And So It Goes

Tony arrived at the scene just as Ducky and Palmer began to load the body into the truck. He slammed the door of his car and stalked toward the yellow barrier tape, stopping for a moment to take the scene in. It was another dark, rat infested alleyway, and another unfortunate sailor on leave, shot and left for dead. He ducked under the barrier tape and walked toward his colleagues, McGee looked up from his notebook.

Tony expected a good old fashioned ribbing, but was only met with a cursory glance from Tim. "What do we have?" Tony asked, confused by Tim's silence.

"Petty Officer Erik Devaux, shot in the head execution style. No weapon retrieved." McGee said, looking back to his notes. "They heard the shots in the bar, but by the time someone got out here, the shooter was gone."

"Where's Gibbs?"

"Inside, interviewing witnesses," McGee muttered.

"And Bishop?"

"Looking for a murder weapon," her voice interrupted them, as she stood up to full height in the dumpster behind McGee. "Hey, Tony. It's nice of you to join us," she chirped.

"Looks like you're in the thick of it there, Probie," Tony said with a snarky chuckle.

"It's your turn, DiNozzo. Hop in," Gibbs voice cut through his nervous laughter, and Tony turned around.

"What?"

"Get in the dumpster," Gibbs said slowly, reaching up to grab Bishop's hand as she attempted to climb out. She hopped to the ground, and Gibbs turned to Tony. "There are eight dumpsters in this alley, they all have to be checked. Unless you want to be here until tomorrow afternoon, then I suggest you plug your nose and dive in." He turned to McGee and sighed. "There are a few more witnesses inside that I haven't gotten to, can you finish them up?"

"Sure, Boss." McGee said, turning toward the back door, he left without another word.

Tony looked around to see Bishop climbing into another dumpster, hands gloved and face puckered into a distasteful grimace. She tumbled inside and disappeared from view. "Boss, come on. You're just trying to punish me for…"

"Yep," Gibbs said, turning around. "Don't forget to wear gloves." Gibbs then turned, and disappeared through the same door as McGee.

At quarter after six in the morning, Tony's apartment door swung open and revealed a very irritated, and very bedraggled, Very Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo. His eyes skated over the apartment, noting that the Israeli woman that he had left on his couch was now missing. Evidence of their dinner together was cleaned from the room, and the room was spotless. His windbreaker had been left in the office, his cap long since discarded. He pulled off his suit jacket, threw it on the chair and grunted when the knot of his tie wouldn't come loose at his haphazard tug. Once his holster, gun, and badge had joined his keys on the counter, he stumbled toward his bedroom with the gait of a zombie.

Panic or worry wasn't the first thing Tony expressed when he walked into his bedroom to find that his bed was empty as well. At Ziva's absence when she had said she would stay, anger with a bit of disappointment was the first emotion to rear its ugly head.

He gritted his teeth and swung his tie over his head, throwing it onto the bed. He pulled at the buttons on his shirt, dropping the garment on the floor when he was finally able to be rid of it. He unbuckled, and walked out of his pants and boxers, grumbling his way into the shower.

Tony didn't bother to close the bathroom door, and turned on the hot water as hot as it would go. The scalding water was welcome on his skin and aching body, working out some of the kinks that had amassed in the last twenty-four hours. He washed off the unwanted stench of garbage and sweat, trying desperately not to let his thoughts of the woman that he had left alone in his apartment the night before snake into his psyche. He poured shampoo onto his hand and began to knead it into his scalp.

"Tony?" Ziva's voice was loud enough that she may very well have been in the shower with him. He jumped and turned, remembering immediately that his shower was completely glass, and she could see everything. His initial reaction was surprise, and then embarrassment. He moved to cover himself and nearly slipped as his shampoo rolled down into his eyes. Tony let out a guttural yell and pressed his palms into his eyes as he crouched down. He heard her shout an apology and moved to leave the room quickly.

"Ziva!" he shouted, hearing the door close behind her as he grunted another expletive or two. It took him a moment to realize that it really didn't matter what she had seen, or hadn't seen, and he stood up and put his face back under the spray of water. Finishing his shower, he continued to grumble and rant to himself. He wavered between complaining about the soap in his eyes, and complaining about Gibbs. He couldn't help but feel a little warmth at the presence of Ziva, though he was curious about her absence. He turned off the water and wrapped a towel around himself and walked out of the bathroom into his bedroom. "Ziva?" he called.

After a moment, the bedroom door opened a crack, and she popped her head in. She said nothing, just looked into his eyes for a moment hoping not to make him feel any more self-conscious than he already seemed to be. She waited for him to say something, but could see that he was doing the same for her. She smiled that Mona Lisa smile at him. "I went for a run. I brought you breakfast." She then closed the door without waiting for a response.

Tony furrowed his brow and sighed, looking toward where he had left his trail of dirty clothes, he noticed that they were no longer in the room. He walked to his dresser and pulled out a pair of sweats and a t-shirt, keeping an eye on the door as he dressed. He stepped back into the bathroom to run a comb through his hair, only to hear the bedroom door open again. "I'm coming, Ziva."

He walked out of the bathroom to find her leaning against the doorway to the bedroom. Her hair was pulled down out of its ponytail. He noticed that she was wearing a pair of his sweats, and though they were a little big on her, she looked comfortable and beautiful. He stared at her for a moment, desperately fighting the urge to yawn. "You disappeared," he said after a moment

"You cannot keep me caged, Tony. I am not a bird." She teased, turning and disappearing from view. Tony started walking toward the door, when she reappeared with a tray in her hands. On the tray sat two glasses of orange juice and two pastries. "Sit,"

"Sit?"

"On the bed, we will eat breakfast, and then you can get some sleep." She watched him turn toward the bed, this time allowing himself the yawn that was forcing its way from his lungs. He crawled onto the bed and pulled back the blankets, he climbed between the sheets and waited for her. She held the tray and climbed in beside him, putting the tray between them. They pulled the blankets up to their laps, and she went about moving things about on the tray.

He looked at the breakfast that she had brought, and then back to Ziva. "Mm… no coffee?" he groaned.

"No coffee, not if you're going to go to sleep." She handed him a glass of orange juice, and a bear claw, then reached for her own food.

He put the pastry in his mouth and bit down, making a low groaning sound. "Mmm… I think I love you," he mumbled to the pastry.

"Well, that makes me feel good. Coming in second to a fried cinnamon roll covered in frosting," Ziva said, taking a bite of her own pastry.

"I will cover you with frosting and cinnamon… we can compare." Tony teased, still staring at the bear claw. He licked his lips and looked over at her, finding a pair of lusty brown eyes looking back at him. "I was only half kidding."

"Hm…" She nodded, sipping her orange juice. She took a bite of her pastry and admired it for a moment. "That's a shame, I was half considering it."