AN: As always, Jen the beta rocks. I luv her. :) And your reviews - as always- make me smile!

Years ago, when she was in her first long-term relationship, Ziva David learned that she was a snuggler.

It wasn't something that she would ever admit to, nor was it something she indulged in on a regular basis. But that summer when she was on her first solo mission and she met Sean, she had been captivated by his deep green eyes and his rolling Irish brogue. She had spent several nights with her legs tangled amongst his and her chest tucked securely into the crook of his neck. And she loved every moment of sleep where his arms were circled around her protectively.

She had, of course, snuggled since then but it was too few and far between for her to count. She never kept track of mission-related snuggling, as it really didn't count.

So it was certainly surprising that morning when she woke up and she was not curled around Tony's warm frame. She had thought that they would have instinctively embraced each other in the night.

Instead, their hands were still joined just as they had been when they both drifted off. They were still facing each other.

The only difference was that his free hand, instead of being tucked under his head, was now tangled in her hair. She could feel his thumb tracing idle circles against her scalp.

She smiled at his sleeping face and she eased her toe closer to his leg, running it gently up and down the side of his calf.

"Wake up, Jean Paul," she crooned, her French accent immaculate.

He snorted out of his slumber but didn't open his eyes. "Crappy way to wake me up - calling out some other guy's name."

She tilted her head up towards his caressing fingers and closed her eyes, enjoying the gentle attention. "What would you prefer I call you?" she asked.

He opened his eyes, allowing his gaze to take in her expression as he gently massaged her scalp. "Lucky," he whispered as he took in her peaceful face. I could get used to waking up to this, he thought, startling himself.

Ziva's eyes flitted open and she found herself unable to keep a soft smile from her face. His expression as he watched her was one she wasn't used to seeing directed at her. "My first full-day as an American," she whispered. "You are much nicer than my alarm clock; is this wake-up part of the citizenship package?"

"Anytime you want," he replied without thinking.

They both regarded each other with mild surprise before she merely grinned and blinked, breaking the intense eye-contact.

He pulled away first, unthreading their fingers and slipping from beneath the covers. He grabbed his clothes from the floor near the bed where he had dropped them last night on the whim of staying over.

"Get up, sweetcheeks. We've got a cookout to go to and some American Football to play," he said, mocking her moniker for the sport.

She watched him saunter across her bedroom, clad in nothing but boxers and she couldn't help but enjoy the view – though she was trying to be discrete. No need to stroke his ego. More over, no need to rush or ruin what may turn out to be an interesting turn in their friendship.

"We?" she called as he stepped into the bathroom to get dressed. He left the door cracked slightly.

"Oui Oui," he teased. "Unless you have another date for this little neighborhood soiree, that is."

She shifted, sitting up slightly in bed, mirroring her position from last night – knees propped, back resting against the headboard.

When she didn't reply, he poked his head out of the bathroom, having managed to pull his but it was still unbuttoned. "What did I say?" He asked, seeing her perplexed look.

"A date?"

Oh. That. Tony blinked, not really knowing how to reply. He ran his hand through the hair on the back of his head in a nervous gesture and chuckled wryly. "Well…"

She slipped from the bed and strode towards him, watching him closely with a frown.

"I have never considered sacrificing my career for a man," she said firmly as she squared off in front of him.

"Uh-"

"I believe Gibbs has rules against coworkers dating."

"Ziva, I uh-"

She shook her head and held up her hand to stop any words he would try to speak. "But I have also never had someone that I care about enough to even consider it."

His jaw snapped shut in surprise.

She reached out and cupped his cheek tenderly. "Tony, I do not know what you want from me. But I know that I am still very much damaged goods. I… I am not the same person I once was."

He stepped slowly towards her, invading the personal-space bubble she insisted on these days. Only a few times, and very recently, had she been comfortable enough to lean over his shoulder while at his desk, or rest slightly against him on the plane.

Tony leaned in and kissed her forehead gently before resting his chin on the top of her head and gathering her into a tight hug. "If I hear you refer to yourself as 'damaged goods' again, Ziva David, I will kick your ass. And that's in spite of knowing how many ways you could kill me with your little finger."

Ziva had to consciously keep from stiffening at his initial embrace, but once his arms wrapped around her, she melted against his chest. Her own arms wrapped around him, linking below his shoulder-blades. "I feel broken in so many ways," she admitted, her voice was barely audible, muffled against his chest.

"Nothing we can't fix," he said firmly, one hand playing with her hair, the other rubbing gentle patterns on her back.

"I think you put too much faith in me," she said, pulling back and tilting her head to look at him.

"And I think you put too little in yourself this time," he paused and stepped away ever so slightly. His hands slid and rested on her waist, just above her hips. "Ziva, I really suck at this."

"At what?"

"At anything more than a stupid fling with a girl at the coffee shop who deserves more. At anything which isn't a one-night-stand. I really suck at it."

"Yes. I know you do," she replied.

"I …" he paused and stumbled over his own words, not knowing how much to say. "I can't screw this up with you. And that just seems inevitable; hell I can't even figure out what to say!"

"You said enough months ago," she said, referring to his encounter with the Sodium Pentathol.

"Yeah?"

"Enough to make me both scared and thankful," she admitted. "And that is the most I've discussed my emotions in quite some time," she said reflectively, chuckling. She untangled herself from his arms and slipped into the bathroom, leaving the door cracked just as he had.

Tony settled on the edge of the bed, pulling his socks on, but unable to keep his eyes from the sliver of light that flickered out from the slightly open door. "So the word 'date' was a problem? Because I didn't necessarily mean that it was an official date. That would be weird with McGoo there and all."

Ziva chuckled and slipped from the bathroom, having traded her comfy cotton pajamas for a silk robe. Her hair cascaded down her shoulders and she felt her face heat with blush when she watched his eyes smolder as he took her in.

She leaned against the door frame and folded her arms over her chest. "Perhaps the word was a bit strong," she agreed.

"Ok then," he said, hiding the rejection under a brilliant smile.

She watched his face change as she spoke and she knew the expression for what it was. He felt as if she was pushing him away. Ziva stepped towards him quickly, moving between him and the door to keep him from beating a hasty retreat.

"Listen to me, please," she asked. "I am serious when I say that I am different, Tony. I do not know if I can ever be that person again."

"Whatever person you think you need to be, let me tell you that you're wrong. The only person I need you to be is you," he said softly. "Just the kick ass woman who doesn't put up with my bullshit, who finds it fun to harass McGee with me, and who understands Gibbs better than the rest of us. That's all we need."

She shook her head. "Tony, Saleem – I don't…" she cleared her throat. "Things are not as easy as they once were."

"Maybe that's a good thing," he said, willing himself not to tense as she spoke Saleem's name. "Maybe things were too easy before. Maybe its time for things to be harder, but to mean more."

Ziva sighed. "You are very persistent."

"Only about the important stuff."

She shook her head. "Lock the door behind you, please," she said, stepping away from him and back towards the bathroom. "I will be in the shower."

"You tell me that and I'm supposed to leave?" he teased, looking at her lecherously.

"You need to home and change, yes?"

"No! No one saw me in these clothes yesterday except you!"

Ziva turned just inside the bathroom door and gave Tony a firm look. "The sooner you go home and change, the sooner you can come back and pick me up for our date to the cook-out."

She gave him a pointed look before closing the bathroom door.