Title: Only Time
Pairing: None; implied future McGee/Ziva
Rating: K+
Genre: Gen, bordering on Het
Cat: Episode Tag, Drama, Friendship, UST
Spoilers: Tag to Life Before His Eyes
Warnings: None.
Summary: Ziva has a word with McGee about his decision . . . and a few other things.
Author's Note: So, this took FOREVER to write. Most of my tags have been less than 1000 words, but this one decided it wanted to be over 3000. I don't think you guys will mind much, though.

McGee found Ziva at the copier, making a copy of a witness statement, and lingered behind her until she was finished. She turned, jumping a bit as she nearly ran into him.

"Goodness, McGee, you could have said something," she muttered, holding a hand to her chest. "You startled me."

"Sorry, didn't mean to," he responded, and when she made to walk back to her desk, continued. "Why were you and Tony snooping around earlier? Did you really think I was going to take that job offer?"

Ziva stepped back, sucking in a breath as she considered what to say, then deflating when she realized she needed to be truthful with him. "I do not know about Tony, but I wanted to know if it was true. I realize that it was your decision to make, and I respect that, but I suppose I wished you would have talked it over with me. Us! It was a very big decision, after all."

McGee raised an eyebrow at her. "But you just said it was my decision to make."

She waved away his comment. "Yes, of course, but. . ." She trailed off as she looked up and met his eyes. "We care about you, and want the best for you." Her gaze held a bit of sadness, or melancholy, something longing, as she continued to stare at him, hoping he would see what she wasn't saying.

"Ziva. . ." McGee let out a heavy breath. "I know you do. And NCIS is everything to me. It's why I couldn't leave. I love my job, I love you . . . all so much." Ziva shifted her gaze to the floor in front of her, watching as McGee's feet came into view a few moments later. "Did you really think I would go, and leave you to deal with Tony alone?"

The question was meant to be light-hearted, but Ziva found herself fighting back tears. She nodded, though, and patted him absently on the chest. "Perhaps you wanted to give me some medicine, yes?"

McGee wrinkled his brow in confusion for a moment before realizing what she meant. "A taste of your own medicine?" Ziva shrugged. "Well, no, that was not my intention, actually. I wouldn't wish that on anyone." He smirked, waiting for her to look at him again. When she did, he reached out and brushed his hand across hers. "I'm not going anywhere, Ziva. When I said I had too much left to do here, I meant it."

The expression in Ziva's eyes changed then, from melancholy to confusion to a glimmer of hope. She swallowed as words tumbled about in her mind, nothing and everything making sense. "I am glad you are not going anywhere," she finally said, her neutral statement betraying the heavy emotions she felt. She hesitated, then added, "Will you have dinner with me tonight?"

He couldn't hold back his surprise, but smiled. "Uh, sure. Though you don't have to butter me up, if that was your intent."

Ziva shook her head, relaxing moment by moment. "Not at all. I have simply realized that we have not spent much time together outside of work lately. The possibility of you leaving made me realize how much I have missed it, and how much I would miss it in the future."

McGee gave her an appreciative look. "Thank you. I always enjoy our time together, as well."

She gave him a warm look, and silence fell between them. After a moment, she said, "We should get back to work."

McGee nodded his agreement, but didn't move from his spot as Ziva slid past him, brushing against him as she went. He turned his head to watch her walk away, his lips turning up into a smirk at the twitch of her hips as she walked. Ziva sat down at her desk and he turned back to the copy machine, the reason he'd come over in the first place.

Later, after McGee had returned to his desk, the quiet working environment was interrupted by the ding of the elevator and the running clomp of boots that signaled Abby's arrival in the bullpen. He looked up at the lab tech, pushing himself back from his desk as he saw her headed in his direction, and braced himself for the oncoming assault.

"Oh, Timmy, I knew you wouldn't leave me!" Abby cried as she pounced on him, tackling him in his chair with a ferocious hug. She squeezed him for a few moments, then backed up, her hands on his shoulders. "Don't ever scare us like that again, okay? Okay." She took one of his hands in hers and pulled him up. "I think this calls for a celebratory drink."

"I'd love to, Abby, but Ziva already invited me over for dinner," McGee responded, and Abby's expression changed to one of surprise as she turned to look over at Ziva.

"Well, far be it for me to interfere with your romantic plans," she said, smirking and winking at Ziva.

"Abby!" Ziva admonished, while Abby just giggled.

"Relax, I know things are completely platonic," she said, though Ziva could hear the 'for now' she didn't say. Ziva sent her a warning look and Abby made a show of closing her mouth, a signal she wouldn't say anything further.

"Uh, how about we go out for drinks tomorrow night?" McGee interjected, saving Ziva from further embarrassment. "All of us. Even Tony."

"How nice of you to consider me in your plans, McSamurai," Tony's voice entered the conversation, as he walked into the bullpen, "but maybe I'm busy tomorrow night. You know, me not being a dork and all."

"Tony!" Abby said, crossing her arms over her chest. "McGee is staying with us and not traveling how many thousands of miles away, maybe never to be seen again."

"I think you're exaggerating a bit, Abbs. . ." McGee muttered, and Abby reached over to slap a hand over his mouth as she continued to berate Tony.

"All we want to do is go have a drink, just one measly drink," she said. "Is that too much to ask?" She gave him a pointed look that said he better not disagree with her, unless he wanted to be disemboweled.

He gave her a classic Tony smile. "No, no, of course not. Just, why tomorrow? Why not tonight?"

Abby's expression turned smug. "Because Timmy and Ziva have a date tonight." Ziva muttered something in Hebrew under her breath as Tony's expression turned gleeful.

"Oh, really? Now that is news."

Abby glanced at Ziva and found her giving her a dirty look, so she retracted her earlier statement. "Okay, so it's not a date, but they are having dinner together. Alone. That has to mean something." She glanced over at Ziva and saw the glare had intensified. "Or not. At any rate, tonight is just . . . not a good night for a drink."

"I'm starting to think it's a perfect night for a drink," McGee muttered, and Ziva rolled her eyes as she turned back to her work.

Abby ran back to McGee, engulfing him in another hug. "Don't drink too much, Timmy. You never know where that will lead."

"Abby. . ." he said, and she smiled, skipping her way back to the elevator and avoiding looking in Ziva's direction as she went.

Tony, meanwhile, sat down at his desk and grinned to himself, opening his mouth to make another comment when he heard, "I would wipe that smile from your face if I were you, Tony," from Ziva's desk. She didn't look up as she spoke, and Tony frowned, making a face in her direction before getting back to work. McGee just shook his head. Abby was just being Abby and teasing, he knew that, but it legitimately seemed to bother Ziva. Or maybe not bother her as much as embarrass her. Hopefully she would relax a bit before tonight.

He glanced over at her desk and found her looking over at him. He gave her a warm smile and was relieved to see her smile back, but she returned to her work just as quickly, and he sighed to himself. He was definitely going to need a drink.

McGee and Ziva solidified their plans for dinner, including giving Ziva enough time to cook and McGee enough time to go home and take Jethro out for a walk, and when Ziva arrived home, she immediately started on dinner, wanting it to be perfect and done before McGee arrived. It wasn't even the meal itself she was concerned about, as she was just making a simple chicken, rice and vegetables dish, but she wanted this to be . . . special. She felt the need to let McGee know now, before something like this happened again, that he was appreciated and she could not imagine her life at NCIS without him.

She slid the ingredients into a baking dish and mixed them with a can of cream of mushroom soup, then put it in the oven, setting the timer before heading to her bedroom. It may have just been a casual dinner between friends, but she still felt the need to change into something . . . nicer.

The closet felt overbearing as she stared at the endless choices – how formal should she go? How sexy, or covered? In the end, she settled on a pair of soft gray dress pants and a forest green off-the-shoulder sweater – something that looked nice without giving the impression that this dinner was the first step in a seduction ritual.

That thought brought warmth to her cheeks and she shook her head as she stepped into the bathroom to check her hair before returning to the kitchen. A quick look at the timer revealed dinner would be ready in about 15 minutes, so all she had left to do was wait for McGee to arrive and set the table in the meantime.

Just as she took a pile of plates from the cupboard, she heard a knock on the door, and her stomach flipped at the sound. Why was she so nervous? This was just a dinner between friends, and it wasn't as though she was looking for a relationship right now, anyway, with how things had ended with Ray. Still, she couldn't push aside the tingling in her gut like she was a teenager on a first date.

"Ziva? Can I come in?"

The sound of McGee's voice tore Ziva from her thoughts and she hurried to the door, feeling flustered. She unlocked and opened the door, smiling at McGee. "Sorry. I was . . . busy."

He nodded slowly. "Right. Uh, I brought some wine." He held up a bottle. "Not sure if that's really a good idea, but. . ."

Ziva gently smacked him on the chest with the back of her hand, taking the bottle and heading for the kitchen, calling back to him, "You may come in. I will not bite." She circled the counter so she was facing him. "Unless you are into that sort of thing." She smirked at him and watched as he smiled and shook his head, stepping inside the apartment and closing the door behind him. He took off his coat and hung it up, then joined Ziva in the kitchen.

Now she was standing with her back to him again, pouring the wine into two glasses, and McGee had the thought that he could easily walk up behind her and hug her, and she would be surprised at first, but then she would relax in his arms. . .

"Now who is the one lost in outer space?" Ziva's teasing voice broke into his fantasy, and he blinked, meeting her gaze and smiling.

"That's lost in space, Ziva," he corrected, and shrugged. "I guess I was. Sometimes it's hard to keep from imagining what it would be like if things were different."

Ziva nodded, contemplating the reason for her dinner invitation. She opened her mouth to speak, but the timer gave a shrill ring, forcing her attention to the oven. She turned to take the dish out, letting out a deep breath as she did so.

As she removed the dish from the oven and set it on the counter, then moved back to slide the rack back inside the oven, her hand slipped and her thumb came into contact with the hot rack. She hissed at the burn, and McGee was immediately at her side.

"Here, come on," he said, wrapping an arm around her waist and leading her to the sink, where he turned on the faucet and held her hand under the stream, while Ziva swore under her breath.

"That was stupid," she muttered. She watched as the cool water ran over her thumb, then glanced up at McGee, smiling a little. "I do not know what I would do without you sometimes, McGee."

"I'm sure you'd live," he responded, and Ziva frowned. She wasn't really sure how to respond to that . . . except to tell him the truth.

"I am not quite sure I would, to be honest," she said, and focused her attention back on her hand, trying to ignore how he was holding it, so careful.

McGee tilted his head to the side, though she didn't see. "Ziva."

She looked up then, meeting his gaze. "When I said you were not just any partner, I meant it. You are careful, and concerned. There are so many times where I would have fallen apart, if it were not for you."

McGee shook his head. "I told you before, I'm not going anywhere. You don't have to do all this."

Her expression turned to hurt. "Do you think I am lying to you?" He didn't respond, and she continued. "I may be more open with my feelings now than I was in the past, but it is still not easy for me to admit these things. I care about you, Tim, and I would hope that you felt the same."

McGee turned his attention back to Ziva's hand. "I think we're done here," he said after a moment, his voice soft.

Ziva felt her heart drop into the pit of her stomach, but managed to nod. "I, uh, I suppose you will want your bottle of wine back."

He turned off the faucet and used his free hand to tip her chin up. "I meant with the water. We should get this bandaged. Then get back to dinner, before it gets cold." Ziva nodded and retracted her hand from his, walking past him to the bathroom to retrieve an Ace bandage. She returned shortly and handed the roll to him, along with a roll of medical tape, then sat down at the counter, holding out her hand for him to bandage.

McGee took care in wrapping the bandage around her thumb, securing it with a bit of tape after. The whole process took about a minute and once it was done, both Ziva and McGee looked at her thumb, then to each other, and started laughing.

"Probably a bit of overkill, yeah, but at least you won't hurt it any further now, right?" Ziva nodded at McGee's words, and slid off the stool, heading to the kitchen to grab their plates and silverware.

"I will let you bring that in, if you do not mind," she said, nodding to the casserole dish.

He gave her a smile. "Sure," he said, grabbing the pot holders and carefully picking up the dish to follow Ziva into the small dining area of her apartment. He set the dish down and returned to the kitchen to grab the wine, and when he returned, he couldn't help but notice how unsure of herself Ziva seemed tonight. He pursed his lips in thought, but decided to wait until they were well into their meal before approaching the subject.

Ziva touched her chair as if to pull it out, but McGee hurried over and did it for her instead, leaving her looking amused. But she sat and sent him an appreciative look, and he winked and walked around the table to sit across from her.

"Thank you for dinner, by the way, in case I forgot to say it earlier," he said, dishing some of the hot dish onto his plate. "This looks delicious."

Ziva shrugged. "It is nothing special."

"Well, with your cooking, I'm sure it'll be better than anything else I've eaten this week," McGee said, and Ziva couldn't hide her grin.

"Thank you." She took the serving spoon from McGee and scooped some of the food to her plate, then settled back in her seat. "Perhaps we should make this a more regular occurrence. It is nice to have the company."

McGee studied her as she took a bite of her food, and another, following it with a sip of wine. She took a third bite and sensed him observing her and looked up, raising her eyebrows. "What?"

He shook his head slightly. "Just trying to figure out what's going on with you."

She shrugged a shoulder. "Nothing much, not lately. I was not the one who had to consider a job how many thousands of miles away. My life is positively . . . boring these days." She continued to eat as though she wasn't being interrogated.

"You mean since you ended things with Ray."

Ziva slowly finished chewing and set her fork down. "Ah, yes, I suppose so." She paused, and McGee opened his mouth to say something, but Ziva continued before he could. "Though it is not like there was much going on when I was still with him, as far as having dinner together, or even spending time together. You know, the things a couple should do." McGee glanced down at his plate, suddenly feeling out of place. Ziva looked over at him. "Are you not hungry?"

His head snapped up at her words. "No, no, that's not it at all." To appease her, he dug into the food and lifted a large forkful to his mouth, making a genuine noise of pleasure as he ate and picking up more. Ziva smiled and turned back to her own food.

After a few minutes of eating in relative silence, McGee swallowed and spoke. "So, why me?"

Ziva met his eyes with a look of confusion. "I do not follow, McGee."

"Why are we having dinner tonight? I mean, I get celebrating me not leaving or whatever reason you gave, but you mentioned wanting company, and I don't know, why me and not Tony? You two seem to be getting along better now."

Ziva nodded. He had a point. "Well, yes, but you are my friend, as well. And sometimes . . . it is easier to be around you."

McGee tipped his head up at her words. Finally, he spoke. "You mean because of all the sexual tension between the two of you." Ziva's eyes widened in surprise, and he saw a glint of hurt before she masked it. He immediately felt guilty, but he couldn't stop. "You can't be surprised that I saw it. Everyone has. And me, I'm just . . . I'm just McGee."

Now Ziva just looked sad, as she stared at him for a few moments, then said, "I don't know what to make of Tony. It sometimes feels as though I am a game to him. Something to be figured out and won." She shook her head and smiled a bit. "I cannot imagine trying to be in a relationship with him. If he is this . . . Tony when it comes to my relationships now, being with him would bring out a whole new dimension of Tony-ness."

One side of McGee's mouth crooked up at that. "Tony-ness, huh?" He nodded. "Yeah, I get it."

"And you," Ziva continued, as though McGee hadn't spoke at all, and pointed a finger at him, "are not 'just McGee.' Not by a long shot." She sat back in her seat, picking up her glass of wine and swirling it a bit, watching the alcohol slosh around in the glass. "I do not know what I am feeling right now, to be honest. It is a lot to process, and I'm feeling a bit confused. I am glad you are sticking around so I can attempt to figure it out."

His brow furrowed as he realized what she was saying, and he finally said, "I thought you said you didn't want to be in another relationship right now."

She smiled slightly. "I am not sure I do, but I would like to leave the option open." She glanced up and met his eyes. "If that is okay with you."

He let out a breath and nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, definitely. I . . . wow." He shook his head, a confused smile on his face. "I can honestly say I was not expecting this to be how tonight turned out. But," he shrugged, "I'm not complaining." He picked up his own glass. "To the future."

Ziva's smile grew as she pushed herself forward enough to clink her glass against his. "The future. Wherever it may take us."

As they sipped from their glasses, they kept their eyes on each other, thinking about how while things had stayed the same, that was just for now, and only time would tell what would happen next.

THE END