On Sunday we dressed to go to Gibbs house, it wasn't a big affair but we still thought it would be best to dress up a little. So I got up and showered, dressing in a black and grey stripped maternity dress. I smiled once I was happy with my appearance and headed out to the lounge where Tony had been for the last twenty minutes trying to wrap the birthday present we'd brought for Gibbs.
"You still working on that?" I asked as I saw him and he turned around sheepishly
"This is why I put presents in bags so I don't have to wrap them" he said and I chuckled
"Here why don't I wrap the present while you go have a shower" I suggested, putting the present in my lap and kissing the top of my head he shouted out a thank you as he ran toward the bathroom. I laughed as he did this before I wrapped the present, once it was done I walked into the kitchen to grab a drink. I placed my hand on my ever changing stomach and sighed in content, with Tony home I was getting more sleep, felt more comfortable and the sex was out of this world.
Once Tony was dressed and ready to leave we headed down to the car, before Tony rushed back inside to grab the present which he'd left sitting on the coffee table. Knocking on the door before entering Gibbs house we smiled as we saw the rest of the team were already there, the men looking smart in their casual wear and Ziva looking gorgeous in a turquoise sun dress. Gibbs who was sitting in the arm chair smiled as we walked in the room, getting up to give me a hug before he shook Tony's hand, this was the most relaxed I had seen these guys in over six months and for that I was thankful. I was also glad that Director Vance hadn't been invited to this little party.
We sat chatting for a while before Gibbs decided to take the party out to his back lawn, so that we could get some fresh air and he could put on the BBQ, something that Ducky tried to take over on multiple occasions, only giving up when he threatened to shoot him, because he was fine doing so. Ziva, Tony and McGee were all rough housing on the lawn, which was really funny to watch and had me in hysteric within a couple of minutes. It wasn't until later that day when Ziva decided that we needed to talk about things at work which seemed to surprise me. At the time I was in the middle of a conversation with Ducky and Gibbs, when I felt the tap on my shoulder, I turned around and smiled
"Hey Ziva" I said and she smiled back
"Do you think you and I can talk?" she asked and I nodded
"Excuse me Ducky, Gibbs" I said and they both nodded. Ziva and I headed inside to the lounge and as we sat opposite each other I looked at her
"What did you want to talk about Zi?" I asked and she frowned
"About so much Abs" she said and I looked at her confused, what could she possibly have to say to me that would cause her to be this nervous. So I waited her out and when she finally spoke I was kinda surprised with what she was telling me.
"I know you and Tony have known each other for a really long time and I don't plan on taking him away from you but I do need to tell you something and you have to promise that you won't hate me" she said and I frowned
"I can't promise anything Zi until you tell me" I said and she nodded
"Right well, when I first joined the team I had the biggest crush on Tony and even though he infuriated me and pushed me over the edge I couldn't quite deny my feelings for him well at least not to myself. But know that seeing the way he looks at you and the way you look at him I feel that I may have doubted how much I did like him. I see him now as the older brother that I never had and somehow always wanted, he's funny and protective and I've never had any one like that before" she said and I nodded
"I thought at the beginning it was something like that, the way the two of you always butted heads, that was a sign to me that maybe Tony wasn't interested in me, I mean compared to you I'm the palest pale you could be. But when we started dating and the way he treated me, the way he looked after me and made sure that I was being looked after and that I was his one and only I don't know I seemed to forget that I might be hurting you. I know I've hurt a lot of the women down in accounting who will no longer talk to me but they're friendship isn't as valuable to me as the one that I share with you" I admitted and she smiled
"I value our friendship too Abby" she said leaning forward and giving me a hug, one that I gladly returned.
We stayed hugging for a couple of minutes before I asked
"Was there anything else that you wanted to talk to me about?" I asked and she nodded
"I wanted to tell you, to confide in someone about what happened whilst I was in Israel and I know that the others will find out eventually but I just feel like right now the only person I can trust is you" she said and I felt a smile tug at my lips
"Well then I'm honoured. What do you want to tell me?" I asked and she took a deep breath
"While I was in Israel my father had me put on a mission that meant I had to go undercover and pretend to be someone I'm not. Before coming to NCIS I never had a problem with following my fathers orders but now I do and I couldn't stand it. However I completed the mission to the best of my ability but somehow it wasn't enough for my father, it seems that whatever I do now is never enough" she paused letting a little sob escape and I could see how desperately she was trying to hide the vulnerability that she seemed to be showing me
"The last part of my mission was to go undercover with an agent and we had to stop a terrorist attack, we were there doing our jobs whilst keeping up our cover before I heard this random ticking before I caught on that the bomber had left the bomb in the building, before I had time to react the bomb had blown and all I could remember was the heat from the fire that started before I woke up in a hospital room without any flowers or get well cards, it just made me realise and remember that I am never what my father wanted" she said leaning forward and burrying her face in her arms choking on the sobs that she was trying desperately not to let get any louder. I felt my own tears streaming down my face at what she was telling me and knew that it must be really hard for someone who has had to become some emotionless warrior share their emotion, but I knew how it felt, well kind of. Being adopted and knowing that you were different is always hard but growing up not knowing why you where adopted is even harder, and then losing the only people you had ever loved to a car crash well it was hard to think of but it defiantly wasn't easy to get over.
"I think I might understand a little" I whispered and she looked up confused and I smiled weakly
"I was adopted, I knew that from quite early on. But I always wondered why my parents gave me up? If it was because I wasn't what they were expecting or because I was different. My foster parents they taught me so much, accepted me for who I was and didn't question what I chose to do in life. But then to lose them to a car crash I guess I just always felt like I'd have forever with them and then not seeing them now its hard. I guess thats why I get so emotional whenever you guys have to leave or do something stupid or reckless, I fear that you will never return" I sobbed and felt her reach out and squeeze my hands
"I can't promise anything but know that we will always try or hardest to make it back to you" she said and I nodded
"I know" I said smiling sadly. We looked at each other for a couple of minutes before I heard someone clear there throat and looked up to see Tony standing there with a look of confusion on his face. Ziva smiled and then got up making her way back outside. I tried to stand but found it a little difficult, seeing my struggle Tony helped me up and pulled me in for a hug seeing the look of pain in my eyes and the wet tears that had rolled down my cheek.
"Is everything alright?" he asked and I nodded
"Yeah we were just letting each other know that we understand" I said before reaching up on my tip toes to kiss his cheek before resting my head on his chest.
A/N: Hey guys I am so sorry about the delay of getting this next chapter up but I had writers block and I knew that I wanted to deal with the Tony/Ziva relationship and get Ziva and Abby on the same page I guess. Well anyways I hope you like it and that you remember to tell me what you think!