PAST TENSE

Chapter 1:

Gibbs was furious. Tony was late, again. "Where the hell is DiNozzo" he asked whoever was in earshot. Ziva and McGee were both at their desks, trying to look busy, neither one of them wanting to have to cover for Tony's whereabouts.

It was then that Tony walked into the bullpen, dark glasses still on and a coffee in his hand. 'Sorry I'm late Boss", he said as he headed to his desk and flipped on the computer. He sat down without any further explanation, taking off his sunglasses to reveal very tired, puffy eyes. Dark circles marked the skin under his eyes and he looked a little paler than usual. He coughed briefly before taking another sip of his hot drink.

"You sick DiNozzo? Cos if you are I don't want you in here", Gibbs was staring directly at him.

"Na, not really, just a little tired. Can't seem to get enough sleep lately".

"Maybe if you actually slept instead of doing whatever else it is you do when you go to bed you may not be so tired", Ziva was trying to torment him, but it wasn't working.

"Yeah well Ziva that's really none of your business now is it? Or are you jealous? Y'know, all you have to do is ask", Tony decided it may be fun to play this game after all.

"In your dreams", Ziva replied with sarcasm dripping from her voice.

"Oh but I do dream about you Zee-vah… c'mon, admit it. You dream about me too, don'tcha?" This is fun, he thought.

"Yeah, only when I'm delirious."

"Ouch!" McGee shook his head at Tony.

Ziva looked across at Tony and raised her eyebrows, Tony smiled back at her as they reached a truce before deciding they should do some work. Little did Tony realize, thought Ziva, that she actually had dreamt of him. Several times. But she would never admit it – and especially not to one special agent Anthony DiNozzo…

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Another body had been found, one with identical cuts and abrasions as the previous two. This was the third young woman found murdered near the Marine Corp Base at Quantico in as many weeks. It was plainly obvious they were dealing with a serial killer, one who's motive was as yet unknown. All women had been strangled, were under 30 with long dark hair, and that was all they had to go on.

Gibbs was hoping Ducky could help provide him with more information, but so far, no luck. The doctor was equally frustrated that he couldn't come up with more, and had decided to go over the body a second time, not that he wasn't extremely thorough the first time. He just had to find out what had happened to the poor girl, and help her get some closure. And the more he could find out, the more he could tell Gibbs and the closer they may be to finding who did this. He to at least try. For her sake.

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As the day wore on, Tony's condition worsened. He felt absolutely terrible. Fortunately Ziva had stopped teasing him so he could just wallow in his own self pity as he coughed his way through the afternoon. Gibbs was so focused on the latest case that he had stopped showing concern over Tony's obvious discomfort. And Tony was too stubborn to admit he felt like he had the plague – again…

"OK, its going to be a late one, I want everyone working on this case. And I mean everyone DiNozzo – you should have taken the chance to go home when you had it". Gibbs was adamant. There was a killer on the loose and it was up to them to find out who it was they were dealing with.

Tony had just finished another coughing fit as Gibbs stood and stared at him. "You quite finished? Here". He threw a box of Tylenol cough and cold tablets on Tony's desk. He had just dug them out of his own drawer, checking the use by date. "These are still OK – use them".

Tony looked at the box through bleary eyes, 'what, Gibbs doesn't think I already tried something like this?' he thought sarcastically to himself. He quietly got up and dragged his aching body towards the bathroom. Once inside, he leant against the wall and sighed. It didn't feel like a regular cold, he thought. He felt weak, not unlike when he was coming down with the Y-Pestis plague he had fought almost a year ago. In fact, it was pretty much a year ago to the day. He thought about going to see Ducky, so after he cooled himself by splashing cold water on his face, he decided to head down to the lab and see if he could ease his mind.

Upon entering the lab, he could see that Ducky was so entrenched in an autopsy that he figured it wasn't a good time, so he turned around and headed back to his office, un-noticed.

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After pizza had been ordered, and everyone but Tony had eaten because he had absolutely no appetite, the agents were finally given a reprieve as Ducky called Gibbs barely able to contain the news he had to share. He had found a small piece of fingernail embedded in the neck of the latest victim and he already had Abby running tests on it for a possible ID.

Gibbs was satisfied the rest could wait until morning, so he ordered Tony, Ziva and McGee to go home and get a few hours sleep before meeting back at the office in a few hours. Abby had estimated a 4 hour minimum wait for the results; Gibbs had wanted it in 2. She would do her best.

Tony was barely able to get out of his chair. He was beyond coughing, he was just plain exhausted and breathing was a chore. Ziva offered to drive him home and pick him up again in the morning. He was too tired to complain. As they walked to her car, he swayed a little and had to rest against a nearby van, closing his eyes. Ziva was worried about him, really worried. She decided she would spend the night on his sofa and keep an eye on him. She helped him into her car and as they headed towards his apartment he immediately fell asleep. Upon arrival she grabbed her gym bag out of the trunk, knowing there was a change of clothes in it and then woke Tony to take him upstairs. She hadn't been to his place before but knew where it was.

He lived in a fairly new apartment, complete with wall to ceiling windows in the main living area with exposed wooden beams running across the high ceiling. It was very stylish yet lived in and comfortable - not at all what she expected. His furniture was understated; two large, soft leather sofas were arranged around a built-in fireplace with a large LCD TV screen mounted on the wall opposite. Countless DVD's lined the nearby shelves. The floors were polished wood, and the kitchen was open plan overlooking the living area.

She helped him inside and the next task was to get him up the stairs to his bedroom, which was in an open loft and also overlooking the rest of the living area. He somehow gained some energy and managed to get upstairs with her help before flopping face first on his unmade bed. Ziva removed his shoes, and also tried to roll him over to remove his jeans. She carefully pulled them off his body without taking his boxers with them. As much as she had fantasized about removing Tony's clothes, this was not the scenario she had envisaged. He needed her help as a friend right now and that was what she was going to give him, with an added touch of TLC of course. He moved long enough to help her take his shirt off, then he collapsed flat on his back and fell fast asleep. Ziva thought about curling up next to him, but decided one of the sofas downstairs would be fine, plus if he needed her she could still hear him.

She headed downstairs, taking a blanket with her. It wasn't along before she too was fast asleep.

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A ringing phone woke Ziva from a deep sleep. She instinctively reached for it and answered with a sleepy 'hello'.

"Officer David?" It was Gibbs.

"Mmhmmm, is it morning already?" She mumbled while rolling onto her back, careful not to fall off the sofa.

"Yes, and you are answering DiNozzo's phone because…"

"Oh, I slept here last night" she honestly replied. "Tony wasn't well so I stayed." She yawned. "Something wrong with that?"

"You really don't want to know. Let me talk to DiNozzo."

"I don't know if he's awake yet. I'll go upstairs and see". Ziva took the phone with her, keeping an angry Gibbs on the line as she did so.

"Tony. Tony! Wake up. Gibbs wants to talk to you" she lightly shook him.

He opened his eyes and tried to talk but it felt like a pack of open razor blades were sliding up and down his throat. "Argh, can't. Sore". He winced as he coughed, then rolled over, ignoring Ziva as he burrowed his head face first into the pillow.

"Ah, he's not at all well, Gibbs. I think he better stay home".

"You do, do you? You are a doctor now too, are you Officer David? How about you wake him up and I see you both in here ASAP? Understand?" Gibbs was in a bad mood, and it was getting worse by the second. First he had been up all night, now he had 2 of his best agents sort-of sleeping together, and one of them determined to test his patience if he didn't get his sorry ass out of bed and into the office within the hour. He knew DiNozzo and David were not 'sleeping together' as such, but it bothered him that he had to drag DiNozzo in on a day when he really should be in bed getting better. It conflicted him to do so but he had no choice, they had found a lead and needed everyone on it. If all went well, they would find the killer before days end and then all of them could finally go home and get some sleep.

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Ziva hated to disturb Tony, but she had no choice. She helped him up and into the bathroom, which was an ensuite to the bedroom. Turning on the shower, she waited while he struggled to kick off his boxers, too out of it to care that she was standing right next to him. He stepped into the shower and groaned as the hot water hit his sensitive skin. Closing his eyes, he let the water course over his aching body, hoping it would relieve some of the lethargy he couldn't shake. Ziva quietly left him alone, going downstairs to her bag to find some clean clothes – she hoped; it was her gym bag after all. Lucky for her, she found a pair of cargo pants and a long sleeved t-shirt style top that would be perfect for the day ahead.

As Tony stepped out of the shower, she walked into the bathroom and theirs eyes met. She held her clothes as she looked directly at him, unabashedly taking in his masculine form. He stepped forward, reaching for a towel all the while keeping his gaze locked on her. Droplets of water fell from his wet hair down his face, making him blink and lick his lips. He also needed to shave as dark stubble was evident on his handsome face. Water trickled down his torso, clinging to his wet chest hair. She dare not look any lower as she swallowed and broke the moment, looking away to allow him some privacy. Tony wrapped the towel around his waist, and moved past her into the bedroom.

Ziva closed the bathroom door and took a deep breath, leaning against the door. She was mad at herself for looking at him like that. He wasn't well and she was here to help him, not potentially seduce him. Another time perhaps…

She quickly showered as Tony dressed in the other room. He was sitting on the edge of the bed rubbing his throat as she emerged from the bathroom, all ready and dressed.

"Don't know how long I'll last today…" Tony was barely audible, what little voice he had left was raspy. "And don't really care," he added as an afterthought before coughing, his body shaking.

"OK, that's it. You are not going in. I don't care what Gibbs says. You need to see a doctor. Perhaps I can take you on my way in – you may need antibodies"…

Tony inwardly smiled and tried to correct her, "antibiotics", but she couldn't understand him over the coughing.

Her concern warmed him, and he wished he felt better so he could tell her how much he appreciated everything she had been doing for him. He especially didn't mind her looking him over as he stepped out of the shower. Under different circumstances he would have taken that as his cue to make a move. Damn this flu thing or whatever it is, 'I'm losing my touch,' he thought. He made a mental note to do something about it when he was feeling better. In the meantime, he had Gibbs to deal with, and in his present state he was not looking forward to that at all.

TBC…