Chapter Four

The rest of the day passed without incident, and by day's end, Ziva found herself feeling exhausted. She let out a wide yawn as she packed up her things, catching McGee's attention from his spot at his desk.

"Hey, you need a ride home?" he asked, pausing in his own end of the day routine.

Ziva looked up, shaking her head, but smiling. "No, I think I will be okay. It has just been a long day."

McGee nodded, knowing just the feeling. "Alright, just checking." He turned back to his backpack, zipping it up, then turned back to Ziva. "You sure you don't wanna go grab dinner somewhere? My treat."

Ziva tilted her head at him. "You do not have to pay for dinner, McGee."

He smiled as he sensed what she was saying. "But you'll go?"

She couldn't keep the smile from her face. "I do have to eat. I may as well have company doing it."

McGee's grin grew. "Great. I know the perfect place. Italian. Tony would love it."

"I would love what?" Tony walked into the squad room just in time to hear McGee's words, and stopped at his desk to pack up his own things.

"Uh . . ." McGee faltered, not wanting Tony to get the wrong idea.

"The restaurant McGee is taking me to for dinner tonight," Ziva answered, not thinking anything of it.

"Oh." Tony was so surprised, he couldn't even think of a proper comeback. "Well, have fun." He yanked the zipper on his backpack shut and left the squad room, leaving McGee and Ziva alone together again.

They watched him leave and then turned back to each other. McGee had an eyebrow raised. "That was . . ."

"Weird," Ziva finished, and McGee nodded his agreement. They looked at each other for a few more moments, then Ziva broke the silence. "Well, Tony is a very strange person at times. He is probably still getting used to the idea of me having a baby, yes?" She forced herself to hold McGee's gaze, and he was the one who looked away first. She closed her eyes for a moment then, and when she opened them, found McGee had his eyes on her again. "Ah, what sort of dress is the restaurant?"

McGee shrugged. "It's nicer, but . . ."

"Good, I will find something more formal to wear," Ziva interrupted, suddenly needing to be alone. "I will, ah . . . Will you call me when you are ready to go?"

McGee nodded, the worrywart in him still gnawing at his stomach. "Yeah, sure. Ziva . . ."

"I will see you then, McGee," Ziva interrupted softly, nodding. She met his worried gaze briefly. "Thank you." She slung her backpack over her shoulder and turned away from McGee before he could say anything else or stop her, and walked quickly to the elevator. A part of her wanted him to run after her, spin her around and not allow her to leave without telling him what was wrong, and she could express her worries and he would comfort her . . . But she knew, he would respect her privacy, allow her to be alone.

The doors closed behind her and Ziva dipped her head, hoping that things would get easier the further along she got into her pregnancy . . . but knowing that this was just the beginning of a very complicated change to her life.

Abby turned around as she heard footsteps enter her lab, smiling at who she saw. "Hey, Tony. I thought you guys were done."

"We are," Tony said, and looked around as though he expected someone to be listening, then looked back to Abby. "Hey, so, don't you find it . . . odd that McGee's suddenly Ziva's best friend now that she's pregnant?"

Abby rolled her eyes and smiled. "They've always been pretty good friends, Tony. Why do you think that would change now?"

Tony shrugged, toeing around what he really wanted to say. "Well, he's usually pretty foot-in-mouth, and with something like this, you wouldn't expect him to be all smooth and suave and, well, like me."

Abby gave him a look, then paused for a moment before asking, "So what are you thinking?"

He glanced around again, then asked, "Did you notice them spending more time together in the past few months?"

Abby stared at him for a minute, trying to figure out what he was getting at. "I guess I wasn't really paying attention," she drawled. "Tony . . ."

He dipped his head closer to hers. "Do you think it's possible . . ."

"Whoa, Tony, you don't think . . ."

"That Ziva's got a McBun in the oven?" Tony said in a harsh whisper. "Come on, how else do you explain it?"

"They're friends, Tony!" Abby said, giving him a desperate look. "If they were hooking up, we'd know about it. Trust me, Tony. Timmy wouldn't be able to keep something like that quiet! What proof do you have?"

Tony crossed his arms over his chest and gave her a smug look. "I walked into the two of them making dinner plans . . ."

"That doesn't prove anything!"

". . . for some fancy Italian restaurant," Tony finished, giving her a pointed look. "And Ziva said McGee was 'taking her there,' which to me, is cue for a date."

Abby stared at him for a minute, her lips formed into a pout as she considered what he was suggesting. Finally she said, "Well, let's not jump to conclusions. Until we know anything for sure, we keep this between us. Deal?" She held up a pinky, and Tony hesitated for only the shortest of moments before hooking his own pinky with hers and nodding.

"You've got a deal," he agreed, and turned for the door.

"Where are you going?" Abby asked, giving him a pitiful look when he looked back to her.

"Sorry, Abbs," he said, giving her a lopsided grin, "but I've got some investigating to do." Abby continued to pout at him, so he hurried back to her side and dropped a kiss on her cheek before running out of the lab, leaving Abby with a smile on her face as she turned back to shut down her equipment and leave herself.

Ziva stood in front of her closet, staring at the neat array of clothes before her. She knew it wouldn't really matter what she wore tonight, and she could grab any one of the dresses she kept for dinners out and it would be fine, but her mind was spinning with thoughts of her future. Again, she found herself going back to how shortly, she wouldn't be able to wear any of these clothes. She knew it was only temporary, that she could lose the weight she put on during the pregnancy just as quickly, but it was still a jolting thought. It made the situation more real.

Her cell phone rang and she swore quietly to herself in Hebrew, knowing it was going to be McGee, calling to pick her up. She took a deep breath and picked up the phone. "Ziva," she said, attempting to sound calm.

"Hey, it's me," McGee said on the other end. "Uh, McGee."

Ziva couldn't hold back a laugh at that. "Yes, I know the sound of your voice, McGee. I, ah, I am not quite ready yet."

"That's fine. How long do you think you'll need?"

"Give me . . . twenty minutes?" She knew she would be cutting it close, but perhaps hurrying would take her mind off everything else. And she needed this time out, a nice dinner with a good friend, to loosen her up.

"Sounds good. I'll see you then." McGee paused on the other end of the phone, wanting to make sure she was okay, but before he could say anything, he realized Ziva had hung up.

Ziva put down the phone and turned back to her closet. There was no turning back now, and she had to hurry to get dressed. She let out another deep breath, then reached in to the closet and pulled out a dress, smiling at the one she chose. It was perhaps a bit much for dinner out with a friend, but she figured she may as well look sexy while she still could.

The thought made her smile falter, but she quickly pushed it aside, shaking her head. She may be pregnant, but that didn't mean her life was over. No, from here on out, she was going to take a positive approach to this – a new chapter of her life was just beginning. She was going to be a mother, something she couldn't deny she'd thought about more the older she had grown, the more she had experienced. And while NCIS wasn't the safest job in the world, she felt more secure here than she had at Mossad.

She quickly changed into her dress, smoothing out any wrinkles that may have appeared, and slipped on a pair of heels before heading for the bathroom to put on some makeup and brush out her hair. Just as she set the brush down, she heard the intercom by her front door buzz and knew McGee had arrived. She smiled at her reflection, then hurried out to the living room to respond to the noise.

"Yes?" she said into the intercom, needing to make sure it was McGee – she'd had some . . . security issues in the past.

"It's me," McGee's voice came over the speaker, and Ziva smiled.

"I will meet you down there," she responded, grabbing the small purse she kept for occasions such as this and heading out, locking the door behind her as she went.

She chose to take the stairs down to the ground level, not trusting the elevator ride with the nausea she'd been experiencing. As she reached the lobby, she saw McGee standing next to his Porsche, playing with his phone. The image made her smile, as it is classically McGee, and she snuck out of the building and behind him, saying, "I hope I did not keep you waiting too long."

"Oh, hey, Ziva," McGee said, putting his phone in the inside pocket of his sports coat as he turned to face her. "Of course you didn't . . ." Whatever he was about to say died in his throat as he saw what she was wearing. "Whoa."

Ziva dipped her head at his reaction. She'd put on the form-fitting burgundy dress specifically to evoke that reaction from him, but it was still a pleasant surprise to see the effect the dress had on him.

"Sorry, that's kind of Tony of me to drool like that, isn't it?" he said after a moment, and Ziva looked back up, laughing.

"I do not mind, McGee," she said. "At least you are honest."

He grinned at her. "Well, hard not to notice. You trying to meet a man tonight or what?"

His words were said in jest, but Ziva's expression faltered. She righted her smile just as quickly, but not fast enough for McGee not to notice.

He let out a sigh of frustration. "I'm sorry. Looks like I'm back to my old ways, huh?" He gave her a lopsided smile, hoping it would make her laugh or smile.

Ziva did smile at his words and reached out to place a hand on his arm. "No, you have a point. I am not looking to meet anyone. I just . . . I wanted to feel beautiful before I start gaining too much weight."

"Well, you don't have to dress up for that," McGee said, still smiling. "Come on, don't tell me you don't know you're a total knockout. And I think you'll be the most kickass pregnant woman ever."

Ziva couldn't keep the smile from her face at his comments. She knew he wasn't just saying it because she was his friend or because she could strangle him with her purse strap, and his total honesty was refreshing. "Thank you," she finally said, and McGee grinned at her.

"Should we go? I had to make reservations and we're gonna be late if we don't leave pretty soon."

"Oh! Yes, by all means." Ziva removed her hand from his arm and he opened the passenger door for her, leaving Ziva rolling her eyes . . . but enjoying the attention he was lavishing on her. She wasn't sure if he was doing it just because she was pregnant and needed a friend right now or just because they were friends, but she knew he didn't have an ulterior motive behind his actions, which was a relief. She could trust him, and that was truly what she needed right now.

Tony watched from his car as McGee's Porsche pulled away from the curb and into traffic, then sat back in his seat, considering what he'd just seen. They hadn't kissed or hugged or anything very "couple-y," but he saw the dress Ziva was wearing – very smoking hot, by the way – and the amount of smiling they'd been doing. Neither of them seemed like the type to be into PDAs, so Tony wasn't unconvinced.

He wasn't going to sit around here all night waiting for them to get back from dinner, and he felt kinda bad checking up on them the way he was, but if Ziva's baby really was McGee's, then he wasn't the only one who'd been doing a bit of sneaking around. He nodded his head at his justification of his actions and started his car again, pulling onto the street and heading home.

A/N: Ooh la la, what will happen next? ;) Keep the reviews coming, guys! I'm totally into this story right now and LOVING all your feedback! Thank you! :)