Title: Being There
Pairing: suggests future McGee/Ziva
Rating: K+
Genre: Gen, bordering on Het
Cat: Episode Tag, Friendship, hints of future Romance (if you want to read it that way)
Spoilers: Tag for 9x19 - A Desperate Man
Warnings: None.
Summary: Ziva turns up at McGee's door and finds he is just what she needed.
Author's Note: Not as angsty and depressing as the other one! This takes place AFTER the episode. (And Doro, if you read this, there is a line that mentions That Moment at the beginning, so you know. :))

An urgent series of knocks made McGee look up from where he was working on a computer, and as they grew more frantic, he stood up and jogged to the door, squinting through the peephole once he got there. When he saw who it was, he quickly unlocked the door and opened it.

"Ziva." She simply stared back, letting out a huff and generally looking frazzled. He raised an eyebrow at her. "You okay?"

"I just punched the man I thought I was going to marry. How do you think I am feeling?"

McGee winced at her words, muttering, "Probably better than he is," before looking back at her and really looking at her. She looked flustered – her skin flushed, eyes dark with a variety of conflicting emotions – and that's when he realized she was really upset.

"Hey, come in," he said then, reaching around to pull her in by her shoulder.

It said a lot about her mental state that she just allowed him to lead her the way he did, and McGee found himself running through possible topics of conversation in his head as he directed her to the couch in his living room.

They sat down and Ziva looked around blankly before patting the seat next to her. "This is new," she said, and he nodded, feeling dumb.

"Yeah, uh, I thought I should probably buy a couch so people could come over once in awhile." An awkward silence fell, and he cleared his throat, trying to make things more comfortable. "Uh, what brings you here?"

"I needed a friend," she said, but didn't really look at him.

"And Tony was busy, or. . .?"

When Ziva looked up at him, her expression was a combination of annoyed and hurt. "Why would you say that?"

He gave her a one-shouldered shrug. "You guys seem to be . . . close lately. I just thought. . ."

Ziva shook her head. "Tony is not my only friend. And he. . ." She shook a finger as she tried to sort out her feelings. "It is not important. I did not come here to talk about Tony." She could sense the question McGee was about to ask and continued before he could say anything. "I did not come here to talk about Ray, either. I just needed a reminder. . ."

"That someone's worse at relationships than you are?" Ziva turned her head away at the bitterness in his voice and he sighed. "Sorry. That was rude. What do you need, Ziva?"

She turned back to him, waiting a moment before saying, "A hug?"

Surprise registered in his eyes at her request. "A hug?" he repeated. She continued to look at him expectantly and he finally nodded, holding his arm out over the back of the couch as an invitation for her to move closer.

She did, snuggling into his side and wrapping her arms around him as she laid her head on his chest. McGee moved his arms to encircle her and smiled at the content sigh she let out.

"I am starting to believe I will never find love," Ziva said, pressing herself closer to him.

"That's not true. I love you. And I know it's not the same, but you have a lot of people who feel the same way I do. You'll never be alone." Ziva shifted against him and he relaxed a bit, running a hand over her hair.

They sat like that for a few minutes before Ziva lifted her head and looked up at him. He glanced down at her and smiled, but his smile faltered at the look on her face. He hadn't seen her look at him that way before, and he wasn't sure. . .

Before he could register what was going on, she was kissing him. A soft, questioning kiss, and he found himself returning the kiss, even though his brain was still trying to make sense of the situation. When she deepened the kiss, though, turning her body to climb partially onto his lap, he broke away.

"Ziva, stop," he said, and she smirked, turning her attention to his jawline and peppering it with kisses. "Ziva, I said no." He reached out and grabbed her by the shoulders, pushing her away. She blinked at him, looking a bit dazed, and he shook his head. "We can't do this. It's not right."

She blinked again and her eyes seemed much clearer. "You're right. I should go." She made to stand, but McGee wrapped an arm around her torso and prevented her from doing so. "McGee! What. . ."

"I don't want to take advantage of you," he said, and she sagged a bit, not struggling anymore. "And I don't want you thinking you want something you don't. I know why you came here. You knew I wasn't a threat in that way, that you could count on me to be just a friend. And you can. But know that I have feelings, too."

Ziva pushed his arms away and turned, a look of concern on her face. "I know that, Tim. You have always been there for me and I do not take that lightly. If I have made you feel otherwise, I am sorry." She paused and studied him for a moment. "Is this because I talked to Tony instead of you?"

"I never said you couldn't talk to Tony. . ." McGee sighed.

She gave him a slight smirk. "Tony likes to involve himself in my personal life, in case you hadn't noticed. And this was one case where I needed that, because I needed someone to let me know I was either doing the right or the wrong thing. You could have said something."

"I didn't know what to say," he admitted, and Ziva's smirk turned into a quiet smile.

"Sometimes just saying, 'I'm here,' is enough," she said, and McGee returned her smile.

"Well, I'm here, and I'll always be here, if you want to talk, or whatever."

Ziva raised her eyebrows at that. "Whatever, hmm?"

He rolled his eyes, but couldn't keep the smile from his face. "Within reason."

Ziva leaned back into the couch, reaching over and playing with the hand McGee had resting on his lap, lifting his fingers before sliding hers in-between. "You are a good kisser, McGee."

"Ziva. . ."

She laughed, and that sound alone brought the smile back to McGee's face. "Do you have any wine? I think I need a drink."

"You're just looking for trouble tonight, aren't you?" he asked, giving her a sidelong look.

She sighed. "Fine. No alcohol, either. I suppose we can just sit here." She lifted her legs up on the couch and moved McGee's arm so it was wrapped around her shoulders again.

And in just sitting there, listening to the soothing sounds of McGee's heartbeat, Ziva realized that maybe that was enough for her.

THE END