Ziva ran her hand down the skirt of her dress, and smiled. After hours spent in the bridal shop, and two fittings the dress was as beautiful as she imagined.

All the fears she'd had about being nearly forty years old and a mother of a seven year old wearing something meant for women a decade younger had been banished.

The cap sleeves showed off her strong arms, and the skirt fell just right flattering the hips that had once widened to accommodate a growing Tali.

"Oh Ziva," Odette said from the doorway of the master suite. "You look lovely."

Ziva felt a smile dawn on her face. They had not officially begun the festivities and Ziva's face already ached from all the smiling.

Odette stepped into the room, and held her arms out for a hug.

"So, so lovely," Odette said, as she wrapped her arms around Ziva.

This would be the first of so many hugs that day.

Odette pulled back from the hug and took Ziva's face in her hands, and with a slight nod a thousand words passed between them.

Odette, all though in the shadows for most of it, had been a part of this journey for the longest time. She had kept Ziva's secret and kept her family safe.

Thank you would never be enough.

"Everyone's here," Odette said. "Tim had sorted out the live stream for your guests across the pond."

They had a handful of friends who were not in the states who they wanted to be part of the day, so Zoom calls had been organised, with McComputer being employed to manage it.

"We better get this started," Ziva said, "Is Tony ready?"

Tony and Ziva had not slept separately the night before the wedding, both agreeing that they had spent too many nights apart, but after a morning cuddle and a few quiet moments together, Tony had slunk off to the basement to get ready.

Tali had been employed as the go between if her parents needed anything from each other, and Senior had organised everyone when they arrived.

The guest list was small, but with four children under eight and two dogs there was an element of chaos to the festivities.

And, they would not have it any other way.

"Yes," Odette said, "And, he is losing the war against dog hair on his suit."

Ziva smirked.

Despite Lucy's initial reluctance with Tony, they were now almost as close as Tali and Lucy.

"His father," Odette started, her voice wondering, "He's quite nice isn't he."

Ziva squashed a laugh.

"Tony certainly inherited some good things from him," she said delicately.

Odette raised her eyebrow, and her face broke into a smile.

"Good to know," Odette said.

There was a creek on the stairs, and the footfall that Ziva easily recognised as Gibbs.

"I'll go organise everyone," Odette said. "Tali is bouncing off the walls with excitement."

Tali had been looking forward to the wedding as much as her parents. Even though the event was much more subdued than Tali had wanted, Tali had clung to the idea that a wedding made everything in their family official.

If Ima and Daddy were married, Ima would never leave again.

Never ever again.

Tony and Ziva saw it more as celebration of how far they had come. Of them being out in the open. Of everything they had survived. Of their forever.

Can you believe it? Tony had asked as they cuddled up that morning, Fifteen years ago I was sneaking around to your place, both of us pretending we hadn't caught feelings. Then we had that crazy decade where I killed your boyfriend, we made a kid, and you had to fake your death. Now, we have a seven year old, and we're finally doing this.

A part of her still couldn't.

After everything they had been through, and all that pain, they were emerging on the other side.

There was sure to be hard times and pain, because despite what the fairytales said the wedding was not the end of the story, but they would face whatever troubles passed through together.

A knock on the door broke Ziva from her thoughts, and Odette moved to open the door. Gibbs stood in his finest grey suit with a crossiage in his lapel, and an uncharacteristic smile on his face.

Because the wedding was in their home, Tony and Ziva had not specified a dress code, but Gibbs had made an effort.

Odette touched Gibbs on the shoulder and the two of them shared a smile.

Today was a special day, and the two of them were glad to be witness to it.

Gibbs walked into the bedroom, and placed a kiss on Ziva's cheek.

"You ready for this, kid?" he asked.

Ziva patted his shoulder.

"Yes," she replied firmly.

"Been a long time coming," Gibbs said.

"Oh yes," she said softly. "It has been a rather complicated journey."

Gibbs scoffed.

Tony and Ziva had made a hell of a mess.

Gibbs squinted and looked up at the ceiling.

Today was a happy day, but sadness lingered at the edges.

There were people who were not there to see such a joyful day. People who had helped Tony and Ziva get this far.

Ziva could so easily imagine Shmeil and Adam downstairs, both of them with one word on their lips; finally.

Finally.

Ziva wondered what it would have been like to go shopping for wedding dresses with a mother or a little sister, rather than alone.

Or what it would have been like to have the type of father Tony was to Tali. Or Gibbs was to her.

Ziva ran her hand down her dress and banished her thoughts.

Today was a happy day. A celebration.

"You look beautiful," Gibbs said.

He blinked a few times, and Ziva could guess where his mind had wondered.

There was an eight year old girl who would be forever eight years old. An eight year old girl he had once imagined doing this with.

There was once a red-headed bride, who had promised him until death do us part, only for death to part them too damn soon.

"Thank you," Ziva said.

Gibbs picked up his tie, and then laid it back down.

"I'm proud of you, kid," he said, looking down at his shoes.

She had always wanted a father who was proud of her.

Tears welled up in her eyes.

"Thank you," she whispered.

Thank you would never be enough.

How could it ever be?

Gibbs, with all his imperfections had been a safe place for her to land so many times.

After everything that happened with Ari. He still trusted her.

After everything that happened before Somalia. He still went with Tony to rescue her. He still trusted her enough to come back to the team.

After everything that happened after she left them. He still ran into the fire with her.

She would have lost him a thousand times.

Gibbs nodded at her. A slow careful nod.

She bopped his nose.

Their laughter filled the room.

"I am going to ruin my makeup," she declared.

It was minimal makeup, most of the people downstairs had seen her at her worst, but Breena had applied it so perfectly, as they talked about their daughters who were so close in age.

A playdate had been organised for the second week of October.

"Tali's pretty keen to get this party started," he said.

Ziva slipped into the en-suite, and studied her face. She tidied up her mascara and ran her lipstick over her lips.

She stepped back out, and he took her hand.

"You ready, kid?" he asked.

"Yes," she said.

She had never been more ready for anything.

The David-DiNozzo living room was eerily quiet as Ziva and Gibbs reached the bottom of the stairs.

Signs of life were dotted all over the place, discarded blazers from the menfolk who had thought the September day would be cooler. Tali's shoes, that were supposed to be upstairs. Lucy's dog lead was on the hook by the door from the early morning walk Ziva had took her on.

The finger food was on the table, with some of it already picked at. Other brides might have become annoyed at people not waiting until things were official to eat, but Ziva did not hold such grudges.

The sliding door was open, and the noise carried into the house.

The dogs barked. Tali squealed. People were talking.

Her people were talking.

People were waiting for her.

Her people were waiting for her.

Tali slipped through the door, wearing the dress with the sequins on top that they had picked out together.

"Ima!" Tali called out, her voice a painful descabile, "You and Daddy are getting married!"

"We are," Ziva said as she walked toward the door.

Tali ran back out the door, and suddenly it was quiet.

Ziva and Gibbs stepped onto the deck, and watched as four of their friends erected the chuppah. Ellie needed an extra long pole to hold it up.

Nick waved from his spot holding the chuppah , and then turned his attention back to Ellie. Ziva knew that soft look.

Hopefully those two would not make as much of a mess as Tony and Ziva had.

Odette had both the dogs next to her. Lucy was wearing the bandana which declared her to be a flower dog. Little Johnny had a hand on Lucy.

Ziva wondered how long Tim and Delilah would take to finally give in, and get a dog. Especially once they moved in across the street. Tim had wanted a dog once upon a time.

Through a tinny speaker the song Tony had chosen played.

From Ziva's perch on the deck she watched as Senior and Tali stood either side of Tony, and led him down the aisle they had crafted that very morning by laying down some branches.

They reached the end of the aisle. Tony bent down and wrapped Tali in a hug. Then Tony sprung up and wrapped his Dad in a tight hug. Senior kissed Tony on both cheeks.

"I think we should save the kissing for the bride and groom," The Rabbi declared with a smirk.

Their little crowd broke into laughter.

Senior took his place next to Odette, and Tony put his hand above his eyes, and looked up toward the deck.

She caught his smile. A huge smile that could melt the polar ice caps.

His mouth dropped slightly as he took her in.

Tali ran back down the aisle. Lucy tried to follow her, but Odette pulled her back.

Tali scrambled up the stairs onto the deck.

"It's your turn, Ima," Tali said, as she adjusted the flower crown that was out of place.

Delilah who had been put in charge of the music, held out her thumb, and the music changed from Tony's Sinatra, to the Israeli song Ziva had chosen. She was the only one that understood the lyrics but that did not matter. It was her day.

Ziva held out her hand for Tali.

Tali's hand was sweaty because of the still warm September weather, and her little run up the aisle.

Their walk was more of a shuffle, but they made it down the steps and down the aisle.

The twins clapped their hands when they walked past.

Lucy tried to join them, with Odette's dog behind her. Odette kept both the canine guests under control.

"You look beautiful, Sweetheart," Senior declared.

"That's my line, Dad," Tony called out.

Everyone laughed.

Ziva stopped in front of the phones that the McMotheInLaw and Kaisie were holding up. Ziva waved at Abby and Ducky in their little boxes. Ducky had tears in his eyes, and Abby had the biggest smile on her face.

They reached the end of the aisle, and Ziva could see tears in Tony's eyes.

"He's right," Tony said. "You look beautiful."

A tear slipped down Ziva's face. She should not have bothered reapplying the make-up, it would be down her face before they got to the photos.

She gave him her biggest smile. It made her face ache.

"You do not scratch up bad yourself," Ziva said.

The messed up idiom had been deliberate, a throwback to those long days in the squadroom. A smile broke out on his face.

"It's scrub," he hissed, "I scrub up well."

"That you do," Ziva declared.

Their little crowd broke out into laughter again.

"If we keep going like this," The McMotherInLaw declared, "I'm gonna need a potty break. You guys are a funny bunch."

That only led to more laughter.

Ziva bent down, and wrapped her arms around Tali.

"I love you so much," Ziva whispered as she held her daughter tight.

"I love you too," Tali said, as she wriggled out of the hug. "Now go marry Daddy."

Everyone broke out in laughter again.

The Rabbi held her rounded belly. When Ziva had first met the Rabbi, she had been jealous of thar roundness, but now she had made peace with the fact her belly may never swell like that again.

They had so much else to be grateful for.

"I think we will definitely need a potty break," the Rabbi said.

Tali scampered off to take her place between Senior and Lucy.

Gibbs offered her his hand, and Ziva got up. He wrapped his arm around her, and placed a kiss on her cheek.

"I love you, kid," he whispered before breaking the hug, and taking his place next to Breena.

It was quiet again. Ziva looked at everyone standing around them. All the people who had been a part of their journey, who had watched them grow.

All the people who had kept Tony standing when the hurt Ziva had caused nearly broke him. The worst thing she had ever done, had been to him.

They were surrounded by so much love.

Tony held out his hands, and Ziva stepped under the chuppah to take his hands.

"Are we ready?" the Rabbi asked.

Ziva looked around the chuppah, held up by four more of the people who had helped them get this far. Jimmy and Tim nodded. Ellie and Nick flashed bright smiles their way.

"We're both gonna be a mess by the end of this," Tony said. "And, we haven't even gotten to vows yet."

Ziva nodded.

"All right, let's get this party started," the Rabbi declared. "We are here today to celebrate Tony and Ziva. Now, I have not known these two as long as some of you, but I think we can all agree it's taken us a long time to get to this day. Tony and Ziva know that many of you woke up today and thought to yourselves, finally."

Finally.

There would be a thousand little moments that Ziva would think of when she thought of her wedding day.

She would remember the huge grin on Tony's face when he smashed the glass. She would remember everyone's clapping and cheering going on forever.

She would remember everybody's laughter, as Tony and Ziva rushed up the stairs to their bedroom for yichud. She would remember Senior trying to delicately explain the tradition to Tali when he stopped her from following her parents.

Ziva would remember the yichud. Just a few quiet moments where Tony and Ziva held each other close. They had done it.

She would remember the look that passed between Delilah and McGee when they saw the twins playing with the dogs in the garden. From a single look, Ziva could see Delilah was ready to go to the animal shelter but Tim was not so keen.

She would remember another moment of quiet, where she and Tony held up a phone and spoke to Ducky, and then to Abby. Even from across the ocean Ziva could feel their love.

Tali dancing with Senior would be a memory that sustained her. They had such a sweet relationship.

So would Tali's little speech. Her little voice shaking because she had never spoken in front of so many grown-ups.

Ima, Daddy I love you so much. So, so much.

She would remember watching Ellie and Nick, as they kept coming back to each other. She would remember Kasie's eye roll, and what she whispered.

Those two need to do it, already.

She would remember watching Senior play flirt with both Odette and the McMotherInLaw, only for the two of them to get bored, and start talking to each other. By the end of the night the two of them had organised a visit to an art exhibition the next week.

Tony had worried that because the wedding was being held during the day, and on a Sunday that people would not have fun, but there was so much laughter in their little house. So much joy.

The kids, and most of the adults stuffed themselves with all the food.

The party ended slowly. Odette packed up Sierra to drive home. Senior fell asleep on the couch in the room Ziva liked to call the sunroom, the only quiet spot. The adults with kids and early starts started to pack up in preparation for the temper tantrums that would come as the sugar wore off.

The unattached adults started to help pack up, and co-ordinate Uber rides. Nick and Ellie agreed to share an Uber even though they lived in opposite directions.

Gibbs dropped Senior home, after Tony placed two bottles of wine and a box of left overs in Senior's hands.

The house was suddenly quiet. Just the three of them, and more food than they knew what to do with. They had sent everyone home with food, but they would still be eating leftovers for days to come.

Tony closed the fridge, and moved across to the kitchen island where Ziva and Tali were standing.

Tali had dirt on her dress despite her best efforts to keep it clean. Tony had untucked his shirt, and long ago discarded his blazer. Ziva's shoes were somewhere.

Lucy was asleep on the couch, having stuffed herself with the food that dropped on the floor. The robot vacuum that Tony insisted on buying made its way under the table to try and clean up the mess.

"It feels a bit anticlimactic, doesn't it," Tony said, as he picked up the fork from the island.

The three of them were sharing one last slice of cake, before they took off their nice clothes, and settled in for the night.

Tali had school in the morning, Tony had work, and Ziva had a meeting with a student advisor at the community college.

"What does that mean?" Tai asked, as she stuffed her face.

She was the smallest of all of them and had eaten the most.

"Well," Tony said, "I mean that today is a very special day, one that we have all been looking forward to for a long time, and now it's over. It feels weird knowing that everything will be normal tomorrow. You'll go to school, I will go to work and Ima has her meeting.."

Tali had icing on her face.

"I don't have to go to school," Tali declared.

Ziva chuckled.

"You like school," Ziva said. "I am sure you want to tell all your friends about the wedding."

Tali nodded. A huge nod that made her curls shake.

"If I don't go to school tomorrow, then tomorrow can be a special day too," Tali declared.

Ziva could not fault the logic of a seven year old.

"We have to go back to normal," Ziva said. "Today has been an amazing day, one that that we will have lots of memories of, but if everyday was like today, it would no longer be special."

Tony took some cake.

"Ima's right," Tony said.

"Ima's usually right," Tali declared, as pressed her fork into the cake.

Tony chuckled to himself, and moved closer to Ziva. He wrapped his arm around her waist.

"A part of me is expecting to wake up tomorrow and have this all be a dream," he whispered. His new wedding ring glistened in the late afternoon sun.

"It does not feel real," Ziva murmured, as she turned slightly so they faced each other. "But, it is. This is our real life."

This messy but busy house, with its regular guests was their real life.

Their daughter, with her school bag, and hair scrunchies was real life.

The husband that she would cuddle up with that night is real life.

He snaked his arms around her waist, and pulled her close, she placed her hands on his cheeks, and they kissed. A sweet and easy kiss, like so many they had before, and like so many more to come.

"I think you two have done enough of that today," Tali declared, as the grown ups broke into laughter.

A/N: I don't own a thing.

That's a wrap folks. Thank you so much to everyone who has been a part of this fic, and 'A Family, Reunited', whether it was by reading it or kind words in a review/tweet/comment etc.

It's been a year since I started 'A Family, Reunited' and what a year it has been. Sending all of you dear readers lots of love, especially those still impacted by the pandemic.

I just bought my first home, so I don't know when I will be writing again. I also don't know if/when I will continue this universe, but if the muse strikes, I'll definitely share it with you guys.

Thank you again dear readers.