The Proposal

They had gone away, for sure. Ziva stood now, on the second night of their vacation, on the white sands of the beach near their rented house. It was late, probably already after ten. The moon was full and shining high in the sky above their heads. She had her eyes closed just taking it all in.

Ziva was enjoying the warmth around her. The evening breeze drifting off the ocean was very pleasant as well. And she smiled at the sensation of Tony's arms wrapped around her waist as she stood there, looking out over the moonlight ocean.

The past two days here had been absolute heaven. There had been no work, no stress, no lives threatened, no murders, no forensic evidence, no bodies, and no crime scenes. There had also been no hiding the small touches and looks and no rule against getting totally lost in each other for impossible periods of time. This was something Ziva never thought she would see for a day in her life. She was just with Tony and he was with her. It was the way a vacation was really supposed to be.

Tony moved just a little to come up next to her. He took his arms from around her middle and she instantly missed his touch as soon as it left her skin. But, both of his hands found hers and their fingers automatically entwined together. She knew this was going to be a very serious moment by the look in his eyes and she was curious. She was pretty sure she knew what was coming at her, because all of the pieces of the puzzle were making sense in her head right now.

The talk with Gibbs. The talk in MTAC with her father. The big romantic dinner. The vacation. The romantic moments they shared right before this moment. Everything was making sense. Tony was on a mission and it obviously involved her and was not small by any stretch of the word.

Ziva's heart was racing as she looked up into Tony's deep, thoughtful, green eyes, which were staring into her own chocolate-colored ones with an intensity she wasn't sure she had seen in him before.

They stood there for another moment in silence. Her heart continued to race and she knew her cheeks were flushed with color. She could feel adrenaline coursing through her body. She knew now. It all made sense right now. He wore a look of absolute love and adoration and he had such a serious expression that she knew exactly what he was going to ask at the end of whatever else he had to say to her. She let a small smile play on her lips as he stood there gazing into her eyes as though he could see right through to her soul.

Tony's mouth pulled up a little at the corners, giving her a smile in response to hers, as though he realized he was going to get the answer he wanted from her, even though he had not said anything yet. He had not known what to say and even though he didn't, when she smiled, he knew that his heart would speak for him; he had to trust that. Tony squeezed her hands a little and as if on queue when her smile came, he spoke to her.

"Ziva, we've known each other for six years now. You walked into my life at the worst possible time… okay, maybe not the absolute worst, but definitely top five worst," he began, already needing to correct himself, as he was unsure of what to say to her. 'You came into that squad room wearing your cargo pants and white tank top, with your wild hair down and curly, just the way I love it… and I had just lost a best friend and a coworker who was like a sister to me and I was devastated by that… you walked in while I was having a childish moment and let's just say you had me at phone sex…."

They both laughed, remembering back to the very first time they met each other, before she was a Liaison Officer at NCIS; when she was only Mossad and trying to protect her brother from something she thought was injustice at the time. Tony squeezed her hands a little more and dared to continue on.

"You were wild, dangerous, more than off-limits, frightening, and beautiful. But, you squeezed your way into my life and my heart that day in the squad room. I had to follow you and spy on you, on Gibbs orders, of course. You caught me, which was something that hadn't ever happened to me before. I tried to play it cool for a long time, but somehow I think you knew what was going on deep inside my heart. We had to survive an undercover mission as a married couple, a fake relationship assigned to me, the death of Jenny, a reassignment, a fake relationship assigned to you, leaving you behind, you going through hell, me going through hell to find you in your hell, and so much more. But, we survived every bit of it, Ziva. We did it together.

"Things were so different when we rescued you. You were different. I was different. The team was different. We were different. But, we started to heal together. In Paris things began to change between us, though I didn't want to admit that, because I knew you weren't ready then. So, I did what I could and kept it to myself. I only wanted to help you.

"When you reached out and asked me to help you, I was thrilled. I was glad that you trusted me enough to do that for you, but I knew that it would change us forever. But, things escalated quickly enough. I don't consider the last vacation really a vacation, because most of that time we were still avoiding what we needed to discuss. But, we finally did it and pulled our act together. We were together, finally. That was the best moment of my life up to right then. I was so happy. I don't even know how to say it.

"After a wonderful year, I'm happier than I've ever dreamed. We've certainly had our ups and downs as we adjusted to being in a relationship and we've dealt with them wonderfully together, as a team, as partners, as soul mates. I can't picture my life without you. I can't live without you. I don't want to. Ziva, Adina David, will you marry me?"

Tony dropped onto one knee as he asked the question, holding a diamond ring in front of him. Ziva had tears in her eyes. She could barely breathe, let alone answer. The light of the moon illuminated the diamond ring and she knew that it was his mother's ring. It was beautiful, intricate, and small. It fit them. It suited them in every possible way.

Ziva dropped to her knees in front of him, her legs giving out under her emotions. Love and contentment were coursing through her and making her heart swell happily as a smile played on her face and tears streamed down her cheeks. She kneeled in front of Tony, level with him, equal to him, with a wide smile and tears of happiness glowing in the moonlight.

"Yes! Yes, Anthony Daniel DiNozzo! I will marry you!" she managed to say and leaned forward, finally giving into the impulse and kissing him passionately, tears of joy streaming down both their faces.

A/N – There's the question and there's the answer. More to come soon! Let me know what you think