Tony strolled into the squad room the next morning, Ziva's hand in his and a smile stretched across his face. He let go of it before they reached the bullpen, because that would be breaking Gibbs 'rules'. "Morning McGoo." Tony said and Ziva smiled, turning her attention to the junior agent.
"Good morning Tim."
He smiled, "Good morning." He stood from his desk and walked over to the two, one coffee and one tea in each hand, putting one on Ziva's desk first, and then one on Tony's desk.
"Thank you, Tim." Ziva said sweetly, walked around her desk, placing a kiss on his cheek. Tony raised an eyebrow and lifted the lid, sniffing it.
"What'd you do to it?" Tony replied.
McGee rolled his eyes, "Nothing, Tony."
Tony lifted his cup to his lips and very slowly, cautiously, took a sip. "Hm, very good. Thanks McCoffee."
"Almost done planning the wedding? It's just in a couple of weeks, you know." McGee said, once back at his desk.
Ziva smiled and nodded. "Yes, we just have a couple of more things to do, and we will be done."
"So glad to hear that." Gibbs announced as he walked into the bullpen. Tony jumped up and walked over to the silver-haired man.
"Morning boss." When Gibbs didn't reply Tony continued, "Can I...talk to you for a second?" Gibbs looked up at him and then stood, walking past him and to the elevator. Once inside it, he flipped the switch.
"Talk."
Tony chuckled, "You see, this is weird, because I think this is one of the first times that I'm not in trouble in here with you." Gibbs slapped the senior field agent on the head and Tony lost his smile, "Thank you boss."
"There a reason I'm in here?"
"Yeah. I just wanted to..." He let out a sigh, "...say thanks. For knocking some sense into me about Ziva. Literally." He looked down at the floor, "I would of lost her, boss."
"You were damn close, DiNozzo."
"Yeah, I know. So I wanted to say thanks." Gibbs only nodded, "And also..." He flipped the notepad over in his hands, holding it for Gibbs to take.
"What is that, DiNozzo?"
"Well um..." He looked at it again, "It's our guest list." Gibbs only stared at him blankly, "You know, we're getting married."
"I know that, DiNozzo. I want to know why you're showing it to me."
Tony cleared his throat, "We kinda...need your help."
"With what?"
Tony chuckled nervously, "You see...we would like to invite Agent Fornell." Gibbs laughed, "...and Mike Franks."
"So, basically, you want me to invite Tobias and Mike."
"On behalf of Ziva and I." Gibbs narrowed his eyes, "Yes." He said. Gibbs slapped the back of his head again and flipped the switch, the elevator jerking back into motion. "Thank you, boss." He said with a grin. Gibbs only rolled his eyes as he exited the elevator, walking back to his desk.
Two Weeks Later...
Gibbs, Tony, McGee, and Ziva all sat at their desks, working on paperwork for it was their last work day for a while. Luckily, things had been slow, so Gibbs wasn't too bitter about another team being the MCRT for a week. Tony and Ziva kept looking at each other and smiling, the fact that they were going to be man and wife in a few days on their mind.
Thudding could be heard nearing the squad room, and all four agents looked up. "Hey guys! I'm so excited!" Abby said happily. She walked over to Ziva and wrapped her arms around her, squeezing her face next to Ziva's. "So I got these for all of us." She said and handed Ziva one before walking over to Tony, McGee, and Gibbs. "The plane takes off tomorrow at 3. So I think we need to meet in the airport tomorrow at 2. Don't be late!" She said.
Ziva smiled, "Thank you, Abby."
"I told you I'd take care of it Ziva!" She said and the two women hugged again. Ziva returned to her desk and Abby stood in the middle of the squad room and spread her arms wide. She got her best Gibbs voice ready, "Ok, good job team, go home and pack for the wedding." Everyone but Gibbs chuckled slightly, earning a stare from him.
"Abby..." He warned. "They're going to be off for 6 days. It won't hurt them to stay a little longer."
"Right. Well can I go? My temp is here and I've got a lot of packing to do."
Gibbs sighed, "Fine. Go."
"Yay! Thank you, Gibbs!" She walked around his desk and threw her arms around him, squeezing him into a hug, "I'll see you all tomorrow!" And with that, she skipped out of the squad room.
"Abby got a temp?" McGee spoke first and Gibbs looked up at him.
"Yeah. So did Ducky."
McGee nodded, "Ah. Well I guess we will be gone for a while."
"Yeah. And people don't stop killing people because we're going to Florida." Gibbs said. McGee nodded and Tony and Ziva both looked at each other and smiled, Gibbs' smart comment ignored.
They were going to Florida.
The next day, the two headed home shortly after work to go and pack for their trip down to Panama City.
Where they would be wedded as Tony and Ziva DiNozzo.
Tony couldn't help but grin at the thought.
He wrapped his arm around her waist as he inserted the key and unlocked the door to their apartment, closing the door quietly behind them, "You have any wedding stuff you gotta pack, sweetheart?" He questioned, leading her towards the bedroom.
She scoffed and rolled her eyes, laughing slightly, "Tony, you do realize that we are going down to Panama City so that we can get married, yes?"
He chuckled, "Of course! Come on, did you really think that I would forget our own wedding?"
She smirked, "Maybe." She said before breaking away from him and heading over to the closet where she pulled out her simple black suitcase, "The only simple way to do this is to 'divide' the room." She said, "I am on this half, you are on that half." She reached back into the closet and grabbed another suitcase, almost identical to hers, and shoved it towards him, as if she was going to get killed if she went over the imaginary line.
"You wanna play a game, eh, David?"
She smiled, but didn't say anything as she walked over and put the suitcase on top of the bed, opening it up wide as she walked over to the dresser on her side of the room, "How many days are we staying?" She questioned over her shoulder, but she didn't turn to look at him.
"Uh...five days? Six?"
She just nodded and searched through the drawers before realizing that her underwear and bras were in the dresser on Tony's side of the room. She turned around and narrowed her eyes at the drawer that Tony was now standing directly in front of, whistling to himself as he randomly grabbed some clothes out of the drawers, chucking them over his shoulder and into the empty suitcase laying on the ground behind him.
"Permission to cross the line." She spoke up, and he froze, his whistling stopping as he turned around.
"Yeah, yeah, sure, whatever."
"Thank you." She smiled, walking across towards him, pulling open the drawer next to him. His eyes went wide as he let out a low whistle.
"Bayyybyyy..." he stretched as she pulled out a couple of rather lacy bras and some thongs, "I love you!" He whispered, still in shock over the undergarments.
She scoffed and rolled her eyes, "It is not like you have seen them before, Tony." She said, rolling her eyes once more before crossing back to her side of the room, placing them into her suitcase. After packing all of her regular clothes and a swim suit, she turned around to place in her pajamas which consisted of a skimpy little nightgown when she noticed Tony on the other side of the 'line'.
She raised an eyebrow, "Yes?"
He looked down at his feet, and his hands were shoved into his pockets, "Permission to cross the line?"
She stared at him for a moment or two before she gave a smirk on the inside, "No." She said firmly as she finished folding up the last of her clothes. Now all she needed were shoes and other toiletries.
She caught eyes with him, where he hadn't moved as he shook his head slowly, "Okay." He mumbled before going to turn around.
"I was kidding, Tony!" She nearly shouted and he grinned, perking up almost instantly. He removed his hands from his pockets and snapped his eyes up to meet hers once more as he bounded across the 'line' and wrapped two arms around her, catching her off guard. He picked her up, both of his hands on her hips as he lifted her up, pressing his lips against hers. She automatically put her hands on his shoulders to steady herself as he lowered her down onto the ground, his lips never leaving hers. The kiss quickly turned passionate and there was little room between their bodies as they held onto each other tightly.
Finally, they let go for air, and Tony let his forehead rest on hers.
"That's all I wanted." He grinned, breathless, pecking her one more time on the lips before slowly letting go of her, letting his hands stay on her for as long as possible.
She just stood there, almost in shock before she slowly made her way into the bathroom, bending down and opening up the cabinet, pulling out a simple toiletry bag.
She then closed it and walked over to the shower, pulling out her shampoo, her conditioner, and her body wash as well as her 'squiggy' as she liked to call it. She placed them into the bag before opening the medicine cabinet and placing other necessities in there as well such as deodorant, perfume, aspirin, and a razor. She made sure to grab an extra towel, her blow dryer, her curling iron, and her hair straightener from under the cabinet as well before returning to the bedroom, the objects in her hands.
She placed them neatly into her suitcase before she realized that there was one thing that she was forgetting that Abby was sure to yell at her about if she left behind.
Returning back to the bathroom, she opened the cabinet one more time and reached into the back where her make-up case was. Shaking her head, she pulled it out and then made sure that the lip gloss, the mascara, and the eyeliner that she used everyday were in there as well.
She was about to go back to the bedroom and pack it up when Tony called from the bedroom, "Hey, Ziva?"
"Yes?" She called back.
"Do you mind getting me my things as well while you're in there? You know, towel, deodorant-"
"Razor, cologne, comb, gel, shampoo, conditioner?" She finished.
There was a long pause from the other room, "Yeah..." She finally heard him mumble and she nodded, collecting her fiances items as well before returning back to the bedroom. She met him at the line and handed them to him as she packed her make-up case.
Walking back over to the closet, she pulled out the shoes that Abby had insisted that she buy to match the dress. However, she was pretty sure that since they were going to get married on the beach, shoes would not be necessary. Then Abby assured her that they were only for the pictures.
She looked over at Tony and then quickly picked them up and her sandals, shoving them into her bag before he noticed. As she zipped up the suitcase, she saw him put his shoes into the suitcase before he zipped his up as well.
"Well?" He questioned, "You ready, sweetheart?"
She nodded and checked her hair once in the mirror, which Tony rolled his eyes and scoffed at her before she pulled her suitcase off of the bed. Tony quickly ran over to her, taking it from her. She gave a sarcastic, teasing gape, "You crossed the line!"
He looked up at her and grinned as he took his suitcase as well, one in each hand now, his NCIS backpack thrown casually over one shoulder, "I break all the rules when it comes to you."
She had to resist the urge to roll her eyes, but she felt heat rush to her cheeks as she followed him out of the bedroom, grabbing her NCIS backpack on the way, out of the apartment, and down the stairs to their car.
He loaded up the trunk of the Mustang as Ziva took shotgun. Once he was finished, he walked around the car and took the driver's seat, starting the engine and maneuvering out of the parking space before taking her hand tightly in his. Their fingers intertwined together as she looked up at him, "We're almost there, sweetheart." He whispered, and Ziva knew he was talking about their engagement almost becoming a marriage; he rubbed his fingers over her ring.
Tony and Ziva were the last ones to arrive at the airport, Abby hopping up and down next to McGee, who looked rather annoyed. Either that, or he had a killer headache, probably ensued by Abby.
Ducky and Palmer were smiling at the two and Tony couldn't help but give them back his famous DiNozzo grin.
Next to the two Autopsy pals were Gibbs and Fornell. Gibbs didn't really have a facial expression on whereas Fornell looked a little annoyed that he was there. Tony let his grin grow larger, "Hiya, Fornell."
He just nodded, "DiNozzo. David."
Ziva smiled as she joined the seven, standing next to Tony, "Well?" She questioned, "Shall we? Our plane departs soon."
Fornell nodded, "This is true, let's go." Gibbs spoke up while Fornell opened his mouth to answer and then quickly shut it, his mouth turning into a frown.
The seven entered the airport, checking in their luggage before heading through security. Gibbs, wisely, decided that everyone should go before Abby, who started taking off her metallic items as soon as they got into the line. Once everyone else went through, and they almost kicked Ziva out for having her SIG (she flashed them her badge and started yelling Hebrew at them...then Tony stepped in and calmed her down), they headed towards the terminal of boarding gate 24C, direct flight to Panama City, Florida.
Tony plopped down in a seat near the window, the hot sun shining down on him. Once he was sure that Ziva had fully sat down in her seat, he took her hand in his, leaned his head back, closed his eyes, and basked in the sunlight.
Fornell eyed the two and then looked over at Gibbs, "Damn, Ziva..." He smiled, "This feels good."
"I am glad that the sun can produce such pleasure for you." She said, almost sarcastically.
Fornell leaned over to Gibbs, who was flipping through a magazine, "You've dealt with these two for how long?"
"Who?" Gibbs questioned, looking up and then realizing that they were missing two people. Jimmy was listening to his iPod whereas Ducky was reading what looked to be an extremely old manuscript.
Looking around he finally found them, Abby skipping towards them, McGee trailing slightly behind, like he didn't want to show that he was with her. However, everytime that he fell too far behind her, she'd abruptly stop and grab onto his arm, dragging him towards her again.
Gibbs smirked as the two approached them.
The forensic scientist was slightly out of breath, but she was holding proudly in her hands a bag of sour gummy worms, "Look what Timmy bought me!" She squealed leaning over and giving the poor junior field agent, who plopped down in the seat next to her, a large hug.
He winced until she let go and Gibbs looked at Tobias, looked down at his magazine, and smiled.
"Mmm.." Tony grinned, leaning forward to look around Ziva at Abby, "That looks yummy." He squeezed Ziva's hand, "Hey, wanna go and get something to eat? I'm starving."
"No, Tony, I really am not-"
"No." He stood up, yanking her up so that she was standing almost eye level to him, "You and baby need to eat something." She looked him dead in the eyes before she realized she probably couldn't win, so she slowly nodded, "Great!" he grinned as he led her away from the others.
Abby watched them disappear around the corner, hand-in-hand, before she squealed and went 'aww' extremely loudly, causing several people to turn and look at her.
"You and baby?" Fornell questioned Gibbs, who looked up from his magazine once again, slightly annoyed this time, "Who's baby?"
He rolled his eyes, "She's pregnant. You guess who 'baby' is."
"Oh." Fornell said before it was quiet again.
Tony and Ziva returned about twenty minutes later, a coffee cup in each of their hands, Ziva munching on a rather tasty looking pastry. Gibbs looked at them and raised an eyebrow as they took their seats across from Tobias and Jethro once again, "Where'd you get that coffee, DiNozzo?"
"Just around the corner." he nodded after he finished his sip.
And with that, Jethro was gone in a second or two.
Once he returned, Ziva had her head rested on Tony's shoulder, tugging gently at her dark curls that cascaded down her back. They stared into each other's eyes, small smiles on each of their faces, Ziva's arm wrapped around his waist, rubbing his side gently with her thumb. They spoke quietly, in such a hushed whisper that Fornell and Gibbs could barely hear them.
They stopped talking about ten minutes later and it looked as if Ziva was about to doze off as Tony stared out of the window, finally breaking their lock.
Gibbs watched as his senior field agent's face lit up, "Hey, hey!" He shouted and Ziva sat up, letting go of Tony, "I think that the plane's finally ready to be loaded!"
"How can you tell?" McGee questioned and Tony was about to answer when they were interrupted by the intercom.
"Flight number 528, Non-Stop flight to Panama City- Bay County International Airport is now boarding from gate 24C."
Tony grinned and Ziva fully let go of him as they stood up, swinging their backpacks over their shoulders. Tony took her hand once more before taking out both of their tickets from his pocket, to have them ready, and starting towards the gate. Fornell shared a look with Gibbs as McGee and Abby followed the pair. Ducky and Palmer did the same, and Fornell and Gibbs took up the back of the line.
The woman at the boarding gate, taking the tickets ushered them through quickly, wishing them a nice flight.
Gibbs was the last one through, and she took his ticket, looking at it before smiling, "Have a nice flight!" She said, cheerily, and Gibbs smirked.
"Oh, it's gonna be interesting." He gave a small chuckle before boarding the airplane, leaving the confused woman to have nothing left to do but stare after him.
Tony had to let go of Ziva's hand as they walked down the small aisle on the airplane, "Hmm, I can't wait for you to do that in a wedding dress." He commented and she smiled, stopping at the two seats that their ticket stated.
"Would you like the window seat?" She asked and he smiled, placing a kiss on her temple.
"No you take it, sweetcheeks." She walked into the row and sat down, followed by Tony. "Wow! These seats are soo comfortable!" He said loudly and Ziva smiled.
Abby sat down in the seat behind Ziva, and McGee sat down next to her. Abby grabbed his arm and squeezed it, practically jumping up and down in her seat, "I'm so excited, Tim!"
McGee chuckled slightly, "Yeah, I know you are Abs."
"You aren't excited?" She asked.
"I'm happy for them." He said, nodding slightly, "I knew it would happen one day. It's about time."
Tony and Ziva only looked at each other and Tony spoke, "You know I can hear you, right, Probie?"
"Yeah Tony, I know." McGee replied, and then turned his attention over to his new neighbor, Jimmy Palmer. He had a Sony PSP in his hands and McGee was suddenly very interested. "What you playing, Palmer?"
Ducky, who sat next to his assistant, rolled his eyes, "Youth is wasted on the young." He mumbled. Gibbs and Fornell sat in the seats across from the two lovebirds. Gibbs returned to his boat magazine and Fornell only leaned his head back on the chair.
The plane sat for about another hour, and the stewardess came over the intercom, "Welcome ladies and gentlemen. This is flight number 528, Non-Stop flight to Panama City, Florida. We should be arriving in approximately 4 hours and 30 minutes. Please fasten your seat belts and thank you for flying with us today." After another few minutes, the plane was in the air, and the eight were on their way to Panama City.
Tony watched for the red seat belt light to go off, and when it did, he immediately unbuckled his. He looked over at his fiance, and she was perfectly content, reading a book that was in Hebrew. Tony reached across her lap and unbuckled her belt, pulling her up into his lap. He took the book from her and closed it. "Tony!" She said, but she couldn't help but smile.
"This book is not going to be the point of you coming on this trip, is it?"
"Maybe," She teased, "I had fun last time."
"Sorry lady." He said, continuing to keep the book from her reach, "We've got other plans." She smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck, placing a quick kiss on his lips.
"I am aware, Tony." She said. He smiled and leaned up for another kiss as he wrapped his arms around her waist. Fornell watched the interaction and then turned to his 'closest thing to a friend'.
"How do you stand this?" Gibbs rolled his eyes and turned to the man.
"Stand what, Tobias?" Fornell turned his head to stare at the two again, and Gibbs leaned up to get a better look. He only smirked, "You get used to it."
Tobias shook his head, "Don't think I could." Gibbs opened the magazine again. "Can I ask you a question?"
"You just did."
Fornell rolled his eyes, "Another question?"
"That was one too." Gibbs said without looking at him and a small smile formed on his lips. Fornell looked at Tony and Ziva again before making his voice into a hushed tone.
"Why do you think they invited me?"
"Don't know. Maybe they needed a chair filled." Gibbs closed his magazine and looked at him, "Or maybe...they want you there."
"But why?"
"Because, unfortunately, we work with the FBI a lot."
"They didn't invite Sacks."
Gibbs laughed, "No, no they didn't. Probably because DiNozzo can't stand Sacks." Fornell, who still looked confused, sat back in his chair, "Just relax, Fornell." Gibbs said and opened his magazine again.
Maybe he'd actually get to finish it before they landed. He heard Ziva giggle again, and he closed his eyes, remembering the last time that he was on a plane with his partner. He smiled and wondered what Jenny would think of Tony and Ziva getting married.
She would've been in the seat next to him instead of Tobias.
He wouldn't have minded.
Ziva leaned back from Tony's lips and smiled, reaching for her book again, "Tony, give me my book."
"Nah uh." Tony said and then kissed her on the lips before reaching above and pulling down his NCIS backpack.
"What are you doing?" Ziva asked, confused. Tony only smiled as he put the Hebrew book in his backpack and then pulled out another.
"Got you something, Zi." He said with a smile and then handed it to her. Ziva turned it over and read the title "100,000+ Baby Names", a large smile spread across her face, "Thought we could start planning now."
She leaned down and gave him another kiss, "I would like that."
Tony smiled and was about to kiss her again, because he couldn't get enough of her, when he was tapped on the shoulder, "Excuse me, sir, ma'am?" He gritted his teeth together and turned to the woman.
"What?" He asked.
"I'm sorry to bother you..."
"Then why are you?" Tony asked and Ziva hit him lightly in the chest, warning him to stop.
"...but ma'am you need to return to your own seat."
"You're telling met that my fiance can't sit in my lap when I want her to?"
"It's...for safety reasons." The stewardess said and Ziva slipped out of his grip and into her own seat.
"That is just complete bull..."
"DiNozzo!" Gibbs said from his seat across the aisle.
"Yeah boss?"
"Just shut up!"
Tony looked up at the woman again and then back at Gibbs, "Shutting up, boss." He turned his attention back to the Israeli next to him. He wrapped his arm around her waist and let his hand slip under her shirt, his thumb rubbing the soft skin there. She opened the baby name book and he smiled, placing a tender kiss on her cheek.
At least now, they had something to do.
They finally made it to their destination; Panama City Beach Florida. Since Panama City was a hour behind Washington, it was just after eight, and the sun was just starting to set behind the ocean.
"Ah, this brings back memories." Tony said happily, squeezing Ziva's hand just slightly. She looked up at him and smiled. He was right.
This is the place where they fell in love.
"Well we better go and get unpacked." Tony said, and started up the stairs when Abby called his name.
"Yeah?" She closed the gap between them and took his suitcase from him, returning to the bottom of the stairs.
"No. I will take care of this. You and Ziva go over to the beach before it gets dark." Tony raised an eyebrow and looked over at his future wife, who only smiled and raised and dropped one shoulder. Tony let go of the suitcase and leaned down, kissing the forensic scientist on the cheek.
"Thanks Abs."
Tony smiled and walked over to Ziva, grabbing her hand in his, their fingers automatically intertwining. Abby then turned to McGee, "McGee, Tony and Ziva's stuff. Upstairs." McGee looked at Gibbs and Fornell, who were both trying to hide a laugh, and let out a sigh as he grabbed both of the the suitcases and followed Abby upstairs.
Tony and Ziva walked down to the beach, Ziva now carrying her shoes in her hand. Tony breathed in the scent of the ocean and let out a sigh. "I do love this place." He said. He wrapped his arm around Ziva's waist and pulled her so that there was no space between them.
"I do too." She said softly. They walked a little while before Tony turned to Ziva, grabbing her face with both hands and placing a passionate kiss on her lips, so passionate that it made her weak in the knees.
She don't know how the man did it to her.
The kissing continued until Ziva broke it, only because air became an issue. Tony leaned his forehead on hers, while Ziva's hands were still on the back of his head, playing with the hair that was back there. A few people were out on the beach, and most of them noticed them, but kept walking. "You're absolutely amazing, Ziva." She smiled and leaned up to kiss him again when she heard a young girl practically pulling her man friend with her over to them.
"Oh...my...God! Look at this ring!" Ziva let go of Tony and he moved in behind her. The young, blonde headed girl looked down at the ring and then back up at Ziva, "May I?" She asked and Ziva only smiled, holding her hand up to her. "Isn't it beautiful, Jeff?" Jeff only nodded and Tony and Ziva chuckled. "I'm sorry we were just walking down the beach and I saw it and had to see it."
Ziva smiled, "Yes, it is beautiful. It gets a lot of attention."
"I'm sure it does."
"Congratulations. When's the big day?" She asked.
"It is on Saturday." Ziva said softly.
"Aw! Well I hope you have a wonderful life together." Tony wrapped his arms around Ziva's waist, resting his head on her shoulder.
"Can't get much better." He said.
"Come on Paige, I'm sure they want to be left alone." Paige rolled her eyes and dropped Ziva's hand.
"Beautiful ring. And congratulations again." She said and then was pulled away by Jeff. Tony didn't change his position Ziva leaned on him, examining the ring again, moving it slightly with her thumb.
"It grabs everybody's attention."
Tony laughed, "Kind of like you do." Ziva rolled her eyes and stood to her full form, walking ahead of him. The sun was starting to set, and it was beautiful as it went down behind the beach, nothing but ocean for miles. Tony caught up with her and they walked some more, before finding a nice place to sit and watch the sun dissapear behind the horizon. It was the spot next to the small cliff, not to far from the beach house. Ziva looked up at it as they sat down on the sand. Tony smiled and nudged her slightly, his arm never leaving her waist. "Whatcha thinking about, Zi?" He said and she turned to him, a small smile on her face.
"How fun it would be to dive off of that cliff."
Tony laughed sarcastically, "I do not think so."
Ziva crossed her arms across her chest and looked right into his eyes, "If I want to do it, I will do it Tony."
"Nope." He said, and, just to prove a point, she started to stand when he grabbed one to the loops in her jeans, pulling her down into his lap. She laughed and wrapped her arms around his neck, placing a kiss on his lips. "It's dangerous." He said. Ziva laughed and kissed him again.
"I know, Tony. I was pulling your arm."
He kissed her again, "We've been over this. It is leg. You were pulling my leg."
"Leg. Right." She said, and they both laughed as he pulled her closer, kissing her again.
They couldn't get enough of each other.
Gibbs stood on the back porch, squinting his eyes as he watched his two Agents. They were laughing, kissing, joking, happy. He brought the coffee to his lips, taking a sip. The coffee was one of the best cups he'd ever made for himself, and he didn't want it to end. He watched as Tony broke the kiss from her again, leaning his head on hers as she still sat in his lap.
He couldn't believe that his senior field agent, Anthony DiNozzo, would be married in a matter of days. He didn't think it was possible. If there was man that would never get married, he thought it would be Tony.
He was wrong.
And then there was Ziva, who killed Ari to save his own life. Gibbs thought of her as a daughter, but he didn't think she was capable of love. Not after her training.
He was wrong.
He watched them meet, fight, flirt, fall in love, and, Saturday, he would watch them get married. And soon after that, a child will be born. He scoffed at the thought, looking down at the ground, he took another sip. He watched Tony stand up and then hold his hands down for Ziva to take, to help her stand up as well.
The thought crossed his mind that maybe, just maybe, this one time, that breaking 'rule 12' was okay.
He'd have to give himself a headslap later for that thought.
The pair returned to the beach house about five minutes later. Gibbs had moved from his position on the porch and into the kitchen where he poured himself another cup of coffee. Tobias sat at the island, his glasses on, reading the paper that he must have brought with him from Washington DC.
"Is that pizza here yet?" Fornell questioned, looking up quickly at Gibbs before looking back down at the newspaper.
"Should be here soon." Gibbs nodded, checking his watch, "McGee ordered it about forty minutes ago."
And that was it.
The room was quiet until the two heard the back door open, the couple appearing in the kitchen. Quickly dropping her hand, Tony smiled at Gibbs who just nodded, sipping his coffee, "I'm hungry." He announced and even Ziva scoffed and rolled her eyes.
Tobias looked up at the senior field agent who stood in front of him and Agent Gibbs, in front of the island, staring them down, "Congratulations." He finally said, causing Gibbs to smirk as he looked back down at the newspaper.
Suddenly, the four heard the distinctive sound of Abby's noisy platform boots bang down the stairs and quickly. She bounced into the kitchen, McGee trailing behind her and Ducky and Palmer taking up the back.
The two from Autopsy went around Abby and McGee, who stopped as soon as they got into the kitchen, and stood next to Jethro.
"So I have it all ready!" She squealed, clapping her hands together.
"Have what all ready, Abs?" Gibbs questioned, furrowing his eyebrows together.
He was confused.
"Well your sleeping arrangements of course!" She said, as if Gibbs had actually asked a dumb question.
Tony smiled at Ziva as he walked towards her, wrapping his arm slyly around her waist, running her hip into his, capturing her securely to his body.
Ziva smiled back at him as they watched Abby, "So the room up the stairs-" She pointed up them, "And to the right is Fornell and Gibbs' room." She smiled, "It's got two twin beds so you've each got your own space."
Ziva swore that she saw a look of relief wash over Fornell's face, "And across the hall from Fornell and Gibbs will be our almost-married couple." She grinned and Ziva felt the blood rush to her cheek as she gave her a small smile.
"McGee and I will be in the room that Gibbs stayed in last time-"
"No touching." Gibbs suddenly said and Tony had to bite back a chuckle.
"You serious, boss?" He demanded and Jethro turned to look at him, "This is McGee and Abby we're talking about here."
"What's that supposed to mean?" McGee asked, and Tony swore that he looked a little...almost...embarrassed.
"Yeah, what is that supposed to mean, Tony?" Abby demanded, putting her hands on her hips and narrowing her eyes at him, "This may be your wedding, DiNozzo, but that doesn't mean you have to be mean like that."
"Still." Gibbs said, stopping the argument that was ready to form, "No touching. I don't want another of them." He shoved a thumb behind him, back at the two.
"Now what's that supposed to mean, boss?" Tony demanded and Ziva elbowed him in the ribs.
"Let it go." She hissed and Tony groaned. There was a long pause between them before Abby spoke again.
"And for Ducky and Jimmy, you two will be sleeping on the couches." She frowned, "I'm sorry I couldn't be a better seating arrangement person, but your luggage is in your rooms, everyone...well except for Ducky's and Jimmy's....they're in the closet over there." She pointed towards it. Just as she was about to open her mouth to speak again, the doorbell rang and Palmer's face lit up.
"Pizza?" He questioned and Ducky smiled.
"Yes, Mr. Palmer...pizza." He said it as if it was something magical.
McGee quickly moved to the door, received the pizza, and paid the man delivering the pizza to them.
He brought the three pizzas into the kitchen and everyone nearly dove towards it, wanting to get a slice before it all disappeared.
Tony was nearly done with his first slice when he realized that Ziva was standing off to the side, wrapping her arms around her stomach like she was cold, sick, or had really bad cramps. He set the pizza down and walked over to her, putting one hand on each of her forearms, "Hey." He shook her lightly, "Are you okay? Why don't you eat something? You must be starving."
"No, no." She declined, shaking her head, "No thank you, Tony, I am really not that hungry."
"Don't lie...you must be."
She wrinkled her nose up, "It smells repulsing, Tony." She said, "I feel as if I might throw up."
That got Tony's heart beating a little bit faster, "Excuse me? Oh no..no, no, no, come on, we gotta get you to the bathroom then."
She shook her head and gave a small laugh, "I am fine, Tony. I will not throw up, it just smells repulsing."
"Well maybe you should go and lay down upstairs." He suggested. He just wanted her to be comfortable.
"No."
Tony groaned. Why was she so damn stubborn sometimes? "At least go lay down on the couch in the living room." He said, slowly pulling her towards the couch, "That way you'll be near us, and the smell won't be so strong. And maybe laying down will stop you from feeling nauseous, okay?"
She sighed. There really was no sense in arguing with him. She just let him drag her to the couch before she stopped in front of it. She lay down on it and Tony pulled a blanket around her, kissing her on the forehead, smiling, "I love you."
"I know that, you do not have to keep saying it." She smiled back, softly, before she closed her eyes and let her head move to one side. Tony quietly stood to his full form and went to turn around when he realized that Gibbs was standing in the doorway, one hand in his pocket, one hand holding his pizza as he leaned up against the doorframe.
"Something wrong?" He questioned as Tony walked towards him.
"No, nothing's wrong, she just felt a little nauseous. She apparently didn't like the smell of the pizza."
Tony walked past him and back into the kitchen. Gibbs followed him and Tony noticed that they had all taken a seat at the table except for Fornell, who was still at the island still reading his newspaper.
"I wouldn't be surprised." Gibbs shrugged, "That's normal for pregnant women."
Tony didn't say anything, he just picked up his other piece of pizza that he discarded and took one of the few bites left, "I'm just worried."
"Of course you are."
Tony turned on him, "She hasn't eaten anything since Dulles."
Gibbs sighed, "She'll eat, Tony." He chuckled, "Trust me..." He let his smile fade and replaced it with a sad one, "I know."
Abby broke the 'moment' as she suddenly stood up, "I know!" She exclaimed, "How about we all go out for a couple of drinks?"
"Ziva can't drink!" Tony protested.
"Well then she doesn't have to, duh. She can be your designated driver and she can take you home when you're wasted." She giggled and Tony narrowed his eyes at her.
"I'm not getting drunk." He nearly hissed through his gritted teeth.
She shrugged, "Okay, well, who else is up for a drink or two?"
"Oh trust me, Abs." Gibbs spoke up, "I'm gonna need more than a drink or two." He looked at Tony, who just stared at him, still slightly peeved at Abby for thinking that he was going to get drunk.
"Great!" She said, clapping her hands together, "Then let's go!" They all stood up and Fornell walked over to Gibbs.
"I think this is the best idea she's come up with on this trip." He said and Gibbs just chuckled.
"Ah, ya think, Tobias?"
Tony took the moment to disappear into the living room where Ziva was looking straight up at the ceiling, her eyes wide open, "Hey." He whispered softly, shaking her leg through the blanket, "Abby's decided to take us all to a bar, and she's insisting on taking me."
"But I cannot go because I cannot drink." She protested.
"Shh, shhh, sweetheart, I know." He assured her, "But she needs you to come along. I think for a 'designated driver' type of situation."
She rolled her eyes, "As long as the drunk person I am taking home is not you, then I am fine."
He shook his head, "You can't drink, I can't drink." She raised an eyebrow, "Okay, maybe just one. But I'm definitely not drinking more than two."
She smiled and sat up, wrapping one arm around his head and pulling him down into a kiss, "Thank you." She murmured as she pulled back.
"There's no reason for you to thank me." He grinned as he pulled her up, "Come on, let's go, they're waiting for us."
The three rental cars pulled into the parking lot of a bar not far away from the beach house.
Tony and Ziva were in one, McGee, Abby, and Palmer were in another, and Gibbs, Fornell, and Ducky were in the last car.
They all headed into the bar and sat down at the bar stools. Tony sat next to Ziva, who sat next to Gibbs, who sat next to McGee, who sat next to Abby, who sat next to Jimmy, who sat next to Ducky, who sat next to Fornell.
Abby immediately ordered a couple of shots, which Gibbs rolled his eyes at, and Palmer did the same. McGee ordered a simple drink, a martini, while Gibbs ordered a bourban (not that anyone was surprised at this). Tony ordered a vodka with a lime, Ziva ordered water, Ducky ordered an Irish Coffee, and Fornell ordered a glass of scotch.
Their drinks came relatively quickly and Ziva finished off half of her glass in one go.
Tony sipped his vodka slowly, trying to make it last so that he wouldn't be tempted to get another one, and surveyed the people at the bar, in the crowd. The DJ was in the corner, blaring his music through the speakers as he watched the bodies dance across the floor. The song changed to a more upbeat, almost salsa type dance that made Tony look at Ziva. She looked completely bored, and they had only been there for about ten minutes, even though both Abby and Palmer were already on their third round of shots.
"Hey." He said, quietly. Even though it was loud, she still turned to look at him, for she had heard him. He carefully moved his thumb over her bare skin on her arm, exposed by the turquoise blue babydoll top that she wore. Her skin was soft under his touch and he smiled slightly. "You okay?"
She nodded, "Yes." She said, finishing off her water.
"Come on." He tugged gently on her arm, "Let's go."
"Where?" She questioned, furrowing her eyebrows together.
"To dance of course, come on."
She smiled and stared him deep in his eyes, knowing that she couldn't say 'no'. She stood up as he did, "Fine." She said, "But just one dance."
"That's all I'm asking for." He grinned as he wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her onto the dance floor, between the people that were already there.
Gibbs watched them leave and then he turned and watched in amazement, with McGee, Ducky, and Fornell, Abby and Palmer drown their fourth round of shots.
"How many is she gonna take?" Fornell heard himself asking, pushing the barely touched glass of scotch he had ordered away from him almost in disgust.
Ducky shook his head, "I am appalled, Mr. Palmer."
He, however, didn't notice as the two linked arms and then took the shots, Abby giggling like crazy as they slammed them down onto the bar, the glasses clinking on the wood. Even Gibbs winced at the painful sound that came from it.
She spun around in her bar stool, throwing her hands up in the air, "WOOOO!" She screamed, causing several people to turn and look at her strangely. Gibbs shook his head and he too, like Tobias, pushed his bourbon away (after finishing it first). Hey, what could he say? It was good bourbon, "I LOVE DRINKING!" She shouted and Palmer grinned stupidly at her, his glasses nearly falling off of his face.
"I DO TOO!" He shouted as well, throwing his hands up in the air like she was doing. The other four just looked at each other and McGee scoffed.
"This is disgusting." He said as he watched them spin back around and take some more shots, letting the liquor dribble down their chins and get onto their clothes. Abby's pigtails were starting to get off-centered and McGee shook his head again as he looked back into the crowd, "I think I'd rather watch Tony and Ziva have sex in clothes on the dance floor than watch Abby and Palmer get wasted."
At that comment, Gibbs turned around and scanned the crowd for his two agents. He spotted them and narrowed his eyes at the two, realizing that Ziva was, once again, using Tony as her pole. She ran her body up and down his and Gibbs quickly turned around, looking down at his empty glass. He looked over at Abby and realized that she had about three shots in front of her, full, not to mention the other dozens of empty shot glasses around the two. He reached over and slyly took one from her when she snapped around to face him, narrowing her dilated eyes at the silver haired man, "My alcohol!" She whined, "Mine, mine, mine! Give it back!" She groaned, reaching for it but not succeeding.
At all.
Gibbs just stared at her and Palmer muttered something that nobody understood, though he was pretty sure it had to do with drinking, and Abby turned back around, throwing her hands up, "Ooo goodie!" She squealed, "More shots! Alcohol!" She cheered before taking another one. Gibbs just rolled his eyes and took one shot before pushing it away and wiping his mouth.
The bartender came around and picked up the empty glasses; Fornell's, Gibbs', Ziva's, and as many of Abby and Jimmy's shot glasses that he could carry, before disposing of them under the bar.
Gibbs watched as Tony and Ziva nearly stumbled back to the bar, completely out of breath, Tony's forehead covered in sweat. They were both breathing pretty hard and Ziva grabbed the first glass she could find, taking a long, huge, gulp from it. There was little left as Tony took the glass from her, both of them collapsing into their original seats. It was only then that Ziva noticed that the water she drank tasted kind of funny, but she just blamed it on being pregnant.
She watched as Tony took a sip of the drink as well before his eyes grew wide and he spewed it all over Ziva's arm. She made a face of disgust as she shouted, "Ew!" And then hurriedly reached for the small napkins they gave them when they were provided the drinks, and started wiping it off, "What was that for?" She demanded and Tony slammed the glass down onto the bar.
"Ziva." He nearly hissed, pointing to the glass, "Did you drink out of this?"
She stopped trying to clean herself off, put the wet napkins onto the bar and nodded, slowly, "Yes...it's water! Why?"
Tony closed his eyes and took in a deep breath, "This isn't water, Ziva." He shook his head, trying to keep his cool even though his heart beat was a million a minute, and it wasn't from the dancing, "This is Vodka."
Ziva just stared at him and Gibbs, who heard him, snapped his head towards the two, grabbing onto Ziva's arm and pulling her around to face him, "Did you just drink alcohol, Ziva?" He demanded, and she could tell that his icy blue eyes were rather...angry. No, concerned. That was a better word to describe it.
"I..." She looked between Tony and Gibbs, "I did not mean to." She admitted, "Honestly, I thought it was water."
"Ziva, do you understand what could have happened?" Tony demanded, spinning her around and placing one hand on each of her shoulders, "That baby inside of you in barely even two months old. That much alcohol could have killed it, Ziva." He watched as her face suddenly completely dropped, as if he had just told her that he had run over her brand new puppy.
"DiNozzo..." Gibbs softly said, as if he couldn't believe that he actually told her that.
Ziva just stared up at him, deep into his eyes, soaking in the information. She felt the tears coming. She could have killed the baby.
"That's not true." Gibbs muttered, though neither Tony nor Ziva heard him over the noise.
She suddenly stood up, "I..." She started, "I think it is time to go." She nearly whispered and Gibbs looked over at Abby, who was still taking shots.
"Yeah, Ziva's right." Gibbs called for the tab and Tony realized the effect his words had on Ziva. And he really didn't want to be mad at her. Or have her mad at him. Or upset. Or anything but happy.
He caught her arm as she started away from the group, spinning her back to face him. He noticed that one lone tear had drifted down her cheek, "What?" She questioned, but he just pulled her into a tight hug.
"I'm sorry, Ziva." He muttered, squeezing her tighter, "I'm sorry, I just over-reacted."
"I should be the one that is sorry." She murmured into his shirt, "I was the one that drank the Vodka."
"You didn't know."
"But I should have."
He laughed and pulled her back, to look her into the eyes, "Yeah, well, how about, to make sure that none of us have to say we're sorry next time, is to sniff before you drink?"
She gave a small laugh, wiping the tear that rolled down her cheek away as she nodded, "That is a good idea." She smiled as they watched poor helpless Timmy try to get a drunk Abby out of her seat and away from the shot glasses.
Once they finally managed to get Abby out of the bar and into the car, Tony had managed to say that he was sorry to Ziva about thirty-four times.
And Gibbs had smacked him thirty-four times.
Quite frankly, he was tired of saying 'sign of weakness' over and over....and over....and over...
When they made it back to the beach house, Tony and Ziva got out first, resulting in Tony wrapping his arms tightly around her, rubbing her stomach affectionately, and saying, over and over again, 'I'm sorry'.
Even Ziva wanted to punch him.
The two quietly made it up to their bedroom, where they stopped in front of their room, "I'm gonna go take a shower." He smiled, leaning down and pressing his lips against hers. She returned the kiss and then broke away as he made a b-line for the bathroom before anyone else made it there before him.
Ziva watched as Fornell and Gibbs carried Abby up the stairs, McGee lagging behind them. She was wailing, no, just flat out screaming in their grips, but in pure happiness, like she was happy that this was happening to her.
She smiled slightly at McGee, "Goodnight, Tim." She said, and he nodded, biding her goodnight as well before he watched her disappear into her bedroom.
She changed quickly into her pajamas, which was a purple lacy nightgown and pulled her hair out of the bun she kept it in just as Tony came into the bedroom wearing nothing but a towel. She scanned her eyes over his torso as he stood there, wide eyed, blinking like a maniac. She nodded, almost in approval, and nodded as she walked towards him, placing one hand on each of his shoulders and running them down his arms, "You have been working out." She noticed.
"Yeah," He chuckled, "Well I didn't wanna look like a wannabe McGoo in the wedding pictures now, did I? By the way," He let out a wolf whistle, "Love that nightgown, Zi." She just rolled her eyes.
"Why are you so mean to him?"
"It's a big brother thing." He shrugged and she gasped.
"You two are related?"
It was Tony's turn to roll his eyes, scoffing sarcastically, "Yeah, and Gibbs is secretly Superman in disguise. Get real, Zee-vah."
She let her eyebrows furrow even more together, "Gibbs is Superman in disguise?"
He laughed and pressed his lips against hers, "It would just be so much easier if you shut your mouth."
She punched him in the arm.
"Ow!" he hollered, "What was that for?"
"For being mean. And tricking me."
"Not hard." He chuckled before he ducked another punch, "Look, I need to go and get changed."
"Yes, I am crapped."
Tony paused and tried to keep the laugh out of his mouth before he finally gave up, cracking up, "What?" She demanded, putting her hands on her hips as he continued to laugh, "What?" She demanded again, with more force, "What is so funny?"
"...crapped..." he managed to spit out, "You said..." he took in a deep breath, "Crapped!"
"That is the term, yes?"
"No." He shook his head, getting his voice down to his normal tone, "It's 'pooped'."
She threw her hands up into the air, "Americans!" She muttered.
"Hey!" he nearly shouted, taken her aback, "You're gonna be one soon! Well...almost."
She stopped and waited a couple of seconds before smirking, "I am going to be marrying one soon." She said softly and he finished changing, locking his eyes with hers. He suddenly ran at her, taking her off guard as he scooped her up, diving into the bed. She laughed as he slid her up against the headboard and the pillows.
He scooted up, placing one knee on each side of her, running his hand through her hair, pushing it back, "Yeah, you are." He quietly said, "And you'll finally be mine."
"I was yours to begin with." She protested and he put a finger on her lips, silencing her.
"I won't have to worry that I might lose you."
She almost rolled her eyes, "You are not going to lose me."
"I almost did." He reminded her and she looked down. He placed one finger under her chin and forced her to look at him, "But that's behind us. It won't happen again. Once I put that wedding band onto your finger." He pointed towards it, "It's never coming off."
She responded by looking up at him and cupping his face with her hands before leaning down and pressing her lips against his for a romantic kiss. They only broke because they needed air, and they both slowly crawled under the covers. They both turned towards each other and Tony wrapped his arms around her, shoving her face up against his chest. He rested his head on top of hers, pressing a kiss on the crown of her head. She returned his embrace, wrapping her arms around his torso before Tony removed one arm to reach over and turn off the light. He then returned to his position and he rubbed his hand over the silky fabric, "Lailah tov, Ziva." He whispered.
She smiled slightly, "Buona Notte, Tony."