It was nearing eleven at night. Most were sleeping, some might still have been hard at work in an office or such, some were fooling around, some were working on their dreams, and Ziva David was wide awake. She waited until Abby fell asleep, or at least seemed to be asleep. She watched the clock. She had already decided she would leave at 11, since Gibbs would probably still be working on his boat or possibly eating. Under her pajamas were her jeans and a tank top, which she had cleverly disguised with a pair of baggy sweats and a super loose shirt that Abby had taken her to get from her home.

The clock changed to eleven, and Ziva yanked off the covers as though it were a natural reflex, as though she wasn't dreading the fact that in just minutes, she may get both her and Tony fired from the job that they both loved. But she had to tell Gibbs. It ate away at her, the thought of keeping something like this from him. She couldn't do it, not to him. Gibbs knew so much about her, and she knew so much about him. She trusted him so much, and Ziva wanted him to be able to trust her as well. And keeping a secret of such magnitude that went against the rules that they were supposed to follow as a team was not trust. It was more like deception, to both her and him. She felt as though she just had to, just as though one has to breathe. And so she took Abby's keys from the coffee table and headed to her car.

Ziva drove straight to Gibbs' house, only stopping at the lights and at stop signs. She didn't make any pits stops, although she realized that Abby should have gotten gas. It wouldn't matter. It wasn't that far. She parked on the other side of the street, staring at the house. She started to worry. Ziva had no idea what she was going to tell him and how she was going to tell him. She had avoided thinking of things like that so that she wouldn't freak out. And now she was here, in front of his house, and she had to go in and tell him in some sort of way. Her eyes tight and her knees slightly shaking, Ziva left the car and walked to the other side of the street.

She didn't bother knocking. There wasn't any point. You could faintly see the light coming from the basement, providing that you knew where to look. She opened the door, feeling a bit braver, and her knees stopped shaking. She went to the stairs and headed down to the basement, being sure to be loud enough so that Gibbs could hear her.

As she reached of the bottom of the stairs, Ziva found Gibbs carving away. He didn't bother to look up. She pulled a stool over and sat across from him, her hands in her lap. After a few moments of silence, he looked up. He looked a bit curious, curious as to why she was in his basement. His voice was low as he spoke.

"You should be at Abby's."

"I know. I have to tell you something, Gibbs."

"It couldn't wait?" He raised an eyebrow.

She shook her head slowly. "No, it could not."

"Well? What is it?"

"Gibbs, I- well, we-"

"What?"

"Tony and I are dating. There. I said it."

Gibbs smirked, leaning back a bit. Ziva mistook it for annoyance.

"I am sorry Gibbs. I wanted to tell you and I felt that you should know that we are breaking-"

"Don't be sorry."

Ziva's scared facial expression turned to one of shock.

"You are not…angry?"

"Why would I be?"

"Well-"

"I put that rule in place so that you wouldn't break it. I knew that if, by any chance, two teammates fell in love, the only way they would break it is if they were sure that they were in love. I saw it coming. You two were always close. But not the way a brother and sister could be, like most teammates are."

"You suspected something?"

"For a while now. You see, Ziva," Gibbs adjusted himself in his seat so that he was sitting forward, his hands folded on the boat, leaning towards her. "I've know you two would be together for a while now. You mended him after we lost Kate, Ziva. Even I wouldn't have been able to do that. Hell, I don't think even the most expensive therapists would have been able to. You did."

xxx

An hour later, Ziva exited the basement. Tony and her still had their jobs intact, and they still had Gibbs' trust. They had more than that. They seemed to have his admiration, as slight as it was, and as secretive it was. Apparently, the rule had been a rickety bridge. A bridge that only the couple that was strong enough could cross.

Tony and Ziva had crossed the bridge.

Gibbs and Ziva had also decided not to tell Tony of their meeting that night. Ziva would make Tony tell Gibbs again, just so that Gibbs could get the chance to fool with him. The team needed a laugh after all of the recent events. She jumped into Abby's car, starting the engine, a small, happy, and relieved smile on her face. She pulled out into the street and started driving.

xxx

As Abby crawled out of bed, she found Ziva already in the kitchen, fully clothed. She went ahead and got herself dressed, and headed to the kitchen, lurking behind Ziva, watching her cook.

"What are you cooking?"

"Pancakes. Would you like some?"

"Would I ever!"

By seven in the morning, the girls were on the road. Ziva had convinced Abby to let her drive, and Abby was regretting it already. Looking at the gas meter, Ziva decided to do Abby a favor and get gas for the car. Pulling into the first random station that she found, Ziva nor did Abby didn't question the abundance of trucks in it. Surely, that was normal for a truck to be getting gas. Surely, it was normal for four trucks to be at the same gas station. Getting out of the car, a man came up to her. The normal routine followed: Ziva told him how much gas she wanted to get, and the man put the nozzle in the car, nodding.

"Hey Ziva, I'm going to go get us some coffee, okay?" Ziva nodded at the scientist, who skipped away to the small gas station store. They had a coffee machine visible through the window, and Abby headed to it, liking the thought of getting morning coffee, even if it wasn't Caf-Pow. She didn't expect the twelve men inside of the store to suddenly attack her.

Overpowered, she was dragged into a back room, some man's hand over her mouth. At the same time, Ziva stood waiting for Abby to come back. She sensed something wrong, and, checking the time, realized that it had been over twelve minutes since Abby had entered the store. It does not take that long to get coffee. She looked towards the store. From the distant window she couldn't see anyone. Jogging to the store, she went inside.

Everything went dark.

A/N: Don't kill me. I know what I'm doing... Kind of... Okay not really. So what do you guys want to see more of in the next chapters? And who do are the guys that took them? Hm? Oh, and thanks for all the reads and reviews! It really means a lot!