A/N: Wheeee... two chapters in a row... I was thinking about putting this up in a few days, but I decided to put it up today... because I like knowing that my stories are finished (though I think not all of them are...) anyway... Enjoy the last chapter!

Chapter 7.

Maybe he doesn't want to come. Maybe he changed his mind about us. Maybe Shannon is just not home yet. Maybe she doesn't let him go so easily. Maybe he doesn't want her to let him go. Maybe he couldn't tell her tonight, for some reason. Maybe he doesn't love. Maybe it was just me. Maybe it was even just a dream.

Ziva David wasn't used to this. She had spent her whole life being completely independent, never really needing or wanting anyone around, if not necessary. She had wanted her father to be around more, but quickly realized that he wasn't the nice man she had considered him to be when she was still a child. She had always looked up to him and now he was only the man who made her who she is. She didn't want to spend time with him. He wasn't a good man and he never would be. Ari had also betrayed her and no matter how close they had been before that, that one day in Gibbs' basement she had made a decision – the decision that he, just like their father, was a terrible person. She was surrounded by those people and, in choosing to leave Mossad and join NCIS, she finally found a real family.

She needed Abby like a sister, Ducky like a close uncle, McGee like a reliable brother, Tony like a brother who would always make her laugh and Gibbs like a best friend, boss, lover. And for the first time in her life, she actually felt needed, too. Sure her father had needed her, but more in a work related sense. Now there was a team of people, a team of friends that needed her just as much as she needed them. She was happy about every day she could spend with them.

But right now, in this very moment, she felt lost. She didn't know if Gibbs was coming tonight. Sure, he had told her to wait for him and that it might take a while to explain to Shannon what was going on, but nothing had prepared her for the horrible feeling she felt now.

How could she be sure he hadn't changed his mind about being with her, was it even her place to ask that of him? Who was she? How could she take away another woman's husband, just like that? She felt sorry for Shannon, even though she knew that every other way would have been cruel to her. If they had carried on behind her back for a while, if they had stopped only to start back up again after a while and making it all worse by lying to her. Ziva knew that telling Shannon right now was the best way, the only way.

Jethro was hurting her now, because waiting and lying would make it worse, would hurt her more.

ZibbsZibbsZibbsZibbs

On the way to his car, Jethro couldn't help but turn around for a moment and look at the house he had shared with so many women. The house Kelly grew up in, at least in the beginning. The house he could never sell. At that moment he made the decision to leave the house to Shannon and his daughter. They would be happy there. It had been theirs all along.

He and his beautiful Israeli would find another place to live. A house with a basement for his boat and a big kitchen for Ziva's delicious creations. There would be a big TV in the living room, so the team could come over and have movie night at their place. And there would have to be one or two rooms for children. He knew Ziva wanted kids and he loved the idea of having a family with her. For a short moment, a picture popped into his head. A little girl, dark hair like Ziva's and blue eyes like Jethro's. Very realistic, Jethro. He couldn't help but smile at the fact idea of a little Ziva. She wouldn't even need blue eyes to be perfect, would look just like her mother. She would turn the heads of every boy in school.

Arriving at the Israeli's apartment, Jethro wondered how the team would react. Abby would be extremely surprised and she'd need a moment to get used to the thought, but she would be happy for them. McGee, too. Ducky would understand, he knew how close they had been before Shannon came back and somehow he always seemed to know everything. Tony would be difficult. He'd be protective of Ziva and maybe a little jealous, probably very jealous. Vance would be alright. He would need to be, Jethro was going to take care of that.

ZibbsZibbsZibbsZibbs

Ziva was still pacing around nervously, thinking he might have changed his mind, when she heard the knock on the door. Opening it slowly, she saw Jethro standing outside her apartment with a smile on his face and a bag of clothes in his hand.

Stepping inside, he put the bag on the ground close to her door and pulled his flawless coworker into his arms, closing the door behind himself. They made their way into the bedroom, undressing each other slowly. She smelled like strawberries and her hair felt softer than anything he had ever felt. He smelled like coffee and the wood of his boat, a mixture she would love forever.

About an hour later, Ziva and Gibbs were lying in bed, completely spent and happier than ever before. He finally held her in his arms again, this time without feeling guilty because of Shannon. Ziva was glad she had finally found a man who she could trust unconditionally and who would be there for her whenever she needed him.

And so they fell asleep, the bedroom filled with the scent of wood and coffee and strawberries and sex.

THE END.

A/N: So I guess this is the end... I hope you all liked it. If you have any ideas what I should write next, message me! Like I said, this has been in my head for years and I mainly wrote it down, because I never wanted to forget it, but now it's time for other stories... I guess.