"Yeah that was pretty stupid of you as well." Tony shot out in tactless haste.

Ziva was pissed. That actually hurt. Some things from that period of time she had preferred to keep bottled up came spewing rapidly out of her mouth as she rose to her feet, ready to intimidate.

"Seriously?" Her tone was bitter with a hint of rage.

"Well, yeah. You sure know how to pick 'em."

There was a sharp intake of breath as he struck a nerve. "Stupid? You want to talk about stupid? Okay. Let us talk about stupid! I was stupid enough to think you were sick when you were actually off somewhere romancing a doctor! I was stupid enough to talk to Gibbs about it! I was stupid enough to tell Ducky that I was worried! I was stupid enough to make Agent Cassidy hate me so she would feel better! And it was stupid that I did it for you because I thought-" She took a moment to catch her breath, inhaling one deep breath before continuing in a lower voice "-I thought she meant something to you. Do you know how stupid all of that sounds right now? Very."

Ziva's eyes stared down into Tony's ever so menacingly. But in her mind she went 'Oh shit. I blurted out everything.' Tony sunk back into the cushioned couch even more, gulping against the lump forming in his throat. He almost jumped out of his skin when Ziva yanked her pillow out of his grasp muttering under her breath "Give me back my pillow you douche bag." She claimed back her pillow and stormed into her room, the pillow swinging wildly.

Tony had it coming, really. He came here to talk, but he had to go say what he had said. The 'douche bag' term was a nice touch, he had to admit, since he was the one who taught her about it in the first place. Argh I messed up pretty bad, Tony figured as he groaned into the air.

He reached behind his head and gave himself a Gibbs head slap. That would be what Gibbs would do if he was there. Tony rubbed his face a few times, inhaling deeply as he set his hands on his knees and pushed himself to stand. He walked over to Ziva's room and stood right at the door. He had some clearing up and making up to do.

"Ziva?" He asked as he knocked on the door.

Silence.

"I'm sorry."

Silence yet again.

Tony knew Ziva was pissed. The apology didn't work. What now? He screwed up. He faced the adjacent wall and knocked his head against it again and again, the sound of forehead meeting wall clearly heard throughout the house.

"What have I done?" Knock.

"I'm the stupid one." Knock.

"Now she doesn't wanna see me." Knock.

"What's wrong with me?" Knock.

"This sucks." Knock.

"My forehead is starting to hurt." Knock.

"I have got to be the most-"

"Can you please stop hitting your head against my wall!" Ziva emerged from her room, annoyed beyond description from the offending noise Tony made.

Tony was about to knock his head again when he heard Ziva's voice. He turned around and surprisingly smiled. "I knew I'd get you out of the room." He said looking proud of himself.

"Oh well congratulations then." Ziva retorted and made a move towards her room again until larger fingers caught hold of her hand hastily.

"Look I'm sorry. Can we please talk? Please?" Tony mustered the most sincere look he could give, to which Ziva relented.

"Fine." She obliged as they went back to the couch.

"Talk then." Ziva said, still fuming on the inside.

"I didn't mean to call you stupid. You called me foolish."

"Which you are."

"Okay okay, bottom line is that I'm sorry."

"I guess...I am sorry too. I did not mean to call you foolish. I just did not see how you could get obsessed with Dana Hutton."

"I don't know either...honestly."

"Neither did I."

Realisation crossed Tony's face. She was talking about the owner of the orange beanie. They were silent for a while. Tony ran through his head again, the contents of her rant just now. He felt the compelling urge to ask her what was that all about.

"So umm, you said something about me being sick right? Just now?"

Ziva was expecting this. She knew her outburst would turn back to bite her in her ass. "I...did not say that."

"Yes you did. I may be foolish but I'm not deaf."

"Fine. You were making and receiving calls from the hospital. So I thought you had the pneumonic plague again. I researched it. Now I have an amazingly vast knowledge on the subject." She laughed slightly at her last sentence.

"And you told Gibbs?"

"Yeah. But he did not think it was the case though. And apparently he was right."

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you."

"Not your fault. Like I said before, orders are orders."

"What was the thing with Ducky?"

"Oh you were supposed to meet up with us that evening, at the bar. But after quite a while you didn't show. I had this...feeling. A bad one. I told Ducky about it and he psychoanalysed me." She laughed yet again. Psychoanalyse was a weird word.

"But I was right though, about that bad feeling. Because the next thing we knew, the car we thought you were in exploded." Ziva continued.

"Oh." Tony had no words to reply with.

And all that while during that period of time, he had thought that she wasn't really bothered by the whole incident. When he returned to the bullpen all safe and sound to find Ziva playing with his letter-opener, she seemed so unfazed. And according to McGee and Abby, she had given him up for dead already. He was thus very much surprised that he had actually caused her so much worry during the whole Jeanne business.

"Then what about Paula?"

Ziva sighed as she continued to explain. It was supposed to be Tony talking, not her. That was the reason he came in the first place. "She had all this pent up anger, when she lost her team. So I acted a bit like a umm...like-like a hmm..." She didn't know what the word to use was.

"A bitch?" Tony chuckled, remembering how Ziva acted in front of Paula those years back.

"Ah yes! That. So I did that, to make her hate me or something. Gibbs warned me that her hatred may be for life, but it was no big deal. Lots of people hated me already. One to the list was fine." She waved it off like it was nothing.

"People don't hate you."

"Yes they do. I am not proud to say that I have tortured many people during my time in Mossad. And I have also spoiled many people's plans under orders. They definitely do hate me and possibly want me dead." Ziva clarified with a sad laugh.

"Don't worry, I got your back."

"I know you do."

"And you got mine."

"That I do."

"So...you did all that for me huh?" Tony broke the seriousness between them with a cheeky remark.

"What? You are my partner. It is my job." Ziva went all playfully defensive.

"That's nonsense Ziva."

"Fine, you are my friend. That is why."

"Fair enough. Much better answer." He nudged her arm with his elbow.

Ziva got up and walked away from the couch. Tony was surprised. Did he say something wrong? But before he could turn around or get up, Ziva's voice rang out. "Tony DiNozzo! You made a crack in my nice, fake wall with your hard head!" She scolded, staring at a crack in the hollow wall that served as a partition.

"I like the crack-less wall better." She mumbled loud enough for Tony to hear.

Tony stifled a full-blown laughing spree. He had come to find Ziva in the hopes of feeling better about the whole Dana Hutton issue. And Ziva never failed to make him feel happier.

As Ethan Hunt would say it, Mission Accomplished.

Awesome. Mission Impossible movies are AWESOME. Anyways, I'm gonna start on a new story! It's some fic that goes AU after Episode 9x13. But I'm still thinking though. I feel like adding information from these episode tags that I do into that fic, because I don't think my ideas can get any better than the ones I've written here. My creativity has its limits! :D

So I feel like re-using only some of the info from this whole fic, to infuse them into the new one. Hmm, I shall enter a cave now and seek some literary enlightenment. And by cave, I mean under my blanket.

Farewell.