Tim couldn't remember the last time he had been so happy, so content. He lay on the bed, the ceiling fan whipping around above him in an almost hypnotic manner. She lay there too, asleep with her face nestled into his T-Shirt. His arm was wrapped around her, almost protectively. It felt wonderful to hold her in his arms. Her head was resting against his chest and he could feel her heartbeat pounding against his skin. Her soft, steady breaths were the only things he heard as he lay there with her situated on top of him. Her body felt so tiny and fragile compared to his considerably larger body.
Tim had never really believed in love at first sight. In his mind, love couldn't be based solely on sight; there had to be more to it. He wanted his love to be given based not only on physical appearance, but also on intelligence, kindness, and personality. Brainless and shallow blow-up dolls weren't his thing.
Despite his headstrong vow to never judge a person based solely on their looks, in the moment when Tim first saw her, he fell helplessly in love. It wasn't really love at first sight, though; he had loved her even before he had seen her. He'd known she would come into his life at some point. It was just a matter of waiting patiently for her to come.
The first day they had met had been one of the happiest days of his life. She had dark hair and beautiful brown eyes which had sparkled as she looked at him. Her nose and lips were absolutely adorable.
The moment she had seen him, she had smiled; she had smiled at him in a way that he hadn't seen her smile at anyone else. It had made his heart skip a beat. She had such a beautiful face that he wondered how anyone could not instantly fall in love with her. He had wanted nothing more to hold her against him. When he finally did hold her, his face had flushed and his heart had begun racing. It had just felt so right.
Initially, he'd feared that she would reject him. He was afraid that she wouldn't want him to hold her. Then, when he saw that she, in fact, adored him, he was afraid he would somehow mess things up…do the wrong things. Soon, though, he relaxed into his role and found that he was much more capable than he had originally thought.
She stirred gently atop his torso, emitting a soft yawn, but then settled back down, snuggling against him. He grinned, resting his hand on her back. Her hands clutched gently at his T-Shirt.
Every day he'd spent with her had been wonderful. Talking walks together through the park. Introducing her to new things she hadn't yet experienced and seeing her eyes light up as she drank it all in. Making corny jokes and puns, and smiling when she rewarded his efforts with a giggle. Helping her with her language skills. Even when she made mistakes, he couldn't help but find it endearing and cute. They had a teacher and student aspect to their relationship, but there was so much more to it than that. He was her support and her protector. He would hold her when she cried, warm her when she was cold, and see to it that she was as happy as he could make her. She gave him love and warmth and smiles. That was all he asked her to give.
"I love you," he whispered to her as she slept, giving her a soft kiss on her forehead, though he took extra care not to wake her. Was it his imagination, or did she give a small smile when he said that?
"Well, well! I leave to run some errands and I arrive home to find you holding another girl in your arms."
Tim glanced up and saw Ziva standing in the doorway, a bemused smile playing on her lips.
"Guilty as charged," he said with a small shrug.
Ziva leaned in and kissed her husband's cheek and her daughter's head. "Should I be jealous?"
He laughed. "I can't help it. She's beautiful," he said, looking down once again at the baby girl.
"She is," Ziva agreed softly, sitting beside him on the bed. She scooted over beside the pair, resting her hand on top of Tim's which was currently resting on their daughter's back.
"Just like her mother," he added, giving his wife a sweet smile. She rewarded him with a gentle kiss on his lips.
"You are quite the charmer."
"I do what I can."
As they fawned over her, the little girl began to awake. She looked up at them sleepily, not sure why the two were looking at her with such adoration. She let out a small sigh and rolled back over on to Tim's stomach to sleep.
"I'd better put her back in her crib," he said. He gently sat up and stood, carefully cradling her against his chest and keeping her from waking up. "I'll be right back."
He shuffled down the hallway to the bright, sunny nursery. The walls were a light yellow with white, lace trimmings along the window. Her crib was positioned right by the window. Sometimes Tim would enter and find his daughter wide awake, looking between the bars of her crib and out the window with wonder.
Beside the crib was a large rocking chair which he had sat in many nights, holding her and rocking her as she cried. No matter how little sleep he had gotten in those nights, he was happy to have held her and comforted her.
"There you go," he told her softly as he gently placed her inside the crib. He pulled her tiny blanket over her body as she lay there, sucking her thumb.
He was just out of the door, ready to return to his wife, when he heard her say it softly.
"Daddy…"
"She called me daddy!" he told Ziva excitedly upon his return. She had only just begun talking, but aside from "mommy," most of her so-called words had been unintelligible baby chatter. He had routinely leaned down to her, prompting her to say it, or at least say anything that sounded like it, but it had been in vain…until now. "She called me daddy!"
"Well, what did you expect her to call you?" Ziva asked cheekily. "Momma?"
Tim laughed, grabbing her and pulling her against him, despite her playful shrieks of protest. He buried his face in her neck, inhaling her sweet scent.
"I love you, Timothy McGee."
"And I love you, Ziva McGee."
AN: It has been pointed out to me that another fic exists bearing the same name as this one. Trust me, I'm sure there are many fics out there with the title My Girl. In fact, I know that there are many titles out there that have been used by two (or more) different people. I'm not changing the title of this. It's what I feel is the best title for the fic and I'm sticking to it :)