'So, Tony, what do you think?'

'Zee-vah… I'm not sure about this, do I have to?'

'Well, since you said, and I quote: It cannot be all that hard just wiggling your hips, bust and booty a little, then yes, you do have to. It is only an hour long after all. Unless, that is, if you are feeling too duck to do it.'

'Chicken, not duck. Can I at least go and get a bottle of water from the vending machine before we start?'

'There is no need – I have a spare one in my bag for you, and a spare towel also.'

'Oh… Thanks…'

Tony cringed and looked around him. That had been his back-up escape plan, his first going home sick that afternoon, but it appeared that Ziva had every possible angle covered. He should not have been surprised – she was an ex-assassin after all – and he had not exactly been enthusiastic about all of this. Looking around the room, he could see that nothing had changed from the week before when he had looked in – every other person there was female, and they were all wearing tight clothing. He cursed himself, and his big mouth, for what was probably the millionth time; if only he had not 'insulted' Zumba while Ziva was in earshot, then none of this would be happening. He could not rethink his actions any longer though because the instructor arrived, showing him a body that was nearly as toned as Ziva's. She too wore a cropped sports top, only she paired it with a loose pair of combat trousers. Whereas Ziva's body was toned through a life of honing and training as well as regular workouts, the instructor's gave the appearance of deliberate hard work to achieve a thinner and more muscular body. She seemed to have an upbeat personality, something which only increased when she found out that Tony was new to the class.

'Oh, good, well I'm sure you'll pick it up quickly, most people do. If not, then you're bound to have a lot of fun with us!'

Within five minutes, Tony was lost. The instructor was saying all these phrases that did not make any sense to him. He had just about got the hang of the grapevine-jump-clap-turn sequence when the song ended. Ziva got a glint in her eye when the next track came on, something which made Tony die a little inside. As he could have predicted from that one lok she had thrown him, by the end of that track he was so confused and out of breath that Ziva chuckled, her eyes creasing up.

'Not so easy after all, hey Tony?'

'I take it all back, every word of it…'

It was another twenty minutes before the class took a break to take on some water. Tony almost snatched the bottle from his partner's hand in his haste to gulp it down – it was only Ziva's vice-like grip that prevented him from succeeding. He tugged at it for a moment or two before he gave in and pouted at her, his hands hanging limply at his side.

'Now, sip it Tony, otherwise you will get a stitch. Understand?'

'Yep. Now, gimme the water!'

She handed the bottle over to him, watching to make sure that he kept to her 'sipping' suggestion. He still managed to down a third of the bottle though, at which point she took it off him and put the towel over his head.

'Wipe your face, then the break is over.'

She sauntered over to where they had been during the first part of the class, hips swaying more than usual, and it was then that a very shocking thought struck him. He, Very Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo, was currently in a room of semi-naked, sweaty, gyrating women and not once had he taken advantage of it! He was speechless at this thought, and dazedly put the towel back on Ziva's bag before taking up his place next to Ziva. What was the world coming to?

The rest of the class passed in a haze of pain, confusion and muscle-ache at the abnormal use. There was one particular movement during a chorus that had everyone jumping from foot to foot, moving in a bit of an 'L' shape, and it was here that Tony managed to twist his knee. A growl of pain emerged from his lips and he fell to the floor, clutching at his knee and avoiding being hit by any flailing limbs. It was exactly where he had previously had a recurring injury during college, though it felt nowhere near as painful as it had been back then. It did not take long for Ziva to cotton on that he had not just slipped over and was wimping out, but that he was not able to move easily. She stopped dancing and knelt next to Tony.

'Which knee?'

'My left. Wasn't sure if I should move or not, what with having to navigate through people while there's a bit of a stomp-dance going on right now.'

'Come on, they will move. Let us put some ice on that.'

The Israeli looped Tony's arm over her shoulder, and helped him stand up; people did indeed move out of their way as they exited the studio; the two of them limp-hopped to the reception desk. The receptionist ushered the pair into the first aid room and went to go and get some ice for him.

'Zee, you don't have to stay – there's still ten minutes of the class left.'

'I would not be a very good partner if I left you here alone, would I?'

'Well, thanks.'

There was silence when the receptionist reappeared and applied the ice; she then bandaged the knee as a precaution – it did not seem to be anything more than a minor sprain, so if he avoided exerting himself for the next few days it should clear up. The receptionist said they could stay in the first aid room until the class finished, so they did so.

'Wonder what Gibbs would say to me not running… He'd probably make me chase the first suspect we had!'

'That sounds plausible, yes. But what would you say as to how you got your injury, that you were at a dance class? No, I thought not.'

'Well, I have a new found respect for you my ninja. I mean, I knew that hips could move that way, but I had no idea it took that much hard work to do it.'

'Thank you; you are a man after all Tony – not all these things that you like and take for granted just happen, some need to be worked on.'

'I'll store that away for future reference.'

'I will admit to you, I did not think that you try as much of the class as you did Tony, more that you would just wimp out as soon as you could and ogle the girls instead.'

'I said I would try, and I am a man of my word after all.'

'Well, since the class has finished and you are in no fit state to drive your car, I will give you a lift to your apartment. We can collect your car tomorrow after work – the people here will keep an eye on it if we tell them.'

'Sure, sounds good to me. Not that there are many other options really – I don't think a taxi driver would help me up the stairs to my apartment!'

Ziva went to get her bag, and then the two of them made their way to her car – it was a bit of a fumble to get Tony into it without too much pain, but he quickly belted up when she got into the driver's seat; she may be great at Zumba and goodness knows what else, but her driving skills still left a lot to be desired. What was normally a 20 minute trip took 14, and when Ziva had helped him up to his apartment and got him seated on his sofa, she collected her keys and stood in the doorway.

'I shall see you tomorrow Tony, be ready for 0745.'

'Ziva, wait, do you want to stay for a coffee or something? We could order in a pizza, watch a movie… my treat, to say thank you for not abandoning me tonight.'

A/N: Cheers for the faves and alerts m'dears; it makes me so happy to see all my unread emails in my inbox! I'd love a few more reviews though - I take each one into consideration and reply to them all; it was a review that spurned me on to write two more parts to join the first one! Speaking of which, there's one more part to come! Hope this was alright for y'all, and there is pure Tiva due in the next chapter =]

Woody2792x