Hi, everyone! Sorry that it has been awhile since an update on this story. Thanksgiving, papers, midterms, etc.. This is an extra long chapter, so hopefully that will help make it up to you!

Thanks to AmyV24 (great suggestion, which I partially used as you will see!), Troubled-Angel-26, Queenofwheels, DS2010, Fan, HappyGuest, Tamara, fiftyshadeswritergal (thanks for the "go ahead" on the editing side!), Guest (great prompt; I'll be considering it!), and a second Guest! It means a lot to hear from all of you! Make sure to read to the end. I'll be asking for suggestions at the bottom!

Today I updated my profile page with all of my stories. There are notes on what I order I see my NCIS stories in, as well as which ones are current projects (at the moment, this story and "The Finding of Cable" are my two main stories! If you haven't read my story and are a fan of "Bull" - or are interested in a new show to watch - check it out! I started watching NCIS because of the fanfiction; for readers, this site is a great way to find new shows!)!

Now, enjoy this nearly-twice-as-long-as-normal chapter!

...

Gibbs entered the room, expecting to have to broker a peace between the doctor and the ninja. He was pleasantly surprised that Ziva was sitting quietly. She was rolling her eyes at Ducky's concern, but she did not say a word.

"The caramels are delicious, are they not?" Ducky asked. Ziva nodded.

That explains that.

"She okay, Duck?"

"Of course. I am just going to check her wound and clean it. Maybe you could step out for a moment for us to have some privacy?"

"My side is fine!" Ziva protested.

"Would you like some more of those caramels?"

Gibbs had to stifle his guffaw at Ducky's techniques.

I will have to try that with Tony.

...

Half an hour later - the delay due to Ducky insisting that they have tea before they left, during which he extensively lectured Ziva on proper care for the cut, which apparently she had not been providing to his standards - Gibbs and Ziva were finally able to head out into the woods for their walk. Ziva had pulled away from him as soon as she was outside. Gibbs had never been so grateful for one of his kids to have an injury; he knew that it was probably all that kept her from running away. He walked behind her, letting her stalk along as quickly as she could. At least at first. Eventually he could see the subtle signs of her relaxing. Her stiffened shoulders began to relax, her face became soft, her pace slowed a little.

"The woods are beautiful here, aren't they?" he mentioned. Although he was not much for small talk, he knew that it was important to get Ziva talking about something, anything.

"They are," she replied simply.

At least she's not snappy anymore.

"You like Jackie?"

Ziva frowned a little, but it was more thoughtful than angry. "She was fine," she muttered after a minute of reflection.

"You'll be seeing her on Tuesdays and Thursdays according to the schedule Duck and Jen want you to follow." He paused, noting the returning tension.

Find a way to make this her choice.

"But if you wanted to change to one of the NCIS therapists, I'm sure that could work. They might even be able to meet with you three or four times week until you are ready to head back to work."

Ziva shook her curls wildly. "I choose to stay with Jackie. It might hurt Ducky's feelings if I said no."

"Good choice. Then next time she can do a full session."

"How long is that?" Ziva questioned suspiciously.

"Sessions are usually around an hour."

Ziva huffed. "You will make me do it whether I want to or not."

"Yeah. For your own good."

Ziva huffed again and jogged for a few steps before she winced from the pain. Gibbs obligingly fell back once more, letting her walk away.

...

After five miles, the path lead them back to the start of the circuit near Ducky's backyard. Ziva had said very little but she was looking a little more like herself.

"Enjoyed?" Gibbs asked. She willingly looked him in the face for the first time without a challenge since the spanking. She smiled and nodded.

"Thank you," she said hesitantly.

"Want to do it again on Thursday?"

"I like walking off the paths better."

"I know, but until your cut is fully healed, I'd prefer we stay on the paths."

Ziva shrugged. "I guess we could do it, but we should take the other path. The same short ones again and again get too boring."

Gibbs smiled. "Agreed."

...

By the time they got back to Gibbs' house, it was lunchtime. And sitting on the porch with a picnic basket, waiting for them, was Abby.

"Hi, Ziva!" she called excitedly. "Oh, Ziva, Ziva, Ziva, I brought a picnic! Gibbs, Gibbs, Gibbs! Come have some of the sandwiches, and then could we look at those plans again? I want to help you build my bed!"

Gibbs could see that on top of the stress of talking to Jackie that morning, the walk had been a lot more tiring than Ziva had expected. He knew how it was, to be so tired of emotions that it took all of the body's energy. He was not sure if having an over-hyper Abby around a nearly-exhausted Ziva would be a good idea.

"Thank you, Abby," Ziva said. "I will take one of your sandwiches."

Ziva took one of the sandwiches, brightly wrapped in a reusuable sandwich wrap printed with pumpkins and bats.

"This looks very good. Thank you," Ziva said, then headed for the door.

"Wait! Where are you going?"

"Up to my room."

"What? But picnics are for outside!" Abby protested.

"If Ziva wants to eat outside, she can. If she wants to eat inside, she can. But I'll eat with you and we can decide on a design," Gibbs intervened. Abby looked discontentedly at Ziva, who was still standing next to the door, cautiously accessing the conversation. Gibbs nodded to her. "You are welcome to stay, Zi, but if you want to go in that's fine too."

Ziva seemed to relax a little at the permission and went inside without a word. Gibbs ignored the fact that he knew she was going to be eating on her bed instead of in the kitchen. For now, he had to focus on his incredibly excitable Abby. A glance in her car window revealed what he suspected - multiple Caf-Pow! cups.

"Abby, are we going to have to have another discussion about you driving under the influence of caffeine?"

...

Up in her room, Ziva was nibbling on the sandwich and trying to decide what she would do to amuse herself that afternoon. She doubted that Gibbs would let her go on another walk and he definitely would not put up with her complaining about going back to work. She thought about climbing out of the window and just going there by herself, but the thought of how Jenny would react - no doubt that she would eventually find out about it - had her shifting nervously. Maybe she could read. Yes, reading would be relaxing.

Ziva set aside the crusts of the sandwich - Abby must have toasted the bread for a little too long - and took her book from the nightstand.

Lying down would feel more comfortable. I am not tired. It is simply more comfortable.

She managed two pages before she replaced the book and gave in to the demands of her body. A short nap would not hurt.

...

Gibbs went inside after Abby left, promising to be back soon to help him build her new bed from their design. He headed upstairs to check on Ziva. He could not help but smile when he saw her sprawled out on her bed with the remainder of the sandwich. He gently removed it and brushed the crumbs into his hand. He did not want ants up here - the reason he outlawed eating except for in the kitchen or occasionally in the living room. But today had not been the time to stop Ziva.

At least she's sleeping without getting worked up about it.

...

Ziva woke two hours later - the noise of Tony shouting his greetings from the door.

I will kill him.

...

Gibbs heard Tony burst into the house.

I will kill him if he wakes Ziva. She will be so grumpy that she will be unbearable.

The stomps on the stairs, surprisingly heavy for someone as small as she was, made him change his mind.

Nah. She'll kill him herself.

...

"Hey, Ziva!" Tony said cheerfully. He paused, his smile faltering as Ziva glared at him. Then she swept past on her way to the kitchen when Gibbs was. She ignored both of them, grabbing a glass of water, thirsty from eating and then sleeping.

"Aren't you going to say 'hello', Zee-vah?" Tony teased, following along. "Lost your manners? Because I'm sure Gibbs could help you find them again. You keep the wooden spoons out here, don't ya, Boss?"

That was that. Ziva was in no mood to be teased. She spun around with the glass of water and threw it in Tony's face.

...

Gibbs internally groaned as he saw all of the work at getting Ziva to calm down go up in smoke - or rather, down in water droplets.

"You ... you!" Tony protested.

Ziva smirked victoriously, turning to pour herself another glass of water.

Gibbs took a deep breath. If he did not intervene ...

"ZIVA! You ruined my shirt!" Tony yelled.

"I do not care," Ziva shot back at him.

"Gibbs!" Tony appealed.

"Ziva," Gibbs sighed wearily. She did not look at him, focusing her eyes on her water glass. Gibbs turned back to Tony. "Tony, just stop teasing her."

"What? Wait! She throws water all over me and somehow I'm the bad guy?! If I did that to her, you'd be paddling the daylights out of me! And all she gets is ..."

"You were saying that he should punish me for something you did!" Ziva protested angrily. Tony flicked some of the water droplets dripping off of his hands onto her. "Stop that, Tony!"

" I was saying that he was letting you get away with stuff that I never ..."

"QUIET!" Gibbs bellowed. The two agents turned to him. Tony had the decency to look a little ashamed. Ziva was just blazing angry. Gibbs had to admit to himself that he had no clue how a simple stop-by visit had turned into such a disaster literally within two minutes of Tony parking in the driveway. And he had absolutely no clue how to deal with the two standing in front of him.

"Ziva, room," he said wearily. "Tony, I think maybe you should visit another time."

"But, Gibbs!" they protested in unison, stopping to glare at one another.

"NO."

"But it is not my fault!"

"She started it, Boss!"

"He teased me about ..."

"She threw water on my ..."

"ZIVA! TONY!"

The two miscreants finally silenced.

"You are both to blame. Apologize, then Ziva, room, and Tony, car. We can try this again tomorrow if you are both done fighting by then, but you've used all your chances for today."

Ziva crossed her arms but remained silent. Tony, however ...

"But, Boss, if I had done that ..."

"Tony," Gibbs broke in, forcing himself to keep a calm tone as he firmly stated, "I thought that you knew where I keep the wooden spoons."

Tony froze and flushed deeply at the quote-turned-rebuke. Ziva was still upset but seemed a little mollified as Gibbs continued with, "I didn't think that you would like that sort of threat either."

Tony gave a half smile. "Yeah. I guess not." He turned to Ziva. "Sorry, Ziva," he offered.

Ziva looked at him carefully for a moment, then nodded. "That is okay."

"And?" Gibbs prompted.

"Sorry."

It was muttered and muted, but an apology. And it was likely as good as he was going to get from her today. Gibbs was satisfied.

"Go on, Tony," he said much more kindly, motioning to the door. "We'll see you tomorrow when everyone has had time to calm down."

"Okay. What kind of pizza do you want tomorrow, Ziva? I can bring supper."

Ziva looked like she would ignore the peace offering, but relented at Tony's charming smile.

"Vegetables. No ham or bacon! And lots of cheese!"

"Got it," Tony said. He moved forward and brushed a few water drops out of her curls before stepping back and grinning at her. "I'll see you tomorrow."

...

Gibbs kept a close eye on Ziva. Although she seemed to have managed to forgive Tony, she was still tense. Her movements were sharper, her words slightly more clipped, her eyes darting between Gibbs and the list of rules.

And by the time Jenny knocked for Gibbs to come open the door so she could bring in the crock pot containing supper, Ziva's battle plan was obvious.

She was going to test those rules to the fullest extent that she could.

It was going to be a long time until Thursday when Jackie could try to help the girl heal. Until then, he was going to have to deal with her himself.

And from the attitude with which she sat down at the table, he could only imagine how that was going to go.

...

So, I would love to hear your opinions! What do you think that Ziva will do to try to test the boundaries? I know what some of them will be but I would love to hear your ideas since I do need a bit more inspiration for the next chapter!

Also, do any of you watch NCIS: Los Angeles? If so, what kind of stories would you like to see from that show? I'm thinking of diving in on that fandom soon. ;)