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"I am not waiting on you, Tony. You can stand up and get a bottle of water yourself."

"But you're closer," he whined.

"I am also making you dinner," she countered, sliding the pan of chicken into the oven.

"And I love you dearly for that, but right now I could use a nice cold glass of water."

"Fine… catch."

"What?" he managed to asked before a small bottle crashed into his lap. "Thank you," he chimed, picking it up. "Hey, Ziva, can you open this for me?"

"No."

"Please?"

"Only because you asked nicely." She put down the bowl she was holding and walked into the living room. She took it from him and unsealed the cap before handing it back to him.

"Would you like payment?" he asked before taking a sip.

"Depends, what is it?"

"Come here," he said, making the motion with his hand at the same time. She bent over, bracing her hand on the couch behind Tony's head, until their faces were only a few inches apart.

"Yes?" she inquired as his eyes darted back and forth, studying her face. He watched her for another second before leaning forwards and giving her a peck on the lips.

"I love you, Ziva," he whispered.

"I love you, too." She smiled and kissed him again before walking back into the kitchen.

"What is for dinner anyway?" Tony called to her retreating back.

"Surprise," she answered, throwing a teasing smile over her shoulder at him. He pushed himself up and followed Ziva into the other room.

"Oh, so you will get up for food, but not water?"

"I kinda didn't want you to throw it at me," he half shrugged before leaning against the counter and easing himself into a stool so he could watch her.

"So, what are you making?" he asked after a second.

"If you wait-" she looked at the timer over the stove, "- four and a half minutes, you will know."

"What's in the bowl?" He craned his neck to try and see what she was whisking.

"Food," she answered dully.

"What kind of food?"

"Yummy food."

"And what is in that yummy food?"

"Why don't you go pick out a movie?" she suggested, momentarily stopping what she was doing to send him a threatening glare.

"Fine," he grumbled, dropping off of the stool and shuffling back to the living room. Ziva sighed and slid the bowl of whipped cream into the fridge.

"What do you want to watch?" Tony's voice cut through the silence a few minutes later.

"It is your welcome home party, you chose," she shouted back. The pulled the sizzling chicken from the over second before the timer went off. She placed it on the stovetop and cut one open to make sure it was cooked before grabbing two plates out of the cabinet. She quickly put everything together, pouring two glasses of water and bringing that and the silverware out to the living room before going back for their entrée.

"Rosemary chicken with roasted vegetables," she told him as he took the plate she offered him.

"You even cut up my chicken," he gasped as she made sure to sit on his left side, as apposed to how she usually sat on his right.

"Well I knew you were going to make me do it, and it was easier on a cutting board with the big knife." She smiled playfully at him before stabbing a piece of chicken with her fork.

"I love you," he said, leaning over and kissing her cheek before starting in on his own dinner. The watched the movie and ate in silence, except for every now and then when Tony asked for something he couldn't reach on his own. About half way through the movie Ziva took their empty plates back into the kitchen and returned with smaller plates containing their dessert.

"Pound cake, strawberries and home-made whipped cream."

"That's what you were whisking," he gasped as she set the plate in his lap.

"Good work detective," she laughed. She watched as he took a bite, giggling quietly when he got some cream on his nose.

"Hold still," she instructed as she leaned over and kissed the cream away.

"Thank you," he whispered, pecking her lips before she could sit back down again. They finished their meal and the movie and Ziva took everything back to the kitchen to wash while Tony moved to their bedroom to start getting ready for bed. She finished in the kitchen and walked into the bedroom just as Tony was trying to get dressed, with little success.

"Would you like help?" she asked, walking up behind him.

"No I need to do this myself. You're not going to be here to wait on me 24/7."

"You need to work into this stuff, Tony, not jump into it all at once."

"Okay," he sighed and dropped his boxers before climbing into bed."

"That works too," she laughed and moved to help him pull the covers over himself. Ziva quickly stripped and climbed into bed next to him, on his left side of course, pressing her body against his and using his shoulder as a pillow.

"You okay?" she asked, reaching over to switch off the light.

"Yeah," he muttered. "As long as you hang around I'll be just fine." She smiled and kissed him gently before resting her head on his shoulder again.

"I love you, too," she whispered into the dark.


A/N: I challenge you all to go a week without using your right arm (or left if you are a lefty). I have a couple slings if anyone wants to borrow one