X. Whole

He probably thought she hadn't heard it, but she had, and it scared her to death. At first she'd been too sleepy to care, but then at 0500 her body had woken her up as it was accustomed to doing, and then the memory had come back to her so forcefully that she'd almost gasped. She'd clapped her hand to her mouth as she stared at Tony, his face barely inches from hers. And somehow what he'd said didn't seem so bad.

Now the sun was rising upon the horizon, its rays slipping in through the cracks of the blinds and falling gently onto the bed, lighting up Tony with a kind of ethereal radiance. Ziva watched as he shifted slightly in his sleep and then settled down again, his chest rising and falling rhythmically. It struck her as odd that he was completely at home in her bed, nestled comfortably within her sheets and with her in his arms.

Tony remained in that calm state for a few more minutes, at the end of which his eyes opened and he rolled away from Ziva with a startled yell, having found her with her nose almost touching his cheek and her eyes tacked onto his face. Ziva raised her eyebrows, and he rolled back, facing her this time. "G-Good morning," he stammered, his heartbeat endeavouring to return to normal.

Ziva smiled and moved away from him to sit up. "It is Christmas morning," she said unnecessarily, looking down at him.

"Yeah," Tony replied, gazing up at her. "So what are we going to do?"

Ziva thought for a moment. "I got you another present." She got up and padded out of the room silently, returning a few minutes later with a small box which she handed to Tony as she climbed back into bed.

Tony unwrapped the tiny gift and opened the box. Inside, against the dark purple felt, laid an elegant tie clip. Tony picked it up and studied it in shock. "Is this real silver?" He finally asked.

"Yes." Tony heard Ziva's smile rather than saw it.

"And those are diamonds."

"It is to go with your new tie."

"Ziva, this must've cost a lot."

Ziva shrugged, and again Tony sensed it rather than saw it. "I have a lot of money saved up from my Mossad days. The job requirements were terrible, but it paid well."

Tony glanced up at her, startled by her matter-of-fact tone, but relaxed when he saw that she was smiling at him. Then he tensed up. "I haven't got another present for you."

"It is okay. I am not expecting one."

Tony grinned. "Just the one is enough then?" He jerked his head at the snow globe sitting on the table next to her.

Ziva's eyes lit up. "Indeed." She picked up the snow globe, turned it over and then righted it again, watching as the white flakes drifted down and dotted the small world. Her entire face was alive with happiness as she did so, and Tony couldn't help but admire how carefree she looked; how…precious. Finally she turned to Tony. "Thank you for the present, Tony."

Tony held up his tie clip. "Thank you for the tie clip…" he hesistated. "And for the tie."

Ziva's face clouded as she remembered the events of that unhappy night, but cleared again. She bent down and kissed Tony on the forehead. "You are welcome." She got out of bed and left the bedroom, and Tony stayed to bask in the haze of contentment.

The delicious smell of breakfast soon came drifting in, and Tony, despite his reluctance properly awaken, went in search of food for his growling stomach. He wandered into the kitchen and stood watching Ziva cook. "We're having pancakes for breakfast?"

Ziva laughed. "It must be simple, Tony; we are going out after breakfast."

"Where are we going?"

"You will see."

"Did you know I would be here on Christmas morning?" Tony asked suspiciously.

Ziva paused; she opened and then closed her mouth. Then she muttered something unintelligible, and Tony was surprised to see a faint hint of pink on her cheeks.

"What did you say?"

"Breakfast is ready," Ziva replied serenely, taking a plate out of her cupboard and tipping the pancakes onto it. She handed the plate to Tony and got started on her own pancakes. "The maple syrup is over there," she said, waving her hand vaguely at the countertop.

.::.

An hour and a half later Tony found himself standing upon the frozen banks of a river, looking across the wide expanse of ice at the trees opposite. Even in winter the place was beautiful; it stole his breath, and when Tony looked back at Ziva next to him he thought she was the most beautiful woman in the world. As she stood there gazing across the river like he had, her eyes were filled with hopes and dreams. She was happy in a way that Tony had never seen before; it was the kind of happiness that radiated from the heart and that touched even the most miserable of souls.

"This is my favourite place to come to," she said, "Whenever I am sad this is where I will come. It takes all of my troubles away." She looked at Tony and smiled, and Tony realized then that she had chosen to take him to this place to because she didn't just trust him enough to let him into her world; she wanted and needed him to be a part of it.

"What troubles are those?"

"Oh, this and that. I found this place after Ari died and I needed somewhere to go to forget. I fell in love with it and I have always come back since."

"It is very beautiful," Tony agreed.

"Yes. And now it shall have happy memories too," Ziva said, so softly that Tony almost didn't hear.

.::.

After they left the river they took a stroll through town, neither of them willing to forget the mystical energy they had felt as yet. It started snowing as they walked down the streets, and that was when Ziva suddenly stopped and looked up into the blinding white, her hands outspread as she caught the snowflakes in her palms.

Tony was astonished. This was so unlike the Ziva he knew that it alarmed him; he became afraid that the events of the past week had pushed her over the edge. And then Ziva looked at him, her eyes full of laughter and life, and he knew that this was the real Ziva. The Ziva without walls, reservations, or baggage from her past; the Ziva who was innocent and playful and whole. The Ziva he had fallen in love with even though he hadn't known she'd existed.

"I am sorry," she said, laughing, "The flakes just look so tempting." Then her walls fell neatly back into place and she was back to being the assassin Ziva in the blink of an eye.

"Don't be sorry," Tony said as he put an arm around her shoulders, and he felt her walls crumble away again.

They continued to walk down the street, his arm keeping her firmly to his side. As they rounded a corner the tinkling of a bell was heard, and soon they found the source. It was a teenage girl in a red dress and a Santa hat; a tin can was strung around her neck and she was ringing the bell cheerily, wishing people a Merry Christmas as they passed by. Most of them ignored her, but she kept up her cheer unfazed by them.

"Good morning! Would you like to make a donation to the children of the Sunnyside Orphanage?" She asked Tony and Ziva as they approached.

"Sure, I'll make a donation," Tony answered as he stepped up and slipped some dollar bills into the can.

"Thank you!" The joy on the girl's face showed just how much his contribution meant. "Have a very Merry Christmas!"

Tony and Ziva were turning to walk away when a little boy stepped out of the building of which they were in front. He looked up, and then his eyes widened and he jumped up and down, saying gleefully to them, "You're standing under mistletoe!"

Tony and Ziva glanced up too, and sure enough, they were standing beneath the mistletoe which hung on the ledge of the building. It was a merry sight; the green leafs adorned with a bright red bow. The little boy clapped his hands, triumphantly saying, "Now you must kiss!"

And to Ziva's tremendous surprise Tony swooped in and placed a gentle kiss on her lips. She jerked back in shock, and Tony stepped away immediately. "Sorry," he said.

Ziva's lips parted slightly. "No." She leant in and kissed Tony, and this time he didn't step back. And it felt like the most natural thing in the world for the both of them to do.

Ziva's knees were nearly giving out when they finally broke apart. Tony laughed and grinned at the little boy as they walked off.

"So, what's your New Year's resolution?" He asked Ziva.

"Oh, I do not know…"

Neither of them noticed that her hand had somehow found a way to slip into his.

.::.

A/N: And that's it for Christmas Time! I hope you guys enjoyed it, and thanks a million for reading, reviewing, and supporting us throughout this entire story! We give you each a gold star and a free (Santa Clause) cookie as a Thank You gift.

A/N #2: In case you haven't noticed, Ziva didn't say "I Love You" back to Tony. That's because...we're going to write a New Year's fic! Haha. Like Ash, I'm evil. We hereby invite you to continue on the journey with us, in the hopes of hearing Ziva tell Tony she loves him. The first chapter will be posted tomorrow (or maybe Monday). So if you're going to join us, see you there! If not, thanks for reading and have a Merry Christmas!

-Soph, over and out