What can I say, I am loving writing this Vignette so much that I don't want it to end, but alas, "all good things" as the saying goes.

Sr. took the bracelet out of the box and placed it on her wrist. "Of 'course you can accept it. It is mine to give to whomever I want to have it. Well, technically, it belongs to Tony." She looked at Tony when he said that. He smiled softly at her.

"But I talked him into letting me hold onto to this. He didn't know I was going to give it to you, just to someone special. I gave this to Tony's mother on our first wedding anniversary. I had it made to match the earrings her parents gave her." Ziva's hand instinctively went to her earrings. "As I told Tony, Meg was my beautiful precious pearl. And you are my beautiful radiant pearl. Please accept this gift, from the bottom of my heart."

Ziva eyes were filled with tears, slowly making their way down her cheeks. "Jr., your lady is crying. I think you need to take care of her."

Vignette Two: "A Very DiNozzo Christmas- Part Four"

Before he could get up, Ziva hugged him tightly, and kissed his cheek. "Thank you. I will take very good care of it, and I hope someday, maybe I can give this to someone whom I consider a beautiful, precious, radiant pearl." Sr. kissed her cheek, looked significantly at Tony, and excused himself, presumably to use the bathroom.

Ziva fingered the bracelet on her right wrist. Tony took her right hand in his, and turned her face toward him gently with a finger.
"Are you ok with all of this? My father is not known for being subtle."

"It is a little overwhelming, but I have become used to your father's uh, eccentricities."

Tony chuckled. "He has had his share of hair-brained schemes in his life, but I don't think that's what this is. It is his new mission."

"New mission? What is?"

"Us." Tony answered honestly. One of the things they had promised each other when they finally talked after getting out of that elevator was to quit with the games, and to always tell each other the truth, even if it hurt. Tony wasn't real thrilled with that promise as it could backfire and the "truth" could end up being that Ziva no longer wanted to be with him.

"What do you mean 'us'? We are together, are we not?"

Tony squirmed a little, not wanting to scare Ziva off. "Well, we are together. We are dating, we are intimate. But we are not living together, and we are certainly not 'together' in the legal sense of the word, if you get my drift."

Ziva looked confused for a moment, then understanding dawning on her face. "Oh, I see. He is hoping we will get married."

"Of'course he is. He wants a little 'Anthony DiNozzo, III. But it is not up to him, so try to ignore his little tricks and we'll be fine, ok?"

Ziva leaned back into him, allowing him to wrap his arms around her. "Ok, I am not worried or nervous Tony. And I am not going to run away because I think things are moving too fast. You cannot get rid of me that quickly."

"Do you think things are moving too fast?" Tony was concerned.

Ziva considered the question. "Maybe if this had happened a month ago, but no, I think we are going forward as we should."

Tony kissed her. "I love you, Ziva."

She looked surprised. "You have not said that to me before."

"Maybe not verbally, but I hope my actions have been conveying my true feelings. I haven't actually said the infamous 'Three Little Words' because I didn't want to scare you off. I didn't want you to end our relationship because you thought I wanted more than what you were ready or willing to give."

Ziva looked into his eyes. "We made a promise to always be honest to each other. I wasn't always sure what I wanted from you, or rather, what I wanted from us. All I knew is that we belonged together and I wanted to be with you. I never used to think beyond that."

She placed her hand on his cheek. "But now, I think I am ready to think beyond today, or even tomorrow. I do not know where our future will end up, but I am ready to find out. I love you too. Tony."

She leaned in and kissed him on the cheek, as a symbol of their relationship past; then she kissed him fully on the lips, a kiss of promise and fulfillment.

Tony deepened the kiss and wrapped her in his arms. Finally needing to take a breath, they both fell back against the sofa, arms still intertwined. Tony stroked Ziva's hair, nestling against her neck.

"Snap" Fortunately, Sr. had an expensive camera that didn't need a flash and didn't make a sound once the picture was taken. He smiled at the couple. "This is going to make one hell of a picture."

Reluctantly, they came apart, but never took their eyes off of one another.

"Back to reality tomorrow." Tony said quietly. Ziva smiled. She knew he meant having to keep their relationship under control at work, "keep it out of the office."

"We will have our moments when we can get together. There is always the Men's bathroom." Tony laughed heartily at that. Sr. took that as his cue to return to the living room.

"Having fun?" He asked, winking at Ziva. Tony and Ziva looked at each other and smiled. They got up and joined his Dad in the kitchen. The holidays were almost over and now it was time to clean up.

Tony took his Dad back to the hotel by himself, leaving Ziva at his place.

"Dad, thanks for coming. I really mean that. It's been a really nice Christmas having you here."

Sr. hugged his son. "Glad I was able to, son. Now, you keep in touch with me. I don't want to miss any important events."

"Dad…" "Come on, son. You and I both know that you have every intention of marrying that marvelous creature."

Tony looked sheepish. "Maybe, but I have to wait until she is ready, so don't push it. Otherwise you may push her away."

Sr. looked horrified. "Well, I certainly don't want to do that. Ok, I'll keep my nose out of things. Goodbye, son."

"Uh, Dad, can we talk a little bit? About your gift?" Tony looked around the lobby. "Maybe we should go to your room, it will be more private."

Anthony, Sr. eyed his son, knowing where this was going. "Son, can't you just be gracious and accept the gift without the how-to's and where-fors?"

"You know I can't do that, Dad." Tony looked sadly at his father. He wanted this visit to end on a happy note and was desperately worried that whatever his Dad was going to say to him could tear apart the wounds they had mended in the past few days.

His Dad shrugged. "All right, upstairs. Do you need to call Ziva?"

Tony looked a little startled at that. "Am I going to be here that long?" Sr. laughed. "I guess that depends on you and whether or not you believe what I have to say." They looked at each other. "Ok, just give me a second." Tony walked a few steps away.

""I'll see you upstairs. Give Ziva my love." Tony nodded, the knot in his stomach tightening with each passing second.

"Hi." Ziva's voice was soft and a little tired.

'Hey, Babe. I need to talk to my Dad for a bit, it you don't mind. I shouldn't be too much longer."

Ziva frowned. "I thought everything was ok?" Tony paused. "They are. I just have some questions for him, about some financial stuff."

"Ok." Ziva yawned. "Don't forget it's a school night." Tony chuckled. "I won't. Love you. See you soon."

"I love you, too." Ziva whispered. She was surprised at how easy she was finding it to be able to openly express her feelings. Her past training had ingrained into her to keep everything inside, otherwise you would be vulnerable and could be compromised. She was finding she liked being a little vulnerable, at least as far as Tony DiNozzo was concerned.

She thought about what Tony has said to her, about his father's "mission." It was true that although they had only been actively "dating" since May, their relationship had been evolving for years. Maybe they should think about taking things a step further.

Tony headed up to his Dad's room and knocked on the door. "It's open, Jr." his Dad called out.

Tony walked in and found his Dad sitting in a wing chair, scotch in hand. "Ok son, what's on your mind."

Tony took a deep breath. "Your gift to me, to us. Don't get me wrong; it's a great present, but how can you afford it? Has something changed that you would care to share with me? Or are you just dealing and scheming, because I don't want to spend a vacation bought by wheeling and dealing."

Sr. sat his glass down on the side table. "Anthony, do you remember the last time I came to DC? I mean before the attack."

"When you were a murder suspect? Yeah, Dad. Kind of hard to forget."

"Well, I don't know if you remember, but that whole debacle had to do with a deal I had set up, a deal that would have squared me away for the rest of my life. Well, obviously, that one didn't work out as planned."

"I'm a hard worker, Anthony. I do 'wheel and deal' as you put it; but that's what all legitimate businessmen do. And everything I have done has been legitimate. When that deal fell through, I just looked for the next one. And I found it."

Tony looked confused. "I don't understand."

Sr. smiled and took a sip of his scotch. "What I am trying to say, son, and I am sure Gibbs will appreciate this; my ship has come in. I was able to close a big deal, and it paid off handsomely. I have no bills, my homes are paid for, I have a sizeable 401K as well as stock portfolio, and I am now financially independent. I told you I always bounce back. So you and Ziva get started on those kids so I can spoil them rotten and send them to Ivy League colleges."

Sr. smiled. "Of'course, you don't exactly need my help now, do you? Take those papers to a lawyer, Anthony and go through them with a fine toothed comb. You are going to find a lot more there than what we were able to decipher."

Tony sat there stunned. "Dad, I don't know what to say. I mean, congratulations, you've worked hard and I'm glad it has finally paid off, literally. I'm sorry I doubted you."

"Hey, if I were you, I would have doubted me as well. I was planning to tell you all this while I was here, but well I just had so damn much fun, there never really was a time to sit and talk alone. I'm glad you insisted on staying and talking."

Tony got up. His Dad also got up and they hugged each other. "I'm really proud of you, Dad."

Sr. smiled. "You know what Jr.? So am I. And I am very proud of you and very happy you and Ziva are finally together. I saw it the first time I met her. Took you long enough."

Tony laughed at that. "Things are not always as easy as they seem or as they should be. But we are together now, and that's what counts."

"Indeed it does." Sr. walked Tony to the door of his room.

"Bye, Dad." They shook hands and Tony headed back to his place. The past two weeks had totally upended his life, but all he wanted to do right now was get back home, and to Ziva.

He walked into his apartment. It was darkened but he could see light coming from the bedroom door. "I'm home." He announced, because he didn't want to startle Ziva and be faced with a Ninja and a Sig.

He cracked open the door to his bedroom, and found Ziva lying in his bed, clearly waiting for him. Walking slowly to the bed, shedding his clothes with each step, he joined the woman he loved and who loved him.

"Everything ok with your father?" Ziva murmured as her lips caressed Tony's. "Dad is great, we are great. Now if you don't mind, I have other things on my mind than talking."

NCIS

The day after a holiday was always bad. Luckily they hadn't been on call, but that doesn't mean cases stopped because it was Christmas. A Navy Captain and his new bride had been killed in a robbery gone badly, in the hotel where they were spending their honeymoon no less.

McGee had arrived about an hour before Tony and Ziva did, and in that time he had been able to link that case to multiple other cases of Navy and Marine newlyweds being robbed while on their honeymoons. Those cases never came across their radar because their team didn't handle simple robberies. But with this killing, it was clear that this had not been a random event. Someone was targeting these couples. McGee found that all couples had been married at the "Garden of Love" Chapel in Alexandria, VA.

Tony and Ziva unlinked their hands as soon as they got off the elevator. They both looked at each other and frowned to see McGee already there and clearly hard at work.

"What's up, McGee. Did we miss a call?" Tony didn't want to start the day off on a bad foot with Gibbs.

"No, I just decided to come in early and picked up a case that happened while we were out. Gibbs is upstairs talking to Vance about it."

Tony blanched. "Are we the last ones here? What time is it?" It was only 8am, but Tony felt like they were hours late.

Just then, Gibbs came down from Vance's office. "Morning, DiNozzo, Ziva. Did you get your Dad off ok?"

"Yes…" Tony answered slowly. Gibbs didn't waste any time. "Tony, get up to speed with McGee. Ziva, you're with me. We've already booked everything, so we have no time to waste. Come on, Ziva. Abby's waiting." He dragged her toward the elevator.

"Boss, wait a minute. What in the hell is going on? Booked what? What are…?"

"Oh, didn't I tell you?" Gibbs head peaked through the elevator doors before they closed, a small smile on his face. "You and Ziva are getting married in two days."

Thanks for the great reviews. This second Vignette just kept getting bigger and bigger. This will now lead into another spoiler that has been out there for a while, but there is no spoiler about them getting married. This next Vignette will be the set up for the one that will be about the spoiler. Which one am I talking about? You'll just have to keep reading to find out.