Cape Hatteras, NC
Tony, Ziva, and Gibbs were standing in a small cottage that Director Vance had rented for them while they worked on the case. It was unusual to need to travel this far for a case, considering there were NCIS teams all over the place. But this one, was specifically related to an old cold case that they had not solved over twenty years ago. It was strange to see something pop up after so long, but here they were. They needed to get ready for the evening.
Ziva thought about this silently. There were two bedrooms, one bathroom, one kitchen, and one small living area. They had to talk to Gibbs now, before he decided the order of the bedrooms, which he seemed to be struggling with, since they already knew that there was only one queen-sized bed in each room. The couch was not big enough for any of them to sleep on, and that created a problem in Gibbs' mind.
Gibbs was staring at the small couch. He glanced at his two field agents, wondering why he had chosen these two, other than the fact that they worked extraordinarily well together. Why had he chosen a boy and a girl to come along with him? Why had he chosen specifically Tony and Ziva, knowing what this cabin was like? Why hadn't he thought ahead on the rooming arrangements? And why hadn't they talked to him yet about whatever they were going through?
Gibbs thought about them a lot lately. There was something definitely going on with them. Were they in a relationship? Did they just have a one night stand once? Were they just closer as friends? Whatever it was he needed to find out, because it was really starting to bother him. Something had changed after Paris. Something had changed over the summer. Something had changed with how often they hung out. Something had changed only a couple of weeks ago, right before Franks was killed.
He had thought about that time a lot. Both Tony and Ziva had arrived late to work, again, both saying that they had a doctor's appointment to go to that morning. That was strange enough. They arrived at the same time and in the same car, which was even more strange. They were both devastated. He had actually seen tears in both of his agents' eyes multiple times during the course of that day. They had gone through something painful together and remained totally silent about it throughout the last two weeks.
He had, however, seen them grow more comfortable with whatever that loss was. He had seen them grow closer together because of it. He had also seen them slip up on multiple occasions and he was nearly certain of what the answer was, though he was open to whatever was coming. His idea was that they had been seeing each other and DiNozzo messed up somehow, hurting Ziva and inevitably himself. He wondered if that was the case. He wanted them to speak up first, rather than having to bring it up. He wondered if they would do it now that they were sharing a small space together.
Tony glanced at Ziva at the same time that she glanced at him. Both agents looked nervous. They glanced at Gibbs at the same time and back to each other. Ziva nodded and Tony moved a little closer to her, knowing that it was time to share with their Supervisory Agent that they both viewed as a father. Tony's arm went instinctively around Ziva's waist as he turned to face their boss, who was staring at the couch as though wishing it to grow an extra cushion right before his eyes.
"Boss?" Tony said quietly.
Gibbs turned. He saw how they were standing, surely. But, it wasn't just that Tony's arm was around Ziva that caught him off-guard. It was that Ziva's head was leaning against Tony, as though looking for some form of comfort. Both of them looked tired. They all had a long drive and a long day. It was late and they were probably tired. He was standing there and not handing out rooming assignments, but he knew that whatever was going to be said now was going to change his dilemma significantly. He could see that his theory might be completely wrong. Perhaps whatever had happened between them was already worked out and they were happy together. Perhaps they were never together at all, but wanted to be and were going to check with him to see that it was okay. He didn't know.
"DiNozzo?" he asked, trying hard to keep a calm and even tone, though he was nervous to hear whatever the two agents had to say now.
"Gibbs, Tony and I have something we want to tell you," Ziva said nervously, her arm tightening around Tony's waist and his tightening around hers.
Gibbs noticed this and sighed. He indicated the couch and they both sat down. He took the chair next to it and sat down. He looked at them and noticed that they were managing to squeeze onto one cushion of the couch, needing to be near each other for a while.
"Go ahead," he said quietly.
"Boss, Ziva and I are together," Tony said nervously.
"We have been for about a year," Ziva added.
"Since last summer, at the end of June," Tony said quietly
Gibbs was silent for a moment. His eyes closed. He should have expected this. He should have expected them to get together and not tell him. After all, it was his rules that had prevented them from doing this sooner and his rules that made them hide it from him. Obviously it was working for them, so he really couldn't be angry about it. But, he had a question. Well, really, he had many questions.
"The late mornings to work?" he asked.
"Because we stayed up late," Ziva admitted, going pink and glancing at Tony.
"The times you answered the other's cell phone when McGee was calling?"
"We were together," Tony said quietly.
"The car breaking down?"
"Was exactly as we said it was, though I did not have to call Tony," Ziva said. "We would have been late anyway, but the car did make us more late."
"Okay, I have one more question. This one is one I can't assume the answer on, because I just don't know," Gibbs said shaking his head and realizing that if they were this close and still together it was not that either of them had screwed up. He needed to know why they were both upset a couple weeks ago and why they both had a doctor's appointment to go to on the same morning at the same time. "There was a day, a couple weeks ago. You both went to the doctor, same morning, same time. You both came in late. You arrived at the same time in the same car. You were both upset. What was that about?"
Tony and Ziva looked at each other and sighed heavily. Ziva placed her head on Tony's chest and then looked at Gibbs, while Tony held her tightly.
"I... it was… we…," Ziva said quietly.
"Did you two have a fight or something? A breakfast date? What happened?" Gibbs asked.
"Boss. Ziva had miscarried the morning before that," Tony said very quietly, squeezing her tighter as tears came into both of their eyes.
"Oh," Gibbs said in nothing more than a whisper unsure of what else to say to them at that moment.
"It was nothing involving NCIS that caused it," Ziva said quietly, not looking at Gibbs. "I had some scarring on the lining of my uterus from my time in Somalia. They have cleaned it up, but Tony and I are trying to wait to have children. It was unplanned and we were unprepared for it."
Gibbs smiled gently to himself. Yea, his kids were really thinking this through. Sure, they had an unplanned pregnancy, which he wasn't going to ask the details on, but they wanted this and they wanted to make it last.
"You two went through that silently?" he asked. "You know you can always talk to me about something if it's bothering you."
They both nodded and sighed in relief. "Thanks, boss," Tony said.
"I do have a little more to say," Gibbs said quietly. "I see that this is working out well for both of you. I see that you are thinking things through. I see that you are thinking of the future, which does require commitment, and I see that you're happy with each other. I want you to know you can always turn to me. I also want you to know that I put rule twelve in place for me, not for you. My rules are something for me to live by. It's time you made your own set of rules to live by. Mine are just a guideline for my team, my family. Besides, there are more than fifty rules and you can't listen to just one. You two obviously have a good thing going and rule five is more important than rule twelve, which is why its higher on the list. Never waste good.
"I'm sorry for the loss you've both suffered and I'm glad you two are being honest with me. If there's anything I can do to make this time easier for you, let me know. You should have talked to me about it," Gibbs continued, talking more than he had ever in their memory. "Now, I need you to know, I approve. I approve of this and am glad to see that it's stayed mostly out of work. Keep it that way. I know that there will be times where that's not possible. Especially in the future, when you decide to have children, or when you are going to get married, or whatever. But, you also need to be upfront with Vance, as well. There's paperwork that needs to be filled out for two agents who start a relationship within NCIS. It's not encouraged, but there's no rule against it. I still want both of you on my team."
They were both staring at Gibbs with shock. They definitely hadn't seen that coming. They hadn't seen instant approval with only a few questions. They hadn't seen such leniency and they hadn't even seen Gibbs feeling hurt over their personal loss of something great a couple weeks ago. They looked at each other, both taken aback by Gibbs' reaction.
"That also solves my other dilemma. You two will share a room. I do expect you not to oversleep though. I don't want to have to go in there to wake you up," Gibbs said chuckling to himself. "And please, share with the others when we get back. They'll be pleased, I think. McGee's been concerned Tony, because you haven't gone on a date in over two years. Abby thinks there's something wrong with both of you and is panicking. And I don't know what Ducky thinks, he's been oddly silent about you two since before this started. Now, get off to bed."
Ziva rose, but Tony didn't follow. She looked at him curiously. "Go ahead. I want another quick word with Gibbs," he said quietly to her. "I'll be up in just a minute."
Ziva nodded, planting a kiss on Tony's cheek before going up the stairs and not daring to listen to what was going to be said, in case it was some worry or something that Tony wasn't sharing.
"DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked, as he turned away from the television where he put a western on.
"Boss, I have a question…," Tony stated shakily. "You've been more of a father to Ziva over the last seven years than her father has ever been to her and I... I wanted to ask your permission to ask her to marry me."
Gibbs smiled. "I'll grant it. But, you should talk to Eli David as well," Gibbs said. "He is still her father."
"I know, Gibbs," Tony said. "I'm a little afraid of that."
"I'm sure Eli already knows what's going on between the two of you. You don't honestly think that he's stayed completely away from her, do you?"
Tony shook his head and fidgeted a little. "Boss. Can I be honest about something?"
"You can always be honest, DiNozzo," Gibbs said, chuckling at the odd question.
"I'm a little terrified of Eli," he said quietly. "I don't know what to say to the man. I don't know how to act around him. I don't know how to word what I want to say. I don't really care if he gives permission or not. I just… well, I would rather just tell him what I want to do and leave him no choice, because he'll say no. I mean, honestly, boss. I annoy the hell out of Eli. He doesn't like me and he'll think I'm no good for Ziva. He never liked me. And when he thought that Ziva and I were having a secret relationship the summer that you were in Mexico he threatened to take me out, because he didn't think I was good enough for Ziva."
Gibbs laughed. "Then tell him that's what you're doing," Gibbs said. "Besides, I'll stand in while you give him a call in MTAC."
Tony smiled. "Thanks, boss," Tony said quietly.
Washington, DC
Tony stood fidgeting next to Gibbs as the big screen revealed an impatient-looking Eli David on the screen. He looked confused and agitated at the interruption in whatever he was doing.
"Whatever this call is about, it better be good, Agent Gibbs," Eli said, ignoring the fact that Tony was standing right there looking extremely nervous, though he could see it and comprehend perfectly what he was feeling.
"I'm not the one making the call, Eli," Gibbs said. "But I do think it's an important phone call. Not case-related though, if that's what you mean."
"Then, why call in MTAC? Why go to the trouble. You could have just left a message with my secretary, you know," Eli said, sounding angry now.
"Oh no," Gibbs said shaking his head and chuckling. "This is not a message you would want to get from a secretary. Trust me on that. And I'm not the one making the call, here. Special Agent DiNozzo has something he would like to share with you."
"Is that so?" Eli asked with an entertained smile on his face. "Something he would like to share that should not be left with a secretary? This should be entertaining."
"Depends on how you look at it, I suppose," Gibbs said with a smile and pushed DiNozzo forward a little, so that he was the center of the image.
"Hi," Tony said nervously. "I wanted to tell you myself. Ziva and I have been dating for over a year. I love her with everything I have and she loves me. We're happy together. We've been through hell together and we've survived everything. I've gone to the ends of the Earth to save her and would do it all over again. I plan on asking her to marry me."
"No!" Eli said instantly. "Absolutely not! You are nothing but a cheating chatterbox, Special Agent DiNozzo. I will not allow you to do this. This is not your area. Go find some hot blonde to date. I refuse to allow Ziva to marry a non-Jewish man and especially one such as yourself!"
"You see, Eli, I wasn't asking your permission, exactly," Tony said. "I was more telling you what was going to happen. Ziva is an independent woman. If she says no, then that's how it will be. But, I won't let you decide her future for her. That decision is up to her, not you. And, I'm not who you seem to think I am. Sure, I went through a time in my life, which was rather juvenile and not exactly respectable, but I'm not that person anymore. I love Ziva and would never do anything to hurt her. I want her to be happy and that's not too much to ask, but I'm not asking you. I'm telling you. I'm going to ask her to marry me and leave the decision up to her."
"You are not good for Ziva!" Eli nearly shouted, going red in the face. "You are not good for any respectable woman!"
"Now, Eli," Gibbs said, stepping up. "I might be the man's boss, but I'm not blind either. Tony and Ziva are perfect for each other, and I distinctly heard that he wasn't asking for your permission. Honestly, I'm the one who suggested this call, since he thought it would be right to tell you what was going to happen. Now, you will accept that gracefully and be happy for your daughter, or I'll personally make sure you don't get an invitation to the wedding."
Eli frowned. He was cornered. He had no choice. He looked at DiNozzo and could definitely see that he cared about Ziva.
"Could I have a word with Ziva?"
"She doesn't know what DiNozzo's planning on doing," Gibbs warned.
"And I will not ruin the surprise for you, but I would like to talk to her," Eli said.
"I'll get her, boss," Tony offered and left MTAC, returning only a few minutes later with Ziva attached to his hand.
"Ah, my Ziva," Eli said looking at the other two agents.
"Abba?" Ziva asked.
"I just learned that you are sharing a relationship with one Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo," Eli said suavely. "You know that I do not like the man, right?"
"Abba, it is none of your business," Ziva said, going a little pink. "And, yes, he and I are in a personal relationship outside of work, unlike the time you suspected us. I am an American citizen now and he makes me happier than I have ever been in my whole life. If you are planning on telling me that we should not be together, do not bother. I do not care what you think. I am happy and will not sacrifice my happiness for you anymore than I already have. The last time I chose to do that I ended up in a terrorist training camp in Somalia on the Horn of Africa. That will not happen again. Is that clear?"
Eli was taken aback by his daughter's tone. He observed the two. They were standing very close. Their hands were linked but they were leaning just slightly toward one another. They obviously had the same ideas.
"I need to ask you, Ziva. What do you see in the future with this man?"
"Happiness," Ziva said, looking sideways at Tony and getting lost in his eyes. "I see complete happiness. I want to spend the rest of my life with him and someday have his children."
Eli sighed. He knew that he couldn't deny her this happiness, as much as he wanted to, but he realized that Ziva was not done speaking.
"My decisions are mine alone, Abba," she continued. "They are not your decisions. They are not Gibbs' decisions and he was graceful enough to allow us to continue working together as we always have when we told him about what was going on. And, any man that you do not like is probably a good man for me, since the ones that you have liked so far have ended up being untrustworthy and traitorous men who try to control and abuse me. I trust Tony. I trust him with everything! I love Tony and would not want to live without him as an essential part of my life!"
"Fine, that was all," Eli said and hung up on his end.
Now Ziva turned toward Tony and glanced at Gibbs. "You two want to tell me why you were having a chat with my father? Is he having me followed still, or should I say again? What was that all about?"
"Ziva, trust," Gibbs said quietly and left the room.
"Tony? What did he mean, trust?"
"I'm assuming that he wanted to tell you to trust me," Tony said quizzically. "But, we've got to get back to work. When we finish, we have a small date we're going on. I'm going to take you back to Virginia Beach for the weekend. It's already approved by Gibbs and Vance. We won't get called in this weekend, I've been told."
"That's what they always say," Ziva said chuckling. "Better hope not when the drive is a little further."
They kissed and left MTAC together, with Ziva still silently wondering why they had been talking to Eli in the first place since it had nothing to do with the case. She, for some reason, had some butterflies in her stomach about it, and couldn't explain why. She let him lead her out of MTAC anyway and returned to her desk to finish up her paperwork for the evening so she could go back to Tony's apartment (well, their apartment, really, since she had officially moved in there) and pack for the weekend that she was now looking forward to.