This was a nice, little cove that they had managed to find. Something that they hadn't intended to find but had come across accidentally as they were scrambling over rocks. Yes, Ziva was quite proud of the fact that she had managed to persuade Tony to go looking for rockpools again. She did not think that he would after the first time and the whole crab situation but he surprisingly had not put up too much of an argument. Maybe He thought that it would not be worthwhile anymore, that she would not listen to him and just clamber over rocks without him, and he would be correct. But it was nice to have his company. Even if he was grumbling about soggy knees. Honestly, why he still wore jeans when they came to the beach was beyond her.

Unfortunately, it had turned out that there were no rockpools to be found despite all of her looking (and Tony's complaining because he did not exactly have the same dexterity as her on the rocks). But this cove was a nice enough consolation. Lots of pretty stones and shells. The child in her itched to collect them and bring them all home. Tony had got freaked out by a bird skull that had been washed up which she had found hilarious.

"I'm telling you it's bad mojo!"

"Mojo?"

Was this another English word she did not know? Why did English have so many words?

"Bad luck!"

"It is just a skull, Tony. It does not mean anything."

"It means that we're now cursed for a thousand years or something!" He said frantically, even waving his hands around for full effect.

She gave him an unimpressed look.

"Humans do not love for a thousand years."

Something she was glad of. Who would want to live that long? You would ne by yourself. With no one you cared about.

"Then it'll carry down through our descendants! I don't want my kids and their kids and their kids to be affected by some freaky bird curse!"

"There is no such thing!"

"I'm pretty sure there is."

"You watch far too many movies, Tony."

"And you don't watch enough!"

"You do realise that it was probably washed up from somewhere far away from here?" She said impatiently.

"And that's supposed to make me feel better?"

"Yes."

"Well, it doesn't. That means the curse has just been lying around in it waiting for us."

"Well, you. I do not believe in such things."

"Ziva!"

The look of panic on his face was almost amusing. Almost because it was mostly annoying.

"Yes?"

"You- I- you believe in ghosts!"

"But not curses," she acknowledged.

Ghosts were just different. Ghost were - something caught her eye behind them.

Tony snorted at her, "That doesn't make any -"

"The tide is coming in!" Ziva said, alarmed.

And it was coming in fast. How had they not noticed this? Was it because of that stupid bird skull that Tony had kept going on and on about (which definitely did not have a curse no matter what he said)? Had that really distracted them so much and lasted so long that the tide had changed during it? They were supposed to have had just under an hour before the tide had come in if she remembered correctly.

Well, none of that mattered now when the water was starting to rush around their feet. She really should start bringing sandals or something with her for these beach walks because now her socks were soaked. Not that that was the most important thing when the tide was coming in!

It was only after they clambered quickly back over the rocks and they reached the path, high above the level of the cove, that they felt safe. They were on solid ground where the water could not reach them.

Once they caught their breath, they smiled at each other, glad that that had a happy ending. Ziva internally winced at the thought of either of them being dashed against the jagged rocks that surrounded this area. They both may be strong swimmers but not when it came to an incoming tide, a strong current and sharp rocks.

"That was close," Tony said after catching his breath.

"Almost too close," she said, eyeing the water that was swirling around.

It would have been up to their knees if they had stayed.

His heart was still pounding from everything. Oh, wow, that had been close. And ridiculous.

"McGee never hears of this," Tony told Ziva.

"Of course," she readily agreed. "No one needs to know of this."

"Definitely not."

"We will not speak of it again."

"No, we won't."

"It was kind of fun though," Tony admitted after a stretch of silence.

She raised an eyebrow. "Fun?"

"Exhilarating then."

She cocked her head to one side and thought for a moment before slowly agreeing with him. He was correct, there was something exhilarating about not getting caught by the tide and she told him so.

"Maybe we should share this with McGee," he joked. "When do you ever say that I'm right?"

"McGee never bears of this," she insisted and then thought for a moment. "And neither does Abby."

"Yeah, no," he agreed instantly.

For some reason she didn't look too happy about that.

"Why do you Americans reply with a positive and a negative?" She complained. "How is anyone supposed to know what you mean if you say yes and No?"

He couldn't help it, he laughed at her. All that did was make her more angry and poke him in the chest.

"I was agreeing with you," he tried to explain, moving her hand away from him - surprisingly she let him. "Abby is not hearing about this."

"No one is hearing about this."

"Also, I told You that bird skull was bad mojo."

"Skulls cannot carry bad luck!"

"I'd say nearly getting drowned is pretty bad luck!"

"Nearly," she pointed out. "Which means we did not which is surely good luck?"