Part two! Because you know they just couldn't stay mad at each other. Passionate arguments =...ah, you know where this is going.

nancy k. nkwhimseycornergmai: Tony Vs Gibbs would be the heavyweights of heavyweights squaring off... It'd make for some pretty epic tv! And I, personally, can't stand the SecNav, so I hope Gibbs chews him up and spits him out! :D

Sunset

It was pitch black by the time Ziva heard the car pull up into the driveway outside. Stretched out on the bed, book in hand, she stiffened initially as the front door clicked shut, before relaxing at the familiar padding of her husband's footsteps on the stairs. Outwardly, she was as stoic as ever. Mentally, however, she was having a small breakdown; a flood of relief that he was back, the guilt from her accusations earlier, the want to just have him next to her, to hold him, smell him, feel those arms around her and remind herself of just how lucky she was.

She listened as the footsteps paused in the hall - checking on the kids. It was his nightly habit; they had to be sleeping before he would allow himself to relax. It took him several minutes, and in that time, Ziva ran over and over, in her mind, what she would say. Would he even want to hear it? She'd been wrong, yes, but not just that. She'd brought up Rivkin, she'd pushed buttons she knew better than to toy with. Yet when he actually opened the door, she found herself mute. Looking wearier than usual, with a dark 5 o'clock shadow and tousled hair, Tony cut a figure not of a large ego, filled with the pride of being right for once, but of a man somewhat defeated. There was silence as he stood there, neither willing to be the first to speak, the tension cut as Tony shut the door. Ziva broke the silence, dropping her gaze from his.

" I'm sorry. I was out of line, in the argument. It was petty, bringing up Michael, I was wrong. And today at work. I was wrong today as well. I was reckless, I was selfish, I shouldn't have been in there."

Tony said nothing, turning his back on her as he undressed, making his reaction, if any, unreadable to the now somewhat trembling Ziva. Nevertheless, she continued.

" I understand you were angry. I pushed you, I provoked you. I used Michael to try and gain some upper hand, it was a...a...bottom blow."

" Low blow."

Ziva blinked, startled at his reply.

" S-Sorry?"

He turned to her, finishing with his shirt, leaving him in his boxers, and smirked.

" It's 'low blow', not bottom blow."

She stumbled over a reply, as he sat next to her, unable to read him for the first time in a long time. There was silence again, his eyes settling on her, hers unable to look away. In one swift movement, he closed the distance between them, pressing his lips against hers, pushing her down into the bed and underneath him. It was a fierce, passionate kiss, one Ziva found herself powerless against, his tongue not so much battling hers as dominating it, and a strong hand tangling itself in her dark curls. After several minutes, Tony pulled away slowly, a slight pant tinging his breath, looking down at woman below him, a soft smile painting itself onto his face.

" You can be such an idiot sometimes, you know that?"

Ziva reddened, unsure whether to laugh or cry, settling on something in between. She pushed herself up, catching Tony off-guard and ending up in his lap, arms around his neck, sobbing her relief. Tony tutted, curling his arms around her protectively, nuzzling his face against her neck.

" I have had too many people try to take you away from me, Zi."

His voice had taken on a somewhat husky tone, much quieter than usual, and Ziva simply nodded, raising tear-filled dark eyes to his.

" I don't need you trying to help them."

Tony ran a hand across her cheek, softly trailing the stains made by her fallen tears. He was silent, obviously trying to say something but having difficulty, eventually spitting it out through wavering lips.

" Zi...I can't do this on my own. You have to be here with me. And I know, it's who you are, and it's hot as hell that you're like that. But I thought... I thought I'd lost you. For those minutes before you appeared, I felt...felt so lost. Like, I'd lost part of me. And the thought of trying to tell the kids that was..."

He trailed off, content in playing with several strands of her hair rather than continue with that particular train of thought.

" Our jobs are dangerous enough, without you doing something like that. I admire it but we have different responsibilities now. We're parents. The kids, they need us. They need you. I need you. So please..."

He pressed a kiss to the side of her head, holding her tightly. Ziva hiccuped, wiping at her cheeks before facing him again, a smile of her own showing.

" Alright. We'll make a deal. No more stunts. No more acting the hero. For either of us"

Tony opened his mouth to somewhat protest, but was silenced by a finger.

" Chauvinist that you are, it has to be a fair deal. So, on the job, no heroics. And I will kurb my... 'ninja' ways."

Her husband chuckled, kissing the finger silencing him.

" Fine. Deal."

Ziva sighed, leaning her head against his chest, fingers toying with a curl of dark hair on it, enjoying the peace in the silence, the soft thud of his heartbeat against her ear.

" You know, we could always seal this deal..."

She lifted her eyes, meeting that damned grin on his face, blue eyes twinkling.

" Seal it?"

He shrugged, eyes never leaving hers, tongue darting out to lick his lips.

" Our make up sex is always fantastic."

She snorted with laughter, twisting herself around so she was straddling his lap, eyebrow raised in question.

" Since we're making deals, what do I get?'

Tony blinked, before the grin grew large, leaning in to cover his wife in kisses, speaking between each one.

" Baby, you get hours of the best of Anthony D DiNozzo, all to yourself."

Ziva giggled, feeling immensely child-like, and enjoying it, running a hand through his smooth hair as his lips found hers.

"Deal."