Here's the next chapter for you. I'll update as quickly as possible, but I just had knee surgery Friday, so I'm slowly becoming myself again.

Oh, and I guess I should have told last chapter, but this is set during the fourth season. I'm sure ya'll can figure out what has and hasn't happened from the actual show.

Enjoy!

Ziva watched as Tony stormed out of the bullpen. She knew it had something to do with what she just told him, but still did not know how to react. He was the one that broke it off between the two of them. He made it clear that anything more than a professional relationship between the two would hinder their abilities at work. So, why was he upset that any man could have the nerves to propose to her?

Gibbs stopped in front of Ziva's desk and studied her face for a moment, without Ziva even realizing he was there. When he spoke, Ziva almost jumped out of her chair. "Care to explain why one of my agents just walked out of the bullpen without saying a word to me?" Gibbs asked her.

Ziva opened her mouth to say something, but she was speechless. She knew this time would come, but she figured she would have a chance to tell him out of the office. Instead, she let her frustration from the past twelve hours get to her, and she stuck her foot in her mouth.

"I don't know what happened between the two of you while I was gone, but you damn better figure it out soon," Gibbs glared down at her. Ziva looked at Gibbs for a moment, wanting to say something, but knew better of it. "Since we don't have a case right now, go, figure this out," Gibbs told her, nodding towards the elevator where Tony had disappeared. "I don't want to see either of you until this is figured out," he said as she hurried out of the bullpen.

McGee sat at his desk, he'd been witness to everything, but his brain was having a hard time deciphering everything. After telling Gibbs, he headed down to Abby's lab to tell her what just happened.

"We were right," Abby grinned, when McGee finished his replay of the events up in the bullpen. "There was something going on between the two. They did a good job of covering it up thought," she thought aloud.

"Well, something happened between the two, if Ziva is now engaged to Tommy," McGee pointed out.

"He asked her, she hasn't said yes," Abby pointed out. No matter how happy she was that Ziva had been dating a guy who Abby introduced to her, she still rather have Ziva with Tony. They were just a perfect pair, although they hadn't realized it yet. Abby thought back to about the time she introduced Ziva and Tommy, as she paced around the room. "I got it!" Abby exclaimed, swinging around to face McGee. "Remember the change we noticed between the two just about the time Tony started his undercover mission?" Abby asked.

"He couldn't tell anyone that Jeanne was only a mission," McGee realized. "He must have stopped things with Ziva about that time."

"And before he could tell anyone, Ziva was already dating Tommy," Abby finished. "It's all my fault. I knew I shouldn't have introduced the two of them when I did," she chastised herself.

"You couldn't have known," McGee consoled.

"What are we going to do, McGee?" Abby asked. "We have to fix this," she said.

"Let them try first," the two heard Gibbs say from the doorway. "They need to learn to deal with their own problems," he told them.

Ziva

Ziva hurried out to the parking lot, and saw a glimpse of Tony's car flying out into the street. Swearing under her breath, Ziva ran to her car. She had no chance of catching up with Tony, she knew that. But, if she knew him well enough, she knew where she could find him.

Pulling up to the bar only two blocks from Tony's apartment, Ziva spotted Tony's mustang parked on the roadside. Parking two cars away, Ziva walked into the bar, looking around for Tony and finding him sitting at the far corner of the bar.

"You should be at work," Ziva said, slipping onto the barstool beside him.

"So should you," Tony replied, taking another drink from the bottle he held in his hand. "Or did you get the day off to 'think' about getting married?" he said, the liquor already making him braver than he was.

Ziva just looked at Tony; she knew how he was when he got drunk. Yet, she did not think he had had time to drink enough. "Tony, we need to talk," she said, choosing to ignore his last comment.

"There's nothing left to talk about. You moved on, found the perfect man," Tony said, and Ziva was shocked to hear him say that. "Oh, don't act all surprised," he said, rolling his eyes. "Every woman in the office is jealous of you. They talk about Tommy like he was the best thing ever created on earth."

"Yes, Tommy is the most perfect man that I have ever met," Ziva said, and Tony snorted. "But, he is too perfect for me," she continued. "If you so much as sneeze during a movie, he goes ballistic. We never fight, and it drives me up the halls… no walls," she corrected herself and spotted a slight smile creep onto Tony's face. "I just need time to think. This past year has been too chaotic, and I just need to step back and think," she continued quietly. "I need time to breath," she said, catching his eyes for the first time since she walked in.

Tony heard the begging in her voice, and turned to look at the woman sitting next to him. Studying her eyes, Tony realized he was looking at the true woman behind the mask Ziva carried at work. He'd only seen this side of his partner a few times before, and knew these were precious times. Looking into Ziva's dark brown eyes, Tony felt his frustration disappear. Somewhere inside of him, Tony felt the urge to forget about his problems.

"Just tell me what I can do," Tony spoke up after a moment.

Ziva looked at him for a moment. She knew what she wanted Tony to do: she wanted him to take her in his arms and help her forget. She wanted him to tell her everything would be okay. But, she knew that that would only make the situation worse.

"Forget the past year every happened," Ziva finally answered after taking a deep breath. "I miss the bickering, the give and take," she told him. "I want things to go back to normal between the two of us."

"Deal," Tony said, holding out his hand for her to shake. "So, how long did Gibbs give us to return or work?" he asked, changing the subject.

Ziva told Tony what Gibbs had said after Tony stormed out of the office. "If it had been anyone else, I would almost swear there was a slightly amused look in his eyes," Ziva told Tony, thinking back.

"There's more to that man than we will ever understand," Tony told her, as he pulled his wallet out from his back pocket. "I ought to get back before the Probie goes into Gibbs-overload," he said. "Take the rest of the day off," Tony suggested. "I'll cover for you. Go see Tommy, figure this all out," Tony said, looking anywhere but into Ziva's eyes. He didn't want her to see the hurt in his eyes, or the want.

Ziva did not answer; instead she sat there as Tony walked out of the bar. Of course, Tony had not listened to a word she'd said. She implied that she didn't want to marry Tommy, but Tony had not understood. Maybe she had been wrong. Maybe Tony did not care anymore, she thought to herself. Maybe whatever they had had a year ago was gone.

After a few minutes, Ziva let out a sigh, and headed out the door. She needed to figure this all out, or what she asked of Tony could not happen.