Whoo. This one did not end up at all like I'd expected. That being said, I hope you enjoy it. Thank you to everyone who has read and reviewed!

There were many days when Gibbs would come home knowing that he would be receiving a visitor that night. Sometimes it was Abby when she had been through a particularly tough case, other times it was Director Vance when he needed to talk through some sensitive information. Tonight, however he knew that it would be Ziva that accompanied him at his workbench.

DiNozzo had been trying her patience all day. Whether it be flicking little bits of paper at her or trying to touch her without Gibbs noticing, at which he was wholly unsuccessful, he was just getting on her nerves. Tony was in a playful mood, and it was very clear that Ziva was not. The entire day's frustration came to a head when DiNozzo had nearly gotten stabbed tackling a suspect to protect Ziva from getting hurt. Needless to say she was unamused with his actions.

About two hours after Gibbs released the team, he heard Ziva's light, but distinctly angry footsteps coming down his stairs. He had already poured her a drink, but he doubted that she would take it. He knew she'd learned early in life not to drink in stressful situations.

Ziva strode swiftly into the basement, frustration clearly written on her face. There was only so far she could be pushed before she snapped. DiNozzo knew that better than most, but for some reason he was trying to provoke her. Gibbs doubted this was the reaction he was looking for. Ziva paced the floor not unlike a caged tiger; angry, but with no idea how to express it.

"Hey," Gibbs said, catching her attention. "You wanna sit?"

"No," she said shortly.

"You wanna talk?"

"Not yet."

"Want a drink?" he said, motioning to her still untouched glass.

"No."

"Then what the hell are you doing here?"

"I do not know. I went for a run, but I am feeling frustrated and anxious. It will not go away," she said, irritated and still pacing.

He nodded in understanding and was grateful that she could at least pinpoint what she was feeling. He remembered a time not so long ago that such a feat would not have been possible. He tossed a piece of wood and a sanding block to her, tipping his chin towards it.

"There."

"What am I supposed to do with that?"

"Sand it," he said. "With the grain," he added as an afterthought.

She looked at him skeptically.

"You've done this before, Ziver. You know how it works. If you're not gonna talk, you're gonna work."

She rocked back and forth on her heels for a moment, contemplating, before sitting down at the work bench on a sawhorse and beginning to sand.

They worked in silence for quite some time, Ziva trying to calm her nerves and organize her thoughts, and Gibbs waiting patiently for her real problem to surface.

It was a long while before Ziva spoke again. The rhythmic sound of her sanding stopped, but Gibbs kept working.

"He is such an idiot. Why would he do that?" she finally said.

Gibbs only shrugged, knowing that the question was rhetorical.

"There was no reason for him to tackle that suspect. I had the situation under control. He did not need to intervene."

"You were in a hand to hand fight with a marine."

She stood, her anger getting the better of her once again. "That does not change the fact that I am capable enough to handle him on my own. Tony could have gotten hurt! He could have gotten stabbed! And yet there he was, throwing himself on a fully armed man."

"He has your six. He always has. Why is this bothering you so much?"

"Because!" she exclaimed, "I do not want him to make stupid decisions just because we are-" she stopped mid-sentence, looking terrified. She almost blurted out that she and Tony were together.

"What? Dating?" He said, completely unsurprised. Ziva's eyes widened in shock and horror.

"We...yes. How did you know?"

"DiNozzo told me" She sat down slowly, absorbing what she was told.

"He told you?" she asked, incredulously.

He nodded

"When?"

"Right after your first date. He was still wearing his suit and tie," he paused, hoping that the news would bring a smile to her face. To his dismay, she still looked slightly bewildered. "I'm guessing he didn't tell you he came to see me."

"No. He did not," she paused, realization spreading over her features, "Our first date was four months ago."

"Uh huh."

"You have known all this time?"

"Yep."

"Why didn't you say anything?"

"Wasn't my place. And you didn't give me a reason."

"Well we certainly have given you one now."

"Meaning?"

"All we have been trying to do is not give anyone a reason to separate us, to take one of us off the team. And now we have given you one. Tony acted rashly. He was not thinking about anything but my safety."

"Tony has never thought about anything other than protecting you. That's part of being your partner. He would have taken a bullet for you the moment you joined this team. What he did today he would have done whether you were dating or not."

She looked down at her hands, her hair falling into her face.

"I know you know that, Ziva. So what's really on your mind?"

There was a long pause before Ziva spoke.

"He cares too much," she said softly.

"What do you mean by that?" Gibbs asked, his voice lowering to meet her tone.

"I mean, he cares too much for me. I can feel it all the time. His concern, his love. It is everywhere."

"Is that a problem?"

"Yes...No...I do not..."

"Do you think he loves you more than you love him?" He couldn't believe he was having this conversation with Ziva. He'd never imagined this would be the biggest problem in her and Tony's relationship; that he cared too much.

"No. I am certain that I love him just as much, if not more."

"Then what's the problem?"

Ziva was fidgeting on the sawhorse opposite Gibbs, clearly struggling with what she was trying to say. She was worrying her fingers, rubbing them back and forth and tapping them together.

"The way he loves me...I have never experienced anything like it," she wavered, fighting her tears, "I do not know if I deserve it."

Gibbs sighed. He knew to truly calm her fears, he would have to draw on emotions he hadn't truly felt in years. "Ziva, I know that you're doubting this, that you think you haven't done enough good in your life to be with him, but let me tell you something," he paused, just to be sure she was listening. "That's how you're supposed to feel."

Her head shot up, her teary eyes meeting his.

"When you find the person you're meant to be with, there's a bit of time that you think that it can't possibly be right. You feel like you've never been so overwhelmed with love, and that there is no way in the world you deserve the person sleeping next to you. You wonder what you have to do to keep that person with you always, and you try your best to prove to yourself and them that you deserve this gift. That's how I felt when I met Shannon, and I haven't felt it since," his voice grew raspy with the memory of his wife invading his senses and he took a sip of bourbon to finish his speech, pushing his emotions down.

Ziva had silent tears trickling down her face.

"You deserve each other, Ziver. Remember that."

She nodded tearfully. "I will."

"Good, now go see him. I know you want to."

She smiled sadly, nodding once again. She did take a small sip of her drink before getting up to leave.

"Hey," Gibbs said quietly, stopping Ziva in her tracks.

He slowly stood from his seat and walked around the table to where Ziva stood. He leaned down and kissed her lightly on the crown of her head. "Love ya, kid."

She smiled widely at him before turning to leave, wiping her tears as she went.

Gibbs turned back into the basement, eyes falling on where his boat usually sat; where Ziva had been sitting only moments ago. He could see Kelly running around the basement, her tiny hands gripping his tools, her laughter as he lifted her up to help him pound nails or sand boards. He took another drink and let his head fall back. Looking up at the sky, he silently thanked the universe for giving him another chance.