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RP: NCIS: It Must Be Love (greenandgold x randomname98766789)

While hugging Ellie, Derek pressed his lips onto the blonde’s temple and responded, “I disagree. I like to think, even if I never joined NCIS, our paths would have crossed. All I know is that I love you and I truly believe we were meant to be together forever. Whether we work together or not does not matter. We would have met. I’m confident of that.” Smiling, his arms pulled her tighter against his body. Derek never believed in the soulmate concept until ellie Bishop. Therefore, he did believe they would have met somehow. “But I am glad this is how we met. I love working with you. I know people say couples shouldn’t work at the same place, but this has been incredible.” He continued hugging her, knowing how important it was to see her cousin, so he wanted to give the blonde all the support and love he could.

---------------

The conversation turned serious and Tony faced Ziva. Indeed, while he did not wish to revisit the concept, he understood this was important to Ziva. So, he tried to be a good man and listen, but it was almost sickening. He knew Ziva meant no harm, but she caused it. Saying that he was not ready to be a father was probably the single most insulting thing she had ever told him. She had no right to judge it. Indeed, it was not fair. He did not understand what she meant about him taking her away, but nonetheless, he tried to formulate a response with Ziva.

“Let me be honest, I am unhappy with you because of what you did. You have no right to determine whether I am ready to be a father or not. You don’t get to do that and just keep my daughter away from me. I find it hypocritical that you think I would take her away, when in reality, that’s exactly what you did. We’ll have to work on this. I forgive you, but I’ve never been hurt so badly in my life. I want us to be a happy family and I believe you when you say this won’t ever happen again. But that doesn’t change what did happen. If you ever pull something like that again, you know there will not be another chance, right? Don’t you ever take my daughter away from me again. I am more ready for this than you could possibly fathom.”
 
Ellie smiled as the two of them continued to hug. "You're such a romantic," She teased, and then laughed and kissed him. "It's one of my favorite things about you." The blonde was happy to snuggle in closer when her man pulled her tighter against his chest. "I'm glad that we met this way, too. This way we're with someone who understands the demands on our time that our job makes. I'm so lucky that you get me, not just about work. But that you also love me, and it doesn't hurt that you and my cousin are already good friends. Trust me, that little extra bit is a huge plus."

The blonde leaned closer and kissed his lips sweetly. Several minutes later she pulled away so that they could breathe. "Why don't we start packing, and I'll give Gibbs and Vance a call and let them know that we'll be gone for a few days?" A smile came to her lips after she said this. "I can't wait to see you interact with your best friends, especially Spencer and Penelope," She said, and laughed softly. "From what you told me Penelope's a unique and beautiful person, and I definitely can't wait to meet her. Meet all of them." A few moments later, the blonde pulled away and went to start packing.

_______________

"Tony," Ziva said softly. "I do not want to fight or argue. I can not say that I will not mess up again, because I am sure that I will. Big time. I have a feeling that it is inevitable. The only thing that I can and will promise, is that I will do whatever is takes to take care of our daughter and keep her safe. And that I will always be honest with you even if I do not want to, and even if you do not like what I have to say. I can not promise that I will not take Tali and leave if I feel the situation calls for it. If someone threatens Tali, you, or me, I will get her out of here so fast your head will spin."

"You can be angry all you like, but I will not apologize for doing what I feel is best for our daughter. If that hurts you, I am sorry for that. But I will not ever be sorry for doing anything that keeps Tali alive and safe. She is the best part of me, and I will never feel bad for doing what I feel is right protecting her. I am sure you do not like hearing that, but I will not lie about it. I love you, Tony. I have for a long time. But I also love Tali. And unlike you, she can not take care of herself or protect herself. So, my duty is always to her, first and foremost. If you can not understand that or like that, then we will have a problem."
 
It had been a long time since Derek saw Ellie this happy. She was a very optimistic person, but there was something extra in her smile and voice tonight. That, in turn, made Derek fell excited as well. So, watching her with a smile on his face, Derek pushed himself off the bed and started to pack. He did not bring too much. He basically took whatever he had in his go-bag during his days at the BAU. They would need the essentials but they would not need too much. Derek finally finished dressing and packing, now sitting around and waiting for Ellie to finish as well. Their conversation still made him smile widely as he could not get enough of being with Ellie.

“Do you know why you two stopped talking?” he finally decided to ask. “Did… something happen between you two? Or did you two just kinda grow apart?” maybe it was not his business and she had every right to tell him that, but Derek wanted to know. He figured they just naturally grew apart as that happened sometimes without either trying to distance themselves. Derek wanted a little background, but it could not have been anything bad because both Ellie and JJ were excited to see each other again it seemed. That much made Derek happy to hear and know.

--

Tony scoffed. Ziva might not want to fight or argue, but how could she say something so ridiculous and not expect blowback? “Are you kidding me, Ziva? You’re not sorry for keeping her away from me. Obviously, you made the wrong choice. You know damn well I will make a great father. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be here. If you take her away from me again, I swear to god you will be sorry. I could march right down to the child services tomorrow if I want and tell them that you took my child away from me, did not tell me she existed, and kept her for such a long time in a dangerous place. You said there were people after you. I’m sure they’d be more than happy to strip you from any custody, but I’m not doing that. You’re ridiculous. You do not know everything, Ziva. You’re so full of yourself sometimes. She’s my daughter too. You do NOT get to make every decision on your own.’

Now, Tony was getting pissed off. “You really don’t see how this was fucked up, do you? You’re so fucking blind. I’ll move on from this, but you need to apologize to me first. You owe me that much.” Tony knew he would have leverage too. Anyone that heard this story would obviously award Tony custody if he tried. But, again, Tony was not going to do that. If Ziva tried to leave and take Tali again, he would find her, he would search to the ends of the Earth. “The entire world isn’t all about you, Ziva. You should think about someone else for once in a while.”
 
Ellie paused for a moment in the middle of packing, and turned to face him. "When Rosaline committed suicide, Sandy and my mother, and Jennifer and I had a nasty falling out. My mother and I were unable to make it to the funeral. I was in college and unable to get away. My mother was out of town at the time, and didn't find out until it was too late. When we all did finally talk, their grief did the talking, and the more we tried to get through to them, the more they pushed us away. After that, Jennifer just shut down. She went back and forth between being depressed and being angry, for several years. The more I tried to talk to her, the more she pulled away."

"Sandy was struggling to cope with losing a daughter, when Mitchell, her husband and Jennifer and Rosaline's father, died from a heart attack a year after Rosaline died. Rosaline was 17 when she died, Jennifer was 13, and I was 19. Jennifer was never the same after losing her sister and father at such a young age." The blonde sighed softly, and then continued. "I don't know if my cousin ever told you or anyone else this, but she was the one who found Rosaline. At 13 years old, Jennifer found her sister's body. Rosaline had hung herself in her bedroom. She tied a rope around a beam in the ceiling, tied some of the rope around her neck, stood on a chair, and then kicked it away."

The blonde looked away for a moment, wiped her eyes and then turned back to him. "The day that Rosaline died, she had called me and left a message for me on my answering machine. I got back from my classes early that evening and saw a missed call from my mother. I called her back and found out about Rosaline. Then I checked my answering machine. When I heard my cousin's voice, I recorded it and have held onto the copy, updating the device it's on every few years so that I can always have a copy. I haven't told Jennifer about it. Or my mother, or Sandy. I don't want to add to their pain. I've been struggling for years trying to decide what to do."

"In the message, Rosaline talked about how she was afraid to be herself. They lived in a small town, and you know how that goes. She had been depressed, and was on medication. She had spent the last 3 years of her life trying to figure herself out. She was having trouble coming to grips with being being gay. She could barely say the word lesbian, and had tried different things to change how she felt, but nothing helped. Rosaline said
that she had started seeing a therapist, tried going to church and looking for guidance, had tried to ignore her feelings, but it didn't work. She didn't want to be a lesbian, and have that cause trouble for her family."

"The town they lived in was very religious and not accepting of anyone who was gay or a lesbian. And so the only thing she felt that she could do to keep the people in their community from causing trouble, was to simply remove herself from their lives. Sandy, Mitchell, Jennifer, and my mother and I, didn't share those feelings. We loved Rosaline no matter what. And I just don't know how to tell Sandy, Jennifer and my mother about the tape. She talked about other things, but that was the reason she died and the reason my whole family fell apart. Nothing was ever the same after losing my cousin. To this day, Jennifer refuses to talk about Rosaline."

"Sandy called me one night three years ago. She had gone to visit Jennifer for a few days and they had had an argument. She had been looking through an old family photo album and came across a picture of Rosaline
and Jennifer from when they were younger. She had talked about Rosaline to someone. When Jennifer found out, she got upset. And really, that's the end of that. My cousin refuses to talk about her sister to anyone.
She always did prefer to keep her emotions close to the vest, put on a brave face and act like nothing bothered her. She did it when Rosaline and her father died. She's still doing it now. It doesn't take a profiler to see
it. Just someone who knows her."

_________________

Ziva gave him a sad smile. "I know that it is not about me, Tony. It never has been and never will be. It is about Tali. It is about you. It was once about my father and following his orders. I have come to accept these
things. I had to make many hard decisions when I decided to come back. I had to decide if I was ready to kill my father or not. And I was and I did. I had to decide if I felt you were ready to be a parent to Tali. I had
to decide if I was strong enough to face you and put my heart in your hands. My father is dead because he was a threat to you and our daughter. He wanted revenge for you killing Michael. And he wanted revenge
for when I saved Gibbs and killed Ari."

"I have the blood of my brother and father on my hands. So maybe you are right when you talk about calling child services. Maybe I am not fit to be a mother. But whatever you think about me, I am and aways will
be Tali's mother. And I have and always will, do whatever it takes to protect her, you, and our team. Even if you disagree with my methods. I am a trained killer. You know this, so I do not understand why you would expect me to be any different. Yes, I am sorry that you got hurt with all of this. However the truth is, you have no idea what is going on. So, until you are calmer, I will get out of your way." She turned around and left
the room, going to get her gun out of her bag.

Ziva returned to the living room and looked at Tony. "Tali is still asleep. I will be back in a few hours. I have something that I need to do. I have my cell phone if you or Tali need anything." After she spoke, the young woman walked out and headed for her car. A few minutes later, she drove off. A little while later, she pulled up at the gun range and from there spent the next two hours there, shooting targets as tears silently fell from
her eyes and rolled down her cheeks. Everything was a mess and she had no idea how to fix things.
 
Rosaline. It was not a name often mentioned, but Derek heard JJ mention it before. She never went in-depth about her sister’s suicide, but only covered it briefly. It always made him feel sorry for JJ and her family. If he could have prevented it, he would. JJ was young when it happened. No girl should have to deal with her sister committing suicide like that. Either way, Derek knew it rattled JJ to the bone. Around the team, she could not even talk about it without nearly collapsing emotionally. Derek could somewhat understand. Although he has never been around anyone that committed suicide in his family or friends, he could not imagine what she was going through. It seemed that it tore Ellie and JJ apart. Death did that sometimes – everyone coped differently and it was a very emotional time.

The male had also known about her father’s death. “Yes, she told the team about it a few years after she joined. She had trouble talking about it, but every day of the year on the anniversary of either death, she got really sad and it was hurting everyone to watch her suffer. Eventually, she told us what was plaguing her mind. That was so horrible and I’m sorry that you had to go through that, Ellie.” It must have been tough on Ellie as well. She lost two cousins: one to death, another to the sadness and anger that overcame her when her sister died. Derek could see why she wanted to see JJ again so badly.

Clearly, the situation impacted Ellie as well, almost bringing her to tears. He could not imagine how it felt, especially to JJ. She had never divulged the information that she had been the one to find Rosaline in the state she was in. That was definitely a lifetime scar and it made him feel even worse, thinking about the situation. It surprised him to learn more information, that Rosaline was a lesbian and she struggled to accept it and feared what her friends and family would think. Derek could not imagine being so confused and worried about oneself to the point where he would fear what others thought about him enough to the point where he would take his own life. It must have been a miserable place and it was a terrible burden for anyone to carry through life.

The images in Derek’s mind were disturbing. Listening to Ellie talk made him finally wrap his arms tightly around her. Obviously, this was business with her own family and he did not have a right to make his own suggestions about how she should handle the situation, but he doubted Ellie would tell him that she was confused about what to do if she did not expect him to listen and help her out. So, stroking his hands through her hair, Derek started talking. “Honestly, this is a touchy subject. I know you know this already. In my opinion, I do think you need to tell Rosaline’s family about the tape. Let them listen to it. They probably have no idea why Rosaline took her life, and they cannot rest because of it. Perhaps having answers would bring closure. It does not sound like anyone had any closure, honestly. Perhaps you get JJ to open up about her sister. Building up those emotions is not good for anyone. I talked to Will many times before, especially when JJ hit her low points. He told me that she had told him everything, but he never went into any detail out of respect for her. So it is good that she can talk to someone, but maybe she needs to talk with those that knew Rosaline. I’m not an expert on grief or anything, but remembering her life and trying to make sense of it would be good for everyone. Of course, it is entirely up to you. I won’t push one way or the other. That’s what I think is best. I will support you either way. I will love you and keep you in my arms no matter what.” Clearly, Ellie had a need for his support and love, so he was going to offer it. Even if she decided against what he thought was best, he would not argue with her. He would just support her and keep her happy. That was all Derek wanted after all. At least she was going to talk with JJ. That was important in mending their relationship together.

--

Forgive and forget. It should have been simple. It was one of the golden rules of human interaction. Yet, Tony was having trouble with it. All he wanted was a sincere apology from Ziva about what happened. Instead, she offered him nothing. She might have said that she was sorry, but it did not feel like she meant it. She always had to be the right one, she knew everything and nobody could tell her different. She was so stubborn. It sounded like Ziva was still trying to make out like he was the bad guy here. Tony had done literally nothing wrong. Just because Ziva thought he would not be a good father, that he was not ready for a family, she took the child away from him. How selfish was that? Ziva said it was not about her, but it was. If she truly wanted what was best for Tali, then she would have let her meet her father. It was such bullshit. Yet, Ziva stormed out like she was the one that was being hurt here. It was so infuriating. At that point, Tony was not sure this was going to work out. Again, she could not promise him that she would threaten to leave and take Tali with her again.



He tried to push the thoughts away. It did not work well, though. He could not sleep. He tried to get some rest, but it was not working. In the end, he just stayed away and stayed on the couch, turning the TV on lowly so he did not wake Tali. He would likely be awake when Ziva returned, if she did. Tony half-wondered if she was going to run away again. It seemed like that was what Ziva was good at when things got tough. She just ran away and pretended like that would solve everything. Tony almost regretted giving her a chance. Maybe it was in his best interest to try and get custody. Ziva was so unstable, it seemed. He did not want Tali being hurt. That might be a conversation they would have in the morning. He tried to brush it off, not wanting to deal with this shit anymore tonight. Either way, Tony finally fell asleep after another hour or two, just sitting on the couch and drifting away into a restless sleep to the point where he might as well have stayed awake.
 
Ellie nodded as she listened to Derek speak and when he fished, she spoke softly. "It's never been about keeping this from JJ and Sandy. It's about not wanting to make their pain worse. You're right with everything that you've said. This could help them work through their grief. I'm just afraid of losing them again. JJ and I haven't spoken or seen each other in years, and
now we're finally trying to be a family again. What if this blows up in my face?" She moved away from him, and then got up after speaking. The blonde crossed the room and walked into
the closet.

She pulled several things out of an old purse of hers. In her hands was now an old hand held tape recorder, a CD, a flash-drive and a floppy disk. "On all of these devices, I have my cousin's message saved. Like I said, I have constantly updated the device it was stored on all these years. My old answering machine is stored in a box on the top shelf. I know you once asked why I keep the answering machine, and I never answered you. This is why." Once she spoke, she packed all of the items into the bag with her clothes that they were taking to see JJ and her family.

When everything was packed, she walked back over to Derek and hugged him. "I love you, and thank you for trying to comfort me."

____________

Ziva returned 2 1/2 hours later, after spending time at the shooting range, where she had a small breakdown and then forced herself to pull herself back together. Now wasn't the time to deal with pain and regret. Instead, it was time to pay for her sins and she had many of them. The young woman was silent as she picked the lock and then let herself back inside. She closed and locked the door once more without a single sound, put her gun away, covered a sleeping Tony with a blanket, checked on a still sleeping Tali, and then sighed softly as she walked into the bathroom and left the door open a crack.

From there, she removed her shoes, and then slowly washed her face. The young woman stared into the mirror silently as she looked at the person she was now. It was much different from the woman she had hoped to be, when she was a kid growing up. But the loss of her siblings, and so much more had hardened her. And she wasn't good at apologizing or asking anyone for forgiveness. The truth was, she was used to doing what needed to be done, no matter if it was wrong or right. And then something her father had told her as a teenager rang in her ears.

Her father used to say that sorry was bullshit. But she had never asked him what to do when you were actually sorry. Ziva sighed softly, reached out for the towel and dried her face a few moments later. Then she grabbed her shoes and carried them into the bedroom. She crossed the room and pulled out some papers and a pen and spent the next two hours filling out the paperwork, and adding some extra information to it. Once that was done, she carried the papers out to the living room and set them down on the coffee table so that they would be the
first thing Tony saw when he woke up.

One set of papers acknowledged the fact that Tony was Tali's father and said that in the event of something happening to her, he would get full custody of their daughter without question.
The other set of papers had been harder to sign, but she had managed to do it, even though it hurt more than she had thought it would. The second set of papers relinquished her custody
of Tali and transferred it to Tony. She was not good at apologizing, but maybe this would say what she had trouble saying.
 
While returning the hug, Derek decided to offer a response. “I know there is no guarantee that it won’t blow up in your face. There is a risk in admitting the truth. I believe that when you do the right thing, everything will just fall into place. I’d put my trust and faith into that. Besides, I still do think that your cousin deserves to know and hear about this information. I’m sure she’ll understand that you wanted to protect her all these years. At the end of the day, I know she will still love you and everything will work out the way you want it. I just have a good feeling about it. I would trust my gut here.” After growing silent, Derek continued hugging his fiancée. Once he released the blonde, Derek quickly gathered his own bags and his own items to carry on the trip. Soon enough, they were both ready to leave.

“Do you want to drive? Or do you want me to drive?” The agent asked while walking out of the house, slightly in front of Ellie. He remembered the way and he could remember where JJ lived since she and Will often had the team over for events. “When I was at the BAU, each team member hosted events at their homes. I remember how to find her and Will’s house.” Reaching the car, Derek placed their bags into the backseat, packing it tight. Depending on how Ellie answered, he slipped into the complying seat of the car, based on whatever Ellie desired.

--

Often, after fights, it was not uncommon to feel remorse or regret about something that was said. Tony was experiencing it firsthand. At some point after Ziva returned, he woke up. The sound of running water and quiet movement told him that Ziva had joined him again. Immediately, he started to feel the regret about things he said to Ziva. Yet, he figured it was an issue they could talk about in the morning. Perhaps he needed to sleep on the problem before he lost his temper again. Although Tony believed he was in the right, there were better ways to get his point across. The route he chose was dangerous and immature.

It was not until a couple hours later when he woke again after dozing back to sleep once he decided to put the conversation off until the morning. His eyes opened and he could see Ziva moving around in front of him, placing something on the table. He was unsure of what was going on, but he rubbed his face gently. “Hey…” He whispered in a coarse, grotesque manner. Although Tony had been asleep, he did not rest. He might have been sleeping, but it felt like he was awake for the past five or six hours.

On all levels, he was struggling to find comfort. Now looking at the woman, he finally decided to sit up and stretch out his body. After stretching out his limbs, Tony yawned and sat upright onto the edge of the couch. “What’s this?” He questioned, glancing down at two separate documents. The first one he picked up and glanced over named him and recognized him as Tali’s father. It would mean that he would have custody of Tali as well, not just Ziva, legally. That warmed his heart. After all, that was exactly what he wanted. He just wanted to be acknowledged as her father, to have all the rights that any other father would have in a normal situation.

So, he smiled. But that smile faltered when he glanced at the next one. “Ziva, what are you thinking?” He asked softly, glancing at the document. Suddenly, he ripped the document naming him the sole legal guardian and full custody rights in half. That was not the point. “Ziva, will you sit down, please? I promise I won’t get upset this time. I don’t want you to give Tali up. I just wanted you to acknowledge me as her father and guardian, too. You did that now. That’s all I could ask for.”
 
Ellie smiled slightly at Derek as he put their bags in the back of the car. "I want you to drive, please. I'm too nervous to get behind the wheel. And it's not a good idea to drive when you're nervous. You know, after we spend some time with Jenny and Will, maybe I could eventually meet the rest of your old team. I love hearing you talk about Reid, Penelope, Emily, Hotch, and Rossi. I know that they're like your family. And besides, I bet they've got some great stories they could tell me about you and what you were like over the years," She teased him and laughed.

_________________

Ziva nodded as she listened to Tony speak, and took a seat when he asked her to do so. "I am not good at apologizing. This is my way of doing that. I hate that I hurt you, Tony. I... I... I am... sorry." She forced the word out, and even though it was just a word and shouldn't have been so hard to say, it was. Because she wasn't used to saying it. She hadn't been taught to apologize for something. Her world growing up was vastly different from what it was today. The young woman could only hope that he accepted her apology, as bad as she knew it was.
 
“Of course, whatever you want. This can be a little mini-vacation for us.” Smiling, Derek shared another kiss with Ellie and wrapped his arms around her shoulders. After the kiss, Derek departed from the blonde and walked towards the driver’s side. As the trip began, Derek gave Ellie full control of the radio (like he always does) and explained to her where around the Quantico area that her cousin and Will lived. The drive would not take forever, but it was still a nice little trip. “I’m excited for this. I think this will be great for everyone. After all, I know my old team has wanted to meet my fiancée for a while now. I talk about you all the time to them.”

--

“I know and I am sorry, too. I believe I had valid reasoning for my reaction, but I handled it poorly. I don’t want to lose you again and I didn’t mean to push you back away. I think we’re at a better understanding now. I want to share custody with you, Ziva. I don’t want to take her from you. You’re her parent as well. That’s what I wanted from the beginning, I wasn’t sure how to ask for it. I didn’t know what you’d do if I asked for such a commitment like that.” Tony sighed and placed a hand over her leg. “Are you okay, now? Do you want to talk about anything?”
 
Ellie blushed as she listened to him talk. "I really can't wait to meet your friends, your team. Though from everything that you've told me so far, they're more like family. Just like Tony, Gibbs, and McGee are. I don't know Ziva very well, but Tim told me that Ziva returned because she and Tony have a daughter, and she wanted them to get to know each other. I'll admit, I've never pictures Tony as a family man, but from what Tim and Gibbs have said, if anyone is as stubborn as Tony and can make it work with him, it's Ziva. So, I wish them luck, and after all of this with Jenny is done, we'll have to get to know Ziva, too."

____________

Ziva looked into his eyes. "I am fine. No. No more talking, at least for right now. I do not want to say something that might mess up this fragile peace between us. Can we just, be together? Sometimes words mess things up. Especially when a person tries to fill silences and just spits out whatever is in their head. Just hold me, Tony. Please. That is all I want right now. All I need." After she spoke, the young woman fell silent, and waited to see if Tony was going to do as she had asked. She had missed the feeling of having him in her arms, and of his arms around her.
 
During the trip, Derek basically did not release Ellie’s hand. There was nothing better than the stroll along the highway during their trip while holding her hand, fingers lacing together. At stopping points, he made sure to at least steal a kiss from her hand or cheek. Of course, Derek was always a more touchy, feely kind of guy, so this was probably not a surprise since they had been together for so long. They were finally getting close, only about ten minutes away from her cousin’s house. “Have you thought about what you want to say yet?” Derek asked, wondering if she would want him to lead everything until she had something in mind, or if she had a plan already.

Agreeing with ZIva, Tony simply held his arms around her body. Talking had gotten to them to this point in the first place. Again, although Tony had been hurt by what Ziva said and thought about him, he was able to forgive her. He hoped she could forgive him for reacting so poorly, but any father would react the same if he gave a damn about his child. Clearly, Tony did care. He knew what the general idea of him and fatherhood consisted of though. Not many could see him here. Those that did could not see him doing well. Unluckily for them, Tony knew he could prove everyone wrong and show Ziva that he was going to be a great father.
 
Ellie shook her head at his question. "I have no idea. Something along the lines of, 'I'm sorry for being so stupid and not reaching out earlier.' " She said and then shrugged her shoulders. "I don't really know. All I do know is that my head is spinning with all kind of scenarios of what could happen and what could go wrong. The smallest thing could mess this up and I'm afraid of that happening. It's taken me this long to find my cousin again, and I can't stand the thought of losing Jenny again." She sighed softly and pulled over. "It might be best if you take over driving for a while."

_________

Ziva wrapped her own arms around Tony, as they sat there together on the couch. "I look forward to getting to know you, Tony. The real you. The one that you have kept locked up and to yourself for all of these years. It will just take us some time to come to grips with everything that we have found out about each other in the last few weeks. Perhaps it would be best if we took some time to reconsider what we thought we knew about each other. This way we won't let our own expectations get in the way of what's really happening. Does that make sense?"
 
Listening to Ellie speak, Derek attempted to think of what he could say to help his fiancé. “Don’t worry about messing up, Ellie. Don’t be afraid of saying the wrong thing. Just say what comes to your heart, what you think would be the best thing to say. Tell her the truth, how you really feel. I think that’s what it comes down to.” Agreeing with Ellie, Derek switched over and took the wheel, driving them the remainder of the way. Soon enough, they reached the house that was shared between Ellie’s cousin and Will. So, when they arrived, Derek parked into an open space along the driveway and looked towards the blonde. “ready?” He asked, offering a sincere smile.

--

“I look forward to getting to know you as well and I look forward to revealing myself to you. I have kept a lot hidden away, but these past few weeks have opened my eyes. I think what you say makes perfect sense. It is almost like starting again, in a way, but we’re already so far into something here.” It was something they could both benefit from. Ziva would not have this misconception of him being a shitty father and he would not look at her like she was just waiting for an excuse to run. After deciding this, Tony simply just sat there and held Ziva, letting the feeling of her body just sink into his arms.
 
Ellie chuckled nervously. "Definitely not. But it's way too late to get cold feet." She took a few moments to get her breathing under control, and once the blonde was sure that she wouldn't throw up, slipped one of her hands into Derek's and followed him up the porch. She stood on her tiptoes and pressed the doorbell, then stood back and waited for the door to open. Part of
her hoped that it would be Jenny who answered, but the other part of her hoped that it would be her cousin's husband, which would allow her a few more moments to pull herself together.

____________

Ziva looked up so that she met Tony's eyes. "We both have a lot of preconceived notions about each other. Maybe we should try to ignore those and just focus on the person who is right in front of us. I am willing to give it a try if you are. You mean so much to me, Tony. I do not want to do or say something that will make you leave. I am.. I am hard to be around, I know this. But I will try to do better, for Tali and for you. Please do not let me go.." She told him softly, and as they held onto each other, the young woman simply rested her head against his shoulder.
 
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