a/n: i saw this post on tumblr that said "do NOT imagine your OTP losing their child in a ball pit" and i thought the eli & anthony universe was perfect for such a light prompt!
Tony DiNozzo was not in the least bit okay with the decision his wife had made. He was partly annoyed because he thought it was a dumb decision, but he was mostly annoyed because he was not supposed to be the helicopter, suspicious, panicky parent and a certain Ziva DiNozzo was currently making him feel like he was.
He was standing in the middle of a mall, in one of those open areas where there were benches to rest, and tables to eat snacks, and play areas for little kids – only on this particular Saturday, some sort of mini carnival was set up, and that meant bouncy houses and little games that earned tickets and – the centerpiece of his horror – a ball pit.
"Ziva, we just brought him to get ice cream," he complained, folding his arms and glaring at her.
She stared straight ahead, blithely ignore him.
"He is fine, Tony," she said simply.
"He's only two, Jesus," Tony muttered.
It was one of their weekly outings with only Anthony, something they had been doing since Elijah was born just to ensure the transition worked and Anthony knew they still loved him just as much. It also helped to have only one kid to worry about for a little bit, and the other team members liked to pass around the infant to cuddle for a while. Today, Gibbs had him, and Tony was being subjected to Ziva's questionable parenting choices.
"Do you let him handle guns when I'm at work?" he demanded loudly.
Ziva frogged him, and he grabbed his arm, glaring at her. She gave him a look.
"Tony, it is a small kiddie pool full of plastic balls. We are watching him. The other mothers are watching. The other kids are his age," she said, pointing off to the side. "The big kids are over in that bigger area."
Tony still glared at her, unconvinced.
She smirked at him.
"There could be diseased," Tony protested. "He could get plague."
"You are the only person in this century who's had plague."
"He's genetically predisposed to it, then!"
"I do not think these nice carnival people brought in plague-ridden plastic balls."
"Ziva," Tony said seriously, taking her shoulders. "I know you weren't born here, but carnies can't be trusted."
She rolled her eyes and brushed him off of her shoulders.
"When I was a child, my father – "
"Stop telling whacked out stories about Daddy David's idea of parenting," Tony interrupted, widening his eyes. "You tell me you want to start leavin' Anthony in the woods with a paperclip and a some damn leaves, I'm gonna have to take him and go live with Gibbs – "
Ziva arched a brow at him.
"Okay, maybe not Gibbs – that was a weird thing to say," Tony said hastily. He barely resisted stomping his foot. "Ziva, tell him he's had enough time in the ball pit," he growled.
She sighed, and turned towards the kiddie pool, deciding to humor Tony. If he really didn't like the idea, she should respect that, and she intended to – except a split second of surveying the pool with her sharp, Mossad trained eyes told her Anthony had disappeared.
"Al," she said sharply, using the nickname she loved so much. "Anthony," she said louder.
DiNozzo looked around, alerted by her tone. She stepped forward.
"Tony, I don't see him," she said sharply. She cupped her hands around her mouth. "Anthony Leroy!" she barked.
Tony put a hand on her shoulder and squeezed comfortingly, and then he went forward. Ziva darted past him, skidding to a halt at the edge of the kiddie pool to look critically, and then vaulting over the edge and jumping in.
"Ma'am, only toddlers in the pool, please!" called a mall cop sternly.
Ziva ignored him and crouched down, shoving large plastic balls aside. The mall cop came over, and Tony took his arm, preventing him from getting on Ziva's bad side.
"My son's wandered off," Tony said tightly, sharply. "That, or someone grabbed him."
He suddenly started to feel like someone was sitting on his chest, and his vision swam - -was he having a panic attack? – because for a split second, it occurred to him that Anthony was gone forever, just because he had decided to banter-flirt with Ziva for half a minute –
"Tony – he's not missing, he's hiding in here!" Ziva growled.
She threw a small show and it bounced of Tony's arm.
She shot him a look and hissed at him, snapping her fingers.
"Help me find him," she snapped. "I will make him rue the day he was born."
"Jeez, Ziva, he's two," Tony muttered, vaulting in with her and giving her a wary look.
"He could be suffocating!" Ziva cried hoarsely, and Tony gave her a surprised look – so she went from perfectly blasé about the situation to entirely panicked in point five seconds – that was interesting to know.
A small hand suddenly grabbed Tony's ankle and some balls popped up and hit his knees. He looked down, startled, and found himself staring into his son's sandy eyes, facing a mischievous face that reminded him of the one he saw in the mirror.
Anthony beamed at him wildly.
"Aba," he squeaked cutely. "BOO!" he shrieked.
Tony grabbed him up immediately, stepping out of the pit while Anthony was crooning "I scare you! I scare you!" repeatedly. Ziva was quick after him, and she stepped close.
"Anthony," she snarled lightly – she wasn't as aggressive as Tony had seen her get with suspects, but she was authoritative. "You never, ever remove yourself from our sight deliberately unless it has been established that we are playing hide and seek!"
Tony gave her a look like she'd lost her mind and turned is head.
"Bud," he said simply. "No hide. You scared your mom," he said.
Anthony swiveled and opened his eyes wide. He put both hands on his cheeks and looked immensely apologetic.
"I sorry, Ima," he said pleasantly.
He reached for her, and Ziva took him, giving him a very gentle, chastising swat on the knee. She kissed the side of his head and smoothed his head back.
"You are just like your father," she said, shooting Tony a glare.
Tony looked smug, and then put his arm around her shoulders, giving her a look as he led her off. He waited until they had passed a few stores, and were near the exit of the mall, before he cleared his throat dramatically and sighed, puffing out his chest.
"I told you so," he drawled.
She said nothing, except to pipe up a moment later –
"I was not scared."
"I scare you!" Anthony piped up. He looked up at her and made a face. "We go see Gibbs?" he asked.
Ziva nodded – they had to pick up Eli – and Tony laughed wryly, ducking away from Ziva. He jogged backwards, giving her a charming look, and smirked at her.
"Yeah, we're goin' to see Gibbs, I can't wait to tell 'im you lost your kid in a ball bit – that's so American of you Ziva, you're really slackin' – " he teased, snorting.
"I do not think Gibbs will look down on me for it," Ziva retorted primly.
"Considerin' he was probably Golden Boy father of the year and he takes care of the boys better than us – "
Ziva smirked.
"I once complained to him about how you let Al get three bruises while I was at yoga," she said shortly, "and he told me to go easy on you, because once he forgot to strap a booster seat into a dining room chair and Kelly flipped out of it and busted her lip."
Tony nearly tripped over himself, and stopped and stared. He blinked, and then his mouth fell open.
"He – what the hell, who forgets something that important?" he demanded, outraged.
He looked straight at Anthony.
"Forget your ball pit shenanigans, now I feel like father of the year!"
-!
-Alexandra
-story #215