She was no stranger to his apartment. She'd been there twice. Once, after they'd gone under cover together. Then again after spending the day locked up together in the boxcar. Both times they'd nearly broken rule eleven. Twelve? Whatever. The first time he'd fallen asleep. How embarrassing. Ziva put him to bed and slept on the sofa. She left in the morning after making sure he was all right. They never spoke of it again.
The second time Ziva had put the breaks on. She was nearly naked when she asked him, "So what happens after?"
He'd laughed, running his hands over her bare back. "What do you mean? Isn't it obvious?" That was not the answer she'd been looking for. Belatedly he realized that she had been talking about commitment. She was dressed and out the door before he realized what hit him. The next day at work she'd raked him over the coals.
Now for the third time since they'd met she stood in his bedroom staring unabashedly at him. She wore his Ohio State T- shirt and her underwear. She truly was beautiful. She was probably the only woman he knew who was completely comfortable in her own skin. She held his delighted gaze for a moment. Weighing her options.
"I'm going to bed. Can we talk in the morning?" She asked.
"Sure. I'll sleep on the sofa. If you like."
She pulled back the bedspread. "No need. I know what you own. Any panky hanky though and I'm kicking you out." He considered correcting her and decided against it. The less said the better at this point.
She slipped under the comforter. She hadn't realized how tired she was until her head hit the pillow. The last thing that she remembered was Tony pulling her gently to him as she drifted off to sleep
She woke to a pinging sound on the fire escape outside Tony's bedroom window. Sleet. Wonderful. Some days she really missed the dry hot heat of the Negev desert in her homeland. Today was not one of them. She was quite content. She found herself on her left side, her head tucked under the crook of Tony's arm. She'd flung her right leg haphazardly over his body while she slept. He did not seem to mind. In fact, she noted, he seemed quite happy to have her there. She checked her underwear. Still present. That was good. She checked the clock. 5 00. She'd slept in. Today she did not feel inspired to bolt out of bed.
Tony woke with a groan and found himself staring into her dark brown eyes. "Morning."
"Good morning." She smiled at him, in no hurry to move.
"You were really tired."
"I haven't slept in a long time. Thank you."
"For what?"
"For this. Thank you."
"Oh. You're welcome. " He began to stroke her hip. "You know it's Saturday. We have the whole day to ourselves. We don't have to go anywhere."
"As much as I'd like to stay in bed all day with you I have a bad guy to catch. "
"So, you'd like to stay in bed all day?" He grinned. She'd just let slip another detail that he would file a way for future reference.
"You missed the bad guy part." Ziva sat up, ignoring his advances.
"I heard the important stuff."
She laughed. She gave him a quick kiss before she rose. "I have some phone calls to make. Go back to bed. You look like you could use it."