A/N: Written as a Hangman prize for Smackalicious. She requested Tim and Ziva in the rain. She wanted romance. I gave her friendship. Such is life. :) Oneshot. No romance.

Disclaimer: I wish I owned NCIS, but I don't. I wish I was making money, but I'm not. I'm poor. Maybe I'll get NCIS for Christmas.

Stop and Smell the Rain
by Enthusiastic Fish

The water was coming down in rushing torrents, like a river had suddenly opened up in the sky and was pouring down directly on the two running through the park. One stumbled on the now-slick boards over the bridge; the other had no trouble at all and continued at the same steady pace. She didn't notice that her companion was just as steadily falling behind, although she wouldn't have been surprised. What had surprised her was that this was the third week they had been running together and he was still agreeing to come...and seemed to be enjoying himself. It was almost vindicating that finally she was leaving him behind.

"Ziva! Hold up!"

Ziva paused, jogging in place, and looked back at her companion. He was panting and brushing the sopping hair out of his eyes.

"McGee, if we stop here, we will only get wetter. It is better to continue and get back sooner."

To her surprise, Tim suddenly grinned. "You don't have to talk about the rain as if it is something to avoid, Ziva."

She stopped jogging. "What are you talking about, McGee? It is rain. You are supposed to get out of the rain, are you not?"

"Only if that's what you think is important."

"Do you not?"

"Not right now. This is the best kind of rain! It's slightly warm and..." he looked around, "it's driven everyone else away."

"Why is that a good thing?"

"Because..." Now, Tim's grin was positively mischievous. "...that means we can play in the rain without people thinking we're crazy."

"I think you are crazy, McGee."

"Come on, Ziva, don't tell me you've never played in the rain. I know it doesn't rain a lot in Israel, but it's got to rain some!"

"I was generally too busy to play in the rain," Ziva said flatly, trying to give the impression that Tim was wasting time with silliness...but Tim wasn't embarrassed. As he had said, no one else was around, and for some reason, her glare was not enough to quell him this time.

"If you have never played in the rain, Ziva, which I highly doubt, then you need to."

"I need to?" She could feel her heart rate lowering as they stood talking. "What I need to do, McGee, is finish my run. You may stay here and play if you are too tired to run."

Even that wasn't enough to get rid of Tim's grin, which only grew wider the more she spoke. Ziva willed herself to leave Tim to his childishness, but for some reason, the unabashed smile on his face kept her from turning and continuing on the trail...and she could see that he knew it. It bothered her a little that he knew her well enough to read her body language. She wasn't used to being around people long enough for that.

"Stop looking at me like that, McGee."

Tim's smile was now so wide that it threatened to crack his face in half. "Like what?"

"Like you know me."

"I do, Ziva."

"You know very little about me."

Tim shrugged. "True enough."

"Then, you do not know me."

"Yes, I do. I don't know about you. I know you, though...and I know that you think I'm being stupid...but at the same time, you want to be stupid with me."

"Do I?"

"Yes."

"So...how does one play in the rain?"

Looking for all the world as if he'd just won a million dollars...or a marathon, Tim laughed out loud, tipping his face up into the downpour. Then, he ran close to her and just when she was about to ask him what he was doing, he jumped into a particularly deep and muddy puddle right beside her, splashing her with muddy water halfway up her leg. She was about to yell at him when he laughed again and started running. Half-bewildered, half-annoyed and half-wanting to get back at him, she took off running as he left the trail, dodging through the trees. It slowed him down, however, and so he returned to the foot trail and sped up, knowing that revenge would come on swift feet.

Ziva could see him and she increased her pace as well...and she was gaining. She was far faster than he and they both knew it. She could hear him panting and she laughed, knowing the end was nigh. Closer and closer until...Tim suddenly turned around and grabbed her waist. She fought against such contact with the result that they both tumbled off the trail...onto the wet and above all, muddy ground. They were right beside the creek and Ziva looked at the muddy bank with a speculative eye. Before Tim could stop her, she grabbed a glob of mud and rubbed it firmly in Tim's hair and then stood up and started running again...but not at top speed.

She heard Tim's breathless laugh behind her and turned around briefly, issuing a silent challenge. Tim was still grinning, mud dribbling from his hair as the rain continued to fall. She was so proud of herself that she failed to look at his hand and as she turned around to continue running, she felt something gooey and sticky...possibly muddy hit her in the back.

"Ha!" Tim shouted. "You're it!"

"What am I?"

Tim laughed. "You're just it!" Then, he veered off on a fork in the trail, forcing Ziva to chase him once more. She did so...not even bothering to look at her back, not feeling annoyed. All she wanted was to...make Tim it. So she ran. As she did, she was surprised that Tim had so much stamina. She had always taken him for a lightweight when it came to physical exertion, no matter how much he'd improved over the last couple of years. He certainly was maintaining a level of speed that she had thought beyond him.

"Ziva! You coming?" Tim taunted.

"You do not want me to reach you, McGee!" she threatened, but even she could hear how little there was to the threat. She knew she was smiling.

Tim merely laughed and kept running, although he was slowing down. Still, she gained on him cautiously, seeing as he had surprised her before. The trees broke briefly and Tim ran off the trail and slid for a few feet on the slick grass. Then, he smiled at her and kept running. She mimicked him and slid, surprised at how much fun that had been. Then, she kept after him. Her sharp eyes noticed a large puddle across the trail about twenty feet away. With a sharp burst of speed, she brought herself even with Tim just as he reached it. As if in slow motion, she leapt into the air, as did Tim...only her trajectory was geared to bring her down right in the middle of the puddle. She landed just as Tim did and sent a large wave of water all over him. It hardly matter, since they were both soaked to the bone, but Tim laughed and instead of running, he grabbed her arm and began splashing her with the same puddle. With her free hand, she snatched his opposite arm and retaliated. They splashed and splashed each other until there was little water on the trail...and little falling from the sky. The first hesitant beam of sunlight surprised them both and they stopped splashing, looking up to find where it had come from.

"Storm's passing," Tim commented, panting heavily.

"Yes, I think you are right."

"Hey...come on!" Tim grabbed her arm and began pulling her along with him. "Hurry up! It's perfect!"

"What now? Do we go skinny-dipping in the creek?"

Tim stumbled as he laughed. "No! Just come on! You're supposed to be fast! Stop dragging your feet!"

She couldn't go slowly after that comment and she kept up with him, reclaiming her arm. They reached the edge of the park and Tim pointed giddily. "Look!"

Ziva followed his finger and saw a rainbow. She had seen them before of course. Rainbows happened often enough, but for some reason, after playing like a child, it seemed special. She stood quietly, staring at the rainbow, conscious of Tim taking deep breaths beside her, of the sprinkling of rain still falling, of the sunlight which had created the wonder they were both appreciating.

For a long moment, neither spoke. They just stood in companionable silence. Then, Ziva sighed.

"What do we do, now, McGee?" she asked.

"Now?" Tim asked, not really looking at her. "Now, we go home."

There was a part of her that wanted to protest, like a child who didn't want to stop playing, but she had to acknowledge the truth of his statement. They were both covered head-to-toe in mud, and both were soaked all the way through.

"Yes, I do believe you are right."

"I'm glad we brought your car," Tim said, grinning once more.

Ziva slugged him on the arm...and then, kissed him quickly on the cheek. "Thank you, McGee."

"For what?"

"For teaching me to play in the rain."

Tim nodded and smiled back, without the mischief this time. "Anytime, Ziva. Anytime. There's nothing wrong with being a child at heart."

The rainbow disappeared as the clouds continued to pass over the sun and the two friends jogged slowly back to Ziva's car. The ride to Tim's apartment was silent, and when they pulled up, neither moved for a moment. Then, Tim smiled gently at her and reached for the doorhandle.

"McGee."

"Yeah?"

"I am glad I got to see this side of you as well. I did not know that you could be this way."

"What way?"

"Free."

"Right back at ya, Ziva." Tim shrugged and leaned over to return the kiss on the cheek. Then, he got out, leaving a damp muddy spot on her upholstery.

Ziva watched as he climbed the front steps of his building. He paused just before he went inside and waved to her, the same different smile on his face. It made him look...mature. She leaned back to consider the dichotomy for a moment. It was so different from Tony's childishness which also had its place. Tim's was much more innocent, but Tim himself was not just a silly child. He was much more, and she would do well to remember that...and now she knew that she still had her own childish...or childlike side.

She put her car in gear and drove back to her apartment. As she got out, the rain started up again. She was about to run inside, but then, she stopped and tipped her face towards the sky ...and smelled the rain.

FINIS!