heyyyyy guys! so, I should really be studying for exams which are.. well.. two days away. but this is just so much more interesting :P Do you think my teachers will take the 'i was writing fanfiction' excuse? oh who am i kidding, that's the oldest one in the book, no one's falling for that.

Disclaimer: Has anybody seen Tony or Ziva? They seem to have excaped from my basement. No? hm, well until I find them I guess I own nothing :(

Tony rubbed his eyes as he made his way across the soft carpet of his living room, grabbing his gun from the table as he passed. He was pretty sure he knew who it was knocking on his door at 1am, there weren't many people it could be. But if many years working with Gibbs had taught him anything, it was that taking these things for granted never ended well. Better safe than sorry, he thought to himself, smiling at the cliché.

He braced himself against the cold wind as he opened the door to see her dark figure standing in front of him. The shadows hid her face but, if her fierce stance was anything to go by, Ziva obviously wasn't here for a late night snack. A moment of panic hit Tony as he jumped to the obvious conclusion, she knew he had gone to Vance.
Suddenly wide awake, he stepped to the side and she swept past him with such determination that he was reminded of the old Ziva. He could almost see the confident woman that had sashayed into the squadroom on that first day, so sure of herself. Back then he had been sure nothing could penetrate the armour, he knew better now.

"Why, Tony?"

Her voice was harsh but he could hear the hurt behind it. Lately she had been a lot less adept at hiding her emotions and when she was worked up like this, she was an open book.

"Look Ziva," he began, closing the door and taking a careful step towards her. She held her ground. "I know you're strong, heck you're one of the strongest people I know, but you shouldn't have to handle this, at least not alone." He took another step.

"I told you, I'm fine. There's nothing to handle!"

He could still hear the frustration in her words, but his eyes were trained to pick up the slightest of movements and he could see the fight leaving her tense body. The next time she spoke it was quiet, so quiet he wasn't even sure the words were aimed at him.

"One moment of weakness does not mean I am mentally unstable." She looked at the ground, "I don't need to be shrunk."

If it had been any other time, Tony would have laughed at her reference to visiting as shrink as being 'shrunk'. But it wasn't another time and his face was serious as took two more steps, closing the distance between them. Ziva moved to step back at his approach but he put his hand to her upper arm and the touch, although light, seemed to hold her in place. Needing to catch her eye he put his index finger to her chin, lifting her face to meet his, all the while subconsciously wondering who this person was. This Ziva that not only allowed herself to be in such close proximity to a person, but allowed him to touch her arm, her face, and before he knew it she was in his arms. The side of her face was pressed against the thin t-shirt he had fallen asleep in and his chin rested on the top of her head. As much as he wanted the old Ziva back, he wasn't sure he ever wanted to lose the feeling of her body, soft against his own. He pulled back, hands on her arms, so that his eyes once again connected with her own.

"No Ziva, you probably don't. But don't you think it would help to have someone to talk to?"

She nodded once, and her eyes told him it wasn't so much in agreement as resignation. He nodded faintly in return and gathered her back into his arms, breathing in the scent of Ziva.

Collective 'aww'. such cute-ness :) Sooo? Good? Bad? Happy? sad? Thoughts, opinions, questions, tips, the location of my missing Tony and Ziva. All are welcome. I can't wait to hear them.