Ziva smiled and looked at Abby and winked. "We are hoping you will be able to come." She said to McGee. "We are having the ceremony here at the hospital chapel on Sunday. We really want you to be there."
Tim was speechless. He realized that they were only having it at the hospital so he could attend. He was embarrassed to feel his eyes start to water. "I may be stuck in this chair right now, but I think I am the luckiest person in the world to have such great friends." He squeezed Abby's hand and looked from Ziva to Tony. "I wouldn't miss it for anything."
Chapter Twenty-five: "Returning Home."
It had been a hot summer thus far. There were record-breaking highs in the 100's. More than once, Ziva was glad she was not at the end of her pregnancy during this heat wave. She was already starting to be uncomfortable; the first morning she couldn't zip her pants closed caused a meltdown she was totally shocked and surprised at.
She was glad Tony had not been there to witness her "little" tantrum. But the reality that she would soon not be able to fit into any of her clothes was met with mixed emotions.
On the one hand, she was thrill the baby was growing and excited about the changes in her body. On the other hand, she liked her body the way it was, and wasn't thrilled about the negative aspects of pregnancy: stretch marks, water retention…the list seemed to go on and on.
She realized with now being confined to a desk, she would need to step up her exercise routine to stay in shape. She had been running, just not as far as she usually did. But last week, she had some cramps, so she gave that up.
She had been doing Pilates all along, so she started going to more classes. She also used a stationary bike and treadmill for walking. But it still distressed her to know that despite these efforts, she was still going to gain weight, and lose her waist line.
Abby had to take her under her wing to get her to find something to wear for the wedding. "Ziva, you still have a fabulous figure. You should show it off!" Abby had argued. Although she wanted to look good, and realizing that this was probably the last time she would be seen dressed up before baby body took over, Ziva was still adamant.
"Abby, a wedding is not a night of bar jumping or trying to pick up guys by looking 'hot'. I should wear something dignified."
Abby laughed at that and agreed that what she usually wore when bar hopping was totally inappropriate for a wedding. They reached a compromise when Ziva found a beautiful champagne colored sheath, sleeveless and gathered in at the waist with a tiny belt that was encrusted with pearls and crystals.
Abby added a chic little hat that matched the dress and had a demi veil. Ziva looked in the mirror and nodded her approval.
The afternoon of the wedding was hot, but the heat wave had broken and there was a gentle breeze that felt wonderful. Abby had insisted that Tony and Ziva treat this as if this was their church wedding.
She tried to get Ziva to spend the night with her, so they wouldn't see each other until the wedding itself, but Tony nixed that idea. Therefore, once they arrived at the hospital, Abby split them up and said they couldn't see each other until the ceremony.
Tony and Gibbs were in Tim's room, enjoying the three of them being together. There was a sense of "things will never be the same again." Tim had to agree that of the three of them, Tony was the last one he imagined getting married.
He even admitted he was sure Gibbs would marry again before Tony ever did for the first time. This cracked up Gibbs, and Tony and Tim laughed along with him.
About 3:45 pm, Abby stuck her head in the door. "Are you guys ready?" Tony stood up quickly, embarrassed his hands were shaking. Gibbs noticed and chuckled at Tony's nervousness. Gibbs started to push Tim, but Tim stopped him.
He placed his hands on the wheels, and started pushing himself. Tony and Gibbs looked at each other, emotions on high. Gibbs placed his hand on Tony's shoulder. "You ready to see your bride?"
Tony's eyes started to water. Gibbs smiled. "Let's go."
Hospital Chapel
Tony and Gibbs were standing at the front of the chapel, talking with the Israeli Embassy representative who would be performing the ceremony. Ducky had made it, sitting in one of the pews. Jimmy and Breena were finally on their long-awaited honeymoon.
Abby poked her head in. "Ok." She said to Ziva. "Let's go get married."
Abby walked in followed by Ziva. Tony and Gibbs turned as Abby entered. When Ziva appeared, Tony became so overwhelmed with emotion he thought he was going to start bawling his eyes out. He looked at Gibbs out of the corner of his eye and was startled to see the tears in Gibbs eyes.
Ziva walked toward Tony, her heart quickening as she saw his smile. He looked very handsome in his dark suit. He wore her favorite tie, a light blue that reminded her of the Israeli flag, accented with different shades of green. It brought out the green in his eyes, which she could see were glistening.
This was not a "wedding" wedding, as there was no music, so Ziva did not actually walked down the aisle. She and Abby just entered the chapel and joined Tony and Gibbs.
As she reached Tony, she held out her hand. Tony surprised her and handed her a beautiful bouquet of cream-colored roses, with short stems tied with a bow. Ziva bowed her head, not wanting to get too overwhelmed. She looked up at him, beaming.
The ceremony was quick. When asked "Who gives this woman to be wedded to this man?" Gibbs, Tim, Ducky and Abby all yelled out "I do!"
Everyone laughed. At the end of the ceremony, Tony embraced his wife, his Ziva. Tony hoped that what would be reported to Director David, as he knew the wedding would, was how happy Ziva was, and what a fun and joyous ceremony it had been, albeit short.
Ziva felt herself wrapped into a cocoon of love, as she and Tony kissed for the first time as husband and wife. Gibbs placed his fingers in his mouth and gave one of his loud whistles. McGee and Abby had gotten some confetti, and they threw it in the air when they were pronounce married.
They both turned to their team, their friends, their family. Tony couldn't believe how his life had turned around. Not that it was "bad" before. But it was incomplete. The only thing missing had been Ziva.
The group returned to McGee's room, where they toasted with sparkling cider out of deference to Ziva and Tim. Abby had made delicious cupcakes, decorated with hearts and handcuffs. Gibbs raised his eyes at that, to which Abby said, "What? You guys use handcuffs all the time! Would you rather I had little guns on them?"
Gibbs laughed and gave Abby a big hug, and kissed her on the cheek. "How's the family, Abbs?"
Abby smiled brightly. "Good! At first I thought it was horrible to find out I had been adopted. Now I have this great, new extended family that I never even knew about!"
Gibbs was glad things had turned out so well for her. He had been so worried when she first realized she had been adopted, and at her refusal to pursue it any further.
The tragedy at the Navy Yard had changed her mind. "Every moment should be cherished, Gibbs; and not a moment wasted." She then began the slow and occasionally painful process of reaching out to her new found brother, and assimilating his family into her own.
Gibbs looked at McGee. He was laughing and joking with the others. Everything was back to normal, except of 'course, it wasn't; Tony and Ziva were married, with Ziva pregnant and no longer in the field; Tim was in a wheelchair, possibly for the rest of his life; Ducky had stepped aside and let Jimmy run autopsy with himself as his assistant and advisor; and Abby now had her new family and was hopefully on the verge of regaining her precious eye sight.
And Gibbs? Well, other than a new scar over his left eye, he was the same ornery cuss he had always been, he told himself. Deep down, however, he knew that wasn't true.
The bomb had blown up many things besides the building. Seeing his team injured and in Tim's case, on the verge of death; caused him to reevaluate his own life and his team. Gone was Rule #12: "If you find happiness with someone, and they happen to be on your team, who am I to say you can't have it? Life is too short and precious for one person to tell you how to live it."
When he made that declaration, he already knew about Tony and Ziva. He was thinking more about McGee and Abby when he gave voice to those words. He thought they were moving in that direction before all hell broke loose. He hoped they were still heading that way.
NCIS- September 1, 2012
The Navy Yard was crowded with guests, spectators and media for the official re-opening of the NCIS Headquarters. Also present were representatives of their sister agencies, who had rushed in to help that fateful and horrible day
Secretary Jarvis gave a talk about the history of NCIS and how the Navy and Marine Corps were indebted to those who had died, and especially to those who had heroically sacrificed themselves to save others.
With the assistance of Director Vance and the Commandant of the Marine Corps, Jarvis unveiled a memorial plaque that would be placed at the new entrance to the building that housed NCIS.
"At this time, I would like to invite to the podium NCIS Special Agent Timothy McGee." Tim's mouth dropped and looked at Gibbs.
Gibbs cocked his head. "Get up there."
Tim, with some trepidation, wheeled himself up the ramp and to the podium and the Secretary of the Navy.
"Despite the danger to himself, Special Agent McGee refused to leave his post until he had saved all of the information gathered about Harper Dearing onto a flash drive. That data revealed the means to locate him and bring him down. Without the heroism of Agent McGee, this would not have been possible."
He turned toward Tim. "Agent McGee, it is my honor to award you with the Navy Civilian Medal of Valor. Congratulations and thank you from all of us."
Tim looked stunned and awed as the SecNav handed him the medal and the entire audience stood to their feet in thunderous applause. He could see Abby waving and crying, Tony with his arm around Ziva, both of them crying. He couldn't see Gibbs…
"Right here." Gibbs whispered in his ear. McGee looked behind him and saw Gibbs and Director Vance, smiling.
"Agent McGee, a few words if you please?" McGee looked up, startled and somewhat alarmed.
"Uh," He wheeled himself over to the Secretary, who handed him a portable microphone.
"Uh, thank you, Mr. Secretary. I…I don't know what to say. I was only doing my job…" At that, the throng erupted into even louder cheers. Some "ooh-rahs" could be heard, and the Commandants drummers started their own improvised set.
McGee was overwhelmed. Director Vance stepped forward and offered his own praise.
Tony hugged Ziva close to him. "I'm so proud of our McGee. Look at him up there!" Tony couldn't have been prouder if Tim had been his own son.
Ziva wiped away some tears. She placed her hand on her tummy. "I think the little one is also cheering." Tony grinned and rubbed her stomach.
She was glad they had gotten married when they did. Almost overnight, she suddenly blossomed and was now quite visibly pregnant. Now well into her second trimester, she was happy to be done with morning sickness and found she had more energy. All in all, she was enjoying her pregnancy immensely.
Finally, the SecNav and Director Vance cut the ribbon leading into the new entrance into NCIS and the employees started heading in to see their new offices.
Tony, Ziva and Abby hung back to wait for Gibbs and McGee. They wanted to go in together.
"Timmy, Timmy! You were so awesome up there. I am so proud of you!" Abby was crying, both of her eyes clear and healthy. She engulfed Tim in a huge hug and planted a kiss on his mouth.
This caused some amused looks between Tony and Gibbs. Tony shook his head as if to say "Kids! What can you do with them?"
Gibbs looked at his team. "Are you ready?" They all nodded. Tony took Ziva's hand; Abby placed her hand on Tim's shoulder.
Gibbs nodded, and turned, his arm around Abby. As a united group, they entered the building and returned to their home.
This is the last chapter until I get back home. I have written Chapters 26, 27 and28; and started Chapter 29so I'll have them ready to go when I get back home after surgery. Also, I really have no idea about civilian awards. I looked at some medals and picked one. Not sure if it is ever awarded based on the scenario I have written- call it "poetic license." Not sure when I will be back on the computer, but it will be as quick as I can!