Surprise! I'm back bitches! (Sorry been watching a little too much Pretty Little Liars). Anywho, I realize it's been a while since I've posted anything, and honestly I have no excuse. Hopefully this update will get my creative juices flowing!

For once in quite some time, Tony was the first to arrive in the bullpen. He noted that the place looked different when no one else was there. It had an eerie sort of feel to it. Dropping his bag to the floor, Tony took a seat at his desk and fired up his computer to check his email. Finding nothing worth responding to, he closed the window and looked around. He was feeling particularly bored that morning, which was incredibly dangerous in most situations. Looking across the bullpen, Tony eyed Ziva's desk wondering what unknown treasures lay hidden inside. He considered snooping for a moment, but quickly decided against it, valuing his life far too much to risk it on something so trivial. His eyes traveled to the right landing on Gibbs's desk, but even he wasn't that stupid. That left McGoo's desk.

Smiling wickedly, Tony pivoted his head around checking that no one was going to catch him. He crept over to Tim's desk and crouched down next to it. Opening the bottom drawer, he rooted through the contents finding nothing of consequence, and moved on to the next. After rediscovering the motivational CDs that McGee had tried to hide, Tony moved up to the top drawer finding pencils, pens, calculator, all sorts of McGeekish toys. He was just about to close the door and write off the whole excursion as a failure when something caught his eye. Buried at the back of the drawer was a little silver box, its corner sticking out from underneath a notepad.

Tony reached in and pulled out his newest discovery out. "Well what do we have here?" he whispered to himself.

"What is it?"

The voice made Tony jump nearly a foot off the ground, dropping the box as his hands clutched at his chest. "Jesus, Ziva! Don't sneak up on me like that."

A wicked smile spread across Ziva's face. "I'm sorry, Tony," she purred.

"Freaking ninja," Tony grumbled under his breath. He crouched down and retrieved the box from where it had rolled under McGee's desk. He pulled off the lid to reveal a smaller box inside. "Well, well, well."

Ziva stood on her tiptoes in attempt to peek over Tony's much taller shoulder. "What is it?"

Tony tilted the object to allow Ziva to see. "It's a jewelry box, Zee-vah." He popped the top of the box open, revealing the shiny diamond ring inside.

"Wow," Ziva whispered. "That is a gorgeous ring." She took the box out of Tony's hands to study the jewelry closer, examining the oval cut diamond in the center and the two black onyx stones surrounding it. It was tasteful and unique and completely Abby.

"Mr. Gemcity must have dropped a pretty penny on this thing," Tony added taking the box back.

Ziva crinkled her brow in confusion. "What does the condition of the money have to do with anything?"

Tony shook his head. "Nevermind." The ding of the elevator alerted the partners to incoming company. Tony fumbled with the box, slamming the lid back on and tossing it back into McGee's desk drawer. He shut the door quickly and raced back to his own desk, only to see that the elevator was inhabited by a handful of random agents that Tony barely knew. He grumbled under his breath at the interruption and looked longingly at McGee's desk before trudging back to his own.

Ziva took a seat at her own desk and busied herself with various morning activities. She was not particularly surprised by the discovery of the ring in McGee's desk. He and Abby had been together for quite a while and Abby was nearly seven months pregnant. McGee was always one to push for the traditional relationship, so it seemed only natural that he wanted to marry the mother of his child.

"How long do you think he's had it?"

Ziva's head snapped up, her attention quickly diverted from her inner musings. "The ring? I do not know."

Tony wasn't pacified. "When do you think he's going to pop the question?"

"Why does it matter?" she asked. "He will ask when the time is right."

Tony laughed. "You mean when he gets the nerve. Although I can't say I blame the poor Probie. Proposing to Abby would be a frightening thing."

"This coming from the commitment-phobe," Ziva scoffed. "The thought of proposing to any woman would terrify you."

Tony looked across the bullpen at his partner. "Not any woman," he said in a voice just above a whisper. Ziva's eyes locked onto his, brown staring into green seeing not just the person but the soul within. Seconds passed as both of their hearts thundered in their chest. Tony was the first to break the spell, diverting his attention to something on his desk. "I'm just saying that the right woman can change any man. Even the lifelong bachelor has to settle down eventually."

Ziva smirked. "Even a bachelor such as yourself?"

"Perhaps," Tony said, sparing a glance at the beautiful Israeli across from him. He wasn't sure if he was talking about her or just speaking in general. Either way the conversation was veering into dangerous territory. "So, uh, how long do you think he'll wait until he proposes?"

Ziva's smile faltered, though only slightly. It was so rare that she and Tony had any sort of serious discussion and when it did occur he was usually the one to put an end to it. With a muted sigh, Ziva turned her attention to the new topic. "I do not know, but I doubt it will take long. McGee has probably been planning this for a while."

Tony thought about it for a moment and eventually shook his head. "He'll lose his nerve. By the time those two get married, their kid will be able to participate in the wedding."

Ziva chuckled. "He will not wait that long."

Leaning forward on his elbows, Tony level his gaze at his partner. "You wanna bet?"

"On what?" Ziva asked with a quirked eyebrow.

Tony sighed in mock annoyance. "On how long it will take McChicken to pop the question. I'm saying at least a year."

"There is no way that McGee will wait an entire year. He will ask her when the baby is born, if not before."

Tony thought about it for a moment and smiled. "You're on. But what do I get when I win?"

Ziva smirked dangerously at him. "Anything you want."