Three Days Later:

Tony and Ziva sat outside the director's office at waiting to meet with Vance and Gibbs. McGee was in with them now, discussing his future with NCIS. Tony took Ziva's hand and gave it a squeeze.

"You okay?" He asked her. She'd been quiet all morning.

"Are you really alright with this?" she asked. "Can you work at a desk?"

He placed his other hand on top of Ziva's, cradling her smaller palm between his, and brought her hand to his mouth giving it a light kiss. "I can and I will." He promised her again. "We're both asking for desk jobs. I love you Ziva." He gave her a smile to assure her that he was okay with his promise.

Vance's door opened and a smiling McGee walked out. He gave Tony and Ziva a thumbs up. Vance was right behind McGee and he beckoned them inside.

"Call me when you finish." McGee whispered. "We're all going out to celebrate." He smiled at Tony and Ziva as he left and headed down to meet Abby.

Pangs of guilt stabbed at Tony for not yet telling McGee that he wouldn't be coming back to the team. Sadness wrapped its hands around his heart and squeezed at the thought of no longer working with Tim in the field. Aside from becoming a true friend, Tony felt responsible for protecting his Probie. A part of him would always want to protect McGee. He reminded himself how far Tim had progressed in ten years. He was a great agent, but a small part of Tony felt it very difficult to let him go. Tony turned to see that Ziva had caught the sadness in his eyes. He squeezed her hand again and overcompensated by giving her a megawatt DiNozzo smile.

They sat down at the table across from Vance and Gibbs to discuss their futures at NCIS.

Vance began. "Agent McGee will be coming back to the team. What you guys pulled off was nothing short of amazing. Not only did you take down an active cell here in Washington, D.C, but you handed over Hydar on a silver platter. He turned on his group, and is working with us to take down the entire cell in Iran. Hydar has disclosed two upcoming attacks they have planned in the next year alone. You guys saved a lot of lives."

"The Inspector General has called off the investigation into Agent Gibbs. All charges have been dropped. Parsons was not happy about this. He actually tried to blackmail the Attorney General, which landed him under investigation himself. The AG will be using the evidence that you helped compile to bring a blackmail case against him."

"Needless to say, there are a lot of people who owe you their thanks. You know that you two hold the cards. I've been told to do whatever it takes to get you two back. You'll be paid for the time you were away, and you'll be on paid leave until the second week in September. Can I count on you two to come back?" Vance waited for a response.

Tony looked at Gibbs. His blue eyes betrayed nothing. He obviously hadn't told the director what he already knew. Tony turned to Ziva to find her staring at him with a pained look. His heart clenched for her thinking that she still didn't trust that he'd do this for her. He wished he could truly show her the extent of his feelings for her. He wished that he could show her that he'd give up his very breath for her. He'd give away his freedom, his life, and his own happiness if it ensured that she'd have her own. He didn't want her to feel sad about Tony giving up fieldwork for her. He needed her to know that her was doing this for her. Because from now on his life didn't revolve around work, it revolved around her. That was all that mattered to him now.

Tony reached under the table and took Ziva's hand in his own. He turned and faced her. Even though his words were directed to Vance and Gibbs, he spoke to her. "Ziva and I are done in the field." He smiled at her, begging that his eyes successfully expressed his love.

Ziva broke into a smile as her inner conflict dissolved. "No." she said to Tony before turning to Vance and Gibbs and finishing, "we are not."

Tony sat in confused silence for a few seconds. "Ziva?" he asked her.

She squeezed his hand before turning in her chair to face her two bosses. "We will come back under certain conditions." She brought her elbows onto the table and clasped her hands. She snapped on her game face, ready to negotiate.

"And those are…?" Vance asked.

"No undercover work, no protection detail, and the right to refuse any assignment we choose. And…no more stakeouts." She said proudly. The look Gibbs gave to her told her she'd gone too far. "Okay…I will only do stakeouts with Tony."

"Hell no." Gibbs interjected. "I will not have you two alone together on a stakeout."

Vance broke the silence. "I'm just going to go ahead and make that no stakeouts. This is unorthodox, but considering what you guys pulled off, I can make it happen." He turned to Gibbs. "You're going to need to hire another agent. Will you agree to that?"

Gibbs let his face soften into a smile. "I already have someone in mind." Tony sat in shock. How did Gibbs always know what was going to happen before they'd even made the decision.

"Done." Vance declared. "We'll see you in September."

Tony pulled Ziva aside once they'd left Vance's office. "Are you sure?" Tony asked her.

"Yes, I am." Ziva was positive. For a woman that had always told what to do, all she ever wanted was to make her own choices.

One Week Later:

Tony and Ziva sat with Bee and her posse of women in the kitchen of the house on Cape May. This time the woman were invited over.

"We were all worried about you last week." Bee made the declaration and her woman all nodded in response. "All that action in D.C. We didn't know if you two were involved."

"Nope." Tony replied. "And, besides, we're off this summer."

The 24-hour news cycle discussed almost nothing but the major victories the US achieved on the war against terror. The headlines were mostly the same. 'US Victory in D.C: Major Terror Cell Taken Out, No American Casualties'. The even larger story, however, was still unfolding. 'Major Victory for US in Iran: Entire Terror Cell Thwarted With Help of US Informant'. That story would continue to unfold in the months ahead. Hydar's dreams of fame were thwarted when his identity was kept secret. NCIS was never mentioned once. And that was exactly as they wanted it.

This lunch with Bee and her friends was to tell them about their summer plans. They would be hosting all of their friends. Aunt Rosa and Uncle Nico were away for another 2 months, and the house was theirs. Bee was the queen of Cape May, and Tony and Ziva wanted to talk to her before the rumors began to fly. Captain Wayne was heading up in two days. Gibbs would drive him directly from the hospital to recover with them for the summer. Gibbs would be staying as well, to help out. Nobody could help liking that guy, but nursing a wounded Navy Seal back to health in the small town would definitely draw some eyes. And considering how many people they planned to have up, they needed Bee to stop the gossip.

"So Bee," Tony began, "Ziva and I will be having a lot of friends up this summer."

"Wonderful." Bee declared. "The more the merrier."

"We will have two semi-permanent house guests heading up soon." Ziva explained. "A a friend, and co-worker, was injured, and he will be recovering here for the next few weeks. Our boss will be heading out to help with his care."

"Are they both Navy men?" Bee asked.

"Yes." Ziva responded.

"Are either of them single?" Bee inquired. A sly smile playing across her lips told them exactly what she was thinking.

Tony and Ziva exchanged a look. "Actually, they are both free and single." Tony said with a smile. Bee's eyes brightened, as Ziva's grew wide and then narrow with disapproval. Tony squeezed her hand under the table. 'This will be fun.' He mouthed to her. Ziva gave in and smiled, squeezing him back.

"Before I forget," Bee remembered, "I was here to check on the house last week and a friend of yours came by. A young man named, Andrew. He was looking for the two of you. He said he met you two on the porch one night."

Now it was Tony's turn to give the disapproving look as Ziva burst into uncontrollable laughter.

One Week Later:

Ziva emerged from the house with the single band-aid she'd gone inside to find. Fornell's daughter, Emily, was waiting for her with the doll she'd dropped and believed was hurt. Ziva placed the band-aid on the doll's knee and gave the boo-boo a kiss. Emily gave her a thankful hug before running back to her new friends to play. Ziva surveyed the crowded yard and easily found Tony. He was watching her from the sidelines with a proud smile. She smiled back as he wove his way through their friends to her side. Tony looped his arms around her back and placed a sweet kiss on her cheek.

"You're going to be a wonderful mother." He whispered into her ear.

Ziva leaned forward into his arms to rest her head on his chest. "Do not put the cart before the horse." She stared at Tony waiting for him to correct her idiom.

He smiled. "You got that one right. But I don't plan on waiting too long." He kissed Ziva on the nose. "It's an impressive turnout."

"We throw an impressive party." Ziva answered back.

"Stay here. I'll be right back." Tony kissed her again and disappeared into the house.

They surveyed the back yard that was teeming with people. It was the Fourth of July, and a barbeque was underway on their back lawn. In a few hours, they'd all head to the beach to watch the fireworks.

Ziva looked around the yard at all the people she loved. Abby and McGee leaned in close to one another sharing some sort of secret. Ducky was fawning over Brina, while Palmer stood proudly by. Gibbs, Fornell, Wayne, and Vance had taken charge of the grill. The four men exuded an almost seismic ball of sarcastic energy. Vance's two children had become fast Friends with Fornell's daughter. They were currently engaged in a game of tag, chasing each other around the yard.

Ziva was lost in thought, and jumped when Tony placed the side of an ice cold drink against her bare shoulder. Tony laughed, proud that he managed to sneak up on his little ninja. Ziva studied the two glasses of dark chilled sangria he held, one on each hand. "Tony," she scolded him, "that needs a few more hours to sit before it is ready."

He shrugged. "We've waited long enough." He took a little sip from one of the glasses and smiled. "Mmmm. It's perfect, and it's definitely ready."

Gibbs, just now seeing Tony holding the two glasses, yelled to him from across the yard. "DiNozzo, I see you finally have two full cups."

Tony looked down at his hands and a huge grin almost split Tony's face apart. Ziva crinkled her nose at Gibbs' odd choice of words that seemed to make Tony so very happy. She gave Tony a perplexed look..

Tony smiled at her. "I'll explain it later. It's a good thing." He assured her.

"DiNozzo?" Gibbs yelled again. His blue eyes were soft, and his mouth turned up into a soft smile as he yelled to Tony.

Tony called back to him. "Ya Boss. I do." He turned back to Ziva and handed her one of the glasses. He held the other up towards her proposing a toast. "To us."

She held her own glass up to clink with his. "To us." She took a tentative sip of the liquid. Her face lit up and turned into an agreeing smile. "You were right. It is ready." She looked up at Tony and poured all her feelings into her gaze, letting him so close that she was swimming in his green eyes. Tony looked back at her with such warmth and adoration that she felt heat flush her cheeks. Not a flush of lust, though that bubbled right under the surface, but a tingling of pure love and unfiltered happiness. She felt so wonderfully whole, so complete, that her stomach flipped and her chest squeezed tight. Just as he'd promised, Ziva David was not alone.

At Lo Levad: את לא לבד

The End, for now…

A huge 'thank you' to Michelle. I can't thank you enough for being the absolute best reader! I could not have finished this story without your help.

I always appreciate reviews letting me know how you enjoyed this particular story. It helps to know what you, as readers, enjoy and want me to write. Do you like the romance, the plot, the smut...? I'm still relatively new to this 'writing thing', and I appreciate any guidance/feedback you're willing to give.

I have a couple more Tiva stories that are close to being finished. I'm going to write them all as a series taking off from this point. They will chronicle a full Tiva happy ending. This series will include 'Jack Knife: The Aftermath', which takes place before this story. So, if you'd like to keep up, and get all the reference, you may want to give that story a read. If the idea of Ziva ever having been with any man besides Tony bothers you, remember that she's always going to end up with Tony. So give 'Jack Knife' a chance.

Thank you all so much for reading! I'll be posting the next story soon, and I'll have a series reading order on my profile page.