Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters.

Chapter Nine

Ziva thought she'd done well preparing herself for the damage to her apartment, but she'd been sadly mistaken. Rubbing a hand up and down her back, Tony stayed stoically at her side. Making sure to shut the door behind them, Ziva stood frozen at the threshold of the apartment, honestly too afraid to go further.

"Oh my god," Ziva whispered as she slowly scanned the living room.

"This is all my fault, Zi," Tony said sadly. "I'm.."

"If you are about to apologize for this you are wasting your breath and breaking a rule," Ziva replied, turning to face him and place her hands on his chest.

"But if you hadn't been with me none of this would have happened," Tony said as he circled his hands around her tiny waist.

"I have a feeling he would have taken me anyway," Ziva said as she left his embrace to venture inside the wreckage.

"What makes you say that?" Tony asked in confusion.

"You and I were inevitable," Ziva said as she leaned over to pick up a shredded pillow. "And even if for some crazy reason we never found each other, you always were and always will be my best friend. I have a feeling he would have used that as an excuse too."

"You're probably right," Tony said, following the path she took. "You always are."

"Not always," Ziva said with a small smile.

She tossed the pillow that was completely torn apart on the couch when something else caught her eye. Smashed in a pile next to the still intact side table was a picture of the team. It was one of her favorites because the circumstances resulting in this picture had been so unexpected. It had been one of the first days of great weather and Abby had insisted the team spend that Saturday outside at the park together. Jimmy had offered to take a group picture and they'd all lined up. Abby and Ziva stood in the middle an arm around each others waists. McGee stood next to Abby's other side with a hand on the center of her back. Gibbs stood next to Tony who was beside Ziva. Gibbs had a hand on Tony's shoulder while Tony had his arm wrapped as tightly around Ziva's upper back as he could. Right before the picture was taken a football had come flying from across the park and nailed Jimmy in the head, causing first Abby to laugh followed by the rest of the team, including Gibbs. Jimmy recovered quickly, quickly enough to capture them all in the midst of hysterical laughing. Ziva sighed as she looked at the picture, an overwhelming sense of gratitude enveloping her. Things could have turned out so differently. She was extremely lucky her family was able to find her. A smile crept up her face when she felt Tony wrap his arms around her waist and set his chin on her shoulder.

"That's one of my favorite pictures," Tony whispered, placing a kiss on her neck. "I was having a hard time trying to not stare at you."

"At me?" Ziva asked surprisingly.

"Yes you. You're beautiful on a normal day, but laughing," Tony said while shaking his head in disbelief. "Laughing you're stunning. I knew I loved you before that, but hearing you laughing and seeing the joy in you that day made me want to actually act on it for the first time."

"Why didn't you?" Ziva said, mesmerized by Tony's voice.

"I was scared," Tony said with a sigh.

"Of me?" She asked, pulling out of his arms to look into his always expressive green eyes.

"Not you. Never of you," He said, framing her face in his big hands. "I was afraid of how much I loved you. I have never, ever, loved anyone as much as I love you. Not even Wendy and for some reason that day it really hit me."

Ziva stared back at him, too stunned to say anything. She sank in his embrace, burying her face in his chest and breathed in the scent of him. He moved his hands to encircle her back, placing small kisses in her hair.

"I don't deserve you," She whispered while still buried in his arms.

"Yes you do," Tony said fiercely. "I am yours forever, baby."

"Good," She said as she pulled back to look him in the eyes. "Because I want forever. With you."

Tony smiled and heaved a sigh of relief. He hadn't realized how much he needed to hear those words until she said them. Closing the small distance between them, he lowered his lips to hers completely oblivious to the opening door or the gun that was now pointed in their direction.