My idea of what might have happened when Ray called Tony and told him he was going to propose to Ziva during ep. 9x13. This is my first NCIS fanfic, as well as my first fanfic in years, so if it's terrible then I'm sorry.
Disclaimer: If I owned NCIS Tony and Ziva would be married already. So obviously I don't.
Tony slid his ringing cell phone out of his pocket and looked at the Caller ID. He sighed as he leaned back in his desk chair. It was a private number; a number he recognized as belonging to one suddenly (and inopportunely) reappearing CIRay. This was the third time he'd called looking for Ziva. Tony took a deep breath as he prepared to answer the call. He was doing this for her.
"Hello, Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo."
"Hey, DiNozzo, it's Ray Cruz."
"Oh, Ray! Man, I haven't spoken to you in ages," Tony replied sarcastically. He could almost see the other man cringing on the other end of the line.
"Yeah, sorry about that. It's just, well…you know how Ziva is." Tony laughed to himself. He certainly knew Ziva; whether or not Ray did was yet to be seen.
"I'd like to think I do after being her partner for six going on seven years," he said, putting an emphasis on the last two words.
"Well, that was actually what I was calling you about. You see, I really do love her," he began, and Tony closed his eyes, resisting the urge to give this man who supposedly loved Ziva, yet hadn't had the decency to contact her in two months, a piece of his mind.
"I'm going to ask Ziva to marry me." Tony's eyes flew open. Hell no.
"Good for you, buddy," he said through gritted teeth. He could tell from the silence at the other end of the line that Ray had picked up on his tone. Thankfully, he didn't say anything about it.
"So, anyways, I wanted to ask you what you thought might be a good way for me too, well, propose."
Tony couldn't believe it. This SOB was asking him about how to propose to Ziva? He was out of his mind.
"Boy, you really don't get it, do you," Tony nearly yelled into the phone as he stood up from his chair.
"I'm sorry?"
Tony was about to scream those three words, I love her, that he'd kept bottled up inside him for the past few years, about to tell Ray that the woman he'd been treating like dirt from day one was the woman Tony had been in love with for what seemed like an eternity, but then he stopped himself. Those words were meant for her ears, whether or not he finally worked up the courage to tell her. Instead, he ended the call and sat back down at his desk.
Ziva deserved better, that he knew for certain. She couldn't marry Ray. Tony had half a mind to go and find her, that instant, and stop her from marrying him, but he knew he couldn't do that. The last time he got involved in her personal life, he'd had to go all the way to Somalia to drag her back. The memories of that incident still plagued him.
No, Ziva would do what was right for Ziva. And Ray wasn't right for Ziva. She would see it eventually, and perhaps she had already realized it. But this was not Tony's decision to make.
He loved her too much.