Elizabeth stamped her foot softly in frustration as she looked over her shoulder, cursing the zipper. She couldn't quite get it the rest of the way. She padded into her sister's room and walked over to the desk where Katie was making play lists and burning cds. "Help?"

Katie nodded her head and motioned for her sister to turn around. She had been on stand-by to assist and was the reason Lizzie's hair was perfectly curled. In seconds, the back of the dress was zipped. "You are going to freeze your ass off," she commented about the dress. The dress was Lizzie's absolute favorite little black dress, and little meant a revealing wide open back and nearly exposed shoulder from the asymmetric neckline.

"That's what coats are for."

"Wait...which coat?"

Lizzie rolled her eyes and knew she was correct in assuming it had been borrowed. Hopefully, the coat wouldn't have had alcohol spilled on it or smell of cigarette smoke from Katie going bar hopping the previous night. "The Burberry I got for Christmas from Grandma."

"In my closet."

"Why don't you get it? I still have to do the finishing touches. And why did you take mine anyway?"

"Mine is at the cleaners. Jameson on the rocks and a margarita were spilled on me," Katie explained as she entered her closet to get the precious coat. She retrieved the single-breasted coat and delivered it to Lizzie's bedroom. "Anything else?" she asked, watching Lizzie scurry about her room.

"I don't think so," she answered as she put in her diamond earrings. With the neckline of the dress, she'd decided to forgo wearing a necklace and to keep it simple. "Well?" Lizzie asked, turning around.

"Perfect."

"Make-up isn't too much?"

"It's great...trust me. I'll get that clutch I bought yesterday."

Lizzie spritzed her perfume and touched up her lipstick before slipping into the black stilettos. She grabbed the coat and walked into the living room of the apartment. "Perfect!" she squealed as Katie handed over the leopard print clutch.

"You need a little pop." Katie wanted to give her sister a smack upside the head to get her to calm down but thought it better not to voice that opinion.

She found her purse and transferred a few items into the clutch. "Do I have everything?"

"You don't."

"What am I?" Her blue green eyes widened as she realized she was completely forgetting Tony's Valentine's Day gift. She rushed into her bedroom and retrieved the box from its hiding place. As much as Tony considered himself a top of the line investigator, he hadn't found his gift, and she knew he had searched. She opened the box, smiling to herself. He would have a heart attack over his present.

Tony paced in front of the apartment building. He was rehearsing what he would say...if he could figure out what to say. He scratched his head in frustration and glanced at his watch, rolling his eyes. He needed a new watch considering the current watch was on the blink. "If I'm late, she'll kill me," he mumbled. Before entering the building, he checked to make sure the ring was still safe in his pocket. He met Katie in the lobby on her way out. She was going to spend her Valentine's Day out with her single girlfriends.

"Where are you going?"

"Out," she replied simply.

DiNozzo smirked. Katie loved giving him short answers to get on his nerves almost as much as he loved pushing her buttons.

"A few of us are going to dinner to celebrate Single Awareness Day."

"Where are you going to dinner?"

"Firefly."

He nodded his head. He had chosen more upscale for tonight.

Katie raised an eyebrow. "Where did you make reservations?"

"701."

"I heard about the Palena fiasco."

DiNozzo rolled his eyes. Over a week ago, he had been making dinner reservations at Palena until Gibbs had come over and disconnected the phone along with giving him a headsmack. He was quickly informed that Gibbs always took Jenny to Palena for Valentine's Day. He was given an ultimatum of choosing another restaurant or getting his legs broken.

"Crisis averted. Stay off the bourbon, Katie. I'd hate for you to wind up on mommy and daddy's doorstep like last time."

"I do that one time, and it's all I hear about..." she muttered as she walked out of the building.

He continued on his way to the apartment. Before knocking in his typical manner, he took a deep breath and let it out slowly. He was moments away from changing his life forever. He slowly knocked on the door and let himself inside. Stepping inside, he realized he shouldn't have ever remembered Lizzie's love for scented candles. As part of her Christmas present, he bought her several scented candles. The apartment strongly smelled of vanilla cookies and café au lait. A song hit his ears as Lizzie told him just a minute, and he knew he'd be proposing before dinner. He hummed along to the soft strings of the music and sang along with Michael Buble, smiling at Lizzie as she emerged from her bedroom. Tony stared at her, taking in the sight of her. He loved seeing her in that dress. He stood up and walked towards her, giving her a single rose. "Breathtaking," he whispered before kissing her deeply.

"Thank you. You're pretty handsome yourself," she returned, stroking his face. "Happy Valentine's Day." She straightened his deep red tie. As handsome as he was in his tailored black suit, she couldn't help thinking about getting him out of it.

"Happy Valentine's Day." He looked down at her hands and took them carefully into his own. "I know we agreed to exchange presents after dinner, but I want to give you yours now."

She felt the nervousness running through his hands and looked him in the eyes. "Do I need to sit down for this?"

He shook his head. "Avril Elizabeth Gibbs...dating you has been a learning experience. I've learned if you always do what you've always done, then you'll always get you always got. While what I got before you had its perks, I looked for something different, and I found something different. I want to keep what we have for the rest of my life." With that, he took a knee and slipped the box from his pocket, opening it to reveal the platinum princess cut engagement ring. He looked up, staring into her misty blue green eyes. "Will you marry me?"

Lizzie nodded her head quickly. "Yes," she vocalized her acceptance even though she felt as if she needed to pinch herself to wake herself out of this dream. She blinked back tears as Tony stood up and slipped the ring onto her finger. She was taken aback by the ring. It was so simple yet so perfect. She slipped her arms around his neck, engaging him in a kiss and not pulling away until they both needed air. She ran her fingers through his hair as she admired him. "Best Valentine's Day gift ever."

He grinned like a cat with a canary as he rubbed her lower back. "I was going to pop the question after dinner."

"Oh?"

"Yeah."

"What made you change your mind?" she asked quietly, playing with the collar of his jacket.

"I was reminded of the first time I met you."

"How, Tony? My arm isn't in a cast or sling."

"Remember how I had to drive your car?" He watched as she nodded her head. "Your car smelled of vanilla and Ralph Lauren Romance and Me & Mrs. You was playing then."

She smiled softly. "I love you."

"I love you too," he returned. He lifted her coat off the sofa and helped her into it.

"Wait," she spoke suddenly. "You're missing something."

"Liz, what are you talking about?"

"You'll see. Close your eyes."

"Liz," he whined.

"Close them, please."

He obliged and closed his eyes. For several moments, he wondered what she was doing. Lizzie moved to stand in front of him. "Ready."

He opened his eyes and took the case from her with a raised eyebrow. His eyes nearly came out of his head when he opened his gift. "Liz, you shouldn't have. This is...this...is..."

"A Rolex," she finished for him, taking the watch and his wrist.

"It's..."

"What you've wanted for months, and I'm the best girlfriend in the world for giving it you." She put the steel and yellow gold watch on his wrist and smiled with pride at selecting a gift which had rendered him speechless.

After several minutes of him staring at the Rolex in disbelief, he stammered his appreciation for the gift and her. "You're welcome," she replied, blowing out the candles and turning off the music. She smiled at him, taking his hand after buttoning and tying her coat. "Let's go before we're late."

As soon as they hit the lobby of the building, Lizzie was making phone calls and announcing their engagement. Katie didn't believe it, but she did after being sent a picture of the ring. She tried her father's cell after getting off the phone with Katie. "It went straight to his voicemail." She dialed her mother's number, and she answered on the third ring. "Mom, are you sitting down?"

"Yes, Lizzie. Is something wrong?" Jenny looked over at Jethro and winked at him.

"No, nothing's wrong."

"Then what is it?"

"I'm engaged," Lizzie squealed. As soon as her daughter started the cries of excitement, Jenny did too. In different cars and areas of the city, Tony and Gibbs had the same reaction. Both grimaced in pain from the shrieks of joy as they reached a whole new level of intensity. It didn't help Lizzie had her phone on speaker so did Jenny.

Jenny cleared her throat and regained her composure. "Your father wants to talk to you, sweetheart." She passed her phone to Jethro.

"I'm happy for you, Lizzie."

"Thanks, Daddy."

"Let me talk to Tony."

Lizzie gave the phone to her fiance with a smile. Tony didn't bother taking it off speaker.

"Decided to ask before dinner," Gibbs said to him.

He glanced over at Lizzie who had a questioning look on her face. "I did. The moment was right, and I didn't want to risk knocking over a glass of wine."

Gibbs smirked as Jenny started giggling in the background. Tony reminded himself to get the proposal story from her. "Good call, DiNozzo. Come by the house tomorrow."

"We will."

He handed the phone over to Lizzie. Both knew he'd ended the call. She slipped her hand into Tony's free hand. "How did daddy know?"

"I asked his permisson along with your mother's."

A small smirk graced her features. He had been planning this a while, and she had been oblivious. She was surprised he had the incentive to ask for permission. In her plans for the next few years, she hadn't included becoming engaged, but she knew life happened when you were making other plans. She smiled at the thought of being Elizabeth DiNozzo and planning the wedding. Nothing could take her off her cloud of engagement bliss or so she thought.