FOREVER LOVED AND FORGOTTEN

"Zee-vah..." Tony called out as he entered his apartment; she had left work early and told him that he was going to be at his apartment. As he entered the apartment he realised that the hallway light was dim and the only sound that was coming was from the bathroom, where the shower was running. He flicked the living room light on before walking into the bedroom and getting changed into comfortable sweats and a tee, just as he did so Ziva entered the room wrapped in a towel, his towel.

"Shalom Tony!" she said as she made her way to the drawer that she had claimed hers as her visit to Tony's apartment became regular.

"Hey, have you had dinner?" he asked as he threw his work clothes into the hamper.

"Not yet!" she said as she slipped on her underwear and one of Tony's tees, leaving her legs bare allowing Tony's eyes to travel up and down. "Enjoying the view Tony?"

"Oh…I've enjoyed a lot more!" he said his eyes twinkling. She moved forward kissing him gently and lovingly, wrapping her arms around his neck. They'd been working on a long case for over a week and moments like these needed to be treasured. "Lets go out for dinner," he mumbled, his lips brushing against hers lightly.

"Not tonight…last nights lasagne is on the menu!" she said untangling herself from him, as she made her way to the kitchen.

"I can live with that!" he said following her out.

They ate dinner with casual conversation about how McGee was spending way too much time in his virtual world and about Abby's new tattoo that only Ziva knew the location of; Tony did all the sweet 'boyfriend' talk he could to get it out but it wasn't coming out of her mouth. Now they lay tangled on the couch watching really irritating reality TV, where the women were complete bitches and the guys were complete bastards.

"Tony?"

"Hmm?" his face was hid in the crook of her neck; he was swimming in the scent of her berry, tea and orange flower extract shampoo.

"Why are we watching this?"

"I'm not, you're" Ziva tucked herself deeper into Tony's embrace. She was enjoying the comfortable silence that filled the space; it was nice to be held by a man who loved you, a man who knew nothing about commitment and relationships, a man who jeopardised his career to protect you, a man who put his life on the line to save yours…she could go on and on, but she was rudely disrupted by Tony's phone.

"Hello!" Ziva greeted the caller.

"Ziva!" McGee's surprised voice came through.

"Why do you sound so surprised Tim?"

"Guess I'm still getting used to you guys!" he said sheepishly, they'd found out that Tony and Ziva were now officially a couple after rumours arose that they were dating by the simple fact that Tony had gone to save her life…okay maybe not a simple fact.

"Can I help you Tim?" she asked politely, a smile grazing her features.

"Yeah…Gibbs said that Tony needs to come in early tomorrow…like zero five hundred, with a bag packed for at least a week!"

"Where is he going Tim?"

"He's going to Rota with Gibbs, NCIS in Rota got a lead on our case and Gibbs and Tony are going to head the investigation from there"

"Oh…I will be sure to tell him. Good night"

"Night Ziva. See you tomorrow!" Ziva snapped the phone shut and left it back on the coffee table.

"What'd McGee want?" She explained the situation as McGee had told her. "Ooh…Rota. Nice!" she smiled; of course she would have expected that response from him.

"Tony, come back in one piece, please!" She mumbled. She was worried about not having his back. She knew Gibbs would be there but Gibbs wasn't his partner and she was much more comfortable when she knew that she could have his back.

"Don't worry sweet cheeks…nothing can destroy this perfection right here" he said teasingly.

"You'll find that it can!" he knew what she was thinking, the various ways in which he or she or anyone in the team could get hurt as soon as they steeped into the field. She turned around to face him; his deep green eyes searched her dark pool of chocolate. She smiled before leaning forward and capturing his lips with hers "You should give me a proper goodbye" making him grin.

"I can do that!" Tony said. Ziva stood from the couch and walked into the bedroom adding an extra swing to her hips; Tony grinned and followed suit.