Father/Daughter Dance

Tony, Tali, Rivka & Beth; Tim & Katie; Jimmy plus Gibbs go to Father/Daughter dance at the local Community Center. Anthony and Ziva are there as well for Anthony's first paid photography job.

~DiNozzo~

"But, Abba," Beth was following Tony as he took his snack to the family room for their weekly family movie night. "How can you have three dates for the Father/Daughter dance? I asked you first, so you should go with me."

Tony put his bowl of munchies down and turned to his youngest - by twenty two minutes – daughter; age ten. "Beth, you, Rivka, and Tali are all my daughters, so I am taking all of you. You can share me for the dance by taking turns. Besides, Grandpa Gibbs is also going, so he and I will share you three."

Beth was still not satisfied. "It's not fair that Katie and Tori get to go with their fathers and not have any one else tagging along."

"But, Katie and Tori don't have any sisters. Who do you like to hang out with? Hmmm?" Tony wasn't sure he'd convince his little ninja; she was as stubborn as her mother, and, he had to admit, her father as well.

Beth pouted a few minutes, then turned to her Abba, "Well, I guess it's okay. But I get the first dance with you."

"Deal." Tony hugged Beth and tickled her side. She giggled and lost the pout. "Now, let's get the movie started before your brothers eat all the popcorn."

~McGee~

"Daddy, you have to know the color of my dress so that you can buy a corsage." Twelve year old Katie was trying to get her father to go dress shopping with her. Her Mom had set aside Saturday afternoon for dress shopping for the Father/Daughter dance at the community center. Katie wanted her Daddy to help choose the perfect dress.

Tim sighed, "But I can see it when you bring it home from the store. I don't have to go shopping with you, do I?" Tim knew the primary reason that Katie wanted him to accompany them on the shopping trip was that he would be easier to convince and win over on a dress that her Mom would put a stop to purchasing if she thought it even a nudge over the line.

"How about you send me a picture when you find a dress that you want and I can give you the yea or nay that way?" Tim really did not want to spend an afternoon shopping for a dress, shoes, and all the other things needed for the dance.

Katie sighed, "I guess that will work. But if you say okay and Mom says no, you are going to have to be the one who convinces her!"

Tim nodded, silently hoping that it would not come to that point, especially once he saw Delilah in the doorway, giving him the 'stink eye.'

~Palmer~

Jimmy looked at his fifteen year old daughter as she came out of the dressing room. Tori was smiling, and he could see why. The fuchsia dress she had on was a stunner. He had her turn around, to make sure the dress was not too curve-clinging, and appropriate for the dance. "I think this one is the keeper. What do you think, Tori? Send a picture to your Mom?"

Tori nodded to her Dad and posed so he could take a picture with his phone and send it to Breena, who was at work at Slaters. The Home had three funerals today, and Breena had to get Jimmy to take Tori dress shopping.

"Your Mom sent back a thumbs up." Jimmy smiled at his daughter, "Keeper it is." Tori went back to change into her jeans and t-shirt, and then the father and daughter went to choose accessories to match: fuchsia clutch bag, silver pumps, and a necklace, earrings and bracelet set in silver and fuchsia.

Jimmy went to the men's department and found a fuchsia tie and cummerbund to match. He would wear his black tux with a white shirt. He also found fuchsia socks, but Tori gave him a thumbs down.

~DiNozzo~

"Tali! Rivka! Beth! Grandpa is here, and Anthony is ready to take pictures." Ziva called her girls to come into the living room.

Tali appeared first in her sapphire blue dress with a sequined top and chiffon skirt. She had borrowed her Ima's diamond necklace and teardrop earrings. Anthony wolf whistled to tease his sister, but she did look stunning.

Rivka and Beth came into the living room together, both in emerald green dresses. Rivka's had a subtle floral pattern, and Beth's had bead work on the bodice. Ziva looked them over and shook her head; it was hard to believe the twins were already ten years old, and Tali had just turned sixteen.

Tony's cummerbund was an emerald green as was his bow tie and added to his formal look in his tux. Ziva always liked looking at her husband in his tux. Eye candy for her. Gibbs had a sapphire blue shirt with a silver gray tie and cummerbund. The girls had picked which color each would wear. Tali was secretly pleased that she matched Grandpa. The group posed for pictures and then got into the family vehicle to go to the dance.

Ziva helped Anthony pack his camera equipment into Tony's truck and then changed to a simple black tea length dress as Anthony put on his gray suit with a blue and red striped tie over a white shirt. Anthony would be taking pictures at the dance and Ziva had agreed to help him. LJ had gone to the McGee house for the night. He, John, and Delilah had planned to see a newly released movie and then meet Breena and Charles to play moonlight miniature golf at the mall.

~Community Center~

Tony parked the van in the closest space to the doors he could find. Gibbs and the girls got out and waited at the back of the van for Tony to lock up. Tony handed Gibbs a bag from which he took three wrist corsages, one for each girl. Gibbs put Tali's blue carnations on her left wrist, while Tony put the green carnations on Rivka and Beth. Gibbs offered Tali his right arm and she tucked her left arm into his. Tony held out both arms and Rivka linked hers on his right and Beth on the left. Tony grinned as he was sure he had the best looking girls at the dance, not that he was biased or anything.

They met Tim and Katie at the door and spotted Jimmy and Tori just inside the doors. Katie's periwinkle blue dress matched her father's tie and cummerbund. Everyone remarked on Tori's fuchsia dress and Jimmy's matching tie and cummerbund. Gibbs thought to himself that his family was the best looking one there. His granddaughters were beautiful young ladies, and their fathers had cleaned up nicely.

Anthony had his cameras set up for the portraits to be made later in the evening, and used one of his compact DSLRs to photograph the father/daughter pairs or groups as they entered the room. He spotted his family near the doorway and smiled. Katie looked absolutely stunning in her dress. He felt a tap on his shoulder, and his Ima quietly reminded him that he was working. "She's beautiful, but remember, you are working tonight. I will make sure you get a chance to dance with her later."

"Thanks, Ima. I think we have the best looking family here." Ziva nodded her agreement; all of Gibbs' granddaughters were beautiful, but her girls were the best. Nothing wrong with having a mother's pride in her offspring. Ziva had to tear her eyes from Tony, especially when Anthony caught her following Tony around the room with her eyes. "Ima, you are working!" Ziva grinned sheepishly; busted for ogling her husband.

The woman in charge of the dance called for everyone to take a seat so they could get the event started. She welcomed all the fathers and daughters and introduced the band, the volunteers who were at the food and beverage tables, the others who had planned the dance, and the event photographer, Anthony. Then she turned it over to the band leader who was also the emcee for the night.

"Are we ready to dance?" The emcee asked the crowd.

"YES."

"I can't hear you!"

"YES!"

"All right, then, let's have some fun!" The emcee signaled to the band and they started to play Paul Simon's 'Father and Daughter.' Tim and Katie, Jimmy and Tori, Gibbs and Tali, and Tony and Beth moved out to the dance floor.

The second dance was a line dance, so the fathers who had more than one daughter could have all of their daughters on the dance floor together. After another line dance song, the emcee had all dads with one daughter sit down. There were about a dozen still standing. Then he had the dads with two daughters sit. Tony was the only one left standing. The emcee asked him how many daughters he had, and he replied, "Three beautiful young ladies!" The group applauded and Tony was given a twenty five dollar gift card for . The emcee than called the three girls up and gave each a ten dollar gift card. Anthony took several pictures of his Abba and sisters and then caught a candid shot of his Ima smiling at her family.

After another round of songs, the emcee called for all grandfathers in the group to stand. He called out numbers of granddaughters, having them sit when they got to how many granddaughters each one had. At five, only Gibbs and one other grandfather were left. The emcee asked each how many granddaughters they had; both replied, "Five." Both men were given a gift card for Home Depot. Each one was asked to introduce their granddaughters, and each girl got a gift card for the local ice cream shop. Anthony again took pictures of the families and grinned at his own family. He took a few extra pictures of them and of Katie.

The emcee asked the group to be seated and told them that the band would be taking a short break, and the refreshments would be served during the break. Also, any families wanting to have pictures made could go to where Anthony had his cameras set up and get that done.

Ziva and Anthony kept busy for nearly an hour and one half with pictures and orders for prints. The dancing started again after about a half hour. When the last family had come through the photo area, Ziva told Anthony to go get his dance with Katie while she counted orders and sales for the night.

Gibbs had danced with each of his five granddaughters at least once and Tony got to dance with each of his girls at least three times. Anthony cut in on Uncle Tim and Katie. Uncle Tim smiled, and then went to ask Beth to dance as she was the one on the sidelines this dance.

For the final dance, the emcee asked each father to dance with all of his daughters, so Tony had all three girls with him. Gibbs went to the photo area, and took Ziva's hand. He led her to the dance floor. The final song, Stevie Wonder's 'Isn't She Lovely?' had the adults teary-eyed. Ziva whispered to Gibbs, "Thank you Abba. I love you."

"Love you more, kiddo." Gibbs placed a kiss on Ziva's forehead and wiped a tear from her cheek.

Anthony had a camera in each hand taking pictures and caught his Abba embracing his sisters and placing kisses on their heads. He also had several candids of each of the families, including Uncle Tim and Katie and Uncle Jimmy and Tori. His favorite photos from that last dance were the ones of his Ima and Grandpa.

~DiNozzo~

Anthony had thirty six orders for pictures, with a net of just over three thousand dollars. He also sold prints from the candids and CDs of original digital images. Ziva was proud of his first paid photography job and she and Tony helped him open a bank account for his earnings.