A/N: good news! Other than Symbol For Infinity, which I can only update once a week anyway, this is the only multichap fic I have going, so I can update more often, although how often that is will vary. I'm pretty sure that was my New Year's resolution, so I'm feeling rather proud of myself right about now.

Winners of the guessing game are at the bottom although if you are one of them you probably would have figured that out. :D

…

"You did WHAT?"

Ziva, who was probably well deserving of yelling right about now, had to pull the phone away from her ear slightly to avoid damage.

Tony, meanwhile, who was on the other end of the line, was absolutely fuming.

Not only that, but he wasn't alone.

He had McGee and Abby over for drinks to watch a couple of movies and they were halfway through From Russia With Love, when Tony's phone vibrated in his pocket. He saw Ziva's name, and smiled. McGee and Abby were getting a little too snuggly on the couch after a few beers, and it would be nice to talk to someone not almost asleep from the alcohol. He had only had a couple of light ones, as he was trying to lose a little weight. The other night at the bar, that had been a celebration and he had figured what the hell?

He flipped his phone open and snuck out of the room into the kitchen. His noise did not rouse his two half-asleep co-workers, until now.

When he felt two extra sets of eyes on him, he knew he would not be able to have a private conversation without one or both of them listening in, especially after yelling out like that. But he couldn't hang up now, he really needed to hear the whole story.

"Come over," he whispered spontaneously.

"Who's coming over?" a suddenly jumpy, messy-pigtailed Abby asked loudly over the back of the couch.

"Is that Abby?" Ziva questioned. "It's just that I haven't told her yet and—"

"Yeah, it's Abby," he replied, smiling at the Goth. "McGee's here too, we're watching James Bond."

"Oh, well, I don't want to intrude, and ruin your night by spilling the broccoli."

Tony chuckled. "It's 'spill the beans', and maybe," he lowered his voice to a whisper again and turned his back to his friends. "Maybe it's time you did."

"Can you tell them for me? The truth. I'm afraid if I do it, I will end up ruining everything."

Tony hesitated. "Are you sure? It's the kinda thing you don't get to say very often, throwing it away might be—"

"A mistake?" She laughed. "Believe me, I've made enough of those, I can afford to make one more."

"On one condition: we talk the minute we're alone. If you're gonna drop another bomb on me then I'd wait until my heart rate's gone down." He was frustrated at her, but telling McGee and Abby was a priority; the frustration could wait.

He snapped his phone shut and joined his friends on the sofa.

"Who was that, Tony?" Abby asked, slurring her words a little.

"Ziva," he replied timidly, before clicking play on the movie. Abby scoffed.

"Ziva. What's with you and her lately, huh? You have this weird spiritual connection." Abby made odd gestures to demonstrate her point.

Tony said nothing, not enjoying having this new responsibility on his shoulders.

"Hey, you OK?" McGee asked. He was probably a little more functional, as he tended to handle his alcohol a little better than Abby.

Cogs creaked as they turned inside the Senior Field Agent's head. He had an obligation to fulfil, he should fulfil it, but something deep inside him was telling him no.

…

Ziva arrived at Tony's twenty minutes after she hung up the phone. She knew she had done the wrong thing. She had thought she would feel better now that Gibbs knew about her pregnancy, but now she just felt worse.

Standing outside his door, she raised her hand to knock, but hesitated. She had told him she wanted to do this alone, and had completely gone back on that. Exhausted, with the stress and the worry and the baby, she took a moment to rest, and leaned her head against his door with a thud, closing her eyes.

Click.

The door opened and she fell straight into Tony's strong arms, feeling his warmth enclose her as she relaxed into him for just a moment.

Then, a little embarrassed, she looked up at him, a little smile playing at her lips as he helped her stand up.

"Maybe a hello would be more appropriate?" he said, grinning his thousand-watt grin.

"Hello," she replied. "Where are Abby and McGee?"

He looked at the leather watch he was wearing. "Home, I'd imagine."

"Did you tell them?" she asked hopefully.

"No," was all he said.

"Tony!"

"Ziva, it's too important for me to tell them," he explained, walking over to his couch and picking up the empty beer bottles. "Like you said, it's your baby. I'm not even the father. Of course,"—he dumped them into the trash can and turned to her—"that's not what Gibbs thinks!"

"But—"

"I thought we agreed. No more lies!" he said.

"Well, I didn't lie, to you."

"What the hell were you thinking, telling Gibbs I'm the father?" he shouted.

"I wasn't thinking anything!" she yelled right back.

Tony exhaled. They weren't going to get anywhere by yelling. He was tired of this. "Then why'd you tell him? Please, just tell me."

She took four large paces across the living room and was now just as close as she had been before. He was just staring at his sofa. "Because, I was ashamed of myself, of what happened with Ray and Gibbs' respect just means too much to sacrifice it over something like this."

"What happened to going it alone, huh? I offered me full support and you push me away because you say you need to do this on your own."

"I thought that, when I made that decision, it would be the end of this. And although it wasn't necessarily what I thought I wanted, I knew that was what needed to happen."

"What made you go back on that decision?" he asked, meeting her eyes.

She glanced at the floor, and then let her eyes wander over briefly, before they locked on each other. Her eyes were glittering, even in such low lighting.

"My heart," she whispered, the honesty clear in her voice.

He swallowed apprehensively. "This is crazy. You're supposed to meet somebody, fall in love, get married and have kids."

She gave a tiny nod in agreement.

"Guess they got the order wrong."

Then, like a dream, his lips touched hers softly. It was tender and gentle and sweet; the perfect kiss. Ziva couldn't stop the tears.

They clung to one another, not wanting to let go and have to face the scary world. They wanted to just stay there, in the warmth and familiarity that surrounded them. Here they were alone, and free of all there problems.

But in the real world, Ziva had a brand new problem.

She was falling.

Falling for him.

And she was falling far too fast.

…

A/N: Yay, we finally got a bit of Tiva in! I figured you guys deserved it after waiting TEN WHOLE CHAPTERS! You're all the best!

Anyway, as for the guessing game, Betherzz got half it right, and then the first person to get it all right was drheart04, so nice work! The next people to get it right were NCIS-EW-HP-Gleek, cdfuller21, and then Rebel Magnus, then ncis29. Good work!

And I know I'm terrible at replying to reviews but I really appreciate you guys taking the effort to review, it means a lot. To have over 80 reviews on this story really means a lot. I love you all 3

I will update as soon as I can, could be tomorrow, if you review lots!