Hey!

I was not planning in uploading a new chapter, but strangely this chapter kind of just came to me! Don't you just love it when that happens! :D although, I did struggle with the ending, so I am sorry if it sucks! :P

in response to bdn1313, who asked when the Tiva wedding will be (I figured I'll answer this here, because others of you might be wondering), I have not decided. However, if any of you have any ideas, please leave them in a review!

DISCLAIMER: I own the cousins. But no other characters.


Chapter 28

Tony had been lying on his back, staring up at the ceiling for hours, watching the light dance in and out of the creases in the space above his head. He had never liked sleeping in strange places, preferring his own bed as the place where he could get his good night worth of sleep. The room was nice enough, with light beige walls and a high ceiling with dark wooden beams for support. When they had first got there, Ziva had told him how she used to come stay in that very room when she was a kid. And she couldn't quite get over the fact that he was there, that past and present were merging in this strange paradox that was life.

And on top of the craziness, he had still no adjusted fully to the strange time difference, and his body still believed that it was back in Washington DC, where the temperature was low and the blood alcohol levels were high. But he wasn't, as he came to realise. But his body was going to pay for this lack of sleep at some time. He just hoped that it picked a good time to crash land.

The thin sheets that covered his body were not apparently thin enough, and Tony felt his body sticky with sweat. He had never liked the heat, logically deciding that he would rather be too cold than too hot. If he was too cold, he could just put on another layer. If he was too hot, there were only so many layers that he could take off.

Tony reached over to the table next to the bed and flicked open his phone, checking for any messages that had come through from DC during the night. One solitary message sat there, waiting patiently for his fingers to tap the correct buttons and opened the message.

Are you still alive? Abby xx

Tony smiled at the message. Abby had been worried sick at his message the other day (McGee had called him after their conversation to properly tell him off for scaring Abby). Tony therefore felt that it would probably not be in his best interest to scare Abby again, not to risk the wrath of a pissed off probie. Tony may have been able to take the younger man on physically, but in the cyber world, Tony stood no chance. McGee could probably wipe his bank account squeaky clean by purchasing inflatable voodoo dolls. Or even worse. He could externally wipe his Tivo.

Tony quickly shot back a message to assure Abby that he was alive and well, and naturally wooing all of Ziva's relatives. Well, almost all of them

*Flashback*

When Tony signed up for meeting the family, he had been aware that Ziva's family was big. Ziva had warned him about the countless amounts of aunties and uncles she had. But she had seemingly forgotten to mention the amount of cousins she had. Or more specifically, the amount of cousins who were willing to tear him limb from limb if they did not like him.

Walking into the David household on the first night of their arrival had been the most terrifying experience of his life. It seemed that the Israeli took any excuse to throw a good family reunion, so the medium sized house that had previously had a calm and orderly aura about it was filled to the brim with loud raucous men and women, who held the belief that if they spoke louder, it would make the situation better. That did work to a certain degree. But it didn't work when all of them were trying to do it, all at the same time.

Ziva had temporarily left Tony's side (something about a lost baby cousin and a washing machine…) and Tony was idly walking around, trying to not be noticed by anyone. Trying, and failing. He seemed to be the only American in the room, the only one who was not speaking Hebrew. And it threw him. Some made the effort to speak in English, for his sake. Some did not.

Tony was attempting to look extremely enthralled by a stain on the floor, which he could have sworn had not been there before. However, by looking down, he did not see the wall of pure muscle that he was approaching, and very soon, walking straight into.

"Wooahh!"

Tony looked up and tried not to gulp. In front of him was an array of cousins, all looking bigger and more bad-ass than the next. He could tell by looks alone that most of them had served some time in the Israeli armed forced, with the hair cut or tattoos to prove it. The others looked like that could take him down without breaking into sweat. And that was just the women.

"You are Ziva's fiancé, yes?" the man said to Tony, his slightly accented English making Tony feel intimidated already. And the man had only said five words to him. The man had a physical presence that oozed this confidence that Tony could not compete with. He had the same bone structure as Ziva, and the same dangerous dark eyes.

"That I am. And you are?" Tony said, a cheery smile plastered to his face to mask the fear in his heart. These people could take him down if he pissed them off. He was going to have to watch his step with these ones…

"Amiad. Ziva's cousin."

"Well hi! Good to meet you," Tony said, "Are you all Ziva's cousins?"

The nods from various parts of the group confirmed his suspicions. Tony could feel the weight of their glared, they all had that similar look about them that Ziva had when she was pissed. But times by fifteen, and it was defiantly more scary.

"You done hazing the new guy?" a voice from Tony's right called, and all of them whipped around to see who it was. Ari emerged from the group, and the previously stony face of Amiad broke into a grin.

"Ari," he said, pulling him into a manly hug, "it had been too long."

"It has. You should come my way."

"There is one of you, and many of us. Would it not be easier for you to come to us?" Amiad said.

"Well played," Ari said jovially, and then turned back to his initial query, "have you finished giving him a hard time."

"No, not yet," one of the women from the side called out, and Ari grinned.

"Back off, Lea," Ari said smiling. And then his smile vanished, and Tony was sufficiently creeped out, "It's my job to kill him if he hurts Ziva."

Tony was at loss of words, out of fear and terror. He had made good ground with his relationship with Ari, but it was at moment like those where he questioned his friendship. The man still scared the hell out of him.

"Amiad!"

Tony turned around in time to hear that the shocked excited words had emerged from none other than his fiancé's own mouth. Before he knew it, Ziva was in Amiad's arms, having to just to make up the vertical distance between the two of them. Wrestled into a traditional flowing dress, Ziva was the vision of beauty. Ziva had been cooed and compliments were lavished upon her as she entered the house, and Tony had never seen her look so happy and open before. She smiled readily, and hugged so many people. And the tight hug that she gave Amiad just there was the last confirmation that Tony needed that Ziva was enjoying her time.

"Are you done bullying my fiancé?" Ziva asked Amiad as they drew apart.

"Let me think about it," Amiad said, pretending to think hard, tilting his head to one side, "Nope."

Ziva punched him in the arm, and Amiad pretended to be injured just to make Ziva laugh.

Ziva then turned to Lea, and much to the surprised of Tony, Lea lashed out at Ziva's face. However, this seemed like some kind of private joke, one that Ziva was fully expecting, and Ziva dodged out of the way, grabbing Lea's arm as she did so.
"Still got it," Lea said to Ziva approvingly, and Ziva laughed, pulling the other girl into a hug. Tony had never seen such a bizarre greeting, and yet it seemed all very natural. Natural that Ziva should be there in her home town, interacting with people from her past. And natural that he was there with her, every step of the way.

Tony thought over all the events of the previous night. The get together had lasted well into the night, with Ziva only flopping down on the couch beside him at 0200 when all the guests had gone home, and all who were left was Ziva, Tony, Ari Tali and Aunt Nettie, the auntie who had allowed the David children plus Tony to stay. Tony did not doubt that they were all shattered, but buzzing from the adrenalin and the happiness. And the time difference.

Tony swung his legs out of bed, deciding that he might as well do something, now that he was up. Pulling on a shirt (he was sure that Ziva's aunt Nettie would not appreciate his state of undress), he walked out of the room, and into the bathroom, where he splashed his face with the cold water and ran his toothbrush over his teeth thoroughly. Shaking off the droplets, he wiped his hands and made his way downstairs in an attempt to find Ziva. Or food. He wasn't fussy. But he was hungry.

Something that he had learnt in the limited time he had been there is that the food was good. Whether it was a light snack, or a full on meal, the Davids knew how to eat. He was certain that he was going to put on a few pounds in the next few days…

As Tony walked downstairs, he was able to take in the house's appearance without the many noisy Davids that had previously inhabited it. The house was fairly spacious, with an open plan style that had made it perfect for the party the night before. There was enough room for the white washed walls to make the desired impact, and the house looked large spacious and airy.

"Come help me with these."

Tony turned around to see that it was Ari, shirtless (Tony was glad he had put his shirt on. He could never compete with those abs…), and carrying a variety of food from the kitchen to the dining room. Tony could recognise some of the array of food, the cheeses and vegetables. But some of the pastries were a mystery to him.

Following Ari's orders (the man still scared him a little…), Tony walked into the kitchen, and took what he assumed was part of breakfast into the dining room. In the cool light room that was the dining room, he found Ziva, ready for the day.

"Morning sweetcheeks," Tony said, putting the tray down, and moving to kiss Ziva lightly on the cheek. However, Ziva wasn't satisfied by his morning greeting, and left her hands on him, using him as leverage to pull herself to her feet.

"Let's try that gain, shall we?" she said softly, moving her face so close to his that her breath fanned across his face. Tony grinned with the knowledge that he had just brushed his teeth, thanking God for this foresight, and reached down to press his lips against hers, properly this time.

Ziva felt Tony's lips against hers softly at first, but she didn't want that. She wanted more. She had not slept well last night, partly due to the adrenalin pumping around her body, and partly to do with the fact she was aware that Tony was in the other room, but could not go and be with him. She craved his touch, just a simple feel of his arms around her, running up and down her arms so lightly that she couldn't breathe. Thoughts like that had kept her up, clouded her mind until she could not function normally, but needed him. Only when this hunger was quenched, that would be when she could rest peacefully. She did not like relying on something or someone so heavily. But this was Tony, and whether she liked it or not, she needed him. The mere notion of his just being there comforted her in such a profound way that she could not understand. But she did not need to understand. She just needed him.

Pressing her lips against her, she demanded more from him, pushed him to give her more. Tony seemed initially taken aback, but took it all in his stride, pressing himself more fully against his body, and running his hands along the skin of her arms left exposed by her tank top. He swallowed the shudders of her heat, pressing his lips against her fully, nibbling her bottom lip, before taking her whole bottom lip into his mouth and sucking gently, Ziva moaning at the sensation. Ziva's hands moved around his waist, using all she had to pull him closer, so she could feel everything he was against her body. She needed his closeness, needed his touch.

They eventually broke apart, and Ziva watched the fire in Tony's eyes dim to something softer.

"Well that was nice," Tony said, and Ziva rolled her eyes at him. He was such a weirdo.

At the sound of Nettie clattering into the dining room the two of them moved apart slightly, but throughout the meal they remained close, touching each other's hands of knuckles while they had a free hand.

"So, what are you kids doing today?" Aunt Nettie asked between mouthfuls.

"I am seeing some old school friends," Ari said, "and Tali is coming with me."

Aunt Nettie turned to Tony and Ziva next, and Ziva turned.

"I guess it's just you and me."

And Tony liked the sound of that. He liked the sound of that a lot.


I realised I haven't rewritten a kiss scene in a while, so I included one. But I'm a bit rusty... was it OK? :)