Disclaimer: Rockets' red glare, people. Celebrate the country you love by blowing up a small piece of it.

Spoilers: Through the end of Season 8 and beyond. But not to infinity and beyond; that would just be presumptuous.

Summary: More than one part – probably two, maybe three. Assuming our canon couplings don't last, what will our intrepid singles do to celebrate Our Nation's™ Independence? Not to mention the 148th anniversary of Gettysburg, which is admittedly not as impressive as the sesquicentennial, but hey…give it two years.

Skipping her run was always a mistake. Granted, Ziva had had every intention of running this morning – she was just going a little later because it was the Fourth of July and she didn't have to work. And was seven in the morning really that late on an off day? It was certainly earlier than she would have expected Tony to be awake on a day no one had called with mostly unexpected news of a dead petty officer. But, due to a quirk in scheduling, she had been home to answer his knocking as he stood on her doorstep with a case of beer. He was now sitting across from her at her kitchen counter, stirring a rapidly cooling cup of coffee and looking at her expectantly.

"So."

"So?" She felt that patience was the best course of action for the moment. He would talk when he was ready.

"So…are you drunk yet?"

She raised an eyebrow. "We are drinking coffee."

"Ri-i-i-i-ight. You put the beer in the fridge." He continued to stir his coffee. "Too early for drinking."

"It is only seven-thirty."

"So it is."

"Perhaps we can drink a few later while we watch the…ballgame?"

"Ballgame." He smiled. "Yeah, we can watch the ballgame. I think the Nationals play at one, O's for the nightcap."

"Good."

"Good," he repeated quietly, continuing to stir.

Her patience gave out. "Are you planning to tell me why you are here?"

"Huh?"

"Tony, you are not in the habit of showing up at my apartment unannounced."

"Not for awhile."

It was her turn to silently focus on stirring her coffee.

He eventually continued, "I just thought…well…I wasn't doing anything since EJ decided I was more of a fling than a relationship guy and I didn't think you had any plans for the day since you kicked CI-Ray to the curb…"

"I did not…" she paused, not really wanting to discuss her breakup with Ray at the moment. "I did not have any plans, no. What did you have in mind?"

"Well, first – nap."

"Why did you not sleep in at your apartment?"

"I wanted to catch you before you made plans."

"A phone call would have sufficed."

"I figured if you saw me in person in all my pathetic glory, it'd be impossible to say no to, y'know…hanging out…today. I mean, I know it's our day off and all, but you can give me my beer and send me out into the cruel, cold world…"

"It is not eight o'clock and already over eighty-five degrees. And the humidity…"

"All the more reason for you to skip the running and go back to bed. Though I do approve of the spandex. And tank top." He stood and walked to her thermostat, turning up the air conditioning. "I'll be on your sofa 'til…eh, get me up around ten. Then we'll make some plans."

"Tony…"

"It'll be fun." He grabbed a blanket off the back of the sofa as he collapsed onto it. "You, me, baseball, explosions…"

"Explosions?"

"Well, fireworks." He yawned and pulled the blanket up to his chin. "Perfect way to cap your first Fourth of July as an American."

"Second," she corrected.

"Really?"

"We were…preoccupied last year."

"Oh. Right." He was quiet for a moment. "Are you going back to bed?"

"I am going for my run."

"Really?"

"Really."

"So do you mind if I sleep in your bed while you're gone? Your couch is kinda lumpy. Plus, I'm tall."

She rolled her eyes. "If you insist on keeping the air on so high, I might as well take advantage. I will be on the treadmill."

"Hey, I need the air. I like to sleep under the covers. But I take it I'll be staying on the couch then."

"Whatever."

She was less than a minute into her warmup when he appeared in the door of her spare room. "I wasn't gonna poke through your drawers or anything."

"I thought you were napping."

"Yeah, about that. Can I sleep in the bed if I leave the door open?"

She increased the speed of the treadmill. "I never said you could not."

"You're, uh, gonna need a shower later, right?"

"Do not push your luck."

Ziva stood in front of her fogged bathroom mirror, hairdryer in hand. With slightly more effort she could be sporting long, straight locks, but it was Independence Day; unrestrained curls somehow seemed more appropriate. It still took forever.

When she was finished, she made her way to her bedroom. Tony was stretched out diagonally across the entire bed, snoring. She checked the time and made a decision. Her trip to the market on the next block took only twenty minutes, most of which had been spent arguing with the proprietor about her unusual purchase. It proved worthwhile, however, when she drew Tony out of her bedroom shortly after she started cooking. He was bleary-eyed, sniffing the air. "Bacon?"

She pushed the scrambled eggs in the neighboring pan with her spatula. "I am making breakfast."

"But…with bacon?"

"I thought you would like it."

"Of course I would! But…why do you have bacon? You're not that American."

"I am sure there are plenty of Americans, both kosher and not, who do not eat bacon. But I thought you would appreciate it, given the holiday."

"I'm not sure what it has to do with the Fourth, but I would appreciate bacon anytime, up to and including on my deathbed."

"Eat too much of it and you…" she trailed off as she looked up from her stovetop. He was focused on the pans, mainly the sizzling one on her left. She thought she had made too much for one person, but she couldn't be sure with bacon. "This is not too much, is it?"

"What? No!" He licked his lips. "Just let it get a little more crispy. Mmmmm."

"I scrambled the eggs."

"Uh huh."

"I know you do not like them sunny side up."

"Uh huh."

"I am adopting a polar bear cub. I will be raising it in my bathtub and training it to sniff out drugs."

"Yup."

She shook her head and speared a piece of bacon with a fork. "Is this crispy enough?"

"Oh, perfect."

He made a grab, but she pulled it back. "I will get a plate for you. The eggs are ready, anyway. The toast is…" She turned as a ding sounded behind her. "Toast is also ready."

Tony eagerly reached for the plate as she piled food onto it. "I should stop by unexpectedly more often!"

"Do not make…" She changed her mind in mid-sentence. "Do not think there will always be bacon."

"So…sometimes pancakes?"

She poured herself a cup of coffee from the fresh pot before joining him at her coffee table with her own plate. "If you behave."

"Add bee goo," he said with a full mouth. He was halfway through his pile of bacon when he spoke again. "I was thinkin'…"

"Really."

"Don't act so surprised. Anyway, I was thinkin' we could see the Nats' game in person instead of just on TV. Beer's more expensive, but…you can't say no to baseball and hot dogs on the Fourth."

She finished the last bite of her eggs. "Will we be able to get tickets?"

"Have you been paying attention? We'll probably get seats behind the dugout. The Nationals are almost as bad as Baltimore! It's almost enough to make me revert to the Yankee fannishness of my youth."

"I thought that we were supposed to be on the side of the Yankees on the Fourth of July."

"Nah, on the Fourth you've gotta go with Boston. I think they started this whole independence thing. You've got so much more to learn about being an American. At least you haven't said no to the baseball yet, even though I've suggested a National League team."

She opted not to ask for further clarification. "Won't it be a little crazy down near the Mall today?"

"Yeah, but…it's not like we're headed to the memorials. And we can park for free at the Navy Yard…"