"Good morning, Tony" Ziva happily greeted him as she breezed into the bullpen. Tony glanced up at her and gave her the same greeting before going back to his paperwork. Ziva's good mood faltered slightly. Had he forgotten? She frowned as she took off her coat and hung it on the back of her chair.

"Is that all you have to say to me?" She asked as she walked over to his desk. She placed her hands on top of it and leaned over him giving him the best of her signature squinty look.

"I think so," Tony pondered as he looked up at her. When he picked up on her changed mood, he quickly back tracked. "Well ah… ah…Did you do something different with your hair?" He gave her the best smile he could up with in such a situation.

"Did I do something with my… You know what? Never mind." she said before stalking off towards the back elevator. Tony frowned after her then went back to his paperwork.

"That is all he said to you?" Abby inquired after Ziva told her about what had happened upstairs. She quickly walked over to her stereo and turned down her music to a normal volume.

"I have a feeling he forgot." Ziva pouted as she leaned down and put her head in her hands while admiring the flowers Abby had presented to her upon her entrance to the lab.

"Nope. There is no way Tony forgot your birthday. I mean the man is in love with you!" Abby exclaimed as she started to pace back and forth.

"Abby…" Ziva warned. She and Abby had been having practically the same conversation every time they were in each other's presence. Abby would do everything in her power to convince Ziva of Tony's feelings for her and Ziva would do everything to deny it.

"I mean think about it Ziva! The man practically drools when you walk into the room!" Abby threw her hands up into the air as she tried to convince her. What else can I possibly do to make her believe me?

"No matter what you think, Abby, he has obviously forgotten. I should just forget about it myself." Ziva sighed as she gently caressed her flowers.

"See! You love him, too! There is no other reason you would be this bummed out about him forgetting your birthday. You obviously care a lot." Abby persuaded.

"Abby! Stop trying to convince me of things that are not true! Now, I need to get to work. Thanks for the flowers." Ziva quickly hugged Abby and walked out of the lab carrying her bouquet.

"How am I possibly going to convince her?" Abby pondered as she shook her head at Ziva's departing form.

"Ziva! Happy Birthday!" McGee greeted as Ziva walked back into the bullpen.

"Thank you, McGee. That means a lot." Ziva sweetly smiled at him before quickly glancing towards Tony's vacant desk. She had a short feeling of hope that Tony would be sitting there, overhear the conversation, and profusely apologize for forgetting her day. She had no such luck.

"Has your day been good so far?" McGee politely asked watching Ziva sink into her chair with a sigh.

"It has been good. Abby gave me these beautiful flowers." She gestured towards the bouquet that was now sitting on the corner of her desk.

"They are really pretty. Have you seen Tony today?" McGee asked looking around the bullpen seeing Tony's things spread out on his desk, but not Tony himself.

"Yeah, he is here, I don't know where though." Ziva said shrugging it off. She was really trying not to care.

"Gear up!" Gibbs ordered as he marched down the stairs from the director's office, "Dead Marine at Quantico. Where is DiNozzo?"

"I'm here, boss!" Tony exclaimed as he strolled into the bullpen. "I'll gas up the car!" With that, he grabbed his bag and was on the elevator within seconds.

"Ziva," Gibbs said walking up to her as she quickly gathered her things, "Happy Birthday."

Ziva smiled as she received the fatherly kiss on the cheek and warm hug, "Thank you, Gibbs."

"Ok, let's get going! The body isn't going to wait forever!" Gibbs yelled as he hurried out of the bullpen.

After a long day of documenting evidence and questioning witnesses, Ziva was glad to be able to relax on her couch in her pajamas and catch up on her reading. She sighed as she opened her book to the page she was on. She had received birthday wishes left and right today from the people who worked around her. Even the director gave her a quick smile and a pat on the shoulder. Everyone had remembered except for Tony. Why do I care so much about just him? She pondered.

After reading the same paragraph five times in a row, she shut her book and grabbed the remote instead. Nothing like a little mind numbing TV to get your mind off of things.

A half an hour later, Ziva was surprised to hear a light tapping on her door. She furrowed her eyebrows. Who could that possibly be? She quickly shut off the TV and went to open the door.

"Tony?" She asked confused to see him standing on the other side of the door. He stood there with a nervous expression on his face and a deer in the headlights look in his eyes.

"Uhh… Hi, Ziva. Can I come in?" He gave her an anxious smile while gesturing toward the inside of her apartment.

"Oh, of course, come in." Ziva stepped out of the way and open the door wider for him to step in. After shutting the door behind him, she turned around to find him much closer than she expected.

"I'm sorry." He said rubbing the back of his neck.

"What are you sorry for, Tony?" Ziva asked crossing her arms in front of her. All she wanted to do was get back to her wallowing.

"I didn't actually forget your birthday." Tony quietly said looking at the ground.

"What do you mean you didn't actually forget my birthday? If you didn't, then why didn't you simply say something earlier today? I mean, we were together practically the whole day!" Ziva said stepping around him to go get herself some water from the kitchen, "Do you want something to drink?"

"No thank you." He said shaking his head and following her into the kitchen. He stood there awkwardly waiting for her to get settled again before continuing, "I, ahh… How do I say this?" He said looking everywhere but her, "I wanted it to be more intimate."

"Intimate?" Ziva repeated her heart beat speeding up.

"Yeah," Tony said on a chuckle. He finally made his uneasy gaze meet her confused one. "I'm just going to say it."

Ziva stared at him as he attempted to work up his courage. Why is he so nervous? What does intimate mean?

"Will you go out with me sometime?" Tony all of the sudden blurted out. Ziva's eyes grew twice as big as they had been and he quickly backtracked, "I mean, you know, like a date. Only if you want to, of course. You don't have to accept if you-"

"Tony!" Ziva interrupted his ranting. His startled gaze fell on her and it was her turn to be nervous. "I will go out with you." She whispered blushing.

"You will?" Tony asked. He wanted to hear the words come out of her mouth again.

"Yes, Tony." She said shyly, watching a goofy grin spread across his face. Tony took a step closer to her causing the air around them raise a couple of degrees.

"Can I kiss you?" Tony asked in a whisper. He had already put himself on the line once tonight, why not do it again?

"What?" Ziva asked, her eyes widening once again. She was not sure if she heard him correctly.

"Can I kiss you?" Tony repeated, "Like a birthday kiss?"

"Sure, I- I guess." She stuttered as he further closed the space between their bodies. He brought his hand up to cradle her cheek before bending down a little and capturing her lips in a gentle kiss.

"Happy birthday, Ziva." He whispered against her lips before going in for another kiss. Ziva grinned. Best birthday ever!

Hi all! I am back! Formerly known as gilmoregrl06, I have come back from my overly extended vacation and have an itching to write again! I am attending college now, so who knows how often I will right (Computer Engineering takes up a lot of your time), but I will post thing whenever I get a chance! Thanks so much for reading! Please give me feedback!

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