A/N: Hey guys. This is kind of just a filler chapter. It should be posted with the next one but it's not written yet and I didn't want to not post anything for three days. So yeah, hope it's okay and I'll definitely have more of the story up Monday night. Thanks again for everything!

Tony yawned and stretched, groaning as his back protested spending a night on the floor.

"Mornin' Ziva," he mumbled sleepily, sure she would've woken up before him.

When there was no response, he frowned and opened his eyes, sitting up when he realized she wasn't on the couch.

"Ziva?" he called louder. Maybe she was in bathroom or showering or something. But no slightly accented voice answered him back.

Disappointed, Tony slowly got to his feet, surveying the empty apartment. The clock showed it was eight-thirty on Tuesday morning, later than he normally got up but not as late as Saturday morning sleeping in. Knowing Ziva, she'd probably been up at five am for her run.

He sighed. Alone again. Deciding to leave the livingroom the way it was, Tony went for a shower, glad for the fresh, clean feeling he had after. Falling asleep in his clothes was never a good idea. Now he was ready to face the day. He wandered into the kitchen and caught sight of his key ring, grinning at the sight of the new bronze key that hadn't been there a week ago. Suddenly he got an idea. It was time for a surprise.

Ziva was in the bathroom braiding her hair when she heard the deadbolt on the front door click open. Instantly alert, she dropped her hair and reached for the knife at her waist, creeping up the hallway towards the entrance. A man was standing in the doorway of her apartment. Ziva frowned and snapped at him.

"Tony!"

He jumped several inches and whirled around, raising his arms to cover his face.

"Hold your fire!" he hollered, expecting to come face to face with Ziva's Sig or whatever other small arms she kept around her place. "I come in peace!"

Ziva replaced her knife in it's sheath and folded her arms across her chest, glaring at him. "It was a knife this time Tony," she informed him, "so I guess you should say 'hold your blades' instead." She shook her head, failing to comprehend why he learned so slowly. "Never, ever try to surprise a Mossad officer," she told him for the hundredth time. "You could've been dead before you had a chance to explain why you are here." Ziva held his gaze. "So?"

Tony pointed to the drinks he'd put down on the table and jiggled the bag that was slung over his arm. "Breakfast?" he asked with a grin.

Only because she could smell the freshly baked muffins from her favourite bakery did Ziva relent and her frown disappeared. She stepped aside and gestured to the kitchen, grabbing the coffees after he walked past her. They settled at her small, two person kitchen table and she eagerly dug into the still warm blueberry muffin.

After eating half of it in silence while Tony did the same, Ziva took a sip of coffee and finally smiled at her partner. "Thank you Tony. These are delicious."

He grinned. "Only the best for you." She swatted his arm. "Hey, how come you left this morning? I could've found us something for breakfast."

Ziva shrugged. "You were sleeping. I needed to get my run in." She winked at him. "And we both know you cannot keep up. I did sleep until 0700," she added, trying to defend herself.

Tony leaned back in his chair. "Yeah, that's really late."

Ziva regarded him carefully. "Now what?"

Tony gave her a confused look. "What do you mean?"

"Well, you have broken into my apartment to bring breakfast and it only 0900, five hours until we are expected at work. What else are we going to do?"

Throwing on his college jock attitude, Tony looked her up and down lazily. "I could think of a few things that might be fun."

Ziva flicked a crumb across the table at him and looked up, her eyes dangerous. "Do you have anything in mind that will not result in your imminent demise?"

Tony swallowed and laughed nervously. "Oh...umm..." he searched his mind frantically for an idea while Ziva waited.

NCIS

Jenny stirred, trying not to wake up completely, wanting to sleep until the last possible second when her alarm went off. It had been a late night and all of the emotional energy she had given out left her feeling more tired than usual. But after dozing for a few more minutes, it suddenly came to Jenny that she'd been so focused on Jethro last night and what he needed, that she'd forgotten to set the alarm.

She opened her eyes with a start and they flew to the clock. It was after 6:30 am! But before she threw off the covers in a panic, Jenny remembered that she was the Director and if she came in late, it just meant that everyone else was a little early. She smiled to herself. It wasn't really like they could start without her.

Stretching, Jenny covered a yawn and looked over at his husband, glad for two reasons to see that he was still sleeping. One, he desperately needed the rest. Jethro had pushed himself and the team very hard to find the missing girls and the man who orchestrated the whole thing. And second, she suddenly noticed that she was still without the upper half of her underwear. Jenny didn't want Gibbs looking at her, not just yet.

She reached over and let her fingertips trail down his cheek, just barely touching the skin. She loved him so much. What happened to her could've ruined everything, he could've decided he didn't want to deal with her healing and left. But he hadn't. He was here and he was helping her through. It was a new day, a new week and Jenny felt like this could be the beginning of a whole new start for her and Jethro. She really wanted that.

Reaching for the gray shawl that hung on one of the bedposts, Jenny wrapped it's warm length around her body and headed for the shower. Under the hot spray, she felt her body waking up and her mind becoming more alert. When she reached for the shampoo, her wedding ring caught her eye and Jenny twisted it around to match her engagement ring. Then she remembered the day they'd told the team they were married, and the little bet they'd had going beforehand as to who would notice first and how.

It had been only a couple of weeks, but that day felt like ages ago. However, Jenny seemed to remember winning the bet and saving her prize for later. The rest of the shower was spent contemplating her choices. The possibilities were virtually endless because they hadn't set limits on this particular bet as they had for others. When she finally got out and dried off, Jenny was smiling, because she knew exactly what Gibbs was going to owe her as a prize. And she was looking forward to it already.

NCIS

Gibbs lay in bed, listening to the shower run. Jenny hadn't meant to wake him up, but he was really sensitive to her touch the past couple of days and he'd felt her fingers on his face, but waited until she left the room to open his eyes. He'd let her continue to have her privacy, even if he knew what she'd done after he'd fallen asleep last night. It had been all Gibbs could do not to turn over and kiss her right there, just for letting down her guard enough to have more of her skin against his than she had in weeks.

He rolled over, his eyes on the bathroom door, hoping for a good morning kiss when she came out, wrapped in a towel, her skin still warm from the water. He'd decided something last night, after how Jenny had been there for him when he really needed her. Gibbs knew that wanting her and loving on her was not going to hurt her, it all depended on how he handled those desires and actions.

Jenny's experience had left them far enough apart, he wasn't going to let his dream from the weekend keep them away from each other any longer. Touching each other, holding, kissing, wanting - perhaps it was actually helping to heal them both from what had happened. It was time to let the dream go. It might take him all day to work up the courage, but he'd talk to Jenny about it tonight, God willing, if nothing else came up.

Gibbs hoped it would be a quiet day at the office, and though a part of him resented the restriction, the other part was very glad that Jenny had given them half the day off. They all needed the time to get over their lingering feelings from the case. Kidnappings, whether with happy or heartbreaking endings, always left a bad taste that took awhile to get rid of sometimes.

He was just drifting off into sleep again when the bathroom door opened and his wife walked out, as he'd predicted, still in a towel. She smiled when she saw that he was awake.

"Hi," she smiled, leaning across the bed to get closer to him. "Sorry to wake you."

Gibbs drank in the sight of her, always beautiful no matter what the situation. "It's worth it when I get to wake up to this." He gestured to her in a towel and Jenny blushed.

"Behave Jethro," she wagged her finger at him teasingly and he took it to put a kiss there. Jenny's heart melted. Did he have to be so utterly irresistible? Especially when she was technically late for work?

Gibbs moved towards her, cupping her cheek with his hand and for one of the first times since Saturday night, initiating contact with her. Jenny savoured the kiss, loving his soft lips and his gentleness, though she suspected there was still passion hidden behind it. After a long moment she pulled back and looked right into his eyes.

"Well, that was a nice 'Good Morning'."

He caressed her cheek with his thumb. "I love you Jenny."

She grinned. "Three of my favourite words." She kissed him again, wanting to linger but knowing she couldn't, before moving to the closet to pull out one of her business outfits.

It was almost disconcerting the way he just lay there and watched her get ready, Jenny thought with a smile. And even though today she was still conscious enough of her husband's eyes to get dressed in the bathroom, one day soon she was hoping that wouldn't be an issue anymore. It wasn't like her body was any different now than before. All the marks her attacker had left were gone, save for the red rings around her wrists from the ropes.

They weren't healing as fast as everything else, and Jenny wondered if she had done permanent damage to the skin there. But Jethro considered them reminders of how lucky they were to still have each other, and to not take any of their time together for granted. So they weren't really a big deal. It was just the actual feeling of being naked, whether someone else was looking at her or not. It made Jenny feel exposed, like she was in danger by just not having covering. It would get better with time, it was already less intense than it was in the first couple of weeks, but recovering wasn't something that happened overnight, even if that would be nice.

It was almost seven-thirty by the time she was ready to go, and Jenny knew Noemi was already in the house, probably preparing breakfast and doing a little tidying up. She couldn't even remember what the kitchen looked like, they hadn't used it much for the last couple of days.

Gibbs was dressed in sweats and waiting for her when she came out of the bathroom. Jenny smiled at him and he followed her down the stairs. After she had her coat on, she turned to him.

"Try to relax this morning Jethro. Go back to bed and rest, let Noemi spoil you with breakfast," she smiled, "read a book or something. But do not under any circumstance show up at NCIS before 1400."

He gave her a small salute. "Yes Ma'am."

Jenny shook her head at him. "Goodbye Jethro." She leaned closer to kiss him goodbye, something they hadn't done recently because they'd been going into work together so much. But Gibbs kissed her deeper than usual and wouldn't let go, something that surprised her, and she looked at him questioningly after he stopped to catch his breath.

She didn't have to ask the question, he already knew, but it was hard to explain. "When I left you in the parking lot that night Jen, if that had been the last time," he swallowed hard, gripping her hands, "I would want you to remember that you left with the feel of my kiss still on your lips, that the last words you heard from your husband were 'I love you', so you wouldn't forget, no matter what."

Jenny looked at him so tenderly, Gibbs wasn't sure he deserved for her to love him so much. "Oh Jethro," she said softly, stepping closer and wrapping her arms around his neck, letting him hold her close while she held him. "I promise. I would never forget."

She kissed him again, long and slowly, to let him know she meant it. Finally she smiled at him again. "I love you Jethro."

Gibbs was still holding Jenny's hands and he kissed the back of both before reluctantly letting her go. "Love you Jen. See you later."

"Bye."

He watched her go, the familiar ache in his heart. Some things would never change. Looking at the clock, he decided to grab a quick breakfast and then spend a couple hours working on his boat before heading into the office. Nothing like a little hard work and sweat to start the day off. Good old homemade therapy, everything should be that easy.

NCIS

Timothy McGee decided that sleeping in was his new favourite thing. Currently he lay in his bed, his arms wrapped around the body of his girlfriend, who lay asleep on his chest. She often used him as a pillow and just like all the other times, McGee couldn't move because he didn't want to wake her up. From where he lay, he could just see the digital alarm clock on his nightstand, the numbers reading a time he hadn't slept in 'til for a long time.

He stayed still and listened to the sound of Abby's peaceful breathing, concentrating on how she felt in his arms. It had been a long time since they shared a bed, probably going back to when Abby's stalker ex-boyfriend had tried to kill her and Gibbs had left Abby in his care.

Tim's arms tightened around her a little bit when he thought of how close they'd come to losing her more than once during that investigation. It had been that event that had started him thinking about how much he cared for Abby and wondering what to do with it. It may have taken them months to get from friends to more than friends, but he was glad to be here. And if he had anything to say about it, which he did, it wouldn't be too much longer before Abby had his ring on her finger and they were waking up every morning in each other's arms.

He smiled at the thought and looked up when his dog padded softly into the room and over to Abby's side of the bed.

"Hey Jethro," McGee said, not having a hand free to ruffled the dog's ear. His gaze fell back to the woman at his side and he got an idea. "Up boy," he encouraged his dog. "Come here. Come wake up Abby."

Jethro, all sixty pounds of him, jumped onto the bed and nudged Abby's cheek with his wet nose. Abby opened her eyes and giggled.

"Jethro! That's no way to say good morning." She stroked his neck and he lay down on the bed with a contented sigh. Abby turned to her boyfriend. "Did you get him to do that?"

McGee shrugged. "I might've suggested it," he smiled.

They looked at each other for a moment before Abby raised her eyebrows. "I'm still waiting for a proper good morning Tim."

Slowly McGee brought his face to Abby's, tilting his head as he captured her lips in a gentle kiss. Soon it was more than one, his hands on her face, her fingers trailing through his already messed up hair. McGee took a breath and kissed Abby's neck before pulling away.

"Good morning," he said, his voice a little hoarser than before.

Abby laughed, there had been so much more behind that than the greeting. She snuggled against McGee and thought about how well she'd slept last night, with his arms around her and his warmth beside her. It was nice, sharing a bed with Timmy again. She knew they were in this for the long haul this time, no giving up when it got hard or backing down when something threatened to tear them apart.

She wouldn't press him to ask the question, though she'd probably tease him about it here and there. She'd known McGee a long time and he would ask her when he was really and truly ready. Of course, being as impatient as she was, Abby was hoping he'd be ready soon. She loved this, them together. They just fit. It would be nice to have this every morning, to lay in bed together as they woke up, to share kisses and cuddle and maybe even more, if there was time. It was comforting and comfortable and someday it would be hers forever.

Finally McGee cleared his throat and started talking as if nothing had happened. "So I was thinking...pancakes?"

The hopeful expression on his face was more than enough for her. "Sounds good to me Timmy. Can I grab a shower first?"

"Sure." There was always stuff he could do around his place while he waited for her.

Once Abby was ready, they made pancakes together, getting flour everywhere and laughing at the mess. Breakfast was eaten at the island in Tim's kitchen and they cleaned up afterwards, moving around each other with the ease that came from doing this before. When the kitchen looked presentable again and they still had a couple hours before they had to report to work, Tim turned to Abby with a impish look on his face.

"I just got a new video game," he announced. "Care to challenge me?"

Abby grinned. "You're on McGee. Prepare to eat my pixels!"

McGee laughed and started his computer. This was going to be fun.