I don't own the NCIS characters. Only Juliana and Lily.

"Her pulse is weak." Tony told Ziva as he felt Juliana's neck for a sign that she was still alive. "Call 9-1-1." He demanded.

Ziva jumped at the tone in his voice and dialed the number.

"C'mon Jules. You're going to be fine." He whispered as he searched for a wound.

"The ambulance is on their way." Ziva said quickly as she kneeled down next to Tony.

There was no reply. Ziva could tell that Tony was scared and, once again, blamed himself for not getting to her house quick enough. Suddenly, the silence was broken by the ringing of Tony's cell. It was Gibbs. He didn't want to answer but he knew he had to.

"DiNozzo." Tony said quietly.

"I'm on my way." Gibbs said bluntly. "What happened?"

"I don't know." Tony replied.

"What do you mean you don't know? Find out what happened, DiNozzo!" Gibbs barked and hung up.

Tony sighed as he hung up.

"I had to call him, Tony." Ziva said carefully. Tony shot her a look that told her to stop talking.

The ambulance came only moments after Ziva made the phone call.

"Ziva, go with them. I'll wait for Gibbs." Tony's voice was soft but stern.

"Tony, I am no-" Ziva was cut off as Tony gently put his finger on her lips, keeping her from speaking.

"If someone is after her and Lily, I'm not putting you at risk. Please, just go." He whispered and gently kissed her cheek. She stared into his eyes and could tell that at that particular moment she shouldn't argue with him. Something in his eyes told her to trust his judgment.

"Fine," She looked behind him to find Gibbs busting through the front door. "Be careful." She said quietly as she walked away.

After hours of searching her home for hard evidence, Tony was exhausted. His mind was everywhere it shouldn't be. He began to ask himself questions that had nothing to do with finding who did this to his once 'temporary' partner and he hated himself for it. He was tired and Gibbs could tell.

"Where is Lily?" Gibbs asked causing Tony to jump.

"She's uh…" Tony paused trying to remember where she was when he was smacked on the back of the head. "She's at the neighbor's house."

"Go get her. She's going back to NCIS with us." Gibbs barked loudly.

"On it, boss." He replied and headed out the door. As he approached the house where Lily had been staying, his phone rang. It was Ziva. "DiNozzo," He answered.

"Tony," Ziva's voice was soft

"What?" Tony replied as he walked up to the dimly lit house.

"She is dead." Ziva hated to be the one to tell him but she had no choice. She thought it would be better for her to tell him than some doctor using terms she knew he wouldn't be able to understand. "I am so sorry."

Tony didn't reply. Even though he had a feeling she wasn't going to make it, the news broke his heart. He didn't have feelings for her like he had for other women he had met but there had been something about her that he couldn't resist. Her charm and independence had intrigued him. The way she didn't have a real 20-something year olds life. He remembered the last time he had seen her and suddenly remembered Lily. 'How do I tell an eight year old her sister is dead?' He sighed and continued to do what his boss had ordered.

"Tony," A lady in a pink robe had answered the door.

"I'm sorry to wake you but I need to take Lily with me." Tony was trying to fight back his tears.

"Don't tell me…" She could tell from his eyes that something was very wrong.

"She didn't make it," Tony could barely get the words to form when suddenly Lily came walking down the stairs. It was clear that she had heard him tell the woman that her sister was dead. "Lily," His voice filled with concern as he walked over to the little girl. As she wept into his chest, Gibbs walked up. They didn't say anything to each other.

Hours later, Ducky had finished Juliana's autopsy. The atmosphere wasn't as heartbreaking as the death of Kate or Jen but it was still filled with the sadness that the entire team had gotten so used to.

"Hey Ducky," The silence in the room had been broken when Tony had walked in.

"Tony, I just finished the Autopsy." He wasn't sure if he should comfort him or keep their conversation strictly about the current case.

"I am sure she would have appreciated you doing it, Ducky." Ziva said as she entered the room. "What did you find?"

"Well," Ducky walked over to Juliana's lifeless body and showed them a mark on her neck. "This mark shows that she had been bitten by something. I'm assuming it was a spider bite."

"A spider was the cause of her death?" Tony finally spoke, his eyes didn't leave her face.

"Yes, a Brown Recluse to be exact." Ducky continued explaining how the spider bite killed her so suddenly but Tony wasn't listening. He was lost in his own thoughts once again.

"She was defiantly beautiful," Ziva said cautiously as she searched Tony's face for a sign of emotion.

"Indeed she was," Ducky agreed. "She looked so much like her mother." He could tell that Tony wanted to say good-bye. "Ziva, why don't you go let Gibbs know. I need to take some of her belongings to Abby." The two of them left the room leaving Tony alone.

"I'm so sorry, Jules." Tony whispered. "I should have been there sooner than I was. I just-" He paused and put his hand on the side of her cold cheek. "I'm sorry. I promise I'll make sure Lily is taken care of." He leaned over and kissed her forehead and quickly turned and walked out of the room.

Days had passed since Juliana's death and the team had been almost sluggish. Ziva and McGee tried to work as normal as possible to keep Gibbs and Tony's mind off of her death. Though, it was impossible. They both cared deeply about her.

"Boss," Tony said as he walked up to his desk. Gibbs looked up at him giving him permission to speak. "What's going to happen to Lily?" The words almost stung his heart. He couldn't imagine how she was feeling. The little girl had lost so much in her short life, how was she going to deal with being a total orphan?

Gibbs didn't get the chance to answer before Director Vance called him to his office. Tony turned to Ziva and motioned for her to go to the elevator.

"Tony, if you need to talk I will listen." Ziva gently touched his arm. "I know that you cared about her."

"I did care about her." Tony admitted. "She was a great person. Though," Tony continued "The night I stayed at her house, she made me realize that life is too short to just sit around and hope things go the way you had pictured." He turned to Ziva and took her hands in his. "She made me realize something that night,"

"What was that?" She asked, her stomach was in knots but she refused to show it.

"That the only person in this world that I want," He got close to her face and turned to her hear and whispered "…is you." He kissed the side of her face, afraid of what her reaction would be.

Ziva didn't reply, she turned quickly and turned the elevator back on. She quickly got out of the elevator and went to her desk to continue working. Tony followed behind her and tried to read her but he had no luck.

Later that day, the team had been drained of their energy and wanted to go home. McGee had already packed up his belongings for the night and was ready to leave. Abby, Ducky and Palmer had already left and Ziva wasn't far behind them. Tony wanted to stay and talk to Gibbs before he left. Gibbs, however, had been gone for nearly the entire day which wasn't like him at all.

"See you tomorrow, guys." McGee said as he headed toward the elevator. Ziva sat at her desk and watched Tony as he continued to work.

"Tony," Ziva said as she got up from her desk and approached his.

"Yeah?" He stopped working and answered her quickly, almost as though he had been hoping she would be the first one to speak since his awkward confession in the elevator only hours before.

"I am sorry about how I acted earlier," She sat on the corner of his desk and frowned. "I did not mean to react that way. You just…" She searched for the right words "Surprised me."

"It's fine, Zee-vah. I understand that you don't want to get involved with a co-worker." Tony flashed a smile trying to hide the fact that he wasn't used to being rejected.

"I never said that." Ziva smiled as she got closer and leaned over and kissed him passionately. Tony was shocked and kissed her in return.

"Does this mean that…" He was cut off when she put her hand against his lips.

"I want you too, Tony." She smiled and kissed him again.

He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer. They were lost in the moment but soon realized they were still at work and quickly pulled away from each other.

"Dinner?" He asked as he touched her leg gently.

"Yes," She smiled and walked to her desk. "I will see you later tonight." She tried to hide her excitement as she walked to the elevator.

Only moments after Ziva left, Gibbs walked out of the elevator with a familiar red head.

Tony was confused and couldn't resist asking him what he was doing with Lily.

"Boss, what is Lily doing here?" He smiled at her as she ran over to him and gave Tony the biggest hug he had ever gotten from an eight year old.

"She's going home." He said softly as he returned his badge and gun to his desk drawer.

"Home?" He asked as Lily sat on his lap.

"Yes, DiNozzo. What kind of father would I be if I abandoned my little girl?" He smiled and took Lily's hand. Leaving Tony in shock as the elevator doors shut behind them.

Tony let out a small laugh with a sigh of relief. "She's going home." He repeated while he stood and headed toward the elevator only minutes after Gibbs had left with his daughter. "I told you she'd be safe, Juliana." Tony looked up and smiled as the elevator closed.

The End.

Thank you to all of my supporters. I know there wasn't very many "Tiva" moments but I wasn't writing this as a huge romance story. I wrote it as a new chapter in their lives. Which, involved new characters. I'm sorry to those of you who didn't like Juliana and Tony's relationship and were disappointed with my story.

Thanks again and happy reading. :)