Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS

Ziva walked over to Gibbs' desk. She looked and felt nervous,

'Ziva' muttered Gibbs, not looking up from his paperwork.

'Gibbs, I…' She struggled to find the words to describe how she felt. Ziva did not want to disappoint him.

'You don't want to stay, do you?' he asked, this time looking up. Ziva nodded in agreement.

When she was reinstated as an agent again, Ziva was excited, happy and relieved at first. She had worked hard to become an agent, and like the idea of working in the environment and with people that she loved.

However, her first case back was a young female sailor who had been raped and murdered. The second case was that of a drug overdose, and third was assisting the FBI on a terrorism case. She had barely been back a month, but Ziva already felt drained.

At first, Ziva thought it was simply because she had been away, that she just needed to get use to it again. However, as the days went by and the paperwork stacked up, Ziva found that she was not getting used to it. In her time off, Ziva spent it with either Callie and Arthur, or with Tony. Ziva was slowly starting to picture a future that was different from what she originally thought was destined for her. The blossoming relationship with Tony was helping.

When she returned from Israel, the first thing Ziva wanted was a hot shower. She was in the women's shower room, when the door opened and Tony walked in. He walked over and kissed her passionately, pushing her up against the wall by the sinks. Three months they had been separated. Three months without being able to touch or even speak to each other, and it had taken its toll on both of them. Eventually Tony left Ziva to have her shower, continuing their reunion in Ziva's apartment.

'I am sorry Gibbs, but yes. After a lot of thinking I do not want to work here anymore. After my father died, I was so focused on revenge that I never stopped to think about the future. But things have happened over the past few months that have made me realise that I have an option, a choice in what I do.'

'Things like Arthur?' asked Gibbs, a tiny smirk appearing at the corners of his mouth. Since meeting Arthur, Ziva had not stopped talking about her godson. Photos of Ziva and the little baby littered the partition behind her desk.

'Yes, things like Arthur. Spending time with him has made start to realise that not only do I want a different future, but I can have it.'

'A future with Tony?' Ziva looked down at her shoes, but Gibbs noticed the smile on her face. He had also noticed how the two of them were behaving towards each other. They had done their best to keep it out of the office, but Gibbs and noticed how they stood a little closer to each other, how Tony's hands would hover on Ziva's lower back, how they always arrived and left together.

Rule 39. There is no such thing as a coincidence.

'Yes, one with Tony. Hopefully' Ziva said softly. She looked at Gibbs. 'I love him Gibbs.' It was one of the handful things that she knew was 100% certain. Ziva loved Tony and Tony loved Ziva.

Tony walked into the bullpen, coming back from the bathroom. He looked at Ziva and they both smiled. Gibbs could see that they only had eyes for each other. He stood up and turned to look at both of them.

'Do not hurt each other' he said fiercely. 'Or I'll set Abby on you.' Both laughed, but they knew that Gibbs was right. If they screwed this relationship up, Abby would not let either of them forget it.

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'So,' began Tony, as they reached Ziva's car. 'Are you going to do this? Go public with this relationship?' He hoped he didn't sound too desperate. Ziva looked down and the ground to compose herself for a moment and then looked back up at Tony.

'Tony I am unsure what my future will be, now that I am no longer a federal agent, but I do know that I love and I want to be with you.' Ziva felt tears well up. She was being honest with herself as well as Tony. 'I do not want to regret anything' she whispered, just loud enough for him to hear. The idea of not knowing what her life was going to be about was scary, but Ziva also felt excited and hopeful. Anything seemed to possible.

Tony stepped towards Ziva, closing the gap between them whilst she leant against the side of her car. Tony reached up and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, before kissing her. Both melted into it. There had been moments over the last few months where Tony was unsure if Ziva would come back to the US, let alone NCIS. Yet, she had come back, and whilst they were no longer working together, here she was, wanting to be with him.

A squeal nearby forced them apart. Initially thinking that someone was under attack, they realised that it was Abby who had squealed. Tim, Ducky and Jimmy Palmer were also standing with her, looks ranging from confusion to happiness on their faces.

'Oh, my goodness, oh my goodness,' Abby repeated happily. Tony and Ziva looked sheepish.

'What is this?' asked Ducky, who seemed genuinely happy.

'Are you two dating?' asked a confused Tim. Tony turned to look at Ziva, who was smiling.

'Yeah, we are' confirmed Tony. Abby squealed again, and hugged Tony.

'How long?' asked Jimmy. Tony and Ziva looked at each other, again.

'Since we arrested Bodnar' said Ziva. In her mind that was where they started. 'It's a long story.'

Tim didn't know what to think.

'Does Gibbs know?' he asked. They nodded. 'He's OK with this? You two dating and working together?'

'We are not working together anymore' said Ziva. 'I am leaving NCIS.'

'What?' Abby looked confused.

'I have handed in my resignation.'

'Why?'

'I do not want to do this job anymore' explained Ziva. She hoped that they would understand. 'I want to do something different with my life.'

Abby, Tim and Jimmy tried to understand where she was coming from. Ducky just smiled at her.

'That is commendable, my dear' he said kindly, giving Ziva a hug.

Later that night, Ziva watched Tony sleeping on her sofa. They had gone to her place after having drinks with the others. Abby had insisted on it when Ziva told them she was not retuning. Ziva was looking through the photos on her laptop. Memories popped into her mind every time a new photo flicked on to the screen. Memories of cooking for the team, of girls' nights out (and in) with Abby, and Callie. Memories of birthdays, weddings and anniversaries. Yes, Ziva had witness far more than her fair share of sadness, heartbreak and death, but she had also witnessed happiness, joy and love. After having gone for drinks with the others and Tony, Ziva knew that she had the support of her friends and loved ones, no matter what would happen.

Author's note: Thank you so much for reading and reviewing. It means so much to me. I've had this sitting on my laptop for sometime and thought it was time to share. I'm not promising anything, but there maybe more...