A/N: Yes. This is another Jet Lag centered fic. I opened Office and this just poured out of me. It took me all of forty-five minutes to write and is nothing that I thought I would be writing. I'm not even sure if I like it. I really hope you do.

WARNINGS: Just a tad bit racy at one point. Title for this story is borrowed from the song of the same title by Kellie Coffey. This is unbeta'd.

~o~

When You Lie Next To Me

~o~

Her first thought was that she could handle this.

Sure, the front desk of the hotel had screwed up and booked them only one room. Of course it happened to have only one bed in it. The fact that there was also a couch was her lifeline; one of them would sleep on it and there would be no issue.

Then Tony had given her the look.

The challenge in his eyes when he'd suggested they just share the bed was something she couldn't back down from.

That's how she'd ended up lying in his arms. That's how they'd both lost control.

That's how they'd kissed.

And touched.

And connected on a level she'd known was coming for quite some time. A way she'd almost given up hope on.

Then she'd lain awake, her brain analyzing all the reasons why that was probably a mistake.

She'd been gone before he woke up, hastily scribbling a note mentioning that she'd be at the cafe down the street.

There had been no time to face what had happened before resuming their mission. There was a reason they had been sent to Paris. A reason why they'd ended up in that hotel room.

There was always a reason for these things. A purpose for their happening.

Why now? Why had they succumbed to the blaze that burned between them now? After all that had happened, how was this new facet of their relationship supposed to survive? There were still so many wrongs to right, so many issues that kept them apart.

It was the longest plane ride of her life. Sitting so close to him. Acting as if everything was normal. Pretending there wasn't a torrent of feelings raining down inside her body, filling her up to the brim so that she felt she would burst. Brushing off their charge's questions about their undefined relationship with a laugh and a loaded glance in his direction.

She even lied about the couch just to ward off the unwanted inquiries.

Fortunately the ride ended eventually. The mission was barely a success, but it was one. One more crisis had been averted by their efficiency as a team.

Being back in the bullpen, sitting across from him, feeling his piercing eyes touching her, feeling her out, it was confusing. So much had changed, yet there was still something that was so close to the same.

Then she heard him say something to McGee about the empty couch.

She had to ask.

"Why'd you lie to McGee?"

The deep eyes settled on hers, "Why did you lie to Nora?"

There wasn't really any way to answer that question.

This was the closest they'd come to discussing the events of that night and it seemed that neither were capable of it.

He went back to flipping through his horrible pictures and then showed her the one he'd taken of her. It was from the morning after, the sly smile on her face a result of the only happy thought she'd allowed herself.

She could do nothing but blush.

The subject was changed when someone else came in the room. They were professional again.

Normalcy fled when she was walking out to her car. She was alone. Going home to her empty apartment.

It felt unusual.

One night with Tony had made her solitary life a foreign concept. Almost as if he was the reason she shouldn't be alone.

It was twelve-thirty in the morning when the doorbell sounded. She wasn't asleep.

Through the peep-hole, she could see a nervous-looking Tony. He was unsure of why he was there. The fact that he was unsure cause her hands to shake as she turned the locks and opened the door.

She knew there was something she should say, but her voice had escaped her body. All she could do was stare at him and wait.

Wait for what, though? What did she want him to do?

She didn't even know. This man made her feel lost and found at the same time, gave her a place to run from and a place to belong.

So many things were hinged on his purpose here.

She'd never felt so fragile.

"Can I come in?" His voice pierced the silence cautiously, shattering the fog she was trapped in.

This was Tony. This was her partner, her protector, her friend... and now her lover.

Why was she so afraid?

She backed up to allow him inside. He closed the door softly behind him.

The silence stretched again, this time enveloping them, pushing her body closer to his. She was stepping toward him without knowing it, only stopping when his hand reached out to take hers.

"Zee..." He breathed, threading their fingers together. "What are we doing?"

She was transported back to the way they were. The distance they'd always kept. The love she'd know he had for her, yet she'd never felt ready for.

She'd spent her time pretending it wasn't there, throwing herself into her ill-fated relationship with Michael. Tried to forget that the feelings she'd previously felt for Tony were finally being returned.

They had always been terribly good at putting on a show when it came to each other. Though neither was fooling the other.

Yet it had still surprised her when he came to her rescue time and again. When he'd risked everything for her. When he'd chased her to Africa and admitted he couldn't live without her.

This was her Tony. He'd always been hers.

"We are no longer pretending," she whispered. Then she used her free hand to draw his head down and press her lips to his.

His hand was in her hair now. Their mouths were drinking each other in, voraciously exploring newly familiar territory. Every brush of skin said I love you without a word.

Every touch completed her.

Something about this felt right. There would never be a way this was wrong.

There would never be uncertainty about where his heart lie. There would never be the awkwardness of divulging secrets. There was nothing he didn't already know.

That's what happened when you kissed your best friend. When you turn a lover out of your partner.

They complimented each other in more ways than previously thought; not all their compatibility was work-related. It was there, in the way they both pulled away to breathe at the same time. The way they both began to walk toward her bedroom. The question in his eye asking if this was okay, the answer when her fingers unfastened his waistband.

The dance ended when they reached the bed, both vying for dominance with her allowing him to win. His eyes seemed to deepen when he buried himself inside her.

Moving together, there was synchronicity. They met each other with each motion they made, as if choreographed in some private dance routine.

Once her head was resting on his chest, feeling the rise and fall of it as he caught his breath, she no longer needed to talk this out with him. There was no need to go over the consequences; there was no turning back now.

The collision course had been plotted the first time they met. They were an unstoppable force. Now that they had crashed, there would be no denying it. They were inevitable.

There would be Gibbs to deal with. There was no point in trying to hide from him, so they would have to just tell him. She would be surprised if Gibbs fought them about it. Something told her he would smirk and proceed to ignore it.

Her eyes were closing as Tony's arm tightened around her. He whispered something in her hair, something quiet.

She had an idea of what it was. She also knew he assumed she was asleep.

One day she'd return it. Until then, this was enough. Lying in his arms and knowing the fight was over.

This was where she belonged. Sheltered by the knowledge that Tony was soul mate.

She could definitely handle this.

Everything that matters is in this room...
When you like next to me.

A/N: The funny thing about this is that I don't even think they had sex in Paris. This is just what came out. Please let me know what you think.