A/N Chapter 8, woo! Not much longer than the others, even though I promised an extra long chapter... Sorry, but seriously, I promise (and you can totally hold me to this) that chapter 9 will be nice and long. Anywhoo, back to chapter eight. It's from Tony's POV and basically, its the end to the little 3 chapter Tiva sequence I've had going on. I'll get back to the case soon enough (I don't want to leave it unsolved), which I'd all but forgotten about. Soo chapter 8, read, hopefully enjoy, and PLEASE review (even just a word?)because I only got two review for my last chapter and I feel as though people are loosing intrest in the story. So please review. Thank you to anybody who's reading this though :) If I can finish chapter 9 soonish, I may upload on Saturday, however, if I don't I'm sorry, I will make up for it later on. Thanks again :)

Chapter 8- Answering The Unanswerable Question

"Ziva…"

"Tony," she said shakily.

"Ziva, this was never how I wanted you to find out…" She looked almost as if she had been stunned into silence. "I'd always kinda hoped that if I ever ended up telling you-"

"-If? You mean to say that if I had not overheard McGee and Abby, you would never have told me?" She almost looked angry at me.

"I don't know Zi… I just thought that y'know if I did tell you… And you didn't like me back… I just didn't think that I could've carried on anymore…" I stared down at my feet.

"Tony…" She reached up to touch my cheek, lifting my gaze from my feet to her beautiful dark eyes and looked me right in the eyes. The look that crossed her face and eyes at that second could only be described as sheer vulnerability. "What made you think I did not feel the same way?"

Wait, what?

She…

Did she like me back?

I stood there, my thoughts whipping around my mind.

I guess I must've looked so stupid.

Stood there just looking at her.

I was speechless.

How could somebody like Ziva, somebody that beautiful, that perfect and that special ever like somebody like me?

"Anthony DiNozzo," she almost laughed, "I do not think I have ever seen you at a loss for words before."

"So… You're not gunna like, beat me up or kill me or something?"

"No…" She said, confusion in her eyes, "Tony what makes you think that I would want to beat you up… Or kill you?"

"Well it's just… Um Zi you remember that time when were in the observation room a few years back?" She nodded so I continued. "And we were talking… And you were telling me about things… And you told me about your first fight? And how it started… And that you beat the boy up… because he told you he liked you? Well that's was when I had it almost… Concrete in my mind that you couldn't know… That you could never know… Because I just thought you'd never like me back in that way… And I couldn't face rejection again Zi… I just couldn't… And then the fact that if you knew…. you'd never let me live it down… And I really thought that you'd literally kill me… I just never thought I'd have the guts to tell you… And… Well I guess I haven't really." I realised I'd been rambling again. I never really understood why I did that when I was nervous.

"So… Tell me if I am wrong… But, the reason you have never told me… Left me wondering for all these years about whether or not you like me… Was because you thought I would… Hurt you?" She said, looking upset that I'd thought something like that.

"I guess so, Zi," I answered, kind of scared in case she got angry at me.

"Tony… Do you not understand?" She asked.

"Understand what?"

"That I would never hurt you for telling me the one thing that I have been hoping that you would say to me for years?"

"Really?" I asked her, shock, confusion and excitement all registering in my voice at the same time.

"Really," she replied, smiling at me, almost making me melt into nothingness right there.

"You're sure?" I asked, feeling as though my heart was going to beat right out of my chest.

"Yes Tony. I am more sure of this than I have been of anything in my life."

"Ziva…" I began, honestly feeling happier than I had in my entire life.

"This is what you want Tony?" She asked me, seriously now.

"It's all I've wanted since the day I met you, Zi," I answered, honestly.

She stepped closer to me and wrapped her slender arms around my neck. And I knew, this was her own way, the Ziva way, of saying she felt the same.

"I love you, Ziva," I told her, a grin sneaking it's way across my face and from ear to ear.

"I love you too, Tony," she replied, tightening her grip around my neck.

We just stood there holding each other outside of my apartment, and, I've got to say, if anybody would've walked out of their apartments and seen the two of us just standing there, they would've thought that we were pretty weird.

Well, me anyways.

After, what seemed like forever, but also not quite long enough, Ziva pulled away.

"I know that you will think this is stupid, but it is getting late, and Gibbs said he would like us in early tomorrow, and I would not exactly like to be slapped around the back of the head, even if you enjoy it I do not think I would." She rambled, "I think I should go home," she sighed.

"No Zi, don't go," I begged.

"I need to get some sleep Tony, as do you, you have had an…" she paused to look down at her feet, struggling to find the right words to describe the mess of a day I'd had. "Emotional day."

"Please Zi just stay… I can't take another night on my own," I begged again.

She lifted her line of sight to look at me.

"You would like me to stay here?" She questioned me.

"Of course I do Ziva."

"Then I will stay with you." She said, simply.

It was as though anything that I wanted her to do, she'd do it for me.

Which realistically made a lot of sense, seeing as that was the way it was for me.

Hell, if she told me to jump off a bridge, I'd probably do it.

"Well, what're you doing standing outside still?" I said, then leaning closer to her I whispered in her ear, "You're gunna get cold."

I stood up straight again and I looked at her seeing her cheeks slowly flooding with a perfect rosy pink colour.

Wait, Ziva, blushing?

Obviously I don't know as much about her as I thought I did.

I lifted my arm and held out my right hand, gesturing for her to take it.

She looked up at me, almost hesitantly, like she'd never done this before.

I waited. I wasn't going to move my hand. She'd already agreed to stay with me. Right?

Slowly she looked down at my hand, and reached out her own to take it.

I led her in front of me and kicked the door behind me shut.