Right on cue, Ziva emerged from the bathroom in a sweatshirt and yoga pants with a towel around her neck. Tony's eyes widened just abit as he spluttered "That's my sweatshirt!"

Ziva kept a stoic expression, shrugged and replied "Yeah you left it at my place a few years back on one of the movie nights. I like it, keeps me warm."

Tony didn't really have anything to say. His mouth opened and closed like a fish. She seemed so unfazed by his statement. He finally managed to mumble back "Uh yeah, kept me warm too. You can keep it as long as you want."

And he went to have his shower. He couldn't help but think that Ziva looked kinda adorable in his sweatshirt since it was a tad big for her size. And for Ziva, it wasn't a lie that Tony's sweatshirt kept her warm. But more importantly she felt strangely safe in it and thus she kept it for so long.

Ziva went back to her couch to see it all laid out. Wait, where was her gun? The first place she looked was under the pillow. And there it was. Ziva was warmed by the fact that Tony knew her well enough to know she still slept with a gun under her pillow. She placed the pillow back and spread her towel over the pillow as she ye again plopped down onto the couch. She adjusted her blanket and laid down, getting all snug.

She really hoped there would be no nightmares tonight. They had stopped a few months back, and she hoped that the new unfamiliar walls that surrounded her tonight wouldn't be the cause for any nightmares. She didn't attempt to off the lights. Darkness wasn't really something she'd want to face anytime soon. She turned onto her side and slipped her hand under her pillow to touch her gun. It had a weird calming effect on her and soon she let her tiredness take her under.

Tony on the other hand, emerged from the bathroom a few minutes after Ziva had fallen asleep. His gaze fell upon her sleeping form. She looked peaceful, more peaceful than he'd ever since her since...since her horrific summer in the desert. Poor Ziva, she was so tired that she fell asleep with the lights on.

Shaking his head slightly, Tony switched off the lights, leaving one small light on just in case and padded to the bed. He made himself comfortable and closed his eyes. Ziva was right, tomorrow was going to be an early day, picking up the witness and all. He hoped Ziva would get some good rest, and with that, he went under too.

Only three hours into her slumber, Ziva woke with a gasp. She sat up on the couch and had broken into a cold sweat, breathing that much more laboured. The bitter sting of unshed tears lingered. Nightmare. Again. Why? After so many months, it had to come back. It was always about the same thing. It was basically a vague replay of what happened in that godforsaken camp during the summer. No do not go there, Ziva told herself in her head.

She didn't want to remember at all, of the torture she had been through. Her heart rate was still sky high, and she was afraid to fall asleep again. A male snort made its way through Ziva's train of thoughts. She stared into air for a few seconds there before letting her gaze fall onto her partner, who was sprawled on one side of the bed, snoring away more quietly than his one disruptive snort. She needed something to ground her, to help convince herself she was here, and not...there. And the best thing she could think of was Tony.

He was like her best friend, whether he knew it or not. After all, he had literally saved her from hell. And so, Ziva hugged her pillow to herself with one hand and gun in the other, and made her way to the bed, the one small light that had been left on already giving her some further security.

Oh shit. She must know I'm faking my sleep, Tony thought in a panic. He had actually awoken along with the loud snort he emitted. He had opened his droopy eyes just a crack to see Ziva sitting up and staring at nothing. He closed his eyes and quickly resumed some light snoring so Ziva wouldn't suspect he was awake, and honestly her behaviour was indeed starting to worry him a little. After awhile, he heard padding of feet towards the bed and he thought Oh I am so busted.

To his surprise however, the other side of the bed dipped and he felt Ziva crawl into the bed and settle herself under the covers. All was still for about a minute. Like the fact that Ziva crawled into 'his' bed wasn't shocking enough, he then felt Ziva's fingers hesitantly search for his hand under the blanket, and grasped it slightly. She couldn't help but feel a great sense of security fall over her being. But-

Tony felt Ziva's arm stiffen though, almost instantly, and for a split second he wondered why. Oh wait. In his shock, he had stopped his fake snoring and Ziva now knew he was awake. She felt embarrassed really, so thank god she had pulled the covers all the way up half her face, because Ziva really couldn't handle facing Tony right now. She wanted to retract her hand from his fast, but now to her surprise, he gripped her hand tighter and wouldn't let go. He gave her hand a squeeze, trying to tell her it was okay. She understood and returned the squeeze in a way of saying thank you. Feeling safer than she was before, Ziva slowly fell back into slumber, never letting go of Tony's hand.

Tony was still in a bit of a shock. He was in bed. With Ziva. Holding her hand. His heart just broke a little. His strong Israeli ninja was insecure enough to crawl into his bed to hold his hand. Yet he found her still strong, as she was in fact doing pretty well for a woman who spent the summer suffering god knows what.

Nobody should force themselves to stay so tough after such an experience, and thus he admired her strong facade. He heard her breathing even out, and knew she was really sleeping when he heard her snoring. Good, He thought. The woman more than deserved to let herself derive and attain some extent of security for herself sometimes. Wanting some secure comfort didn't mean she was 'weak'.

After all, she was only human. Smiling to himself, he too fell asleep soon, after the slight shock wore off. But he knew tomorrow, she'd be back to Ziva the almighty ninja, all strong and badass again, not the insecure girl who held his hand to sleep. She was too stubborn to show that.

Early the next morning, like on clockwork Ziva woke up like she did every morning for a jog. She woke up to find her face nuzzled against a shoulder and with one of her hands enclosed in some large warm one. Tony, She remembered. She was honestly quite grateful, and touched by the little gesture he pulled last night.

But Ziva being Ziva, slipped back into her ninja self, guarded walls and all up yet again. She released her hand from Tony's grasp slowly and went to change into her sports attire. But before she left, she scribbled a note for Tony in case he got worried.

Tony aroused from his sleep slowly when he heard the click of the door and he soon sobered to find his hand empty. He turned around to find a note on where Ziva had slept last night. It read 'Tony, do not worry. I just went for a jog. Be back soon. And thank you.' Tony knew Ziva hated being vulnerable, and thus just the very simple 'thank you' note.

He also knew that she would appreciate if he went on with the day with their usual banter and routine. The norm, they'd say. And...so it did. And when Ziva told their witness that she took the couch and that Tony took the bed, she wasn't exactly lying per se.

She just left out the part where she joined him on the bed later. Not that she would ever tell anybody that she did anyways. Tony however, kept it in his mind that one day, they were gonna talk about it. Talk about Paris. That was a thought for another day.

Heheh tell me what you thought (: