Tony bid the team and the bullpen a farewell as he waltzed out of the office with a suitcase trailing behind him. He had a week-long vacation and he was going to use it to his full advantage. When the team had asked where he was going he had ব্যক্ত Los Angeles, which wasn’t exactly a lie, he would be landing in LA, but then he’d make the drive up to Big ভালুক and spend the week there with someone he couldn’t wait to see.

The flight had been long and he was antsy the whole way. Once the plane landed at LAX he made record time getting off the plane and to baggage claim as he scanned the crowd for the person he was meeting up with. He was lifting his suitcase off of the conveyer বেল্ট as he felt two hands মোড়ানো around him from behind and covered his eyes.

“Guess who!” the owner of the hands giggled into his ear.

Tony dropped his bag on his foot and let out a curse as he straightened up and spun around not wanting to play games. “There আপনি are! I was looking for আপনি and thought your plane got delayed. I was going to check the boards here in a minute,” he let out in one breath as he scooped her up into his arms and softly kissed her lips.

“I had to go to the ladies room,” she smiled as she still dangled off the floor in his arms. “I did not mean to worry you.”

“I’ve just missed আপনি so much, Ziva,” he breathed, pressing his forehead to hers.

“And I have missed আপনি too, Tony.”

They made their way to the car rental ভান্দার after a few মিনিট and piled their bags into the ট্রাঙ্ক before they got in. “So, আপনি ready to ski, Miss David?” Tony asked as he pointed the car in the direction that would take them to the mountains.

“Yes, but I am আরো excited to see the কেবিন that আপনি rented,” she ব্যক্ত as she linked her hand with his and suggestive tone in her voice. “Did আপনি tell everyone that I was going to be with you?”

Tony shook his head in the negative, “I’m being selfish. If I told them that আপনি would be here they would have all made me call and we’d waste hours on the phone while they all talked to you. This is our time.”

“That does not sound selfish to me, but I do not believe they would have had me on the phone for hours.”

“You’re missed there, Ziva. Everyone is making their new normal, but it’s still not that same and your communication with the team is… spotty, at best. If they knew that আপনি called me and we planned this I’d be lucky if it was just them hogging time on the phone. Abby would have probably packed herself in my suitcase.”

Ziva laughed at that. “You might have a point about Abby.”

“So I’m being selfish. I’m keeping আপনি to myself this week and no আরো talk of work অথবা the fact that আপনি should really call everyone,” he glanced over at her and squeezed her fingers, “tell me about your latest adventure.”

As they drove through Los Angeles and up the mountain roads Ziva regaled Tony with her travels and the different things she had discovered about herself that she had never known before. When they arrived at the front office of the resort that Tony had booked them into they got out and tugged on their jackets before darting into the warmth of the lobby where they checked in and were প্রদত্ত directions to the কেবিন that would be theirs for the week before they made their way there.

Carrying both his bags and Ziva’s Tony followed Ziva up to the door of their getaway. “It is so cold,” Ziva shivered as she struggled to get the key into the lock.

“I’ll get a আগুন going as soon as we get in.”

After two failed attempts with her trembling hands Ziva finally got the key to slide in and she pushed the door open and stepped with Tony on her heals. Ziva halted in the small foyer as a gasp escaped her.

“This is too much, Tony! I thought আপনি ব্যক্ত it would be a nice little cabin, but this…” she looked around the finely appointed living room that looked like it belonged in an interior নকশা magazine, “… this is beautiful!”

Tony set the bags down beside him and pulled her back against his chest as he whispered into her ear, “Only the best for you.” He emphasized his statement with a চুম্বন to her temple.

“I do not-”

“I heard enough of what আপনি do and don’t deserve over the summer, not going to listen to it now. আপনি deserve this, Ziva.” It came out harsher than he meant and he felt her tense up at the bitterness that was laced in his words, but he didn’t let go of her.

“It is that this must cost a lot and after the time away from the agency before আপনি went back,” she turned in his arms and looked up at him from under her thick eyelashes, “I do not want this to be outside of your means.”

“Don’t worry, I can afford this,” he promised.

After a quick tour of the কেবিন they unpacked their bags and Tony started a আগুন in the fireplace. A knock on the front door made Ziva jump, but Tony just smiled and told her to answer it for him. A butler from the main lodge greeted her when she opened the door and explained that he brought the meal that had been arranged. As she stepped aside to allow for the gentleman to come in with the কার্ট he pushed along she shot Tony a look and he just smiled back at her. He had it in his mind to make this week the best that it could ever be. After the butler set the টেবিল Tony tipped him and he was on his way.

“Don’t even start,” Tony cut the words from Ziva before she could scold him. He motioned to the টেবিল where he pulled out a chair for her. “I thought that we would both be tired from flying and not in the mood to go out for ডিনার so I planned ডিনার to come to us.”

Ziva shook her head at him in an amused way as she took her seat. “You have thought of everything, have you?”

“Maybe,” he murmured as he removed the lid from her ডিনার plate. “It might look familiar,” he chuckled as her lips curled into a smile.”

“The ডিনার from when we went undercover as the married assassins,” she ব্যক্ত in disbelief. “You actually remembered that?”

Tony took his আসন beside her. “I remember everything about that assignment.”

They talked about everything and nothing as they lingered over dinner, both হারিয়ে গেছে in the fact that they were with each other once again. After ডিনার was finished and the plates had been collected they cuddled up on the পালঙ্ক in front of the fire. A comfortable silence surrounded them as they watched the flames dance before them. They both knew that at some point the প্রশ্ন of her return to DC would come up, but they were both happy to put it off for now.

The পরবর্তি few days were filled with skiing, walks about town, and topped off with quiet dinners, snuggling in front of the fireplace and long nights of exploring each other’s bodies. As their days dwindled and could be easily counted দ্বারা ঘন্টা many hours they had left together their words became আরো clipped as they knew the প্রশ্ন would come at any moment and Tony feared the answer. They had had a wonderful week and he hoped that it would be enough to প্রদর্শনী her that she could still discover herself while being with him in DC. He was standing out on their deck, bundled up in his jacket, staring out into the snow cover path that lead through the woods just beyond their কেবিন when Ziva slid up beside him.

“Would আপনি like to go for a walk?” she asked quietly, tucking her hand into his.

Tony slipped his hand from hers only to মোড়ানো his arm around her waist and lead them towards the path that he had been staring at. He didn’t say anything for a long while. The sound of their sighs and the snow crunching beneath their feet filled the silence until he couldn’t keep the প্রশ্ন in any longer.

“I don’t want to pressure you, Ziva,” he began, “but I… will আপনি come প্রথমপাতা with me?” he asked as he turned to face her flashes of the last time he asked her the same প্রশ্ন ran through his head.

Ziva fidgeted partly from the প্রশ্ন and partly to keep warm in the cold. “Tony, I cannot come প্রথমপাতা with you-”

“Why not?! আপনি can still… I need you, Ziva,” he protested.

“If আপনি will let me finish,” Ziva ব্যক্ত softly. “I was going to say that I cannot come প্রথমপাতা with আপনি now, but in the Spring I will come home.”

Tony stared at her, unsure if he had heard her correctly. “In the Spring?”

Ziva nodded eagerly. “In the Spring,” she confirmed. “I just need a little আরো time, but when the চেরি blossoms start blooming I will come home.”

“Yeah?” Tony grinned as her promise sank in.

Ziva jumped up into his arms and pressed her lips to his, pulling back for just a moment, “yeah.” She pressed her mouth to his once আরো as he held her up and kissed her back with full force. Their giggled filled the air as they stumbled backwards, landing in the soft snow as they হারিয়ে গেছে themselves in their kisses once again.