I was going to upload this tomorrow, but I already have something planned to upload for you tomorrow, which I have just finished, so I decided to be nice and upload this now.

XXIV. There Is Always Some Madness In Love, But There Is Also Always Some Reason In Madness.

Tony stirred to the warm smell of cinnamon and ginger. He reached out to Ziva, hitting empty air, a cold pillow. Rolling over, he blinked and stretched, smiling as he heard a clatter in the kitchen. He followed the noise and the smell into the warm room. "You made cinnamon pancakes!" He grinned and hugged her as he walked up behind her, kissing her temple. "And gingerbread men!"

"I couldn't sleep." Ziva turned around in his arms, wrapping hers around his neck and kissing him.

"Well, I am very grateful." He murmured. "Smells delicious."

"They are ready to be eaten, you just need to let me serve them."

"Do you want something to drink?"

"Considering coffee is out of the question I think a tea will suffice." She smiled as he poured himself a mug.

"No, tea is off limits too. Tea has a high enough caffeine level to be a hazard."

"So what can I drink?" She looked at him.

"There is fresh fruit juice in the fridge. Or water, water's good. Oh, I can make smoothies!"

"Tony, water will be fine." She smiled, placing her hand on his chest to calm his excitement. "You are never this awake in the morning."

"It's Christmas, Ziva. I'm allowed to be excited."

"You were not this excited last year." She looked at him sceptically.

"Last year we were working. And anyway, last year I didn't wake up to a beautiful woman making pancakes and gingerbread men. Particularly not a beautiful woman carrying two very special little babies." He grinned and kissed her, his hands on her waist as his thumbs stroked the sides of her stomach.

She ran her hands through his hair, reaching up and kissing his nose. "What time are we going to Ducky's?" She asked quietly.

"Noon." He paused. "Please tell me it wasn't my wonderful kissing skills that triggered your thought about Ducky?"

"No." She laughed and shook her head. "I was thinking about it before you distracted me."

"I thought you never got distracted." He grinned.

"When did I ever say that?" She frowned, placing a pile of pancakes on a plate and handing them to Tony.

"I don't think you ever specified it explicitly, but I do believe you made reference to it on multiple occasions." He flashed a grin and took a mouthful of food. "This is amazing!"

"You have to get the amount of cinnamon just right, otherwise it does not work." She smiled, spearing her fork through the corner of one of the flat cakes on Tony's plate.

"You could have your own plate, you know." He said.

"You never seem to have a problem with eating off of other people's plates." She challenged, her eyes fixed to his.

"Touché." He raised his eyebrows and ate some more, his eyes never once leaving hers.


"Okay, so I know that you do not celebrate Christmas, but this isn't a Christmas present, so it's all ok." Tony knelt down on one knee in front of Ziva, holding the little black box. "It would make me the happiest man in the world if you, Ziva David, would be my wife." They were gathered in Ducky's living room, exchanging gifts. She smiled and tears rolled down her cheeks as she knelt down to be the same height as him.

"Yes." She whispered, nodding. "Yes." He pressed his lips to hers, cradling the back of her head with one hand as he slipped the ring onto her finger with his other. The silence that enveloped them was broken by the applause that echoed through the room, and Abby's inevitable squealing.

"Yay, this is so exciting!" Abby jumped about. They looked up at her and laughed, the serious moment dissolving away as everyone else joined in with the congratulations, though slightly quieter than Abby's initial cheers.

"I think this calls for champagne." Ducky grinned, standing up from his armchair and walking out of the warm room, returning with a bottle and champagne flutes. "Jimmy, would you mind collecting the rest of the glasses from the kitchen?"

"Of course not, Dr Mallard." He smiled and nodded, pushing his spectacles up his nose.

"Ducky, I cannot have any." Ziva shook her head as he handed her a glass.

"Ziva dear, one glass is fine." Ducky smiled.

"No, Ducky." She shook her head and grinned. "But that does not mean that everybody else should not enjoy a glass."

"Well, I'll raise a glass to that." Tim grinned and a host of laughs and whoops filled the atmosphere.

"Some music, I think." Ducky walked to his turntable and slipped a record in, Christmas carols beginning to play. He spun Abby around as he walked past her and she laughed as Tim caught her and they began to dance.

"It's beautiful." Gibbs smiled as he helped her stand up, running a thumb over the silver band with a diamond inset.

"It is." She nodded as Tony slipped his hand around her waist. "How did you manage to keep this a secret?"

"Well, only Abby knew." Tony shrugged. "And I told her that she couldn't come to the wedding if she told anyone." Ziva and Gibbs laughed, watching Tim and Abby dance around Ducky's living room, not keeping entirely in time with the music.


"Come here." Tony smiled, placing his hands around Ziva's waist. "I love you."

"I love you more." She kissed her fiancé. She liked the sound of that. "What?" She asked as he stopped kissing her.

"Let's watch a movie. It doesn't have to be Christmassy." He grinned.

"Tony, I was enjoying what we were doing." She sighed.

"So was I, but it's only…" He looked at his watch. "Only 1900. Wow, it's earlier than I though."

"What were you suggesting?" She caved.

"White Christmas'."

"Tony, that is a Christmas movie." She tilted her head, confused.

"No it's not." He laughed and shook his head.

"It has Christmas in its title."

"Okay, so maybe it is…we can watch…"

"We can watch it if you want." She kissed him quickly. "Marriage is all about compromise."

"You make a good point, my little ninja." He plucked the DVD off of the shelf and placed the disc in the player.

"Who says I am your 'little ninja'?" She asked quietly, standing so close to him that their noses almost touched.

"The diamond on the ring that you are wearing." He kissed her and she smiled, satisfied for the moment with his answer.


"Ziva, you know I'll never treat you as property, don't you?" He questioned as they lay entwined on his sofa, a blue afghan the only thing covering them. She lifted her head from his bare chest and smiled softly at him.

"Of course I do." She caressed his face. "Do you think you would still be alive if I thought otherwise?"

"Very true." He chuckled as she settled her head back to its original position on his chest, watching the flames flicker in the fire. He frowned as a drop of moisture landed on his skin and realised she was crying. "Hey, what's wrong?"

"I do not know." She sniffed as he sat up, wrapping the woollen blanket around her tighter.

"Then why're you crying?" He reached for a box of tissues and handed her one. He rubbed her back gently and moved her hair so he could see her face. She shook her head, more tears over spilling.

"Are you just staying because of the babies? Are you going to get bored of me?" She looked at him. He chuckled and shook his head. "Do not laugh."

"How could anyone ever get bored of you? Ziva, I love you, more than I have loved anyone. Ever." He sighed. "Don't you realise that you are everything that I could ever want. I honestly don't think you realise that I fear so much every day that you will find someone better than me, because that is not a hard thing to do, finding someone better than me." He wiped her tears away.

"That is not true." She shook her head. "You are so kind and loving and you care so much. I am an assassin, Tony. I am not designed to love or care."

"You are much more than an assassin, Ziva. You are so much better. You do care, just look at Elsie and Mina. You care enough to want to see them regularly, you care enough to see when people are hurting." He kissed her forehead. "You're not an assassin, Ziva."

"That is what I was trained to be."

"I don't think it really matter's what you were trained to be, just what you are." He kissed her temple, pressing kisses to her jawbone as he moved down. "You are a beautiful woman." Kiss. "You are independent." Kiss. "Confident." Kiss. "Loving." Kiss. "Genius." Kiss. "Slightly crazy." Kiss. She giggled. "Genuine." Kiss. "Gentle." He sighed softly as he reached her lips, falling backwards with one hand on the small of her back and the other tangled in her hair. She kissed him back, her tears slowing to a halt as she smiled. "I love you, and that is all that should matter to you."