Tony DiNozzo stepped on to dry dock for the first time in almost a year
Tony DiNozzo stepped on to dry dock for the first time in almost a year. He had been Agent Afloat for the past three, but now was the first time he was actually allowed to take holidays since that nightmare started.
Being stationed aboard the Ronald Regan hadn't lasted long; barely six weeks. From there, he was moved to the Seahawk for nine months, the Enterprise for seven months, the Abraham Lincoln for six months, and finally, the George Washington, where he had spent the better part of 2011, and where he was returning to in two weeks.
Life hadn't really treated him the best since Vance became director of NCIS; Tony had spent most of his time aboard the aircraft carriers going through informal Navy training given to him by fellow shipmates.
Now, finally, he was Norfolk, Virginia. He may only have two weeks, but it was better than nothing.
Tony walked out of the Norfolk naval base and onto the main road where a taxi was waiting for him.
"Where to?" the driver asked.
"NCIS headquarters, on the Anacostia River."
Tony settled into the not-so-comfortable seat for the hour-long taxi ride to the naval yard, and slowly fell asleep, the rhythmic movement settling his active mind.
"Sir, ID please."
Tony woke up and stared into the face of the security guard. "Oh, sure," he said, pulling his NCIS id out of his bag. The thing needed to be renewed as soon as he visited Vance, but for now it would do.
"Please report to the lobby, Agent DiNozzo, there's someone waiting to escort you there."
Tony nodded and closed the window as his taxi driver proceeded up the driveway to the main building. It didn't take long to reach the front doors of the building he had spent so long working in, and he was glad to be back in familiar territory.
The driver let the engine idle as DiNozzo removed his duffel bag from the seat next to him. He was still in his beige navy fatigues, not having had the time to change since he left the GW, but his civvies were in the bag. He paid the man before shutting the door for the final time, and suddenly, he was alone.
He was home.
Tony took a deep breath; his time on the aircraft carriers had changed him, matured him. No longer did he play pranks on people, and enjoyed all the activities he used to partake while he was still in the office; but maybe that was because he wasn't that close to the people on the ships, not as close as he was to McGee, Ziva and Gibbs.
He decided to swallow his pride and walked in the door.
No sooner had the doors opened Tony was assaulted by a big blur.
"Oh my God, Tony, you're finally here!"
"Abby, can't breathe."
She stepped back from him but didn't let go of his shoulders. "Come on, everyone's waiting for you in the bullpen!"
Hesitantly, Tony followed the forensic scientist into the elevator and back to his worst nightmare.
His desk, his old desk, was occupied when Tony exited the elevator, something he expected but an occurrence that still pained him. McGee was leaning on his, though there was a man sitting in front of the computer screen; Michelle Lee was sitting where Ziva sat for three years. That was the sight that hurt the most. Their team, their family, had been replaced.
"I thought Ziva was supposed to be here too," Tony said, not seeing his partner in the bullpen.
"She couldn't make it, Tony," Gibbs whispered, enveloping him in a hug. "We haven't been able to contact her for almost two years now, and even before that any communication was extremely periodic."
Tony let out a heavy sigh. "Not that it isn't good to see you guys; because it is," he said, running a hand through his hair. "I just wanted to talk to Ziva."
Gibbs let out a sigh of his own. "You two aren't co workers anymore, DiNozzo, so rule 12 doesn't apply," he began. "Just be careful, three years is a long time, she might have moved on."
Tony only nodded, and turned to the stairs.
"Where are you going?" Abby called after him. "We have so much to catch up on!"
"Just need to check in with Vance, but I have 8pm reservations at Le Meridian for the family, so please, everyone, make sure you're there," Tony stopped for a moment. "Don't bank on seeing me for the rest of the day, I have things to do, people to see, but I promise I'll be there tonight, and hopefully bearing gifts."
Gibbs, McGee and Abby knew better than to chase after him this time, so they let him climb the stairs to see the director.
"Do you think he's okay?" Abby asked, watching him disappear down the catwalk.
Gibbs shook his head. "Just leave him be until tonight, it's been a long three years for all of us, but most of all him."
Surprisingly, Abby let it go and left to bullpen to see Ducky, stopping only to kiss Tim before she left.
Gibbs sighed and ran a hand through his hair. It was going to be a long day.
Georgetown had barely changed since he had last visited the suburb. The streets were still the same, the gardens grown slightly, the sidewalk marginally dirtier than it had been. The strange thing was that the Israeli embassy had not changed a bit. It was still a barely recognisable building, the only distinguishable feature the Israeli flag flying next to the entrance. Maybe this was the way Mossad wanted it, blending into everything else to make it less likely to be targeted. It was the prefect place to hide. He did not know if she was here, but it was the most sensible place to start looking.
Tony entered the lobby and, after being stopped by security, the guards whom questioned him about his weapons possession, proceeded to the reception desk.
"Shalom," Tony greeted, grateful he had picked up at least that much from his partner. The woman returned the greeting. "I was wondering if Ziva David is assigned here?"
The woman nodded. "Yes, she is. Would you like to see her?"
"Yes please," Tony smiled. Though the woman was very attractive, he had yet to flirt with her; there was only one woman's attention he wanted right now, and the receptionists wasn't her.
The woman held him for a moment while she contacted someone, probably Ziva herself, before calling over another guard. "Mr…?"
"Agent DiNozzo," he answered, showing his identification.
"Agent DiNozzo, this man will escort you to the sitting room. Officer David will be with you shortly."
He was moved by the guard and didn't have time to question her about the use of Ziva's title. Tony followed silently, left and right and all over the place, until a door was opened and he was ushered into a modest room alone.
"Please wait here, agent, she won't be too much longer."
"Toda," Tony answered. The door closed behind the exiting guard, and Tony took a moment to observe the room before sitting down on a plush red couch by the wall. The sitting room wasn't overly large, but it wasn't small either. The carpet was a deep maroon, the four couches varying shades of red and brown, while the walls were a matte cream colour. The mahogany coffee table in between the couches had a small bouquet of flowers perched upon it, and surprisingly not many knife scratches on its surface.
The door opened, jolting Tony from his observations, and Ziva walked in, cell phone to her ear, obviously deep in conversation to someone important. He couldn't understand Hebrew, but the rapid fire words shooting off her tongue implied the person on the receiving end had done something wrong.
She was still yet to close the door or even notice him she was so deep in conversation, but Tony stood silently, waiting for a signal saying it was okay. What he didn't expect was two young girls to come bounding in and climb onto the couch he had just vacated. He was captivated by them; both had deep brown eyes and chocolate brown hair, but their skin, more of a honey brown than the rich toffee of Ziva's skin, suggested they were not entirely Israeli.
"You can stop staring at them Tony," Ziva said, standing right in front of him. "They will not hurt you, much," she added.
Tony turned back to the woman he had been admiring. "They yours?" he asked. She nodded. "Adorable. How old?"
"Two and a half, but I am guessing you did not track me down to meet my daughters," she answered, sitting down in the opposite chair. He sat down next to her.
"I missed you, Zee," he breathed, staring deeply into her eyes. She stared back, unblinking, until he averted his eyes. "So, DC, when did that happen?"
Ziva fell back into the couch. "Tony! We have not seen each other in three years, and all you can ask about is my job!" she exclaimed. "I thought you would have wanted to know about Tali and Arielle; they are your daughters, after all."
He was shocked at the news. "What? How?"
"Well," she began. "When a man and a woman have too much to drink and the unrelieved sexual tension between them becomes too much for either to bear…"
Tony put his hands up. "Yeah, I get ya. So it was the night before we flew out?"
She nodded. "It was not until almost three months later that I realised I was pregnant. My father suspended me from active duty and put me behind a desk at Mossad headquarters. I protested strongly, insisting any child of mine would be born in America. We argued for hours before my mother settled him. As much as she wanted to know her grandchild, she respected my wishes and told my father to do the same. So I was transferred here, to the embassy. I did not have my first scan until almost six weeks later, and that was when the doctor told me to expect two daughters. They are identical, he said, but it did not matter. They are yours, always have been. None of the other officers here ever understood why I gave them your surname, but I had to, as a reminder of you."
She trailed off, and both turned to look at their daughters. She sniffed a little before continuing. "They were born by caesarean section at 38 weeks, Arielle first, Tali second, both named after the brother and sister I lost to Hamas; Tali by suicide bombing, Ari by turning rogue. They both know who you are; I wanted them to know their father, even if he did not know them. The only thing is, I have not told our family about them; they do not even know I am here."
Tony took her in his arms, hugging her tightly. "I understand, and I'm not mad. I know how hard it was to contact me on ships. But why didn't you tell anyone else you were here?"
"Because," she sighed. "I am very highly valued amongst both Mossad and the American government, and my liaison duties between them have been re-established via the embassy, where I cannot be disturbed by my past. I am also the head control officer, all other Mossad operatives report to me on a weekly basis. It is not exciting, but I can keep my daughters safe and have them with me at almost all times."
Tony smiled. "So, which is which?"
Ziva stood up and spoke in rapid Hebrew to the twins on the other couch.
"Daddy!" they both yelled, jumping up and onto him. Tony didn't hesitate hugging both of them, burying his face into the hair between them. He was so happy he began crying. Ziva couldn't stand the sight and joined in, pausing only to quickly kiss her partner.
7pm came quickly to the four, who had not moved from the sitting room all afternoon, and Tony stood up, albeit reluctantly. He held out his hand. "Sweetcheeks, join me for dinner?" he asked.
Ziva laughed and stood up. "It has been so long since anyone has called me that, my little hairy butt, but yes, dinner would be great. Are the girls invited too?"
"But of course," Tony nodded. "We have reservations at Le Meridian at 8, so go and put on a nice dress, and put the twins into something adorable that matches, while I call for our ride."
Ziva smiled, she had not been treated this nice in a long time. It felt good to be wanted again. "Okay, we will not be too long. Would you like to freshen up too?"
Tony nodded. "Yeah, and can I throw my bag here until we get back; I don't want to drag my life with me to dinner."
"Sure, come with me." Tony happily followed, the twins talking a mile a minute in their own language. Maybe his three girls would help him to breathe again.
Abby was bouncing up and down in her seat waiting for Tony to arrive. Everyone else was already there, nursing drinks and talking quietly amongst themselves.
"He's here!" she called, jumping up out of her chair and rushing over to him. "Tony!"
He accepted the hug and shrugged her off quickly. "I know, Abbs, good to see you too. But I have a surprise for everyone." He turned and beckoned behind him, not missing a beat when a little girl jumped into his arms. "Settle down, munchkin, I'm not going anywhere tonight," he laughed, shifting her onto his hip. Moments later, another little girl bounded in, jumping into his free arm.
"Um, Tony," Abby began. "I wasn't aware you had kids…" she trailed off.
He smiled charismatically. "I wasn't either until I left NCIS this morning."
"Then who's their mother?" Gibbs asked.
"I am."
The team turned and saw Ziva standing next to the bar in an emerald green dress, a smile firmly on her face. She walked across to Tony, kissed him lightly on the cheek and relieved him of one of his daughters.
"What, I do not even deserve a hug?" she asked, feigning hurt in her voice.
Abby was the first to recover, jumping up and hugging Ziva tightly. "I'm so glad you're back!" she exclaimed. "So, who's this?"
Ziva smiled. "Tony is holding Arielle, and this is Tali," she introduced the girls.
Tony sat down in an empty chair, beckoning Ziva to join him in the next one; high chairs magically appeared for the twins to sit in.
Gibbs looked across the table, sharing a look with Tony, who smiled back. Finally, his family was back together again.
Two weeks passed all to quickly for Tony's liking, but when he returned to the George Washington to report for duty again, many officers that knew him noticed a difference in the previously sullen agent afloat.
"DiNozzo, what got into you?" Captain Harrington asked him in the mess hall later.
The agent smiled widely. "That holiday was the best thing ever for me, sir," he began. "I found the love of my life, discovered I had two beautiful daughters with her, reunited my family for the first time in three years, oh, and did I mention I got married?"
The captain smiled. "Good to see you're not drowning any more DiNozzo," he said.
"Ziva saved me," he shrugged. "The only thing that could make me happier would be to get off this stinking ship and back on dry land permanently."
The captain just smiled.
"That could happen sooner than you think, DiNozzo," came a voice from behind him.
Tony turned to see Gibbs standing there, a single piece of paper in his hand.
"Boss?"
Gibbs smiled. "Your new orders are to report back to your desk tomorrow morning, but tonight, I believe your wife wants you home."
Tony couldn't help but jump up and hug his boss.
Yep, the captain was right. He wasn't drowning any more. Ziva had saved him. Ziva and their girls.