Ziva was excited. No, excited was the wrong word. She was absolutely ecstatic. Today, finally, she got to go home! No more nurses waking her at three in the morning to check on her, no more IV tubes, blood tubes or wires, no more annoying, beeping monitor that she was constantly tempted to smash in, no more stale, bare walls to stare at, and most importantly, no more nasty hospital smell that made her think of sickness and death. A nurse came in to help Ziva out of her hospital gown; her arm was still in its sling and her fractured ribs and gunshot wound still made her dizzy. But none of that mattered now. She was free, Free, FREE! Ziva's smile never left her face, even when the nurse had to help her dress, like a child. Just as she was finished being dressed, Dr. Jullman knocked on her doorframe.

"I see you're ready to go Ziva." she said with a smile.

"Very much so, Dr. Jullman. I am sorry for terrorizing your nurses, though." Ziva replied somewhat sheepishly. The nurse helping her gave a small snort of amusement.

Dr. Jullman chuckled in response. "It's alright Ziva. You're not the first person here to want to just go home, although I'm sure all of us now have quite the extensive vocabulary of Hebrew swear words." Ziva laughed at that. "Anyway, I'll go ahead and discharge you now. I've written up a pain medication prescription for you, you can take it as needed. I will warn you that it will make you pretty drowsy and loopy. Other than that, just try to take it easy until your arm, ribs and gunshot wound are all fully healed. And in ten weeks you should be able to get that cast off." She reached out and shook Ziva's uninjured hand. "It was nice to meet you Ziva, although I do wish the circumstances had been different. Oh, before I forget, Special Agent Gibbs is waiting down in the lobby to take you home."

"Thank you for everything Dr. Jullman." Ziva grabbed her bag of personal items that Tony had brought earlier that week and walked to the elevator as quickly as her still-healing injuries would allow. After riding the elevator to the first floor, Ziva stepped into the lobby and looked around for Gibbs, but was unable to locate him.

"Been a long time since I've had a beautiful young woman lookin' for me." Gibb's gravel voice sounded from behind her. Ziva turned to see him sipping a fresh cup of coffee with a small smile on his face. "You ready to leave?"

"I have been ready to leave for a while." she replied, smiling at his 'beautiful lady' comment. Before she could do anything else, Gibbs snatched her bag from her shoulder, swung it over his own, and started off. Shaking her head with amusement, Ziva followed him.

The ride back to her apartment was a quiet one. Gibbs, of course, was not well known for lengthy conversations, and Ziva's initial adrenaline rush from her happiness was wearing off, leaving her somewhat tired. Suddenly something occurred to her.

"Where is Tony? I guess I am surprised that he was not the one to pick me up." Ziva said.

"I had him stay with the rest of the team. I want them to find that Mossad bastard." Gibb's face remained neutral, and Ziva wondered if he was suddenly regretting letting the two of them be together. Or maybe he just wants to get the man responsible for hurting you Ziva she thought to herself. She had no time to ask, however, as Gibbs had pulled up to her apartment building. She noticed that her Mini Cooper was parked in front. She guessed someone had gotten it towed from the Navy Yard. As she was getting out of the Charger, Gibbs got out as well.

"Gibbs, I am very capable of walking to my apartment."

"No arguments Ziva. I'm making sure you get there alright." Ziva rolled her eyes at this, but didn't argue any further. The two rode the elevator up to her level, and then walked to Ziva's door. She retrieved her keys from her pocket and unlocked it.

"SURPRISE!"

Ziva staggered back in shock, her hand frantically reaching for the gun that wasn't at her hip. Gibbs placed a supporting hand on the small of her back, murmuring "Easy Ziva" in her ear. After she had recovered from the initial shock, Ziva's face lit up with joy. The entire team- Tony, McGee, Abby, Ducky and Palmer- were standing in her doorway, wearing comical party hats (even Ducky was wearing one) and beaming at her. They had completely cleaned up her apartment and then had decorated it from top to bottom with streamers, balloons and a huge shiny banner with the words "WELCOME HOME ZIVA!" written across it. The tantalizing smell of pizza wafted out of the doorway. Before Ziva could take one step into her apartment, she was engulfed in a hug from Abby.

"OhmyGodOhmyGodZivayou'reback!"

"Abby… ribs… hurt…" Immediately Abby let go with a sheepish "Sorry!", and then launched into full babble-mode.

"Do you like it Ziva? We had Gibbs pick you up, partly because he wouldn't wear a party hat, I thought it'd be cute, but he just wouldn't, and partly because Tony would have blabbed, Tony don't look at me like that, you know you would have told her, anyway, Gibbs had to pick your lock to get in, sorry about that, got weird looks from your neighbors for that…"

Letting Abby ramble on, Ziva walked up to Tony, intending to give him a peck on the cheek. Tony apparently had other ideas. Before she knew what he was doing, Tony had reached over, grabbed her gently around the waist, and pulled her into a full, movie-worthy kiss on the lips. Ziva immediately lost herself in his kiss, and the two only broke apart when Gibbs cleared his throat loudly. Blushing slightly, Ziva turned to the team.

"Thank you everyone. I really, really love that you did this for me." As the team clapped and cheered, Abby ran up and placed a party hat on Ziva's head. Ziva shot the bubbly Goth a glare.

"Hey!" Abby said. "You need a hat for your own party!" Ziva sighed, but relented. At that moment, her stomach let out a growl.

"Is that pizza I smell?" she asked.

Tony grinned. "Uh-oh. Sounds like the ninja's hungry. Let's eat!" The team nodded in agreement, and filed into Ziva's apartment, where a stack of pizza boxes and a cooler sat on top of three card tables pushed together. Folding chairs were set around the card tables to accommodate everyone. Everyone immediately sat down and began tearing open the pizza boxes and pulling cans of soda and beer out of the cooler.

Once everyone was settled, Tony stood up and removed his party hat.

"Hey everyone, just want to make a quick speech." Amid groans and rolled eyes, Tony cleared his throat. "Well, we're all here for one reason- Ziva's finally back! And I think I speak for everyone here when I say that we are all glad she is doing better. Ziva's irreplaceable. She's smart, brave, strong, quick, beautiful, and has crazy ninja skills. (Ziva glared at him) Okay, all joking aside, we're all very glad to have you back, Ziva. To Ziva David!" he said, raising his beer can. Around the table, everyone grinned and raised their cans in response, yelling "Ziva David!" Ziva smiled, touched by this gesture of friendship. She waited for Tony to sit down so that she could thank him, but he didn't. Instead, he put his can back down on the table, walked over to her left side, gently pulled her party hat off, and grasped her hand in both of his. His green eyes met her brown ones, and he spoke softly, yet loudly enough for all to hear.

"Ziva. I love you so much. I would do anything for you, anything at all. You want me to swim the whole Pacific Ocean? I'll do it in a heartbeat. You want me to go after that bastard who shot you on my own? Consider it done. I love you. I know it has taken years for me to admit it, but I have always loved you, and will always love you, and I fully intend to keep you safe with everything I've got. All I have is one question." Tony lowered himself down onto one knee, still holding her hand with one of his. The other hand darted behind his back and pulled out a small navy blue velvet box. Tony opened it to reveal a simple yet beautiful gold ring.

"Ziva David, will you marry me?"

The entire table went quiet, faces showing anticipation.

Ziva's eyes filled with tears, and her throat closed up. At that moment, she felt that she couldn't have loved Tony anymore than she did right then. She swallowed a few times, and finally was able to manage a small "Yes!" while nodding her head. She held out her hand, allowing Tony to slide the ring onto her finger. It was a perfect fit. As Tony stood, tears gathering in his eyes, she rushed him and pulled him into a passionate kiss. Everyone at the table stood and clapped, cheering as well. The two broke apart, and Tony wrapped his arm around his fiancé's waist. Ziva looked happily at her new ring.

Just one small gold band.

It symbolized so much.

The moment you all have been waiting for! :D (btw, it's not done yet, just a turning point) Not much more to say, I hope you like it!

Congrats to Marshmeg who got my trivia right- Ziva's blood type is AB negative. When I'm less busy, I'll come up with a new question. I turned 19 yesterday, give me a break! :D

So, please review, and enjoy!

Yeah, sure, you becha!