First-Sorry for the delay.

Second-A great big thanks to Jacey05 and TonyZivaFan for their invaluable insight into this chapter. I wish I had something snappy to say but I don't. You both have been great. Mil Gracias.

So the usual disclaimers apply. I don't own these characters. I know it.

One week later:

"You're supposed to take it easy." Tony said.

I did," Ziva replied, sullenly examining her knuckles. For the fifth day in the row she'd beaten out her frustrations, breaking her skin under the force of her punches and kicks. The backs of her hands and tops of her feet looked like she'd skinned them with a cheese grater. She wrenched open the medicine cabinet pulled out a tube of citrus smelling cream. Gently she dabbed it on her bloody patches of missing skin. Her hands and feet throbbed with every heartbeat but she preferred it to emotional pain.

"You need to rest. You just had a miscarriage." Tony admonished. She worried him. The past week she had gone out of her way to pretend nothing was wrong. She'd been abrasive and callous and at times downright nasty. He'd caught her crying several times although she vehemently denied it.

"I'm fine." She said. It was more of a demand to drop the question than a response.

Tony wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in close. She did not reciprocate the hug. "It's not your fault you know."

"I know." She felt her throat constrict and her eyes water. It's not that I necessarily want I child. It's that I want the choice to be mine. Funny. Years ago I thought infertility was a blessing. Now I just don't know.

"I'm sorry I wasn't with you when it happened." Tony said.

"I'm not." She put her head to his shoulder.

Tony pressed a kiss into her hair. "Hey, you know-? If you ever- I mean if we ever- well, if we decide, If we decide to-" Tony stopped. He hadn't been this flustered since the day he'd first met Ziva and had had to admit he was envisioning Kate naked.

"Spit it out." She prodded.

Okay. Here goes nothing. What's the worst she can do? Shoot you? "If we ever decide we want to join the parent trap we'll go to Israel and adopt one that's potty trained." He blurted.

It was then that she laughed, a real laugh from the depths of her stomach. She pulled back and smiled at him. "I cannot believe you just said that!"

"What?"

"You. Planning a future."

"No good?"

"No. It's good," she said and she kissed him.

X

Two weeks later:

"Two minutes. I think that's some sort of record." Ziva said sarcastically. She sat straddling Tony on her bed, hands on her knees. "The sheets didn't even move."

Tony lay slack limbed staring at the ceiling in disbelief. "It was more like five. I swear."

"Two. Two lousy minutes."

"Give me a break. It's been three weeks. I thought you were cleared after two." Tony propped his head up on his hands and studied her. He couldn't decide if she was teasing or genuinely ticked off. Maybe a little bit of both.

"I told you I didn't feel like it."

"I noticed."

"Hey!" she said sharply. "The next time you get an IUD shoved into your uterus you can see just how in the mood you are."

"Want to try again?" he asked hopefully, lifting her body with his hips.

Ziva grinned. "Always but we don't have time." She pushed herself free and stood up. Bending, she started to rip the sheets off the bed. "Get up."

Tony refused to budge. "C'mon, there's always for time sex." He reached up and ran his hand along her back before pulling her down on top of him. He flipped her over and pressed his body into her still naked form.

As fast as he was, Ziva was faster. She squirmed free of his grasp and stood. "Not now. We have a dinner party to go to. And we need to shower so we don't smell."

Tony lay face down, defeated. "You sure we have to go to this thing?" he asked, voice muffled by the mattress.

"Yes. We owe it to Jen to go to her party."

He lifted his head. "Whoa. What do you mean by that?"

"Just what I said. Now go take a shower. The sooner we go the sooner we can come home."

X

Ziva added handful of parsley to a bowl of couscous and fluffed it with a large fork. To her left Abby stood over the sink snacking on an apple and cheese. Both women had sought refuge from the cloying miasma of partygoers in the Director's kitchen.

Through the vaulted doorway Ziva spotted Tony. He stood slightly apart from McGee and Gibbs in a corner of the dining room. She watched them all amused by their discomfort as they haltingly engaged in conversation. She locked eyes with Tony and he mouthed, "Home now."

She shook her head no.

"Yes." He nodded.

"No." She shook her head again. She dropped her gaze. This was their first appearance as a couple and she didn't want to wreck it by showing up and immediately running home for sex. Plus, she had to admit to herself she was ticked at him. After all, she was the one who'd gone three weeks with no sex. He'd had plenty, just not the kind he wanted.

Three weeks with no sex. It's not even that. I've done that before. It's no sex with Tony. He was an addiction. Just thinking about his hands on her skin made her pulse race. She felt desire lick her body.

She smiled to herself imagining their bodies locked together riding a sweaty wave of passion. Tony always seemed to be able to know how to touch her. From sweet and almost painfully slow, to sweaty, fast and rough, he always knew what she wanted.She lifted her eyes and sent him a wicked grin.

"Now?" Tony mouthed.

Ziva broke off eye contact and ignored him. She had a feeling Jen was the reason Gibbs had let them off with the warning: 'If this affects your job you're both out.' She wanted to stay and prove them worthy of the trust Jen had shown them. But their previous interlude had left her hungry for more.

Ziva sensed Tony's eyes on her and she felt naked. She knew he was imagining her writhing in his grasp. If we don't get out of here soon we're going to have to hide in the coat closet and I'm going to make you lick-

Abby brought her back to reality. "Some mornings I wake up and even though McGee hasn't done anything I want to hurt him."

"Sometimes I feel like that with Tony and I'm not pregnant." Ziva laughed.

Abby placed a piece of cheese on an apple wedge. She looked at it and sighed. "I couldn't get my favorite skirt this morning."

Ziva set a tomato on the cutting board and began to chop it into miniscule cubes. "We should go shopping. You need at least one maternity outfit. Trust me. One morning nothing will fit and you'll be glad to have at least one thing."

"Yuck. Maternity outfits." Abby shuddered. "I feel like I'm hosting an alien."

Ziva nodded. She remembered the feeling. "Have you felt the baby move yet? Sometimes at four months you can. Feels like a butterfly with lead wings."

Abby topped another apple slice with cheese. "Nope. How is it you know about being pregnant?"

Ziva stopped chopping. "I just do." She said softly.

Abby's quizzical expression abruptly vanished from her face. Lifting her T-shirt, she grabbed Ziva's hand and pressed it to her rounded stomach. "Oh my God! Feel this!

At first Ziva gave her the incredulous look she reserved for Abby's small displays of affection towards her. It quickly faded as she felt a tiny pulse against her palm. She smiled. Abby was getting an internal noogie from a little hand or foot.

X

Tony stood to the side of McGee and Gibbs. He heard their conversation buzzing around him but paid it no mind. Instead he watched Ziva, making dinner as she did for them many nights. She always looked happy when she cooked. She chatted with Abby as she focused on her work.

Tony felt frustrated. She's right. It was only two minutes. He'd thought himself immune to such embarrassing episodes. He'd gone three weeks without sex before, but that was before Ziva. Being close to her was like breathing. Not only was she a friend and companion, she was a lover he had yet to grow tired of. It was all he could do not to grab her and walk out the door.

He watched her as she slid bits of the tomato into the bowl. She was unlike any woman he had ever been with. It wasn't just the fact that she was a trained killer that set her apart; it was more than that. Her allure came from being strong, confident, and self-reliant. She made him laugh. He liked that she didn't want to spend every last minute with him. She wasn't overtly affectionate with him in public. She was far more subtle and sensual. For Tony, this was more of a turn on than open affection. She moved easily in his space, her body language always hinting at what she was capable of. She held a kind of power over him that no other woman had ever come close to possessing. She was the only woman he knew who could control him with a look.

He studied her face, she had desire written across it. She wanted him bad. She was trying to toy with him, but she was loosing the game.

"I can't believe Abby's due on Halloween. You can't plan it better than that." McGee stated.

Gibbs laughed. "Ya think?"

McGee nodded. "Well, that's if it's on time. Aren't the first ones supposed to be late?"

"McGee!" Tony heard Abby shriek as she raced out of the kitchen. She had her shirt lifted, her bump on display for all. "McGee, feel this! Baby's kicking! Say hi to Daddy!" Abby grabbed McGee's hand and pressed it to her abdomen. "Feel that?"

McGee beamed, his eyes focused on Abby's stomach. "Oh my God. That's wild."

Tony watched the two as they traced the movements of their child as it swam in Abby's womb. He felt a pang of jealously. Way to go. Jealous of Probie. What for? It's not that you even want a kid! But still…

…It was then he felt Ziva behind him. She slipped her arm around his waist as she watched them. "Amazing, isn't it?" She gave a little laugh. Then she seemed to remember herself. She withdrew her arm and stepped away from him.

In a flash panic streaked across Abby's face. "Gibbs, you do anything to McGee and Ziva and I will make you disappear, I swear."

Jenny appeared behind Gibbs. "I'll back them up too." She grinned.
Gibbs smiled. "Give me some credit. I already knew."

"How?" Abby asked.

"I know what an expectant father looks like." He replied.

A collective hush settled on the group.

Jen broke the silence, "I believe we're ready to eat." She stated.

X

Tony, Ziva, Abby and McGee sat in a crowded line at the table. It seemed Dr. Shepherd had invited the entire building. Gibbs sat across the table from them, his eyes unwavering from his rule breaking team. Ziva chatted with Abby who was busying inhaling her apple and cheese. McGee watched her with his eyes wide. He had relief written across his face. Gibbs knew he was the father and he was still alive.

For once Tony didn't care to drive the conversation. He had all he could do not to drag Ziva under the table. Tony was conscience of the scant space between them. The table was so crowded with people he couldn't help but bump into her. He wanted her. He wanted to prove to them both that his brief performance had been an isolated incident. Unfortunately they sat across from Gibbs, and while he grudging accepted them as a couple he still watched them with suspicious eyes.

As a distraction he focused on the backs of her hands as she lifted her wine glass. They were healing nicely. She grasped the stem delicately but he knew she had a grip like steel under her soft skin. He and thought of her hands moving against his skin, across his torso and lazily down his stomach to…

Wham! Ziva brought her foot down hard on his under the table. He grunted and his eyes teared. Her profile showed she was smiling. She knew what he was thinking and this was not the place. Deflated he focused on the business of eating. Tony suffered through the meal and then dessert. When the coffee came out he noticed Ziva starting to power down. She looked as if someone had just thrown a gigantic switch on her energy. Crap. There go my plans.

Ziva blinked and said. "This has been a lovely evening Jen but we have to go. I'm sorry. I'm just exhausted. Take me home?" She asked Tony.

"Alright." he said.

"So tomorrow?" Abby said.

"What's tomorrow?" Tony asked

"We're going clothes shopping." Ziva responded.

"You clothes shop?"

"How else do think I manage not to show up to work naked?"

"That's not what I meant. I can't imagine you in a mall."

"We'll you don't have to. You're not going. Maybe you and McGee can practice changing diapers and not scaring babies."

McGee and Tony glared at her in unison. "Yeah right."

X

When they had gone far enough down the hall Ziva pushed Tony roughly to the wall with a thud. She kissed him with her whole body behind it. "I lied about being tired."

"Thank God." He said.

X

Through the blinds in the living room Gibbs cradled his cup of coffee and watched Tony and Ziva make their way to his car. He saw Tony open her door and she gave him a quick kiss before she slid in.

Jen came up behind him. "Jethro. I hardly think you're going to catch them having sex in the parking lot."

"That's not what I was thinking Jen,"

"What were you thinking then?"

"I'm thinking you're right. Those two deserve each other."

X

Tony mashed the accelerator to the floor as fast as he dared go. Out of nowhere a deluge had sprung up and he could barely see. "Have you ever had sex in a car?"

"Yes and the answer is no."

"I didn't mean now." Well, not anymore.

"Good. I don't want anything fancy. I want good old reliable sex."

"Are you saying it's old?"

"No. I'm saying it's good." She paused. "Can't you go any faster? Maybe I should drive."

X

TBC

I swear this was supposed to be the last chap but after I passed 23 pages I just had to post-