NCIS

Planning the family get-together took Tim and David to the next weekend to make sure everyone's schedules aligned. Ziva didn't want to risk imposing on Tim and David by staying with them and offered to stay at a Navy lodge, but they insisted upon hosting her so she could recuperate peacefully. Ziva decided to take some time before trying to return to work at NCIS, and by the next weekend she had already seen a therapist twice and would continue for a few months. David was excited for the weekend not just for the wedding planning, but for finally getting to meet Penny. He and Ziva had just finished preparing lunch when the doorbell rang.

"David!" Sarah squealed as he opened the door. She juggled three binders along with a notebook and her purse while trying to hug him, then proceeded inside.

"Hey Sarah, great to see you!" He smiled, then saw the shorter, older woman approach. He quickly turned on his charm and said, "And you must be Sarah's twin sister, Penny."

Penny coyly smiled and tapped his cheek with her hand. "I see Timothy's had his way with you this morning, since you're certainly full of it."

David's eyes widened and his jaw dropped in mortified disbelief of what he just heard from the 70-year-old. Penny smiled mischievously at her handiwork, and proceeded to hug him.

"Good to finally meet you, David."

David laughed and hugged her warmly. "Great to meet you too. Tim should be down in a minute. This is our friend Ziva," he gestured over to the dining room where Ziva was laying out the tray of hamburgers and chips.

"Hello everyone," Ziva waved. "Sarah, good to see you again. Penny, nice to finally meet you, I've heard a lot about you."

Abby arrived and knocked on the door, and David let her in with a hug and kiss on the cheek.

Tim came down the stairs and hugged everyone that had arrived. Tim's sunburn had cleared sufficiently and his other cuts on his face were mostly healed. "Hey guys, thanks so much for coming."

Sarah bounced with excitement and held up the binders she was carrying. "Tim, I have been DYING for you to ask me wedding questions since you said you were proposing to David. I have SO much to show you!"

Abby also smiled and pulled out a notebook of her own to show them. "And I've been sketching ideas for flower arrangements and pulling pictures out of magazines. I'm so excited this is finally happening!"

"Come on," David waved them all into the dining room. "Let's eat and get to work."

They each grabbed plates of food, then Sarah laid out each binder for them to see.

"Ok," she started with the binder on the left, "This one has a bunch of different locations and settings, like really cool hotels, beaches, even super-fancy barns for a more home-like feel."

They each passed around pages from the binder with different sites, swooning over each idea.

"I like some of these beach shots," Tim began, "but I am absolutely loving this rooftop overlooking the Capitol."

David looked over his shoulder and moaned lustfully at the photo. "Yes. Keep that one. You sure you don't want the beach though? You said you had a dream about it."

Tim shook his head. "I did, but I just can't stop looking at this picture of the rooftop setting. It has my vote."

"Good, then mine too."

Sarah whipped out her own notebook and started writing. "Alright, when are you guys thinking?"

Tim looked at David then back to the photo. "Well if we're going for a hotel, that'll open us up a bit. We were thinking either Christmas or our anniversary in May."

Penny held up her hand. "I'd say go for your anniversary, otherwise you'll end up combining Christmas and Anniversary gifts and you'll be getting gypped every year. Also around Christmas it'll be harder to book the hotel rooms for guests."

Abby pointed to her and nodded her head. "Very true. Every business helping you guys will be insanely busy around that time, and your anniversary gives you more time to plan."

Sarah scribbled a few more things in her notebook then looked back up. "Definitely May. That gives us just under a year. Plus, if the laws they're proposing go through, this could be that hotel's first celebrity gay wedding. You guys will get tons of attention and free shit from them."

"I like free," David agreed through a mouthful of hamburger. "But that also means that whatever we do needs to be done in DC itself, not like Arlington or somewhere that just has a view. That's going to be expensive."

"What's your budget looking like?" Sarah asked.

David looked at Tim and whispered, "Not too much, but enough to be nice?"

"Let's look through our and see what we wanted to set aside for the down payment on the house, then see what we have left after? Plus I can reach out to my publisher and see what they can do for us. If I dangle the idea of another book in front of them, they might give us either an advance or maybe get the hotel to give us some kind of deal."

Sarah nodded as she continued writing. "Alright, so budget is pending but I'll get back to you on ballpark costs. Also, whatever place you use should be able to move the party inside if it rains, so it has to be a place with a ballroom, too. Are you guys doing a religious ceremony?"

"No, just civil," Tim replied. "But if we could have the ceremony and reception in the same place that'd keep things simple."

Abby chimed in, "And while things are being prepared in the hotel, you could go to a nearby park for pictures."

Ziva spoke up, "That café where you first met has a sculpture garden. Perhaps you could have them taken there. It would have significance."

"Oh, I love that idea!" David exclaimed.

Sarah was scribbling frantically in her notebook. "Love it, love it, love it! Alright so you'll need a photographer for everything, but you'll also need transport from the hotel to the gardens and back. If we're in the city, definitely use a party bus or something that's not a stretch limo. Now, the hotel you choose has to match the feel you're going for. Are you looking for something fancy, something cozy, something modern?"

Tim and David looked at each other as they calculated.

"You really liked the colonial suite we were in," David observed.

Tim's face scrunched. "Yeah, but that's very historic and I'm not really feeling the historic theme for our wedding. I'd say for maximum effect, go modern."

David nodded in agreement and turned back to Sarah. "Modern. It'll match our suits more, too."

"Hold that thought, suits are in the second binder with the dresses," Sarah called without looking up from her notebook and binder.

Tim rolled his eyes and started cleaning up the plates. "You gonna plan the whole thing for us, Sarah?"

"If you'll let me," she asked eagerly with a grin.

David and Tim exchanged glances, and David nodded. "Job's yours if you want it."

She squealed excitedly, then ran to hug each of them. She quickly sat back down to her notebook and continued flipping through some of the binder pages. "Ok, so we have a type of location, the date, and logistics for the first part, now let's go to the next part: Theme. What look are you going for? Black and white elite, or maybe more color for spring?"

"Color," Tim insisted. "Especially a bit of blue. It brings out David's eyes."

David blushed as they each looked at his eyes. "What about green for Tim's?"

"The flowers will help with that," Abby pointed out as she opened her notebook to show some pictures and drawings she had made. Tim was surprised to see many that were not simply black roses.

They all crowded over one side of the table to look at the notebook and the second binder that Sarah was opening. Most of pages were of brides with grooms, so they showed both dresses and suits that each of them ogled.

"Oh I want that," Ziva pointed to one of the dresses that was smooth and had a long open strip up the leg.

David looked at her and nodded. "Absolutely. And you could have the garter just low enough to show it holding a compact .22 or a shiny steel knife to accent the jewelry."

"Oh!" she groaned holding her hands over her heart. "So pretty."

"I like that suit," Tim pointed to a bluish-gray suit with a white shirt and light blue tie. "What do you think?"

"Oh, I love it! Although wouldn't you want to see me in this?" David pointed to the backless dress modeled next to the suit Tim picked. "I don't have the bust to hold up anything strapless, but that baby could really show off my ink."

Tim stifled a laugh behind one hand and swatted David's arm with the other. "Much as I'd enjoy seeing that, I could always insist on those Star Trek uniforms again."

"No, no!" David hastily put his hand on the page with the suit. "The suit's perfect!"

Abby picked out a picture with some white flowers to show them. "You could have white boutonnieres to match your shirts, and the blue ribbons in the flower arrangements on the tables to match."

"Well wait a second," Sarah interrupted. "Who's going to be in each party? If there are women on each side, there are bouquets and dresses to think about too."

"Oh crap, I don't even think we've talked about it yet," David looked at Tim with a worried expression.

"Whatever we choose, we need some kind of balance," Tim pointed out.

"Well let's see," David looked around at each of them and counted on his fingers. "So we have Abby, Ziva, Sarah, Tony, Gibbs, Mitch, Beth, who else?"

"Ducky and Palmer," Tim added, "I'd love for them to be there."

"Abby's already flower girl, but I'd kind of like for her to be on my side as my maid of honor," David added.

Abby's eyes went wide. "Really?!" she asked. "Oh my god! I'd love to be your maid of honor!" She raced over and tightly hugged David. "What about Tim?"

Tim answered, "Actually I want to ask Gibbs to be my best man."

David continued, "Then Sarah will be on your side of course. What about Penny?"

Penny put her hand on David's arm. "That's sweet of you dear, but I doubt I'd fit in with the younger people. It's probably best if I'm sitting, anyway."

David blushed and smiled. "You know, I just had a thought. Would it be weird to ask Ducky to be the officiant? He was one of the first to really have me take part in a tradition around here."

Abby smiled and gasped. "Oh, I'm sure he'd love that! You definitely should ask him."

"Yeah, I like that idea," Tim agreed.

Sarah observed, "If you're having a flower girl, we'll need a ring bearer unless you have the best man do the rings and no flower girl."

Tim looked back to David. "Tony? Then he and Ziva could walk in together."

"I think that would work. We have Ziva as our flower girl, then Tony as our ring bearer, so they'd walk in together as one pair. Then I have Abby as my maid of honor, you have Gibbs as your best man, they go in as a pair. Then I have Mitch and Beth, and you have Sarah and Palmer. It evens out perfectly."

Ziva tilted her head to the side and beamed at David. "You want me to be in your wedding party?"

David hooked an arm around her for a hug. "Absolutely. You're family."

Ziva bit her lip and fought back happy tears. "Thank you, truly."

Sarah smiled and was on the third page of her notes. "Alright, so wedding party is figured out, now let's get back to theme. We liked the blue-gray suits and light blue flowers, so we'll have to try to find matching dresses but that shouldn't be too hard. Most wedding vendors coordinate like that. As far as the reception and venue, what's the theme? Please don't say something dorky…"

Tim and David looked at each other, and Tim asked, "Do we want something like Superman and Batman, or maybe something like Star Wars or Star Trek?"

David smiled. "If we get custom lightsabers again, we could do Star Wars and wear them with our suits."

Sarah groaned quietly to herself. "Who am I kidding? Of course it has to be dorky."

Tim ignored her and continued, "And you could have the Republic symbol in matching light blue on the cake."

David nodded. "I could make a three-tier cake with light-blue icing roses on each tier, then place the blue Republic symbol on the middle tier."

Sarah continued her notes. "Good, so that will save you money if your bakery is doing the cake. Wedding cakes are definitely expensive. Decorations will depend on what the hotel already has, but specialized stuff will have to be ordered. Also you'll need a DJ or some kind of music for the ceremony and reception. And actually, depending on the hotel you may not need catering," she added as she held up the third binder for them. "It's good to have options, but most likely you'll get some kind of package deal with the hotel."

David sat down with Abby's notebook and pencil and started sketching ideas for the cake. Tim leaned down on his shoulders as he drew. Sarah continued scribbling frantically and finally tore out pages from her book and handed one to Tim.

"Alright, your homework assignment for this month is to figure out who you want to invite and start getting their contact information, and find invitations online that you like. I'll be reaching out to hotels to see who will be open for the date and get some pricing information based on the number of people." She handed Ziva and Abby each a page and continued, "Ziva, you call around to different florists to get pricing and call me back with quotes. Abby, here's the page with the suit they liked. The suit vendor on the advertisement should have a partner for bridesmaid dresses that will match the colors, but call them just to be sure. I'll schedule a time with Tim and David to check them out, then if we like them we'll schedule fittings. Everyone good?"

"Yes, ma'am!" Abby saluted.

Tim smiled and reached over to hug Sarah. "You were born for this day, weren't you?"

"Planning my big brother's gay wedding? Absolutely," she confidently replied.

NCIS

Ziva had been quiet the rest of the day. Even after everyone else had left, she retreated to her room and stayed there for a few hours. She had only stayed with them for a couple of days, and had kept mostly to herself even then as she adjusted to being released from captivity. Yet that wasn't the reason for her evasiveness this time. Later in the night, she finally emerged and went downstairs where Tim and David were watching a movie and were cuddled up on the couch.

"Hey Tim, David, can I talk to you for a moment?"

"Of course," Tim replied as he turned off the TV. "What's up?"

She sat down on a chair across from the couch and struggled to find her beginning words. "I… I realized I never thanked you for everything you did… everything you've been doing. McGee, you helped carry me out of that camp, and David, Abby told me that you insisted on helping to find me even though it put you at risk. And…" she started to choke back tears as she spoke, "and now you've opened your home for me to stay and have welcomed me like family again, like nothing had even happened. You never asked me anything, you didn't demand anything. You just welcomed me. It just made me realize how wrong I was to abandon everyone here, everyone that mattered to me. I should've trusted you, and I didn't, but you still helped me. I am truly thankful, and… so very sorry for all the pain that I caused."

Tim and David stood and embraced her together. Ziva broke into tears in their arms. It was the first time she had apologized to any of the team since she had been back. They slowly sat her down on the couch and sat on either side of her.

"Thank you," she sputtered through her tears again as she tried to regain her composure.

David rubbed her back with his hand, trying to comfort her. "Ziva, you insisted on getting to know me when Tim and I were first getting together. You protected him then, and you welcomed me. You could've convinced him to break it off, but you didn't."

Tim added, "Even after we learned things about David's past, you and Gibbs still defended him when everyone else – including me, sadly – wouldn't. You're always my big sister, Z."

She smiled at them and squeezed their hands. "And you're my little brother, McGee. I'm glad you both are happy."

David and Tim exchanged loving glances and both blushed. Tim reached out his other hand, and David took it and rubbed over it with his fingers. "Love him to death."

"Love you too."

Ziva smiled and leaned back into the couch. "What were you watching?"

"Sleepless in Seattle," Tim replied. "David got me into it."

"All the wedding planning reminded me of it," David added. "It's a classic. Want to see it? We just started, so we could start it over."

"Sure, if you don't mind."

"I'll get us popcorn," David offered as he got up and went to the kitchen.

While McGee got the TV prepared, Ziva turned to him and whispered quietly. "Tim, Abby told me what happened with David and your father. Are you and David doing alright?"

"We're doing fine. He moved in with me just after you left, and he moved his business down here and he's doing well. Things with my dad were tough to deal with at first, but we've always been fairly distant so it could've been worse."

"I have not spoken to my father yet, either. I'm still deciding exactly how I want to approached it with him. But also after everything that's happened, I've decided that I want to really be at home here and not just a visitor. I'm going to apply for U.S. Citizenship, and also apply to be an official NCIS agent."

Tim grinned. "Ziva, that's great! That'll mean you really get to stay and not be forced to go back to Mossad."

"I'm… hoping that Gibbs will allow me to come back. I have some difficult conversations ahead."

"Have you spoken to Tony yet?"

Ziva looked out the window. "No. I have not seen him since we returned, when I went into the hospital. That conversation will probably be the most difficult."

"Would you rather not walk in with him at the wedding?"

"Oh, no that's not it at all. In fact I'm looking forward to doing all of this together. Just for now, things with Tony are…"

Tim put a hand on hers. "You don't have to say it. I think I get it."

She looked back at him and smiled. "Yes, well, it's going to be alright. When are you going to talk to him about being in the wedding?"

"When I go in on Monday I'll ask everyone that wasn't here. Gibbs, Tony, Ducky, Palmer."

David came back with a large bowl of popcorn and handed it to Ziva. She scooted over to the edge of the couch so David could sit with Tim. As they nuzzled, she smiled and munched on some of the popcorn. Tim started the movie and put his arm around David.

Ziva nudged David. "So are you guys excited about getting the planning started?"

"Very," David replied. "There's so much to do, but all my clients say it's like a happy-stressful feeling while you're planning."

"Don't you also have your clients make their wedding cake?" Tim looked down at him and asked.

"I don't have them make the cake itself, but I tell them to come in a month or so before the wedding just to bake something together just as something relaxing, constructive, and fun if they ever get too stressed."

"Is that something we get to do?"

David smiled up at him. "Actually I hoped that you would make the cake with me. I'd love to do that with you."

Tim smiled and intertwined their fingers. "Sounds perfect."

NCIS

Tony exited the elevator and headed towards the bullpen where McGee was filling out his paperwork. Tony heaved a refreshed sigh and took off his sunglasses as he reached his desk. He set down the glasses and his coffee and continued to McGee's desk.

"Hey, Tony," McGee called without looking up.

Tony said nothing but stood in front of McGee's desk.

McGee looked up and asked, "What?"

"Ziva. How is she? Did she say she's coming back?"

McGee smiled knowingly. "She's doing fine. She's with David doing some clothes shopping before he goes to work. As far as coming back, that's something you'll have to ask her about."

"Oh come on, McGoo, spill. She's staying with you, so you must've talked with her about it."

"She is staying with us, and we did talk, but now she just needs to be ready to talk to you. You haven't reached out to her yet, either."

"I wanted to talk to her on the plane, but it's complicated."

"I know," McGee blurted out before realizing that was a mistake.

Tony's eyes widened and he smiled at his new target. "Oh, you know, do you? What exactly is it that you know?"

"Er…" McGee stammered, "I know that David and I want you in our wedding party as our ring bearer."

"Nice try. Spill."

"Tony, no. She'll tell you when she is ready, but I'm serious. David and I want you as the ring bearer for the wedding. We started the planning process this weekend and we'd love for you to be involved."

"Ring bearer, not best man?"

"I would've, but sometimes I wonder if you're mentally old enough," McGee said with a smirk.

"Admit it, you just don't want me standing up there because you think I'll look better in the suit."

McGee rolled his eyes. "Thanks for proving my point, Tony. At least I know I can trust you not to lose or destroy something that's shiny and not motorized."

Tony's smile disappeared and he narrowed his eyes at McGee. "Ok, fine. Who's going to be your best man?"

"I haven't asked him yet, but I was going to ask Gibbs."

"Ask me what, McGee?" Gibbs said as he walked into the squad room towards his desk.

"I… uhh…" McGee sputtered and stood up. He walked over to Gibbs' desk, and fiddled with his hands as he nervously started to speak. "Uh, David and I started planning things for the wedding, and I was wondering… if you'd be my best man."

Gibbs smiled instantly as if he knew the question would be asked. "I'd be honored, Tim."

McGee smiled back. "Great! Thanks, Gibbs. Do we have a case or do I have time to go see Ducky?"

"Nothing yet, but be ready."

McGee nodded, then headed to the elevator. He entered the morgue where Ducky and Palmer were doing an examination. Once he saw the body, he stopped in his tracks.

Ducky looked up and called over to him. "Good morning, Timothy. How are you?"

"I'm doing alright, but you guys are busy. I'll come back."

"Oh, nonsense, this Corporal isn't going anywhere. How can I help you?"

Tim slowly approached. "Actually I wanted to talk to both of you."

Palmer lowered his mask with a confused look. "Sure, what's going on?"

"I wanted to ask you both if you wanted to be involved in my and David's wedding."

Ducky and Palmer both smiled, and Ducky started, "Of course! What would you like for us to do?"

"Well, Jimmy I wanted you to be in my wedding party, standing up there with me."

"Absolutely!"

"And Ducky, we wondered if you'd officiate for us."

Ducky's mouth hung open. "You mean, you want me to marry you and David? That's a huge responsibility. Why me?"

"It was David's idea. He said you were the first to let him be part of any tradition with us, and we both thought it'd be really great. If you don't want to, that's ok."

"But of course I want to, dear boy!" Ducky grinned and laughed. "No one's ever asked me to do this before. I would have to somehow become authorized, but it would be an honor!"

"Thanks, you guys," McGee glowed with relief. "My sister is helping with the planning, and I'll have her find out how you can become a recognized minister and let you know."

"That sounds great! When's the wedding?" Palmer asked.

"May 27th, our anniversary. I gotta run, but I'll get you guys all the details once we nail down the place."

"Thank you, Timothy!" Ducky called as McGee left.

McGee ran up to Abby's lab and sped through the door.

"McGee!" She called from her desk. She turned around and sprinted towards him and gave him a tight hug. "I'm so excited! I already sent Sarah the information for where you can get your suits. How's your homework coming?"

McGee smiled cheerfully. "So far, so good. Tony, Gibbs, Palmer, and Ducky all accepted and they'll be in the wedding. We found a couple of invitation styles we liked online, but we're torn between two different ones. Tonight we're compiling our list of people we want to invite."

Abby quickly took hold of McGee's hands. "Listen, I know everything that happened between you and me is basically ancient history, but I just wanted to let you know that I'm so happy for you and David. I knew you'd find somebody that was just right for you, and he really does bring out the best in you."

"Thanks, Abby. I was a bit worried that I rushed things with David and the proposal, but he's been right there with me the whole time. I almost feel like we're married already."

"You guys are perfect together. Have you decided what you're doing for your bachelor party?"

McGee hunched up an eyebrow. "A bachelor party? You mean like with strippers and such?"

"Yeah! Although, now that I think about it, I'm not sure I could see Gibbs giving you a stripper bachelor party…"

"Nah, I'm sure he knows that's not my thing. We haven't really talked about it, but I trust Gibbs to figure something out. It's not really a big deal for me. What are you thinking of doing for David?"

"I'm thinking some kind of concert, but I haven't gotten around to checking for what bands are playing nearby yet."

"He'll love that. Jeez, I don't even care about the bachelor party. I just want to be there. I want to hear the words and not wake up. I've been dreaming about this since Christmas, and now it's actually happening."

"You deserve it, Tim. You are going to have a kick-ass wedding, and an even more kick-ass marriage. You've got your family behind you this whole way."

McGee reached out and hugged her again. "Thanks, Abs. That's all I need."