A/N: Hooray! That's two chapters in a day! Actually, chapters 22 and 23 were combined as one until today, when I decided that would be too much reading for one chapter. So, I gave you two! Enjoy the present!

The first words out of McGee's mouth were, "Oh my God, Tony, I'm so sorry!"

Tony tried not to roll his eyes at the junior agent, but, really, this was ridiculous.

"McGee…"

"No, Tony. Don't tell me it's all right, because it's not. Look at you! I don't know why I thought lunch with Abby was more important than Ziva's protection detail. If there's anything I can do for you…."

"The first thing you can do for me, McGee, is shut up," Tony told him, annoyed.

Tim, shocked, complied immediately.

"Next, I need you to do me a favor."

"Sure, Tony, anything."

"Give yourself a good, hard smack to the back of the head."

This time, Tim wasn't so quick to do as he said. "What? Why?" he demanded.

"Because, Tim, you're being stupid. Do you think I'm mad at you for getting out of this unscathed? Think again, Probie. If you hadn't gone to lunch with Abby, do you know where you'd be? In here with me, or on one of Ducky's tables. You do know that, right?"

Tim, now in a stunned silence, sank into the chair.

Tony continued with a bit of his normal DiNozzo humor. "You know, you really should thank Beal. If he hadn't been trying to steal your girl away from you, I wouldn't have felt so bad and let you go."

Tim began to turn red – with embarrassment and blatant denial. It was evident that his words were coming to him again, and Tony did not want them to be flying angrily at him.

So he changed the subject. "How's that going, by the way? The Abby/Eric situation?"

Tim stiffened. "I don't want to talk about it."

"You know, Tim, that really isn't fair," Tony whined. "These McSecrets hurt; and those McLies might actually make that machine over there say, 'BEEEEEEEEEEP.' Just tell me what's going on. You know I've got your six, right?"

"Yeah, Tony, I know," he said sincerely, albeit reluctantly.

"Well, then…"

Tim sighed, but a slight smile played on his lips. I can't believe I missed Tony so much that I'm happy to hear him annoying me.

"It's not good, Tony." What am I doing? Confiding in Tony? And yet, he couldn't stop. "Abby knows; Ziva told her. I guess I can't blame her, with everything that's happened. Anyway, Abby… She said… She said she's not going to choose between the two of us," he finished in a rush. It was painful to say.

"You'd think that girl would follow her own advice," Tony muttered. At Tim's confused expression, he explained, "She's been after me to tell Ziva how I feel about her since before Somalia; afterwards, every two seconds she was asking me, 'Did you tell her yet?' Don't worry; I'll talk to her."

"You'll what?" Tim exclaimed, leaping out of his chair. "No! No, you won't…"

Tony was taken aback by his outburst. "McGee…" he tried to reason.

"No! I mean it, DiNozzo, don't you dare –"

"I have to, Tim. It's my job."

That stopped McGee short. "The only 'job' you have is getting better so you can make our lives miserable again," McGee insisted.

Tony shook his head. "You know, McGee, to Gibbs and Abby and I, this team is all we've got. To us, we're not coworkers; we're more than that; a family. And I'm an only child, so I could be wrong, but brothers look out for their brothers, right?"

Tim left the room in a bit of a daze. It wasn't that he was having trouble believing it – because he did, in fact, believe it – but it was quite surprising.

"You're up," he told Abby, who squealed and sprinted into Tony's room.

"Oh my God! Tony! I'm so glad you're all right! I mean, you're not 'all right,' but you're alive! Can I hug you?" She bent down and did so without waiting for an answer. She pulled back quickly at his yelp of pain. "Sorry, Tony!"

"It's okay, Abs. But are you all right?"

How does he know? Oh, yeah, McGee…She just shook her head.

"I could tell. No pigtails, sweatpants… Did they recall Caf-Pow or something?" he joked, trying to make her feel better.

"That's not even funny, DiNozzo," she said with a small grin. "No; it's McGee and Eric. Why didn't you warn me?"

"I didn't want to get involved! But, after what McGee said, I guess I should have. I'm sorry, Abby."

"Oh. Did he tell you about what happened in my lab the other night?"

Tony narrowed his eyes. "No. But you're going to."

"Um… McGee kind of… punched Eric in the nose," she finished in a rush.

He wouldn't let himself feel smug; he had to tell himself that this was not good news. But if he was being honest with himself, he would have admitted that he was proud of the junior agent for standing up for Abby; and, of course, helping him win the bet. Abby was obviously put off by it, so he had to do something. "PROBIE!" he roared. "Get in here!"

Tim's head cautiously popped into the room. "Yeah, Tony?" he asked warily.

"Get over here," he growled, then sighed in frustration. "Abby, can you help me out here?"

She smacked Tim, hard, on the back of the head.

"Ow! What was that for?"

"You punched Eric?" Tony asked.

"Well, yeah, but I –"

"We'll talk later," he interrupted. When he was sure Abby was looking smugly at McGee, he gave him a reassuring nod and smile. Tim instantly relaxed a little bit, understanding that Tony had only yelled for Abby's benefit.

Does he always have ulterior motives when he does things like this? he wondered, making a mental note to watch out for it. "Does that mean I can go?"

"Get out of here, McGee," Tony answered, sounding disgusted. Now that he knew he was only putting on a show, however, McGee almost laughed. He bowed his head instead – trying to look ashamed of himself – to hide his smile as he walked out.

"So, what exactly did McGee tell you?" Abby asked.

"He told me that you're not deciding between them. Is that true?" He tried to keep all emotion out of his voice. He wasn't going to obviously support one decision or another. She had to decide by herself.

"Yes, it's true. I just – I don't know what else to do, Tony." She was starting to cry.

"Aw, Abs, don't cry. It's okay."

"No, it's not. And I know I'm always telling you to tell Ziva before it's too late, but now I know why you haven't yet. It's hard, and I really don't want to mess anything up."

Tony smiled reassuringly. "Abs, I'm going to take your advice. As soon as you walk out of here, I'm telling Ziva."

Abby gasped. "Really?"

"Really. I've decided it's worth the risk. She's worth the risk. And if it weren't for you bugging me about it every two seconds, I don't think I ever would have considered telling her."

"Oh my God." Abby's eyes still shined with tears, but she had a slight smile on her face. "Oh my God!" she repeated. "I'll go, then, Tony! Oh my God!"

He laughed at her as she turned to walk out. He hoped she understood what he was trying to tell her, but doubted she would right away.

Ziva entered the room, and her eyes instantly filled with tears of relief. It was amazing how much better – healthier – he looked after just opening his eyes. His huge smile was just as joyful.

She crossed the room and took his hand, and they just stayed like that for a few minutes. They were both so wrapped up in their joy of seeing the other alive, they couldn't think of words to convey how they felt.

Finally, Tony broke the silence with the one question he needed answered: "Are you all right?"

"I am fine; much better than you are."

"I didn't just mean physically. And if you even think about lying to me, I'll see right through it," he warned.

So, instead of lying, she just avoided the question. "You shouldn't be worrying about me, Tony."

"So you're not okay." He frowned. "What is it?"

"Nothing, Tony. I'm just…worried for my partner."

"Stop lying to me, Ziva! Something's up… I can see it in your eyes. Don't make me ask Gibbs…"

She sighed and admitted, "The nightmares are back."

After Somalia, it had taken Ziva a few weeks to start trusting Tony again – he had, after all, killed her boyfriend just a few months before. When she did, she told him about the dreams that kept her awake every night. He sat by her side and listened, not saying a word as she spoke. That's what partners did.

He cursed. "Your father," he began, "had better pray that he and I never meet again, because I swear –"

"Tony!" Ziva was shocked, and…flattered? Tony was threatening to kill her father, and she was flattered? "They are just nightmares!"

"You know that's not true, Ziva," he said bitterly. "If they were 'just nightmares' they wouldn't upset you so much. Has Gibbs been keeping an eye on you?"

"Actually, it was McGee," she corrected.

"I owe that guy a new typewriter," Tony muttered to himself.

"They are getting better," she insisted.

"But I should have been there for you," he told her, angry with himself.

"Tony, I know that if you could have, you would have been by my side the whole time. This is not your fault. I am the one –"

"Stop, Ziva. I don't want to hear another word."

"But—"

"No," he persisted, giving her arm a slight yank. When they were face to face, he said, "I need to tell you something."

She nodded…

And he kissed her. It was the most wonderful kiss either had ever felt, but Ziva couldn't let it continue.

As she pulled away, he told her, "I love you, Ziva David."

It was a dream come true, music to her ears, but she couldn't let herself believe it. "But, Jeanne…"

His face twisted in pain, and she instantly regretted bringing her up.

"Ziva, Jeanne was amazing. She was beautiful, smart, funny… She loved me, and I loved her."

Ziva waited for the but, prayed that there would be a but…

"But she can't even come close to you. Ziva, her death was nowhere near as traumatic as yours was."

She was confused for a moment, until she remembered. "Somalia," she whispered.

He nodded. "Ziva, when you left, I was a mess. It only made things worse that everyone was so worried about me. I could hardly focus on anything, and you were in all of my thoughts. Once I overheard Abby telling McGee that she almost wished you were dead, because then I wouldn't be wishing for your forgiveness.

"The next thing I knew, you were dead. It just got worse. That small amount of concentration I had was gone. I was so depressed that Gibbs didn't want me to be alone. He had me on 24 hour watch; Abby, McGee, Gibbs, Ducky and even Palmer took turns sleeping at my place. Gibbs took my gun every night so I wouldn't shoot myself, and someone drove me to and from work every day.

"The mission to go after Saleem was a last resort for them; if that didn't get me back into my normal rhythm, Vance was going to fire me. I knew there was a chance that I wouldn't come back, but I almost welcomed that outcome.

"I almost didn't believe it when I saw you there, alive.

"I meant it when I said I couldn't live without you, with my whole heart. I still mean it, Ziva. I told you, I love you."

Tears filled both sets of eyes, and she could hardly find her voice to whisper, "I love you, too. But what do we tell Gibbs?" she asked, too elated to actually worry.

"I'm wondering about that myself," Gibbs said from the doorway. "And I don't appreciate you telling McGee the secret."

"Somebody had to," Tony defended himself. "And I didn't tell him all of it."

"What are you talking about?" Ziva asked.

"The Rule 12 loophole," Tony answered.

She looked between the two men, waiting for an explanation. When none came, she prompted, "I did not realize Gibbs' rules allowed for loopholes."

"Aren't you going to tell her, Boss?"

"I'm starting to regret telling you, DiNozzo."

Tony took that as his answer. "Okay, I'll do it." He looked at Ziva. "Members of your team don't count as coworkers. Your team is closer than family. So, Rule 12 doesn't apply to them."

"So, you approve…" Ziva said slowly; she really didn't want to upset Gibbs.

"I don't really have a choice." Suddenly, he turned his Gibbs-glare on Tony. "Don't you dare hurt her, DiNozzo."

Tony was taken aback. "Never, Boss. You know that."

Gibbs nodded, knowing that he could take his senior field agent at his word. "You either, Ziva."

"Me?" she asked innocently.

"You heard me," he said with a small grin. "Don't hurt him."

She answered slyly, "I will do my best."

A/N: Sorry for the suicidal Tony bit, but I thought it made it seem a little more romantic, and it definitely defined the way he feels about her compared to Jeanne. I mean, when Jeanne left, his pain was definitely not that bad. I also want to hear your thoughts on the loophole. I thought it was clever, but that's a bit egotistic of me. Please review!