They wake up, and take turns in the shower. They sloppily pull on clothes. They grab their car keys, and head out the door. They ride separately.
When they arrive at NCIS they ride the elevator together. He tries to hold back his cough. She takes a shallow breath.
"Do you really think that he won't notice?"
He pulls a tissue out of his pocket and hands it to her, "Blow your nose."
They get off the elevator, and make their way to their desks. They plop into their chairs. McGee looks over at them. He scrutinizes their appearances.
Ziva's hair is pulled into a pony tale. Tony's shirt is untucked. He notices a tissue sticking out of Ziva's pants pocket. Tony sniffles. McGee leaves his desk. He moves towards them. He stops between them.
"The two of you look terrible."
"Don't get too close. We're sick," Tony admits.
"So why are you here?"
"Because we called off sick yesterday," Ziva reminds.
"You don't think that Gibbs will notice?"
"Notice what, McGee?" Gibbs questions.
"That nobody brought you a cup of coffee this morning," McGee tries to cover.
Gibbs examines Tony, and Ziva. He shakes his head.
"Tony, Ziva pack your stuff."
"Where are we going boss?" Tony questions.
"Home."
"Home? Why?"
"Because you're both sick. Go home, and get well."
"Boss we're fine," Tony argues.
"You both look miserable. Go home, and get some rest. That's an order."
Hours later they find themselves in her living room. He lies at one end of her couch. She lies at the opposite end. Between them is a box of tissues, and a bag of cough drops. On the floor are two plastic bags; one at each end. They toss the used tissues into them. Tony coughs.
"Ziva?"
"Huh?"
"I think we should take some more of that cough syrup."
"Why?"
"It helps us sleep."
"I'm not sleepy."
"You need to go to sleep."
"Why?"
"You look terrible. Your face is all pale. You have dark circles under your eyes. Your nose is as red as Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer."
"You don't look so great, yourself."
"Can we take some cough syrup, and go to bed?"
"Ok," she agrees.
An hour later she wakes up, coughing. She rolls over, and finds him stripping down.
"What are you doing?"
"I'm hot," he reveals.
"I'm freezing."
"Come over here, I'll warm you up."
"You are nearly naked."
"You are worried about that now? What is going to happen? We're both too exhausted to do anything."
"Fine."
She moves towards him. She stops next to him.
"You aren't even touching me. Come on."
She scoots closer.
"You might as well lay on top of me."
"You can't be serious."
"Your teeth are chattering."
Against her better judgment she lies half of her body on top of him. She presses her head against his chest. Her chest, and one arm lie across him, diagonally. He pulls the blankets over her. He tucks her hair behind her ear. This proves more difficult than expected, because her hair is matted to her face, with a cold sweat. Finally they both return to sleep.
When he wakes up she's not in the bed. He peels off the covers. All of the blankets are soaked in sweat. He wanders towards the bathroom. He follows the sound of the shower. He quietly goes into the bathroom. He walks past the shower. He closes the lid of the toilet, and sits on the seat. He breathes in the steam, as she showers.
She turns the shower off. She pulls back the curtain. She reaches for a towel. She stares at her partner. He looks at her. Her cheeks turn red in embarrassment. He hands her a towel. Maybe it wasn't embarrassment. Maybe it was flushing from a fever. She manages to get her towel wrapped around her, before she goes off.
"What are you doing in here? I was taking a shower."
"I didn't come to watch you."
"Then why are you in here?"
"I came for the steam."
"You really expect me to believe that?"
"It's the truth."
"Should I leave you alone with your steam, then?"
"No, don't open the door. The steam will escape."
"You want me to stay in here, with you?"
"Yes."
"Why does all of our quality time have to be in the bathroom?"
"You are the one who started that tradition."
"Maybe I should be the one who ends it."
"You know what the weird thing about all of this is?"
"All of it is weird."
"I'm not even hungry. Are you hungry?"
"Nope."
"I'm just so sleepy. I feel like I could sleep for the next three days."
"Me too."
"Let's go back to bed."
"No."
"No? You want me to go home, to my own bed?"
"No, I want you to shower."
"The bed is sweaty, and..."
"I'll put clean bedclothes on it, while you shower."
"Ok. Then we can go back to sleep?"
"Yes."
"What am I going to wear? I'm soaked in sweat."
"I don't care."
"You don't care? I'll just go around naked, then."
"Suit yourself."
"Ziva?"
"Huh?"
"I think that we're delirious. We are not thinking straight."
"I know."
"Karma really bit us in the ass."