When we arrived at the studio, the other six couples that had signed up had already arrived and were doing some stretches on the dance floor. The head instructor, Victor, came over to greet us.

"Ahh! This couple must be the last-minute sign ups," he observed, looking at Ziva and Tony.

"Victor, this is Tony DiNozzo and Ziva David. Guys, this is Victor Sliwinksa, the dance instructor," McGee introduced everyone.

"It is a pleasure to meet you both," Victor said, bowing slightly. "May I ask when you became engaged?"

"Excuse me?!" Ziva coughed. "Engaged?"

"This class is for engaged couples who are looking to learn dancing for their wedding reception." Victor's eyebrows furrowed together in puzzlement. He didn't understand why the beautiful Israeli woman didn't know what he was talking about.

"Wedding reception?" Ziva repeated in disbelief. I squeezed Tim's hand, both of us trying to stifle the laughter.

"Ziva, darling, don't worry about it. Your father won't be checking up on us here," Tony spoke up suddenly, putting his arm around her shoulders. Then, he turned to Victor. "She's Muslim and I'm Catholic. Our families aren't happy about the relationship and we've been trying to keep the engagement secret," he lied smoothly.

Ziva looked at him like he'd lost his mind but Tony looked completely comfortable with the ruse.

"Well, you may be assured that your secret is safe with me," Victor assured them. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to take care of a few things and then we'll get started."

He walked away and, immediately, Tony and Ziva whirled around to face us.

"Probie, I'm going to make your life a living hell from here on out. Are we clear?" Tony insisted fiercely.

"Hey, Ziva's the one who talked you into it. You never asked me any questions about what kind of class we were taking," McGee reminded him calmly, wrapping his arm around my waist tightly and holding me close to him.

Tony opened his mouth to speak again, but then stopped suddenly. Ziva punched his shoulder, none to gently either, as she said something in Arabic angrily.

I smiled at them. "Still, I really hope this works out for you guys. Surely your parents can get over their objections. You guys just look perfect together."

After our first class, which had been great for me and McGee and awkward for Tony and Ziva, they both headed home and McGee drove me back to the NCIS building so I could get my car. From there, we headed back to my apartment with some take-out Chinese.

"The look on Ziva's face was hilarious!" I declared, coming out of the bedroom after changing into some yoga pants and an NCIS t-shirt that McGee had given me awhile back. " I thought she was going to start cursing everyone in Arabic."

McGee was in the kitchen, his shirtsleeves rolled up and his tie and coat hanging over a barstool. "Tony's not going to leave her alone for weeks," he declared, spooning the Chinese food out onto our plates.

I came up behind him and put my arms around his neck, leaning my head against his back, closing my eyes and sighing. "Tim, I love you so much."

He reached up and put his hand on top of mine, pressing them against his heart. "I love you, too, Elle. Only two more months before you'll be mine forever."

For over a minute, we stood just like that, neither one of us saying a thing. We were both overwhelmed with happiness. Finally, we decided the food was growing cold and ate quickly, then sat down to watch some TV before McGee headed back to his apartment for the night.

"I was thinking," I began. "Do you ever wonder if we would have met if Will hadn't been murdered? If I hadn't dated Scott in the first place?"

Tim rubbed his hand up and down my back slowly, holding me close against him. "I don't know, Elle," he told me honestly. "I never came to the Barnes and Noble you worked at, so who knows?"

"I know it would be horrible to say that I'm glad everything that happened did happen, but when I think about not being with you—not being your fiancée—it makes me feel so alone. I never thought I'd find someone I could love as much as I love you, Timothy McGee." I turned and looked up into his bright blue eyes and found him smiling. He leaned in close and pressed his lips against mine intently. I looped my arms around his neck and slid closer to McGee. He slid his hands down my back and pressed me tight against him.

After a little while, I realized I needed to stop now, otherwise I might make a mistake that I would regret, so I reluctantly pushed Tim away. "I think maybe you should go now," I gasped breathlessly. "It's late."

McGee sighed, pretending to be annoyed with me and my rules. "Okay, Elle. You win."

When he was gone, I went into my bedroom and washed off the make-up I'd been wearing all day while listening to the CD of Will playing the piano. My life had changed so much, but all for the better it seemed. I missed Will horribly many times. He had been the one I confided too all the time, whenever I needed to talk about anything whatsoever. Even though no one could replace my best friend, I had gotten someone similar in Timothy McGee. The only difference was that McGee and I were in love and had been from almost the first moment he laid eyes on me.

When I crawled into bed and turned the lights out, I sighed blissfully. "Will, thank you so much for telling me it was all right to be happy," I said in the general direction of Heaven. "You and God know what you're doing—I know that now. Lord," I prayed, "thank you for sending me Will for the time that you did, and thank you for sending me McGee and the NCIS team."

With that, I rolled over and fell asleep.

While driving back to his own apartment, McGee pondered what had happened to him since he met Elle. She had completely changed his life and everything in it. He had never imagined that he could love someone as much as he loved Elle Charlton, but he did. He'd had a close shave with death and so had she, but it only made him cherish her all the more. Ever since they'd gotten engaged, Tim had noticed that his boss, Gibbs, seemed to treat him with a little more respect than normal. Tony tried to make fun of him, but it didn't work. It was obvious that he was a little jealous of the relationship.

Love is patient. Love is kind.