We went to the Coastal Carolina Fair! (saturday- it's the day sponsored by the company my mom works for, which means free tickets!). But if any of you live where I do, then you know the fair is a big deal around here! We get country music stars that preform live, fireworks every night for a week, horrible traffic, Elephants, Sibeiran tigers, the regular looking tigers, lions, camels, horses and TONS of others! We also had a hypnotist and this year there was Lady Antebellum and Neal McCoy...Julieanne Hughes and...some others that I dont remember off the top of my head!

I came home to find an inbox stuffed with reviews!! Awesome! And to Spritepie: I am NOT abandoning this story! I was typing this chapter when your reveiw came in!! :D I do write HP more than anything, but I'm on NCIS kicks, which means I fully intend to see this story to the end ( no matter how many chapters!! Lol). Like I said, we went to the fair and had a very late night, so I put this up as soon as I could this morning (it needed finished!).

Song: "Let's Be Us Again"- Lonestar

How could one person be so agravating? No wonder they had issues!! She had thought they could talk on the way up. Never had she been more wrong.

Tony had completely ignored any sembelance of conversation coming from her. At all. The only time he acknowledged her was when she had mentioned something about pain medication. It was a long, quiet, tense trip. So when they finally parked and Tony had checked in, he came back to pick her up to take to their rooms, the bell boy taking care of their bags. Finally, Ziva was close enough that she knew he couldn't ignor her.

"Tony, we need to talk," she started.

"After we've settled in. It's late." So instead of ignoring her, he brushed her off? Well, he had another thing coming if he thought she was going to let this drop!

"F-Alright." she said not wanting to use the word "fine" around him. That word seemed like a death sentance to her. "Once we are in the room, we must talk. Please, Tony."

He looked down at her, caught her eye for the first time in hours. "Soon," he said softly. "We'll talk soon, alright, Ziva?"

Well if that was the best she was going to get, she'd take it! "I can live with that," she said, wrapping her arms around his neck, as if trying to give him a hug.

Ten minutes later, Tony was shutting the door behind the bellhop and locking the door. Ziva sat on one of the twin beds, watching him. Would she have to start the conversation or would he? Before she could even wonder, he was in front of her, hand open holding her medication.

"No, Tony." At his angry look she elaborated. "Not until we talk."

Tell me what I have to do tonight 'Cause I'd do anything to make it right Let's be us again.

It was obvious he had wanted to get out of having that conversation. He sat down on the bed next to her, leaving enough space to state he was only doing it because she asked. "Alright, so talk." he said.

He also was not going to make this easy. How to just jump right in? "Back at...the apartment," she didn't want to say 'my apartment'. It sounded so uninviting. "When you showed that woman my scars, you sounded guilty."

He raised an eye."Wouldn't you feel that way too?" Tony returned. "If it had been me and not you?"

She thought about that for a minute. "Probably. But I also know you would not have allowed me to wallow in my guilt for so long as I have let you do."

"You haven't done anything wrong, Ziva. I mean sure you went behind me and were working out in secret, but other than that, you haven't let me do anything."

"How can you say that? You have been feeling guilty for shooting me. Which again, I stress was an ACCIDENT. Something we did not foresee happening. There is no need for you to feel like that."

"No, of course not," he agreed. His tone made her narrow her eyes.

"You do not agree."

Tony stood and rolled his eyes. "Of course I don't! Look, we need to get some sleep before tomorrow. It's going to be a long day, trust me."

I'm sorry for the way I lost my head I don't know why I said the things I said Let's be us again.

She was not giving up or letting him get off that easy. "No more excuses, Tony!"

Tony looked startled. Ziva barely yelled. Ever. Not to mention she had stood to match his own stance. "What are you talking about?"

"I am talking about every time we have a serious conversation, that we cannot acutally have that conversation. You make excuses."

"I'm not the only one. You do it too!" Tony said folding his arms across his chest. " So don't blame me for not having some of those talks, Ziva."

"I was not blaming! I was stating that we have that problem. But I am done letting you get off the hook. I want to know why you just wont stop feeling guilty!" She point to her stomache. "This was an accident. It's in our Job hazard!"

"Description," Tony corrected. "And just because you get hurt on accident does not mean I don't feel guilty for not having your back or for indirectly hurting you. You want to know why I'm so damned concerend with your well being? Because unlike most of the people in your life, Ziva, I care. Damn it, I care and I'm sorry if that upsets you! But you've got your answer and I'm going to bed. Take your medication and get some sleep yourself."

Here I stand With everything to lose And all I know is I don't want to ever see the end Baby please, I'm reaching out for you Won't you open up your heart and let me come back in Let's be us again. Oh, us again.

Ziva watched as he went to the bathroom, obviously done with the conversation. But she wasn't. Moving as fast as she could, she went in after him. "Now wait just one second, Tony. You stand there tellling me you care about me and just walk off? I don't think so,"

By now, Tony was so used to her showing up in the men's bathroom at work that it didn't faze him in the slightest that he was almost half naked in her presence. "There is nothing more to say, Ziva. I gave you the answer, the truth you so desperately wanted to hear. Now just go to bed,"

"That is not all and you and I both know it. There is more that you are not telling me. You keep asking me to trust you. I do. You have yet to show me the same. Trust me, Tony."

"I did that and you ended up in the hospital last week, remember?" Tony snapped.

Ziva winced. Ok, cringed. She deserved that. "That is not the same thing. We are talking about you feeling...guilty for what happened. How can you get over it if you do not talk to anyone Tony? All I ask is that you talk to me! I am the source of it, am I not? Who better to talk to?"

Look at me, I'm way past pride Isn't there some way that we can try To be us again? Even if it takes a while I'll wait right here until I see that smile That says we're us again.

Tony sighed. "When I feel like talking, I will, alright? If I promise to talk when I am ready will you let the matter drop?" He was not going to confess his feelings for her or the reasons why he was struggling with her injuries in a bathroom while in some hotel in Baltimore.

Ziva nodded. "That is fine,Tony,"

He grinned. "I brought rope," he teased.

She rolled her eyes. "Good night,"

Here I stand With everything to lose And all I know is I don't want to ever see the end Baby please, I'm reaching out for you Won't you open up your heart and let me come back in Let's be us. Baby, baby, what would I do I can't imagine life without you.

After taking her medication and settling in one of the very uncomfortable twin beds, she sighed. Tony was never going to talk. She knew that.

But she could quietly push him to do it, right? She had to. The guilt was eating him up inside like a lion are meat..wait..was that right? Since she had not automatically heard Tony's voice in her mind for a correction, she assumed it was. He was still in the bathroom. What was he doing? Sitting there? Staring at himself in the mirror? Pacing?

All she wanted was for him to talk to her!

But he did not want to.

Probably was not going to.

Ziva watched the door, listening for any sounds to indicate Tony hadn't fallen asleep in the bathroom to avoid talking to her. That would just cause her to feel bad for making him uncomfortable.

Like there relationship as friends and work partners was not complicated enough? Would they ever be back to normal, or was this their new normal? If it was, she definately didn't like the new normal.

Here I stand With everything to lose And all I know is I don't want to ever see the end Baby please, I'm reaching out for you Won't you open up your heart and let me come back in? Oh, here I am I'm reaching out for you So won't you open up your heart and let me come back in Let's be us again. Oh, let's be us again...