Ziva woke up early the next morning to her cell phone vibrating on her bedside table. She turned off the alarm and grabbed her clothes from the pile on the floor before heading for the bathroom. She slipped her t-shirt back over her head, the smell of Tony's cologne faintly filling her nose. She slid back into her boxer shorts and managed to rake a brush through her tangled hair before pulling it back into a loose ponytail. She snuck back out of the bathroom and into the hallway, where she made her way to the kitchen. She searched her cupboards, her refrigerator, her freezer, but there was nothing to make for breakfast. She peeked down the hall and could hear Tony still snoring, the thought of running down to the little local bakery for some donuts crossing her mind. She grabbed her keys from the counter when she heard a cell phone ringing in the living room.
As she moved towards the coffee table, she glanced down at her phone in her hand, realizing it was Tony's that was ringing. She checked the caller id and read aloud, "McGee." She flipped the phone open and said, "Good morning McGee."
"Ziva?"
She laughed. "Yes, is there something you needed? Tony is still asleep."
McGee began to stumble on his words. "Tony is sleeping? Did you sleep at his place?"
"No, he is at mine. McGee, was there something you needed to tell him?"
"Uh, yeah. We need you both in the office. Abby found something from the Crawford case."
Ziva sighed. "We will be in soon." She shut the phone as two warm arms wrapped around her waist. "We are being summoned."
Tony turned her around so he was looking into her eyes. "Don't worry; the bodies will still be dead when we get there." She smiled and he kissed her, a sweet, soft kiss, unlike anything they shared last night. As much as Ziva enjoyed the current moment, she knew they both needed to be in Abby's office 5 minutes ago.
"Come on, love boy."
As Ziva walked towards her room to change, Tony corrected her. "Actually, I think you meant lover boy. Or love bug." She glared at him. "You know what, it doesn't matter. I'll wait out here while you get ready. I'm okay with the two day walk of shame."
"Well, it is your fault you did not bring extra clothes," Ziva said as she closed her door.
Tony laughed. "In my defense, I didn't think I would be spending the night here."
Ziva opened her door quickly and said, "Then you should have gone to visit Gibbs." And just as quickly, her door was shut and Tony smiled as he sat down on the couch, never taking his eyes off that door.
"McGee, enlighten me."
Tony and Ziva gathered around the large screen and listened as McGee told them what they needed to know.
"Uh, Abby found a third set of fingerprints on the crowbar, which means there was a third person involved in the murder. The fingerprints actually belong to Mr. Jackson Foster, 35 years old, lives in Baltimore, Maryland. We are still looking into his personal files but he was last spotted leaving Mrs. Crawford's house two days ago, about three hours before Mr. Crawford was found dead at the park."
Gibbs turned and left the group, shouting, "Good work McGee," over his shoulder. Tony, Ziva and McGee watched him walk onto the elevator and then Tony and Ziva walked back to their desks, not one sarcastic comment given by either, which was very unusual.
"Did something happen-"
McGee was interrupted by his desk phone ringing. He stared at both Tony and Ziva before picking up the receiver and saying, "Timothy McGee. We'll be right down Abbs." McGee hung the phone up and looked up to see Tony and Ziva standing right in front of his desk. "Abby needs us down in the lab. You two are freaking me out."
Tony and Ziva exchanged glances and then walked away towards Abby, McGee jumping from his desk to catch up to them. "Where do you think Gibbs went?" Ziva asked.
"My guess is to pay a visit to Mrs. Crawford to find out why she was sleeping around on her husband. With his killer," Tony explained as they walked into Abby's lab, where she was typing away at one of her many computers. "Abby, what's up?"
"Look."
The three of them walked over to where Abby was staring at the computer screen. "What is this Abby?" Tony asked.
"This is a video of Mr. Foster and Mrs. Crawford leaving a restaurant together one hour after the body was found. Both in smiles. I don't think the wife knew anything about the murder."
"So how did her fingerprints end up on the crowbar?" McGee asked.
Abby shrugged. "It could have been anything. She could have used it earlier in the week or she could have let Foster borrow it."
Tony's phone began ringing from his pocket and he flipped it open. "Special agent DiNozzo."
"Tony, I've got Crawford's wife up here. You and David want to learn something? Get up here."
The line went dead and Tony turned to Ziva. "Boss wants us in the interrogation room. He brought the wife in." They headed for the door and McGee turned to watch.
"What about me?"
"Help Abby," Tony shouted over his shoulder and then they disappeared. McGee frowned and turned to Abby, who was still studying the video.
"Did you know they spent the night together last night?"
She turned to look at him. "Tony and Ziva? They do that all the time."
McGee frowned. "Yeah, but Ziva never answers his phone when someone calls. And he never comes into work with her the next morning. Abby, I'm telling you something is up." He looked over at Abby, who was intrigued in the screen. "Abby!"
"McGee, you are freaking out about nothing. So what if they did sleep together? They are adults; they can make their own choices. Now, stop worrying about their personal lives and help me tear this video footage apart." He smiled at her dedication and decided to help her and push the curiosity away, for now at least.
