Ziva released a heavy sigh as she hung up the phone and placed it on the counter in the kitchen. She had returned to DC almost five months ago and while she would love tell anyone who asked if her return had been seamless and easy, it wasn’t. For the first six weeks or so was filled with trepidation and hurt feelings from those that she returned to. Tony had held her the whole night that first night, but she could feel the pain that she had caused him by not returning with him when he had asked her to ooze off of him in his sleep. The days that followed were filled with mending fences and bolstering the bridges that had become wobbly and on verge of collapse. She and Tony worked on their relationship and feelings most. It seemed that when others saw them together, healing together, then they were more willing to allow their hurt feelings to heal. It wasn’t until after those first six weeks that she moved into Tony’s apartment. She had stayed on Gibbs couch during those weeks and while he greeted her with a smile every morning and thanked her for the home cooked meals at night his eyes couldn’t hide the pain she had caused and it cut her like a knife every time.

Looking around the apartment she heaved another sigh. Tony had called to tell her he was on his way home. The team had received a case three weeks ago that was taking forever to unravel and every new twist and turned made Tony angrier and tenser. She hadn’t asked for details, it wasn’t her place anymore, it wasn’t her job, but he would mumble about it in his sleep and the mentions of what had happen to children in the case made her stomach churn. On the phone she could hear his voice cracking and knew that another part of the case had fallen into place and Tony was nearing his breaking point. Drumming her fingers on the kitchen counter she tried to think about what would help to ease away the new information, at least for the night, and the idea meandered into her mind.

Pushing away from the counter she took note of the time. Tony would be home in about fifteen minutes given that he had called from in the car. She made her way to the bathroom and began to set it up. She filled the tub with hot water and bubble bath, humming softly to herself as she did. She laid out fresh towels and his favorite lounge wear for afterwards before she disrobed and slipped into her fluffy bathrobe. She had just turned off the faucet when she heard Tony come through the front door.

“Ziva?” his voice was filled with concern from seeing the empty living room as he stored his sidearm in its safe.

Ziva wandered away from the bathroom and leaned on the doorframe. When her eyes fell on him her heart skipped a beat. It always skipped a beat, but this time it was tinged with pain. He looked lost and disheveled. His tie had already been pulled from his neck, the collar on the back of his suit jacket was popped, his hair looked as if he had been pulling at it all day and if she didn’t know better he had gotten a bit grayer than when she had seen him that morning, and the playful twinkle in his eyes that matched his playful grin were long gone. She ached for him. “Over here, Tony,” she directed his attention away from the couch he was staring at and to where she waited, her arms stretched out in a waiting hug.

Tony walked mutely to her and let himself fall into her embrace. He buried his face into her hair and neck as he breathed in her sent. “Were you taking a bath?” he mumbled against her skin.

“No, I was preparing you one and thought I might join you,” she explained. “If you would like, that is,” she added.

Tony didn’t say a word. He slipped from her arms and ventured further into the bedroom where he shucked his clothes and walked towards the en suite bath that Ziva had set up for him. At the door he stopped and turned to her, holding out his hand in invitation. Ziva didn’t hesitate as she followed him. Tony sank into the bath first, his body thankful for its warm embrace, and then he guided Ziva in, settling her between his legs. She leaned her back against his chest and laid her head on his shoulder as his arms wrapped around her possessively.

Neither spoke for a long while as they soaked in the tub. Ziva trailed her fingers along Tony’s arms, drawing wet little patterns against his skin as his fingers danced along her skin. When the silence became too much Ziva began to hum quietly.

“I wish we could talk about this,” Tony’s murmurs broke into her humming as he pressed a kiss to her temple.

Twisting slightly to get a better view of him Ziva cradled her hand against the side of his face. “I hate that this is causing you so much pain, Tony,” she softly whispered. “Do you think it will take much longer to wrap up this case? Maybe after it is finished the team will get some time off?”

“I don’t know. Maybe,” he sighed.

Ziva turned more fully now so she was facing him completely. “What can I do for now, then?” she asked solemnly.

Tony stared at her for a long moment, drinking in her body that was decorated by water droplets and bubbles and her hair that was damp and curly. He pulled her to him. “Just hold me,” he requested.

Ziva inched the tiny bit more to him and straddled his legs as she drew him into her arms. He rested his head against her breast and practically clung to her as if she was the only thing in the world that was real. She ran her fingers through his hair and kissed the top of his head as she heard him to softly begin to cry, which turned to sobs. She held him the whole time, her heart breaking with every shake of his body. She couldn’t tell you if it was because she couldn’t take away his pain or the fact that the man she loved was crying in her arms, but either way she felt like she was breaking into a million pieces as she fought to hold it together for him.

“I am here for you, Tony,” she whispered over and over again until his body stopped shaking and his tears subsided. The water long cooled and they just sat there holding one another.