Gibbs was one of the first ones to arrive for the party, already feeling uncomfortable in his outfit. DiNozzo had said, "It's going to be a fancy dinner, boss. That's what Ziva wants," so here he was, in nice slacks and a tie, way out of his element.

He stepped into Tony's bedroom to say hello to Ziva, who was getting ready and staying out of sight until she was announced. She looked gorgeous in a simple floor-length blue dress, with her hair falling just to her shoulders and long dangling earrings visible. "Hey, Ziver," he said quietly.

She turned around with a smile on her face, only half of her makeup done. "Gibbs!" She stood up to hug him. "Is anyone else here yet?"

"No." He kissed the top of her head, and turned towards the door, not wanting to ruin the surprise of the evening. "See ya later, kid."

He closed Tony's bedroom door just before there was a knock on the apartment door, and he opened it, revealing an arguing Abby and McGee.

"Look, Gibbs is wearing a tie! Gibbs!" Abby exclaimed, giving him a peck on the cheek as she walked in the door. "If he's wearing a tie, you have to! This is a fancy dinner for a reason, McGee."

McGee looked as if he were going to argue with her on that, but closed his mouth before any words came out.

"Aaand you totally know why we're here, which is just rude, McGee. Rude!" McGee turned red, but said nothing.

Gibbs smiled to himself. McGee must know that Ziva was back, then. "Abby," he said warningly. No other warning was necessary, however, because just then there was another knock on the door. Abby ran to answer it, exclaiming over Bishop's dress, and said hello to Palmer and Ducky. She quickly retreated back to Tim, though, to tell him that Jimmy and Ducky were both wearing ties too. He sighed and put his tie on.

"What a lovely group of people here," Ducky exclaimed. "But where's Anthony?"

"Right here, Duckman." Tony appeared in the doorway from his kitchen with a dish of lasagna in his hands. He placed it on the table, and then turned to everyone. "So, you're probably wondering why I had this dinner party, and why I asked you all to dress up. Well, it wasn't totally my doing. We have a special guest here tonight, and I'll give you three guesses as to who the lovely lady is."

Tony's bedroom door opened, and Ziva walked out. It was probably not the way Tony had envisioned it, knowing the man's flair for the dramatic, but he got a good reaction nonetheless. Everyone gasped, either from surprise or because of how beautiful and there she was.

"Ziva?" Abby walked forward slowly, her arm outstretched toward her friend, and Gibbs could see Ziva's face flicker with uncertainty. Abby gently placed her hand on Ziva's cheek, and pulled her into a long, soft hug, at least by Abby's standards. "I missed you so much, Zee."

"I missed you too, Abby." They both paused at the end of the hug to wipe their makeup and laugh about it.

"I missed everyone," Ziva announced to the group. "I missed seeing you all, and being here, and having this family to love and support me, and for me to love and support." She and Abby hugged again.

"Hey, Abbs, we need to hug her too," protested McGee as the girls hugged again. He stepped up to Ziva as Abby stepped back, and gave Ziva a hug as well, both of them smiling brightly.

"You knew about this, didn't you?" Abby asked Gibbs as she sidled up to him. He put his arm around her shoulders and squeezed gently. "Yes, she contacted me and told me she wanted to come back. She's been staying at my place since Jackson's funeral."

"That's a long time to not tell us," she said quietly.

"Yeah, well, it was hard for her to figure out how to tell everyone she was back. She needed to call Tony first."

"She owed him that much," McGee offered, coming up on Abby's other side. "Want a drink?" he asked Abby, leading her to the kitchen.

Meanwhile Ducky was beaming as he hugged Ziva and sputtered, "Oh, my dear girl. Welcome home! It's so good to see you," and Palmer, rendered speechless, just gave her a quick hug while discreetly wiping at his eyes. Only Ellie hung back, and Gibbs could see why. She had no personal connection to this other woman, and Ziva's were big shoes to fill in the bullpen.

"Hey," he said gently, putting his hand on her shoulder. "D'ya want to meet her?"

She looked up at him, eyes wide. "Yeah, but I dunno if that's such a good idea, Gibbs."

"Go," he commanded. He had a strange feeling that somehow those two would become good friends. He watched as Bishop approached Ziva and held out a hand. Ziva shook it, smiling and saying something that made Ellie blush. They were still talking when Tony came out of the kitchen and started yelling.

"Can you please sit down? Dinner's ready and you know you can all still talk to Ziva while you're eating!"

Slowly everyone took their seats, and Gibbs saw Tony gently caress Ziva's arm and kiss her forehead, talking lowly before he went back into the kitchen to retrieve the rest of the meal.

Tony had cooked an Italian meal of lasagna and salad, breadsticks and meatballs. There seemed to be an endless supply of wine, which everyone drank except for himself and Ducky, who elected to be the designated drivers if the need arose.

They covered a broad spectrum of topics, and the group got more open as the night went on. Tony brought out a chocolate cake with the words "Welcome Home, Ziva" on it for dessert, to which Ziva chuckled, and said "Tony..."

He grinned at her and put his hands on her shoulders. "Welcome home, Ziva." Everyone toasted to that and dessert was dished out.

The rest of the evening passed in a blur, with Ziva telling stories about the places she'd been, and the children she taught. Some of the funnier things the girls said to her were lost in translation, or only made sense that way. Abby told Ziva stories of crazy bowling nights with the nuns, and McGee talked about his trip to visit Delilah in Dubai. Duck jumped in at times with a somewhat related story. Ziva and Ellie got to know each other better, and it was an overall good time. Gibbs sat back and watched his family being together, relaxing and enjoying themselves. His chest felt suddenly very light, and he realized that the worry he'd been carrying around for Ziva and his whole team was gone. He hadn't even realized it was there in the first place. He knew this lightness was temporary, but even so, it was a nice feeling.

Sobered up, McGee drove the still-tipsy Abby and Ellie home, and Ducky offered to drive Jimmy home as well. As the door closed behind the Autopsy crew, Gibbs realized he was going to go home alone tonight. Tony and Ziva were cleaning up from the party, but kept exchanging those glances he'd seen them share for years. It was no secret to him that Ziva had come back to be with Tony. He just needed to give them more time to talk it out.

"Hey, Ziver, you staying here tonight?"

She looked askance at Tony, who smiled and nodded. "You know you're always welcome here."

She smiled back at Tony, and turned back to Gibbs, still smiling. "Yes, I am."

He gave her a quick hug and a kiss on the forehead, then turned to Tony and hugged him as well.

A\N: I hope you liked this chapter!