At five minutes to ten am on Saturday morning, McGee stood in a small room at City Hall, called the Marriage Ceremony Room, with an official of the court who was to perform the wedding. Tim watched the door anxiously, straightening his tie as he waited for it to open.

Exactly on time, the door swung inward and there stood Abby, his beautiful bride. Her hair was down and curly, pulled back on the sides with two pearl clips that had belonged to her great-grandmother. She never thought she'd have an occasion to wear them and then she was suddenly getting married.

The dress she'd chosen surprised McGee but he thought she looked amazing. It was white, as requested, and came to just below her knees. Short sleeves and beading on the bodice made it look a little old fashioned, but Abby seemed to like those kinds of things. Her hands were wrapped around a bouquet of black and red roses and when she smiled, Tim felt his heart beat double-time.

He met her eyes, dark green and clear green locked onto each other, and neither wavered as Abby slowly walked from the doorway towards him. Even though technically civil ceremonies did not usually include a walk down the aisle, the Goth had insisted and Tim was prepared to give her anything she wanted. It was, after all, her wedding day.

It seemed to take years and McGee counted every step. Finally she was close enough and he reached out his hand, curling his fingers around hers. His grin was wide enough to split his face and the joy he read in his fiancee's eyes was something Tim knew he would never forget.

The ceremony was brief and it felt like they barely had time to blink before the officiate turned to Tim and said the words he'd been waiting to hear. "Do you, Timothy McGee, take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife? Do you promise to love and care for her as long as you both shall live?"

Tim nodded. "I do."

The man smiled. "Then please say your vows to her."

Clearing his throat, Tim took both of Abby's hands in his and lowered his voice as if he were telling a secret just to her. "I take you, Abby, to be my wife. I promise to love, honour and cherish you from this day on. For eight years you have held my heart and I give it to you anew today, hoping that you will be able to keep it safe for the next eighty years or more."

He raised his hand and stroked her cheek, wiping away the lone tear that had fallen. "I love you Abby and I've waited a long time for this moment. I've chosen you as the person with whom I want to spend the rest of my life, and I promise to be faithful to you as long as I live."

Abby sniffed and held out her hand for Tim to slide the plain silver wedding band into place. Her smile was a little watery as the officiant looked at her now.

"Do you, Abigail Bethany Scuito, take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband? Do you promise to love and care for him as long as you both shall live?"

It took the bride a minute before she could get the word out, and then it was so soft the officiant had to ask her to repeat it. "Yes," she said a little louder, "I do."

Again the man smiled. "Then please say your vows to him."

She took a deep breath. "Timmy, from the first time we met you got under my skin and then somehow, over the years, you crawled all the way to my heart. You love all the black clothes that I wear, you love my pigtails and my tattoos, you love me just the way I am. For years you have been my best friend, today I will be proud to call you my husband. You are my safe place to hide, a shelter I can run to when I have nowhere else to go and now I know you'll always be here, with me."

Abby paused to brush away a few more tears and stared straight into his beautiful eyes. "I love you Tim and I can't believe we're finally here. This is the start of the rest of our lives and I promise to be yours and yours alone, because nothing but Death will be able to take me from you now, and even then I'd fight him just so I didn't have to be without you. I promise myself to you and that promise is forever."

Taking Tim's larger hand in hers, Abby gently pushed the heavy silver band over his knuckle. It was real, they belonged to each other, and the rings were a symbol that their love, like a circle, would forever be unbroken.

The officiant closed his book and looked at both of them separately. "By the power vested in me by the District of Columbia, I now pronounce you husband and wife." He winked at Tim. "Mr. McGee, you may now kiss your bride."

A grin spread across Tim's face and he took a step towards Abby. Sliding his fingers along her cheeks and into her hair, he cradled her face in his hands and brought his lips to hers. Abby could taste the pure delight in her new husband's kiss and she dropped her flowers on the ground so she could wind her arms around his neck. It was the best kiss yet.

Breathing a little heavily, Tim pulled away only a fraction, resting his forehead against hers. "Happy Wedding Day Mrs. McGee."

The new name thrilled Abby from her eyelashes to the paint on her toenails and she smoothed her hand over his familiar face. "Happy Wedding Day Tim." Then she let go of him and jumped up and down a couple of times. "I can't believe we're married!"

He caught her as she threw herself at him and McGee knew then that he'd never had a true Abby hug until that moment. He never wanted to let go of her ever again.

NCIS

While McGee and Abby were saying their vows and binding their lives together, for all eternity as Abby would probably say, Tony was knocking on Ziva's front door, absolutely determined to take her shopping finally. He'd waited long enough that he was almost ready to try out his own lock picking skills, when Ziva finally opened the door. Her hair was wet and her face flushed when she looked at him without meeting his eyes.

"I am sorry Tony," she explained. "I was in the shower."

Now it was Tony's turn to be a bit embarrassed as he tried to focus on anything but that image. He chuckled, falling back on humour to save the moment. "Y'know, I've always had this fantastic sense of timing, I could tell you stories..."

At this Ziva smiled and shook her head. "Your stories can be dangerous," she reminded him.

Back on familiar, bantering territory, Tony threw her a grin and followed her in. "You love them." He plopped down on the couch as Ziva went to the bathroom and came back with a brush. "Today's the day," he announced brightly.

She frowned. "What day?"

"The day we got shopping and start working on the list we made, of course."

Ziva stared at him. There he went with 'we' again. He used it at every opportunity, even though their two weeks together was long up. "Well," she considered his offer and looked around. It would be nice to add some decorative touches and make her apartment feel more like a home. "Alright," Ziva agreed, nervously wondering how badly her bank account would suffer for this.

"Great!" Tony's eyes lit up and Ziva rolled hers. It was going to be like shopping with a six year old on a sugar high.

Since Tony decided their first stop had to be a TV store, Ziva's prediction was mostly correct. She hadn't seen a man this excited about electronics since McGee got his computer system upgraded last year and she knew for a fact that her partner wouldn't appreciate the comparison. Tony dragged her through multiple aisles, pointing out everything might possibly be of interest, and filled the cart full of accessories she was sure she didn't need long before they even looked at televisions. Then she had to put her foot down.

"No Tony, I do not need a 52" large screen."

"But Ziva, then you'd get to really experience the movie!" He tried to convey the importance of this fact.

Ziva stared at him. "I would rather experience life debt free and have a small, normal sized TV set, thank you."

He rolled his eyes. "Fine, whatever. Have it your way."

"Thank you," she smirked, "I will."

"That was rhetorical," Tony muttered and Ziva shrugged.

"I know."

"You're really taking all the fun out of this shopping thing," he groused.

She raised one eyebrow and crossed her arms. "You did not have to come."

Quickly Tony corrected himself. "I mean, this is great. I can't wait for more!"

They ended up picking out a modest, 32" flat screen TV that would fit well in Ziva's small livingroom. When it came time to check out, she gulped at the total and Tony whipped out his wallet, handing his credit card to the cashier before Ziva even realized what he was doing.

"Half on that," he told her.

Ziva frowned and her voice was dangerously low. "Tony..."

Tony shook his head. "Look, I'm the one who suggested all this stuff and I'm going to be over all the time watching movies on it, so you may as well just let me cover some of the cost now."

Staring at him, Ziva bit her lip before giving in. As much as she wanted to argue, the look in his eyes wouldn't let her. She was getting very bad at saying 'no' to him and it was once again bothering Ziva in the back of her mind that between them everything was very much becoming yours, mine, and ours. Except they weren't a couple and neither was good at sharing their toys. But before she had time to think very deeply about it, Tony was dragging her off to the next store, trying not to over-analyze her preoccupation. He would only worry about what he didn't know.

Tony and Ziva shopped for the next several hours, often getting very creative with their purchases because despite Tony's excitement and insistence, he knew she really was trying to conserve her cash. By the end of their spree, almost everything on Ziva's list had been taken care of and they made many trips up the stairs from her car (because it was bigger) to carry everything in.

While Tony delightedly set about getting her TV, DVD player etc. hooked up, Ziva sat down on the floor surrounded by bags and started on the project she was most looking forward to - finding homes for many of the team photos from Abby. This was her family and she wanted to see them every time she walked into her apartment. Even if she did already see them and feel their love in every item that had been donated to her move-in.

The remaining hours of the day were taken up with hanging pictures, setting out frames, putting up curtains and finally, relaxing on her couch with the new throw pillows she'd picked out and the pizza they'd ordered, enjoying a movie Tony managed to sneak past her at one of the stores - The Core. The premise was intriguing, if a little far fetched, but before Ziva knew it she was drifting off to sleep. Late night training sessions, early morning runs, and too little rest were taking their toll.

Tony didn't mind in the least. An hour with Ziva sleeping on his shoulder was pretty much akin to heaven for him. But when the movie finished Tony made himself get up slowly, moving her to lay down on the couch. He kissed her dark curls and whispered 'good night', holding back the words he longed to say because the timing still wasn't, and might never be, right.

Leaving her wasn't easy and it took a lot for him to pack up his things and get ready to leave. Then he had to figure out how to lock the door behind him. Shoving his hands in his jacket pocket as he thought, Tony was surprised when his fingers brushed against a small piece of metal and he didn't remember being there.

Frowning, Tony pulled his hand out and saw a shiny new key, with a paper attached that said simply 'T', in Ziva's handwriting. Joy filled him as he realized that she had taken a huge step towards truly trusting him with that gesture. Smiling, he looked over his shoulder one more time, locked her in for the night, and slid her key onto his keyring, letting it fall next to the one for his apartment. One step at a time, and this time they might actually be going somewhere.

NCIS

Monday was another early morning for Ziva and even a five mile run wasn't enough to keep the demons from her dreams away. She was at her desk by 0630, grateful to have her study materials to keep her busy. It seemed her early mornings were good for something, and at least when her head was full of the American Constitution there wasn't room to think about anything else.

By 0800 though, Ziva decided it was time. After more than a week of training every day after work, trying to exhaust herself in hopes of sleeping with no nightmares, she knew she finally had to ask for help. It wasn't working and Ziva knew both Tony and Gibbs had noticed and were worried because she wasn't sleeping. She'd brushed off their concern many times and it wasn't easy for her to admit now that they were right.

Picking up her phone, Ziva dialed the number she'd looked for earlier, holding the small green card in her hand.

"Dr. Andrew's office," a younger woman's voice said.

She took a deep breath. "My name is Ziva David. I need to speak with her please."

It wasn't her favourite option, but having tried everything else she could possibly think of, Ziva realized that maybe she was finally ready to talk.

NCIS

Tony and Ziva still, after nearly two weeks, had not spoken of her nightly visits. She wasn't yet able to say that she needed someone, needed him specifically, and Tony didn't want her to stop coming over. He liked knowing she was there even if he was sleeping. And whatever was happening, it seemed to work for them. Ziva felt better trying to sleep when she knew Tony was just down the hall, though sometimes she had to concentrate very hard not to remember what it was like to feel him lying next to her, ready at a moment's notice to save her from the dreams.

She had to work herself out of the nightmares alone now because of the unspoken deal between them that Tony wouldn't come to her. But some nights all she wanted was his arms around her, holding her tight, and his gentle voice whispering in her ear that everything was going to be okay. It was so tempting to creep down the hall and slip under the covers of his bed, but Ziva never let herself give in. She needed to be strong again, she had to deal with this without him.

Tony never told her the agony it was to lay in his room and hear her restlessness and occasional screams and to still stay away. To gain her trust and maybe more, he had to respect her wishes, but it was torture of a different kind to listen to her suffer in the dark when she could've had him to be her light. So he took to his computer, writing letters each time he woke because she couldn't sleep any more. The number of documents in his new folder grew with each passing night as Tony poured his heart out, waiting for the day when they might someday be something more.

NCIS

On Monday night Tony smiled when he got up and saw Ziva sleeping on his couch like usual. Taking a seat in the kitchen, he contented himself with watching her from afar. Someday it will be more, Tony promised himself. At least she chose me to feel safe with, that's got to mean something. When she was here, Tony felt like this was home and for now it was enough.

END OF PART TWO

A/N: Alright guys, can you believe it? After five months and thirty chapters we've finally come to the end of Part 2 of my Remnants of Somalia series. I just want to thank you all so much for sticking with me and leaving so many lovely reviews - we're over 350! I'm amazed by your reactions. I've gotten so many beautiful comments and so much encouragement that it's overwhelming in the best of ways.

So now that we've got a foundation for this series, and there is so much yet to come. Stay tuned! Put me on Author Alert or keep an eye out for new stories on my profile because Chapter 1 of Part 3 will be posted during the first week of October, 2011. I can't wait to see you all then! Again, thanks for everything, you guys are awesome! :)

Love, Aliyah :D