I haven't forgotten this story! I promise! I don't know why I had so much trouble finishing this chapter. I wanted to have this done about a month ago, but then I got an idea for a cathartic little one shot I had to write, and then I had inspiration for chapter 13 that I was excited about and anyway, this chapter was kinda left abandoned. Hope you think it's okay.

He held her eyes in a steady gaze, marveling at the pure vulnerability that etched her features, while her hand dropped from his face and came to rest above his heart. She could feel the rapid rhythm of his pulse beneath her palm, mirroring the sporadic beat within her own chest. Her nerve induced, shallow breaths began to even out and her eyelids fluttered closed as his fingers moved to tangle in the curls at her nape, slowly guiding her lips back to his. The soft pressure of his mouth against hers soon dissipated as the kiss deepened; his rough morning stubble brushing along the edge of her lips, sending rays of goose bumps down her arms as they moved to wrap firmly around his waist, bringing his warm torso to mold along her body. His lips began to drift from her own, finding new residence along the panes of her flushed cheeks, lightly grazing peppered kisses down her jawline until both inhaled shaky breaths as he pulled back, bringing his forehead to rest against hers.

"What does this mean?" he questioned, drawing back and cupping her cheek while his thumb ran across her lower, now moistened lip.

"I do not want to be alone anymore," she spoke in a near whisper, pulling her gaze up to meet his.

He brushed a stray curl from her eyes and took a breath. As vague as her words might have seemed to an onlooker, their meaning and implication held incredible weight to Tony as he finally knew their interpretations were the same. "Okay," he accepted, and with his accepting words she folded into his embrace as he tugged her against his side, her body pressed along his while he buried his face in her curls.

In the stillness, a soft rumble of Tony's stomach stirred the silence and Ziva chuckled softly, drawing back to level her gaze with his. "Perhaps it is time for breakfast, hmm?" she hummed against his lips before leaning in and pressing a brief kiss along the corner of his mouth prior to beginning to untangle their limbs and roll out of his grasp. Yet before she could slip off the bed his arm caught around her waist, towing her back to his side and bringing her to spoon against his chest.

"Just five more minutes," he pleaded against the warmth of her skin, holding her snugly to him and inhaling her intoxicating scent.

Ziva released a quiet sigh in willing surrender. "Five more minutes," she allowed.

His arm remained looped tightly around her waist while he placed a lingering kiss to the soft skin of her neck. She proceeded to hook her calf around his leg, effectively drawing his body closer to hers while her hand found his that had been tracing light circles along her hip bone and intertwined their fingers.

They rested in each other's embrace well beyond the allotted five minutes until Ziva finally shifted in his arms to face him and roll him onto his back, pulling herself up to lie half on top of his torso, their chests pressed together. Bringing her hands up to frame his face, she took a moment to run her thumbs across his morning whiskers before dipping down to place a tender kiss to his lips.

"Food," she murmured faintly, pulling back and sliding off of him. She threw her legs over the edge of the bed and stretched her arms above her head, drawing them to one side and then the other, causing her lower back became exposed as Tony's borrowed t-shirt rode up her tanned skin. He couldn't resist the urge to run his fingers across the small expanse of exposed backside, and at his unexpected touch Ziva dropped her arms and peeked over her shoulder, throwing him a disapproving stare.

"That tickles," she cautioned with a reproachful tone, though Tony could easily perceive the teasing glint in her eyes.

"My ninja, ex-Mossad assassin is ticklish?" he questioned in mock surprise while she finally stood and turned to face him, his t-shirt falling back to mid-thigh.

"There is much you have yet to learn about me," she informed him with a smug smile before turning to make her way out of the bedroom.

Tony scrambled to follow, not catching her until she was already in the kitchen and standing in front of the open, nearly empty refrigerator, clearly attempting to determine what kind of breakfast could be made with minimal ingredients.

"I've been meaning to make a trip to the grocery store," he apologized from a few feet behind her, his voice causing her to glance over her shoulder and offer a forgiving smile.

"That is fine. I think there is enough for omelets," she considered, reaching for the eggs and instantly hoping her words would hold to be true at the alarmingly light weight of the carton. "Will you grab the cheese and onion please?"

"As you wish," he obeyed, delivering the requested ingredients and beginning to work in tandem by her side.

…

"Favorite animal?" he asked with enthusiasm, swallowing his last bite of omelet and continuing his round of twenty questions he had insisted upon following Ziva's claim that there was still much he had to learn about her.

"I do not know Tony. Israel is mostly a desert. Our wildlife is not too exciting," she returned, chuckling softly.

"But you must've been to the zoo as a kid, right? There's gotta be something you remember seeing."

In an instant, her eyes turned downcast, and he realized the childhood she had been robbed of had not permitted time for weekend trips to the zoo. Rather than probing her on the subject, he chose a different approach, taking a breath before beginning his story.

"You know, the one thing that rivaled my mother's movie obsession was her fascination with animals. I can't even count the number of Saturday afternoons we spent wandering the exhibits at the zoo… She loved the birds. They had this great big atrium with all these tropical birds you could feed with these little cups of juice. After an incident when I was five and ended up with bird poop splattered on my head, I hated that bird atrium- bit of a traumatic experience for me-" He paused and laughed reminiscently before continuing. "She would drag me there every time though, despite my near tantrums, and spend ages in there talking about how beautiful and free birds are. Once I would finally manage to pull her away to move on to the next exhibit she would lean down and whisper in my ear how one of these days she was going to break in at night and set all the birds loose. She would tell me her big elaborate plan, and honestly, she had all the details thought out so carefully I really thought one day we would come to see the birds and they would all be gone cause she really did it and got away with it." And again, he chuckled quietly. "She had this favorite quote, "The reason birds can fly and we can't is simply that they have perfect faith, for to have faith is to have wings"… James Matthew Barrie- author of Peter Pan. She always did love that movie- and book-" he added for Ziva's benefit with a small smile as he settled his gaze back on her soothing features.

She cocked her head to the side, working to absorb the intimate memory he had chosen to share with her. "Your mother sounds like quite the remarkable woman."

"Yeah, she was something else," he agreed with a glint in his eye that Ziva dared to guess was the product of long suppressed tears. "I think she would have liked you," he added quietly following the disappearance of the glint after rapid blinking of his lashes.

Ziva smiled tenderly in reaction to his added comment. "Have you ever been back?"

"No," he shook his head softly. "The memories-"

"Hurt too much?" she finished, knowing all too well the dull ache so often abandoned in the heart following the wake of painful reminiscences.

A subtle nod served as his response before her drew his eyes back to meet hers. "We should go."

"Where? To the zoo?" Ziva asked in slight surprise.

"Yes," he responded with certainty.

"This is important to you," she spoke gently, an observation, not a question.

"I just don't want you to have missed out on anything- wandering around kid crowded, noisy exhibits, staring at caged, smelly animals included." His joking smile and lighthearted words were veiled in an impalpable overtone of sadness.

Ziva smiled affectionately and reached for his hand that had been resting along the edge of the countertop. "Okay. When should we go?"

"Today's as good a day as any," he decided, squeezing her hand and moving to return their plates to the sink.

Ziva chuckled faintly at his enthusiasm and rose from the stool. "I will go home to change. I do not think my dress from last night is entirely appropriate for kid crowded, noisy exhibits, staring at caged, smelly animals, as you described it, yes?"

Tony narrowed his eyes in a playful, disapproving glare, using his own description against him. "I don't mind that shirt," he teased, his long elusive elevator eyes making their return down the stretch of her body.

His response earned little more than an exaggerated eye roll before she retreated from the kitchen and into the bedroom to replace her bedtime wardrobe with the previous evening's attire.

…

They stood somewhat awkwardly in the entryway, Tony wanting nothing more than to pull her into an embrace and kiss her senseless. His hesitation was obvious however, and Ziva took a step toward him.

She understood his hesitation. She knew he did not want to push her beyond what she was comfortable with; did not want her becoming afraid and pulling away before they even had a chance to see what things could be like together. And while yes, taking this next step with him scared her more than anything, she had also never felt safer in another's arms and knew that this particular fall had the potential to land her among the stars. And the view from that particular vantage point had to be pretty spectacular.

"You can kiss me if you want- you know that Tony?" she spoke softly, reaching toward him and pulling him closer as her arms slipped around his waist.

He smiled tenderly and moved to frame her face between his palms. Their gazes held momentarily before he drew her toward him, and her soft lips contrasted with the firm pressure against his as their mouths moved in easy synchronization until Ziva pulled back with reluctance.

"I will be back soon. One hour," she promised.

"One hour," he confirmed with a small smile as she slipped out the door.

Hope that wasn't too much fluff for some of you- this kinda felt like a blah chapter. My enthusiasm for this story is kinda dwindling- I don't know what to write and everything I do come up with seems incredibly corny. I really don't want to abandon this but as of now I'm not too sure about things … we'll see what happens. Would love to hear any of your thoughts about where this story should go. The next chapter will be their zoo date and not a single word has been written yet so who knows when that one will be done- sooner than 6 weeks from now like last time though, haha. It's not looking like this story will be finished before the premiere so I hope you guys will still be interested once we learn how they actually spent their summer and Cote's not on the show.