Title: I Carry Your Heart
Pairing: McGee/Ziva
Rating: PG
Genre: Het
Cat: Fluff
Spoilers: None
Warnings: None.
Summary: Ziva finds she has a secret admirer on Valentine's Day.
Author's Note: Written as a prize for Scarlet-lh for correctly guessing my Hangman puzzle AND as an entry for the Will You Be My Valentine? challenge on NFA. Emma's prompt was a McGiva fic with the prompt word of "sweet." And it is indeed very sweet.

"Ooh, do you know what day it is, do you know what day it is?" Abby bounded into the squad room, headed for Ziva's desk, and skidded to a halt in front of it, bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet as she slurped on a Caf-Pow!

Ziva gave the Goth an amused look. "Um, it is Friday."

Abby rolled her eyes, but couldn't keep the smile off her face. "Well, yeah, but I didn't mean that, Ziva. It's Valentine's Day!" She twirled around, her behavior putting a smile on Ziva's face. After a moment, she stopped her spinning and faced Ziva again, using the edge of her desk to brace herself. "Got any special plans for tonight?" She winked at her friend.

Ziva gave her a small smile. "No. I was planning on spending the evening alone."

Abby's expression morphed into one of pity. "Oh, Ziva, you can't be alone on Valentine's Day! Not someone as pretty and nice as you!" She walked around to the other side of her desk, bending down and giving her a hug, which Ziva awkwardly reciprocated.

"It is really not a big deal," Ziva said, embarrassed that Abby was making such a fuss over it. "I am quite content spending an evening by myself ." Abby opened her mouth to speak, and Ziva continued before she could. "Even if it is Valentine's Day."

Abby straightened and frowned. "Well, I just think you should be sharing the day with someone you care about, Ziva. Don't you ever get lonely?"

Ziva gave her a sad smile. "Yes, I do, Abby, but," her smile grew happier, "I will be spending the day with you all while I am here, yes? And I care about all of you."

Abby clutched her heart. "Aww, that is so sweet, Ziva! But that's not what I meant."

"Abby!" Ziva laughed, standing up and escorting her back to the elevator. "If it is that important to you, I will make it my mission today to find a date for the night."

"Will you really?" Abby asked, attempting to turn around, but Ziva's hand on her back prevented her from doing so.

"Yes, Abby, I will," Ziva said, still laughing. "Now, you should get back to work before Gibbs finds you up here and punishes you."

Abby turned around as she entered the elevator, a worried look on her face. "He wouldn't, would he?"

Ziva shrugged. "He very well may, especially if he sees that you are up here bothering me instead of working." She knew Gibbs would never actually "punish" Abby, but what the Goth didn't know wouldn't hurt her.

"Well, in that case," Abby said, standing straighter and putting a hand to her forehead in preparation for a salute, "I will return to my lab, sir!" She saluted and as the doors began to close, called out, "Uh, I mean, ma'am! Ziva! I meant Ziva!"

The doors closed and Ziva shook her head, chuckling to herself as she returned to her desk. She sat down and prepared to start her paperwork again, but an envelope on her computer keyboard temporarily halted her from doing so. She picked it up and looked at it. Just an ordinary envelope, white, with her name printed in neat handwriting on the front. Hmm. She looked around the squad room for a sign of who could have left it there. Tony and McGee both seemed to be deeply involved in their work; Tony talking on the phone and McGee typing away at his computer. And Gibbs . . . well, she could not imagine Gibbs being romantic ever. Not towards her, anyway. She shrugged and opened the envelope.

A flurry of glittery pink and red hearts fell out, scattering across her desk and over her lap, causing her to push herself away from her desk. She glanced up to make sure Tony and McGee weren't watching and laughing at her, then returned to the envelope, pulling out a beautiful card covered with flowers and hearts on the front and reading, "Be My Valentine."

Now she could feel her face growing warm. It wasn't as though she'd never had a secret admirer before, but here at NCIS? She opened the card, quickly reading the message and allowing a shy smile to play across her lips. It was simple, yet incredibly touching - "and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart." She knew precisely who had given her the card, even though it was anonymously signed.

Just as she stood, brushing off her pants, and prepared herself to go to her not-so-secret admirer's desk and let him know she knew it was him, Gibbs entered the room and called out, "McGee, DiNozzo, got a lead. Rock Creek Park."

"On it, Boss!" Tony called out, grinning, and stood, grabbing his backpack and tossing the strap over his shoulder, as McGee did the same at his desk, while Ziva stood, looking lost.

They walked past her and she couldn't help but meet her admirer's eyes, see the secret smile in them, and spoke before she lost the chance. "Gibbs, wait!"

He paused at his desk, turning around. "Yeah, Ziva?"

"Um, I," she scratched her head, pointing at Tony and McGee, who had paused on hearing her speak, "I was wondering if I might go instead of Tony?"

Gibbs raised an eyebrow at her, then shrugged. "I suppose." He looked over her head at Tony and McGee. "DiNozzo. You're with me."

Tony deflated and returned to his desk, giving Ziva a death glare as he did so, and Ziva quickly returned to her desk, grabbing her bag and running to catch up with McGee at the elevator. They rode to the parking garage in silence, then as they climbed into the car, Ziva said, "Um, I asked to come with you instead of Tony because I wanted to thank you."

"For what?" McGee asked, smiling and turning on the ignition.

Ziva gave him a look of disbelief. She had been sure he was the one to give her that card . . . "Oh, it is nothing, really. I suppose . . ." She shook her head. "Never mind. We should get to Rock Creek Park, yes?" She turned her gaze out the window. Well, that was embarrassing. At least she hadn't mentioned the card. She still felt rather dumb.

"Ziva, you okay?" McGee asked, sounding genuinely concerned.

She smiled wanly to herself. "Yes. Just a case of mistaken identity, I suppose," she said quietly.

McGee frowned. "Sorry, I didn't catch that."

She turned to him then, putting on a fake smile. "It is nothing, McGee. Just thinking about the victim's wife. She will be alone on Valentine's Day."

McGee's expression turned serious and he nodded. "Yeah, it's pretty awful, you're right." He paused, then asked, "Are you doing anything for Valentine's Day, Ziva?"

She shrugged, still caught up in the disappointment of being wrong about him being the one to give her the card, not even paying attention to what he was really asking her. "No. I thought I may have been for a moment, but now . . ." She trailed off, then thought about what she was saying and looked over at McGee, who was blushing a radiant shade of pink. "McGee?"

He bit his lip, then let out a huge breath, admitting, "Okay, I left you that card. I didn't realize you'd figure it out so quickly, but I suppose, you're a trained spy, so you would pick up on it just like that, and I never imagined that you'd want to thank me for it. I mean, I had hoped, but I thought you were into Tony or something. I'm not blind. I see the way you look at him."

He took a breath and Ziva spoke. "Is that all, McGee?"

He stopped at a red light and turned to her. "Was it that obvious?"

Ziva let out a laugh, shaking her head and smiling. "Process of elimination, Tim." McGee sat up a little straighter at her use of his first name. "It had to have been either you or Tony, and as much of a ladies man Tony believes he is, I do not think he would quote poetry in a card."

McGee pressed on the gas as the light turned green and shook his own head, smiling. "I should have known that was a dead giveaway." He suddenly turned serious again, clearing his throat. "So, um, does that mean you, um . . ."

"Yes, Tim," Ziva said, ending his stuttering ramble, "I will be your Valentine."

The smile that lit up McGee's face could have put all the stars to shame, and in his head, he finished the poem he had quoted in Ziva's card - "i carry your heart (i carry it in my heart)."

THE END!

A/N: The poem I quoted is by e.e. cummings (my personal favorite) and here is the full poem:

i carry your heart with me (i carry it in
my heart) i am never without it (anywhere
i go you go, my dear; and whatever is done
by only me is your doing, my darling)

i fear
no fate (for you are my fate, my sweet) i want
no world (for beautiful you are my world, my true)
and it's you are whatever a moon has always meant
and whatever a sun will always sing is you

here is the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life; which grows
higher than soul can hope or mind can hide)
and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart

i carry your heart (i carry it in my heart)