Title: Halloween
Disclaimers: NCIS, the rights to the show and its characters do not belong to me. No money was made by this. There's a Doctor Who reference in there and a shout-out to Two and a Half Men, I don't own any of that, either.
A/N: English is not my native language. So please forgive me my grammar and spelling mistakes.
Spoilers: none really
Pairing: Tim McGee/Ziva David [McGiva]
Summary: "I wanna be a hero." Connor declared, turning to his parents, his green eyes sparkling.
Mindless Halloween McGiva family fluff. This is another installment in a series of ficlets I have dubbed the Connor!verse. It goes out to Izzy (dizzy-in-the-izzy) because she indulges me by letting me write these. And a warning: This is as fluffy and mindless as I will ever get, I believe I kept the serious undertones to a minimum in this one.
Enjoy.
"Well, what do you want to be for Halloween this year?" Tim asked their son as Ziva gently rubbed her belly and leaned against the wall.
Their four year old son got a thoughtful expression on his face as he looked at the different clothes on display. They had decided to let him chose by himself this year and not pressure him into being anything. Though that could indeed backfire if he decided on a 'girly' costume, but then they would have to deal with that. So after finding a bunny suit for Ziva that would accommodate her pregnant belly, they were now letting Connor make his pick.
"I wanna be a hero." Connor declared, turning to his parents, his green eyes sparkling.
"Okay, I think I saw some of those back there." Tim nodded, taking Connor's hand as the family made their way to another aisle. Connor inspected the costumes and frowned. "Look, they even got Batman."
Ziva rolled her eyes slightly at her husband's enthusiasm. She quite liked Halloween, at least since Connor's birth. It was fun getting him dressed up and taking him trick-or-treating. But it came at a price, because both of the men in her life demanded that she also had to wear a costume. Tim had decided on Doctor Who. The Eleventh Doctor, to be exact, and since she made him record the show so he could watch it when Connor was in bed and she was reading, she supposed she should indulge him with this. There was no way she would let him dress her up as one of the Doctor's companions, though, no matter how much he insisted that her hair was just like that of River Song (whoever that was, Ziva didn't pay much attention when he was watching the show). And since most of the usual stuff was out due to her pregnancy and significant belly, she was stuck with a selection of bodysuits in various animal forms. The bunny at least had been kinda cute. When Tim had suggested a Kangaroo one she had told Connor to turn around and then given her husband a Gibbs-slap that their former boss would've been proud of.
"Why are there no suits?" Connor asked, tugging at Superman's cape and sticking out his bottom lip. Tim and Ziva shared a look. Okay, this was weird.
"Um..." Tim started, rubbing his neck.
"Connor, why don't you tell us what hero you want to be, so we know what to look for?" Ziva tried.
"I wanna be Uncle Tony." her son informed her. For a second, Ziva felt as if someone had pulled the floor out from beneath her feet. She quickly looked at her husband to see his face fall before he caught himself. Tim turned to her and shrugged, wordlessly telling her that this one was all hers to deal with. Ziva slowly crouched down to her son's eyelevel.
"Well..." she started, drawing a deep breath. "I don't think we'll find that costume here."
"Especially not the personality that comes with it." she heard her husband mutter under his breath and gave him a short glare before she focused on her son again. "But," she added when she saw Connor's forlorn expression, "how about Daddy takes our costumes home, and you and I go to Uncle Tony's and ask him where he gets his suits from, huh? How does that sound?"
Connor's face lit up and he quickly nodded, starting to make a run for the elevators. Ziva didn't run (or, rather, waddle thanks to her state) after him because the boy knew not to board them without his parents.
"Hey." she muttered, gently resting a hand on Tim's cheek. "He doesn't mean that you're not his hero."
"I know." Tim sighed, his shoulders slumped. Ziva gently tugged at the fez he was wearing on his head so he bent down and she was able to brush her lips against his.
"You're still my hero." she muttered to him, rubbing her nose against his.
"Just wait until this one tells you she wants to be Abby for Halloween." her husband said, resting his hand on her belly and making Ziva groan. She'd been rather happy and excited when, two days ago during the ultrasound, the doctor had informed them they were having a girl this time and looked forward to frilly dresses and ballet lessons, but now she wasn't that sure about her enthusiasm.
"Hey buddy!" Tony grinned widely when he opened his door and Connor attack-hugged him. He picked the boy up and twirled them around before setting him down again and greeting Ziva. "What can I do for my favorite nephew and his gorgeous mother today?"
"Don't think for one second that I forgot how you dumped all paperwork on Tim last week." Ziva narrowed her eyes at him and he gave her a sheepish look.
"Sorry." he apologized, looking down at Connor. "Can I get you something to drink?" Tony asked them.
"Do you have Transylvanian Goofy Juice?" Connor asked him, jumping up and down excitedly. Tony flashed him a big smile.
"You bet." he winked at the boy before turning to Ziva.
"Water would be nice." she nodded and walked over to the couch to sit down while Tony disappeared into the kitchen. When he came back, he merely pointed at the couch and waited until Connor was sitting before he gave him his juice and then handed Ziva her water.
"So, what's up?" Tony asked, looking at the two of them as he sat down in the armchair.
"Well, Connor would like to ask you something." Ziva told him, nudging her son.
"Can I be you for Halloween?" Connor asked his uncle, his green eyes wide and innocent. Tony's jaw dropped and he stared at the boy.
"Are you sure?" he slowly asked the kid, who nodded eagerly.
"Yes!" Connor exclaimed. "I wanna be a hero."
At his words, Tony cringed slightly.
"He said that when he told you guys?" he asked Ziva, who nodded. "Ouch." the Italian sighed, rubbing his neck. "Connor, I don't know if your Da-"
"Tim and I are fine with it." Ziva quickly interrupted him, giving Tony a look that said not to pry in front of the kid. "But we were wondering if you know where we could get a suit similar to the ones you're always wearing?"
Tony nodded slowly. "Hey, I have an idea." he suggested, his face lighting up. "You and I can wear matching suits. We pick the color and a shirt and tie and we'll look the same, so people will know who you are right away. How does that sound?"
Connor jumped up and down on the couch and Ziva quickly caught him. "Not when Mommy is sitting close to you." she reminded him sternly.
"Sorry Mommy, I forgot." the boy apologized. "But I wanna do that, Uncle Tony." he added in Tony's direction, a huge grin on his face.
"I know that tailor, he does awesome work, and-"
"Tony, we can't pay for a custom suit." Ziva reminded him quickly, looking at her belly pointedly, but Tony waved her off.
"Nonsense, I'll pay for it. It's gonna be his birthday present. But shoes may be a problem." he said, eyeing Connor's small feet.
"I'm sure we'll be able to figure something out." the boy's mother said, letting Connor climb onto her lap and kissing the boy's temple.
As she looked at herself in the mirror, Ziva briefly considered that wearing this when Tony was coming with them would most likely guarantee her life-long ridicule. But then she shrugged. At least this was borderline comfortable, not like most of her clothes which had been getting a little too tight these days.
The doorbell rang and she waited briefly.
"Can you get it?" Tim's voice drifted to her and she rolled her eyes.
"Of course, sweetheart." she yelled back. "Because I am so fast these days." Ziva muttered under her breath as she took the stairs and walked down the hallway as the bell sounded a second time. "Hold your horses!" she yelled, pulling the door open finally to find her former partner standing there. Tony gave her a once-over, his face breaking into a huge grin.
"My, don't we look dashing." he teased her and she glared at him.
"When Connor's not around, you should know that I will hit you." she warned him, and he raised his hands in a gesture of defeat.
"Sorry." he apologized, walking into the house. Ziva closed the door behind him and when she turned around, she found him grinning widely again.
"What?" she asked and he erupted into a bark of laughter.
"You have a cute tail, that's all." he told her, taking a quick step to the side when she tried hitting him this time. "I'll stop now." he promised her, sobering and looking around.
"Connor and Tim are still getting dressed. And I need to use the bathroom before we leave, so if you will excuse me. You have door duty." she told him before disappearing upstairs again. Once she was done in the bathroom, she went into her son's room. Tim was kneeling in front of their son as the boy adjusted the fez on his father's head. The man was wearing a dark beige jacket, white shirt and a red fez and red bowtie. Ziva knew that there was some special screwdriver in one of his pant pockets, too. The sight of her son blew her away, though. She had known about the outfit, and since he and Tony were wearing the same, she had been able to see the dark grey suit with the white shirt and forest green tie on Tony. And while the color was a little off to match his eyes, it really brought out the color of Connor's.
"Oh my..." she gasped, hand resting on her chest as tears welled up in her eyes. Her little boy looked so grown-up in that suit. Hadn't he been a baby in her arms just yesterday?
"Mommy!" Connor yelled excitedly. Tim got up and turned around, giving her an understanding look. "Do you like my costume?" the boy asked her and Ziva swallowed thickly as she nodded.
"Yes. I love it, you look very handsome, Connor." she assured him, holding out her arm for him and he came for a hug willingly. "Now go downstairs, Uncle Tony is already waiting." Ziva told the boy who raced off with a grin. Tim watched her as she gave a soft sniffle then went over to her to hug her and kiss her forehead. "When did he get so old?" Ziva muttered into his chest and felt her husband's hold on her tighten.
"I have no idea." Tim whispered, gently rubbing her back. "I suspect somewhere between 'Congratulations, it's a boy!' and 'Do you like my costume?'." he added, drawing a shaky laugh from his wife. Ziva leaned back and looked at him.
"You're really okay with this?" she asked him again, and again Tim nodded.
"Yeah. It hurt at first, but I get it now." he assured her, giving her a heartfelt smile and leaned down to capture her lips in a loving kiss.
"HEY!" Tony's voice drifted upstairs. "I think we need to get going if we want some of the good candy!" he yelled and Tim and Ziva rolled their eyes before turning off the lights.
"Does it scare you how much he knows about Halloween?" Tim muttered and Ziva nodded.
"Very much so." she answered as they found their colleague and their son waiting by the door, both the picture of excitement and holding matching orange plastic pumpkins for collecting their candy.
fin.
reviews are greatly appreciated, and if you want more of Connor, let me know
