A/N- I still own nothing but is handing out awards and Tony and Ziva are in the running for best crime fighting duo so everyone head there and vote and tell all your friends and post the information on all your stories.
Also let me know what you think about this chapter- I'm not too sure so if we don't like the way this story is going I can delete this and issue a new chapter.

"Like my rosebuds Jethro?"

Gibbs smirked at the sexual innuendo behind that supposedly innocent question.

"Don't you mean Ziva's rosebuds Jen?" he corrected as he sipped as his coffee, she simply smiled as she continued arranging the flowers in a crystal vase.

"Finally got there before she shoved them down the garbage shoot?" he guessed, to which she chuckled,

"I stopped her just as she was about to open the lid" she pouted, before adding,
"Such beautiful flowers should not be thrown out on a daily basis"

"I'll tell DiNozzo to stop buying them then"

Gibbs stepped forward and gave the deep red flowers in question, some still blooming, a careless flick. There were a good twenty stems in the bouquet and they were the thirty-first bunch Tony had sent to Ziva this month.

That Gibbs knew of.

The day after DiNozzo had recovered his memories, he had ambushed Gibbs basement with a list entitled 'Why Ziva and I should be allowed to date' at number thirty-two Gibbs had been forced to concede his permission. Partly due to the fact that he'd been granting them leeway for years and partly because it was clear DiNozzo had pulled an all-nighter and looked ready to drop from exhaustion. When he had sat the younger man down and got some coffee into him, he had asked him why he had suddenly changed his tune. Tony had explained that the knock to the head must have set something right in him, he loved Ziva and they'd wasted enough years being afraid.

So Gibbs had consented, Jenny had agreed to turn a blind eye, McGee and Abby were in full support and at the moment Eli David didn't particularly care either way.

The only protestor against the relationship was Ziva herself.

Nobody was quite sure whether it was commitment issues or another reason entirely but the bullpen now doubled as a battlefield between her and DiNozzo. The flowers were just his latest weapon against her. It had started with their favourite DVD's and champagne, but once Ziva had caught on to his intentions he'd been banned from her apartment. Heart shaped boxes of chocolates hadn't worked either; Ziva had just re-gifted them to the women in the office or refused flat out to eat them.

So at the beginning of February, Ziva had come into work to find a large bouquet of roses sitting on her desk. She'd thrown them in the bin and found another bouquet there by lunchtime. Threatening McGee with death by office stationery she'd managed to get the majority of florists within a five-mile range on the no-entry list at the Navy Yard, but Tony had obviously found florists that were allowed through because everyday fresh red roses appeared on her desk and the FBI and CIA were threatening Ziva with restraining orders if she forwarded any more bouquets to them.

Her mood wasn't helped by the fact that absolutely no-one was willing to help her in her battle against Tony.

"Ziva come on, I really need to pee!"

Ziva ignored Abby as her whining filtered through the locked door of the women's bathroom. The Goth was lying, she was sure of it; otherwise she would be at one of the other five bathrooms in the office complex.

Her suspicions were confirmed when she heard Abby shift something in her arms and then gasp,

"Dammit, I seriously don't know why Tony doesn't have these de-thorned!"

A bittersweet smile crept over Ziva's face, she knew the reason and she could have explained it to Abby. The thorns on the red roses were a symbol of the relationship between Anthony DiNozzo NCIS and Ziva David Mossad. Beautiful yes, but not without the risk of danger and pain.

She had understood this the first time the roses had arrived.

She understood that Tony was aware of the risks, of the dangers, of the suffering that would be caused by them finally surrendering to the love between them, but that he thought the rewards would outweigh them all.

Problem was- she did not.

Any day now she could be recalled to Israel and then what? A long-distance relationship, those rarely worked and Tony could hardly come with her. His life was in Washington, he spoke almost no Hebrew and Gibbs would never forgive her for taking his son from him.

They worked one of the most dangerous jobs known to their respective societies, and Tony was living proof that they were not above the risk. What happened if one of them were to d-...

No, Ziva took a deep breath and shook her head. No, she would not think of that, she did not want to imagine a world without Tony in it. Nor could she imagine her pain being lessened or increased by having carnal knowledge of the man she already desperately loved.

To her, saying she loved Anthony DiNozzo was the same as saying 'the sky is blue' or 'the ocean is wet', it was not so much a revelation or a sentiment as it was her stating a fact.

She loved Tony with every inch of her being and he returned that love.

Her train of thought was violently interrupted by the sound of a fist pounding against the bathroom door.

"Open up David" a disgruntled voice demanded and realising it was her fearless leader, she threw herself across the tiled floor and flung the door open,

"Gibbs I am sorry, I was just..."

Her apology died in her throat as she saw the man standing next to Gibbs, his eyes staring at her with an intensity and a passion which frightened her, she glared at her boss for his betrayal,

"Gibbs" she whispered, hurt and defeated when he simply shrugged,

"You made it my problem when you chose to hide in the head rather than do paperwork David," he glanced at Tony, "This is my way of solving it"

With that the former Marine sniper turned and left as Tony pushing his way into the bathroom, forcing Ziva to back up or end up with her face pressed into his chest. She felt like crying as he trapped her against the tiled wall and wrapped his arms around her back so that she could not escape.

Without a word he bent his head and caught her mouth to his in a passionate kiss which revealed the emotions he had been suppressing for weeks now. She moaned in protest though she didn't have the will to deny her own desires and push him away. When he broke for air he kissed away the tears running down her cheeks.

"I love you" he breathed in her ear and she swallowed before turning her face from him,

"If you love me then why do you insist on causing me so much pain?" she asked wearily, her hands clutching the front of his shirt and shaking him gently, he laughed softly,

"Because I know the end result will be a greater joy" he absently kissed her temple and rubbed his hands up and down her back, seeming content to stand there for a few moments with her in his arms, his chin resting on her head.

"Should I ring your father to ask for his permission, or should I buy an airline ticket do you think?"

It was very rarely that Ziva felt her knees go weak, usually it was when she was ill or wounded, so it was unexpected and she was certain that if Tony had not been holding her she would have hit the bathroom floor. She gave herself a few seconds for the world to stop spinning before she leaned back into the wall, creating as much space between Tony and herself before head slapping him.

"Are you insane?" she demanded, wondering what was causing him to act so foolishly,

"He might not care if we are dating, but if you ask my father for my hand in marriage all he will give you is a bullet to the head!"

Tony shrugged, "Then I won't ask him, but I figured he'd want to walk you down the aisle on our wedd-..." he broke off when she twisted quickly enough to break his hold on her and stride across the bathroom. Putting as much distance between them as possible before turning back to him,

"No Tony, he won't walk me down the aisle on our wedding day, because there won't be a wedding day, because we won't be getting married!" she nearly shrieked the last part of the sentence, her voice rising and becoming shrill in the hopes that her words would penetrate his thick, thick skull, reach his brain and make him see sense.

Unfortunately it did not work. He put his hands on his hips and frowned as she met his stare,

"I won't have our children be illegitimate Ziva. I know its old fashioned but if we're able to be married, we both believe in marriage, then why should our children be born out of wedlock?"

On one level she understood that his argument made sense. She had never really pictured herself as the marrying type, though she had known one day that it was likely she would marry. If not by her father's orders then out of love and respect for her partner, if it was what he wished.

But on another level things were moving way too fast for her to make sense of them. Just a few months ago she and Tony were so blissfully happy, they had everything they needed- if not everything they wanted- and were in no danger of being transferred or suffering Gibbs wrath for breaking one of his rules. And now, Tony wanted them to risk everything, everything just so they could have a small window of happiness.

"You have lost your mind!" she decided, flinging her hands up into the air in exasperation,

"Obviously the amnesia and then Paula has given you a nervous breakup"

"Breakdown Ahuv, it's called a nervous breakdown and I'm not having one"

There was an edge of frustration to his voice as he spoke and Ziva felt the same emotion, she wanted to scream, to rage, to hurl something at the mirror and shatter the glass into millions of tiny pieces so that she could no longer see her reflection.

And the hurtful hope that sparkled in her eyes.

Turning away to face the wall, she started when Tony came up behind her and laid his hands on her shoulders, "I love you Ziva" he whispered gently, "I have almost since the day I met you and for some ridiculous reason unknown to man, you love me back. And this thing we've had for the last few years has been one of the few good relationships in my sucky life and I wish it could always be enough for me but it's not. One day I'm gonna wake up and get sick of seeing the wrong woman beside me or I'll no longer be able to see another guy kiss you and resist the urge to sucker-punch him. And what if one day we both want to be parents? We've managed to have physical relationships in the past without too much guilt, but if children are brought into the picture...it wouldn't be fair on anyone, I want to love any children I have with all my heart- and I could only do that if they were yours"

When he finished speaking, the bathroom was filled only with the sound of their breathing. Ziva allowed the partial silence to calm her, to help clear her mind before she turned around and looked up at her partner.

"We have both dreamt about this, yes?" she mused quietly, knowing the answer even before he nodded, she lifted her shoulders in a quick shrug,

"Then...I suppose, any dream worth having is a dream worth fighting for"

When they emerged from the bathroom ten minutes later, Gibbs could see that Ziva was still wiping the corners of her eyes and Tony had both a stunned look of disbelief and a small smile on his face.

The old fashioned engagement ring sat inconspicuously on Ziva's finger, looking absolutely lovely.

Gibbs was glad he'd managed to convince Tony not to buy the latest fashion in engagement rings at the jewellery shop that morning. Nobody who wore a diamond big enough to deflect bullets ever had a happy marriage.

And he would know.