Okay. I am sad because this is not the 50th chapter like I had wanted it to be. Now, TivaRulesInGreece had a really good idea to fill up the chapters in between the last one and this one, and I was going to use it, and then… well, then I had another idea for it, so that will be in the next chapter, or maybe the chapter after.

I had written this as two chapters, but then I added it all together.

This is a fairly long chapter so I would advise you ensure you have enough time to read it. This is one of the chapters that I wrote up a while ago and just had to wait for it to slot into place, which means that it has been added to and edited many times. It should also mean that it should be free from any mistakes.

XLVI. A Wedding is Like a Funeral, But With Musicians.

"TONY!" Ziva gasped awake in the dark, feeling for him and growing more panicked when her hand hit empty air.

"Ziva, Ziva, shh. Shh, it's okay. It's all okay. You're safe." Abby's voice was not the warm, rich voice she was searching for and it did not soothe her.

"Where is he?"

Abby sat on the edge of the bed, running her cold hand gently over Ziva's hot, sticky forehead, brushing away wisps of curly hair. "He's in a room down the corridor. McGee's guarding him, it's okay. Nothing's gonna happen." She smiled down at her friend and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "You wanna talk about it?"

Ziva hesitated slightly. "You remember when…when his mission was over? And his car…?"

"He wasn't in it, it's fine. Shh, now." She smiled, pressing another kiss to her forehead and running a hand over her friend's hair, watching as Ziva's eyes slipped closed again and her breathing settled down.


"Wake up, wake up, wake up, wake up! It's today!" Abby groaned as the sound filled her head, rolling over and wondering where the side of her coffin went and why there was a child shouting in her ear. She cracked an eyelid open and looked up into Elsie's clear, grey eyes. And then she remembered. Hotel room. Wedding. Dress. She whimpered and stuffed her head under her pillow, blocking out the world. The pressure on her shoulder from where the child's hand had been released and she noticed Elsie's presence recede, moving away but not leaving the room. "Ziva, Ziva, Ziva, wake up, wake up, wake up!"

"No, Elsie. It is 0400h. You need to go back to sleep."

"But I can't! It's today! Wake up, please!"

Abby rolled off of the sofa she had slept on, leaving the two twin beds for Elsie and Ziva. "Sweetie, let's let Ziva sleep. She's got a long day today." She took Elsie's hand and smiled at Ziva. "I'll take her downstairs, see if we can help with anything. Get some more sleep."

"You do not have to do that, Abby. I can…"

"I'm not taking no for an answer." The Goth pouted. The sight made Ziva smile; Abby, her black hair down and messy and her black fleece skull-pattern onesie, holding Elsie's hand, whose hair was, if possible, even messier, and whose grey, excited eyes sparkled with enthusiasm. Abby pressed a kiss to Ziva's forehead and Elsie pressed a kiss to her cheek.

"Sorry for waking you."

"It is fine." She smiled, settling back down and watching as the little girl started babbling and Abby led her out of the room. The three of them had shared the room, with Jenny in the room next to them.


"McGee, why've you got your handcuffs on you?" Tony laughed, dangling them in the air.

"Well, I uh…"

"You been spending the night with our Mistress of the Dark again?" He grinned and wiggled his eyebrows.

"No! Tony!" He reached for the metal as Tony pulled it away, jumping onto the hotel bed.

"Then why've you brought them to my weddi…" He trailed off as it dawned upon him. "Oh. You thought I was gonna bail, didn't you?" He stepped off the bed, walking up to McGee menacingly.

"No, I…" He tried to deny it as he backed away, but Tony was, admittedly, a good investigator when he tried.

"I would never do that. I would never bail on my wedding. Not to Ziva. Never to Ziva. I couldn't do that to her."

"Sorry, I shouldn't have… I just don't want you to chicken out or anything, 'cause I know you'd regret it if you did, but I wasn't sure if you'd get nervous." He babbled, freezing when Tony clamped a hand on his shoulder.

"It's okay. Thanks. Thanks for caring. You're a good man, McGee." He almost smiled.

"So, you sorted out the honeymoon yet?" Tim changed the subject, feeling uncomfortable with Tony's mellow mood.

"Yep, director has given us two weeks off. Spend tonight here at the hotel, then take the train up to Montreal. But Ziva doesn't know. It's gonna be a surprise." He grinned nervously.

"Why Montreal?" McGee asked as he straightened his tie, turning to Tony and rolling his eyes at the mess he had made of the length of fabric. "Have you never worn a bowtie before?"

"Well, I wore one for one of my dad's weddings, but I was like, 13, and it had this clip thingy, there was no tying involved." He struggled with the knot. "Where's Ducky when you need him?"

Just then the door to the hotel room opened and closed. "I am here, young Anthony. Oh, my. What are you doing to that poor tie?"

"Uh, I got a bit tangled."

"I think that is an understatement." He shook his head, sitting Tony down and fixing the tie.

"I remembered she mentioned it one time, in passing."

"What?"

"Ziva. She mentioned wanting to visit Montreal, years ago. She's never been there before. And since I don't want her flying, and her doctor doesn't want her flying, it just means a long train journey. What?" He looked at his best man's smile.

"You say I'm a good man, Tony, but how much credit do you give yourself? You really do love her, don't you?"

"Well, we wouldn't be here today if I didn't. I wonder how Aunt Nora's getting on with Ziva and the dress."

"Okay, so here's something I don't get."

"Only something, Probie?"

McGee ignored the jibe. "Why'd you call her Aunt Nora when she's not actually your aunt?"

"Same reason the twins will call you Uncle Probie. Her and Mum were best friends." Tony shrugged, looking down.

"Thanks, Tony. I don't think I say that enough."

"You don't need too. I know."


There was a knock on the door and Nora poked her head through. "How are we all this morning?" She smiled, walking into the hotel room with four dress bags.

"Good, thank you. How are you?" Jenny asked.

"I am very well."

"How is Tony?" Ziva asked from where she sat on the edge of the bed, running a brush through Elsie's short hair.

"I don't know yet. I've not been to see him. My first port of call was to sort out you and the dresses. I will check on him once I am finished here."

"But you will make sure he is okay?"

"His mother would never forgive me if I did not check on him on his wedding day. I promised her when she died that I would look after him on the biggest occasions of his life, and what kind of a best friend would I be if I broke that promise?" She shook her head. "But part of me looking after him is me looking after you. Now, have you had enough sleep?"

"Well, I do not think I will be getting any now, do you?" Ziva shrugged.

"I'll take that to mean that you did not." She sighed. "Oh, well. Too late now." There was the sound of a zip being pulled down as she held out the dress for Ziva. "Now, where's that lovely smile that Tony fell in love with?"


Gibbs let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding as Ziva stepped out of the hotel room, smiling shyly. He never though he would ever see the day that Ziva David looked shy. Her dress was soft ivory chiffon and fell to the floor in gentle cascades. Her hair was in ringlets, half up-half down, just the way Tony liked it, with small white flowers tangled into it. He straightened his tie and stood up slightly taller, proud of the woman in front of him. Truth be told, he never thought he would see Ziva David in a dress when not undercover. He simply could not imagine her wearing something that was not practical to run in. "You armed?" He questioned quietly as she hugged him.

"Now why would I need to be armed?"

"Because you're you?" She nodded in acceptance and pulled the dress up slightly, displaying the ankle holster on her left ankle and the knife that was strapped to her right. "That so you can still cut the cake if the hotel suddenly have a shortage of knives?"

"It is in case anything goes wrong." She shrugged, as if she were expecting something to go wrong. Gibbs just shook his head, trying to keep the smile from his face and failing.

"You look stunning. You know that?" He looked at her face. It was bare, free of make up. Another thing Tony liked.

"Well, it is all thanks to Abby and Nora and Jenny."

"No. I think it's natural." He pressed a kiss to her cheek. "Come on. Let's get this over with." She smiled up at him, knowing that he was not really grumpy that he was walking her down the aisle. Ducky and Jimmy appeared behind him as Jenny, Abby and Elsie emerged from the room. They each wore pale, mint green dresses of a similar style to Ziva's whilst each being slightly unique, whilst the men wore grey suits and skinny ties in the same colour as the bridesmaids dresses. Jenny handed Ziva her bouquet, created from simple cream roses edged with the same white blossoms that sat amongst her dark locks, and they all walked down the stairs and towards the hall that was being used.

Ducky held his arm out for the director and Jimmy mimicked the action towards Abby as Elsie ran over to Ziva and looked up. "Can I hold your hand, Ziva? Please?"

"I do not see why not." She smiled, holding her empty hand out to the child whilst Gibbs wrapped his arm around the one that held her bouquet.


"Ziva David. My beautiful, perfect Ziva David. I have never met anybody that I could love more than I love you, and I never will. You are my everything. You fill my head, every hour of every day. Every single morning, I wake up and I am grateful that you are stood by my side, because I would not want anybody else in your place. I would not want to play with anybody else's hair, or kiss anybody else's skin, or correct anybody else's confused idioms. My love for you increases every time I see your smile, every time I hear your laugh, every time I feel your touch. Love was always something unobtainable, something that I watched everyone else enjoy, knowing that it was something that I would never experience. But then you showed me love. You smiled at me; you gave me quiet words that can only come from your lips. When I was younger, I confused lust with love. You showed me that love is so much more precious. So much more special. And I will spend the rest of eternity trying to thank you for that."

"When I was younger I thought love was a curse. Everybody I have ever loved; my mother, my sister, my brother – they all died. And then I saw other people in love, and I decided that it must be me. I am the curse. I tried to shelter myself, stop myself from loving so I did not hurt anybody, and it worked for a time. I was not happy, but the people I loved had stopped dying, for there was nobody left whom I loved. And then you came along. Anthony DiNozzo. You turned my life upside down and inside out. And I could not help but love you, no matter how hard I tried, and I tried so hard it hurt. But you broke through all of my barriers, and you proved to me that I am not a curse, and nor is love. Love is a gift. Your love is a gift. It is a gift I shall cherish, along with you, until the end of eternity."


Tony stood up and looked out across all the people. He lifted his glass and tapped it with his knife, sending a fracture running up the side of the delicate stemware. "Ooh, ah. Um…let the record stand that I did not mean to break that glass." He handed it carefully to a waiter, accepting the replacement, and turned back to the small giggles from the guests. He beamed one of his best grins and started. "So, since you are at our wedding, there is a high probability that you know either Ziva or myself, or even both of us. If not then there will be questions later – we are both federal agents and we will use all of our powers to find out who you are and how you got in here." He grinned as everyone laughed. "So, with that part over, I want to get on with my actual speech. Today is really about how amazing Ziva is." He looked down and smiled at his wife, taking her hand in his and looking back to everyone. "She'll deny it of course. She always does. But she really is absolutely amazing. If you don't know her you are missing out on something, and if you do then I don't think you could ever want anything else.

"When I first met Ziva, I had just lost a friend, a colleague, a sister, and Ziva's goal was to stop our team from getting revenge." He felt her grip tighten on his hand. "But I didn't know that when she stepped off of the elevator. I was in fact imagining the dead colleague I just mentioned, Kate, naked." He winced as he received a slap to the head from Gibbs. "Thank you, boss." He nodded as Gibbs sat back down and the laughs subsided. "So I hadn't even notice Ziva arrive. But as soon as I saw her, I knew I loved her…"

"You are confusing love with lust again, my little hairy butt." Ziva interrupted and all of the men in the room erupted in laughter.

"Well, who could blame me? You were, and still are, the most beautiful woman I have ever laid eyes on. So as I was saying, I was completely stunned by this beautiful young woman with a strange, mysterious accent who stood before me. She had her hair held back in this headband thing and she just waltzed in and slouched provocatively in the McGoo's chair." He grinned at the memory. "Anyway, we had a bit of a rocky start, which we really don't need to go into right now, especially since my boss looks like he's about to kill me."

"You gonna get on with it, DiNozzo. McGee's still got his speech."

"Don't forget yours, Boss." Tony grinned before looking away from Gibbs. "A month or two passed since I met Ziva, and we thought that was the last we would be seeing of her. So imagine my shock when I walk into the office with hangover and really not feeling so good to see her with her feet crossed on the desk opposite mine complaining about my punctuality? I was…unnerved."

"And looking like a porcupine." Ziva added.

"Yes, thank you, Sweetcheeks. I'd hoped you'd forgotten that one."

"Never." She grinned and shook her head.

"Now, you'd think it would be intimidating working opposite a trained assassin, wouldn't you? Well, you'd be right. I had so many things thrown at me in those first few weeks. And then, we had to go undercover as a married couple." He grinned and wiggled his eyebrows as Gibbs, McGee and the director all groaned. "It was the best weekend of fake sex I'd ever had!"

"DiNozzo!"

"Alright, moving on, but she saved me that time, which is what I wanted to say." He pointed out. "A few weeks later we were trapped in a horrible little metal transport container for a day, which is not a nice experience. Trust me on this, if you have the option of being trapped in a box or being shot, go with being shot. But, long story short, she saved me that time as well, or at least prolonged our lives long enough for Gibbs to find us. I think you can see where these anecdotes are heading. What I'm saying is that she is so amazing that she has, for some strange reason which I don't really understand, saved my life on so many occasions, and then for some strange reason decided that she'd marry me.'

"I saved you because I love you." She looked up at him. "Married you for a similar reason." She grinned.

"I love you too." He reached down and traced her cheekbone with a thumb. "Where was I? Oh, right. But, I would like it to be known that I have saved her on the odd occasion." He received glares from Gibbs and Ziva. "You're all probably wondering 'Great, Tony, but how did you two first get together?' because that is what humans all think of, according to Freud. Well, you see it was a case really. Gibbs had sent us over to Venice, which we didn't actually get to see much of really. But we did end up sharing a hotel room because McGee could not be bothered to find a hotel with two empty rooms. Anyway, we solved the case and celebrated by getting very drunk. You all know where this story is going, two very attractive, drunk federal agents sharing a hotel room – it would make a great film. McGee will probably write a book about it. We had agreed that it would just be that one night, and then that one night turned into one day and we agreed we would leave it in Italy. And then promptly forgot that we agreed to leave it in my dear homeland. So for two months we managed to keep our illicit little office romance hidden and secret, until one fateful night when McNosey's apartment flooded and he thought it would be a good idea to break into a Mossad officer's apartment whilst she was sleeping. McGee found out and promised to keep it a secret. Now, you might be asking me, 'why all the secrecy Anthony?' and I would reply by turning to my dear colleagues to recite for me our bosses rule number 12."

A chorus of "Never date a co-worker."'s sounded through the hall of people as all of team Gibbs called out the most hated of all of Gibbs rules.

"Precisely. See, Gibbs has this whole list of rules that we have had to learn in order to keep us safe and in his good books. So we followed another of his rules, rule 4, which states how to keep a secret. I won't go into detail, but it sort of goes 'the best way to keep a secret: keep it to yourself. Second best: tell one other person. No third best.' Which meant that we were at our second best already. We were on thin ice.

"At this point we were working a terrible case and we had two young girls in protective custody. I think they should be here somewhere. Elsie can you stand up and wave for me Sweetie?" He beamed as Elsie stood up on her chair and grinned. "So that's Elsie, she's the older of the two and the one person who I think I owe most of my thanks to, actually, but we'll come onto that in a second. Elsie was, after McGee, the next person to find out about Ziva and I. She caught us kissing outside the safe house and questioned us incessantly. I made her promise to keep it a secret and everything ran smoothly again. And then, unbeknown to me, Ziva had headed down to our dear friend Ducky in autopsy." He pointed to the old pathologist and Ducky blushed slightly. "Don't worry, don't worry, she wasn't ill. She went down there because she had some suspicions." He wiggled his fingers. "Ziva thought that she might just possibly be pregnant. She asked the Duckman to get Abby, our dark little friend, to run some blood tests, whilst keeping my identity a secret, and hers when it came to Abby. You see, Abby's ability to keep secrets is not, how should we put it? Very good?" He grinned. "And so the blood was anonymous. Which Abby didn't like and even though Ducky told her not to she ran DNA analysis on it. When it turned out to be Ziva, the secret was out almost immediately, and I was I think the last to know."

"No, the director and Jimmy did not know." Ziva looked up at him. "And it is not my fault that Abby told more-or-less everyone at NCIS."

"Okay. So I was third last to know." He sighed. "We had an argument without actually saying anything that night when she told me, and it was up to Gibbs to fix us. Apparently he had known all along with his famous gut. Despite his rule he got us talking and we lived happily ever after." He paused and shook his head. "Nope, not quite. Sorry. We then went up and took a joint shift watching Elsie and Mina and we got snowed in. I know. Nobody came to rescue us and we were trapped in a tiny log cabin. Tensions were running high. It was cold, we were tired and Ziva was pregnant and agitated. Never a good combination in an assassin." He shook his head. "So where this is going is that it was Elsie, in fact, who spotted that we were not talking. Or smiling. Or doing anything that would suggest that we were a happy couple. Granted she was the only other person capable of forming a sentence, Mina only being three months old. But, she still tried her hardest to get us to talk to each other about it. And I think it was her persistence that actually did make us talk in the end. That and her wise, insightful comments. So, I think really if she hadn't tried to help, and of course told the director all about us, I don't think we would be here to day. So for that I am grateful to Elsie. Oh and for keeping us on our toes when both her and her sister stay with us on our weekends off." There was a lot of laughing and ah-ing as she stood up on her chair again.

"Are we staying with you next week?" She called as the noise settled down.

"No, Sweetie, but you're gonna stay with Gibbs and Abby's gonna have a movie night with you."

"Can we watch James Bond?"

"You'll have to ask Abby." He grinned as she jumped off of her chair and ran over to their table, flinging herself into his arms. She had changed into a yellow t-shirt and denim dungarees and her feet were bare. He picked her up and turned back to the smiling faces. "So, as you can tell, it's not exactly been plain sailing, but here we are, happily in love and that is thanks to so many people who have helped with that, but most of all it is thanks to my beautiful, beautiful, loving, caring, amazing, kick-ass wife." He grinned and held the new glass of champagne up in a toast, leaning down and kissing Ziva. There was applause, which he bowed for until Gibbs hit the back of his head.

"Elf Lord, your turn." Gibbs said gruffly and nodded to McGee, who sat at Tony's side.

"Er, right." Tim stood up and looked around. "Um. Hi." He bit his lip. "As Tony has said, if you're here you must know one or the other, or both. If you know both of them, there is a high probability that you know me. If you don't then I'll introduce myself. I'm Timothy McGee. I work with Tony and Ziva. I generally respond to anything Tony or Gibbs call me; Elf Lord, Probie, McProbious, Probie-wan-Kenobi, McGoo, McGee, McGook, McFlowerPower, McNerd, McGoogle, McGPS, Probilicious, McEgghead, McGiggles… Really, anything you can think of, Tony has probably called me it at some point over the past few years.

"Tony had been working at NCIS for around three years when I officially joined team Gibbs. Back then we worked with Kate and when she was killed a year later there was a period of time where I for one was uncertain where things were going to go. Then, Ziva turns up saying she's been reassigned to our team and getting her words and idioms all muddled up. And, although it took time, she became family. To me she was like a big sister, to Tony a friend, and to Gibbs – well, he walked her down the aisle, what can we deduce from that?" There was laughter and he smiled. "They became partners. In both crime and crime-solving. I knew it was only a matter of time before Tony would corrupt her and they would start playing pranks on me together.

"Tony spent a lot of time talking about how amazing Ziva is, and I agree. She's brilliant. Scary? Yes. Intimidating? Definitely. But brilliant all the same. However, I don't think Tony really talked about how amazing he is, for once. Tony is like a brother to me. The annoying big brother who makes fun of you and places the blame on you whenever things go wrong. He teases me and makes fun of me and makes my life a living hell, and I don't think I want to live without it.

"Anthony DiNozzo is one of the most annoying men on the planet. Most of the time he is either acting like a child, or blaming someone else for his acting like a child.

"But there are rare occasions when he will do anything for anyone. If you've had a real bad day, he'll cheer you up, or at least try. If your life is on the line, he'll sacrifice himself to save you. He is a good man. The best, after Gibbs." He raised his glass. "And so I wish you a good, happy marriage, with healthy children. And I promise, Tony, that even though I consider you to be one of my closest friends and I'm your best man and all, if you even consider hurting Ziva I will shoot you myself." A small snigger came from Abby and Tony and he rolled his eyes. "Okay, so maybe I won't, but I won't help you hide from Gibbs. Or Ziva. I would probably actually be rooting for them if it came down to it. Congratulations, Man." He nodded and sat down. The room fell silent after the laughs died down as everyone waited for Gibbs to stand up and make his speech.

"Gibbs, please." Ziva looked at him and he sighed. He stood up.

"Tony came to me a few years ago now. I don't really know how I ended up with 'im. Just did. And even though there are days when I question my judgement about him, I never fully regret the decision to let him stay. I trust him with my life. I trust Ziva with my life, too. She just turned up on the doorstep as well, but you've already heard her story. My team, they're like stray pups. You don't really want them, but they follow you round until you can't say no anymore, and then after a year or two, it feels strange when they're not there, following you. And, uh, I wouldn't be without them – God knows they've each saved my ass on the odd occasion, no matter how much danger they put themselves in to do so.

"Ziva's like a daughter to me. Tony's like a son. You can see how there might be some conflicting feelings about this whole thing. But they were made for each other. They're my team, my family. They'd give their lives for me and I'd give mine for them. I'm not great at weddings. Not great with marriage on a whole, McGee'll probably write a book on it someday when I'm dead and can't hit the back of his head for doing it. But I know love when I see it. I saw it when Tony was doing undercover work and Ziva had to watch him leave every day to be with another woman whilst he didn't even know how she felt about him. I watched as it broke her. I watched as she rebuilt the carefully crafted walls that she had knocked down to show him how she felt. I watched as she cried when watching a tape of Tony's car being blown up. She spent the morning believing he was dead and I saw her go to hell and back."

"You saw me crying?" She looked up at him.

"Yeah. I saw." He placed a hand on her shoulder. "I watched as Tony flirted with her. I watched as Tony flirted with other women, just to see if he could get a reaction from her. I watched Tony fall head-over-heels in love with her. I watched as the unresolved sexual tension that Abs and the Elf Lord are always going on about grew so heavy that I thought we were all gonna be crushed by it. So I sent them to Venice. It was either gonna be Italy or Israel and I think I did a good job with Italy." He grinned. "They're family."

"Aww, thanks boss." Tony grinned up at him.

"DiNozzo, you lay a toe out of line, and I mean a toe, I will slap the back of your head so hard you won't have a toe to step out of line with. You understand me?"

"Yes boss." He gulped, knowing fully well that Gibbs meant every word, although he wasn't quite sure how slapping the back of his head was going to result in one less toe.

"Good. Goes for you too, Mrs DiNozzo." He turned to Ziva and she grinned.

"Thank you, Gibbs." She said quietly and nodded.

"Your welcome." He kissed her forehead and sat down. Abby jumped up almost instantly and smiled.

"Hi. I'm Abby." She gave a little wave. "I know that it isn't usually tradition for the bridesmaid to make a speech, but everyone else got to say what they wanted to about the happy couple and so I begged and I begged for Ziva and Tony to let me make a speech too, because I have a lot to say about them both. I don't want to talk about the past today, about how Tony met Ziva, how Ziva met Tony, how I met Tony, how I met Ziva, how they fell in love, because the way I see it today isn't about the past, or even the present really, I mean, you can see how happy they are just by looking at them." She paused, smiling at her friends. "No, I want to talk about the future. From what I can see, they're gonna have a great future. They'll have two beautiful twins in a few months who are gonna keep them awake at night an' make Gibbs the proudest grandfather in existence, they already bicker like an old married couple, so nothing can go wrong there, and they'll have each other for the rest of eternity. With Tony and Ziva, I can't see marriage changing anything. Everyone says marriage changes everything, but with Tony and Ziva they're already there. They are in love. If Tony makes a mistake Ziva makes him sleep on the couch until she gets lonely, if something goes wrong, they work as a team to fix it. Because that's what they are; a team, a unit, a family. Call it what you want, there is no denying what they have. They have family.

"Sometimes I envy them, because they have a family, but then I realise that I have nothing to envy because I am part of that family, that unit, that team. Because their family doesn't just comprise of them, it comprises of all of us. Everyone in this room. We're their family. We each love them more than it feels physically possible sometimes. We'd all do anything to help them. I know that I for one worry every time they go out on a mission. Every time I see them pick up a bulletproof vest, I worry that they're not going to come back to me in one piece, or they're not going to come back to me at all. They're going to have kids, in a few months actually, and I have seen both of them worry about what will happen if they don't come home one day. But I know that if that does happen, which I really hope it never does, we'll all be there. We'll be there for them. We'll be there for their children, because they're our family, and we do anything for family. Because that's what family is, really. Family has nothing to do with blood. Well, it has a little to do with blood, but not much. What family really is, is a group of people who love one another unconditionally and would do anything for each other. That is what we have. We have family." She smiled and sat down as Tony raised his glass.

"To family."

"Family."


Tony looked at his new wife across the room as Tim dimmed the lights. He grinned at her as they both walked into the centre of the empty dance-floor and the music began to grow. Moon River. He smiled at the choice. They met and began a slow waltz, carefully, gently. They twirled around the room, everyone's eyes on them, and the silent smiles on their family's faces flickering past. They returned back to the centre of the room, slowing down, and Tony took his jacket off, throwing it to Gibbs. "Okay, people, let's make this a bit more interesting. Hit the switch, McDJ!" He spun around and pointed to where McGee and Abby were sat with the electronics. Coloured lights angled towards the dance-floor lit them up and Tammi Terrell began singing You're all I need to get by, the pace of the dance sped up, taking on a more Latin vibe. The music cut again, this time to Baby, you've got what it takes and the style altered slightly again. The next cut was to Perfect day, the final jump of the music, and they dissolved back into a waltz, gradually slowing down until the song tapered to the end. Ziva reached up and kissed him as the coloured lights faded away and the normal lighting was raised slightly, although still keeping the ballroom dim. They walked over to their table where Gibbs, Ducky, Jimmy and Jenny sat as the applause died down.

"You looked beautiful out there, Ziva." The director smiled as she hugged her. "And you looked very dashing, Tony. I had no idea you could dance."

"Well, along with piano lessons, my mother thought it a good idea for me to take dance lessons as a child, and so until the age of ten I danced." He laughed. "I never thought I would need to know anything I was taught." Tony kissed the top of Ziva's head as she leaned into his chest, one arm still wrapped around his waist whilst his was around hers.

"Oh, my gosh, Ziva, that was amazing!" Abby squealed as she ran over, the skirt of her black, knee-length dress billowing out behind her. "You looked so good out there." She hugged her friend. Everybody was smiling. She liked it. McGee was trailing closely behind her, although not running, it might be added.

"Thanks for that, Probie." Tony said to his best man, nodding and laying his hand, the one that had been resting on Ziva's hip before Abby had torn her away from him, on his shoulder. "I mean it, Tim." He said more seriously.

"I know you do." Tim nodded and smiled. "You two really do look good together."

"Ziva looks good with anyone." Tony's smile was gentle as he watched Gibbs lead his wife onto the dance-floor again and they danced softly, nothing complicated, just swaying elegantly from side to side. His Wife. He liked the sound of it. It felt good, the idea that he could introduce her like that. 'Hello, I'm Tony, this is my wife, Ziva.'

The cream chiffon of her dress fell elegantly over her bump and the white blossoms braided into her hair contrasted elegantly with the dark curls that cascaded down the sides of her face. She laughed at something Gibbs whispered in her ear, her eyes crinkled in the corners and her grin widened.

"You're a lucky man, DiNozzo." A voice said beside him and he turned to see a familiar face.

"We didn't think the invite even reached you." Tony said to Mike Franks. "And even if it did, we didn't think you would come."

"And miss a fiesta?" He laughed.

"Good point." Tony nodded.

"Mike!" Abby ran over. "How are you?"

"So much better now I've seen your lovely face." He grinned charmingly and kissed her cheek.

Tony smiled as Ziva walked back over. "I love you." He murmured into her ear as she leaned against him, nestling her head under his chin.

"I love you too, Tony." She yawned.

"I'm sorry, is our wedding boring you?" He laughed and led her over to a group of chairs where he sat her down.

"It has been a long day." She smiled. "The director and Gibbs look good together." Ziva nodded to their bosses as they danced together, the mint colour of Jenny's dress matching the grey of Gibbs' suit perfectly.

"Well, what do you expect?" Tony shrugged and grinned. "You look beautiful." He smiled, kissing her cheek.

"Ziva, do you mind if I dance with Tony?" Abby bounded over.

"Be my guest." She smiled, nodding.

The Goth pulled Tony up from his chair and dragged him over to the central area. Ziva laughed as she watched her husband dance with her best friend. It was gawky and jittery and very, very Abby.

"That was very beautiful. Not surprizing." DiNozzo, Senior, shrugged as he sat next to her.

"I thought you were in Italy." She smiled.

"I didn't want to miss my only son's wedding. Especially when it is to such a beautiful woman." He flashed a trademark DiNozzo smile, one that both father and son had perfected, and she laughed. "How are my grandchildren?"

"They are quite fine. They are very active." She smiled as Tony walked over.

"Just like their mother." He grinned and pressed his lips to hers, breaking away when he remembered his father. "Thank you, Dad." He nodded.

"You're welcome." His father shrugged. "You looked good out there."

"Well, Mum did put me through all those dance lessons, and Ziva did dance as a child." Tony laughed, placing his hands on his wife's shoulders. "And she is a very beautiful woman."

"And you are a very handsome man." She took his hand in hers and looked up at him. "Who is about to meet my Aunt Nettie." Her smile fell as she stood up, a cringe replacing it.

"From Tel Aviv?" His voice squeaked, remembering the fateful phone call he had made. "Who I am never, ever to contact?"

"The very one. I did not think she would even come, since nobody else from Israel has."

"So why is she here?"

"Because she has been waiting for this day since I was twelve and I am naïve to think that anything would get in her way – even my father – to come and see this." She muttered and smiled, gripping Tony's hand just that little bit tighter as an older woman who resembled Ziva walked over.

"Ziva, dear child." Tony didn't understand the Hebrew.

"English, Aunt Nettie." She reprimanded, knowing that her aunt could speak fluent English.

"You looked beautiful." The older woman grinned as Ziva blushed. "Are you going to introduce me to your husband?"

"Nettie, this is Anthony DiNozzo."

Tony held his hand out for her to shake. "Tony, please."

"I recognise your voice, young man." His faced filled with fear. "You were the man who phoned as Ziva's husband, yes?"

"Er, maybe." He chuckled nervously, his father tilting his head in confusion.

"Well, I am glad you have made it official."

"Nettie, Tony and I were not married before today. It was just a… misunderstanding, like I told you."

"If you insist." It didn't sound like she believed it. "You look beautiful today. Never did I see such a sight as your lovely face smiling. I have not seen you smile like that in such a long time." The old woman smiled, pressing a kiss to each of Ziva's cheeks. "You must call more often. I do not hear from you enough. And I want to see more of you, even if just in photos. You look taller again."

"Nettie, I stopped growing when I was sixteen."

"No, no, you are taller." She looked Ziva up and down, then turned to Tony. "She is taller, I am telling you. She is too stubborn to admit it, but she is taller."

"I don't doubt that." Tony smirked at his wife's glare.

"Do not encourage her." She hissed in his ear and he grinned, turning his head and kissing her, catching her off guard.

"She has grown more beautiful too."

Ziva sighed and shook her head. "Nettie…"

"I brought a surprise for you." Her aunt interrupted before she could finish.

"Nettie, you did not have to bring anything." Ziva scolded lightly, shaking her head some more. "I cannot accept anything from you. Really."

"He's in the bathroom as we speak. You know, he is always going to the bathroom – I think the man has a problem." Ziva looked up as a short, bald man walked out from the corridor leading to the bathroom and grinned.

"Oh, you are wonderful!" She kissed the shorter woman's cheek and pulled Tony over to the older man. "Shmeil! My brilliant Shmeil!"

"My dearest Ziva, how are you?" He grinned.

"I am well."

"I see there is more than one thing that nobody in the Middle East knows about." He pointed to her bump and she frowned.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean your father has been very tight legged about this whole thing. If it were not for Nettie telling me about it on her last visit, I would not have known you were even getting married."

"I sent invites."

"And we did not receive them. Your father has not even told anyone he was expecting a grandchild."

"He is ashamed." She prickled slightly and leant into Tony's side.

"I am sorry, Ziva my child."

"It is not your fault dear Shmeil. You could have done nothing about it. You are here now and that is all that matters." She smiled softly. "This is Tony."

"It is very nice to meet you Tony." Shmeil smiled and shook his hand.

"Shmeil is a friend of mine."

"I have known her since she was three years old."

"Tight lipped."

"Pardon?"

"It's tight lipped, not tight legged."

"American idioms." Ziva muttered and rolled her eyes, making Tony laugh.

"Are you to become an American now, Ziva?"

"There is a lot of paperwork being filled and filed and sent off and received. It is tiring." She took his hand gently and placed it on the side of her stomach. "Do you feel one of my babies kicking?" She grinned as his face lit up.

"My Ziva is going to be a mother."

Tony let go of her hand quickly and grabbed Elsie before she could barrel into his pregnant wife, swinging her into the air. "Hey there, Kiddo." He grinned as she laughed. "What have I said about being careful?"

"That I mustn't hurt Ziva or the babies if I want to be allowed to visit them when they are born." She recited the words he had drilled into her.

"Alright." He placed her down and she patted Ziva's bump.

"Can they hear me?"

"They can hear some things." Ziva laid a hand on her head and smiled. She would be wanting her hair cut soon, it was getting long again. "Are you enjoying yourself?"

"Yeah!" She started jumping up and down and Tony and Ziva couldn't help but see the resemblance to Abby in that moment. Alison walked over with Mina and handed the young child over to the bride.

"You look beautiful."

"Thank you." Ziva nodded, now fully absorbed in playing with Mina's hand.

"Who are the children?" Shmeil asked Tony as they both watched her move over to a table and sit down with the two girls, laughing and playing.

"The sisters we were protecting when she found out she was pregnant. We got snowed-in and were stuck in this tiny log cabin for a week." He smiled at the memory. "We have joint custody of them with their foster parents." He nodded to Alison and Dave.

"I never thought she would ever have children." Shmeil shook his head. "She is always so busy with work, and in her line of work there is not exactly time for a family."

"I know. That's what she worries about. Neither of us wants to give up our work, even if it is for the twins."

"Twins?"

"Yeah, two babies. We are going to have a very loud house on the weekends we have Elsie and Mina."

Shmeil paused, watching her play with the two children, her face alight. "I was not referring to how much time she spends at work so much as how much life it takes away." He looked at Tony's frown. "She was not expected to survive this far. She was assigned too many missions that she should not have returned from."

"I know." He sighed. "She's been through a lot."

"I am sorry to bring the mood down on such a joyous occasion."

"No, it's fine." Tony shook his head, brushing it off. "It's a reminder of how well she has done and how lucky we both are to be here today."

"I am very proud of her. She has exceeded all expectations and gone against all of the pre-set paths her father has given her. She has grown into a fine young woman and you are a lucky man to have her."

"I really don't think I deserve her most of the time. She's too good for me."

"My Ziva is a good judge of character. She must have seen something good in you to have fallen in love with you."

"Maybe love has blinded her." He looked to Ziva and smiled when their eyes met.

"No, even when drunk, she has the ability to keep a clear head."

"Yeah, but her memory isn't so great when she's drunk." Tony smirked. "The night we first…" He trailed off, realising it wasn't the sort of conversation you had with an old family friend of your new wife. "Anyway, when we woke up, neither of us could remember the night before. Even with both of us piecing together the bits that we did know, there were still gaps. Still are." He smiled. "I was worried it was just the alcohol that made us…" He trailed off again.

"No, she always makes the right decision."

"Even when intoxicated with love? Love's infinitely more potent than alcohol."

"Always." He smiled and patted Tony's arm. "You know, I remember when Ziva was just four years old she had this beautiful smile, one that lit up the whole world and made strangers turn and admire her in the street. She could steel the hearts of anyone who dared to look for too long at her radiance – that is what her name means. I have not seen that smile in so long, it had been taken from her after all she has seen. It was not until this afternoon, when I saw her face as she walked down the aisle that I saw it again. She was looking at you."

"I see you are getting along." Ziva smiled, walking over and leaning into Tony's side. He wrapped his arm around her and pressed a kiss to the top of her head.

"He's an interesting man."

"You have not been telling your tales again, have you Shmeil?" She grinned. "This man could tell a story to rival Ducky."

"We'll have to put that to the test later." Tony laughed, scanning the room for the old pathologist and seeing him dancing with Abby, a wide, happy smile on his face.

"May I dance with your wife?"

"Of course. Who am I to deny such a good man a dance with a beautiful woman?"

"You are the beautiful woman's husband. Congratulations." An accented voice said from behind them.

"José! How'd we do?" Tony spun around to face the younger man.

"You do better every time you dance it. I have nothing to fault."

"José speaks too kindly. We messed up the turn."

"No, Ziva. You did not. You danced perfectly, as always." He smiled, kissing her cheek. "Now dance with Shmeil, he is always eager to dance with beautiful women." He nodded to Shmeil and paused as the older man took Ziva's hand and led her away. "Tony, you must send your children to dance with me."

"I don't know, José. I…"

"Money will not be an issue, Tony. I can see what you are thinking. You are thinking, José has a large studio, he will charge me a fortune. But no, I will not. Not for children of Ziva. You are family, Tony. Family does not pay."

"I was actually thinking that Ziva will probably want a say in it." He laughed. "But if my kids want to dance, I know where to send them."

"TonyTonyTonyTonyTonyTonyTony!" Elsie tore across the room and grabbed his hand, tugging him towards the dance floor. "Alison said it is time to go to bed, because it's late, but I don't want to and I want to dance with you because I am not tired and I really, really don't want to go home and Dave said I can dance with you and then dance with Ziva and then I have to go home." She gushed in an Abbyesque manner.

"Okay, Sweetie." He laughed, lifting her up and standing her on his feet as the next song started. "Have you enjoyed today?"

"Yeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeah!" She grinned and tried to hide a yawn.

"How much sugar have you had today?"

"Not much." She shook her head, yawning again. "Have you enjoyed today, Tony?"

"The best day of my life." He looked up to where Ziva was dancing with José, his wife's head on her friend's chest.

"I love you and Ziva, Tony." She said quietly, pulling her hands from his and wrapping her arms around him. He looked down at her and smiled slightly before picking her up and letting her rest her head on his shoulder, bringing his eyes up to lock with Ziva's. She smiled at him; a warm, relaxed smile. He noticed a quiet snore coming from his shoulder and looked down to see Elsie fast asleep in his arms.

He walked to Alison, Dave and Mina, the baby sleeping in Dave's arms. "Hey." He said quietly. "She's uh, she's asleep."

"Okay. We'll take that as our cue to leave then." Alison smiled.

"You're still staying here tonight though?"

"Of course. Do you really think Elsie will let us get away with missing breakfast with the happy couple?"

"Very true. She can be stubborn."

"Don't we know it? But I don't think we'd be without them." Dave looked between them and sighed.

"Uh, do you mind if Ziva and I, y'know, tuck them in? Please?"

"Sure. Not a problem." Both foster parents nodded in agreement as Ziva walked over.

"We're gonna tuck the girls in. That okay?"

"Mmhm." She nodded, brushing the elder of the two sisters' fringe out of her face. "She looks so peaceful. You do not think we will be missed, do you?"

"Nah. I don't think anyone even knows we're here." Tony joked and she rolled her eyes, shaking her head.

"Tony, what will people think if we can not be found at our own wedding?"

He snorted. "Exactly, it's our wedding. We can leave when we want. Besides, I don't think one extra rumour circulating about us will really make much of a difference to the millions already enjoyed by the NCIS workforce." He gave her a simple shrug.

"What will my Shmeil think, my Aunt Nettie? Your father? Your Aunt Nora?" She scowled.

"Dunno. But Nora and your aunt seem to be getting along really well." He pointed to one of the corners, where the two women, the one with the bright blue hair and the one with the grey hair, sat gossiping, laughing about the happy couple and their memories of the two partners as children.

"Great. Now we will never get them apart." She leaned her head on his other shoulder. "I guess they have a lot in common." He frowned at her and she explained. "Neither of them like our fathers."


"I think we're gonna head upstairs now." Abby and McGee smiled, the last of the guests left in the dance hall. They were sharing the room that Ziva, Abby and Elsie had shared the previous night.

"We'll probably be heading up soon too. Thanks for coming and being here and everything."

"And the speeches. The speeches were brilliant." Ziva smiled, kissing Abby, then McGee's cheek.

Tony kissed Abby's cheek, pulling her in for a hug, then turned to McGee, opening his arms. "Come on, McGee. Bring in the McGeeky love." He flashed McGee the craziest eyes he could and started chasing him around the hall.

"Tony." Ziva grabbed his arm as he ran past, stopping him in his tracks. "Stop."

"Yes, Dear." He flinched as she smacked his arm, lightly for her. "Night, Kids. Don't do anything stupid."

"Goodnight, Abby, McGee."

"Night, Guys. Have fun!" They called as they headed out of the ballroom, leaving the couple alone.

"You realise that amongst all of the talking and greeting and hugging and laughing we only danced together once?" Tony frowned as he walked over to the electrics. He hit a button, dimming the lights again, and turned some gentle music on quietly, so the lyrics were indistinguishable. He moved back over to her, taking her by her hands and brushing his lips against hers softly. "May I have this dance, Mrs DiNozzo?"

She lowered her voice to match his quiet whisper. "Yes, Mr DiNozzo. Yes, you may."

This was actually a real pain to upload. It took me nearly an hour, and I have no idea why, but every time I tried it kept crashing. But it is done now.

I am going to be away for a little over a week again, with limited-to-no access to internet. Sorry. I thought I would get this uploaded now though so you are not left without an update, because I am a nice person. No, I really am not, or at least I do not think I am. Anyway, once I get back I will be super busy with all of the work that I have neglected to do in favour of sleeping recently.