Early morning light filtered through the curtains, which hadn't been pulled closed the night before. Fortunately, the bedroom window faced west. It was definitely early enough for a run before work. Maybe even too early.

No, wait.

Ziva considered her situation for a moment. She could lie in bed, enjoying the warmth no matter how late it got. She was in less pain than she remembered from the previous day, though she did catch herself before stretching out under the covers. Definitely no run today and no work either, though it was supposed to be a holiday regardless, as Christmas had fallen on Sunday. In fact, she wouldn't be back at work until after the New Year began. She suspected she would be doing a lot of paperwork through the month of January.

She did a quick self-assessment and found that she still couldn't breathe too deeply, but otherwise…there was just an unexplained weight on her abdomen. She turned her head to Tony, open-mouthed and drooling on the pillow as he snored beside her. Lifting up the edge of the comforter, she saw his hand resting on her stomach. She gently traced her fingers over his knuckles. His only reaction was to reach slightly further, fingers bending to conform to the curve of her waist.

She sighed and reached slowly toward his cheek. He was slightly stubbly. Nice against the palm if not the lips. Not that she had any reason to consider how his unshaven cheek and her lips would have any contact in the near future. Or any future. She withdrew her hand. "Oh, Tony. Why are you here?"

He murmured a few nonsense words that sounded like, 'Mud wrestling. Eggs.' She decided not to wake him, settling her hand on top of his on her stomach. She was quite warm and comfortable at the moment, and with no real reason to get up…

When she opened her eyes again, the light had changed from dawn to full-on morning. It was past the point of being late for work and almost to the time Gibbs would be putting out a BOLO if either of them were supposed to be at NCIS today. Her stomach growled and she remembered that it was much later than she usually ate breakfast and much, much later than…no, dinner had been skipped. She yawned too deeply and yelped at the sudden pain.

"You okay?"

"Fine." She waited until she could smile believably to turn her head. "You are awake."

Tony grinned, not looking like he'd just woken up. "Merry Day After Christmas."

"Boxing Day?"

"That was quick. Can't you put off hitting me until you're all better?"

She decided it would be better not to enlighten him about the true nature of Boxing Day. "What are you doing?"

"Oh, y'know, sleeping in, not wearing pants. The usual."

She didn't ask about his pants. "I mean why are you still here?"

"Well, after you went to sleep, it started to rain so I figured I would wait that out. Got comfy on the couch, watched some basketball…then I got hungry, so I ate a yogurt I found in the living room and some Chinese food from the fridge. I'm not sure which one made me feel queasy, but I was tired, too, so I tried to sleep on the couch but I was getting a kink in my neck, so I figured you wouldn't mind if I took this side of the bed and I fell asleep here and it was cold when I woke up so I just stayed under the covers because I don't have anywhere else to be right now."

"And your hand?"

"Hm?" He tapped his fingers against her stomach but didn't try to pull it away, so she didn't try to grip it. "Oh, well, when I came to bed last night, I'd been lying here about an hour or so and I realized you hadn't even tried to kick me, so I just wanted to make sure you were still breathing. You were so I dozed off again and…you'll notice it's on the outside of your shirt. I mean, my shirt."

"I will wash it before I give it back."

"Eh, whatever. If you don't, I can wear it to work out and then the guys at the gym will think I got up close and personal with that one hot spinning instructor. She doesn't smell as good as you, but those jerks don't know that."

"And how do you know that?"

"Even if I weren't lying in bed with you right now, I'm around you all the time. It's hard not to notice that you smell nice. Most of the time."

"Um, thank you, but I meant…"

"Oh, hot spinner. She had a flat tire in the parking lot one night and I changed it for her. She wouldn't even buy me a thank you drink. Something about her husband being the jealous type. Although apparently not the able-to-change-a-tire type. Jerk just stood there with her and watched me! I wouldn't trust a personal trainer who can't change a tire."

"That was a…story." She decided to change the subject. "So what happened to your pants?"

"They're on the floor. Relax, I have boxers on." He wriggled closer to her, but his hand on her abdomen remained the only point of contact. "You can check if you don't believe me."

"I trust you. For some strange reason."

"Well, you haven't kicked me out of bed yet, even though I stole one of your shirts to sleep in." She frowned. Ray's t-shirt wasn't quite big enough for Tony's larger frame and appeared to be getting stretched out. She didn't mention it. He continued, "So is there a Fake Madrid that competes with this one?"

"It is football."

"Soccer, Ziva. You're supposed to be an American now. And you didn't answer the question. Or you can skip that one and tell me about this Sergio Ramos guy whose shirt you stole and hid with your pajamas. Ex-boyfriend?"

She rolled her eyes. "He is one of the players." When Tony waggled his eyebrows, she added, "And, no, I have never dated a professional footballer. Besides, I am a Barça fan."

"Then how come you've got shirts for another team."

"Ray…" She swallowed hard as Tony finally pulled his hand off her stomach. "Ray is a Real Madrid fan."

He rolled onto his back so he was no longer facing her. "CI-Ray shouldn't be encouraging this fake football stuff. From now on, you're a Redskins fan. Or a Ravens fan. I'd go with the Ravens. Their season hasn't been over since…the beginning of the season."

She made an effort to roll onto her side. "You did not have to stay, but…I am glad you are here."

"Seriously?"

"What?"

He turned back onto his side. "No, I just thought you had broken ribs, but apparently there was some head trauma, too."

She punched him on the shoulder, but she couldn't put much behind it. "Would you like some breakfast?"

"How about I take you out for breakfast? If you feel up to it, I mean. I could always run out and get something."

"I think that may be the best idea."

"Real breakfast or donuts?"

"Surprise me."

"All right. Let me get my pants." He was fully dressed and out the door a minute later, only to poke his head back into the bedroom. "Do you need some water to take one of your pills?"

"I have some."

"Okay, be back in a little while." He was gone for only a few seconds. "Ziva?"

"Yes?"

He smiled. "Nothing."

She returned the smile. "You too."

The End