A/N: Hey guys :) This is the third and the last part of Blind. Sorry it took me so long, I kind of forgot about it with three other open projects... ^^ Thanks to you all who followed, favorited and most importantly reviewed. And special thanks to Mike for beta-reading and Nadja for being just herself 3

Disclaimer: Still not mine xD

Enjoy! And leave me one last review, please?

PA16

Previously on Blind:

She swallowed and opened her mouth.
"Tony, I…"

Her heart still beat furiously and Ziva almost choked on her own tears that were still streaming down her cheeks. "I… I have to go," she finally whispered.

"What?" Tony asked and furrowed his brows.

"I have to see Gibbs."

The man before her just nodded and swallowed. "Ziva…" She knew he wanted to talk, wanted to hear her say the words back to him, but she couldn't, not without talking to Gibbs first.

"I will be back," she said and leaned forward, "I promise you, Tony." She kissed his cheek softly and then turned around and opened his door to go.

"Ziva!"

She tuned at his voice. "What?"

He lifted his arm and said, "Catch."

Out of habit and with the best reflexes a woman could have she caught the keys for his car. She looked down at them and smiled.

"Keep these," he said and flung her another pair of keys. "And come back as soon as possible!"
She caught his apartment keys too, winked at him and left to talk to her father figure.

Knock, knock.

Ziva knew it was unnecessary to knock, but she wanted Gibbs to open the door for her and see her on the doorstep. It was kind of silly, seeing as he would probably be in his basement, working on his newest boat and he would take a while to go upstairs. Before she could think more about him and his wooden projects or anything else, the door opened and she heard a sharp, "What?"

She pushed the door open, smiled and said, "Hey, Gibbs."

Gibbs eyes widened and he took her by the arm, leading her inside. "Ziver! What are you doing here?" He looked around her small frame outside and asked, "Where's Tony?"

"He's at home. I wanted to tell you something."

He nodded, led her to his couch and eased her down on it. He crouched down before her and laid his hands on her knees. "What is it, Ziver?"

"Well, we arrived at Tony's apartment and while he cooked, I listened to some silly cooking show or something and then, suddenly…" she stopped, just to put him on the rack and grinned at him.

"And then suddenly?" he asked and squeezed her knee encouragingly.

"I saw."

Much like Tony had done earlier, Gibbs looked confused and asked, "And what did you see, Ziva?"

"Gibbs, I saw everything again!" Ziva said and smiled.

His eyes widened and he was quiet for a second. "That can't be..." he murmured and touched her face.

Ziva covered his hand with hers and said, "But I mean it, Gibbs. I can see you!"

The man before her laughed, something Ziva didn't get to hear that often, and he pulled her in for a hug.

"My Ziva can see again!" he shouted and they both grinned. "What did Tony say?"

Ziva's smile vanished, her expression turned serious and her eyes looked down briefly. "He was surprised and he..."

Gibbs lifted his eyebrow and asked, "He what, Ziva?"

"He loves me and I... Gibbs, I do not know how to tell him that I will the same."

Gibbs sighed, pulled his arms from around her body and sat down beside her. "Ziva, believe me, he knows that."

"But how?"

"You wanted to stay with him. You cried while he was with you. I believe the old Ziva wouldn't have done that and he knows how much overcoming that must have taken you."

"Thank you... I really want to tell him that I love him too, but I cannot think of words to say to him..." Ziva sighed and fiddled with her hands.

"Just listen to your heart, Ziver."

Ziva nodded and stood up, whispering, "Thank you." She smiled, hugged Gibbs and said, "I have got something to do, now."

Gibbs grinned, kissed her on the cheek and told her, "Good luck! And please, don't come back next week! Neither you, nor DiNozzo!"

"Okay," Ziva said and turned around. She grabbed her things, among other things Tony's keys. "Bye!" she shouted back towards Gibbs, walked out of his house and to Tony's car. Within minutes she was back at his apartment, her heart beating away in her chest. She parked the car and looked up, seeing the lights in Tony's living room and kitchen. She almost sprinted up to his apartment and put the key in the lock.

"I am back," she called out, took off her jacket and hung it up.

"Hi," she heard Tony say and looked up at him.

He stood in the doorway to his kitchen, a hand towel slung over his shoulder and a dipper in his hand.

She bit her lip and walked towards him, noticing that he had tidied up the floor while she was gone.
"I am sorry that I left in such a hurry earlier. I just had to talk to Gibbs."

He nodded and said, "I'm forgiving you. At least you're back."

"I am. So, what are you doing?"

He laughed and turned around, "Cooking! I warmed up the pasta from earlier and it's almost ready, you should help me."

"Okay," Ziva said and followed him into the kitchen. She was greeted with the pleasant aroma of Tony's cooking. "It smells delicious..."

"And it sure tastes delicious! Try it," he said. He dipped the spoon into the sauce, pulled it back out and held it over his hand so it wouldn't drip and make a mess.

Ziva swallowed before leaning down and trying the sauce from the spoon. She closed her eyes and let the taste overcome her.

"Wow," she whispered and opened her eyes. Tony was right there, closer than before and he watched her closely. There was no smile or grin in his lips and the seriousness in his eyes made her knees shake a tiny little bit.

"Ziva-" he began but she interrupted him.

"No, Tony. It is my part to say something. I am sorry that I left like that and I know I already told you that, but... Please, forgive me. This whole thing was just so painful for me and I had to get used to you being there the entire time." She took a step closer to him and touched his chest with her hand. "Thank you for everything you have done for me in these last days."

"It was my pleasure, Ziva," he whispered huskily. "I've told you before that I won't leave you, ever. You're important to me, more than anyone has ever been. I want you to know that."

Ziva nodded and patted his chest a few times. "Tony, I do know that. And I appreciate it so much. I just... You're important too," she whispered the last few words quietly.

She took a deep breath and then she told him, "And Tony... I love you too."

Ziva bit her lip and leaned in to touch his lips with hers. It was soft and short, but they expressed their feelings clearly, pouring everything into that simple kiss. Ziva sighed into it and fisted her hand into his shirt while Tony stroked her back and held her neck, pulling her toward him.

Their kiss lingered until they both needed to come up for air, gasping.

"Wow," Tony whispered and stroked her cheek softly.

Ziva nodded and licked her lips nervously. "Yes, indeed. We should do that... more often."

"I love you," he whispered and pecked her lips.

Ziva sighed quietly, loosened her hands on his shirt and sat down at the dinner table. "Now, Mr DiNozzo, let's eat," she said and smiled. She didn't have to say it back to him, he already knew how she felt. And he was okay with that, he had trouble himself with saying it, but on this day, at this very moment, shortly after their first kiss, he wanted to it out to the world and tell her over and over again.

Tony sat down and smiled to himself. "I think I fell in love with you the first time I saw you, Ziva. And when I look at you, that's all I'm ever going to see, the woman I love. It doesn't matter if you're perfect. To me, you will be, and that's all that counts. It'll be that way always. Even years from now, when you're old and withered, I'll see you with my heart, not my eyes. That's just the way it is when you love someone. The imperfections don't exist. If you see them at all, you think they're beautiful," he whispered, grabbed her hand across the table and smiled reassuringly at the tears that glistened in her eyes.

There would come more nights like these, of that he was sure. More nights to come on which they kissed, held each other and whispered the three little words, where Tony repeated that quote again and again and again and when Ziva would smile and remember that whatever happened, she would not be alone. She had a family that she could count on, that cared for her and that would be there every day.

[Last thing Tony said was from Catherine Anderson, Sweet Nothings]

Review? ^^ If it isn't obvious, I'm addicted to them...!