Thanks so much for reading this story ya'll! I hope you have enjoyed it! Thanks for all the reviews and everything! I really enjoyed reading them! Thanks for sticking with me, too. I haven't kept many of my promises to ya'll on this story, and I'm sorry for that. Seems like all heck broke loose this past month, and I have been at wits end trying to find some sense of normalcy! If you happen to have any extra, please send it my way!! haha
Anyways: On to the story! Here's the FINAL chapter to this story! I hope you enjoy it!! I don't own anything mentioned in this story, except for my ideas!! Sorry it is not all that long!
Tony sat at his desk finishing the paperwork that came after finding Alia. Ziva had finished her's earlier while Tony watched Alia. He kept getting distracted, however. Tony could not stay concentrating on the computer screen. He found himself watching Ziva read to Alia. She'd only been gone twelve hours or so, but it was enough for Tony to realize how attached he had gotten to her.
"If you don't tell her how you feel, I will kick your ass until you do," Tony heard Gibbs whisper in his ear. "And don't try to tell me you don't love her. Only a fool would think otherwise."
Tony sat stunned. He opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out. Instead, he watched Gibbs walk over to Ziva and pick Alia up.
"We are going to go to my house. You can pick her up tomorrow afternoon," Gibbs announced to the two. "Take the night off. Forget about the rules. They were to help train you, and I've trained you as well as I can," Gibbs told the two before leaving the bullpen.
Tony and Ziva looked at each other shocked. Their own boss just told them it was okay to admit their feelings. Now what could stop them? Only their own protective walls they built around each other. If they admitted their feelings, then they would be in unchartered territory. Neither was sure if they were ready for that.
McGee sat at his desk, watching everything transpire. 'Finally someone pushed them to make a move,' McGee thought to himself. 'Abby would have love to see this.'
From the stairway, the team heard Vance announce, "It's been a long day. Go home and rest. The paperwork can wait 'till Monday." Nobody waited for a second. The bullpen was empty of Gibbs' team within five minutes. Vance cracked a smile as he watched the elevator doors close on Tony and Ziva. He'd have to look the other way just a bit more. Couples usually did not make good work partners, but Tony and Ziva weren't normal. Whether they knew it or not, they'd been a couple since way before Vance became Director.
Tony and Ziva walked to the car. Because of everything that morning, they only brought Ziva's vehicle to work that day.
"Do you need anything from your apartment?" Ziva asked as she started the engine.
"We could pick a movie or two and bring them to your apartment. Maybe have a movie night," Tony suggested and Ziva turned the car towards his home.
As they walked into Tony's apartment, Tony went back to his bedroom while Ziva looked through the movie collection. She noticed it was smaller than it used to be, and realized that most were at her apartment.
"Hey, Tony, I have been thinking," Ziva called into his bedroom.
"Yeah?" Tony asked, poking his head out the door.
"You might as well live with me," Ziva suggested. "You stay there every night anyways."
Tony looked at Ziva for a moment trying to read her mind. "Are you sure?" he asked and Ziva nodded. "Why?"
Ziva searched for an answer. "Alia loves having you there, and I enjoy your company, too," she answered finally.
"That's not the real reason," Tony pushed. Walking closer to Ziva, a smirk appearing on his face. "Have you ever seen North To Alaska?" he asked, knowing she'd say no. "Well, John Wayne's character, Sam, meets this French prostitute, Angel. At the beginning, Sam brings Angel to Alaska to console his partner, George. Throughout the whole movie, Sam is a stubborn headed mule who refuses to admit his feelings. At the end of the movie, Angel threatens to leave Alaska unless Sam gives her a good reason to stay," Tony explained.
"Did he?" Ziva asked.
"Depends," Tony whispered. "Why do you want me to move in with you?" Tony asked, looking imploringly into Ziva's eyes.
"Because I love you and cannot dream of not having you in my life," Ziva finally admitted.
Tony's face broke out into a wide grin before he closed the distance between the two, and pulled Ziva into a deep kiss.
The next afternoon, Tony and Ziva stood holding hands in front of Gibbs' front door waiting for it to open. When it opened, the two received a ear-piercing squeal and were bombarded by Abby hugging them.
"I just knew it!" she exclaimed, bouncing up and down. Tony had never seen Abby this hyper, even after drinking her record twenty Caf-Pows. "I knew you loved each other! McGee wouldn't believe me, but I just knew it!" she said.
"Abs, if you haven't noticed, it's going to rain anytime now," Tony pointed out with a small chuckle. "I've already had my shower for the day. I'd like not to have one in my clothes."
Abby looked at Tony for a moment, before registering what he said and pulling them behind him towards where the rest of the team was gathered.
"Did we miss something?" Tony asked, seeing everyone gathered in Gibbs' living room. "I don't recall any party today."
"There wasn't one," Gibbs explained. "I thought it'd be easier to get this out of our systems before Monday at work," he smirked, everyone knowing what he meant.
"May I say that I am glad the two of you finally faced the truth?" Ducky told the two, smiling gently. "May your life be full of blessings," he toasted the two and everyone else followed suit.
"How'd it happen?" Abby asked, bouncing in her seat by McGee. "Gibbs took Alia then Director Vance told everyone to go home, what happened after that?"
Tony looked at Ziva a twinkle in his eye. "Boss, do you still have that John Wayne collection I gave you for Christmas one year?" Tony asked.
"What's that got to do with anything?" Abby asked, as Tony and Gibbs walked over to his rarely used entertainment center.
"It has everything to do with it, however I do not know exactly how," Ziva asked, honestly confused, yet happy at the same time. "We went to his apartment to grab a couple movies, I asked him to move in with me, he went off on some movie, and we kissed," Ziva explained quickly to the group.
"Ahha," Tony said, grabbing a DVD. "Has anyone seen North to Alaska?" he asked, turning around to everyone. "It's one of the Duke's little known, but excellent movies! Alaskan gold, lumberjacks, and mud fights! What more could you want?" Tony rattled off as he began fiddling with Gibbs television set.
FYI: I am a HUGE John Wayne fan. I was actually born on his birthday, which is way cool in my mind! Not to mention my brother is named after a Louis L'Amour book/John Wayne movie (Hondo). Also, my father went to Marine Corp bootcamp the day John Wayne died. North to Alaska is one of my favorite John Wayne movies. If you haven't checked out any John Wayne movies, then do it!!!!!! McLintok, North to Alaska, The Comancheros, and Hellfighters are some of my favorites. The Green Berets, The Alamo, The Sands of Iwo Jima, The Longest Day, and a bunch of his military movies are really good too. The Shootist and The Cowboys are the saddest movies of his, but I like the Shootist (it is actually kind of a autobiographical portrayal of John Wayne's life. His character in the movie is kind of the same as he was in real life).
Again, thanks for reading!
