He walked up to the door, it had taken a couple weeks to finally find her, but he did. Part of him wasn't really sure if he wanted to do this or not, but after what happened at the Navy Yard this past May he knew things can be taken away from you in an instance. He knew this was something he needed to do. He needed to be here and needed to talk to her. He balled his hand into a fist, brought it up and knocked on the door. He wondered if she was in home, wondered if she'd slam the door in his face. After all he deserved it, but hoping she'd give him a chance to talk. He stood there waiting, hoping she'd come to the door, hoping to see her even if it's just for a moment. After a bit there was nothing, no one coming to the door, no one home. He turned away from the door to start to leave, when a little girl and a woman came walking down the pathway. He couldn't help but smile at the sight, because of all the things he pictured in his head; this was not one of them.
"Tony?" The women said as she and the little girl moved closer to him.
"Jeanne" Tony said in response.
"What.. how… what are you doing here?" Jeanne asked him.
"You have a daughter, she's beautiful" Tony said to her still smile. He couldn't help but noticed how much she looks like Jeanne.
"Yeah this is Lilia" Jeanne said to him. Tony then happened to notice the ring on her figure as well.
"And your married, congratulations" Tony said to her, still avoiding the question of why he was there. "I'm happy for you."
"Thank you" Jeanne said. "So what are you here?"
"Back in May someone blew up the Navy Yard, Ziva and I got caught in… we were lucky we made it out alive, all of us. I told myself if I made it out I would tell the people around me the things I've been wanting to say" Tony started to say to her.
"But we have not seen each other in years" Jeanne said to him. She then turned to her daughter and took her hand. She led her to the front door and opened it. She told her daughter to go play in the playroom, before turning back to Tony. "In fact our last conversation, I remember telling you I wish I had never meet you."
"That is true" Tony said to her. "I don't blame you for that, I deserved it. It's just I was given a second chance and wanted to take the time to do right by people. So I tracked you down because I wanted to tell you the truth."
"The truth? What truth?" Jeanne asked him.
"That when you asked me was any of it real I said no, I lied" Tony started to say to her. "I only told you no because of everything I had put you through. How I started everything off with all lies and how I hurt you. I really did love you Jeanne and even though the life I told you about was a lie, how I felt wasn't. I knew that the best thing to do was to let you go. Even if it hurt, it was the right thing to do."
"So now 5 years later you come around to tell me you loved me. It's a little late for that don't you think?" Jeanne said bitterly.
"I'm not telling you to complicate your life, or to make it hard for you. I just wanted you to know the truth, I felt I owed you that much" Tony said to her. "I'm sorry I hurt you Jeanne, but look at the life you have now. This is what I was hoping would happen."
"I loved you so much Tony, an then you broke my heart. You lied to me and made me believe this shame. I told myself I wouldn't forgive you, but I'd try if you truly loved me and came looking for me. You never did, than everything happened with my father. I wanted you to pay for hurting me and then you tore out my heart once again" Jeanne said to him. "It took a long time, but I'm finally happy, in love and moving on with my life and now you come back to tell me this. You say you don't want to complicate my life or make it hard for me, but this makes it all those things and beyond."
"I just wanted you to know the truth" Tony said to her. He expected to go many ways, but this wasn't one of them strangely. He was waiting for the door slamming or a punch in the face now.
"Well you told me, you can go" Jeanne said to him.
"Okay I'll go, just know I'm glad you're happy. You deserve nothing but happiness" Tony said to her, before turning away to head back to his car.
"And you?" Jeanne asked. Tony stopped in his tracks and turned to face her again.
"And me what?" Tony asked.
"Are you happy?" Jeanne asked him.
"No, but I'm getting there" Tony answered her. "A lot of things have happened, right now I'm where I need to be."
"That is good" Jeanne said.
"You don't have to pretend to be happy I'm happy or not happy. Go back to the people you love, because I don't deserve this" Tony said.
"You don't deserve anything Tony, your just doing what you think you need to" Jeanne said to him. "Stop doing what you think everyone wants you to do and do what you want to do."
"Who says I'm not?" Tony questioned her.
"You did, you're where you need to be" Jeanne said to him. "That doesn't sound like someone who's controlling his own life. You'll find someone; you just need to know where to look.
"I think I already have" Tony said to her with a smile.
"Then go to her and tell her. This…. this here, isn't doing you any good then getting rid of your guilt" Jeanne said to her. "Sometimes things are better left unsaid."
"Sometime they're not. How can you know you truly love someone, if the past keeps knocking on your door?" Tony said to her.
"Then you tell the past to get lost and be happy with who you have" Jeanne said to him. "Sometimes that's what you need to do."
"I just wanted to bring you closure. Hoping it will let you move on completely" Tony said to her. "I guess my head was making up something that wasn't true."
"I know what I said, but it's a sweet gesture," Jeanne said to him. "But I think maybe it was more for you then for me. By letting me go that day I was able to move on. I have this house, a husband that I love and a daughter I couldn't live without. This is my life and I wouldn't change it."
"Like I said I'm glad you're happy" Tony told her with smile.
"I think it's time you moved on Tony, you clearly care about someone you should be with them not here" Jeanne said to him. "You might think is where you need to be, but it's not. It never was, but if it gives you closure then maybe it is. Just make sure you tell her before it's too late. She's not going to wait around forever."
"Jeanne I am so sorry I hurt you" Tony said to her.
"I know" Jeanne to him. "Goodbye Tony." She said before turning and walking into the house.
Tony walked back to his car and headed to the one place he knew he needed to be. Maybe he knew all along or maybe it was just what Jeanne was saying that finally made it all click. He needed to be there and he needed to tell her. Everyone around him had been telling him, he just brushed it off and now here it was all finally making sense. He reached her apartment building, got out of the car and headed up to her apartment as fast as he could. Once he reached the door and knocked and kept knocking till she finally opened the door. He didn't wait for a come in, he just walked in and then turned to her.
"Tony" She said as he walked in. She closed the door and turned to face him.
"Everyone movie has this great moment, this moment that makes or breaks the two people who are meant to be together…" Tony started to say. "They have this moment where they pour their hearts out to each other and then decided it's it best to just move on or to give in and finally admit they belong together."
"What are you talking about?" She questioned.
"Every movie has a beginning, middle and end. Our beginning was in the squad room and that night outside the hotel. The middle or the second act was everything that happened with Michael, your father, Somalia and bringing you home. And now here we are at the end. The end where I stand here and tell you what I should have said a long time ago…"
"I am still confused, what is going on?" Ziva questioned him.
"I love you Ziva, I'm in love with you Ziva. I have been for sometime, I just couldn't see it. " Tony said to her. "Everyone kept trying to point it out to be, but I just couldn't see it. Or I didn't want to see it. Wither it was because of Gibbs stupid rule 12 or because I forced myself to see you as a co-worker and nothing more" He continued to say to her. "I went looking for Jeanne and I found her and today I went to her house, because I wanted her to know that what I said was a lie. That I was sorry for hurting her and I never should have told her something that wasn't true. That I only thought I was trying to help, but she's married now and has a daughter…"
"What does this have to do with me and you love me?" Ziva said still very confused.
"She and I got to talking and she finally was able to make me see what everyone else was trying to make me see. That I was holding myself back, because the person I really wanted to be with was you" Tony said to her. "I love you Ziva. I don't know if it was love at first sight or wither you found a way into my heart the years we worked together, but it's real and it's now." Tony finally stopped talking and there stood Ziva not staying a work back to him. "Before you say anything it's not because we almost died back in May, and it's not because we nearly die on a daily basis. This is real and it's true. I've never loved anyone as much as I love you and I don't think I ever will."
"I don't know what to say" Ziva finally spoke.
"Anything would be good" Tony said to her, a little hurt she didn't say she loved him back.
"It's kind of a lot to processes you know" Ziva said to him. "I'm just trying to really understand it in my head."
"You don't feel the same?" Tony questioned her.
"I care about you yes, but never really thought of it otherwise" Ziva said to him.
"I see" Tony said to her.
"Tony… I'm sorry I just…" Ziva started to say; she didn't really know how to explain his to him. "It is not easy to express my feelings, not because I don't want to, but because I am not sure of them myself. I just haven't figured out what this between us is yet to me."
"It either is something or it isn't" Tony said to her. "I guess I know what it feels like when you put your heart on the line and the other person doesn't respond the same way."
"Tony" Ziva said.
"No it's fine, I'll be going" Tony said. He walked pasted her and headed for the door. He was such a fool to think she'd feel the same way. They were teammates, and that is what they'd always be. She got down to his car and started to search for the keys, when he was stopped turned around and someone pulled him into a kiss. He kissed her back, taken back by what was going on. When they pulled back from each other he looked at Ziva stunned.
"Every great movie has that great scene, where the two people have that heartfelt talk and one walks away thinking there's nothing there, but then the one left behind realizes they do love them and runs after them only to end with this romantic kiss." Ziva said to him.
"You cheated" Tony said to her.
"I love you Tony, I'm in love you with" Ziva said to him. "I'm just surprised it took you so long to realize this."
"Me? You had me thinking I just made a fool of myself" Tony said to her.
"And ruin your movie moment?" Ziva said to him.
"I'm going to get you back for this.." Tony started to say before Ziva pulled him into another kiss.
AN: So this went from being a none Tiva one shot to a Tiva one shot. Don't know how that happened. I was trying to think maybe Tony's Tell Her on his bucket list wasn't about Ziva. What if it was about something else, so I thought maybe he wanted to tell Jeanne sorry or that he lied back in Season Five. Then it went into pushing him towards telling Ziva he cared. Then I just decided to pull this whole movie thing in there and have Tony want this big Romantic setting or moment for when he told Ziva he loved her. It's cute, not amazing or good, just something cute and maybe entertaining.