You may think it's a bit too soon, but I said that they wanted to make it official ASAP so…
"Half of my heart is a shotgun wedding to a bride with a paper ring." –Half of My Heart, John Mayer
(Two Days Later)
This was not happening.
There was no way Ziva David was sitting in the lobby of City Hall, next to Tony, hand in hand, waiting.
Waiting for the rest of her life.
She leaned her head gently on her fiancé-of-two-days' shoulder. Her hair was straightened to perfection by Abby. And the pure white suit from her citizenship award ceremony was pressed and fitting slightly loosely against her body because of the weight loss. Their paperwork had been filled out and now it was just a matter of waiting.
McGee and Abby, as their witnesses, sat in the chairs across from them. Their tensions were still high, but they decided to be civil for them.
Ziva kept her eye on huge mahogany front doors. Keeping her breathing steady, her heart was filled with false hope.
His basement seemed quieter tonight, darker too.
Her hand squeezed the banister tightly as she reached the bottom. The boat was close to finished and she could see his disgruntled face as he sat behind the boat, twisting the chisel in his hand slowly.
"No name?" she asked quietly, a hint of a smile present on her lips.
He didn't turn to her and she saw that he was deep in thought. She looked down at her hand that gripped the banister, down at the finger with the small infinity sign draw below the knuckle. It hadn't been more than a week since she told the team and she was getting married, tomorrow afternoon.
She stepped off the last step, slowly wandering over to the boat, her shoes making their distinct tapping sound against the hard floor. He turned and faced her. She gave him a soft smile.
"You good?" he asked, turning back to the stern of the boat.
"Yes." She nodded. "The pain meds are helping." There was a silence.
"Tony and I…"
"I know." He finished.
But she was not surprised, more relieved.
"You're happy." He stated. It wasn't a question. Not one bit.
"Under the circumstances…yes." She let a small smile slip from her lips. "But, um…there is more." She began, taking a deep breath. He did not move, but she knew she has his attention. "We…Tony and I…we…"
He faced her, raising his eyebrows and giving her a 'please continue' look.
"We are getting married." She breathed a mixture of relief and fright, at what he might say, what he might do, or not do.
The silence quickly filled the room once again, thickening the tension in the room between father and daughter.
Her stomach felt light, she was not used to this feeling. Ladybugs in her stomach…or were they dragonflies? But it was not a gut feeling. It was not the feeling she got before something terrible happened. It was not the feeling she had acquired from her many years under Gibbs. It was not the feeling she got when Tony asked her to marry him. And once again, it was not the feeling she had now.
"Is this what you want?" he asked slowly.
She slipped a genuine smile. "It actually is."
He smiled, and it was an amazing smile; A proud, fatherly smile.
She sat down on the small bench, agitation took over her demeanor. "Tomorrow," he looked up at her. "We are getting married tomorrow." He furrowed his eyebrows. "It is soon, but…" she trailed off in her own words. "It will be small, not even a wedding. Just a small ceremony in Town Hall." She explained quickly, he could tell she was a bit nervous.
He nodded. "You know I don't support this one-hundred percent." And she understood.
She loved Tony, so much, but she was not one hundred percent either.
And now she kept watch of the door, her heart stopping every time it opened, and crushed every time Gibbs did not come in.
Tony felt his soon-to-be-wife's hand gripping him hard as she watched the door. "You know what to do?" he asked softly into her ear, trying to distract her.
Her eyes did not leave the door as she spoke. "Walk down the aisle, get to you, say our vows, kiss, and enjoy the rest of my life as a married couple." She stated simply.
"Ziva," his voice was kind, and soft. "If you don't wanna do this…"
"No." she took herself of her trance and faced him. Her eyes were kind. "I do, I am sorry. I just got distracted." She wanted to kiss him, but she hated PDA. Fortunately, she didn't have to go kiss-less. Tony placed his lips gently to hers. "You look beautiful today." He smiled.
She felt a presence next to her and the scent of old spice filled her nostrils. Slowly, she turned around, the smile already on her face.
And there he was.
"Gibbs." She whispered. Her smile couldn't be matched.
"Always Ziver." He kissed her forehead.
She held a tear back, though it was hard. But Tony's comforting hand around hers gave her enough strength.
..
He put his arm out, wearing a suit, tie, and proud smile. "Ready?"
She nodded, taking a deep breath. "I think so."
"Ready?" he repeated.
Her smile was small and warm. "Yes." She said with more confidence than a runway model would ever dream of having.
Looping her arm in his, she faced the closed doors, once she opened them, there was no turning back. He watched her for a moment as she took a few deep breaths. She did not even know why she was so nervous, but she felt this mixture of feelings she had never experience. And for some reason, she loved this feeling.
Then, she unlooped her arm from his and turned to face him. Her eyes were glistening with tears she would not let fall.
And she hugged him.
Tight and warm. He hugged back, of course he did, giving her just enough strength to speak. "Toda, Abba." She whispered in his ear.
"Bat." He whispered back, kissing her ear after he spoke.
And this time, no amount of strength could stop the tears.
..
There was no music as they walked down the aisle. No flower girls, or bridesmaid, no huge crowds of people she had only met once or twice. Her father was not at the front of the room, with the proud smile on his face she had only imagined, never seen.
But what she did see was Abby, McGee, and Ducky sitting in the few rows of Town Hall. And she could feel Gibbs' arm holding her close as they walked down the small aisle.
At the end of the aisle, in front of the judge's stand, there he was.
Tony.
And seeing him, in his simple yet ever so charming black suit and skinny tie, made everything feel right.
She was not missing anything, but gaining everything.
Gibbs handed her off with a small kiss on the cheek before joining the three others in the pews.
She took Tony's hand and his smile made her heart flutter. She forgot about everything; time, people, cancer, life, death, everything. It was just her and Tony now.
"Does someone have the rings?" the judge asked.
"Oh, no we-" Ziva started to explain. She had told Tony she did not need a ring and not to spend any money on one.
"Yea, we do." Tony interrupted softy. She gave him a confused look. He reached in his suit pocket and pulled out a cigar label.
"Is that a-?" she chuckled.
"Yep, Infinity Cigars, finest in America." America, her home.
She smiled as he slipped the wrapper around her ring finger, the infinity sign not yet faded. The label itself was yellow, with green, red, blue, and orange ribbons decorating the shield in the middle. Below the word 'Infinity' written in black cursive letters, was a sideways eight, the infinity sign.
Infinity.
Always and Forever.
I, Anthony Dinozzo,
Take you, Ziva David,
To be none other than yourself.
I promise to stand by your side;
To encourage you, and be open and honest with you;
To laugh with you, and cry with you;
To always love and honor you;
Both freed and bound by our love,
For as long as we both shall live.
And forever after, he added.
..
I, Ziva David,
Take you, Anthony Dinozzo,
To be none other than yourself.
I promise to stand by your side;
To encourage you, and be open and honest with you;
To laugh with you, and cry with you;
To always love and honor you;
Both freed and bound by our love,
For as long as we both shall live.
Ziva promised herself she would never cry on her wedding, but when Tony began reading the vows, followed by her she couldn't hold the gentle tears from crawling down her cheek. Tony would hold her hand tighter when she felt like she was going to burst and she would send a smile her way when she saw his face tighten and emerald eyes glaze over.
"By the power vested in me by the state of Maryland, I know pronounce you husband and wife."
Heaven had never seen brighter smiles.
"You may kiss the bride."
And kiss her he did.
With his hands gently cupping her face he wrapped his lips in hers as her hands felt their way around his neck. He put a hand to her back and dipped her down slowly.
It was an incredible kiss, it felt like no other. It was perfect.
The whole thing was perfect.
And as she walked down the aisle, smiling like she never smiled before, hand-in-hand with her new groom, it all felt right.
And by now, she was one hundred percent sure, Tony was her one.
Translations: Both in Hebrew: Ziva: Thank you, Father;; Gibbs: Daughter.
Reviews would be amazing, favorite line(s) and such would be amazing-er.
I'm going to Hershey, but I'll be back on Tuesday hopefully to update Motherhood. I'm looking for an update on this one no later than Fridayish.
So please review:D if I can get to the hotel room and see a buttload of reviews, I'd be the happiest review whore ever:D