Hey, y'all. Well, I don't know where exactly this came from, but I hope you enjoy it!
Disclaimer: I don't own anything.
"Mommy!" 6-year-old Alana yelled as she bounded down the hallway that connected her room to her parent's, carrying her favorite teddy bear with her. She opened the door to their bedroom and peeked in. It was dark; the only source of light came from the frequent flashes of lighting illuminating the room through the large window on one of the walls. "Mommy," she whispered, quiet now as to not awaken both of her parents. She pushed the door open only enough for her small frame to slip through. She then proceeded to tip-toe to her mother's side of the bed. She stood at the edge of the bed and saw that her mother was turned away from her, using her daddy as a pillow. "Mommy," she whispered once more as she poked her mother's back.
Ziva stirred in her sleep. She had heard her bedroom door open, but knew it was Alana. She continued to lay where she was, knowing that when her daughter came to her side of the bed, she would gladly wake her up. Just then she felt her 6-year-old poke her in the back, once more calling her. Ziva breathed in deep and stretched, rolling over to see her daughter looking at her with eyes that could only be described as her fathers. As she scooted closer to the edge of the bed to be closer to Alana, she felt Tony's arm tighten around her waist out of reflex; she smiled inwardly to herself. She reached out to move the hair out of Alana's face. "What's wrong sweetie?" she asked in her comforting motherly tone.
"It's storming," she told her in a quiet voice, wrapping her arms around the teddy bear in her arms. "I don't like storms, mommy."
Ziva sighed. "I know. It's alright, sweetheart. Nothing's going to hurt you, okay?"
Alana nodded, looking down.
"Do you want to sleep with daddy and me?" Ziva asked, knowing that was what her daughter had come into their bedroom for.
Alana gave the slightest smile she could muster, moving to climb onto the bed. Ziva sat up, pulling her daughter with her. The movement woke up Tony, who pushed himself up on one elbow, rubbing his eyes with his free hand. "What's wrong?" he asked, seeing his wife holding their daughter who was holding her teddy bear.
Ziva was about to answer when Alana spoke up before she could. "It's storming, daddy," she told him. Like clockwork, a strike of lightning lit up the sky and the loudest crack of thunder Alana had ever heard sent her crawling out of her mother's arms and into the space between her parents, which wasn't enough room for her, so Tony scooted back.
"Ah, I see," Tony said, moving to lay on his side, facing his daughter and wife, who had gone back to laying down on her side, facing him. She had her head on her pillow and her eyes were shut. He knew she was exhausted; it had been a long week with several trying cases. He had held her tight as she had cried herself to sleep the last two nights. He took his arm that was under him and moved it to lay above his head, resting on the pillows, going over his daughters head and onto the pillow Ziva had her head on. He used his hand to move the few hairs that had fallen, out of her face and tangled his fingers in her hair, messaging her scalp a little, in the way he knew she loved. Ziva didn't open her eyes, but he knew she appreciated the gesture by the small smile that graced her lips.
Tony kept his hand where it was, but turned his attention back to his daughter. She looked up to him with eyes that mirrored his own.
"I don't like storms, daddy," Alana repeated. Tony could see that that last bit of thunder and the rumbles that followed had brought tears to her eyes.
"It's okay, Lana," he assured, hugging her with his free arm. "You're safe with me," he told her.
"And mommy," she reminded him.
"Yes, mommy is safe with me too," he told her, chuckling, running his fingers through his wife's hair. "And you are safe with the both of us," he continued. "Okay?"
"K," she replied quietly, hugging her teddy bear.
"You know, Lana. I know someone else who used to not like storms," he told his daughter, hoping maybe one of his stories would get her to fall asleep. He saw that his announcement had made ZIva open her eyes to give him the best questioning glance she could muster while exhausted. He winked at her, silently telling her 'he got this' and she needn't worry.
Alana hadn't noticed the slight exchange but was rather enchanted by her father's revelation. "Really?" He nodded. "Who?"
He leant down to whisper in her ear, giving her the impression that what he was about to tell her was a big secret. "Mommy," he told her quietly, but loud enough for ZIva to hear. He glanced up at her to see her smile slightly, giving him the signal to go on. He smiled back, playing with her hair again until she closed her eyes. He looked back down to his daughter, who was trying to look up at her mother. Tony scooted back a little so she could. She looked up to see that her mother was sleeping, or so she thought. Ziva was trying to stay awake so she could listen to the story her husband was about to tell her daughter; a story that was about her.
Alana looked back at her father. "Really?" she asked. "Mommy is scared of storms too?"
Tony nodded. "Well she was," he corrected.
Alana squeezed her teddy bear as more thunder rumbled. "What made her not scared anymore?" she asked, becoming more timid every time the storm outside made itself apparent.
"Well," he started, "I did."
"You did?" she asked. "How?"
"Well, I gave her a reason to like storms. Just like me," he told her.
"You like storms?" Alana asked. "That's weird daddy."
"Yeah, mommy thought so too," Tony chuckled, the memory of that night flashing through his head. And judging by the slightest movement coming from Ziva, Tony knew she was thinking of the same night.
~Flashback~
"Ziva! Ziva, open up!" Tony yelled, banging on his partner's door. After waiting a few moments with no reply, he decided against banging on the door again, not wanting to wake her neighbors. Instead, he took out his lock-pick kit and got to work on her door. Within a few seconds, he had her door unlocked and was walking into her dark apartment. "Ziva," he called one more time, quieter now that he was in the dark, empty space. He walked around her apartment, looking for something unusual. He found it as he walked past what he guessed to be her bedroom door. He saw the light shining from under the crack in the door. He put his ear up to the door to see if he could hear anything, but because the storm outside had gotten that much louder, he couldn't hear much.
He quietly knocked on the door, trying one more time to warn Ziva of his presence before he just barged into her room. When he still got no response, he quietly pushed the door open. "Ziva," he called, walking through the room. He stopped at what he saw.
There was his partner, laying on top of her bed, hands on her stomach and staring up at her ceiling. Tony sighed, glad to see that she was physically okay. "You could've opened the door, you know," he teased, trying to get a reaction of her.
He succeeded, slightly though, for she only shrugged in response. He stood there looking at her a little longer, knowing that if he didn't leave, she would have no choice but to respond to him. His predictions were correct when a few minutes later she spoke up. "Why are you here?" she whispered, almost inaudibly.
Tony took this as his cue to move closer to the bed. He shrugged even though he knew she couldn't see him. "Just wanted to make sure you were okay," he said, coming to stand in front of her bed.
"I'm fine, Tony. You don't need to worry about me," she told him.
He smiled. "Of course I do," he told her. "It's my job," he joked, sitting down on the foot of her bed, facing away from her.
He was glad that had gotten a reaction out of her, for he felt movement behind him and then felt her sit next to him on the edge of the bed.
They were quiet for a minute before anyone spoke up. When someone did, it was her. "I don't get it," she expressed. He didn't want to interrupt her, so he didn't say anything, letting her continue. "Why did all those bad things happen to that Lieutenant? She was completely innocent; she didn't deserve any of it," she breathed, searching him for an answer.
"I don't know," he admitted. "I really don't. But maybe we have to look at the bright side of things."
He didn't have to look at her to see the incredulous look she was giving him. He didn't want to upset her any further, so he went on. "Maybe we need to think about this," he paused. "Maybe all those bad things happened to the Lieutenant so that something good could happen."
"What do you mean?" she asked, not understanding the point he was trying to make.
"Well something good has got to come out of everything, right? Well, maybe this was the Lieutenants bad happenings. Now all that's left to happen to her is something good. Now she can move on with her life and be free of those monsters. She endured what she had to endure so now she can let go and move on," he told Ziva, looking at her. "You understand?" he asked, not quite sure if he had gotten his point across.
Ziva smiled slightly and nodded. "Yeah," she agreed. "I think I do."
~End Flashback~
"Daddy?" Alana asked for the second time, trying to get her father's attention. Her voice shook Tony out of his thoughts.
"What sweetheart?" he asked her.
"I said, 'why do you like storms', daddy?" Alana clarified.
Tony smiled slightly. "Because," he paused, "after every storm, there's always a rainbow," he told her, kissing her head. "Now try and get some sleep, okay?"
"Kay," Alana replied, snuggling into both of her parents while clinging to her teddy bear. "You promise we'll see a rainbow tomorrow?" she asked.
Tony smiled. "I promise."
"Night daddy," she whispered, already on the verge of falling asleep again. "I love you."
"I love you too, Lana," he told her. He smiled, looking at his daughter for a moment. He looked back up at his wife and smiled. Leaning over his daughter, he kissed his wife on her forehead, letting his lips linger. "And I love you," he whispered.
Ziva smiled, bringing her hand up to above her head, grabbing onto Tony's hand. He rubbed his thumb against the back of her hand as her eyes opened. "I love you too," she told him, looking him in the eyes.
He smiled back, and bent to press a kiss to her lips. "Goodnight, Ziva."
"Goodnight," she responded.
He pulled back, putting enough room in between them for Alana to be comfortable, but leaving their hands in place.
As the lightning flashed and thunder roared, Tony knew that tomorrow; well, tomorrow, there'd be a great big rainbow waiting for them.
Well, how was it? Let me know! Review, please? :)