Ziva slowly opened her eyes and realized that her soon-to-be husband was not in the bed anymore. She groaned slightly and rolled onto her back, staring at the ceiling for a few minutes before throwing her legs over the side. Her stomach was in a knot and she closed her eyes, remembering last night when she took that drink of alcohol. She put her hands over her stomach and shook her head.
Ducky's words from last night echoed in her head, "Baby will probably be just fine, my dear. Anymore could have hurt he or she, but it was just one swallow. Not to worry."
But she did worry.
She stood from the bed, and had to stop herself from falling backwards onto it. She felt faint, but she shook it off as she walked into the bathroom and brushed her teeth. She heard everyone's voices downstairs as she approached the stairs, stopping at the top, grabbing the rail. Tony saw her and stood up, a smile across his face. He walked to the foot of the stairs, "Morning, sweetcheeks." He called and she smiled, but it quickly disappeared as she tried to take a step. Tony started to walk up the stairs, a look of confusion on his face. "Zi?" She looked at him again and let go of the rail as her body started forward. "Ziva!" Tony yelled and ran up the stairs, just as she hit the ground. Gibbs heard this and ran up the stairs, three at a time.
"Duck!" He called and Ducky too ran up the stairs.
"Ziva, sweetheart." Tony said, holding her body close to his, "Are you okay?" He asked. She opened her eyes and nodded as much as she could, taking a deep breath. She sat up in Tony's arms as Ducky squatted down to her.
"Ziva my dear, what happened?" He asked, feeling her forehead for a temperature.
"I do not know, Ducky. I felt slightly dizzy. But I am fine now." She said and started to stand.
"Whoa, where do you think you're going?" Tony asked. Ziva looked up at him, her expression blank, as if it was a stupid question.
"Downstairs."
"I don't think so. Come on, " He said and stood, bending down and picking her up, bridal style. "We're going to the hospital to get you checked out."
"No, Tony. I do not want to go to the hospital." Ziva said, "Put me down." She added.
Ducky furrowed his eyebrows together, "You are very pale. Have you eaten?"
Ziva shook her head, "Not since we left DC. The pizza smelled funny."
"Ah, well, yes, that could be your problem. You are eating for two now."
"I am not hungry." She said.
"But baby might be." Ducky replied. "When you don't eat enough, you can end up with hypoglycemia, which may make you feel dizzy or faint." He wiggled his finger at her, "This can happen much more easily when you are pregnant." Ducky put his hand on her face, cupping it gently, "You need to eat small meals at least 5 times a day, my dear." Ziva sighed and looked at Tony as he spoke.
"Ziva, we're going to the hospital." Ziva rolled her eyes and turned to Ducky as much as she could as Tony held her.
"Dr. Mallard will you please tell him that I do not need to go to the hospital?" Ziva said and Ducky only looked at Gibbs, and then at Tony.
"Well....uh...my dear Ziva..." He chuckled nervously, "I think it would be a good idea, just to make sure everything is normal."
"I do not want to go to the hospital." Ziva repeated, "Tony, put me down!" She said, louder this time.
Tony let out a sigh and put her down, looking at her, his face sincere, "Ziva, sweetheart." She looked at him, "Please?" She wanted to say 'no' to him again, but looking into his green eyes that she fell in love with, she couldn't. She looked at Gibbs, who clearly wanted her to go, and Ducky, who looked as if he was afraid to say anything, and then back to Tony, letting out a sigh.
"Fine." Tony let out a sigh and then smiled slightly, wrapping his arm around her waist and kissing her temple.
"Thank you." He said softly. He walked with her, slowly, down the stairs. Fornell stood at the end, looking up at them.
"Is she okay?" He asked.
Tony nodded, "Yeah, Fornell, she's okay. Going to the hospital to get her checked out." Fornell nodded as they passed him.
"It is not necessary." Ziva mumbled.
"Heard that, sweetcheeks."
By the time that they got to the hospital, Ziva was shaking horribly, from lack of hunger, and her normally olive toned skin was turning a sickly color.
Tony wanted to hold her and make her feel better, but when he wrapped his arms around her, she was burning. He took a gulp as he looked at Ducky, who sat in the front seat, turned around to face the two in the back while Gibbs drove. He had insisted that McGee, Fornell, Abby, and Palmer all stay back at the house, but he knew that that was not going to happen.
"Ducky..." Tony started, taking a heartbreaking glance at Ziva, worry filling his eyes, "She's burning up."
"She needs food." Ducky said, leaning back and reaching into his pocket, handing her the chocolate bar, "It's slightly melted, but it will satisfy. Chocolate is a great supplement after one has fainted. Or collapsed, in this matter."
Tony took it and unwrapped it for her before taking her shaky hands and placing it into them. She ate it quickly and then took in a deep breath, "I feel...weird." She admitted and Gibbs slammed the brakes of the car, sending Tony and Ziva forward. Tony grabbed Ziva as they were thrown, wrapping his arms around her protectively.
"Well we're here." Gibbs said, rushing around and opening the door of the backseat, "You got her, Tony?"
"Yeah." He replied, nodding, and Gibbs walked slightly away from the open door, so that they could get out, and then put two fingers into his mouth and gave a short, loud, whistle.
"Hey!" He shouted, "Get over here!" The doctors that were standing outside looked at each other and then rushed towards them just as Tony managed to help her out of the car.
"Sir? What's wrong?" One of the doctor's questioned him.
Gibbs pointed towards Ziva, "She's pregnant, she's here to get married to this guy-" He pointed to Tony, "But she passed out at the top of the steps this morning."
One of the doctors turned to her, "Can you stand on your own?"
"Of course." She said, shrugging Tony off of her. He sighed and let go of her, even though he really didn't want to, and she stood for about a second before she felt a spell of dizziness come over her and she stumbled. Tony caught her quickly, before she hit the car, and another doctor came over to them; he was carting a wheelchair in front of him.
"We need to get you inside, have a seat."
Ziva groaned, but really didn't feel like arguing, so she sank into the chair, closing her eyes, "I need you to stay awake." A doctor reminded her.
"I cannot just close my eyes?" She snapped.
"Sorry," Tony apologized to them, "She just really hates hospitals." They nodded and smiled to each other as they started into the building, Tony following close behind.
Almost too closely.
Gibbs watched as Tony groaned, paced around the waiting room, sat down, stood up, walked around, and repeated the process again.
He knew that Tony was worried, but Gibbs had to admit it; he was worried too, for she had been in there for about two hours.
About an hour ago, Tony had really gotten worried because not only had he been kicked out of the room, by Ziva herself, but while he was in the waiting room, sitting in one of their super hard chairs, doctors had suddenly started to swarm her room.
Tony later found out that she had passed out.
Again.
The doctors had told her that she wasn't ill in any way, but she was suffering because one, she hadn't eaten anything, and two, she was pregnant.
"What is taking so long?" Tony muttered, slightly to himself, but Gibbs heard.
"She's gotta get fluids and food back into her." He replied and Tony looked down at where he was sitting in his seat.
"She should have eaten the damn pizza." Tony muttered, "I would have gotten her what she wanted! She knows that, right?"
"I don't know if she knows that..." Gibbs started, sitting back from his position that he was in earlier, with his hands clasped together between his legs, leaning forward, "But I sure as hell know that."
"Sure all hell know what, probie?" Gibbs snapped his head around and smirked slightly as Mike Franks stood there, "I thought that I was s'posed to be comin' to a wedding! So I go to that little beach shack you got set up and the goth girl tells me that Mr. Groom and Mrs. Bride are at the hospital!"
Gibbs groaned and stood up, "Mike, you know that you're not supposed to smoke in a hospital." He said, gesturing to the lit cigarette in his hand.
"So? Like I ever followed the rules..." He chuckled and took another smoke, "Hey." He nodded towards Tony, who just looked up at him, his hands in his pockets, "Where's your bride?" He questioned.
"In there." He gestured towards the door, "She passed out."
"Yeah, heard something about that...but listen, boy, women aren't all that. I mean, they've got it all, but you know what else has it all? Beer. And I think I got a six pack of Corona back in my truck. Smuggled it on the plane, eh, probie?" Gibbs just sighed and shared a look with Tony.
"No, no, Ziva's good."
"Ziva..." he started, as if he was trying to remember something. He turned to Gibbs, "Is Ziva the sexy little Israeli woman you work with?"
Gibbs stepped in between Mike and Tony, who just stormed away, "Look, Mike, take it light, okay? He's had a rough...relationship."
"Then why's he getting married?" Gibbs took his time answering, so Franks changed the subject, "You know, I found a nice little bar on the way here, wanna go check it out?"
"No, I'll stay here with DiNozzo, David and Duck."
He shrugged, "Suit yourself."
A nurse decided, at that moment, to walk up to them, "Sir!" She nearly shouted, "You're going to have to take that outside," She pointed towards the cigarette, "No smoking in the building, this is a hospital!"
"I know damn well what it is."
"I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to step outside."
"You coming, probie?" He questioned, taking another long inhale of the cigarette.
"No, I'm staying." He repeated.
He shrugged again, "Stay with the Mr. and Mrs., I'm going back to the house."
"Be careful with Abby and Palmer." He warned, "They're both hungover."
Franks chuckled, "I know how to deal with hungover people, probie. Trust me."
"Just wanted to warn you."
"Well I don't need to be warned." He assured him, and he started away before he stopped and turned back around, "By the way...what happened to those damn rules of yours?"
"Rule Twelve got shot to hell, Mike."
He laughed, "Yeah...noticed that." And with that, he promptly left the hospital, leaving Gibbs to sigh and sit down in one of the waiting chairs, Tony returning with two cups of coffee in his hands.
One for him.
One for Gibbs.
Ziva was finally released about thirty minutes later, causing Tony to nearly burst with happiness.
The first thing he noticed was that she had a slight amount of color back to her skin and he smiled, rushing over to her as the doctors helped her out of the room. No, attempted to help her out of the room. Ziva always shrugged them off, insisting that she was fine.
However, once she made it to Tony, she realized that all she needed were arms around her, and she practically collapsed again...into his embrace. She wrapped her arms around his waist, leaning her cheek up against his chest as she turned to look at the doctors. Tony snaked his arms around her waist as well, returning the half-embrace.
"She should be fine." One of the doctors nodded, after clearing his throat. Tony believed that his name was Dr. Adams, but he wasn't sure because he really hadn't listened; he was too busy worrying about Ziva, "However, she needs to eat." He turned to Tony, "You're Mr. DiNozzo?"
"Yeah." He nodded.
"Well I need you to make sure that, no matter what she says, she eats. Women who are pregnant tend to crave rather odd foods at odd times, sometimes depending on the baby itself, and it would be best if you get her whatever she wants. Also, pregnant women sometimes do not find meals that they would normally find appetizing, appetizing."
"Like pizza."
"Yes, she told us about the pizza." He nodded, "When that happens, you must get her what she wants."
Tony smirked and squeezed her lightly, "Looks like you got yourself your own little slave, sweetcheeks."
She smiled and looked up at him, "I do."
"It's not time to say that yet, sweetheart."
"So...she's free to go?" Gibbs questioned.
"Yes, just sign these release forms-" The doctor held a clipboard out to him and Gibbs hurriedly took the pen when he stopped, chucking it at Tony.
"You're her fiance, you sign it."
He hurriedly signed his name and bid them goodbye.
Once they were outside of the hospital, Tony turned to Ziva, placing one hand on each of her shoulders, looking her directly in the eyes, "Next time, sweetheart, you're eating food."
They made it back to the house and Tony immediately led her upstairs, suggesting, no, correction, demanding that she lay down for a little while. She protested, but after the one millionth time of saying 'please', she finally gave in. "Get some rest, okay?"
"I am not tired, Tony."
"Yeah, but...after what happened..."
"Tony..." She said, sitting up on her elbows and looking into his eyes, "I am fine."
He cupped her face, "Ziva, I need you to be in perfect shape for our wedding Saturday. I want you to be my crazy, beautiful, healthy, ninja chick." She smiled at him and nodded. "Thank you." He said and leaned in, giving her a tender kiss on her lips. He broke away from her and ran his hand down her face again before standing from the bed, walking out of the room, but stopping at the doorway, turning to her, a smile on his face. "I love you, Ziva." She smiled and lay her head down on the pillow.
"I love you too."
She closed her eyes, and soon after, she was fast asleep.
A couple of hours later, she woke again, briefly forgetting where she was. She sat up in the bed and ran a hand over her face, before standing and walking into the bathroom. She splashed some water on her face before dabbing it dry with a towel. She felt better and took in a deep breath as she started down the stairs, but stopped when a human form blocked her path.
Jimmy Palmer.
She held back her laugh as she leaned down and shook him lightly, "Jimmy..." She said softly and he lazily opened his eyes, straightening his round glasses. "Are you okay?"
"Please don't say that too loudly." Jimmy said and Ziva chuckled.
"Rattle on the hangover, huh?" She asked. Jimmy held his head and rubbed his temples in a clockwise direction, mumbling under his breath.
"It's battle." She patted him on the shoulder and walked past him, stopping when he called her name, "You okay? And please, answer softly."
She smiled and spoke barley above a whisper, "I am fine, Jimmy." She said and finished descending the stairs. Gibbs sat at the island in the kitchen, his glasses poised on his face.
"Hey." Gibbs said, his voice slightly higher than usual, "You feeling better?" He asked and she smiled slightly, nodding as a response. "Good." He took a sip of his coffee and looked up at her again, "The rest of the crew is outside," He then studied her wardrobe, it was the same small, very small nightgown she had on when she started down the stairs that morning. "You might wanna change, first." Gibbs said and Ziva smiled slightly, a rush of blood came to her cheeks.
"I would actually..." She stopped. Try again, Ziva. Her mind raced. She couldn't understand why she was worried, she knew how Gibbs felt about her. "I would actually like to ask you...something, if you have a moment." He looked up at her and took off her glasses, signaling that she had his full attention. She let out a sigh and spoke softly, "I am getting married, Gibbs..."
He raised an eyebrow, "Yeah, that's why we're here, Ziver."
"Yes, I know." She said. She scolded herself on the inside. This is not how she wanted it to go, "I am not very happy with my father at the moment, as you may know."
"I assumed." He said and took another sip of his coffee, and made a sour face.
"Not good?"
"Getting cold."
"Would you like to warm it up?"
"No, Ziva, I'd like you to tell me what you wanted to tell me. Then I will warm it up."
"Eli is not going to be at the wedding..."
"Good thing." Gibbs said.
"And I need someone to walk me down the aisle." Gibbs looked up at her, his blue eyes looking right into her chocolate brown ones, "You are more of a father to me than my own, and I was...wondering...or really Tony and I were wondering, if you don't mind..."
"You want me to walk you down the aisle?" He asked, just for conformation. She gulped and nodded quickly, wanting nothing more to get this over with. "Why you want me to give you away to DiNozzo, I haven't quite figured out yet." She looked down at the floor, and then back at Gibbs as he walked around the counter. "Does your father know?" He asked quietly. She shook her head, unable to speak. He smiled as she looked up at him, "I'll do it."
"Thank you, Gibbs. It means a lot." Gibbs nodded and took her into a hug.
"Anytime, Ziver."
After getting changed into a royal blue shirt with a rather plunging neckline and a pair of dark jeans, a Kelly green bikini on under, she slipped on her sandals and started outside.
While she was changing, she had taken the time to examine herself in the mirror.
She was merely two months pregnant, so she didn't exactly look pregnant, just that she really needed to cut back on the sweet intake.
Sighing, she started out of the beach house and down the path to where she spotted McGee and Tony setting up stakes into the ground. She furrowed her eyes together and walked faster, brushing a piece of hair away that got tousled in the wind, pushing one of the freshly straightened strands out of the way.
As she approached them, she noticed Fornell sitting down on a blanket watching the two whereas Abby and Jimmy were laying face first into the sand. It was painfully obvious that the two were badly suffering from hangovers.
"Tony?" She called and he immediately dropped the tangled form of a net that he was wrestling with McGee before jogging lightly towards her. He picked her up and spun her around, sand flying as he twisted in a circle.
He then set her down but kept his hands on her hips, her hands gripping his upper arms as he gave her a small, sweet kiss, "Hey, you sleep well?" He questioned, letting his hand slowly, carefully, run up her shirt, moving his palm over her small stomach. He rubbed it affectionately with his thumb, "You've gotta little bump, sweetheart."
She rolled her eyes, "I have had a little bump. But it looks more like I need to cut back on my sweet intake."
He laughed, "Well, that too."
She just narrowed her eyes at him before pecking him once again on the lips before turning to look at McGee, who was badly struggling, "What are you trying to do?" She demanded, gesturing towards McGee.
"Oh, we were thinking that we could play some volleyball!" He grinned, looking at her and then letting his eyes linger over her body. He subconsciously pulled on the strands of hair that cascaded down her back and he started down her face, stopping at her neckline. He furrowed his eyebrows together and lifted his hand up, taking her Star of David carefully in his hand. She was used to him touching her like this, so she didn't even bother to look down until he said one thing, "Where's your locket?"
And she froze.
She had almost forgotten about that, partially because he gave her a much better piece of jewelery. She smiled slightly, on the inside, thinking about the engagement ring that sat on her left hand. However, she knew that the locket was important to him, and she knew it was important to her as well. And she knew where it was.
Disintegrated.
In the remains of the terrorist cell.
She looked down at her feet, "He stole it."
And that was all she had to say, and Tony's arms were around her, pulling her into a hug. He pressed his lips against the crown of her head, "I'll go and get you another, sweetheart."
"No, Tony," She shook her head, "That is truly not necessary." She pulled back and looked him dead in the eyes, "You gave me a better piece of jewelry. One that's more..." She searched for the word, "Permanent."
"No, no, no, I'm going to get you a new one. 'Cause I want you to have a new one. Think of it as kinda like a wedding present."
"But you are the groom. You do not have to get me a wedding present."
"Well I never said that I went by the book." He chuckled and she rolled her eyes as he pecked her on the lips, "I'll be right back. You can be entertained and watch McGee try and fail at putting up that volleyball net." he laughed once again before kissing her, once again, and then letting go, breaking into a jog to get back to the beach house. She sighed and took a seat next to Fornell, bringing her knees up and looking down at the sand.
She spotted Franks sitting off to the side smoking another cigarette and she had to smile slightly.
"So you're getting married." Fornell finally asked, breaking the silence of about two minutes that had formed between them.
She paused and then nodded, once, "Yes."
"To DiNozzo."
She nodded once again, "Yes."
"And you're pregnant."
"Yes..." She sighed, getting a little exasperated.
"With his child?"
She rolled her eyes, "What is the point to this?" She demanded.
He shrugged his shoulders, "Just curious."
And then there was silence between the two once again as Ziva watched McGee tangle himself up in the net once again. She sighed and stood up, walking towards him, managing to stop him from turning in another circle, to further the knot, "Do you need some help, McGee?" she questioned, and he looked up at her through the net.
"Yes..." He nodded, "Please. All Tony did was laugh at me."
She frowned and started to pull at the net. McGee tried to move to get out of her way, but he only made it worse, "Stop moving!" She hissed.
"Sorry." He muttered.
She pulled at it some more before she stopped, "Okay, move forward and then stopped."
He nodded and started to move forward when he tripped over part of the net, his foot getting caught in the hole. In an attempt not to run into Ziva, he started to flail his arms, causing him to fall backwards instead of forwards. Ziva, who, unknowingly, had her foot caught in part of the net as well fell forward, landing on her stomach next to McGee.
She couldn't help it.
She let out a little whimper and Ducky, who was just starting back towards them, from where he was finishing with his walk, rushed towards her, Fornell becoming on red alert as well.
"Aw, hell, not again." Mike sighed, but didn't move from his spot.
Ducky quickly bent down and turned her over so that she was laying on her back. She protectively put her hands over her stomach and McGee struggled in the net, finally becoming free as he too rushed over to Ziva, "Ziva, I'm so, so sorry."
She smiled slightly, "It is okay, Tim. I am fine." He still stared at her with concerned eyes, "I am fine."
She assured him, patting his cheek, "But...but...you whimpered!" He protested.
She shook her head and sighed, "Yes." She nodded, "I did. It was only a natural reaction."
"You should just be lucky DiNotso didn't see that."
Ducky and Ziva both chuckled and McGee nodded, "Yeah, I guess I should be."
"You would have definitely been mince steak!" Ziva exclaimed and the three furrowed their eyebrows together, looking at each other before Ducky and McGee closed their eyes for a second or two and then opening them up.
"Mince meat, Ziva. Mince meat."
She rolled her eyes, scoffed, and then made a motion with her hand that said 'oh whatever', "Same difference. Now..." She started, looking down at the net that was under her, "Let us put this net up, yes, Tim?"
He nodded and grabbed both of her hands, helping her up. He let go of her once she was standing up straight and he stared at her, like he wanted to ask her something, "Do you want to say something?" she questioned and he nodded.
"Yeah...look, you're not going to tell Tony about this...right?"
She laughed, shortly, "Of course not." She bent down and picked up the net once again, frowning, "Well let's put this up." She sighed.
About an hour or two later, they were almost done putting up the net before she heard a man call her name.
But it wasn't Tony.
Turning around, she smiled slightly as she watched her and Tony's next door neighbor, Nick, and what she presumed to be his girlfriend walk towards them, "The man up there...I think he said his name was 'Gibbs'?" She nodded as they stopped in front of her, "Said that you all were down here." She nodded once again, "Whatcha doing?"
"Putting up a volleyball net. Tony insisted that we play tonight."
"Ah." He said, "By the way, where is he?" He questioned, looking around the beach.
McGee spoke up, moving slightly in front of Ziva, "He's picking something up from in town."
Ziva looked at him and then looked at Nick before slightly gasping, "Oh! Yes, you do not know each other!" She exclaimed, "Nick Powell, this is my co-worker, Timothy McGee." She introduced and they shook hands, McGee smiling.
"Call me Tim."
"Tim." He nodded, "Nice to meet you."
"You too." He agreed, smiling even wider.
"So this is my girlfriend, Anna Moore." He introduced, "And you know Tim...and this is the bride...Ziva David."
Ziva couldn't help but let the heat rush to her cheeks as she shook her head, "Shalom."
"You're Israeli?" She questioned.
"Yes." She confirmed, "I grew up in Tel Aviv."
"I visited Tel Aviv a couple of years ago..." She smiled, "It was beautiful."
Ziva couldn't help but return the smile, "Yes, it is."
"Though with the destruction that they had from those blasts...it's so devastating to see something so beautiful in such ruins."
She looked down and then back up at her, remembering the mission she was sent on, and her time in the terrorist cell, "Yes, I have family in Tel Aviv, some of them affected by the blast."
She gasped and carefully reached out and touched her arm, "Are they all right?"
She nodded, "Yes, thank you. In fact, one of them is coming to the wedding."
"Well I would be very intrigued to meeting them." Ziva opened her mouth to speak again when she noticed Tony coming onto the beach, a plain brown bag in his hand. She grinned at him and then looked at the three.
"Excuse me for a moment." They all nodded and Ziva ran towards Tony, the sand flying up as she did so, jumping into his arms, causing him to fall slightly back as he wrapped his arms around her.
"Hey...you missed me." He grinned, leaning closer, so that his nose was touching hers, "That's good."
"Mmm..." She responded before placing her lips on his, the wind blowing back her hair as he set her back down onto the ground, "What's in the bag?" She questioned and he looked at her.
"What do you think?" He demanded.
She sighed, "You did not."
"I want you to have it." He said, firmly, reaching into the bag and pulling out the golden heart on a golden chain. He carefully opened her hands, pressing it into the palm of her hands before squeezing them around the locket. She sighed and finally broke her lock with his eyes, opening her hand up to reveal an identical locket, "Took me a while to find one that was exactly the same." She opened it up and, like before, their initals were engraved on one half. However, there wasn't a picture on the other half. She furrowed her eyebrows together and looked up at him.
"There is no picture in here." She commented, slightly disappointed, though she managed to get the tone out of her voice before she spoke.
"Yeah, I know." Tony nodded, "I uh...kinda wanted to wait."
"For what?"
"Cause..." He took in a deep breath, "I want our wedding picture to be in there." He quietly said and she just smiled, wrapping her arms around him, pulling him into a tight hug.
"Thank you." She whispered and then pulled back, handing it out to him.
"I'm not taking it back." He shook his head.
She chuckled, "I want you to put it on me, Tony."
"Oh." He grinned, "I can do that." He made a motion with his finger to turn around and she did so, pulling her hair over one shoulder. He took one end of the chain in each hand and then wrapped it around her neck, clasping it together in the back.
"Thank you, again." She smiled, turning back around and moving her hair back into place.
"Yeah, yeah, no problem." He then turned his attention to the beach, where Nick and Anna were helping McGee finish put up the net. Finally, "So...Nick and his girlfriend finally got here?" He questioned.
"Yes." She nodded, "That leaves Aunt Nettie."
"Ah." Tony said, taking her hand in his, their fingers intertwining together, "Let's go...I need to...exercise."
His trip to the jewelry store really made him think about the fact that he was getting married because, for once, he was alone with his thoughts. He hadn't ever fully been 'alone' the past couple of weeks, and he realized that one thing was for sure: he was nervous. Extremely nervous.
And he didn't really understand why.
The two made it down to the beach and Nick greeted them, and Tony finally met his next door neighbor's girlfriend. Once Gibbs finally decided that he had had enough coffee, he came down onto the beach, a volleyball in his hands, "All right, let's get this over with." He muttered, and then looked over and Palmer and Abby, who still had their faces in the sand. He threw the volleyball and them, smacking the ground between them, "HEY!" he shouted, "Get up!" They both moaned and sat up.
"I think my headache went away..." Palmer started and Abby sighed.
"Mine's not as bad."
"Great." Gibbs sarcastically said, walking towards the net, "Let's play."
Anna had decided that she really needed to go change before they played, and Nick did as well, so they both quickly headed back to the beach house. Tony, McGee, Abby, Jimmy, Palmer, Gibbs, and even Tobias were all ready to play, even though Fornell wasn't exactly thrilled to be playing volleyball.
They had determined that they had an odd number, so Franks kindly volunteered to sit out. He said that he'd be the referee, but he just sat on the towel smoking and drinking the beer bottle that was next to him.
Tony turned to Ziva, "Hey...don't you wanna like...change into something more comfortable?" he gestured to her jeans and she shrugged, remembering the bikini that she had one under her clothes.
"Fine." She said before she pulled her shirt over her head and then pulled her pants down, revealing her bikini, "Happy?" She questioned and he liked his chops as she started away from him and towards the net, pulling back her hair into a ponytail as she did so.
"Extremely..." he growled as he looked down at his own attire. He was wearing an OSU t-shirt and a pair of black board shorts.
He spotted Nick and Anna starting down towards them, Anna now dressed in shorts and a tank top and Nick now dressed in swim trunks and a t-shirt.
"Let's split up teams." McGee suggested and Tony raised his hand.
"I'm captain!"
"And so is Gibbs." Ziva butted in and Gibbs rolled his eyes as Tony grinned, the two of them backing up from the group, stepping away from each other.
"Tony picks first." Gibbs said, not really wanting to play at all, but going along in the process.
"Ziva!" He shouted and she rolled her eyes just as everyone else did.
Figures.
She walked towards him and stood next to him as Gibbs chose Fornell. Mike, from where he sat on the ground, chuckled, "You know, I used to be really good at this game back in High School."
Tony leaned over, "Used to being the key phrase in that sentence, boss." Gibbs just whacked him on the back of the head and he winced, "Right, boss, shutting up now, boss." He moved back to his position, rubbing his head and pointing towards Abby, "Abs."
She clapped her hands together as she skipped towards him, "I think I'm sober enough now!"
Ziva couldn't help but smile.
Gibbs waggled a finger at Ducky, "Duck."
"What are you doing?" Fornell muttered, "He's not gonna help us! Look at his team!" he gestured towards Tony, "He's got all the good people!"
"Yeah, well, he also has Ziva."
"She's a Mossad Assassin. How is that gonna help us?" He demanded.
"She's his fiance, and..." he smirked, leaning closer to the FBI agent, "She's wearing a bikini. He's gonna be so distracted he won't know what to do."
Fornell smiled as Tony chose Palmer.
Gibbs chose McGee, leaving Nick and Anna.
Tony decided to leave Anna for Gibbs, since they didn't have any women, and picked Nick.
Gibbs, having no other choice, chose Anna.
She sighed, upset that she wasn't on Nick's team, and walked over to Gibbs' team. Tony grinned, looking at them, "Hey! It's like the old people verus the young people! Well, besides Anna." He grinned at Tim. Gibbs just narrowed his eyes at DiNozzo, taking the opposite side of the court that Tony had taken.
The took their positions, and Gibbs noted that Tony took the position right behind Ziva, so that he could have a nice look at her butt the entire time, "Hey, no fair!" McGee suddenly shouted as Tony went to serve the ball. He froze and lowered the ball.
"What?" He demanded.
"You've got one more player than us!"
Everyone stood up straight on Tony's team and looked around at each other. It was Ziva, Tony, Palmer, Nick, and Abby. They had McGee, Fornell, Gibbs, Anna, and Ducky, "It's five versus five! That's even! Count, McNumbers!"
"No, you've got one extra person!"
"Who?" Tony demanded, nearly enraged now.
"Ziva! She's got two-" And then that was when Tony threw the ball up, his hand colliding with it, resulting in a loud smack vibrating through the air before it landed smack on McGee's head.
"Ouch!" he shouted, rubbing his head with is hand, in an attempt to get the pain to go away.
Gibbs sighed, "DiNozzo!"
"What?" He demanded as Gibbs chucked the ball under the net at him.
"Serve the damn ball!"
"All right, all right!" Tony nearly shouted back, placing the ball in his left hand and then getting ready to throw it up in the air and hit it as hard as he could across the court. But then his eyes traveled from the opposite side where Gibbs was completely ready for the ball to come near him to Ziva's butt.
He hit the ball, but instead of hitting it so that it went on the other side of the net, it hit Ziva's backside, causing her to stand up straight and turn around, speaking in gritted teeth to him, "Tony." She hissed, leaning down and picking up the ball, "Stop looking at my ass-" She threw the ball at him, "And serve the ball!"
"Right...right...sorry." He mumbled and she got back into position, shaking her head and muttering Hebrew words under her breath.
This time, when he served it, it went onto the other court, like it was supposed to, but Gibbs took two hands and hit it overhand over the net. Nick reached over and hit it back over after calling for it, "Got it!"
It went pretty high into the sky as Fornell ducked down, his two hands put together in a fist, hitting it back over the net.
Now, everyone on Tony's team knew that the ball was headed directly for no man's land, and that somebody had to dive to get the ball. No one else taking the first move, Ziva dove to her left, sliding across the sand, managing to hit the ball with her fists just barely over the net as it hit the ground in front of McGee, who was unable to get it.
"Ziva!" Tony nearly shouted, bending down in front of her, "Are you okay?"
She nodded, "I am fine, Tony."
Gibbs, from the other side, rolled his eyes as he held a hand out for her to take. She did and he helped her up, wiping the sand off of her back while she finished her front. He grinned and smacked her butt, resulting in her growling at him warningly before McGee rolled the ball under the net for Tony to get.
Tony sighed and then served it again, Ducky getting it this time, chuckling as he hit it back over the net. Nick got the ball back over the net, just out of Fornell's reach, and Tony's team high fived each other as Tony served the ball once more.
Anna hit it this time, letting out a grunt as her fists connected with the ball.
"Atta way, baby!" Nick shouted as he hit it back over, blooping down between Gibbs and Ducky.
"Hah!" Franks said from the sidelines, "You should have been ready for that one, gunny!"
"Oh really?" Gibbs questioned, "I'd like to see you try this, Mike!"
He laughed and took a sip of his beer, "So would I!"
Once Gibbs and Franks were done, Tony served the ball once again, this time hit by Ducky, who chuckled, "Yeah!"
It was volleyed to Abby, who, upon hitting it back over the net, threw her fist in the air and screamed, loudly, "WOO! I'm officially un-drunk!"
Tony and Ziva shared a smile with each other, Ziva looking over her shoulder at her fiance. And suddenly, she was lost in his eyes, unaware of the game. McGee hit the ball over the net and life came rushing back to her as Tony shouted her name and the volleyball hit her lower torso. Letting out a sharp gasp, she fell backwards, onto the ground, automatically wrapping her arms protectively over her stomach.
"ZIVA!" Tony shouted, bending down next to her, rubbing her belly with one hand and holding her head up with the other, "You okay?" He asked, rubbing gently but quickly.
"Oh my gosh..." McGee gasped as Gibbs' team started under the net towards her. Tony looked over his shoulder and, if looks could kill, McGee would definitely be dead, "Ziva, I'm so sorry." he said, "I didn't mean to, honestly."
She nodded, biting the inside of her lip. Honestly, she hurt, but she tried her best not to show it, "I..." Tony continued to glare at McGee, so McGee continued to stutter, "I...I...Look, I k-know that this is the s-second time, but I honestly didn't mean this one! I swear!"
Tony let go of her carefully and then stood up, turning fully to McGee, his eyes burning with anger, "Excuse me? This happened before?"
"Uh..." Tim started, "Well, yeah, see, but that was an accident too, I-"
Tony started so quickly towards him that he ran him up into the net, "You do realize she's pregnant, right?!" He shouted, nearly spitting in his face. He felt a hand on his back, grabbing his shirt as he pulled him back.
"Tony..." Gibbs muttered into his ear, "Calm down. Ziva's fine."
Tony spun around, seething, and watched to see Ziva now standing on her own two feet, Ducky helping her up. However, even though he was upset with McGee, as he stared into her eyes, all anger that flowed through his body left him and he wrapped his arms around her tightly before leaning down and pressing a soft kiss against her belly and then moving up and pressing one against her lips.
He hugged her to his body, stroking her hair, for it was now down; the ponytail holder had fallen out as she had made a dive to hit the ball back over the net.
"Take her back to the house, Anthony." Ducky nodded, "Make her some food and then you should probably go and get some rest. You two have some big days coming up for you."
Abby squealed and clapped her hands together, from where she was standing behind Ducky and Gibbs.
Tony nodded and led her to the beach house, picking up her jeans, shirt, and sandals on the way.
Tony made her some chicken noodle soup, a lettuce, tomato, and bacon sandwich with mayonnaise, and made her a piping hot cup of tea once they were inside and she had changed into her pajamas.
They had started playing volleyball before it became dark, but now it was rather dark outside. There was a rather large bonfire on the beach that someone else must have made, and many people were sitting around it, or playing volleyball in the night, just the light from the fire illuminating the sky.
He sat down next to her at the island, watching her as she ate her food, "I must admit." She started, but Tony cut her off.
"That I make a really mean BLT? Cause I do." He grinned, reaching over and taking a bite out of it before setting it back down onto her plate.
"No," She shook her head, "That I am rather tired."
"Yeah," Tony yawned, nodding, "I kinda am too."
"Well once I finish, we can go upstairs and fall asleep, yes?"
"Absolutely."
He watched her chew her food, slowly, and then gulp the soup before she put her spoon down, sighing, "This is extremely uncomfortable."
"What is?" He questioned, furrowing his eyebrows together.
"You. Watching me eat."
He grinned and shrugged, "I love to."
She rolled her eyes, "Why?"
"Probably cause you're doing it."
"I am just eating!" She protested, her eyes growing wide as she shook her head, slightly annoyed before she returned to her food. She finished it about ten minutes later, and Tony watched as the rest of the team was starting to come inside. He took the dirty plates from her and rinsed them before placing them into the dishwasher.
He walked back around the island and took her hand in his, pecking her on the lips, "Come on, let's go to bed. I'm tired."
She nodded before responding, quietly, "So am I."
They started up the stairs in silence, walking into their room and closing the door behind them. Tony stripped so that he was solely in his boxers and then quickly crawled into bed, "Ah..." He let out a sigh of relief, "I love cold sheets."
She smiled and slid into bed as well, snuggling up next to him, resting her head on his chest, "So do I." She agreed, "But I love something more..." She smiled seductively up at him and he chuckled.
"I wonder what." He sarcastically said before reaching over and turning off the light. He lay there, staring up at the ceiling for a while, thinking, well, to be honest, about Ziva and the wedding. But mostly about the wedding. He rubbed his hand over her belly and she moaned, snuggling in closer to him. He had never felt nervous like this before, but everything was new with Ziva. Moving in was new, getting married was definitely new. And soon, having a child would be new. Extremely new. Almost a new lifestyle for him. Actually, it was a new lifestyle for him. He wasn't the same Tony DiNozzo she had met almost four years ago. He was definitely different. He may be a womanizer, but he was more of a Zivanizer now.
If that was even a word.
But he was still extremely nervous about the wedding, and he wrapped his arms tighter around her. Was she nervous as well?
"Ziva?" He quietly asked, but he looked down and realized that she was already asleep.
Sighing, he rid himself of enough worry to fall asleep.
She stood there, in front of him, holding his hands, dressed completely in white; her wedding dress. She looked absolutely amazing and he smiled down at her, almost unable to realize that she was actually going to permanently be his and that he was going to get married to her in a matter of...seconds.
He heard the priest say the vows and he smiled, nodding, "I do."
His heart rate accelerated as he heard the priest say the same to Ziva, who still smiled at him, "...until death do you part?" He finished and Ziva's smile suddenly dropped off her face, her eyes filled with tears, and she shook her head, "I...I don't."
He shot up in bed, the sweat pouring off of his head in little beads. He looked down at Ziva, who was now turned so that her back was to him and he ran a hand through his hair. His heart was beating rapidly and he thought that it was going to honestly beat out of his body. He was way too nervous, so nervous he was practically shaking. He needed to relieve stress and nervousness, so he gave Ziva another look before throwing the covers off and swinging his legs over the edge of the bed. He rested his head in his hands before looking back over his shoulder at Ziva's back, watching the muscles contract with her breathing. Shaking his head, he stood up quietly, pulled on a pair of shorts and a t-shirt over his head before leaving the room without a sound.
The rest of the team was asleep, and he silently made his way down the stairs, grabbing his car keys blindly off of the counter in the dark, leaving the house as he got into his car and drove.
Tony pulled up at another red light and ran a hand over his face. He really was tired, but he was way too nervous to sleep. It wasn't normal for him; he was never nervous. OSU basketball make-it-or-break-it shots? Easy. Final tests at FLETC? Piece of cake.
He loved Ziva with every piece of his heart, that he was sure of.
But marriage? He shuddered at the thought as he drove around in the strange city. Groaning, he turned into a gas station, one of the few things that were lit up at this time of the night. He cursed himself. DiNozzo's never asked for directions. Under normal circumstances, he'd drive around and find whatever he was looking for, but it was very dark, for there was no moon, and he really needed some stress relief. "Hey, how you doing?" He asked and the small woman looked up at him and smiled.
"Hey handsome." She said and he rolled his eyes.
He was not in the mood.
"Can you tell me if there is a 24 hour gym anywhere? And if so, where is it?"
She nodded and walked around the counter, "There's one about 5 miles that way on Beach Front Road."
"Ok, thanks." He said and turned to leave, but she grabbed his wrist, letting her hand fall into his as she stopped him. "What are you doing?" He asked and she smiled.
"You look tense." She said and looked into his green eyes, "Can I help you ease your mind?"
She licked her lips, and Tony had to do everything in his power not to punch her in the face, "I don't know who in the hell you think you are, but I'm getting married in two days. And I'm a federal agent. So if you do not take your hands off of me, I will have you arrested." She promptly dropped his hand and he left quickly, before he'd hit a woman for the first time in his life.
He made it to the gym, paid the guy who was sitting at the entrance, and walked through the doors that contained the exercise equipment. The place was dark, just like he liked it. Not even bothering to turn on the light, he pulled off his shirt and jumped onto the treadmill, hoping that running would help him calm down.
Sometime during the middle of the night, Ziva woke up to the distant rumbles of thunder. She shivered and turned over, wanting nothing more than her fiance to hold her. When her arm hit the cold sheets instead, she furrowed her eyebrows together and stared at the bathroom door, which was open, but no light was on. "Tony?" She called quietly. Earning no answer, she stood from the bed and walked over to the small bathroom, flipping the light on in the process.
He wasn't there.
She walked out of the bedroom and started down the stairs, and breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the kitchen light on. "Tony I-" She stopped when the man in the kitchen wasn't Tony at all.
"Hey Ziva, you okay?" McGee asked. She smiled slightly and looked around the kitchen.
"Yes, Tim, I am fine, but, have you seen Tony?"
"He's not in your bed?" McGee asked and she shook her head. "Oh, well, maybe he went...for a walk."
"Yes, maybe. I am going to go find him." McGee furrowed his eyebrows together and she put her hands on her hips, "What?" She demanded.
"You're going like that?" He said, in reference to the OSU t-shirt she had on.
And he wasn't going to think about what was under there, "So what if I am, McGee?" She said.
He chuckled nervously, "No, no you stay, I'll go and see if he's out there." He walked past her and out of the door, as thunder rumbled again. She wrapped her arms around herself and walked to living room. Small snores could be heard coming from both Ducky and Palmer, and a small smile spread across her face as she stared out the window. She knew that Tony was a grown man, and that he could take care of himself, but it wasn't like him just to leave.
She was worried.
After what seemed like an eternity, the front door opened again and McGee walked in, his t-shirt slightly wet from the rain drops. "I didn't see him, Ziva."
"Where is he?"
"Did you try his cell phone?"
"Yes, several times."
McGee nodded and walked over to her, casually putting his arm around her shoulders, "I'm sure he's fine."
"This is not like him, Tim. If he goes somewhere he always wakes me up and tells me." She walked out of his grip and started up the stairs, "I am going out to find him." McGee quickly followed.
"Ziva, wait." She stopped and looked at him, "If Tony comes back and finds out that you're not here, he'll freak. And I don't want that to happen. So you stay here, I'll wake up Gibbs, Fornell, Nick, Ducky, Palmer, and Franks. We'll go out and find him. You, Abby and Anna stay here in case he comes, ok?" Ziva wanted to go out and look for him, but the idea of all of the guys going sounded a little better, so she simply nodded. McGee squeezed her shoulder and walked down the hall, knocking on Gibbs and Fornell's room door. A few minuets later, the three men walked out of the room and down the stairs, Fornell mumbling in the process.
"Can't these NCIS people do anything normal for a day?"
"Well, I don't know, Tobias. Can the FBI people invest in some nose plugs? You sound like a damn freight train."
"You're not exactly a mouse either, Jethro." Soon after, everyone was in the living room, and Gibbs gave everyone directions and cell phone numbers were exchanged, so they could call each other when the found him. Cabs were called for the ones that didn't have a rental.
"Go." Gibbs said. Nick turned to Anna, who had her arm around Ziva's shoulder like Abby did, and gave her a kiss.
He smiled at Ziva, "We'll find him."
"Thank you, Nick." Ziva said. Not five minutes later, the room was empty except for the three girls.
"I'll make you some tea." Abby volunteered and walked into the kitchen. Anna turned to Ziva.
"The boys will find him. He probably got hungry or something." Ziva nodded as a response, but inside, she knew that Tony didn't go to get something to eat.
The wedding was in two days, and Tony disappears?
Her mind raced.
Did he change his mind?