A/N: Senior and Tali fic seems to be few and far between and I wanted to read some so I wrote this. There's a couple more chapters. I hope you like it.

"What should we do next, huh Tali?" Senior wasn't one to get winded quickly, he had amazing stamina if he did say so himself, and he could carry on a conversation as long as possible to seal a deal or otherwise convince someone to do something they wouldn't ordinarily do. The only person who seemed immune to his charms and who could make him pause and take a few deep breaths to steady himself, was the two-year old girl wearing pink frills and rainboots standing in front of him.

One of the pink rainboots, they had daisies on them too, stomped onto the ground in pure impatience. He'd seen that look before and it was on a woman he missed terribly. "Seener."

"Grandpa, DiNozzo Junior Junior," he said. He gestured to his chest with both hands, speaking clearly for her. "Grandpa. Say it with me now. Graaaandpaaaa."

She grinned and shook her head. "No!" She took off again, screaming and running around the apartment they were renting from a friend of his. Someone he hoped would still be a friend after they were done with the place. Two-year old Tali was a force to be reckoned with and when she got her mind set on something, nothing could stand in her way. Not even furniture, he thought, righting a chair that had fallen on its side.

They were in the midst of a very raucous game of dress-up, using fancy costumes he'd found in one of the guest bedrooms. The apartment belonged to a business associate who seemed to have a penchant for fancy getups and Tali had a feather boa around her neck and a giant piece of millinery in the shape of a parrot perched on her head. He had a boa himself, which he pulled off his neck, setting it in the box of dress-up clothes for her. "Come on Tali, let's…let's have a tea party." That might get her to sit still for longer than a moment.

It worked and she clomped over to the tea party table in the corner. He'd gone out on one of their first days here with her and raided every toy story he could locate in the arondissement they'd set up home in. He wasn't sure how long they planned to be here. As long as Junior needed them to be there. He simply followed his son's direction. First to Tel Aviv, where he'd been surprised to find that his son knew his way around fairly well and his Hebrew wasn't half bad. He'd enjoyed the city. It had a vibe he liked and it seemed his son fit in well too.

While Junior did what he needed to do, he took care of Tali. They stayed with The Aunts, as Junior called them, when he'd asked where they planned to set up shop. He didn't know what that meant, but then he'd met Aunt Nettie and Aunt Yael, Ziva's aunts, who were delightful women. He could see why Ziva was as strong as she was, if she had those two teaching her. They doted on Tali and taught him some Hebrew so he could communicate with her better. Tali was still learning English and her vocabulary was heavily tilted in favor of Hebrew.

He wanted to talk with his granddaughter and have her understand him. They bonded. He took her to the beach, they went to get ice cream, and they wandered the shops. He got her a scarf so she could be like her mother, in a photo Aunt Nettie gave the little girl to keep. She let him read her stories at night and they would sit together sometimes when she needed to be still. He didn't push, didn't question Junior's decisions. He was going to be there for his son this time.

Junior was in a state. The crushed heartbreak on his son's face when Abby and McGee came to tell him Ziva had died in the fire almost brought him to his knees as well. He had never been a good father. Had never been there for his son. He vowed to be there for him now. He stayed with him that night, he made sure he came back to the house when he'd broken down in the NCIS bullpen, and he'd been in the midst of cleaning up the apartment and making Junior's favorite spaghetti dinner when the front door open and instead of Junior, he'd heard baby babbles.

"Junior? What's going…" He stepped out from the kitchen and stood in the doorway of the dining space and the living room, his mouth falling open at the sight of Junior muscling into the apartment a stroller with two large bags on it and holding a small girl on his hip. He pointed at him with the spoon he'd been using to stir the red sauce. "Who is that? What's going on?"

"Get this Dad."

He hurried forward and took the stroller, helping him get it off the step and into the apartment, pushing it in the corner. He took the bags off and set them on the floor, thoroughly confused. He turned around and watched Junior toss his keys down and get his gun off his hip, putting it into the box next to his movies. The little girl was still babbling to herself, speaking words he didn't know. "Junior," he demanded. He shook his head, gesturing towards the stroller and then towards the little girl. "Who is that?"

"I have to get back to work, I needed to get her out of the fishbowl that served as NCIS. McGee and Abby and everyone were just staring at her. It was freaking her out." He set her down on the floor and pointed. "Stay." He held his hands up slightly. "Stay there."

Senior frowned and turned to the bag in the stroller. He unzipped it and reached in, removing a large cardboard book in funny characters. He took out an electronic game and carried it towards the child, setting it down in front of her. "Here you go sweetheart, you play with that while I talk to…" He looked up at his son, who just looked blank, staring at the girl like he hadn't seen her before. "Not important. We need to talk."

She kept babbling and looked up, smiling at him, a dimple appearing in her right cheek. He frowned, he knew that smile. He looked at her again and then at his son, who was trying his hardest to look away. Oh my God. He pointed at her, whispering. "Junior…is this…"

"Dad," he said, his voice breaking slightly. He turned away and walked off to his room without another word. Senior wasn't having that and followed after him. Junior was leaning on the baseboard of his bed. He whipped around, his eyes shining again. "Ziva…she…" He laughed and scrubbed his face. "I have to get back to work, I have to keep trying to figure this stuff out…Kort's out there and…and she's gotta' be safe."

"Who?" he whispered, although in his gut he knew.

Junior reached into the inner pocket of his suit jacket and removed a blue passport with a menorah on the front. He flicked it open and handed it to him. "Just look," he whispered.

He took the passport. Menorah meant Israel. Ziva. He'd said Ziva. He opened the passport, but knew what it said already. The image was of a little girl smiling wide and written on one half was the same funny characters from the book he'd just handed her. The other was English. Under First Name, it said Tali. Under the Surname…. "DiNozzo?" he whispered, lifting his head to look at his son.

"Evidently," Junior said, his voice thick. He swallowed hard, his throat constricting. "Ziva and I have a daughter. They dropped her off with me today. Because her mother is dead and…and she never told me." He waved his hands, laughing rather manic. "Congratulations Dad! You're a grandpa! And I'm a father and…and…I have to get out of here…" He turned to leave, but Senior stopped him, gripping his shoulders. "What are you doing? Let me go."

The things going through his mind were nothing compared to his son's. A granddaughter. Ziva was her mother, his son finally did something right there, but he couldn't think of that right now because his son's emotional stability was the important thing now. "Her name is Tali?" he asked.

"After Ziva's sister. She was killed."

"Hee!"

They both spun around, looking at the doorway, where little Tali was standing, smiling at them. She ran forward and wrapped her arms around his son's legs, babbling again. Tony closed his eyes tight and then leaned down, lifting her up. "Okay Tali, I have to go to work for a little longer, but you're going to stay with Senior. He's really nice, I promise." He pushed her at him and he caught her carefully. It had been awhile since he'd held a baby or a toddler. Probably not since Junior was that age. He sighed hard. "Keep her alive, Dad. I'll be back."

"But…"

"I'll be back later I promise!"

Well this was just something, he thought, looking over at Tali, who was smiling shyly at him. Poor little dear, he thought, setting her back on the floor. He took her hand and they walked out of the bedroom and back to the living area. "Well Tali, it's a pleasure to meet you. I knew your mother. She was a very good lady." He paused, unsure what they'd told her about her mother's passing. He thought it best to stay quiet. He walked with her into the kitchen and turned off the stove, setting the sauce aside. He'd finish dinner later. He'd been planning on going out and picking up a few more things anyway, but there's no way she'd be able to eat the spaghetti yet, she was too little. It'd be a mess.

He frowned slightly, unsure what to do with her. He looked down at her and she smiled back up at him. Looked just like her mother. "What do you say we watch a movie, huh Tali? Let's see what…" He trailed off, smiling slightly, his heart lifting. "Let's see what Daddy has by way of Disney." His son's movie collection was impressive and sure enough, even a grown man still had a copy of one of his favorite Disney movies. He plucked Toy Story off the shelf and carried it to the DVD player. He turned back around and smiled again at the little girl. His son and Ziva. His heart sank slightly. It was a shame they'd never be happy. He took Tali's hand and walked her to the couch. "Here we go Tali."

She babbled a bit more but settled down when the movie started. She looked up at him and smiled again. He smiled back down at her, unsure what else to do. While she watched the movie, he kept thinking, about his son. Poor Tony. He had no idea what was going through his head. He reached to pat Tali's little hand. Another DiNozzo without a mother. He knew one thing though. Tali would grow up far different than his son, because even though Tony had lost the love of his life, there was no way he'd abandon her the way he'd done. Junior was far stronger than that. Tali would be okay. And…he sat up a little straighter, silently making a vow. He'd be a far better grandfather than father. He promised. To Ziva, he thought, closing his eyes briefly, before Tali started laughing at the screen, breaking him from his thoughts.

"Seener."

"Grand…" he began, but sighed. She was a DiNozzo. Stubborn through and through. He had to imagine Ziva's influence also helped, or didn't help depending on how you looked at it, in that department. "Fine. Seener."

Tali wandered through the apartment. She had a habit of searching for things. She inspected everything very carefully, a trait he wondered also carried over from Ziva. He missed her. The minute he'd seen the way his son looked at her and she looked at him, he thought they were together. To his shock they stuttered and stumbled over how that wasn't happening. He'd quizzed Junior constantly on it, only to get roadblocks. They'd figure it out eventually, he kept thinking. One day.

It was sad that that one day was too late. He got a granddaughter out of it though. "What are you looking for, sweetheart?" he asked, finding her looking out the window. It was raining, so they couldn't go outside. The minute the weather cleared he'd take her to the park. She had energy she needed to burn.

Tali pressed her nose against the glass, her soft breath fogging the pane. He sat on the window seat beside her, watching her little eyes dart around at the people a few stories beneath them. She pointed and looked at him. "Kelev!"

"Kelev is right here," he said, picking up her battered stuffed dog.

"No! Kelev!" She pointed again and he glanced out, seeing a woman walking a couple of Dalmatians in the rain. She giggled. "Kelev!"

Oh, that must mean dog in Hebrew. He was picking up some words here and there. Junior spoke it much better than he did. He wondered if Ziva taught his son. There was so much about her he didn't know, so much he wanted to ask about but knew it hurt Tony, so he kept quiet. He reached forward and brushed at Tali's curls, smiling at her. She beamed back at him and returned to her people watching. She pointed again, calling out a bird, a car, and a truck. She sat back against the window and kept watching, her little hand still pressed to the pane. "What do you see?" he asked.

"Abba."

"Abba's running an errand."

"Abba!" She pointed to the picture behind him, sitting on a dresser. "Ima!"

He reached behind him and took down a different photo from the one he'd located in the 'go bag.' It was one Junior had socked away somewhere that he'd brought out so Tali could have more images of her mother. He tapped it. "Where's Ima?"

"Ima." Tali pointed correctly to the image of her mother, standing against a beach backdrop, Junior beside her. He told him it was when they'd gone to California for work, a long time ago. He'd kept most of those photos locked away because the trip hadn't been a good one. Senior wasn't sure what happened on said trip, but it clearly upset his son. Most photos of Ziva he kept hidden. He thought it said something. The picture of him and his old partner Kate was set instantly next to the fishbowl when he came back from his last day in the office. Nothing of Ziva.

Well now he had to face facts that the little girl needed to see her mother to remember her. Maybe he'd done poorly there, immediately taking down every photo he could find of his wife after she died. This would be different. Junior wouldn't make the same mistakes he made, he was sure of it. "Where did Abba go, you think?" he wondered.

"Dunno," Tali replied, echoing a word Junior used a lot lately when he'd get questioned about what his next move was. She pointed to the Eiffel Tower, peeking out from over the rooftops. "Tow-ar."

"Good girl, that's the Eiffel Tower."

They sat in the window for several more minutes before he got up and thought about getting her a snack. She was looking antsy. He wondered where Junior had gone to…he was very secretive. When they were in Israel he didn't want to know where Junior went, just knew that he showed up one day when a guy called Adam, a rather shifty fellow, if you asked him, and said they'd be working together on some things, not to bother or ask questions. They'd gone into the study of the hotel room they were staying in and closed the door, but Senior wasn't a fool. He'd sent Tali in and when Junior had gone to close to the door after sending her out, he hadn't shut it all the way, leaving plenty of room for him to listen.

"You know friend this is the second time you've asked me to hunt down a former Mossad officer who doesn't want to be found."

"She does want to be found, but Mossad doesn't want me to find her."

"Well that should be your first clue."

"They think they're protecting her but they're not."

"Well then what do you expect to find, Tony?" Adam asked, reaching into the backpack he'd brought into the room with him and removed a 9mm, passing it over. He nodded to it. "That's unregistered. You get caught with it and not even Shin Bet can save you."

"I don't plan on getting caught."

Senior leaned a little closer. What was Junior up to? They'd gone to search for "answers." Ziva was dead, she'd died in a fire when someone targeted her house. Tali barely got out alive. He didn't know why his son had to ask questions, but he went along with him to help his granddaughter. Was this a way for Junior to cope? He thought it was okay, hearing him refer to Ziva in present tense, but now he wasn't sure any more.

Adam opened up a laptop. "Your friends at NCIS can't help you with this?"

"I don't want them involved and I don't want them to get hurt." Junior threw down a handful of papers he'd removed from his backpack. "Orli didn't see me take these."

Something was clearly wrong with this because the other man cursed in Hebrew and stopped typing on the computer. He pushed the papers away like they were tainted. "I do not want to know what those are. You stole from the Mossad Director's office?"

"She wouldn't have left them out so obviously for me to take. She wants me to find out the truth as much as I do. Catch up Adam, I came for answers about Ziva you should know that means I will do anything to find them." Junior paused. "Did you know about Tali?"

Senior leaned a little closer. The look in Adam's face when he saw Tali had been like seeing a ghost and Tali seemed to recognize him. He wondered himself what the other man's relation was to Ziva. Adam shook his head, his voice quiet. "I didn't know for awhile. I knew she came back, but I wasn't going to go looking for her, not after everything that had happened. I saw her a few months later when she was pregnant. Only thing she told me was to not ask questions and leave her alone." He chuckled. "I didn't leave her alone, because I mistakenly thought she needed someone with her. She broke my hand for my troubles." He pointed to Tony. "You are the only one who ignores Ziva's wishes and lives to tell the tale unscathed. After that I left her alone. Orli had me check on her from time to time but no longer than a few minutes. I saw Tali when she was about a year old, maybe. She looked like you."

"Did Ziva tell you about me?"

"She didn't have to, Tony. It was obvious."

Senior leaned a little closer. He smiled sadly at the look on Tony's face. Tony took a deep breath. "What was she like?"

Adam didn't say anything for a second, just reached for his phone, scrolling through for a few moments and then passed it up to him. "She was so angry I took that. She was a cute pregnant woman. She ran every day until the end, I guess. Send it to your phone, you can have it." Tony tapped on the phone for a second and then set it back down. He picked up his phone and looked at it, smiling for a sad moment and then glanced at the computer.

"Thanks."

Without another word on the matter, Adam finished typing away at his computer and turned it around, his voice quiet. "Now show me what you stole from Orli. I figure before she kills me, Ziva probably will."

"You believe she's still alive then?"

"Ziva David changed when she became a mother, but it was in a far different way." Adam stopped speaking and then glanced at the computer again, his voice dropping to a murmur. "I see you confirmed that she got Tali to Orli long before the attack on the farmhouse."

Senior drew back. What? He thought they'd found Tali in the rubble? He leaned a little closer. Junior glanced to the door and he pulled back, wondering if he'd been caught, but his son's voice continued like nothing had interrupted him. "Orli's hints were enough there. She slipped a few times. Probably on purpose, but whatever, she slipped. Present tense, never really said she was dead, that sort of a thing. What do you Israelis say when someone dies, even to small children?"

Adam shrugged. "We tell them the person died, why?"

"Orli said she told Tali that her mother went away."

"That could mean dead, Tony."

"Not the way Orli sounded. She cares too much about Ziva, it's her one weakness."

"And you know this…."

"Because I do, it's my job…" Tony trailed off and picked up the papers, flicking through them and mumbling. "It used to be my job. Doesn't matter. These are bank accounts for Eli David in Switzerland, Italy, and a few of them are in France. Can we check the withdrawals against diamond transactions worldwide?"

"You think she'd be that obvious?"

"She'd be obvious with me. I also want to know how Orli found out first. We didn't even know Kort was behind this, but Mossad did? Where is Farsoon? There are too many things going on right now."

Adam didn't look up from typing on the computer, obviously setting about searching the diamond transactions. He shrugged. "When we find Farsoon, are you going to kill him?"

Senior drew away slightly. He wasn't sure he wanted to hear Junior's response. Plausible deniability. But he couldn't bring himself to tear away. He glanced back into the room, where Tony had begun to pin things to a piece of poster board with a large map on it. Tony didn't say anything for a few minutes. Maybe he wouldn't even tell this Adam character. Until he heard his son's voice, deadly soft. "No." He chuckled, which seemed to make the whole conversation more unsettling. He'd never heard his son speak like this before. Look like this. He expected to see pain or anger at this Farsoon character. Instead, Tony's face was calm and steady. He kept working. "I'm not going to kill him just yet. I'm going to make him suffer."

Oh son, he thought, finally tearing himself away from listening to the conversation. Don't let your grief take you to a place you can't escape. Believe me. He didn't say anything and walked away, returning to Tali, who in his absence had decided to get their attention by coloring in marker all over the hotel floor.