Leroy Jethro Gibbs had never considered himself a "romantic" in any sense, but somehow, seeing how two of his agents were together, made him feel like he had done something right in keeping their team together. Director Jenny Shepherd had told him how unusual it was to keep agents who were "involved" on the same team, but Gibbs was never one for following rules made by others. He firmly believed that his agents worked best together, whether in or out of the workplace.

Somehow the challenges the team faced in light of Tony and Ziva being in a relationship seemed somewhat less daunting than some of the other ordeals through which the team had already been. Whatever the challenges were, he'd make sure they were all ready to face them.

It had been a few weeks now since the big announcement that Tony and Ziva were going to be parents. Everyone was showing their excitement in different ways; for instance, Abby had confided in Gibbs and McGee that she was teaching herself to knit in a spider web pattern, to create a baby blanket for the new bundle of joy. Ducky, on the other hand, had been brushing up on his facts on pregnancy, and occasionally dropping "did you know" stories on everyone.

With Ziva's growing belly finally betraying her condition to the public (along with rumors spread by an unknown source, suspected to be Tony DiNozzo), it seemed that every woman in the office was magnetically drawn to her. In addition, all of them seemed eager to bestow on her some sort of wisdom that they'd acquired. Though a portion of this "wisdom" was surely made up of old wives tales (a phrase, which Tony had difficulty explaining, had nothing to do with tails), some of it was actually useful. It was true, Gibbs' team especially was in nothing short of a "baby mania" at this point, and Abby's exuberance in planning the baby shower had sent her buzzing nonstop with contagious excitement.

---

1"Hey!" Abby squealed as she saw the car pull up, and Ziva's daughter hopped out.

With childlike excitement Abby ran up to the little girl, who couldn't help grinning as she was pulled into a tight hug. Abby was so tall that Kazia normally only stood to about her waist, but Abby bent to make hugging accommodations.

"We are gonna have so much fun!" Abby told her, grabbing her hands. The spunky goth's glossy black pigtails we bouncing as she made exuberant gestures. "We're gonna be renting movies, and making cookies, and –"

"Not staying up past midnight." Ziva inserted pointedly, getting out of the driver's side of the vehicle.

Abby saluted smartly. "You got it Momma David."

Ziva took Abby aside while Kazia got her backpack and coat. "Thank you for doing this Abby." she said gratefully.

Abbs wrinkled her nose waved a hand. "No problem, Kaz is an awesome kid! And if Tony wants to take you out, it's totally cool, you guys deserve it." She gave Ziva a sudden hug. "Have fun tonight, I mean it!"

---

As Tony and Ziva strolled along a streetlight lined pier, their hands found each other. They'd planned to dine at a restaurant that had been hailed as one of the best restaurants in the city. However, once Ziva started to crave fast food fries, they decided to ditch their reservations and hit up a drive-thru.

"This is nice." Tony sighed, enjoying their privacy in the nearly deserted area near the water.

Ziva nodded in agreement, gently pulling him toward a nearby bench. "Let's sit down," she urged, "my feet are killing me." She sat down with a sigh and kicked off her heels, flexing her stocking-clad feet.

"Sexy." Tony commented, seating himself beside her.

She made a face and shoved him playfully, but then let him put his arm around her. She leaned her head back and closed her eyes. The night air blew a cool breeze across her face, only furthering her contented state.

Tony nuzzled her hair, and absentmindedly brought a hand to rest on her thigh.

Caught off guard by the somewhat intimate touch, Ziva lifted her head to glance down at the placement of his hand. "Hmm," she snickered, cocking her head to the side and pouting in a playful manner, "are you about to try something with me Agent DiNozzo?" she teased, winding his fingers around her own.

He chuckled, "Not unless you want me to."

Ziva rested her head against his shoulder again. "Later." she yawned.

"Mmm." Tony mumbled in agreement. He tilted his head back to look at the stars in the inky sky. It was such a beautiful night, and here he was with a beautiful girl. It seemed the perfect place to…He grinned slyly. He had always been a man to improvise in the right circumstance…or in all actuality, pretty much any circumstance. So sliding out of Ziva's embrace, he turned and dropped to one knee.

Her eyes widened and she began to shake her head. "Are you seriously…you better not—"

He cut her off. "Look Ziva, I don't have a ring, I don't have a plan. But goddammit, if this isn't the right time to ask, then I don't know what will be. I am happier than I have ever been in my whole life. Will you marry me…eventually?" He smiled very winningly.

Suddenly a sharp blow came to his shoulder. Ziva had punched him, and was now wiping her eyes. "Damn you DiNozzo! Why did you have to say something so beautiful and make me cry? Of course I will marry you 'eventually' you asshole."

Still clutching his shoulder, Tony staggered back onto the bench to sit beside her as she blew her nose, crying and laughing at the same time.

"Do you hear this?" Tony called into the night, though no one was listening, "I try to be a romantic and I get hit and called an asshole by a pregnant lady! Ridiculous!"

Ziva pressed a finger to his lips, her eyes still sparkling with tears. "I still said yes."

He drew her hand back and kissed the top of it. "I guess that's the part that counts then."

A/N: HOLY SHNAP! Has it really been a year since I updated this? I am such a bitch!! Sorry I fail so hard at updating, you guys! I finally got some time off school for Holidays and now I have had some time to work on it! I actually know where the story is going now, so it only has to do with me getting the time to write up the chapters. I know I have probably lost some readers in all this time, but I sincerely hope you enjoy this update!!

xxx