AN: While I am trying for the whole "posting two days in a row" thing, I make no guarantees. Sebby is now responding when directly asked questions and even made a snarky comment about a fic I was reading earlier. I take this as a great improvement, but I won't let him loose on the fic unsupervised just yet. That said, he would like to make an attempt at some fluffiness for you all, so here we go.

MN: Sorry guys. I just don't even know what's wrong with me. So, uhh, also, a bunch of you have posted super kind reviews. Thanks and we love you! Reading them has helped me feel better.


As she forced herself to reach out and turn off the water, Ziva sighed. After three days of showers that were getting progressively colder, their hot water heater had finally been fixed that morning. And she was pretty sure she had nearly drained it. If Tony was lucky, he might get 5 minutes of hot water in before it ran out.

She rung out her hair and pulled back the curtain. After wrapping her hair in one towel, she pulled another around her body and tucked it in at the top to secure it. Then she stepped out of the shower stall.

Normally she would begin her routine of blow drying, flat ironing, and dressing in the bathroom, but they were on a bit of a time crunch and her partner still needed to shower. She gathered her dirty clothes in one arm then retrieved her hair dryer from the counter with the other before opening the door and exiting into the main room of the cabin.

Tony was rooting around in his dresser, his back toward the rest of the room, but had, apparently, heard the door open. "About time. Did you save me any hot water?"

Ziva rolled her eyes as she dropped the dirty clothes on the floor and set the hairdryer on her bed. "I believe there is a little bit left, yes. And I had to wash my hair, Tony. It hasn't been scrubbed properly since Tuesday morning."

She could almost hear his eyeroll in his tone of voice. "Sure, Zee-vah. Just don't take forever getting ready. We're supposed to meet everyone in twenty minutes to head to town. And I don't know about you, but I really need to get out of this camp for a couple of hours."

With that he crossed to the bathroom. By the time she heard the shower start a moment later she had plugged in her hair dryer and unwrapped her hair.

When Tony exited the bathroom fifteen minutes later she was dressed and her hair was dry. She hadn't, however, had time for the flat iron so her hair had been brushed out and left with its natural curl. They had been told to dress casually so she'd pulled on a pair of khaki cargo pants and a black tank top. She planned to bring along her black leather jacket as the temperature had been dropping in the evenings.

Tony had apparently had similar thoughts to hers. He was dressing in a pair of jeans and a dark grey shirt and his own leather jacket was already laid across his bed. He tossed his dirty clothes in the growing heap on the floor next to his dresser and sat on his bed to pull on his socks.

Ziva finished tying her boots and stood. "I'm still not sure I understand why dinner and drinks in town is a required part of this training."

He rolled his eyes and sighed. "Because, most of these guys have known their partner since Monday, not for eight years. They need to get to know each other, learn about each other's background, figure out how they're going to interact."

Ziva picked up her jacket as he tied his black boots. "Okay, allow me to clarify, I do not understand why we have to have dinner and drinks in town."

Tony faked a hurt look. "You don't want to spend the evening with me?" His smile cracked through as he stood. "Look, we might have to work with these guys at some point. Plus, the company's paying. So let's go to town, eat some steak, have a drink, and play nice, Sweetcheeks."

She rolled her eyes and sighed. "Fine. But I'm only going for the steak. And you better tell…" The name escaped her. "The big guy next door?"

His lip curled back as he replied. "Tines?"

"Right, Tines. You better tell him that I have a paperclip in my pocket, and I will use it." Even after Tony's warnings (which he still didn't know she had heard), the man had been taking advantage of every opportunity to try to impress her.

"If he comes near you, I'll just hand you my knife."


Ziva exchanged the darts in her hand for the beer that Alex Greeley handed her. The man and his partner, Rhodes, were the only two of the eight men she and Tony were training with that hadn't made over advances at her. So, when Greeley had asked her to play a few games with him, she was comfortable accepting.

Instead of shooting, however, he set the darts back on the table and slid onto the barstool across from her and lifted his own beer. He took a long pull from the mug then set it back on the table. "So, you and DiNozzo, you were federal agents right?"

She nodded. "He was with NCIS for twelve years. I was there for eight, but was only an Agent for the last three years. Before that I was…on loan from Mossad."

Greeley seemed to get the hint and didn't delve further into her past. "It's nice you guys were able to find a job together. After eight years, it would suck to have to break in a new partner."

Ziva laughed. "Yes. Tony and I may not always get along but I know he has my back. And it is easier to have his when I know him so well."

Greeley smiled as he took another sip of his beer. "I imagine so. Rhodes and I are both new to the DC area. We don't really know anyone else so it probably won't take us long to get to know each other."

"Well, if you two ever get sick of one another, feel free to call us. I will gladly loan you Tony." She chuckled along with her new coworker then the fell into an amicable silence.

After a few minutes, Greeley stood and picked up the darts. The man reminded her slightly of McGee and somehow that comforted her. She glanced over to where Tony was shooting pool with Rhodes. For a moment their eyes locked, and he grinned at her before looking back down to take his shot.


AN: Don't worry. I'm not trying to introduce Greeley as a love interest. Just a friend. I do have a plan for him though. This is a Tiva story, I assure you. Also, for those of you who may be like me and have issues deciding on last names for original characters, I found a great site. The link will be posted on my profile and Facebook page later today. Also, as a testament to how much I want to keep moving on this story, all but the first 200 words of this was typed after I sliced open my thumb while fixing lunch. The bandage slowed me down a bit, but I managed not to get any blood on the lappy.