A/N: As NCIS fans I'm sure "Berlin" has been on each and every one of your minds, I know it has for me! I don't know how the scene in the hotel room will go between Tony and Ziva but this is what I hope happens! I really hope you all enjoy my take on things and please tell me what you've thought of it! ~Lynn D.
"Come on Ziva! You've been in there for almost an hour," Tony called from the only bed in the small but clean hotel room in Berlin. "I didn't buy you for the type of woman who takes forever in the bathroom."
"Hey," Ziva called as she was brushing her long, dark hair, "it has been a long day and that was a long flight. I think I deserve a little bit of alone time!"
Tony playfully rolled his eyes as he flipped his magazine that he stole off the plane shut and tossed it on the bedside table. Rolling off the bed he paced the small room, still waiting for his own time in the single bathroom.
After making his fourth lap around the room, Ziva came out of the bathroom in a dark purple pair of cotton pajamas. Walking over to the left side of the bed, she slid underneath the covers and picked up a Hebrew book she'd brought from home knowing she would need something to keep her mind off their mission for at least one night.
Tony nearly had to pinch himself to go into the bathroom but he found that trying to take his eyes off of his partner tonight was particularly difficult.
The fact that there was only one bed hadn't really been discussed but since they'd shared a bed undercover and in Paris he didn't think this time would be much different—from Paris anyway.
As he took a quick shower and let the water soothe his sore back, he tried to clear his head from Ziva and his conversation on the plane about Bodnar. Right before the partners were to leave for Rome, McGee had alerted them that Bodnar and a few of his guards had begun their travels to Berlin so until they arrived, the partners were just going to do a bit of relaxing.
After washing his hair, Tony stepped out of the shower and pulled on his black pajama shirt with matching plaid pants. While brushing his teeth, he ran a comb through his hair not worried about how it looked just wanting to get it set in the right place. Hanging his towel up on the shower rod and setting the bath mat on the side of the tub he made his way back to Ziva.
As he sat down on the stool at the end of the bed she shook her head with a smile on her face. Looking at her, Tony wrinkled his brow at her strange behavior. "What?"
"You don't plan on sleeping there, do you?"
Rolling his eyes he grinned at her knowing she was almost re-enacting how their night in Paris was. After Tony had promised to take the couch when they first entered the room the two had just ended up watching Casablanca— which Tony had said fit the setting perfectly—in bed together where the only TV in the whole room was. After the long flight Ziva had fallen asleep nearly right on top of Tony so he ended up having to sleep sitting up but he hadn't minded a bit because he was able to watch her sleep being perfectly comfortable.
"No, I didn't. I actually plan on laying down tonight while I sleep too, unless of course you want to sleep on me again," he said with a bit of provocativeness in his tone but mostly just with the intention of making her smile.
"Why don't you stay on your side and I'll stay on mine?" Ziva asked. "I don't know why we couldn't have gotten a room with two beds. Maybe even two separate rooms." She suggested but didn't sound too broken up that they hadn't.
"Because if we did that, Bodnar might catch onto what we're doing and even that we're here. I don't think a honeymooning couple is on the top of his radar right now," Tony said, winking at her. As he got up and slid under the covers he leaned over to Ziva just to invade her space.
As Ziva playfully pushed him back, he leaned back against the headboard and Ziva smirked at him then checked the clock on her bedside table. "It is 11 and it has been a long day so I'm going to try to get some sleep. Do you want me to keep on the light or are you ready to go to sleep too?"
"You can go ahead and turn it off," Tony said as he was snuggling underneath the covers.
Once Ziva flipped the switch that controlled both lamps on each side of the bed, she turned away from Tony and he assumed his normal position which ended him up facing her back. Pulling his hand up to support his neck, Tony tried falling asleep for nearly 30 minutes but each attempt failed miserably.
After switching from side to side hoping it would help for another 20 minutes he just gave up and settled on his back. As he laid there staring at the ceiling Tony listened to Ziva's soft breathing and tried to block out any thoughts about their fast approaching mission which, quite frankly, he was pretty worried about.
When Gibbs had told Ziva to take him with her it was all he could do to contain his excitement for he felt he had the right to go with her since she was his partner. On the plane ride over, Ziva had spent most of the time apologizing for not telling him sooner about what she and McGee were doing. In the end, he couldn't be mad at her for it but he knew he'd give Tim a piece of his mind for letting him worry about her so much.
Once he was finally beginning to relax, he heard his name whispered in the darkness.
"Hmm?" he responded quietly.
"Are you still awake?" Ziva asked timidly.
He grinned at the cliché question but answered anyway. "Yea, what's on your mind, Zi?"
Ziva sighed for he always seemed to know what to say then rolled over to face him. "Do you think Bodnar really is coming this direction or do you think we—I completely miscalculated? I mean, I know that Gibbs said he was in Rome and McGee told us that he was on his way to Berlin but what if he has been playing us this whole time?"
Rubbing a hand across his face he turned towards her with a soft expression on his face. "To be completely honest, I don't know. Right now we're just going to have to trust the information we've been given." After pausing for a few moments trying to think of what to say next, he continued. "But, I do know this for sure—you are doing what you need to do to liberate Jackie and your father's deaths and I'm proud of you for it."
Letting a small smile cross her face she patted his arm. "Thank you, Tony. I just don't want this whole trip to be a waste of time."
Scrunching up his face he shook his head. "This mission may be a lot of things, Zi, but a waste of time is one thing it's definitely not. I mean, look at us, when's the last time we actually got to spend some real time together?" he asked with some subtle conviction in his tone.
She bit her lip trying to think back, knowing he was right. "If you don't count the night I spent at your place after—after my father's death then it has been far too long."
He nodded his head. "See! If this day happens to be the only thing we take away from this trip then I'll be happy with it. But," he added looking at her face which was illuminated by the moonlight shining through the bare window, "I will admit that it would be really nice if we caught Bodnar."
She nodded. "Yes, it would," her father's death still evident in her voice.
Seeing her pain being brought up again, he gently took her hand and smiled bitter sweetly at her, looking right into her chocolate brown eyes. "No matter what happens on this trip, Ziva, just know that I always was and always will be here for you," Tony said with the most sincerity that he could.
Letting a tear fall onto her pillow she didn't know what to say so she just held his hand not knowing just how to thank him for supporting her because no one else ever had nor did she think anyone else would just the way he could.
Realizing what Ziva was doing, he moved closer to her and wrapped his arms around her giving her as much physical support as he could. Situating herself she turned so she could let her back lean into his chest and the two fell asleep in each other's warm embrace.