A/N: Well, I can't believe I'm actually starting the final chapter to my first NCIS story :) Here it goes!

Livluvdance2992: Thanks, I'm glad you liked it. I really hope you enjoy the ending as well!

Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS or any original characters. I simply own those whom I made up :)

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The next morning, Ziva and Abby arrived at the hospital at the very beginning of visiting hours before anyone else from the team arrived. Ziva knew that this was the day that she would tell Tony everything that she had been holding in. She hoped that Tony shared her feelings, but knew that even if he didn't, she would feel better once she admitted everything. The girls approached his hospital room and saw a nurse exiting it.

"Hello," the nurse greeted Abby and Ziva with a smile.

"Good morning," Abby replied. "Is everything okay?" Abby gestured toward Tony's door.

"Yes," the nurse replied. "Everything is just fine. He is asleep right now, but you may feel free to go on in." With another smile, the nurse excused herself and walked down the hall.

"You go ahead," Abby said to Ziva. "I'll wait out here until after you've had your talk."

"Abby, you heard the nurse," Ziva said in protest. "He's asleep. There's no telling how long it will be until I can even talk to him." Abby smiled.

"But when he wakes up, I'm sure it will mean a lot more to him if you are the very first thing he sees," she explained before taking a seat outside the room. "Good luck." Ziva smiled at her friend before taking a deep breath and entering Tony's room.

Ziva closed the door quietly behind her and took in her surroundings as she slowly crossed the room. Hospitals had always been such a depressing place, despite the 'get well' flowers and balloons that tried brightening the mood. Ziva pulled a chair up directly to Tony's bed and sat next to him. She stared at the monitors next to his bed and the IV attached to him. Upon seeing everything, Ziva felt completely helpless all over again. She gently reached onto the bed and took one of Tony's hands in hers. As her thoughts raced, she lightly caressed the back of his hand.

"I'm so sorry," Ziva whispered as tears began to fill her eyes.

"For what?" said a man's voice very weakly, just above a whisper itself. Ziva knew that voice very well and looked up at Tony's face, instantly relieved that he had awoken.

"Tony!" she smiled and stood from the chair. Very carefully avoiding the wires and his wound, Ziva wrapped him in her arms with a very loving hug that he returned to the best of his ability. Ziva sat back in her chair, and Tony noticed the tears that were still filling her eyes.

"You know none of this was your fault, right?" he asked weakly. Ziva nodded and sniffled a bit.

"Yes," she replied. "It just hurts to see you like this."

"At least we got Lansing though, right?" Tony said, trying to avoid talking about what would bring Ziva more pain. Ziva nodded again.

"Yeah," she said again. "How…how are you feeling?" Tony shrugged.

"Well, I was shot," he began. "I'm laid up in a hospital bed. I feel pretty helpless right now."

"Are you in any pain?" Ziva asked.

"Nothing that I can't handle," Tony replied. "Besides, I'm hooked up to meds too." Ziva nodded, knowing that Tony was more than likely down-playing how he was truly feeling in attempts to lessen her worrying. It wasn't working.

"Tony it was so scary," Ziva finally said. She could feel her cheeks start to burn and her tears threaten to resurface but she managed to suppress them. Tony sighed and placed his hand back onto hers.

"I know it was," he responded softly as he stroked her hand with his fingers.

"No," Ziva said, shaking her head. "No you don't." Tony cocked his head, confused.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"I was terrified," Ziva replied. "When I saw you lying there, shot, bleeding like that, I had the most indescribable feeling. I couldn't move. And I heard what you told Gibbs. Then, I saw you getting weaker and weaker and almost close your eyes. I couldn't watch anymore and had to leave. I was just so scared, Tony." Tony nodded and then took her hand completely into his own.

"I'm sorry, Ziva, that you had to experience that," he said, looking deeply into her eyes. Ziva shook her head.

"You do not have to apologize, Tony," she said. "I am just so glad that you are okay. I really do not know what I would have done if anything worse had happened to you."

'This is it, Ziva,' she thought to herself. 'If you don't say it now, you've blown your chance.'

"Well, I'm still here. Looks like you're stuck with me a while longer," Tony said, trying to lighten the mood a bit. He hated seeing Ziva so upset.

"That is perfectly okay with me," Ziva replied. "Although I do not view it as being stuck." She took a deep breath. "Tony, I feel very blessed to have you in my life. When I say I do not know what I would have done if something worse had happened, I mean it. I don't know what I would do without you, Tony." Tony kept his eyes locked on Ziva's face and stroked the back of her hand once with his thumb, urging her to continue. "You just mean so much to me." Ziva's voice cracked and a tear finally escaped from one of her eyes. Before she could wipe it away, Tony had lifted his hand and gently brushed the tear from her face.

"Please don't cry," he said soothingly. Ziva sniffled again and tried to blink away the rest of the tears.

"Tony, do you remember the other night when I came to your apartment after work when we'd had our argument?" Ziva asked. Tony smiled at the memory; it had been the night when they had shared a perfect, passionate kiss. Ziva had stayed the night that night in Tony's bed.

"Of course I remember," he replied.

"You mentioned rule number eight, never take anything for granted," Ziva continued and took Tony's hand in both of hers. "You said that you would explain to me later how it applied to our situation, but then you never did. Well, I figured it out myself." Ziva looked deep into Tony's eyes and took another deep breath before continuing. "Tony, when I am with you, I am overcome with feelings that I do not usually experience. You make me feel special. When we kiss, I feel passion that I have never felt with anybody else. And we didn't just have sex; we made love. It was so intense and passionate. I cannot even describe what you do to me when I am with you. I love you, Tony. Tonight I almost lost you, and I want you to know that I will never take you or our time together for granted again. Rule number eight."

Tony and Ziva sat in silence for a moment as Tony tried to allow Ziva's words to sink in. She still had ahold of his hand and their eye contact remained. Finally, Tony spoke.

"Is this real right now?" he thought aloud. "I'm not dreaming, am I?" Ziva shook her head and squeezed his hand.

"No," she replied. "I really said it, and I meant every word." Tony smiled, feeling overcome with happiness all of a sudden.

"Ziva, you have no idea how badly I've wanted to hear you say that," he said. "And I know you mean it. And I feel it all too. You're so much different than anyone else in the world, and you make me feel indescribable too. Ziva, I love you too, so much." A huge smile came over Ziva's face, and she wrapped Tony in another huge hug. When she pulled away, tears of happiness were already streaming down her face.

"Sorry," she laughed as she and Tony wiped her tears away together.

"Don't be," Tony told her. "You don't have to apologize to me." Suddenly, there was a knock on the door and it opened, revealing Abby.

"Do you care if we come in?" she asked. "Everyone else is here now."

"Come on in," Ziva replied, not even bothering to hide the giant smile on her face. Abby, McGee, Ducky, Palmer, Jenny, and Gibbs filed into the hospital room and observed the scene of Tony's room.

"Oh, Tony, I'm so glad that you're okay!" Abby squealed and hugged him.

"Thanks, Abbs," Tony said as Abby pulled away.

"It'll be nice to have you back," Gibbs said. "When you're recovered of course. And I'm sure there's someone more than willing to help you to a full recovery." Gibbs directed his gaze toward Ziva who couldn't help but blush slightly. Abby smiled knowingly, as did Ducky, while McGee stared between Tony and Ziva, obviously confused again.

"So, what happened with Lansing, anyway?" Tony asked.

"He was killed at the scene," Gibbs replied. "But we were a bit busy focusing on you."

"Yeah, sorry about that," Tony said. Gibbs shook his head.

"Don't be," he said. "And don't apologize. I don't need you breaking anymore of my rules."

"Ooh, which rules did he break?" Abby asked excitedly. Ziva shot her a semi-threatening look, and Abby just smiled.

"Well, he didn't break my biggest one, that's for sure. And I don't see that happening either," Gibbs replied. "Rule number one."

"Don't screw your partner?" McGee asked, confused.

"Don't screw over your partner, probie," Tony corrected him as everyone shared a laugh.

"But he already broke what you just said, McGee," Abby said with a smile on her face.

"Abby!" Ziva scolded, shocked that Abby would openly reveal that in front of Gibbs.

"Calm down, Ziva," Gibbs said. "I already knew."

"You did?" Tony asked, although he knew he probably shouldn't be surprised that Gibbs had figured it out.

"Well you made it pretty obvious, DiNozzo," Gibbs replied. "When I call you, and twenty minutes later the two of you walk into work together, something's going on." Tony and Ziva chuckled at how careless they had been all along at hiding their growing relationship.

"So, are you okay with it then, boss?" Tony asked.

"Yeah, DiNozzo," Gibbs replied. "I am. As long as it doesn't affect your work, I really am. Besides, if I had a problem with it, I'd be a hypocrite myself."

"What do you mean, boss?" McGee asked, clearly confused again. Gibbs smiled and put his arm around Jenny. "What? You…? How long?"

"Two months," Jenny replied. Tony, Ziva, and Abby all exchanged glances saying that they had already known their boss's secret. McGee noticed this exchange.

"Why am I always the last to know stuff like this?" he wondered out loud.

"Oh, don't fret, Timothy," Ducky smiled at the young man. "There's no shame in finding out last. In fact, someone's got to."

"Alright," Gibbs began. "Well, we'll let you have your rest for now. It's great to see you're doing okay."

"Thanks, boss," Tony said. Abby and Jenny each gave Tony a hug, and everyone bid their goodbyes to Tony and Ziva. Finally, Tony and Ziva were alone again.

"So Gibbs is really okay with us," Tony said. Ziva nodded.

"Yes," she replied. "That is such a relief."

"I know," Tony agreed. "I don't know why I was so afraid of having to tell him. I can't believe I was making it into such a big deal." Ziva smiled when she remembered what Abby had said to her when Ziva herself had said something similar to this.

"Well, Tony," she said. "Love makes everything seem like a big deal. I know. I was afraid to tell him too. Almost as afraid as I was to tell you."

"Why were you afraid to tell me?" Tony asked.

"Probably for the same reason that I suspect you were afraid to tell me," Ziva replied. "The fear of rejection, emotional pain, and harm to our friendship. Then of course the fact that I believed Gibbs forbade relationships between co-workers."

"Well, you never have to fear any of that," Tony promised. "I'll never hurt you. And I guess it wasn't so forbidden after all, was it?"

"No, not at all," Ziva replied with a smile. "I love you, Tony."

"I love you too, Ziva," Tony said. Their lips met, and they both felt the same passion that they felt that night in Tony's apartment. They both knew those feelings would always be there. Finally, Tony and Ziva were happy. They were guilt-free and in love, and neither could ask for anything more.

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A/N: The End :) So that's it. I really hope you all enjoyed the final chapter of this! Thank you so much for reading, and please review to tell me what you thought of it! Also, I'll be posting the first chapter of my next story soon, so if you're interested, be looking for that :) Well, thanks again for reading. I really appreciate it, and your reviews!