I don't own NCIS and never will. No copyright infringement intended.
McGee had been planning to surprise Tony for weeks and couldn't wait to see his reaction. He was slightly terrified his friend and co-worker would be pissed at him, but rationally, he knew that wasn't going to happen. Tracking Ziva down hadn't exactly been easy, but it was all going to be worth it in the end. He was just surprised he hadn't broken and told anybody – especially Tony – but he suspected Gibbs knew. He couldn't wait for everything to calm finally down again and get back to normal; although Ziva had informed him multiple times that she wasn't coming back to NCIS. She missed Tony (everyone else, too) and wanted to be with him, and that was that. McGee didn't care as long as she was in the vicinity as Tony. A visibly nervous Ziva grinned at McGee when he picked her up at the airport. It was New Year's Eve and crowded as hell, but the two of them had planned this down to the last detail. "Hey, Ziva. It's so nice to see you." He grinned back and pulled her in for an awkward hug before placing her bags in the trunk.
"It is nice to see you too, McGee. How are you?" It felt nice to be back home, but Ziva was still a little wary. She was terrified Tony was going to be upset about seeing her even though McGee had assured her otherwise.
"I'm great. So you ready to go surprise Tony?"
She nodded. "Yes I am. I miss him." She hadn't been able to stop thinking about him once and regretted not coming home when he asked. But she had found herself during this time away and knew what wanted now. Returning to NCIS was completely out of the question because she didn't want to work there anymore. Ziva still wanted to be a better person and she was working hard at trying to make up for her mistakes.
"He misses you too. Ziva, he fell apart at the seams without you. The only time I saw him like this was when we thought you were dead. He loves you so I hope neither of you fuck this up." He didn't think he could witness the dance between these two again – the tension between had been pretty high in the spring and he still wasn't exactly sure why. Neither Tony nor Ziva wanted to talk about what happened prior to and after their car accident.
Ziva's lips curled up into another smile. "I love him too, and believe me; I don't intend to screw this up again." She had done enough of that and she was done playing. Ziva hoped he was also.
McGee dropped off Ziva at Tony's apartment building, but idled there with her for a few minutes. "Good luck. I know everything will work out."
"Thank you for tracking me down, McGee." She took a deep breath and got out of the car, then waved as he drove away. Ziva let herself in – she had a key – and then made her way to Tony's apartment. She had to close her eyes and count for a few minutes before knocking on his door. She knew she could have just unlocked it, but didn't want to overstep her bounds (fear was pretty much overpowering her right now).
When Tony heard the knock, he had no clue what was coming next. He hadn't even been expecting anybody tonight – he had planned to watch the ball drop on his own and spend 2014 lonely. It was a sad truth he had reluctantly faced since leaving Ziva at the apartment. His mouth dropped open when he unlocked the door and saw Ziva. He tried to find words, but couldn't and kept sputtering. "What the hell are you doing here?"
Her face fell for a brief moment before she realized it was the shock talking. "We can thank McGee for not giving up and tracking me down. He informed me that you were falling apart at the seams without me and he couldn't take it anymore. And I realized that I was unhappy on my own. I can't punish myself for my actions, although I still do want to make penance for them. I am back for good." She waited in the doorway, unsure if he would allow her in, and panicked just a little.
Tony laughed before pulling her in for a kiss. "I am so happy you're here. You're back for good, right? This isn't just a quick visit?"
"Not just a quick visit. Like I informed McGee, I'm not returning to NCIS, but my place is here. I am so in love with you." And that's when she started to cry. Damn it, Ziva hadn't wanted to do this, but it was too late now.
He wiped the tears off her face and kissed her again. "I love you, too so please don't cry. You want to watch the ball drop with me tonight?"
"Of course. That's why I'm here. By the way, McGee says I am a belated Christmas present."
"Remind me to thank him later." He led her over to the couch and they sat down to watch TV. For the first time in months, Tony felt whole again (and Ziva felt the exact same way). It was a feeling he planned to hold on to for a while. "So you want to tell me what you've been up to?"
"Of course." He listened intently as Ziva launched into an explanation of her whereabouts and actions the past few months and interjected a few times to ask questions she happily answered. About twenty minutes after midnight, the two headed to Tony's room. She was so exhausted from the long flight that she fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. Tony watched her for a few minutes, moved the hair out of her face, and then fell asleep himself. For the first time in a long time, Tony didn't dream about losing Ziva. It was a relief to have her back.
Tony called off work on the second and third so he could spend more time with Ziva – they had a lot of time to make up for and didn't want to waste another minute. They didn't leave the apartment once and ended up having food delivered a few times. They were in the kitchen grabbing a snack when Tony asked her something that had been on his mind ever since she showed up. "Do you have a place to live yet?"
Ziva shook her head. "I didn't even think about that. I was mostly just worried about you rejecting me and telling me to leave."
He didn't even have to think about his question. "Why don't you move in with me? I have the room and we aren't going crazy. We can definitely live together."
She looked at him, trying to find any hint of uncertainty and couldn't. "Isn't it too soon?" she questioned. Ziva didn't want to rush this.
"Baby, we've been ignoring this thing between us for eight fucking years. There is absolutely no chance this is too soon." He hoped she said yes.
And that's exactly what Ziva did. "Yes, I will move in. Where are my things? In storage, yes? We have to get them soon."
"We'll go tomorrow morning," he assured her. Tony still couldn't believe she was back and he was grateful McGee had done this for him.
When he finally went into work on Monday, the first thing he did was head to McGee's desk. The younger man gulped and tensed up. "So, did everything work out?"
"Stand up," Tony ordered. McGee looked terrified, but he did so. Tony quickly hugged him and beamed once he pulled away. "Thanks, Probie. I appreciate everything you did for us."
He sighed in relief and then sat back down. "You're welcome. I hated seeing you like that and I finally couldn't take it anymore. So you two finally stopped being idiots?"
Tony rolled his eyes. "Yes, Probie." He walked over to his desk and got back to work, impatiently waiting for lunch. He and Ziva had decided to go out to eat and he couldn't wait to see her again. He missed her. When the elevator opened and she stepped out, Tony's smile lit up the entire bullpen. McGee was thrilled he had done this for them after seeing the way Tony's whole demeanor changed.
Ziva stopped to hug Gibbs, Palmer, Ducky, and Abby, introduced herself to Ellie, and then skipped away with Tony.
"She was really nice. And Tony's different around her," Ellie observed. She didn't know much about Ziva, but Tony seemed happier and that was okay with her.
"Those two are so co-dependent it's not even funny. I'm just glad she came home before Tony fell apart more than he already had." He returned to his desk and got back to work.
Ziva was the best belated Christmas gift Tony had ever gotten, and he couldn't wait to spend 2014 (and the rest of his life) with her. Ziva's life had taken a new path, but that was fine with everybody. Both were extremely happy with each other and didn't want to be apart like that ever again.