Note: There is McGiva in this chapter. This will be the last chapter, and I'll end it with a short epilogue. Thanks for reading!

Chapter 10

"Tony, why are you here?" Tim asked.

"I was meeting with Vance, and I thought I'd see if you wanted to grab some breakfast."

"What's your endgame?" Tim asked skeptically.

"I just want to have breakfast with a friend. Is that too much to ask?" Tony shot back.

Tim fell silent. It took him about two seconds after Tony's retort for him to realize he was being an ass.

"I'm sorry. Sure, let's grab some breakfast." Tim sent Roper an e-mail letting him know where he'd be, then grabbed his coat and followed Tony out of the Cyber Unit.

NCISNCISNCIS

Tony drove them to a favorite diner of his, not far from the Yard. They found a booth near the window and made themselves comfortable. A plump waitress made her way to their table.

"What can I start you boys off with?"

"Coffee," they said in unison.

"Coming up," the waitress said with a chuckle.

They sat in silence until the waitress came back with their coffee, and too their breakfast order. Tim gripped his cup, letting the hot beverage warm his cold hands.

"So…"

"So…"

Tony chuckled.

"Well, this is going smoothly…"

"You're the one who wanted to have breakfast, Tony."

"Why are you so against talking to me, Tim? Is it too hard to believe that I might actually want to fix what I've broken here?"

"It's going to take more than a cup of coffee to fix this."

"If you're actually talking to me, it's a start."

Tim rolled his eyes and glanced out the window next to him as he took a sip of his coffee. Their breakfast came, and Tim started eating without a word.

"I've had a lot of time to think about what happened," Tony said as he poured meat hot sauce on his home fries. "I didn't take any time to rationally process what I saw in the gym that night. The only emotion that registered was anger."

"You hit me in the face, Tony. Twice. That goes beyond anger. That borders rage."

"You're right. Apologizing is moot at this point, but I am sorry. I let my feelings for Ziva cloud my thinking. I should have asked you about it privately."

"After all this, I don't think either of us will ever have a chance with Ziva," Tim said with a small smile.

Tony smiled.

"You're right, probably not." He took a bite of his scrambled eggs. "I want you to know that if it ever happens between you and Ziva… I won't stand in your way."

Tim nearly dropped his fork. He looked up at Tony. The look on his face was similar to the one he wore in interrogation. He was completely serious.

"You're serious? You'd be okay with me and Ziva…"

"I can't stop you from seeing each other, no matter what my feelings are about her."

"Neither of us would be comfortable with that relationship, knowing that you're hurting, Tony."

"Probie, are you listening to me? Ziva doesn't open herself up intimately to just anyone. It takes her time to get comfortable with someone. She obviously has feelings for you."

Tim set down his fork and sat back in the booth.

"Oh man… damn it, I really screwed up."

"Don't tell me you told her it didn't mean anything…"

"Not in so many words…"

"Yeah, you definitely screwed up."

"Shit."

"Can I offer you some advice? As a friend?"

Tim nodded, and Tony beamed.

"Okay, here's what you should do…"

NCISNCISNCIS

Tony dropped Tim off at NCIS before he headed back home. Tim watched him pull away, and headed back into the building. He got into the elevator, but instead of going down to Cyber Crimes, he rode it up to the squad room. When it opened, he stepped out quietly. Gibbs was at his desk, undoubtedly buried in a cold case file. Ziva was busy with a case report as well, he could see.

Come on, do it… don't be an idiot…

Tim took a deep breath and made his way to Ziva's desk. She looked up as he approached.

"Hello, Tim."

"Hey, Ziva. How are you?"

"I am well. How is the Cyber Unit?"

"Boring, As much as I like code and all that, looking at it all day isn't that exciting."

"What brings you up here?" she asked.

"I wanted to ask if you'd like to come over to my place tonight, for dinner."

"You want to cook me dinner?" she asked,

"Yeah," he said with a smile. "Just you and me."

"All right. It's a date."

"How about seven?" he said, glancing at Gibbs simultaneously.

"Seven is perfect. I will see you then."

"Great." He looked over at Gibbs, who now had his full attention on them. "I'd better get back to Cyber… Agent Roper is probably wondering why I'm not back yet."

"It was good to see you."

"It's good to see you too, Ziva."

Tim walked past Gibbs' desk on the way to the back elevator. Gibbs gave him an approving nod as he passed by.

NCISNCISNCIS

Ziva could smell dinner she approached the door to Tim's apartment. She hadn't known Tim to cook much, so she was interested to see what he was going to make.

She knocked on the door and he answered quickly.

"Hey! You're early," Tim said, consulting his watch.

"Gibbs let me leave early, so I thought I would come and see if you needed any help with dinner," she said.

"Actually it's almost done. Come on in."

Ziva stepped into the apartment, and held up a bottle of Moscato.

"I brought some wine."

"How did you know Moscato was my favorite wine?" Tim asked.

"I have ways of finding out information," she said with a smile.

"Let's open it up," he said, motioning for her to follow him. As they entered the kitchen, Ziva was able to figure out what she'd been smelling since she came in.

"Chicken French?"

"My mother taught me how to make it before I went to college," he said. "She said I had to learn how to cook real food if I was going to be away from her," he said, smiling at the memory.

"It smells wonderful."

Tim popped the cork on the wine, and got two glasses down from the cupboard. He poured them each a glass, and gave one to Ziva. The oven beeped, and Tim grabbed an oven mitt. "Have a seat at the table. I'll bring dinner out."

Ziva smiled and took her wine back into the main room. Tim had turned his little bistro table into an elegant dining space. He'd put a tablecloth over it, and a small candle was the centerpiece. She had an inkling of what he was trying to do.

Tim came out moments later, carrying a casserole dish with two pieces of chicken French. He brought out a bowl of angel hair pasta, and served the chicken over it.

"Tim, this is absolutely delicious," Ziva said after the first bite of chicken.

"Thanks… it's been a long time since I've made it."

They talked fleetingly about work while they ate. When dinner was over, Tim got up and started to clean the table.

"Leave them," Ziva said, a sultry look in her eyes. "I think we need to talk."

Tim set down the plates.

"I wanted to talk about what happened… " Tim started.

"We have already discussed that. Both of us agreed that it would not happen again."

"What if I want it to happen again?" Tim said before he could stop himself.

"What?"

"I tried to tell myself it was the heat of the moment, that we were just having fun, but it wasn't… not for me…"

Ziva took Tim's hands in hers, and looked into his eyes. The look in them was different.

"What happened between us meant a lot to me," Ziva said. "When you said it didn't mean anything, I was hurt."

"I'm an idiot, Ziva. I should have seen it before. After Tony found out, I wanted to let it go, leave it in the past. I can't do that anymore. I want to be with you, Ziva. I should have told you a long time ago-"

Ziva silenced him with a kiss. It soon became passionate, as Tim put his arms around her and pulled her closer to him. They parted for a moment, and Tim locked eyes with her.

"So I'm forgiven," he said, grinning.

"What do you think?"

Ziva pulled him down to her lips and kissed him again, and he picked her up and carried her to his bedroom, the dinner dishes long forgotten.

END