Title: Sacrifice

Chapter: 9

Disclaimer: I do not own ANY of the original characters from the show, they belong to the writers of NCIS.

Author's note: Sorry for the long wait for the update, but I made it up to you with a long (I think very good) chapter. I am sure that you will all enjoy this one, even though I do still appreciate hearing so in your reviews. :p Thank you to everyone who has been reading, the attention I've been getting for my stories has really made me very happy. So thank you all for reading and please review, enjoy!


Tony got out his wallet as quickly as he could and paid for Gibbs' coffee before running out of the coffee shop towards the trio whose laughs were growing louder by the minute.

"Hey! I'm back." He stated while trying to catch his breath.

Ziva just looked at him and burst out into laughter, making Tony very worried about whatever his cousin had told her.

He looked up to see Maria and McGee grinning. "What'd she say Probie?"

McGee smirked, "You say Ziva's driving is bad? At least she didn't drive her first car into the neighbour's pool!"

Tony felt his face grow warm, and he only turned a deeper red when Ziva added, "During their pool party!"

Ziva, Maria and McGee all broke into laughter while Tony searched for an excuse. Since he couldn't find any, he decided to change the topic, "Well have you guys ever heard about the time Maria met Brad Pitt?"

Maria instantly sobered, her face turning a bright pink while taking a step towards her cousin , "Tony…."

"Oh come on Maria, I won't tell them what you did… I'll just say that it was enough for him to get a restraining order for you, and let them imagine the rest."

Maria spun around to see Ziva and McGee looking at her with raised eyebrows, amused looks on their faces. She looked at Tony and noted the satisfied look on his face. "It was an accident! Besides, since we're sharing stories… Maybe I should tell them about your first love… Mr. Bear."

Maria ignored the warning look on Tony's face as she began, "Mr. Bear was Tony's first true love. He was Tony's first teddy bear and, I believe Tony was five when—"

"TRUCE!" Tony shouted, not willing to let Maria finish the sentence. "You stop and I stop, agreed?"

Maria shook her head but Tony didn't let her continue the story. "Truce or I tell them when you met the President."

Maria looked down as a blush spread across her cheeks. "Truce."

Tony grinned, his only answer to the questioning looks his co-workers were giving him was, "Let's just say that Maria knows how to make a first impression."

Maria's elbow shot out and caught Tony's stomach, "We are done talking about this now, right?"

"Right."

The group of four walked back to NCIS in silence. Tony pressed the elevator's call button, but nothing happened. "I see Boss is using the elevator as his own personal office again. Let's take the stairs McGee, we'd better be back in the bullpen before Gibbs is."

McGee nodded and the two agents headed up the stairs, leaving Ziva and Maria behind. It wasn't long before Gibbs' conference was over and elevator was free. They stepped inside and the doors closed behind them.

"So how do you like it in DC so far?" Ziva felt the need to ask.

"Oh, I love it!" Maria responded. "Plus, as much of a pain that he can be, I did miss Tony."

Ziva smirked and nodded, "Yes, I guess it was hard for you to keep in touch with him while he was on that boat."

Maria nodded. "Right! I had almost forgotten about that. It must've been hard for all you guys to be separated, you seem close." She looked at Ziva, hoping for some sort of response, but got none so she continued. "I was actually able to keep in touch with him though. He sent me e-mails and called me every so often." She chuckled. "Actually, I think that we talked more when he was on that boat then the past few years before then."

Ziva nodded, a little hurt. Tony had kept in such good touch with everyone but her. Abby, McGee, Maria, Gibbs, they all received post-cards or letters or calls, she got nothing. Did that mean that she meant nothing to him? The thought hurt a lot, but the pain only brought the harsh reality crashing down on her. Tony didn't love her. She wasn't even worth a post-card to him.

Ziva snapped out of her thoughts to hear Maria continue. "You know all Tony could talk about during those months was the team here at NCIS. He'd talk about you guys before, but never to that extent. I guess not seeing you all everyday really made him realize how much you all matter to him. I guess it's right what they say, 'you don't know what you've got 'til it's gone.' Well, at least he realizes it now."

Ziva fought back all of her emotions as she nodded, "Yes. It was hard on all of us to be separated, we're like a family."

Maria smiled kindly, Ziva's words had sparked her interest so she dug a little deeper. "How does that work? I mean, like who's who?"

Ziva chuckled, "Well, I guess that it would be different for all of us, but to me… Gibbs is the father, Abby the sister and McGee the brother. There used to be Jenny Shephard, the mother, but she passed away a few months ago."

"I'm so sorry. Tony mentioned that many times, it was very hard on him and he blamed himself." Maria said, she knew it was a sensitive matter, but needed to ask. "So, then what is Tony in your family?"

Ziva smiled softly, thankful that she didn't blush. "Tony is another brother." She lied, but if she wasn't worth a post-card, he definitely didn't feel the same way about her, meaning that all he could ever be is her 'brother.'

The elevator doors opened before either woman could say anything else and Ziva stepped out quickly, a sure sign to Maria that the conversation made her uncomfortable.

Ziva continued to walk briskly down the hall, so Maria hurried after her. They stepped in what Maria guessed was Abby's lab. Music that she was unfamiliar with filled the room.

Ziva crossed the room and turned off the music. "Abby! There's someone here to meet you!"

Ziva smiled at Maria, then turned to see their friendly goth walk out of a side room. "Maria." Ziva gestured to Abby. "This is Abby, the forensic scientist at NCIS. And Abby…" Ziva gestured to Maria, "this is Maria, Tony's cousin. She's staying with Tony for a while to help make sure he's okay. I told her that we'd help her get used to the city."

Abby nodded enthusiastically as she ran towards Maria and gave her a hug. "OF COURSE! Any cousin of Tony's is welcome here!"

Maria's eyes went wide as she struggled for breath, making Abby blush and take a step back. "Sorry, it's just not everyday we get to meet Tony's family."

Maria laughed, "That's okay, it's great to meet all of you too. And thanks for offering to show me around, it's always hard to adjust to a new city, even though I am only visiting."

Abby nodded enthusiastically, "That's okay, we'll just have to make the best of the time you have here!"

Ziva smirked at Abby's enthusiasm. Before she could say anything, however, Tony walked into the room.

"Hey!" Tony looked at them all and flashed his famous 'DiNozzo grin.' Maria couldn't help but notice how the smile got a little brighter when he looked at Ziva.

She smirked at her cousin, but he didn't seem to notice, he was too busy watching Ziva reply to something Abby said.

Maria snapped Tony out of his daze, "Tony, is there a reason why you're here?"

Tony's head snapped to look at Maria and he nodded. "Uh... Yeah. I know your car isn't here so I'm driving you home in mine."

He smirked when Melissa nodded slowly like a little kid, sad that they had to leave so soon.

"Bye guys!" Tony shot over his shoulder and Maria gave a small wave before they stepped into the elevator, the doors closing only seconds after they entered.

Tony turned to look at Maria. "So... how did you like NCIS?"

Maria smiled. "I really like it, you've got great co-workers. Why haven't you told me more about them before?"

Tony shrugged, "You never asked."

Maria rolled her eyes, "Well, you know you could share something without being directly asked."

"I could... I just choose not to." Tony grinned, making Maria sigh in frustration.

"You can be really impossible sometimes, you know that?"

"I do what I can." He said with a grin, making Maria even more irritated.

A few moments of silence passed before a thought crept into Maria's head. She smiled mischievously, then looked at Tony. "So... You and Ziva are partners right?"

Tony shifted his weight nervously; something in Maria's tone told him she was up to something. "Yeah... why?"

"Oh nothing." Maria fought back the evil smile that was beginning to spread across her face. "I just think you guys seem close."

Tony nodded and Maria continued, "How long have you been in love with her?"

Tony's eyes widened as he looked at his cousin. "What?!!!"

Maria simply smiled, "Oh come on Tony, you can't hide this type of thing from me. Plus, it wasn't hard to figure out. Every time you saw her, your smile went into overdrive and you even have a special smile for her! You laughed more around her and generally seemed happier when she was around. You kept stealing glances at her and your eyes were actually glowing with warmth when you looked at her!"

Tony rolled his eyes, "Come on, we're just partners."

Maria looked at Tony, "She loves you too."

Tony tried to fight her words off, he knew they weren't true and she was manipulating him again, but hearing that Ziva loved him really gave him hope.

"Listen Maria, we're just partners... Does she really love me?"

Tony hated himself for being so weak and asking, but it was killing him not knowing. Maria burst into a huge smile and she threw herself at Tony in a bug hug. "You do love her!"

She took a step back when she realized what she was doing and blushed slightly. "Sorry, but you love her! I knew it! You two are perfect for each other and everything! WOW!"

Tony ran his hand through his hair in frustration, he was an idiot for asking if Ziva actually loved him, know Maria knew how he felt and she was only manipulating him. Maria sensed Tony's less-than-enthusiastic response to her finding out, she forced herself to calm down.

"I wasn't lying when I said she loves you back Tony."

The elevator stopped and Maria raced towards Tony's car when the doors opened. She hopped in the passenger's seat, and then waited for Tony to catch up.

Tony took his time in getting out of the elevator, Maria's last words ringing in his ears, is it possible?

Tony retraced the past three years he and Ziva had spent together. They'd been the best three years of his life. It was hard to even believe it possible that the many times he'd simply wanted to stop pretending and tell her how he felt, Ziva may have felt the same way. Was it even possible for her to love him as much as he loved her?

Tony's head spun as his thoughts assailed him. Realizing that he needed to know the answers, he began running to his car. He got in the drivers seat and began driving, only waiting until they were out of the NCIS headquarters parking lot before asking Maria, "Does she really?"

He was mentally kicking himself for sounding so weak and pathetic, but he couldn't help himself, and he needed to ask.

The world seemed to stop spinning as he waited for Maria's response. "She really does."

The words that Tony had been wanting to hear for years hung in the air, at first Tony was incapable of comprehending them. Then the true meaning of Maria's words hit home, and ever so slowly, the widest smile Maria had ever seen made it's way across Tony's face.

This time it was Tony who reached over and hugged his cousin, "You're sure?" He asked, his face suddenly serious.

At Maria's happy nod the smile returned. It was all Tony could do to hold back the yell that was trying to get past his throat. He never stopped smiling the whole ride back to his house. When they got out of the car, Maria had to laugh at Tony's enthusiasm.

He practically jumped out of the car, then ran into the house. Maria slammed her car door shut and made her way inside Tony's house.

She walked down the hallway, "TONY!"

"Yeah?!" Tony popped his head out of the living room and Maria chuckled at the child-like smile on his face.

"What are you doing?" Tony grinned as he shrugged, "The phone's in here, I need to talk to Ziva."

Maria paused, "Tony..." Tony felt all of his joy disappear as he began to fear she was teasing him this whole time. "We need to talk."

Tony's heart felt like it was being ripped into a million pieces as he and Maria sat down on the couch. He waited for her to tell him that Ziva didn't really love him. He waited for the words he knew were coming, the words that would break his heart so badly that he'd never recover.

"I think it's great that you're so happy..." Tony mentally prepared himself for her next words. "I just think that if you've both been waiting three years for this moment, it shouldn't be done over the phone."

Tony sighed in relief, then grinned and nodded. "Yeah, I guess I got a little ahead of myself there didn't I?"

Maria rolled her eyes at how enthusiastic Tony was being. "Yeah... just a little." She smirked sarcastically and Tony felt his cheeks grow warm.

"You need to tell her tonight." Maria began.

Tony shifted uncomfortably; suddenly nervous about what was going to happen. Maria noticed Tony's discomfort, but wasn't about to let him back out now. "Come on. I've got the perfect idea."

Tony leaned forward, showing his interest in her plan, then pulled back. "Wait."

He looked at Maria. "I've been waiting three years to tell her I love her, I think it's only right that I don't get any help in doing so."

Maria nodded, as much as she'd love to help Tony plan his evening with Ziva, it was their moment and it meant more if Tony planned it. "Okay, just call me if you need me."

~~~NCIS~~~

Tony paced down the front hallway of his house. What had he gotten himself into?

Maria walked out of the living room and glanced at Tony, taking in his nervous appearance.

"Listen Tony. Ziva just called to say she's leaving her house. I did everything like you asked, and she's going to drop by here to pick me up. I am going shopping, so I'll be out for an hour or two, giving you guys enough time alone to finally tell each other about your feelings. She doesn't know that she's having dinner with you, but just play it cool. I am sure that you'll do fine. Now good luck."

Maria went on her toes and kissed Tony's cheek. "Don't be nervous Tony, just remember that she loves you too."

Tony nodded and hugged his cousin, knowing that he'd never be this close to confessing his feelings to Ziva if it wasn't for Maria.

"Thank you." He whispered in her ear, then looked in her eyes to show he meant it.

Maria simply nodded. "Your welcome, now good luck."

She waved as she closed the door behind her.

Tony walked into the living room to make sure everything was ready. He had specially prepared a dinner for just the two of them. They could eat by candlelight until he finally got the nerve to tell her.

Supper had taken him two tries to get it just right, but Ziva was worth the work. Everything tonight had to be perfect.

The doorbell rang, making Tony's heart speed up. That's her. The thought sent shivers up his spine; this was the moment of truth.

He stopped in front of the hall mirror and checked for any stray hairs, tonight had to be perfect.

He walked towards the door and straightened his tuxedo one last time before opening the door. This is it.


Hope you liked this chapter. I know, I know, I'm leaving you with a cliffhanger, but I've got to build up to the moment. :) Reviews make me update faster (hint, hint) ;) Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed!