A/N Thanks for your patience I am working on this story.
History: NCIS Tony and Ziva got married and they have a twelve-year-old daughter Tali. She is currently 12 years old.
Chapter 1
Beep, Beep, Beep. As her red alarm clock chimed Talia DiNozzo opened her eyes and groaned. Was it morning already? Looking over at the clock she saw it was indeed six-thirty. It took all of her willpower to raise her arm and hit the off button on the clock. Laying back on her bed she looked up at the ceiling. Knowing if she didn't get up now, she would fall back to sleep she slowly got out of bed. Rubbing the sleep out of her eyes she looked out her window. The sun was peeking over the horizon. After a moment she walked to her closet. Digging through her closet she finally chose a t-shirt and jeans. Tali also picked up a watch from her nightstand, placing it on her wrist. She walked over to a mirror in her closet. Tali looked at her reflection. She was around five feet, four inches tall, just shorter than her mother. Her brown hair was a tangled mess that came down to her shoulders, and as she began to comb out the tangles the sun continued to rise, filling the room with light. Once she was satisfied with her hair, she turned and walked back into the bedroom, picking up her phone and stretching. She walked into the living room, and within moments she was sitting at the table slowly eating her toast.
Her mother walked in, fully awake. Ziva always got up early and went for a run. Today was no different, she was a creature of habit. Tali watched as her mother walking into the master bedroom. She heard a loud Thump, followed by her father's protests. She laughed at her mother's version of waking her father up. As her father continued grumbling about the wakeup, Ziva walked back out of the bedroom smiling and began to make scrambled eggs. Five minutes later her father, Tony DiNozzo, walked out of his room, he was clearly more tired than Tali. His hair was a rat's nest because of his wake up call, and by his face, he was almost asleep. As he tried to wake up he walked past Tali with a short grunt. Walking over to Ziva, he was presented with a cup of coffee. He grunted his thanks. Stretching he took his place at the table. As the three of them ate Tony slowly woke up, and eventually, his grunts became words. In the middle of Tony's joke about dolphins, Ziva stood and walked over to the window.
Tali watched as her mother moved to the window, it was unlike her to withhold her concerns from her family. She glanced over at her father who was obviously worried as well. She watched as he gathered his thoughts and began to speak.
"Hey, Zee, what's up?" Tony asked. As Ziva looked back at her husband she shook her head. She was being paranoid, and she knew it. A glint had caught her eye, and because of her training as a federal agent, she became tense. As she walked up to the window a black sedan sped off the curb across the street. The car looked similar to the cars NCIS agents drove to work, it was sleek, fit four people, and was capable of moving very fast. There had been a bad feeling in her stomach, like Gibbs' gut she just knew something was wrong. As she was calming down she dismissed her fears, and Ziva walked back to the table with a casual "Nothing, don't worry about it." As she sat back down Ziva hoped that her family wouldn't pick up on her worries. In order to redirect the conversation, she asked: "Tali is your science fair project done?" Receiving a nod from her daughter Ziva looked at Tony and gave him a small smile and shook her head.
Even though Tony didn't believe that there was nothing wrong, he let the matter drop and continued to joke. It was clear that Ziva didn't want to talk about it, and if she didn't want to talk then he wouldn't press her. When all of them were finished with breakfast Ziva stood up, as she was clearing the table she watched Tali and Tony chat away. Tony had an amazing ability to talk, he never seemed to stop talking. He was able to crack jokes in any situation, and Tali was just as quick with her responses. As Ziva watched the two go back and forth, she smiled. They were her family, and even they could be annoying she loved them. Ziva's work helped organize her mind, and her earlier worries returned quickly. She was worried about the sedan. As soon as she had seen the car, it sped away. The whole situation left a bad feeling in her mouth. Tali's phone rang a gentle but insistent chime, meaning it was time to go. Because Tali was the only one in the family to be on time, she kept all the alarms. As Tali slid her finger over the phone to quiet the alarm, she moved to pick up both her backpack and her jacket. On the other side of the room Ziva picked up the car keys, and Tony hit the button on the house alarm.
Walking out of the house, Tali and her father waited at the car while Ziva locked the door. Tony smiled, thinking about the day when he and a very pregnant Ziva, moved into this house.
Flashback:
Tony and Ziva stood on the steps leading to their new home. A small house in a quiet neighborhood, it was perfect to raise a child. The house was larger than his old apartment, but not huge. There was a nice backyard and the neighbors had already introduced themselves. Walking in they directed where all of the furniture was to go. The entire NCIS team helped them to move in. Palmer and McGee walked by, lugging a heavy desk. It took a few hours and when all the furniture was in place his team, his family really settled down at the table and had a late lunch. As they ate Tim made sure to get everyone to agree to help him moving into Tony's old apartment. He and Delilah needed some more space, and Tony had agreed. Tony looked at his wife, then his team, one by one. He couldn't believe how lucky he had been. He had a beautiful wife, a baby on the way, and a team that had his back, day and night. After everyone had left him and Ziva snuggled on the couch, watching a movie.
End Flashback
Tony snapped out of his thoughts when Ziva unlocked their car. He smiled as he sat in the car, he had a good feeling about the day. As Ziva walking down the steps he motioned for the keys.
As Tony was motioning for the keys Ziva smiled. Walking over to the driver's side of the car she watched as both her husband and daughter dove into the car and quickly put their seatbelts on. She was the bane of every patrol cop's existence. She sped past them, and when they gave chase, she drove even faster. Ziva often bragged she had never been given a speeding ticket, and everyone believed her. As they rolled out of the driveway Tali turned on her phone. Reading through emails and texts, she did everything she could to look at anything but the outside. Tony, however, was used to Ziva's driving, he was able to carry on a conversation with his eyes shut, an achievement.
As they got close to Tali's school, Ziva slowed to a turtle's speed for her, 35 miles an hour. Tali looked up as they entered the school parking lot. Tali was a student at Columbus Middle School, the school was a single building with two floors, and held about 2000 students. Tali was in sixth grade, and in some advanced classes. Because of Ziva's driving they had arrived very early, the parking lot was almost empty except for teachers and a few other students. As Ziva parked, Tali gathered her things. She said goodbye to her parents and jumped out of the car. Walking across the parking lot Tali watched as her parents drove away to work. As she walked into the school she saw her friend Ashley at their favorite oak tree. Seeing her walking over Ashley cleared a space in the leaves for Tali. As always Tali was thankful that Ashley's parents dropped her off early, this way she had someone to talk to. Ashley's parents were IT workers, they helped businesses set up and maintain their computers, and also did some consulting work with the government. Sitting next to her, they began talking. Ashley was the only person Tali completely opened up to. She was Tali's best friend, her only friend real at school. They had their classes together and shared many of the same interests. They sat together and began talking about random things, just to pass the time. When the bell rung signaling the start of school, Tali and Ashley walked into the building to homeroom.
Making their way through the maze of halls, Tali and Ashley finally arrived at the right door. Thankfully they had walked fast, and the halls were mostly clear. Walking into the room, they were greeted by Mrs. Carol. Mrs. Carol was a history teacher, so the walls of the classroom were littered with maps, and portraits of historical leaders. Alexander Hamilton, Mrs. Carol's favorite historical figure, took a place of honor in the front of the class. Taking their seats Tali turned back to Ashley and they continued talking about random things as students trickled into the classroom. When the second bell rang marking the start of school Mrs. Carol called the class to order. Turning her attention to the front of the room, Tali sat still as Mrs. Carol took attendance. As morning announcements came over the loudspeaker, Ashley patted Tali's shoulder. Turning, Tali and Ashley resumed their conversation. About ten minutes later homeroom ended. They both maneuvered through the halls again, attempting to avoid the groups of bullies that set up at certain corners. Arriving at math class Tali and Ashley took their seats.
Their math teacher had them sitting in alphabetical order. Ashley took her seat at the front of the class, her surname being Anderson. Behind her sat Tali, with her surname of DiNozzo. A substitute teacher walked in, explaining that the normal teacher, Mrs. Wilson, had fallen down the stairs of her apartment, and would not be in for at least a month. He introduced himself as Mr. Simmons. As he began to lecture about square roots and quadratic equations, Tali's mind wandered. Trying to keep her attention on the lesson, she stared at the whiteboard. As the class dragged on Tali frowned. She longed to be outside. She watched as a butterfly flew by the window, it was a nice, warm, sunny day. As the summer turned to fall the air was already becoming colder, and she didn't want to waste the last remaining days of nice weather. She sighed and forced herself to listen to the substitute. It was going to be a long day.
When the bell eventually rung it was a race to the door. Mr. Simmons didn't even try to say anything else, he just sat down and watched as students raced to escape the math classroom. Meeting up with Ashley they made their way to science. As they walked through the hallways she kept an eye out for Beth Rogers. Arriving, Tali quickly ducked into the classroom and sat in her chair. Although more interesting, the science lesson was slow for Tali. Science came easy for her, she spent lots of time talking with the forensic scientist at NCIS. Abby was a genius, she helped Tali with her science homework, and let Tali use the lab for her projects. This gave her an edge, considering that she had been using the tools that the class was learning about for years. The teacher eventually brought out some equipment. Handing out laminated sheets, the teacher smiled as he watched his students read the experiment. The goal was to make the water in a beaker change to blue. As students gathered into groups of two and began the experiment, he watched as multiple beakers overflowed. The instructions had been intentionally incorrect so that the students could learn from their mistakes. As they put the materials away and cleaned up the huge mess made by the experiment he began talking about the science fair the next day. Tali was ready for the fair, but she listened anyway. With Abby's help, she did a project on DNA analysis, and how it worked in crime solving. She had illustrated how everyone's DNA was unique, except for twins, and provided examples of how law enforcement used it to solve tough cases. Soon the bell rang.
Leaving the science classroom, the two girls got their lunch and sat down at a corner table. Like most schools, the lunches at Columbus were not very appetizing. Tali's lunch was a few 'chicken' nuggets, tater tots, an apple, and some milk. While they ate, Tali let her eyes wander over the lunchroom. A huge room with hundreds of kids, it was loud. Looking through the huge windows Tali saw the playing fields outside, still wet from the rain that had fallen the day before. Returning her gaze to the room, she watched as multiple people went around, talking, trading food, and other pastimes. Finishing her lunchroom nuggets she turned her phone back on and read the four emails that had arrived. Once Ashley was finished eating her food, they stood to return to their lockers. On their way out of the lunchroom, Tali and Ashley were confronted by Beth Rogers and her two friends.
Beth Rogers was a little taller than Tali, about five foot six inches, and she was the perfect illustration of the rich mean girl. Her blonde hair was just long enough to touch her chin, and she always wore over the top outfits. She was in seventh grade and had decided that everyone else was insignificant. Beth had a smirk on her face. In an innocent tone, she said: "Hey Tali." In her normal voice, she said: " So Tali, Ashley, what is it like to have parents who are always at work, and don't they want to spend time with you, I mean you two must know." Behind Beth, both of her friends gasped comically. Tali knew that they were trying to upset her. It didn't work. Tali could feel Ashley quivering in rage behind her. Beth didn't know anything about their families. Narrowing her eyes Tali pushed through the group and dragged Ashley back to their lockers.
Tali's locker was next to Ashley's and they were both in a dead end hallway. Trading her math and science books for her history textbook, Tali took a moment to breathe. Ashley knew that her parents were federal agents, but the rest of the students didn't. Beth had been unusually restrained today. When Tali had pushed past Beth, Tali expected an outburst of giant proportions. Beth was known for slapping, punching, and verbally abusing a majority of the school, however, her mother was on the board of education. Mrs. Rogers helped decide where money was sent. That gave her daughter blanket immunity. Shaking her head Tali forced these thoughts out of her head and was ready to go.
Returning to Mrs. Carol's classroom for history, they sat down. As students trickled into the classroom, Tali turned off her phone and waited for class to start. While history was Tali's worst subject, Mrs. Carol was one of her favorite teachers. Sadly though the two-hour class felt like six hours. Finally being dismissed Tali walked with Ashley out to the parking lot.
Because she had three classes a day the classes were two hours each. Slowly making her way to the closest city bus stop, Ashley said goodbye and got into her parent's car. Arriving at the bus stop just in time, Tali jumped on the bus and found a seat in the back. The city bus stopped at the entrance to the Navy base. Relaxing into the seat, she began reading her book to pass the time as the bus pulled away from the curb. Talia never saw the sedan across the street or the man who was watching her through binoculars.
