Today was definitely something special, Tony decided as he studied his granddaughter's pearly grey eyes. She looked a lot like her mother, he realised, noting her soft but knowing smile and the laughing twinkle in her eyes. Holding her now; the little girl they had fought so hard to bring home, it reminded him of a day a long time ago, in a crisp white hospital room just like this one

################################################

Ziva's surprised gasp of pain sent shudders through Tony's body as he slammed a foot down on the pedal and swerved to avoid cars honking at him from all directions. Ziva would be so proud of his uncharacteristic reckless driving if she were a little more…well…not about to give birth to Tony's beautiful baby girl.

"TONY," Ziva half screamed, half sobbed at her fiancé, "YOU HAVE TO HURRY!"

Tony didn't really need the reminder- he couldn't remember the last time he'd seen Ziva cry, and even then, it had never been like this. The hospital was just around the corner and…there. He barely remembered to switch of the engine as he helped Ziva into the wheelchair that was already waiting.

###############################################

Several hours, a pale faced Ziva stared in fear up at Tony, who was now massaging his hand with a wince. Neither of them knew where their beautiful new daughter had gone. Almost as soon as she'd been born, the doctors had rushed her away because she wasn't crying.

A still very hormonal Ziva had cryed non stop for the first hour of waiting, but had thankfully calmed down enough now to apologize for Tony's hand. He'd laughed at that- he wasn't really bothered about his hand.

After that, they'd sat apprehensively in a mutual silence. Gibbs had come by with some coffee for Tony and a warning to them both that Abby and Tim were on their way and that Abby was particularly hormonal at the moment. The laughter that had followed was a welcome relief for the terrified parents. None of them had imagined that Abby could get any crazier until she had announced that she was pregnant at the New Year's party just over four months ago. She and Tim had gotten married a month later, since Abby wanted to get married before she was too big.

Tony wasn't really looking at his hand. He realised it must look as though he'd been staring at it for the past hour, but he'd just been deep in thought. If their baby died, or there was something seriously wrong with her, he wasn't sure how they would cope. Ziva would insist she was fine, but he knew her well enough now that he knew she wouldn't be. She'd probably push him away and try to cope on her own. Their own relationship would probably deteriorate, and he was terrified that one of them might end up leaving. He never wanted that to happen.

Tony was shaken from his worried thoughts by a stressed looking Abby. Her familiar pigtails had obviously been done in a rush and were lopsided with strands of hair all over the place. Her makeup was a mess and Tony doubted if she had even bothered to get dressed since her clothes looked suspiciously like pyjamas. Tim, who stood just behind her, didn't look much better. His hair was a mess and he had dressed in a rush. Both looked as though they had just climbed out of bed and Tony had his own suspicions about what they had been up to.

"Ziva! OMG-OMG! Gibbs just called us! He said you had the baby? Can we see her? Oh-God! Is she ok? Where is she?" Abby babbled, her face so earnest and full of distress for her beloved friends that Tony was scared he might start crying. He barely managed to quietly explain that they had taken her to do some tests before Abby's mouth fell open and she stormed out, muttering something under her breath about killing the mean doctor who was responsible. Tim stared in shock after his pregnant wife before realising that Tony and Ziva were watching him.

"Um…I should…probably…Abby…make sure she doesn't…kill…um…Congrats guys!" Tim managed as he flashed a grin at the pair who had visibly relaxed and were now laughing easily, and ran out after Abby.

##############################################

Moments later, Tim and Abby returned with Doctor Holst. To their delight and surprise, he was holding their baby girl.

"I'm very sorry for the lack of communication, Mr Dinozzo and Miss David, however when a baby doesn't immediately start crying after birth, it can mean an underdevelopment of the lungs. I'm sure you can understand that this is a potentially life-threating risk, hence why we rushed her away so quickly, however, I am pleased to inform you that your daughter's vitals are excellent. We will need to keep her in observation for a few days, but you should be able to bring her home b the end of the week" The doctor informed them, passing the still silent infant over to Ziva, who looked as though she wasn't sure whether to punch this man for scaring her so much or hug him for safely returning her daughter. Thankfully she chose to do neither.

A short while later, Gibbs, Jenny, Abby, Tim, Palmer and Ducky all stood around the small but contented family. Although they had known for a while that Ziva was expecting a girl, the couple had refused to give away any details and everyone, especially Abby, was desperate to know what the previous child was called.

"You know," Tony began, winking mischievously at Ziva," we could just wait until she comes home..." He winced at the much anticipated Gibbs slap that followed.

" Guys, we'd like you to meet Thalia Anthea David-Dinozzo." Ziva announced to the team, gazing adoringly at her new baby.

Abby immediately cooed and began talking quietly to the sleepy infant whilst Ducky politely asked about the meaning behind her sweet name.

" Tali was the name of Ziva's sister," Tony was quick to explain, "and Anthea is meant to be symbolic of the Dinozzo tradition that the first born boy should be called Anthony"

Ducky smiled." Welcome to to the family, Tali Anthea David-Dinozzo"