Previously:

"Boss," said Tony in a low voice as he indicated for his boss to follow him.

"What is it?" Gibbs asked casually, when they arrived in the kitchen.

"What is this all about? I thought you weren't against us and now you tell Abby something like that," growled the younger agent, eyes blazing with anger.

"I don't have anything against it. Doesn't mean I need to let you two near each other every time," said Gibbs, smirking at his agents display of anger before he went back into the living room.

"Second B," growled Tony as he went back to the others also.

"I'm up for telling ghost or horror stories," Abby told Ziva. "It's stormy, dark and raining. This is perfect!"

"Abby, come on. Horror stories?" groaned Tony from his spot on the easy chair.

"Afraid Tony?"

Inwardly groaning at Ziva's teasing, he replied, "Nope, not at all, but what could scare us?" throwing his boss a pleading look to make them stop this activity, before it even started.

But instead of responding to his agents' gaze, he encouraged Abby, "Go on Abs," causing Tony to groan loudly. His protest earned him a nudge to his side from Ziva, who swapped her place on the couch for the arm of the chair in which Tony sat.

"Ouch..." he cried as he rubbed his aching side, while slightly glaring at Ziva. Finally, he gave in, "Abby please go on."

"Why, thank you Tony," smiled Abby, getting more comfortable before starting.

"Ok... On a Saturday afternoon, a little girl and her mom go into a toyshop. They wanted to buy a doll, so the little girl went looking at all the different kinds of dolls. Finally she found the perfect doll for her. But when her mom saw the doll, which had a sad smile, she suggested that her daughter gets one with a happy smile instead.
However the little girl wouldn't change her opinion. She still wanted the one with the sad smile, so her mom brought it for her.
Later that night, the little girl was already in bed, about to fall asleep, when she heard noises. Looking around for the source she found nothing.
Suddenly the noises got clearer and she heard: 'Kara I'm on the first step, Kara I'm on the 2nd step, Kara I'm on the last step, Kara I'm in the hall, Kara I'm in your bedroom, Kara I'm in your bed. KARA I'M GOING TO KILL YOU'," Abby told in a mysterious voice.

"When the little girls' mom came checking on her daughter, she found the doll with a happy smile on its face and a knife in its hand.
The girl was dead," ended Abby. A smile playing on her lips at the silence, which had settled over the room after her story.

"I would have wanted the doll with the sad face too... Actually I got one for my 6th Birthday," said Abby in afterthought, making her friends grin.

"What's so funny? That story should scare you," she said, slightly pouting.

"Nothing Abs," Gibbs smirked as he drank his coffee.

"It is so you, Abby," smiled Ziva.

"This doll sounds a bit like 'Chucky'," mused the 4th person.

"What or who is Chucky?" asked a confused Ziva.

"You don't know Child's Play? It's a classic horror movie!" exclaimed Tony, "We'll just have to add this one and the other parts of it, to the ever growing list you need to watch, Sweet Cheeks."

After a few more stories from Abby and Tony and even one from Gibbs and Ziva each, (which were actually based on real events), the group departed for the night.

(Ziva's room – Thursday – 2:23 am)

"So you and Tony," started Abby once they where both in bed and the light was turned off.

"What about me and Tony?"

"You tell me," countered the Goth.

"I do not know what you mean," Ziva answered innocently.

"Ziva," exclaimed Abby as she tackled her friend, planning to tickle her senseless.

"Abby," cried Ziva, trying to get away from her attacker. Not being able to use her hands properly, because of the cast on her right hand and the still present band-aids on her left knuckles, she finally surrendered. "Please stop!"

Reacting instantly, Abby flopped down next to her friend, looking at her in the dim light the moonshine provided. "You going to tell me now?"

"There is not much to tell," answered Ziva, facing her black-haired friend.

"But..", probed Abby.

"We kissed," the Israeli stated bluntly.

"Yay!" squealed Abby, her fists going up in victory, "I KNEW IT! YOU'RE MEANT TO BE TOGETHER," her voice getting louder with every single letter.

"Abby, quiet! You will wake Gibbs and Tony!" Ziva whispered, desperately wishing for her friend to calm down.

"Oops," grinned Abby.

"I am sure they heard you," muttered the Israeli darkly.

"Who cares, they know anyway," squealed Abby. "I mean, Gibbs knows, right?" Abby said. suddenly fearing that she got her friends into trouble. "Maybe I just imagined Gibbs smirking when he told me where I can sleep. Oh my god, what if.."

"Yes, he knows," smiled Ziva, interrupting Abby's thoughts.

"How has he reacted?"

"Tony said that Gibbs warned him not to do any 'funny business' or he would sleep in the doghouse."

"Doghouse?!" Abby's eyes were going wide.

"Yes..." smirked Ziva, remembering the last few hours, "Oh and Gibbs gave us some new rules."

After a few minutes of silence Abby couldn't stop herself from asking, "Come on, tell me! What rules?!"

Ziva, who was half asleep by now, blinked a few times in confusion, having thought that the conversation was over. She started to recite Gibbs' rules to her friend anyway.

(A few minutes later)

"You know, maybe we should get you a tattoo," said Abby out of the blue, making her friend frown at the sudden noise.

"Abby?"

"A tattoo often stands for something important to you. A reminder of some sort," the Goth rattled on.

"I already have one," mumbled Ziva in the middle of Abby's rambling before turning around to lie on her stomach.

"WHAT!" Abby's screech was even louder than her victory cheer.

"Abby!"

"Sorry, but what?" Her friend repeated a bit quieter this time.

"Why are you so surprised..." Ziva wanted to know, again turning around so that she was facing Abby this time.

"Nothing... It's just... I've never thought... You know... That... Well..."

"Abby," the Israeli said, "You are rambling."

"Sorry," after a moment, "I'm apologizing too much..." Her thoughts were racing, "Does Tony know?"

"Yes..."

"WHAT!"

"Abby..." a tired Ziva said, slowly getting upset over her friends variation of loudness.

"How? You said you kissed, not that you ha.." Abby's thoughts were spinning more and more.

"We do not have done THAT," exclaimed Ziva, interrupting her friend before she could finish.

"But.."

"L.A., he saw me on the pool, when I stood up to go to my room to change, so we could take that road trip he wanted to go on."

"Oh, for a second I thought he saw it when you played married assassins."

"I would have killed him, if he would have taken his eyes somewhere else than my face," muttered Ziva.

"So you two didn't?" asked Abby sheepish, eliciting a sigh from Ziva, "Abby..."

"What? I mean that sounded very real. And.."

"Abby, it was only for show. Tony did push-ups. And our bodies were not touching. There."

"Never?"

"Never," said Ziva, while thinking "except him getting too comfortable and me having to kick him to stop it.."

"'k, so what kind of tat is it? Can I see it? Pleaseeeeeeeeee," asked Abby, followed by a rustling of sheets and clothes.

"Awwww, that's beautiful!"

"Todah," smiled Ziva.

(A few minutes later²)

"Tell me about it," probed Abby an already half asleep Ziva.

"Hm?"

"Israel. How is it there?"

"Beautiful," sighing, "I will miss it."

Also it wasn't the answer Abby expected to hear, she continued. "Hm... You'll have to show me!"

"Abby, I cannot..."

"You'll be able to visit it again," the Goth said confident. "And I'm gonna go with you then!" smiling at her friend, she repeated herself. "Yep, we'll go there sometime. Even when that means we have to wait till we're old and wrinkly." Making them both burst out laughing loudly.

Suddenly the door opened.

"Hey!" called a slightly grumpy Gibbs.

"Hey Gibbs!" they greeted the gray-haired agent, grinning from ear to ear. Eyes shinning with happiness.

"It's 4 in the morning," he told them, causing Abby and Ziva to look at him in a way as if to say 'And?'.

"Abs, you've to be at work in less than 4 hours. Catch up some sleep," Gibbs said sternly.

"I can change at work. And there are nearly no cases anyway. It's so boring. So why not pull an all-nighter?!"

Ignoring Abby's answer, Gibbs concentrated on the other person in the room, "Ziva, you need your rest too!"

"But we're talking, Gibbs!" whined Abby.

"You can continue talking later today. It's nearly morning," he said, fixing both with a stare.

"Now, lights off and sleep!" Gibbs said, his tone leaving no room for more arguments.

"Yes DAD!" they half-shouted at him as he closed the door behind him. A small grin on his face.

(Gibbs' House – Thursday – 7 am)

Quietly opening the door, he looked into the room, smiling as he observed the two figures who where comfortable huddled against each other.

"Abs," Gibbs softly called. Upon receiving no answer, he made his way over to her bedside, "Time to get up," slightly shaking her.

"Only ten more minutes, please," mumbled Abby into her pillow.

"Can't do Abs," said Gibbs, before he quickly pulled the blanket away from her, exposing her to the cool air of the room and making her cry out in protest.

"Gibbsssssssss," moaning about the agents' way of waking her up, she finally sat up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

"Breakfast's ready. Hurry up," Gibbs told her then, smiling to himself as he left.

(Gibbs' House – 8 am)

"Come on Sweet Cheeks, rise and shine," Tony coaxed the sleeping form, which only rolled over to the other side of the bed in response, away from the disturbing source, also known as Anthony DiNozzo.

"Hey," he said, frowning he slightly shook her shoulder. After a few more tries and not getting the desired reaction he left the room, making Ziva unconsciously sigh in satisfaction of the renewed quietness.

"Boss," Tony called out as he came running down the stairs. "I think something is wrong with Ziva," meeting Gibbs' questioned gaze, "She won't wake up."

"No surprise there," stated his boss matter-of-factly.

"What?" Now Tony was completely confused. "How can he be that calm?!"

"She and Abby stayed up till early in the morning," replied Gibbs smirking over the brim of his coffee cup.

Tony's mind wandered back to earlier that year when Ziva bought Abby the cupcake after having a sleepover.

Even later than the day before, Ziva made her way downstairs.

"Yesterday was fun," she greeted her 'now' boyfriend, kissing his cheek as she sat next to him on the couch.

"Sure was," replied Tony absent minded, not really liking the topic since he rather would forget about last night.

Sensing his bitter mood, Ziva became concerned, "Tony?"

"You snuggled with Gibbs..." hissed Tony quietly despite the running TV, not wanting to be overheard by Gibbs, who surely would be close by - somewhere.

"I was just teasing you Tony," exclaimed the Israeli, slowly becoming irritated too.

"You seemed to be very comfortable!" Tony suddenly yelled.

"Tony! What is wrong with you?" Ziva exclaimed, getting tired of his act. "I was just having a good time," muttered the Israeli as she got up and started to walk to the stairs again.

Seeing her walk away, Tony knew instantly that he had overreacted, "Ziva, I... Ziva wait, please."
"I know," he admitted, standing up too, Tony searched a few moments for the right words, before he continued, "I guess I'm just grumpy cause Gibbs made me sleep on that couch again."

Coming up to him and stopping right in front of him, Ziva playfully laid a hand on his cheek.

"Does my Little Hairy Butt need a massage?" she seductively teased him, already having forgiven him for his little outburst.

"Zeevah, that's downright mean," growled the agent as he laid his hands on her hip, drawing her body closer to his own.

"Payback is a bastard, yes?" she whispered against his mouth, their lips only millimeters apart now.

"Bitch," replied Tony just before their lips met, making Ziva withdraw from Tony in confusion.

Instantly feeling the loss of her in his arms, he gently pulled her back. "Payback is a bitch, not bastard," he corrected her, lightly kissing her lips.

"I would never call you a bitch, Sweet Cheeks," whispered Tony, making Ziva blush, as she realized her mistake.

Looking deep into his eyes for several moments, she slowly leaned closer to him again.

However before Tony could reciprocate her movement she had turned around. "I am going to take a shower."

Dumbstruck he kept standing rooted to the spot, till she called out to him again, "Want to help?"

Uttering a "Crazy ninja" he hastily chased after her. "Gibbs' rules be damned."

(Gibbs' living room - half an hour later)

"You can really be some mean chick, David," Tony softly growled.

"I asked if you could help. YOU had just a different opinion of what I meant," laughed Ziva.

"Yeah..." sighed Tony. "Should have known that she meant the cast protection... You're stupid DiNozzo," he scolded himself inwardly.

"But you enjoyed the view, yes?" smirked the Israeli knowingly.

"Oh definitely." "But I could have lived without the cold shower afterwards," thought Tony.

"Have you been thinking about Vance' offer?" Tony suddenly asked. Upon her nod, he pressed further, "You made a decision yet?"

"Can you get me the folder, please?"

"Uhm, sure," not knowing if her request was a good or bad thing, but hoping for the former, he went to get it from Gibbs' room.

When he neared the desired item, he saw something sticking out of it. Wanting to sort the pile, he opened the folder. When he did, he then recognized the certificate.
First he thought it was a cover-up and made to make the paperwork go through. Then he saw the date, "03.07.2000".

Momentary shock was on his face, before it clouded. Taking the certificate and the folder, he went downstairs, wanting to know how this was possible.

"Why didn't you tell me?" his voice holding more accusation than he wanted.

"Tell you?" wondered Ziva as she put the magazine, which she had been reading, down.

"This," he replied, shoving the document into her face.

"Tony..." Ziva tried to explain, once she saw her marriage license and what he most likely would be thinking right now.

"No... I don't want to hear it," he harshly cut her off.

He was about to march out of the room, when Ziva stood up from the couch and tried to get his attention once again, "Tony!"

"What I am for you? A nice affair?" he spat as he spun around to face her.

"No, Tony.."

"Damn it, Ziva you are married!!" he shouted, his expression leaving no doubt that he was angry, but also giving away the underlying sadness.

"Will you listen to me," she now screamed, having given up on being calm for the sake of a normal conversation.

"No! This," Tony yelled, pointing between her and him, "was a mistake."

"Goodbye Agent David," snarled Tony, slamming the front door behind him.

"What happened?" Gibbs asked, careful to be quiet and not scare the young woman, who was still standing in his living room, not moving a muscle.

"I... He... the copy," Ziva managed to get out, still to shocked to form complete sentences as she pointed to the folder where the copy of her marriage license was lying on.

"Ziver," sighed Gibbs, crossing the room, "Come on, I'll make you some tea."
Knowing very well that she wouldn't like to be cuddled right now, cause she would only break down, which she hated to do. In front of people more than anything..

After he had set the tea down on the kitchen table, in front of Ziva, Gibbs made his way into the living room.

When he returned, he had the yellow NCIS folder in hand. Running over the different sheets it included, he took the contract out of it, placing it in front of her along with a pen.

"You made your decision a long time ago, Ziva."

Looking at him for some time, she exhaled deeply as she took the pen...

(Later that night)

"Gibbs?" a tentative voice asked, waking the elder agent instantly.

"Ziver," he said hoarsely as he noticed her standing at the foot of his bed, her form only visible by the light from the hallway.

"Come'ere," coaxed Gibbs as he patted the spot next to him, after he switched on the beside lamp.

Silently she walked over to him as he lifted the covers for her to crawl under.

Much to Gibbs surprise she didn't argue with him at all and lay down, albeit tense.

"Relax. It's going to be ok." He told her, pulling her a bit closer to him so that she was lying right next to him. "That's better, and now close your eyes and get some sleep," he said in a soft fatherly tone as he felt her getting more comfortable.

"Laila tov, Ziver," whispered Gibbs. Some slurred muttering was the only reply he got.

(Flashback)

"Daddy!?"

When Gibbs opened his eyes he was greeted by his 5-year-old daughter, standing in front of his side of the bed, eyes red and puffy from crying.

"Hey, munchkin. Nightmare?" He softly asked Kelly as he reached out to her, wiping some of the tears off her face. Seeing her nod, he wordlessly lifted he covers a bit as he scooted over to make room for her.

"When is mommy coming back?" she asked, her voice muffled by the bedsheets.

"As soon as your grandma feels better, sweetie."

"Luv ya daddy," Kelly mumbled as she fell asleep.

"Love you too, Kelly"

TBC...


A/N: Ok, I admit. I posted this chapter 'yesterday'. But now it's actually corrected. Thx to natabrains. =)

I hope you guys like it better now. Reviews are much appreciated. =)

There's a poll on my profile about the M-Rating... only for safety or for real? You choose. =)


Oh and sorry for not thanking all those reviews I got for Chapter 7 ^^'

This chapter is for all the people who reviewed the last 2 chapters. =)