What makes a ninja cry?

What does it take to make a supertough Mossad assassin cry?

A/N: Another piece set in my fluffy AU. TIVA!

Director's Office

Mossad HQ

Tel Aviv, Israel

3 years in the future

"I think things are going very well, Eli," NCIS Director Leon Vance said to Mossad Director Eli David. Director Vance was pleased with the progress they had made at the intelligence summit being held currently in Tel Aviv. The two men, flanked by their security details, walked into Eli's office to a surprise.

Ziva DiNozzo. Eli's daughter, sat at her father's desk, sipping at a cup of tea while watching a video on his computer. Her eyes were red and it was evident she had cried recently. She barely noticed the men entering the room, so fixated on the monitor she was. She was wearing a stylish business suit her husband, Tony, had bought for her. Ziva listened intently on a pair of headphones to the video.

"Ziva?" asked Director David. He was surprised to see her in his office and shocked to see her crying. "What are you doing here? Is something wrong?" He waved the guards outside and quickly walked around his desk and stood next to her.

Dabbing at her eyes, Ziva smiled at her father. "Everything's fine, poppa."

"You are crying," Eli said, somberly. "Is everything all right at home? Are Tony and Alessandra well?"

"Yes," Ziva confirmed. "They are both fine. Perfect, even." She sat back in the plush chair and stared at the monitor. "Everything's just perfect," she said smiling.

"What are you doing here?" Eli asked again. He glanced at the monitor to see that Ziva was watching a video on the Internet. "Youtube?"

Ziva smiled. "Yes. Tony's been making home videos of Alessandra while I'm away and posting them for me to see later."

"What kind of videos?" asked Leon, smiling. Everyone at the Navy Yard knew how proud Tony DiNozzo was of his daughter.

"All kinds. The first video he posted was of her sleeping. Twenty minutes of Alessandra just sleeping in her crib. I watched it for over it an hour. Yesterday's video was him trying to feed her breakfast. It was so funny. Food was everywhere. The best part was when Alessandra hit the spoon with her hand, knocking it backwards and the food hitting Tony square in the face. He looked at the camera and said, 'Yep. She's your daughter, all right.'"

Both men laughed at the story. Eli looked quite proudly at his daughter. "I am very happy for you, Ziva."

"Is this why you left the meeting early?" Leon asked. He'd been a little surprised when she had abruptly left the conference room without a word.

"Yes," Ziva replied. "I am sorry for leaving so abruptly but Tony sent me a message saying I had to watch a video he'd just posted." She picked up her cellphone from the desk. "'Drop what you're doing and watch this video,'" she read.

"What is it?" asked Eli.

Ziva hesitated for a second and then restarted the video. "Here. See for yourself," she said, unplugging the headphones from the desktop speaker.

The video started up and in the background the three could see Alessandra sitting in the middle of a living room done tastefully in Middle Eastern décor. The child was wearing a purple tunic with a floral design with ruffled trim, matching purple ruched leggings and white socks. Her chestnut hair was long and straight. Alessandra was looking around with a happy expression.

"Lovely," commented Leon. "A very proper-looking young lady."

"Oh, yes," Ziva said. "You know how Tony is. Always has to look good no matter what's going on."

Then Tony, wearing his favorite Ohio State t-shirt and blue jeans, came into view and looked directly at the camera. "Ok, I know I probably should have waited till you got back for this but she's been trying to do this since you left so I thought we'd give it a shot today." With that cryptic explanation, he walked to Alessandra and sat down a few feet away from her. Alessandra immediately squealed happily at him and clapped her hands together.

Tony leaned forward slightly and held his arms out to his daughter. Alessandra reached out and grasped his hands. Tony gently pulled her to her feet. "Come on, princess. Show mommy what you can do," he urged her. Slowly, Alessandra took a step towards Tony, but only after carefully examining the ground first. Then, she took another, chortling happily as Tony cheered her on.

"Oh, she's walking," Eli said proudly. "She's ten months old. Yes?"

"Forty-one weeks, three days," Ziva said, her attention glued to the monitor.

"Impressive. You were not walking until your first birthday," Eli remembered fondly.

The trio watched for several minutes as Tony helped Alessandra walk around the living room. "She's actually been at this stage for almost two weeks now."

"Really?" Eli said wonderingly.

"Oh, yes. One day, she was in the living room and just decided she wanted to stand up. We've been helping her move around ever since. She fell down a lot but always wanted to try again," Ziva recalled.

"Ok," Tony said finally. "Let's try this without the training wheels." He pulled his arms away from Alessandra, leaving her there to stand on her own.

"Oh, my," Eli whispered. "Is she going to..."

"Shh..." Ziva said, dabbing at her eyes.

Alessandra looked around for a moment, seemingly confused. She looked at Tony, who held his arms close to his chest. "Come on, baby. Come to daddy," Tony urged her. Alessandra held out her arms, whining slightly, and took a tentative step forward. Her body wobbled from side to side for a moment but she quickly regained her balance

"Haha!" Eli exclaimed.

Slowly, Alessandra took another step, then another. After the third step, Alessandra fell down, laughing. Tony reached out and helped her stand up again. With each step, Tony cheered her on. It took a mere nine steps for Alessandra to close the distance gap between them. At the end, Tony scooped her up into the air, laughing loudly. "That's my big, beautiful girl!" he exclaimed. Tony cradled her in his arms and kissed her several times on her face. "You are so amazing. Mommy and Daddy are so very proud of you. Aren't we, babe?"

"Very proud," Ziva whispered as her eyes started tearing up again.

"Fantastic," Leon congratulated her. "I imagine, by now, Tony has notified everyone in the US of her accomplishment."

The three shared a laugh. "There's more," Ziva hinted. She watched as Tony put Alessandra back down on her feet. The tot looked around for a second and spotted one of her favorite toys, a stuffed bear in a black outfit, a gift from Aunt Abbie, of course, lying several feet away from her. Alessandra started moving towards it, falling again after a few steps. Tony helped her stand back up and watched over her as she began her trek. Twice more she fell after a few steps and Tony helped her back up each time. Finally, she reached her destination, her legs giving out again just as she grabbed her doll. Tony laughed again and picked up Alessandra, who clutched tightly to the toy.

"You see that, Ziva? Isn't she amazing?" Tony said before kissing Alessandra on the cheek again. "Ok, it's nappy time for you, princess. Wave to momma. Come on, wave to momma momma."

Alessandra looked around, clearly searching for something. Her lips moving as they tried to form a word. Tony noticed this immediately and his grin grew broader. "Can you say 'momma'? Momma, momma."

Alessandra's mouth kept moving, trying form the words. She giggled as Tony urged her on again. "That's my girl," he said proudly. "You can do it. Say 'momma'."

"Momma."

Tony stared at her, stunned.

"Momma."

"Hey, Ziva! Did you hear that? Haha! Did you hear that? Say it again, sweetheart. Say 'momma'."

"Momma"

Tony kissed Alessandra's cheek again. "Mi bella!" he said proudly. "Bel bambina." Tony looked directly at the camera. "Oh, Ziva. I wish you were here for this. You'd be so proud of her." Alessandra, who was now clearly tired, leaned forward and pressed her head against Tony's chest. "Well, I better get her settled in for the night. Love you, babe. See you soon."

Tony moved out of the camera's view and a second later the video ended.

"Well done," Eli said, merrily. "Very well done indeed, my dear." He leaned over and gave Ziva a kiss on the forehead. "I'm so happy for you both."

"Likewise. Congratulations, Ziva. That was a big moment for you," Leon said. "I'm sorry you had to miss it."

"One of the downsides of what we do," Eli agreed.

"I did not miss anything. I may not have been there but I did not miss out on watching my baby take her first steps," Ziva confided. Standing up, she straightened her suit. "If you will excuse me, I have a phone call to make." With that, she took her cellphone from its holster and walked out the door.

"You want to watch again?" asked Leon.

"Of course," Eli replied, happily.