"Everything will be fine."

-Jason Mraz, "Details In The Fabric"

She was pretty sure that Abby was suspicious after she declined the third glass of champagne offered to her, but Ziva paid no mind to the bubbly Goth's curious eyes. The baby was she and Tony's little secret for now, and Ziva actually preferred it. Tonight was about McGee and Delilah, and her presence there was already causing a little bit of a buzz among more than a few guests.

Tony's dad had already been by several times, with a jovial red face and clearly a few drinks under his belt, for his comments were a little friendlier than normal, but Ziva took it all in stride, and she knew Tony was grateful for that. Having his father mill around his best friend's reception was awkward enough.

Vance's kids had been happy to see her, and so had Breena and Palmer, who she had only visited with briefly upon her return, they had dubbed it. But their one year old son, Peter, was a new addition, and Ziva was happy to be introduced. The baby's wide eyes and chubby cheeks made her grin, and her mind continually drifted to the little one inside of her with every glance at the baby. She knew Tony could tell what the secretive little grin on her face was about, for he had one of his own.

She had missed this. Being with him, being with them, being part of a family. It had been so difficult to wrap her mind around exactly how much of a monumental part of her life these people were until they were gone, and now she only cherished it more.

Tony pulled her out of her seat for a dance a few minutes into the reception, and she hadn't left his arms since. But her eyes drifted over the small crowd of people scattered around, and it soon struck her that Gibbs was absent. Come to think of it, she hadn't seen him since the beginning of the actual ceremony. But she wasn't left to ponder this for long, however, because a warm pair of lips brushed her cheek, and she could feel his breath tickling her ear.

"They're playing our song, Sweetcheeks," and she knew he was grinning, because sure enough, a familiar tune reached her ears, and memories of a time what seemed like long ago in a far off place flashed before her eyes. These strong arms had been around her then, his aftershave sending a pleasant tingle down her spine. Berlin had been a lifetime ago, but his whispered words, the martinis, the look in his eyes and the overwhelming urge to kiss him was in her mind like it had been yesterday. Berlin had been their catapult, and God, look at where they had ended up.

"You requested this song, did you not?" she snickered, and she felt his chest shake slightly with silent laughter.

"Hmm, maybe."

She leaned further into him, enjoying the ability to be as close to him as she was while she could, because she knew that once her stomach grew it would be difficult to dance like this again. Her eyes fluttered shut as she rested her head on his shoulder and clung to him, for once letting him lead like he was supposed to.

And it was quite nice to go with the flow, she had to admit.

McGee had wandered over to them later in the evening, clearly buzzed and giddy, and they couldn't do anything but smile at the man's obvious state of happiness.

"Delilah's about to toss the flowers, if you wanna go, Ziva. We'll do the garter toss right after," he beamed, and practically floated to the next group of people to deliver the same message.

"He's on cloud nine," Tony mused, and Ziva frowned.

"Why is he on the ninth cloud?"

Tony nudged her good-naturedly. "It means he's stupidly happy right now. I mean look at him!"

Ziva's eyes drifted from Tony to the man in question, who was exuberantly talking to Abby about something or another. "I am glad he is happy. McGee, of all people, deserves it."

"Yeah, McMarried did good. He found a pretty girl who likes the same video games that he does and doesn't mind that he uses lotion from a light purple bottle. I'm glad he swept her up when he had the chance."

Ziva snorted. "Tony, you use scented bubble bath soap."

"Hey!" he defended. "You were the one who suggested them! I just happen to think they're nice and help…de-stressing."

"Normal men take showers, Tony," she poked his stomach, and he rolled his eyes.

"Normal men don't have crazy Israeli ninjas that take bubble baths with them, Ziva," he pointed out matter-of-factly. "And besides, I recalling a certain someone pulling the shower curtain rod a little too hard one evening-"

"-It was an accident!" she swatted his chest. "And you made me do it," she smirked.

"Glad to know I have that effect on you, Sweetheart," he arched his eyebrow playfully.

"You always have."

Because the wedding took place a little ways out of D.C., Tony and Ziva booked a hotel room for the night and planned to drive back the next morning, as did many of the other guests. Delilah and McGee had departed the reception in a happy glow, and Tony and Ziva had stood, his arm curled around her waist, and watched until the taillights of the limo and the "Just Married" sign adorning the back disappeared into the freezing evening, and the chill of the air drove them into their own car.

Tony pushed open the bathroom door in a whirl of steam from the shower, and his eyes were immediately drawn to her silhouette. The room was dark, and the lights from the city around them and the stars in the sky illuminated the window and Ziva herself, who was gazing out at the street below, while the Delilah's bouquet of roses hung loosely from her hand. He'd packed the familiar old shirt for her, and she wore it now, and in the back of his mind Tony knew that in a few short months, the T-Shirt wouldn't hang on her frame as loosely as it did now. The thought made him almost swell with pride.

His arms slid around her waist from behind, his chin met her shoulder, and his hands rested on her abdomen, as they had been doing quite a lot lately. She didn't seem to mind.

"Shower's free," he murmured.

"I see that," she mused.

"What were you thinking about?"

She turned in his arms slowly. "You, mostly," she replied with a hint of a smile on her face. "And our child. I saw you with Peter tonight, Tony. You are going to be a great father."

"Yeah?" he bit his lip. "The whole thing scares the hell out of me, actually. And excites me. Is that normal?"

"I do not know," she pondered. "I suppose it is, because I feel the same way."

He took her hand and guided her over to sit on the queen-sized bed in the middle of the room. Their hands remained intertwined once they were comfortable sitting Indian-style across from each other.

"You want a little girl, don't you?"

"I would be perfectly happy with either, Tony!" she insisted.

"I know, but you really want a girl, huh?" he urged, mostly because he knew it was the complete truth.

She couldn't help but smile at that, and it was answer enough for Tony.

"You probably already have a name in mind, don'tcha?" he pressed, grinning from ear to ear as the slight blush on Ziva's cheeks grew.

"Elizabeth," she whispered, and Tony froze. "Elizabeth. For your mother."

Wordlessly, Tony pulled her to him and planted a kiss on top of her head. "She would've loved that," he whispered.

They were silent for a few moments, nothing but their breathing filling the empty hotel room. He just held her, and Ziva was amazed at how much her choice had touched him.

"Elizabeth DiNozzo," he tested.

"DiNozzo, hm?" she smirked quizzically. "What if I want him or her to have my last name?"

"Well, if you marry me, it'd be DiNozzo, right? Or David-DiNozzo, if you'd like, I guess, but that's kind of a mouthful, huh?"

Her eyes went wide, and he smirked.

"You caught that bouquet for a reason, Ziva."

"Are you telling me to marry you, DiNozzo?" her eyebrows rose, and he laughed, instead sliding off the end of the bed and leaving her sitting alone a confused.

He returned with a box in his hand and she knew exactly what it contained, but watching him slide back onto the bed, take her left hand in his own and seeing his expression mold into one of complete seriousness still brought a gasp from her lips.

"I'm not telling," he murmured, and flipped the lid open. "I'm proposing that we spend every single night of every single day from now on in each other's arms, that I can see you every morning and kiss you every minute in between. I'm proposing that we spoil our kid silly and give her everything that we never had, and I'm proposing that we never have to be apart ever again. Because Ziva, I love you so much it hurts."

A lone tear trickled down her cheek but the smile on her face betrayed it as happy, and the decision she made in that split second was the easiest one she had ever had to make.

"Yes," she whispered almost breathlessly.

The ring was perfectly at home on her finger in a matter of seconds, and the kiss he gave her then was the sweetest he had ever initiated. Those seconds were of complete bliss, and all they could think was that after all of these years, after all of the struggles and heartbreak and strife, after all of the pain and tears and separation, their lives were finally intertwined in the most wonderful way possible.

Finally.

"Let's do it tomorrow," she whispered, once they were settled under the covers, perfectly fit together like two puzzle pieces.

"You wanna elope?" he asked, surprised.

"Why not? We have waited long enough."

He pondered this for a moment, and the more he gazed at her, the more the idea appealed to him.

"Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship," he remarked jokingly, and she grinned.

"That is from Casablanca. 1942," she replied, and she swore that he was happier than he had been when she agreed to marry him.

"Ziva David, I love you so incredibly much."

I could apologize for the wait on this, and I will, but y'all probably don't wanna hear it, haaha. No, in all seriousness, I needed to get my real-life stuff together. I was away from all things fandom related for a while, and I got my stuff squared away. Mostly college-prep stuff, which has been kicking my butt. But I got it done, and I hope you guys enjoyed this! I'll probably post a short (emphasis on short!) epilogue at some point, so be on the lookout!

It's been an amazing ride on this story, and I'm super sad to see this one come to an end. It's been an absolute blast to write, and the response has been mind-blowing. I feel like I've grown as a writer, and I will definitely continue to write more fanfiction, so watch for those :)

A HUGE thank you to all who have been reading since the beginning—y'all don't know how much I appreciate it! This is the longest thing I've ever written, and knowing that I have such loyal readers, especially when the gaps between chapters increased tremendously, always gave me that extra push to get stuff published. You guys made it possible, and I love everyone for that!

-Laura