Sorry for the wait, and the fact that this chapter is slightly shorter to the previous one. I was writing the majority of this last night and a thought occured to me: I think this story is almost finished, I don't think there's much more of it left, which kind of makes me sad because I've enjoyed writing this story. But, its not the end yet, so please enjoy.

There is a part towards the end of this chapter that pirate-princess1 left in a review the last time I asked if there was anything you wanted to see.

Disclaimer: I don't own NCIS.

"So have I," Tony replied.

They looked at each other with no words exchanged for a moment; both trying to decipher the others thoughts.

Gibbs looked between them for a moment: "I need to go," he announced causing Tony and Ziva to break their gaze and look towards him.

"Why?" Ziva asked.

"You two need to talk; and I need to get to work before I lose it," he replied.

Ziva took a step in his direction but he stopped her by raising his hand: "there is no need to walk me out; I can find my own way," he said.

They exchanged goodbyes and watched as Gibbs closed the door behind him before Ziva turned to face Tony again.

"What were you thinking about?" she asked, walking past him and sitting on the lounge.

"Do you think you're father will ever let it go, will he ever let you make your own decision; or will it always be you rebelling against him and keeping me a secret?" Tony asked as he took a seat beside her.

"He will not let it go, I am almost a hundred percent sure about that," Ziva replied, "I do not want to keep you a secret; and I'm not meaning to - I just do not think you would want to or deserve to get caught up in my family issues."

"I brought myself in to your family issues. I want to help and I don't know how to. Abby suggested I marry you, but that could just get complicated - we could leave the city until it blows over-"

"I'm not running away," Ziva stated.

"What can we do to make it clear that you're fed up with this and can lead your own life?" Tony asked, "it wouldn't be running away but maybe it would be safer for you."

"No, Tony," she said, "I appreciate the concern, but I cannot run away from something that may never go away."

"I wasn't meaning run away and I wasn't meaning forever; just enough time for us to get our heads on straight and work out a better way to deal with this. Enough time for your cuts to heal, enough time for me to get enough self control to stop from killing him and your father," he said.

"No, because then that is going to screw with my thoughts," she admitted.

"Oh, yeah, what are your thoughts?" he asked.

"We need to tell him," Ziva stated.

"Why?"

"Hang on, you basically just told me you were sick of the secrecy; then I tell you that I don't want to keep it a secret - you question me?"

"I was just wondering why the change of heart," he replied.

"It's this weekend," she said, plainly.

"He moved it again?!" Tony asked.

"Yeah. I thought that maybe if Eli and Riley knew that I really wanted to be with someone else. That I was... Interested, in another man, then they might leave me alone, to lead my own life," she said. She looked away from him, "maybe, it was something I should have done a while ago."

"You weren't ready to do it a while ago," Tony justified for her. He waited until she was looking at him before he continued, "is that really what you want to do?"

"Yes," she replied.

"Okay then. Name a time and date and that is exactly what we'll do," he said as he leant forward to kiss her only to pull her back with him when he leant back against the lounge so he was partially lying with her over him.

She pulled back a small amount and smiled at him: "so is this the beginning of my week in control?" she asked.

"Are your stitches out?" he replied.

"No."

"Then I guess not. But if you promise to tell me if I hurt you or if your head or belly starts to hurt then I am willing to make an exception," he breathed as he put his hand at the back of his neck and pulled her down to kiss him again.

"I can live with that deal," she murmured between kisses.

She straddled his hips, making the most of her position before he inevitably changed it. Her hands at his neck, hovering around his collar while his made their way up the back of her top.

She pulled back; this time further. She sat back on his hips and his hands went directly to hers.

"Tony," she said, waiting until he looked at her before continuing, "thank you," she said.

"For what?" he asked.

"Everything. You taught me it was better to say no to my father, to say no; to stand up for myself," she said.

"You don't need to thank me, you did all that yourself-" he replied.

"No, if you hadn't told me to stop saying 'how high' to his 'jump' as you put it; then I wouldn't be here with you. I would be with Riley. I'd be at his shack probably letting him use me. I would fight it all I could, but it is hard to break free of a hold that you didn't know you had over you," she said.

He watched her for a moment: "Ziva," he said as he sat up, "you are your own person. I found it amazing that a girl like you would simply allow a man to marry you-"

"I was not, I made that known," she argued.

"But if you weren't seeing me; what else would you do?" he asked.

"Okay, so maybe you are right," she said, leaving the argument.

She buried her head into his neck, placing light kisses when she felt like. After a minute, she rested her ear against the top of his shoulder so her mouth was next to his ear.

"Do you remember out first date?" she asked.

"You told your family that you were staying at Abby's but then went out with me, you told me about Riley and I told you my theory," he recalled.

"How about our first kiss?" she whispered.

"How could I forget?" he rhetorically asked.

"Do you think I've changed since then?" she said.

"Do you think you've changed?" he asked back.

She sat back again; looking him in the eyes: "any change that has happened is because you made me," she said.

"No, I helped. I can't make you change, you need to do that yourself," he said, "but yes, I think you've changed. You've become stronger, you know what you want," he answered her question before kissing her once again.

The kiss was different; there wasn't a slow burning passion driving the kiss, there was no lust. It was simply emotion driven, both telling the other what they couldn't say out loud.

"Do you want to go out?" he asked.

"Where?" she asked.

"Dinner, movie, walk. Just us?"

"I could do dinner," she said with a smile.

"I'm sorry, I wasn't really planning on going out - I have no reservations anywhere," Tony apologised as they walked through the mall.

"Tony, it is fine. I do not need fancy restaurants to be impressed – there are other ways of doing so. We can go to the pizza parlour that's open down there until late," she suggested, "quick, easy and I'm petty sure it is cheap."

"Sounds good," he replied.

"I need to go to the bathroom; I will meet you down there, yes?" she asked.

"Yes," he said, letting her hand slip from his. He watched her walk away for a minute before he continued through the mall.

He got halfway to the pizza place Ziva was talking about when something caught his eye. A shop to the right side of him turned the lights on their display off. He had never paid attention to this particular shop before - he never had reason to. But that night he decided to wonder over to it.

He knocked on the glass display window, gathering the attention of one of he shop clerks.

"Still opened?" he asked. The clerk nodded and watched as Tony walked in.

Lined along the walls were cupboards, below them were display tables. In the middle of the room, the main counter swept through, creating a U-shaped walk way for any customers. Each cabinet held jewellery. Gold, silver, lace. Diamonds, emeralds, sapphires.

The shear amount of jewellery in the shop surprised him. There was everything from rings to toe rings, necklaces to bracelets, earrings to anklets, charms to watches.

But he found himself walking to only one part of the shop. He ran his fingers lightly over the glass as he looked through it at the different patterns each stone could be put in to the circular bands.

The golden of the rings he found himself looking at held the diamond stones strongly, but the pattern woven around it was intricate; staring with a bigger diamond and as it worked, its way out they became smaller.

"Are you looking for anything in particular?" the clerk asked, "who is the special lady; I'm sure if I knew something about her I could show you some that might suit her perfectly."

"You can't find perfect for the perfect person," Tony mused before his stomach dropped and he realised exactly what he was doing.

This is ridiculous! What the hell am I doing?! He thought to himself. She didn't want to get married, well as far as he knew she didn't. He couldn't work out why he had begun looking at engagement rings. They hadn't even said 'I love you' yet.

"Um, I'm sorry, I need to go," he replied as she turned and hurried out of the shop.

"Tony?" he heard Ziva's voice behind him, he turned to look at her.

"What were you doing in there?" she asked.

He allowed her to catch up to him before they continued walking: "just looking," he stated.

"At what?" she said.

"Stuff," he replied.

She studied him for a moment before she looked ahead again; noticing that he wanted the topic dropped.

Once they had ordered, they made their way over to one of the multiple free tables.

"How are you going to tell them?" Tony asked.

"Tell my father?" she said.

"Yeah," he replied.

"You will be there and I'm thinking that maybe we tell just him instead of both of them because then maybe he might not feel the need to put on a show," she said, "I mean, maybe I'm just holding on to false hope, but..."

"Gibbs?" he asked.

"I don't know, I have just told him what I think we should do, and when I explained it to him I was not happy, so what I said to him was more rash than what I have explained to you," she replied.

"What if he doesn't take it well?"

"We will cross that bridge when we get to it," she stated.

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