So... here it is, the last chapter :) I want to thank my beta reader, Megan, who helped me :D you are so kind, thank you so much.

Anyway, I really hope you'll like the ending :D

8. A life

"Agent DiNozzo is no longer aboard, Miss."

Ziva felt the world falling apart around her. "What?" she asked, trying to control the trembling tone of her voice.

"He didn't come back to the ship this morning," the captain explained, looking at her.

"You… did you wait for him?" Ziva asked, shocked.

"Yes, we did," the captain replied. "We waited for almost an hour. Then we had to leave." Ziva was speechless. Before she could protest, the captain added, "Listen, Miss. Our mission is important, we can't afford to stop for more than a few hours in a harbor. We have our priorities."

Ziva shook her head. "This is absurd."

The captain didn't say anything for a few moments, then he spoke again. "Actually, Agent DiNozzo isn't the only one who didn't come back to the ship this morning."

"Who else did not return?" Ziva asked.

"One of my men… Ristler. Hamish Ristler."

Hamish Ristler. The name sounded awfully familiar to Ziva. Then she remembered. Ristler was the man that had stolen those files, the man that Tony had indicated as the traitor. She repressed her worry and asked the captain how she could get to the harbor. The captain told her that he would have the plane prepared for the trip. Ziva nodded and thanked him.

When the captain left, she walked towards a Marine and asked him, "Can you tell me where Agent DiNozzo's cabin is?" If she had to wait before leaving, she would wait in his cabin, looking for something helpful. The Marine told her where the cabin was and she reached it in a few minutes. Ziva opened the door slowly. The cabin was small and almost empty. There was only a camp bed and a suitcase on the floor. She knelt and looked at Tony's suitcase. It was in a mess and it made her smile.

Then she saw a photo that had been put on the suitcase and her heart skipped a beat. She took the photo in her hands and stared at it. She had never seen it before, even if she remembered the moment when I had been taken. She caressed Tony's face with her finger, smiling at the way he was looking at the Ziva in the photo. It was wonderful to see him looking at her like that, but yet the photo filled her heart with sadness.

Suddenly, a man opened the door of the cabin and gave Ziva a start. She rapidly put the photo in her rucksack and stood up.

"There's someone who wants to talk to you on the phone," the Marine said.

"Who?" Ziva asked.

"Agent DiNozzo."

Ziva rushed towards the phone and picked it up. "Tony," she gasped, relieved.

"Ziva." His voice sounded relieved as well, but also tired.

"Whe… where are you?" Ziva asked, the worry still haunting her.

"I'm in… I don't even know the name of this city is," Tony replied. "I'm… near the harbor where the ship docked yesterday."

"Why are you still there?" Ziva was almost angry.

"Ziva, I'm fine," Tony answered, understanding what she was worried about. "I had to stay here."

"Why?" she asked, trying to repress the mixed feelings inside of her.

"Ristler. He's here too," Tony explained.

"Why did he not leave?" Ziva asked, confused.

"The man who's planning to sell the files to… he's here, in town.."

Ziva was stunned. "You… how do you know?"

"I've been following Ristler since last night," Tony replied. "I heard Ristler talking to a man on the phone. He called him… Iceman. It must be his code name or something. Anyways, they're going to meet tonight at 2000, in a bar, The Haunting Fox."

"I do not think I will be there on time, Tony," Ziva said, shaking her head.

"I know, but it's the only chance we have to catch them both," Tony replied, calmly. "You know that way of saying… to kill two birds with one stone."

"No."

"How is it possible you have never heard of this way of saying, Ziva?" Tony laughed. "You've been living in the States for six years!"

"No, you cannot go there alone," Ziva précised.

"What other choice do I have?"

"You…" Ziva stopped, realizing that she couldn't ask Tony to do nothing. He was a cop and that was is job. She couldn't stop him just because she was worried. She wished she could stop him, though. She wished she could tell him "Do not go" and he wouldn't go.

"I'll be careful, Ziva, I promise." Tony's voice was now a whisper. Ziva didn't say anything. "I know I can't do anything, Ziva," Tony continued. "I can't arrest them both. I'll hide somewhere and wait for you to come."

"I will arrive as soon as I can," Ziva said, with a trembling voice.

"I'm sure you will." Somewhere not so far away from her, Tony smiled.

Ziva closed her eyes. "I'd better go now. The helicopter must be almost ready."

"Okay." Tony sighed. They both kept quiet for some time, then Tony said, "I really wanted to see you."

Ziva smiled sadly. "We will see each other later, anyways."

"I promise you we will."

Ziva kept taking glances at her clock. It was already 1945. The meeting between Ristler and Iceman would take place in fifteen minutes.

We will never arrive on time, she thought, biting her lip. She was tense, to say the least. She was trembling, even though it was quite hot in the plane. She could feel the other agents' eyes on her. They must have noticed that she wasn't feeling okay, but she didn't care. Her mind was focused on Tony's face, on his smile, on his voice, on his body lying on the ground, covered of blood.

Ziva pushed away that last thought. Tony was alright, she knew. He had to be alright.

It is a suicide mission. She couldn't help being a little angry. Even though she knew that Tony had no choice, she didn't want him to go. He couldn't handle that situation by himself. What if he had been seen? What if those men had caught him? What could a single man do against a whole team of criminals? She was sure Iceman would bring some of his men at the meeting and this fact made her feel even worse.

"We're almost there, Agent David," one of the pilots said. Ziva nodded with relief, but soon the tension was haunting her again. She looked at the clock one more time, anxious, and her heart cracked when she saw the time: 8:05 pm. Tony was already there, at the bar.

He is fine, she told herself, getting up. She needed to focus on the work she had to do. She couldn't let herself think about him wounded or dead. She jumped off the plane as soon as she could. She was worn out, but the worry kept her awake and alert. She was ready to face anything, anything, to complete the mission, to help him, to protect him. She had never felt like that in her whole life. There was a feeling flowing in her veins, an instinct of saving him, an instinct that was driving her body, and she didn't mind.

Ziva felt a little lost in that unknown city, but she didn't care. She asked the first man she saw where The Haunting Fox was. The old man looked at her a little scared, then he stuttered, "There… at… at the end of the street. On… on the left… turn left… it's only… two hundred yards…"

"Thank you." Ziva started running. The old man sighed with relief. That woman had scared him with her rush.

Ziva couldn't see what was surrounding her. If she had stopped, she would have seen a wonderful sunset, a beautiful sea and nice houses. However, she was completely unaware of the beauty around her. She didn't care about where she was. She only cared about where she was going. The other agents of the team followed him, armed with guns, and she could hear their footsteps behind her.

When they arrived at the end of the street, they turned left, just like they had been told. At that moment, they had to slow down. They couldn't be seen nor heard by those men they were about to arrest. They couldn't know about the agents' presence in advance, otherwise they would try to escape. Ziva and the agents had to be careful and silent.

While they were slowing approaching the pub, Ziva saw Ristler sitting at one of the outdoor tables. He was talking to a quite young man that Ziva guessed was Iceman. Beside them, there were two men with threatening expressions on their faces. Ziva could bet they had guns hidden somewhere.

She turned to face the agents and she gave them instructions. They all nodded and Ziva took a deep breath, looking around her, trying to see any sign of Tony. Either he wasn't there or he was hiding very well. She forced herself to focus on the job she had to do and gave the agents the signal. They all entered the outdoor space of the bar, pointing their guns at the men. Iceman and Ristler stood up, while people around them screamed and ran away. Iceman's man pointed their guns too, but soon the four criminals were surrounded by the agents and arrested.

Iceman laughed, while the older agent of the team was handcuffing him. "See, Hamish? I told you the man wasn't alone."

Ziva felt her heart break into a thousand pieces. They had found him, Tony had been seen. "Where is he?" she asked in a rush, with Iceman's face only a few inches apart from her.

Iceman stared right into her eyes and licked his lips. "You're much more enjoyable than him, sweetie," he said, laughing again.

Ziva repressed the instinct of giving him a smack. "Where. Is. He?" she repeated, articulating her words.

"Maybe in Hell," Iceman answered, faking a sad expression on his face. "I'm sorry, but I'm afraid my man has already killed him. After making him suffer slowly, of course."

He is bluffing. She needed to believe that. He is bluffing. She had to be strong. She had to be strong and to do what Iceman wanted her to do. Tease back.

"And where is your man going to have fun with my man, huh?" she asked, faking a smirk. "What is the last place my man is going to see before moving to Hell?"

Iceman laughed and Ziva really needed to try hard to stop herself from hurting him badly. His laughter was annoying her. She grabbed him by the arm and he shut up. "Okay, sweetie. You don't need to be so angry. Even if I love angry women." He paused for a moment, showing another smirk on his face. "The park. I think my man has brought your man there. Brigham usually likes parks a lot. He loves killing in beautiful places. It's sort of ironic, isn't it?"

Before he finished speaking, Ziva started running. She could see the park from where she was. It was about four hundred yards away from her. She ran as fast as she could, faster that she thought she was able to run. She didn't care about the wind that was slamming against her, she didn't care about the sweat on her forehead or about the dust in her eyes. She focused on running, escaping from her awful thoughts, trying to reach Tony before it was late. Even though maybe it was already late.

She entered the park and felt lost, again. It was huge and she didn't know where to go, where to start looking for Tony. She took a deep breath, fighting against the tears that were begging to stain her face.

Suddenly, she heard someone screaming. The scream was coming from somewhere on her left and she immediately started running in that direction. She forced herself to be hopeful. If it had been Tony who had screamed, then he was alive. He is alive.

A hundred yards farther, Ziva stopped. There was a man lying on the ground, a man that was aching all over, a man that Ziva recognized as Tony. There was blood on his face. Ziva felt her heart crying with sorrow, but she told herself that he was alive and tried to focus on the man that was standing beside Tony. The man saw her too and they both pointed their guns at each other. Ziva saw Tony move and open his eyes widely when he saw her. Aching, he shook his head, moving his lips. It seemed that he was murmuring her name, but maybe she had just imagined it.

"Get away from him!" she yelled, with a trembling tone of voice. Brigham laughed, but soon he stopped.

Behind him, a man, one of the agents that had helped Ziva, was pointing a gun at him. "Move and you're dead." Brigham was shocked and didn't know what to do. He was still for a moment, but soon he moved, trying to turn and to shoot at the agent.

However, Ziva was faster and she shot Brigham who fell to the ground, dead. Ziva didn't move for a few seconds, stunned by the events that just happened in a heartbeat. Then she walked towards Tony and knelt beside him. "Tony," she murmured, afraid to touch him.

"Ziva..." His voice was a whisper and she could hear all his pain in it. "I'm fine."

"No, you are not," Ziva replied, taking a hanky from her pocket. Behind her, the agent was calling an ambulance. Ziva started to clean Tony's face from the blood, trying to ignore the sorrow that she felt in her chest every time Tony moaned.

"You know, I shouldn't have gone to the meeting after all," Tony said, laughing a little, then he coughed. "It was pointless, I knew you would come eventually."

"I promised you I would come," Ziva said, trying to smile reassuringly, but only a sad expression showed up on her face.

"We always come for each other, huh?" he asked, coughing again, smiling at her, aching. "We've always come." They looked into each other's eyes and Ziva felt like crying. His stare was so intense that it was making her suffer even more. However, it was also wonderful to feel his gaze on her.

"Yes," she said, smiling for real, but with tears slipping down her face.

"Hey, don't cry," Tony said, stretching his arm. His fingers touched Ziva's cheek and started caressing it, drying all her tears. "I'm fine," he repeated, then he lowered his arm, unable to keep caressing her because of the pain. "It's great to see you," he continued, then he smiled. "Even though I thought we would meet each other in a better situation." He gave a faint laugh. "Me, on the ground, with my nose broken and blood… and you, crying over my body… It's not the way I thought it would be."

Ziva sobbed, smiling. "And what did you expect it would be like?"

Tony smirked and didn't say anything for a few moments, then he spoke. "I was planning to kiss you." Ziva laughed, still with tears in her eyes. "It was a great plan, huh?" Tony asked.

Ziva smiled at him, passing the hanky on his cheek. "Yes, it was."

Tony sighed. After a few moments, he said, "I guess things are never like we want them to be." He smiled sadly and coughed once again.

Ziva stared at his face intensely, the sorrow flowing in her veins like blood. She hated seeing him like that, but she loved the way he was able to smile and joke even when he was aching, wounded. She loved him, now it was clear. The idea that he was planning to kiss her made her shiver. Her feelings for him were fighting to get out of her heart and to reveal themselves to the world, to him. And for once in her life she felt the need to listen to their request.

"It depends on us, I think," Ziva said, smiling a little.

"What?" he asked, looking at her with curiosity.

"To cause things to be like we want them to be," Ziva answered.

"And what do you want them to be like?" Tony stared at her intensely, lost in the beauty of her eyes filled with tears.

"Like this," Ziva whispered. She bent down towards him with her hands on his cheeks. Their lips were close and she closed her eyes, trying to stop the tears. Tony broke the distance between them and he kissed her. Their lips touched softly and his pain disappeared at once. He could only feel happiness in his bones now and excitement in his veins. Her lips were caressing his sweetly and he savored every second of the kiss, just like Ziva did. Tony felt one of her tears fall down on his cheek and he broke the kiss gently. He caressed her face once again, lost in her eyes. It was the most beautiful view of his life and he was determined to enjoy every detail of it, every detail of her.

"You're beautiful," he said, letting go of the words that he had been hiding from her for too long, now knowing that she would understand their whole meaning. Ziva smiled and moved her face away from his, slowly. They heard the siren of the ambulance and Ziva looked away from him. Still staring at her, Tony thought that it had been even better that what he had planned.

Tony was out of the hospital the following night. He had nothing broken but the nose, he just needed to rest to recover completely. He and Ziva hadn't talked much that day. Ziva had come back to the ship to take his suitcase, then they both had left for the airport together with the agents. They had decided to take a normal plane instead of the military one, which would have been too uncomfortable for Tony.

Ziva was exhausted, Tony could see her tiredness on her face. However, she looked happy and relieved and he loved it when she fell asleep next to him, on her seat, leaning her head onto his shoulder. Listening to her breathing, Tony thought about all that had happened in the last six months. Everything had changed. They had taken many little steps to get where they were now. They had fought, they had laughed, they had touched. Every moment was imprinted in Tony's mind forever. It had been a long time, but he didn't regret any second of it. He didn't regret not having kissed her before. He had waited, he had waited until the moment their love had become clear to their eyes, when it had become obvious. He had waited for that moment for a long time and he couldn't help thinking that it had been perfect, that it was perfect. Of course, they would have to take other steps, there were things to discuss and a life to plan. But at that moment, what they had already gotten was all Tony could hope for.

Ziva smiled in her dreams and Tony looked at her, smiling as well, staring at the beautiful shine coming from her. He caressed her hair and he leaned his head on hers, closing his eyes. Soon, he was asleep too.