

Edith seized the curtain from Harold's hand and replaced it before Tony had a chance to respond. "You'll have to excuse him, dears. He's on medication."

Tony took another bite of his chicken and eyed Ziva. "Think I should have corrected him?"

She considered him for a moment. "No. This way it won't be awkward for him when I show you what it's like to be injured and sharing your hospital bed."

"What did Gibbs say?"

"He said to make sure before we have him called out of interrogation again."

"I guess Earnshaw's big bro isn't the well of information we'd hoped. Well, I'm running the prints now, so we'll know in a minute if the ones on the envelope you bagged at the apartment match the ones on the suicide note."

"It might not be enough. We should call someone in to analyze the handwriting."

"You and I both agree that it looks like the same handwriting! There's the long loop on the lower-case 'g's and the funky flourishes on the upper-case 'T's and…"

"What?"

"I was gonna try and spell something with the letters we looked at, but I realized I shouldn't have started with 'g' and 'T'."

"Great. We still can't compel prints based on a comparison between an envelope that went through the postal system and Earnshaw's suicide note that, may I remind you, doesn't have our suspect's name on it."

"You're such a party pooper, McGee. Don't rain on my case-cracking parade! See if I listen to you the next time you wanna gossip about Tony and Ziva."

"It's not gossip, Abby. It's legitimate concern. I think Gibbs is going to have one of them transferred."

"Did he say that?"

"He told Tony yesterday that if he and Ziva didn't behave he'd split them up. Permanently."

"Oh. So as long as they don't go all Palmer and Lee on us, it's cool."

"You think Gibbs will be, um, cool with what they're showing on all the news shows?"

"Come on, McGee. It was a little kiss that lasted, like, three seconds. It just looks worse, or better, I guess, because the networks pause it right there. And all this time I was worried you were turning into a Peeping Tim."

"What?"

"It's just cute. You're worried the team is going to get broken up and it's expressed as obsessive spying on…oh, yeah! Prints match! Call Gibbs back!"

"Didn't we already go over this?"

"Since when does Gibbs care about probable cause? You can think of something on your way there!"

Tony popped the last bite of brownie into his mouth just as the phone beside his bed rang. Ziva got to it before he could. "Yes…McGee. Yes, he's fine…you're kidding. No, I'll be there in ten minutes." She dropped the phone back into its cradle. "I'm sorry, but I have to leave. I'm taking your cell and I'll be back as soon as I can." She pulled her coat on and leaned down to peck his lips. "When I come back I'll bring pizza."

"Good." He watched her leave the room without a backward glance. He smiled as he pushed his tray away and settled back on his pillows. That coat sweeping out behind her got him every time.

A moment later the curtain pulled back to reveal a grinning Harold. "She looks flexible. Is she flexible?"

Tony looked for something to distract himself, but nothing was in reach. He turned to Harold and nodded. "Uh, yeah, pretty flexible."

"Nice accent, too. She one of them mail-order brides?"

"Did your wife go home, Harold?"

"No, just to the ladies'. We can chat about…oops." He yanked the curtain back in place.

Edith's voice squeaked, "You leave that poor boy alone, Harold! He's in the hospital!"

"And were do you think I am? The spa?"

Tony found the TV control and turned it on, only to find that he and Ziva were the top story on the evening news. He sighed and started preparing himself for a long night.