Last chapter guys :)
It had just gotten dark in DC when Tony and Ziva arrived back at the NCIS building. Arriving on their floor most of the agents in the building were packing up for the night and heading home to their families. But not team Gibbs. They knew they would still be here. Team Gibbs was always the last to leave. Walking into the bullpen they saw McGee sitting at his desk typing away at warp speed. McGee lifted his head when they entered and smiled at the two as they put their bags behind their desks.
"How was the trip?" McGee chirped. McNosey was always interested in knowing what happened on one of their little Tony-and-Ziva-only work trips. Maybe he was trying to find some sort of information or ideas for his next novel, he was the one who landed them with the one bed in Paris after all. Looks may be deceiving because McGee didn't look it but he was sneaky. And Tony was catching onto him.
"It was good, thank you for booking two beds this time Probie" Tony stated, grinning across at the McGee. Tony knew McGee wouldn't have gotten away with innocence if he booked them one bed again. McGee smiled back. Then he caught the site of Tony's stitches on his eyebrow and a slight bruise. He stood up and walked over to the front of Tony's desk, taking a better look.
"What happened to your eyebrow, you annoy Ziva?" McGee smirked, shooting a look back at Ziva before looking at Tony again "Moose, wild bear?" McGee added. Tony chuckled lightly at the probie's dig. Tony had really taught him well.
"Yeah, massive wild bear, took it head on to save Ziva over there. You should have seen me, I was like Jet Li from The One" Tony stated. The snort from Ziva's side of the bullpen earned her both of the male agent's sets of eyes on her. Tony raised his eyebrows at her, wanting her to play along with him.
"Oh yes, he was very Jet Li with the manly way he took down that bear" Ziva stated loudly, grinning. It was McGee's turn to laugh, they were both full of it.
"Ok, whatever you say" McGee replied, rolling his eyes and walking back to his desk.
"So, we got a case at the moment?" Tony asked, turning on his computer to check his emails.
"Na, we closed the case two days ago. Been quiet since then, just paperwork mainly" McGee explained. Tony nodded. If they didn't get a case in the next hour before six when Gibbs would let them off he would be able to get a good nights sleep tonight.
"How was that date of yours the other night?" Tony then asked. McGee looked up from his computer to look across at the older agent. He was sure Tony was about to make a joke or laugh about his date but the way Tony was looking at him wasn't like that, it was like he was actually interested.
"Um yeah it was nice" McGee replied, unsure if Tony was up to something.
"That's good. You gonna see her again?" Tony asked, giving him a genuine smile. Something was up with Tony. He was in one of those happy, relaxed moods. Had Alaska really been that great? Maybe they should send Tony there more if it meant he was like this.
"Yeah, tonight actually" McGee admitted, finding himself smiling as he opened up about his dating life. He could see Ziva was listening in but trying not to make it look like she was. The only thing that gave her away was the small smile she graced at hearing her two partners being open and serious about McGee's dating life. She also knew that normally Tony liked to give McGee crap about his dating life.
"That's nice, I'm happy for you Tim" Tony replied. That was the end of McGee's tolerance for Tony's nice side, there was something wrong. Something hinky was going on.
"Ok, who are you and what have you done with DiNozzo?" McGee asked. Ziva chuckled slightly from her desk at McGee's reaction.
"Ziver what did you do with my senior agent?" Gibbs asked as he strolled into the bullpen. Tony froze, thinking his boss knew what had happened in Alaska with him and Ziva. Ziva however knew Gibbs didn't know anything and was just playing along with McGee's frustration at Tony's niceness. Rare for him but she had seen it a lot more in this past year.
"Set a wild bear on him, taught him to play nice" Ziva smirked at her boss. She was sure she saw a smile split his features for a millisecond, sure of it. Gibbs sat down at his computer and Tony let out a breath, just realizing his boss hadn't figured anything out.
"How's the eyebrow DiNozzo? Heard you decided against going to the hospital to get it fixed up" Gibbs stated, not once looking up from what he was doing at his desk. Tony felt McGee's eyes heavily on him.
"Wait if you didn't go to the hospital how did you get stitches?" McGee asked. It was then that Gibbs finally raised his eyes to his senior field agent. Of course Gibbs knew how he had got them, Edwards had explained in a worried manner on how it was pretty crazy. Gibbs knew Ziva knew her stuff, it wouldn't be much of a problem as long as his field agent kept his hands to himself, which by the perfection of his stitches Gibbs guessed he did. By god if Gibbs really knew the truth of that story he wouldn't be in the rare playful mood he was right now, it would definitely be serious and rule reminding Gibbs. Lucky he didn't really know then.
"Um, well…" Tony mumbled, turning his head to look at Ziva.
"Oh my god, you didn't let Ziva do it did you?" McGee exclaimed. That earned him a glare from Ziva.
"Not that there's anything wrong with what you did, I mean it's just you're not a doctor and I don't think I would let anyone but a doctor do that to me, especially on my face and-" he backpedaled.
"McGee, quit before you dig yourself into a deeper hole" Gibbs stated.
"Right boss" McGee replied. Ziva did get what McGee was getting at, she wasn't angry with him, it was just good to press his buttons sometimes.
"I would have thought you wouldn't trust Ziver with a needle by your face" Gibbs announced. Ok, as much as it was good to see a happy Gibbs it was scaring Tony somewhat, sort of like the way he was scaring McGee with his happy mood. Gibbs didn't have an explanation for why like Tony did.
"I wasn't awake for the procedure, bear knocked me out preeetttty good" Tony smirked, using a joke to dodge the real answer. He watched as his boss shook his head with a tiny smile and switched off his light.
"Go home, you two sleep off that jetlag and Tim, enjoy your date" Gibbs stated before disappearing somewhere for the night. Most likely somewhere in a basement involving a boat and bourbon. Ziva and McGee began packing up their things but Tony stayed put in his chair.
"I'll see you guys in the morning, just going to finish up all these emails" Tony announced, mainly to McGee. Tony locked eyes with Ziva, she was curious but she got the message Tony was sending her silently. He would talk to her later about whatever it was he had to do. She gave him a small private smile before following McGee to the elevator.
McGee entered the elevator and was followed close behind by Ziva. For a moment he thought Tony had changed his mind about staying back and had followed them into the elevator, he was sure he could smell that sent that was simply Tony and the aftershave or cologne or whatever it was he used. Turning his head to the side he only found Ziva there. He found it strange. Further more when he could still smell Tony the whole ride down to the lobby.
He passed it off as the fact it had been cold in Alaska and Ziva was probably hit by the cold harder then Tony was because of where she was brought up. And McGee knew Tony was a gentleman when it concerned a woman and it wasn't strange for Tony to offer Ziva his coat, he had done it before. That must have been the explanation to all of this because Ziva was the one who carried his sent. He was sure of it.
"Enjoy your date" Ziva said, bringing him out of his thoughts.
"Thank you, see you in the morning" McGee replied as they walked out the front door to the parking lot.
"Goodnight Tim" Ziva said before she headed down to her car. He hadn't really noticed it until right now, but for some reason Tony and Ziva always parked next to each other. He guessed that was just normal too, they had always been close. Being partners with someone for six years with the history they had would definitely make you close. And it was just parking anyways.
She was curled up on her couch in her sweatpants and a t-shirt with a hot cup of tea watching one of his movies she had stowed away in her bookshelf when she heard the knock at the door. She knew who it was, she was only expecting one person. She put her tea down on the coffee table and made her way to the door. When she opened it she found exactly who she was expecting, her partner.
He looked slightly drained, like he needed his rest, which he did. He hadn't slept on the plane ride back, something she was grateful for. There was a mixture of happiness and heartache underneath that tired look. She wondered what had held him back at work, it looked important to him, it looked as though it had troubled him somewhat as well.
"Hey" he said quietly, giving her a small smile.
"Hey" she smiled back. She knew that something was on his mind, the something he would tell her shortly. She reached out her hand and gathered his in hers, gently pulling him inside her apartment. He shed his jacket and his shoes before making a beeline for her couch as he loosened his tie. She followed him and they both took a seat on her couch, the way he sat was tired and heavier then her controlled one.
She moved over closer to him so she was at his side and she brought her hand up to brush his unruly hair back. He had obviously been running his hands through it.
"Are you ok?" she asked quietly, trying to broach what was on his mind. He nodded into her hand and leant down more into her couch. It amazed her how bad his posture could be a lot of the time.
"Yeah, I'm ok" he replied, finally turning his head to the side and making full eye contact with her. She continued to run her hand through the side of his hair.
"Did you find out some bad news?" she asked. She wasn't sure what was on his mind right now.
"No, actually it was good news" he stated, a small smile showing on his lips.
"Yeah?" she replied.
"Yeah, my dad, he ahh, he's going to go see a therapist. He has his first session tomorrow" he announced. So it was good news, she wondered why he seemed down, slightly upset.
"That is very good news then. You are proud of him?" she asked. He nodded at her and she comfortably went with him when he softly pulled her legs up to lay across his lap. Placing his hand on her thigh softly.
"Proud for once in my life that he has listened to what I have said" Tony whispered, looking down at her. She realized why he was upset now. His troubles with his father had caused a lot of strain on him over the years. Tony had tried to help, tried to tell his father that what he was doing wasn't right, that he should stop. She knew his father never listened to what he had to say, he was junior, not senior. Senior knew what he was doing and didn't need junior's help.
This would have been troubling Tony. She knew he was happy that his father was changing but the past of how his father was still got to him sometimes. It was right now.
"At least he is making right what he did wrong, he is trying" she pointed out. Her father had done the exact same thing when he had been to DC, trying to mend the past, the broken relationship.
"Yeah, I guess at some point in their lives fathers seem to try mending the past that they did wrong, huh?" Tony stated. She knew that he wasn't just talking about his own father. He must have known she had thought back to her experience with her father.
"I think there is a time where they realize they have done wrong, but are willing to fix what they did in the past for a better future, yes?" she said. Again he nodded. He leant back and pulled her closer. She rested her head against his shoulder and played with his loose tie.
"Sometimes I wonder how I would have turned out if I had a normal family, a mother and a father both there for me, you know?" he said quietly. His hand ran soft patterns on her back while the other one did on her thigh, it was very relaxing to say the least.
"Yes, I do know what you mean, it would have been nice" she replied. It was funny if she thought about it that they both had the same problem, no mother around and a father who cared more for their work then their child. Ziva's was only slightly different by the fact her father pushed her into his work and Tony's father pushed him away.
"But I guess how we had it ended us here where we are today" he said. That was true. If they had a normal childhood they would probably never have met. Never fallen in love.
"I am grateful for where I am today, no matter how my childhood was it ended me here. I love where I am, who I am today. I wouldn't change a thing" she whispered.
"Me too, otherwise I would have never met Ducky, Gibbs, Tim, Abby, Palmer, and you. You I am the most grateful for in my life" he replied. She moved on his chest, lifting her head to meet his eyes. There was a real softness to them that made her heart tighten in her chest and make her feel all warm inside from her head to her toes. He brought his hand up to the side of her face and brushed her curls back. She then realized his eyes had gone slightly glassy. Tears had filled his eyes and it made hers do much the same thing seeing that. The raw emotion on his face.
"I love you Ziva" he whispered. Her heart was beating so fast she thought it would burst into a million pieces. There was hope in his eyes, and love. She realized then that she was something he didn't want to lose, she was a part of his other family that he couldn't let go of, couldn't be without. He couldn't live without her. Again his words rung clear in her mind. And really she felt exactly the same way. There was no one else that meant as much as he did to her, she needed that part of him in her life. She really couldn't do without him.
"I love you too Tony" she returned right back. God, how many years had she known that but wasn't able to admit it to him?
He brought his lips down to hers in the softest kiss and most loving thing she had ever shared with another. In this moment the past is not what they would linger on, right now was the beginning of their future together. The beginning of their own little family, a loving one that could make up for the broken families they had grown up with. Even if it was only the two of them, for now. Who knows, maybe there might be another addition to their little family in the long run. But that was still quite a few years to come. And they would do everything until their last given breath to hold onto the other with as much strength and love as they could.
No matter what their parents had done, they were going to do this right. Their partnership, it was for life. It was unbreakable. It was loving. It had been inevitable.
I hope you liked the ending to this one.
Thank you all so very much for reading this story, leaving reviews and adding this to your favourites. I am very happy with how much a lot of you enjoyed this and I will be working away in my spare time to keep writing His Girl and bring you another story as soon as I can :)
Hundan