A/N: Yaaaay it's done! It's done it's done it's done! I'm sooooo sorry for the delay, and thank you to those who have stuck with this! I'm really happy that I've gotten this done before NCIS premiere (which is in… 6 days! Wooooot!). And one more biiiiig thanks to my beta, who's also my mom, and the source of my inspiration! OK, so no more reading silly authors notes. Go on and read the story! After the disclaimer…

Disclaimer: Nope. Still don't own. Christmas is soon… so perhaps then. Until December, nothing is mine (except Angelo, whom I made up off of many other characters I know, some real, some fake).

~*~

Tony found himself still standing, still smiling, long after she left. He was really looking forward to going to the jeweler's today.

Later in the afternoon, after informing Gibbs they'd be back in two hours (and receiving a curious glance from him), Tony and Ziva headed out of the city and to a smaller, suburban town. Ziva didn't argue when Tony said he'd drive; in fact, she was quite content to gaze out the window. She had never really been outside of DC too much, except for on missions, so it was very relaxing to not have to worry about a target or protecting someone. She smiled as she saw families out in their yards: fathers and sons tossing a ball back and forth, young girls playing with dolls while their mothers supervised, even an older, teenage couple hidden under a large tree, talking quietly with their heads together.

Ziva felt bittersweet. She wondered what it would have been like to grow up in America, where it was not constantly plagued by war and death. She felt a twinge of sadness for a mother she lost too soon, a sister who didn't have to die, a brother turned rogue, and a father who never truly saw her as a daughter. Yet she couldn't say she had a bad life, after all, look at where it brought her today. Perhaps if she hadn't gone through all those difficulties, she wouldn't appreciate the family she found in her co-workers.

Tony turned down a street filled with small, commercial buildings, sprinkled with Italian delis, a few apparel stores, and finally, Josephina's Fine Jewels. He parallel parked in front of the store and got out of the car. Ziva followed his lead, looking into the small building to see a tiny old man sitting on a stool, with large magnifying glasses over his eyes.

Tony smiled as he reached Ziva's side, and gently put his arm around her. "Angelo's an old family friend, used to know my grandfather. He's a little hard of hearing, but he has the best damn eye sight and stable hands. I'm sure he'll be able to fix your necklace," he said. Ziva returned his smile.

"Who is Josephina?"

"His wife. They were married for almost 65 years when she passed a few years ago. I had never seen a couple more in love then those two." He pulled open the door for her, and followed her into the jewelers. It was a small space, but very cozy and comforting. Angelo looked up when he heard the chime on the door ring, and when he recognized Tony, a large, crooked grin spread across his face.

"Antonio! My boy! How have you been? How long has it been since I've last seen you?" Angelo came from around the counter and gave Tony a hug. It was a slightly humorous sight to see; Angelo's head barely came up to Tony's shoulder. But Tony returned the hug as best he could, and equal size grin on his face as well.

"Too long, Angelo, way too long," Tony said.

Angelo gave a chuckle as he pulled off his glasses, and looked up at Ziva. "Well, well, who might this belladonna be, Antonio?"

Ziva blushed and looked at her feet, but before she could speak, Tony introduced the two. "Angelo, this is Ziva. We work together; she's my partner."

"Ho, ho, partner you say?" Angelo smirked, and Tony felt his cheeks flush as well. "In any sense, you are a very beautiful lady, Miss Ziva. You are not Italian, but just as beautiful as one, eh, Antonio? Ah, but I am biased! Do you see that woman up there?" He pointed to an old black and white photo of a very beautiful woman looking over her shoulder and giving a small smile to the camera. "That was my wife, Josephina. She was the most beautiful woman in the world, no offense, miss. But she was lovely, inside and out. Blessed me with six children, who have blessed me with thirteen grandchildren, and soon, I will be blessed with a great-grandchild!" He sighed happily, reminiscing over his long, happy life. "But, that is not the point. Have you a service for me, Antonio, or did you stop by to say hello?"

Tony looked at Ziva and nodded. She reached into her pocket and pulled out her broken necklace. "I've had this necklace since I was quite young, and it was given to me by my little sister, who too, has passed. One of the links has broken, and I've been told by other jewelers that it is not worth fixing, that I should just buy a new chain. I know it would be quite difficult and tedious, but…"

"My dear, Miss Ziva, has our dear Antonio told you nothing of me? When it comes to jewelry, I can work miracles. And if I cannot make the miracles happen, I know the few who are better than I who can do anything," He gave father a large, grandfatherly-like grin, and Ziva felt herself believing in him and gave him a grin back. "Now, let me see this necklace."

She handed over the delicate chain with the broken link and the Star of David. He took it gingerly to his lighted desk and put his magnifying goggles back on. He looked carefully at the chain and the link for a few moments, until he leaned back and sighed, contented.

"Miss Ziva, nothing is impossible. This fix, it will be difficult, yes, but never impossible. My dear, why don't you take a look at some of my jewelry? I would like to show something to our Antonio for a moment."

Ziva looked quizzically at Angelo, then at Tony, who shrugged, but nodded and smiled softly as she turned her back to them, looking at the bracelets and rings in the glass cabinet. Angelo beckoned Tony to the back room.

"Angelo, thank you so much for doing this for me… Ziva," Tony said.

"Oh, Antonio, anything for you and your pretty lady friend. I'll fix that up in a few days and give you a call, no charge! Now, I have something for you," He said as he began to rustle through some drawers. "I was cleaning out some old paperwork last week, annoying task it is, and I found… this!" He pulled out a bracelet box. "Your grandfather bought this from my father many, many years ago, but he never gave it to your grandmother. He bought her a beautiful rosary instead. But what's done is done, and this, my dear boy, belongs to you."

Tony opened the box and smiled at the beauty of it. It was small and thin, gold with tiny rubies and diamonds. He didn't know why (or maybe he did), but the first thing he thought of when he saw the bracelet was how beautiful it would look on Ziva's wrist. Maybe that's were it should belong.

His thoughts were interrupted by Angelo patting him on the back. "She's not Italian, my boy, but I think I'll let this one slide," He said with a wink.

"What are you…"

"Shush, you. Don't play like you don't know. Keep her around," He said, his smile gone but the warmth from his eyes never leaving. "Don't you lose her."

Tony held his gaze. "She's not going anywhere. Not if I can help it," He agreed, realizing what he meant as the words escaped his lips.

"Good, that's my boy." Angelo gave him a fatherly hug again, then they walked back into the front of the store, Tony tucking the bracelet box into his pocket.

"Well, business is all taken care of. Miss Ziva, I know that I am showing myself to be an old man, but would you like to see pictures of my grandchildren?"

~*~

An hour later, Tony and Ziva returned to NCIS with multiple cups of coffee for their teammates. They took their seats and began sorting through their paperwork, finishing up reports that were due, or playing a game of solitaire.

Hours later, Tony leaned back on his chair and stretched, not being able to look at his computer any longer. He looked over at Probie, who was still busily typing away, then to Gibbs, who was squinting over a piece of paper, sipping on his coffee, then finally, to Ziva, who was still working hard, but looked fairly exhausted.

Tonight, he thought. Tonight, I'll give her the bracelet. He was suddenly struck with an idea. Taking a blank piece of paper, he scribbled his message on it, crumpled it up, and threw it at Ziva's head. And although she was exhausted and maybe slightly out of practice from all the physical therapy and bed rest she had been forced to do, she still caught with ease, without bothering to look. When she did look up, however, she sent such a glare to Tony that he almost forgot that there was something written on the piece of paper he threw at her.

"Open it," he mouthed. Her expression changed to that of confusion as she started unfolding the paper, then gave a small smile at the message.

Dinner tonight, pick you up at 7?

She looked back and nodded. Tony grinned a very DiNozzo like grin, then leaned forward to work, promising himself that he would finish so Gibbs would not keep him late. She, too, grinned as she looked back down on her paperwork, a very un-Ziva like grin. No walls, no hiding emotions, this smile just showed that she was happy.

The fearless team leader watched the interaction between his senior agent and their newest, official agent, and gave a silent chuckle to himself. They were two of the most opposite people on the planet, and they fought like animals constantly. But they each had been through hell, mentally, physically, or both, and they shared some… link, that Gibbs had thought had broken after everything with Michael, Mossad, her father…

Maybe they'd break Rule 12. Maybe they'd stay best friends and partners forever. Either way, it was clear to Gibbs that their broken link had been fixed, and whatever choice they made together, well, they'd turn out just fine.