Catching Memories-3

Hello everyone. First of, I apologise for being 2 days late. I got carried away with watching Suits:) If you're still reading this, then I just want to thank each and every one of you. I really appreciate you reading my stories. A writer is only what other people think of his/her stories. So, thank you all so much, for the reviews, alerts and favorites. They really mean a lot to me and I extremely thankful to you:) Sadly, this is the last chapter of this fic, or at least, the last one I've written. I probably won't have time to write much after this, because I have many exams coming up until mid November.

However, I hope you guys liked the story, and leave me some feedback so I can improve myself:) I will be back every now and then, but I won't be making any BIG things:) Until next time, then;)

Chapter 3 Future Memories

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At that height, the cool gusts of wind only amplified the electrifying feeling of being so high up. Ziva glanced down at the world far below her, and allowed herself a smile. The last time she recalled ever doing something like this, was when she had been stationed in the mountains to do surveillance on an enemy base camp. This was the first time she climbed for recreational purposes, and she was enjoying every minute of it.

Tony watched as she scaled the complex sculpture with speed and ease, and felt just a bit inadequate in comparison. He could still recall the days when he had not been terrified of rock climbing. The days when he and his mother used to take walks around the block aimlessly, and comment on the people rock climbing. All of that changed after his mother died.

He made it about half way up, a huge improvement from his time with Jeanne, before the immense fear of falling caught up with him. At first, he would have put the blame on the evening sun that kept shining into his eyes and disrupting his vision, and given up. However, this time, it was different. Tony simply closed his eyes and gritted his teeth, stretching his arm just a bit higher to reach the next rock.

"Tony, your age should forbid you from attempting this kind of sport." Ziva's voice came floating down from several feet above his head, accompanied by her soft laughter. It broke his train of thought and gave him a nice distraction.

"If that's the case, then you would most likely be forced to take up knitting." Tony threw back, with a seemingly forced smile.

"This, coming from the man who could barely make it half way up the tower?" Ziva chuckled as she glanced down at him, gauging his distance from her.

"Even then, I bet I could still push you off of it." He retorted.

"You could try." Ziva said, raising her eyebrows with confidence. "I doubt that you would get very far though."

Although she hid it well, Ziva realised that this may not have been a good idea, considering Tony's fear of rock climbing. She knew that he disregarded his own fears to plan this birthday for her, and it made her feel just a bit guilty for it.

The last time she remembered him attempting to climb up something like this, was when he was with Jeanne, and that did not go well. Her hawk eyes had managed to pick out the hesitation and fear behind his eyes in that split second, and she quickly climbed back down until she reached him.

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah. I'm fine." His voice was strained, and his breath was coming in pants. Ziva knew he was definitely not fine.

"I have already had the past experience of rock climbing, Tony. We can just stop and head back down now. We can even go early for that dinner reservation that I am pretending not to know about." She said, as her hands went down to hold the rope.

"It's not really about the climbing, and that's cheating!"

"It is not cheating if she was the one who told me first." Ziva said, feeling fairly justified about the matter. She intentionally ignored his other statement in the hopes of changing the subject, and convincing him to go down.

"Nice try, with the deflection thing, by the way. I am fine, Ziva." Tony insisted, instantly reading her mind. Ziva wanted to roll her eyes.

"Tony, you promised me before we left the house this morning, that if I did not want to continue this, we could stop." She knew that she was going on thin ice here, but she was worried about his safety. Even Gibbs knew that when it came to Tony, she would stop at nothing, including Tony himself.

"And you want to stop?" He asked, his voice suddenly filled with concern for her well being.

"No, it is just that-"

"This whole day was for your benefit. Don't worry about me. You don't need to." Tony gave her a hard look that made her feel quite confused. She knew that he was obviously trying to prove something to himself, even if he refused to admit it. Although she knew that there was still a lot about his past that she didn't know about, she could tell that this was really important to him. So, she reached out to grab his hand and guided him up the last few rocks.

After much effort, Ziva managed to pull him over the side of the rocks, and onto the flat platform on the top of the sculpture. She looked over the edge at the magnificent view of the park below them, and felt like they were in their own separate world. After a while, she noticed that Tony had stopped talking, and was just watching her.

"Was your brilliant plan to show me that you are still capable of performing your husbandly duties?" She teased, trying to lighten the heavy mood that had unknowingly befallen them. It felt awkward, and they were never awkward.

"That was actually part of the plan." Tony replied. Ziva frowned and bit back a snarky remark. She had been expecting an answer like "Are you asking?" from him. The absence of one made her feel uneasy. His tone was comparably more sober than usual, as if he was preparing to make some big confession.

"This is actually one of my own memories that I'm sharing with you. When I was a kid, my mother used to watch the sunset with me from the balcony of our house. It was always partially blocked by this rock wall though. She would always tell me that one day, I should find a better spot to view it, and take a nice girl with me." He said quietly. Ziva had unwittingly moved until she was pressed against his side, so she could feel him take a deep breath as he spoke. She knew how hard it was for him to talk about his past with her, so she kept her mouth shut and rested her head on his shoulder.

"Anyway, I grew up knowing a lot of people who worked here, so that's also how I got us this spot, until at least dinner time." He added, with a hint of his usual realisation that what had supposed to be a happy occasion had turned into a melancholic and depressing one, hit him hard, much like one of Gibbs' headslaps. He caught himself and quickly tried to change the subject.

"Oh, and about those husbandly duties, you KNOW I can perform them well." Tony said, giving her a look, and hoping that she would take his cue and carry on. It had been awkward enough already, having her help him climb up a rock wall.

"Oh, after this morning, I have no lingering doubt about your...abilities when it comes to performing in the bedroom." She sent him a sultry smile as she did a once over, openly pausing when she came to his more talented areas. The smile seemed to dim for a second, as a stray thought crossed her mind.

"How many girls have you brought here before me?" She asked casually, knowing that she didn't really want to know his answer.

"None, and hopefully, none after you." No sooner had he finished his sentence, was he tackled into an awkward but firm hug from Ziva. After a bit of a power struggle, he managed to get them settled into a position where Ziva's legs were placed over his. She had burrowed herself into his side with her arms wrapped tightly around him, and her long hair tickling his arm.

"Thank you, Tony. For everything." She whispered against his ear, her lips brushing his with a certain degree of gentleness, before she settled back into her original position. "Today was perfect."

"Almost. " He mumbled to himself, but she heard him, and knew exactly what he meant.

"An 'almost perfect' is already better than most. You cannot get much better than that."

"You deserve better." Tony sighed. Just then, Ziva pulled herself away from him forcefully, and leaned back until she was directly facing him. She took a deep breath to convince herself not to back out this time, and spoke directly from her heart.

"Tony, you have already given me more than I could ever ask for. You not need to be PERFECT for me to love you. I already do. I have, for a long time."

"Ye- Wait... Did you just-" The words finally registered in his mind, and at first, he thought he had misunderstood her.

"Yes, and I mean it. Do you not feel the same way?" Ziva had to control herself from wanting to take it back, and pretend that everything was normal again. She didn't like to admit it, but Tony's hesitation had surprised her, to say the least.

"Huh? Wait, what? NO. It's just that-" Tony stumbled over his words, trying to make sense of it all. It was all happening so fast, and he was feeling like Ziva was the one giving him a surprise.

"I have never actually told you, yes?" She said, finishing his sentence again.

"Well..."

"This is usually the part of the movie where you declare your feelings, if you have any, is it not?" Ziva asked, suddenly feeling very embarrassed. She looked up at Tony, who was silently gazing back at her from the other side of the platform, and couldn't meet his eyes. What if he had changed his mind? She wouldn't be able to deal with another rejection, especially if it was him.

However, her thoughts were cut short by a sudden movement from the corner of her eye. Tony moved to catch her chin, tilting her face until she looked at him, and was caught off-guard at the mix of insecurity and hope in her deep brown eyes.

"I love you, Ziva David. Past, present, and future. I'm willing to love you as long as you'll let me, so you don't have to worry about losing me. Ever." He leaned over and gave her a tender kiss, allowing themselves to revel in the unspoken promise of their future. When they finally broke apart for air, she gave him a genuine smile that made her eyes light up.

"So, are we climbing down again? It is almost time for our dinner reservations. We could race! After all, you would love to be back down on solid ground."

"Sure, and I'll just faint halfway. That way, I'll probably get down faster than you."

"I will take my time going down!"

"Fine, I'll give you a head start then." Tony made a gesture for her to set her stuff up and start on the descend. She gave him a weird look, but complied. As she was about to go down, he made a mad dash towards the back of the platform.

He had already started running down the emergency ladder when he shouted "Ready, get set, go!" to her. At first, she laughed in disbelief, and then it turned into amusement. She quickly decided to climb down with extra speed just to spite him. Who knew what surprises he might have in wait for her if she won.

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Thoughts?