Upstairs, Tim had won the battle over his hair and now was having trouble with his tie. Feeling all thumbs, he called for his dad who came in and tied it for him, kissing him on the side of his head as he finished and smoothed out his jacket. "You look great kiddo, so proud of you!"

"Dad…"

"What is it Timomine?"

"Maybe it's just my nerves but…" he sighed, "Do you ever feel Kelly and Shannon, here in the house?"

His dad nodded, "Yes son, I do. Not so much since our discovery but I think that's probably because I'm not alone anymore."

"Dad, I can feel Kelly, I can almost hear her. I guess that's because I've been thinking about them today, not just Shannon and Kelly, but everyone we've lost."

"She would have loved being part of this family of ours, Tim. Shannon too."

Tim reached out and pulled his dad in for a hug, whispering to him, "They are part of our family Poppy."

Tony interrupted them, trying to talk Tim into a spurt of hair spray, to no avail. Eventually they were all groomed and dressed and gathered on the deck for photos. Nick had some great candid shots and was pretty happy.

XXX

As the women gathered and started their hair and makeup, Ducky watched, fascinated. Over the years, he'd been present many times when his mother was "putting on the paint" as she called it, but he'd never witnessed several women primping together. He was especially fascinated watching their youngest girl as she in turn watched her cousins, Breena and Monique with an eagle eye. When Ducky saw that he wasn't the only one watching Ainsley; he smiled at Claire but her return smile was a little sad. Of course it would be, her little girl was growing up, about to enter her teen years.

Claire and the three older women were helping the 'girls', getting anything they needed, finding Breena's purse which hopefully held her favorite lip gloss, helping Ziva with her dress and then her hair. She looked stunning. Her dress was beautiful with simple clean lines in a soft white silky material. The bodice draped low across her collarbone, giving a hint of cleavage and leaving enough room for her Star of David to rest comfortably on her skin. The bodice curved into her waist and from there the dress fell straight to her ankles, letting the material slide along her slim frame, showing it off without clinging. A modest slit on each side of the dress allowed her to walk. The sleeves were long and the fronts tapered into points that extended onto the backs of her hands. She wore her hair down and left the curls in for Tim. She applied what she called her magic potion that removed any frizziness and left her curls soft, smooth and shining.

Ainsley sighed in happiness, "Ziva, you look like a princess!"

Ziva smiled at her young cousin, "Thank you Ainsley, I believe I feel like a princess today."

Nettie laughed, "Not a princess, girls, a queen going to meet her king." They all laughed at that.

Monique had to resist rolling her eyes, she wasn't used to all this girl talk and while she was enjoying it to some degree, it also made her feel a bit uncomfortable. Penny sat down beside her, patting her on a shoulder. "How are you doing, Monique? I think it's so great that you came all the way here to share this with Ziva – and to brave our family!"

"To be honest, I have loved seeing Ziva and meeting her family. Tim is wonderful, they're a great match and I'm glad to see her so happy, she deserves it. But really Penny, I don't wear this much makeup or primp like this unless," she leaned in and whispered, "I'm on a mission."

Penny's mouth made a funny little moue. "Oh I wish I could hear more about that, but I know better than to ask!"

Monique chuckled, "Ziva would be the first to tell you there's nothing romantic, glamorous or fun about it. You have an objective, a job to do, a living to earn and you do what you have to."

The photographer had been circling the room, taking shots and now he approached her so she stopped talking. She'd never worked in the mainland U.S., and felt relatively safe, but photos had a way of migrating online and with the internet…well, she couldn't afford too much exposure. She bent her head over the vanity and kept it there until she sensed him moving away. She had been wearing colored lenses, a wig and glasses since she'd been here; she was an expert in adjusting her posture, gestures, her gait, the way she walked, to speak softly in a variety of accents, and knew very well how to be invisible so that no one would suspect who she was. But she also wanted to look good for Ziva's wedding pictures. She would at least ditch the glasses for the ceremony and the bridal party photos. If there was any trouble or hint of trouble, she had enough money to disappear for a few months.

Finally they were finished dressing and glided downstairs to have more photos taken. The photographer was just taking his last shot when Ducky, keeping watch out the front door, saw the stretch limo arrive. Everyone was ready, including Ducky, Claire, Nettie, Liz, Penny and Maisie so they carefully climbed into the limo and were whisked off to the wedding.

XXX

At Gibbs' house, a second limo pulled up around the same time and the men climbed in. Tim was very happy Tony had severely limited his cologne usage today as he didn't think having to whip out his inhaler in the limo or during the ceremony would be a good idea. His brothers looked astonishing in their attire, Geordie in his dress blues and Rob in his new tux. Callum looked quite the young gentleman in his dark suit. And his dad in his new tuxedo, wow, that was a great look on him! What a difference from his usual perfectly serviceable polo shirt. The uncles, like Geordie, looked great in their dress uniforms and that made him think of the Commander. He nervously fingered the watch he was wearing; it had belonged to his adoptive father. It had only survived the explosion and fire that had killed Commander McGee because Uncle Jim had borrowed it wanting to impress a young lady and never had a chance to give it back. Nettie had told him last night that she had something that had belonged to Rivka, Ziva's mother; she was planning to give it to Ziva before the wedding.

XXX

The bridal party's limo pulled up to the front gate of the Botanical Gardens first, although Monique reported the other limo was not far behind. They climbed out and went into the building where they would wait.

When the other limo pulled up, the manager of the gardens appeared. "Mr. Gibbs, as the ladies are inside, let's move your party to the terrace. The guests are starting to arrive; you can take your places in a few minutes." At the look on Tim's face, Gibbs reached into his pocket and pulled out a roll of antacids. "Chew two of these and have some water." Tim did so as Gibbs handed the rest of the roll to Tony. "Just in case he needs more." Tony nodded starting to feel a little nervous himself.

The men walked up to the terrace and watched the guests arrive and choose their seats. The front row had a chain of flowers across it to keep people from sitting in the family spots. The guest list had grown substantially from the'25-30' Tim originally estimated. They'd ended up sending out 70 invitations and had 60 RSVPs accepting with just four declinations and the remaining 6 a mystery. Now Tim looked at the sea of empty chairs and wondered what had happened to their simple little wedding with their family and a few friends? Turned out they had a lot more friends than they'd thought! Ziva had invited a few people from her new job and old friends showed up in town. Stan Burley now had the Pentagon team so he and his new wife were invited. What seemed like half of NCIS HQ had been invited and everyone had accepted. Lu from the shelter was coming and bringing a date, Brady from the thrift store that had always been kind to Tim and the kids. A few camp and shelter alumni were invited and accepted as well as friends of Tim's from both Johns Hopkins and MIT. The Vances would be there of course and they'd asked Tom Morrow and his wife as well.

Seeing Tim's eyes glaze over as he watched the guests, his dad pulled him aside. "Look at me, Timiny."

Tim obediently focused on his dad. "When you see Ziva you're going to forget about the rest of us, believe me. This is your day, the two of you. The rest of us are witnesses. Focus on your bride and stop thinking about anything else."

Tim nodded and smiled at his dad. "You're the best dad, you know that?" He kissed him on the top of his head as his dad mock growled at him.

Soon after that the signal was given and the groom's party walked out to the gazebo. The uncles led the way, followed by Jack and then they sat, one officer on each end of the row, leaving the seats in the middle for the others; Jack sat in the seat Leroy had pointed out to him earlier.

For now, Gibbs stood with Tim while the groomsmen dispersed to escort the guests to their seats. Tim caught Aunty Liz peeking out the door and smiled at her. She blew him a kiss and he visibly relaxed. Jimmy appeared and checked on everything he needed and then giving Tim a wink disappeared again. The Vances came in and Leon openly smiled at Tim. Fornell came in with Emily whose eyes got very big when she spotted Uncle Gibbs and the others in their tuxes and dress blues. The Cookes came in, Pat and Brian, along with Ned Dorneget, Rick Carter and his wife Denise, Jim O'Brien and his date, Stan Burley and his wife. Tim saw movement behind the glass doors of the building and moved his gaze, hoping to see his bride.

Finally, finally, the opening sounds of Pachelbel's Canon in D were heard and the groomsmen gathered at the back waiting for the bridal party. First Claire, Liz, Maisie and Penny were escorted to their seats and Ducky followed. Then came Sarah and Tony and Gibbs did his very best not to turn his head and glare at Brian Cooke who had audibly gasped when he saw her. Vance caught the whole thing and had to put his head down to keep from laughing out loud. An elbow jab to his side from Jackie also helped. Behind Sarah came Monique with Geordie and then Breena with Rob. Callum and Ainsley were last and then the music stopped. Tim looked and then had chills when the music started again and Ziva appeared on the path with Aunt Nettie. Slightly behind him, his dad stuffed a tissue into his hand, giving him a little squeeze. Tim smiled at his bride and squeezed back, he was ok now. Ziva was there, she was willing to spend the rest of her life with him and she was beyond beautiful. As she approached him, their eyes met, they smiled at each other and Dad was right, everyone else disappeared. As the bride and her aunt neared the groom and his father, the two men stepped out. Their officiant asked of Nettie, "Who is here representing the bride?" Nettie spoke firmly, "Our family and I, her aunt." Ziva swallowed hard, knowing Nettie meant her mother and sister, everyone. The woman turned to Gibbs, "And who is here representing the groom?" "Our family and I, his father." The officiant nodded and Nettie took Ziva's hand and placed it in Tim's, kissed them both softly and took her seat next to Jack. Gibbs also kissed them both and took his seat on the other side of Jack. Tony and Sarah moved in a little closer, both of them unconsciously fingering the rings. Ziva handed Sarah her bouquet.

The officiant started, "Dear Family and Friends, we are gathered here together…." Ziva hoped she would recognize her part when it came along. They'd written their own vows but they were so personal they decided to go with ones they found on the internet and said the ones they'd written to each other privately.

When the woman said the word vows, Tim recognized it was time for one of them to say something. They'd flipped a coin and he was to go first, although Tim had insisted on checking the coin to make sure it wasn't a trick. Smiling, he said his vow to her and then realized it was the one he'd written, the ones they'd decided to keep to themselves. He kept on going as her eyes widened, oh yeah she recognized those. They were sweet and funny. When it was her turn, she mixed her originals with the ones from the internet and they too were sweet and funny. After that there was to be a reading from Gibbs and the grands. Gibbs stood up and they turned away from the officiant to look at him. Ziva wanted to giggle as he had his reading glasses on and she knew how much he hated them.

"Tim and Ziva, please take each other's hands so that you may see the gift that they are to each of you.

These are the hands of your best friend, young and strong and full of love for you, that are holding yours on your wedding day, as you promise to love each other today, tomorrow, and forever."

He sat down as Nettie stood and continued, saying the words first in Hebrew and then in English:

"These are the hands that will work alongside yours, as together you build your future.

These are the hands that will passionately love and cherish you through the years, and with the slightest touch, will comfort you like no other."

Nettie sat as Jack stood and continued:

"These are the hands that will countless times wipe the tears from your eyes; tears of sorrow and tears of joy.

These are the hands that will tenderly hold and care for your children; the hands that will help you hold your family as one. "

Penny continued:
"These are the hands that will support and encourage you to chase down your dreams."

And then Maisie:

"These are the hands that will hold you tight as you struggle through difficult times, the hands that will comfort you when you are sick and console you when you are grieving."

And Ducky:

"And lastly, these are the hands that even when wrinkled and aged, will still be reaching for yours, still giving you the same unspoken tenderness with just a touch."

There was silence for a beat after he finished and Tim heard someone nearby sniffling. Knowing it was Tony who apparently was the mushiest of all of them, Tim moved the hand away from view to his best man and handed him his crumpled up tissue.

The officiant continued now, calling for the rings. Tim knew he was first up with that and Tony was right there with him, handing him Ziva's ring. Her engagement ring was on her right hand and would go back on the left after the ceremony. Repeating the words, Tim slipped the wedding band, originally his great-grandmother's, onto Ziva's finger. Then he lifted it and kissed it, much to the surprise of everyone. Ziva smiled, she was crying again as she turned to Sarah a second time just in time for Sarah to complete her complicated bouquet handling with Monique, slip Tim's ring off her thumb and hand it to Ziva. She pushed the ring onto Tim's finger as she said the words and then mimicking him, lifted his hand and kissed it. A second wave of sighs flowed through the guests and the officiant told them they could kiss. As they did, Jimmy's voice lifted in song, singing the wonderful number made famous by Etta James, "At Last". Tim and Ziva stood locked in their kiss and when they ended it, remained leaning against each other forehead to forehead while Jimmy sang.

When he was done, Tim and Ziva were presented as husband and wife, Mr. and Mrs. Gibbs; they grinned at each other, leaned forward and kissed each other lightly and then as one turned to face their families and friends, laughing in surprise at the thunderous applause. Oh yeah, life was great!

The End

NOTES:

Lyrics to "At Last":

I was never spellbound by a starry sky
What is there to moon glow, when love has passed you by
Then there came a midnight and the world was new
Now here am I so spellbound, darling
Not by stars, but just by you

At last my love has come along
My lonely days are over and life is like a song
At Last the skies above are blue
My heart was wrapped up in clovers the night I looked at you
I found a dream that I can speak to
A dream that I can call my own
I found a thrill to press my cheek to
A thrill I've never known
You smiled and then the spell was cast
And here we are in Heaven
For you are mine at last

At last my love has come along
My lonely days are over and life is like a song
At last the skies above are blue
My heart was wrapped in clover the night I looked at you
I found a dream that I can speak to
A dream that I can call my own
I found a thrill to press my cheek to
A thrill I've never known
You smiled and then the spell was cast
And here we are in Heaven.

Etta James - At Last Lyrics | MetroLyrics

Written by Warren, Harry / Gordon, Mack.

Found on: metrolyrics DOT com

The reading, "Blessing of the Hands" was found on Yahoo.