Ziva pressed her cheek to Tony's chest, his heartbeat steady and soothing. She smiled softly to herself, fingers curled in his. They swayed gently to the melody, all the time in the world ahead of them.
Tony's hands moved up and down her back, exploring through the fabric of her dress. "You look beautiful," he said into her hair.
"So you have said," Ziva leaned into him affectionately.
Tony grinned, he couldn't seem to contain his joy today, "Both of my girls are beautiful today."
At his words, both Tony and Ziva turned their necks to look at the other side of the reception hall. Their four-year-old, having long ago eighty-sixed her flower crown and shoes, was sitting on Delilah's lap, looking ready to conk out. Delilah was stroking the little girl's messy curls, talking quietly to Ellie.
"She has gotten so big," Ziva said, a touch of melancholy in her voice. Her baby, their baby, would be off to kindergarten next year. Gone were the days of baby talk and unsteady steps. Now Tali talked anyone's ear off and sprinted around the playgrounds, challenging 'Auntie Lilah' to races, trailed after Gibbs with her little plastic tool set at the ready, skipped through Central Park with her Papa DiNozzo.
"Hey," Tony tilted Ziva's chin up and locked eyes with her. "Today's a happy day, Zee-vah. No sadness. We've got her whole life to get all 'Cat's in the Cradle'."
Ziva's forehead creased in confusion. She shook her head, "Why would there be a cat in a baby's cradle? We do not even have a cat."
Tony laughed loudly and dipped his head to kiss his wife. His wife!
She pulled back with a disgruntled noise, "You did not answer my question! Is that another one of your stupid idioms?"
"Nope," Tony twirled her a little, "It's a song. A really depressing one."
He regretted bringing it up because now he was thinking about the sad lyrics. Tony shook his head and pulled Ziva back against his chest. "Never mind. Forget I mentioned it."
Ziva gave him a skeptical look, but didn't press him further. She resumed her previous position, cheek resting over his heart.
The reception hall was theirs for another half an hour, but since it had already gotten so late, many of their guests were gone. There were still plenty of people dancing and chatting, but Tony and Ziva only has eyes for each other.
This day had been a long time coming, Ziva thought. She was acutely aware of the slight weight of the two rings on her finger, the possessive grip Tony had on her. It was nice. They'd been through so much, so much tragedy and trauma, they deserved this happy moment.
"Tony?" Ziva said as the music changed. While the people on the floor around them danced a little faster, Tony and Ziva continued to sway.
"Mhm?" Tony replied absently, his eyes on Tali, now sitting with Jimmy, Breena, and three-year-old Victoria. He watched as his daughter and her 'best fwend' ate cannolis and laughed at something Jimmy said.
Ziva noticed the direction of his gaze and smiled at the powdered sugar coating Tali's face. "I am sorry I did not tell you about her at first."
"Hey, water under the bridge," Tony said lightly. And it was. They'd had their big blowout fight about her secret keeping when they'd met up in Paris after her faked death. It had been three long days of screaming and venting, but in the end everything had turned out all right.
"I understand why you did it," Tony continued. "You don't have to apologize again, Z."
Ziva smiled up at her husband, a smile only for him. "So you have said. But, I think you deserved a chance to be there from the beginning. I think, this time will be different. For both of us."
She moved their joined hands to rest over her stomach, watching with a wide smile as Tony's brain whirred to make the connection. She laughed loudly as she saw it click in his head.
"Seriously?" he asked, eyes wide and fingers curling around her stomach. His mouth moved, fish-like, as the ever-verbose Tony DiNozzo was rendered speechless.
"Seriously," Ziva repeated on a laugh. "It is early, only 6 weeks, but I could not wait to tell you."
Tony pulled her into a deep kiss, their hands still pressed against her stomach.
"Thank you," he whispered after they broke apart, foreheads touching.
They hadn't talked about giving Tali a sibling, not in any real, concrete conversations. But now, Tony beamed because this felt right.
All the shit, the years and years of tension and torture and separation, it had all been worth it for this, for his wife and his daughter and his new baby.
There had been a period, during his darkest days, when Ziva had been in Israel and Tony had been in D.C., that he'd wished none of it had ever happened. That those eight years of history and heartbreak could be erased.
Now, when Ziva leaned up to kiss him again, Tony wouldn't have changed a single minute of their history.
Everything that they had gone through had led them to this moment. To their happy ending.
A/N: It's been a long time since I wrote some Tiva. But I've been sad and nostalgic for the good old days, so here, have some fic.
Let me know what you think! I may have some more NCIS fic in me. :)
