From the random and sometimes evil mind of Izzy, comes another one shot. i can't help it, i love to write. I'm on my mom laptop, so if you see any mistakes, let me know. :) This is different, and is just a simple one shot. It could be a story if I wanted to do it. Wanted to. :) I'm content with Girl Next Door. Disclaimer: I wanna take you aways, lets escape into the music. DJ let it play. Dedication: Silent Falling Rain; Because she and I were talking and she had to reassure herself about this. Haha......
The sky was beautiful that day, the sun shining down on the water puddle on the ground. Kids were playing outside in the sunlight, glad that it had finally graced us after a long winter. It was mid May, and I could smell the grass in the air as I walked down the sidewalk. A man on a lawn mower caught my attention, and I watched him move around his yard. A kid that looked about three sat on the front steps, licking on an ice cream cone. He waved at the man, and the man smiled back. I looked away, focusing on walking down the street. I came to a stop at the intersection, looking from left to right before crossing. I walked underneath some trees, and the break from the sun was nice.
Up ahead, an old couple was walking slowly down the street. I smiled as I walked up to them, moving around them slowly. The old man was talking about something, and the woman was listening intently. They were holding hands, and it was obvious they were still very much in love. I felt my stomach flip, but kept moving down the street. As I reached the next intersection, I took a moment to stop and think.
Just this morning, I had been on the west coast on business. I had been in LA, working with the NCIS agents there on a case. Just this morning, I had been sitting in an interrogation room, interrogating a suspect. Turned out, he was the killer, and the leader of the ring we had been trying to bust for a month. Just this morning, I had been walking out of my hotel room when my phone went off.
Just this morning, I boarded a flight at the last minute to get home. Just this morning, at 2 AM, I had been completely unaware of what was happening. I boarded a plane not knowing what was going on.
After getting off the plane, I took a taxi home, only to remember that I had left my car at NCIS head quarters. So, here I was, walking.
Not that I minded.
I needed some thinking time.
And Gibbs had it covered. I had time.
I looked up at the sky, seeing the white puffy clouds floating there. Right at home, hanging out. They looked so serene, so perfect up there. I sighed, looking back down at my feet. I needed to keep moving, keeping moving towards my eventual stop.
I pushed myself across the intersection, and looked up at the hospital. It was looming in front of me, the automatic doors waiting to open for me. I walked up to them, and they opened on accord. The hospital smell hit my nose, and I cringed. I'd always hated that smell.
The receptionist looked up when I entered, and I saw her smile on her face. I knew what she was thinking. I walked over to the desk, putting my arms on top of the counter. She looked up at me, and I saw her name was Laura.
Such a common name.
"May I help you?" She asked, and I mentally rolled my eyes.
"Yes, on what floor is Ziva David? D-A-V-I-D." I said, spelling out the last name. Laura looked at her computer, and then back up at me.
"Maternity, level 3." She said, looking slightly hurt. I smiled at her, moving to the elevator. Once inside, I leaned against the cool metal. My head was spinning, my heart racing. This wasn't how I wanted to come home, or enter into this situation. I wanted to be there from the beginning, helping her out and going through this with her. But instead, Gibbs had put me on this assignment, and now I was walking in late. It was like I was entering the play at the wrong time, delivering the wrong line.
I kind of felt awful.
But, in another sense, I didn't want to be here. I didn't want to see the father of my best friend's child. None of us still knew who he was, or if we knew him. I did know that approximately 11 months ago, after a hard case and a lot of tension, some things had lead to another, and I ended up in bed with my best friend. We didn't speak of it seriously, but taunted McGee with the thought. The tension remained the same, and I guess it was a one night stand. I hated myself for making her a one night stand, but it ended up that way. The next day at work, we were the same as before. But now we knew what the other had.
In a sick, perverted sense.
I got off the elevator, shaking my head as I walked down the hall. When I turned the corner, I saw Abby sitting next to McGee, talking intensely. McGee saw me, and I saw him say my name. Abby looked up at me, and shot her self across the room and into my arms.
"You're home!!" She practically yelled into my ear, and I smiled. It was good to be accepted into the play late. She looked at me, and smiled sadly.
"You look sad. What's wrong? Ziva is having her baby!" She said, and I cringed. Abby saw this, and frowned.
"Anthony DiNozzo, are you sad about Ziva having her baby?" She asked me, and I saw McGee give me a funny look. I put my finger to Abby's lips, pulling her away from the waiting room and into the hall. Once there, Abby asked again.
"Listen, Abs. I'm happy for her, alright?" I said, and Abby shook her head.
"You aren't telling me something." She said, tilting her head to look at me sideways. I sighed, moving around her. But she grabbed me before I could get far.
"Tony, what's really wrong?" She asked, and I thought it over in my head. Lie, or tell her the truth.
I decided to lie.
"I'm just a little peeved that I wasn't here from the start." I said with a smile, and Abby ate it all up. She kissed my cheek, letting my arm go.
"She kept asking for you on the way here. I had to reassure her that you would be here as soon as your plane landed; which, btw, was over 30 minutes ago. What took you so long to get here?" she asked, putting her hand on her hip. I smiled at her.
"I had to walk." I said, and she glared at me.
"You will tell me, Tony." She said before walking around me and back into the waiting room. I followed her after taking a deep breath, and sat down in the chair across from Abby. She and McGee started to talk again, and I waited. After a while, Ducky walked in. When he saw me, he sat down next to me.
"Anthony, my dear boy. How are you? I haven't seen you in two weeks." He exclaimed, and I smiled at him.
"I'm good Ducky. How was it with out me for that long?"
"Well, I've been through it before, but I must say that everyone was a little quiet with out you. Even Mr. Palmer seemed quiet." He said, and I smiled.
"I think Jimmy was afraid that if he spoke, Ziva would kill him." I said, and Ducky laughed.
"That is plausible. On that note, have you heard anything about Ziva? I was here earlier, but had to get back to work." He said, and Abby looked up.
"No word and Gibbs hasn't come out yet." McGee said before Abby could open her mouth. I nodded, looking down at my hands. I felt Ducky's hand on my shoulder, and I looked up at him.
"I was wondering Anthony. Did you find out who the father was from Ziva before you left? I would have thought she would have told you of all people." He said, and I bit my lip. She hadn't told me. I shook my head, and Ducky nodded, looking back at the double doors. A doctor walked out, announcing another birth. A group of people in the far corner moved over to him, and I watched them go with bitter thoughts.
"How long does it take to have a baby?!" Abby exclaimed, and I smiled at her. She was tapping her foot on the ground, her head on McGee's shoulder.
"Depends Abigail." Ducky said, and McGee nodded.
"I wonder if it's a girl or a boy." Abby said aloud, and I bit my lip again.
"What if our Ziva had twins?" Ducky said, and Abby sat up straight.
"What if she had triplets?" She said, and I laughed.
"Abby, don't get your hopes up." I said, and Abby glared at me.
"What if she did? Then there would be three little assassin babies!" She said excitedly. I rolled my eyes, sitting back in my chair. I didn't listen to my coworker's conversation, not wanting to think about it. I shifted in the seat, looking at the doors. I was a little imaginative, and horror situations ran though my head. My mind was going a little in to the dark side when the double doors opened. Gibbs walked out, wearing a hospital gown over his regular clothes. He saw us, and walked over. Abby was up in an instant, her words spilling out a mile a minute. Gibbs put her finger on her mouth, and she stopped talking.
"She had triplets, and she is asleep now." Gibbs said, and Abby squealed. Ducky looked up at Gibbs.
"A woman in her thirties is more likely to have triplets. It doesn't surprise me." Ducky said, and I blinked.
She had three kids?
Abby was led by Gibbs through the double doors, and McGee looked at us before following them. Ducky got up, looking down at me.
"Well, aren't you coming Anthony?" He asked, and I shrugged.
"I'm going to the bathroom." I said, getting up and walking to the bathrooms. Once inside, I washed off my face. The cold water gave me chills, and I rubbed off my cheeks with a paper towel. I groaned as I saw myself, and moved away from the mirror.
"Why like this?" I said quietly to the wall, and someone answered.
"Having a hard time believing the news?"
I turned around to see a man, much younger than myself, standing in front of the sink. He was washing his hands, looking at me in the mirror. I turned around to face him.
"Kind of." I said, and he nodded.
"Me too. My wife just had our first kid. Nearly broke my hand during the whole thing. But, it was worth it. She's beautiful." He said, whipping off his hands.
"Hey, good luck man." He said, walking out of the bathroom. I waited until he was completely out to let my breath out. I smacked myself, moving out into the hall again. I walked into the waiting room to see Gibbs waiting for me.
"Are you coming or not DiNozzo?" He asked, walking back through the double doors. I followed him slowly, not even bothering to keep up with his pace. I kept my head down, and suddenly ran into something. I looked up to see him looking at me.
"Tony, that is your best friend in there, and you're trudging along all sad. I would have thought that you would be happy, but I guess I was wrong." He said, and I shook my head.
"I am happy."
"Well, then act like it. She wants you here." He said to me, looking at me. His eyes suddenly changed, and he seemed to be caring.
"Tony, get your ass in there and cheer up already. Everyone else is happy." He said, somewhat forcefully caring. I nodded at him, moving into the hospital room.
Lying on the bed was Ziva, her knees up to her chest. Her hair was a mess, and her face looked honestly tired. I smiled as I saw her lips moving like they always did when she slept. Abby was sitting next to the bed, but facing away from Ziva. She was looking at the three young babies, wrapped up in their blankets and sleeping.
"They are so cute." She whispered, and I moved over to look at them.
The first thing I noticed were the colors they were wrapped in. Two boys, and one girl; the girl lying in the middle. I was captivated by the little girl laying there, her face completely serene and quiet. I reached down and touched her face, feeling the softness. She stirred slightly, looking up at me. Her eyes were a light blue, but I knew they would change. She looked at me some more before shutting her eyes again and falling back asleep. I kept my finger on the side of her face, gently rubbing the soft cheek. I looked up at Abby, who was smiling.
"Beautiful, huh?" She said, and I nodded.
"What is her name?" I asked, and Abby pointed to the bottom of the little crib. I looked at the tag, and smiled.
Talia Jennifer said the tag, and I smiled even more. Ziva had obviously been planning the names of her children. I looked over at the boy to my right, his small face as serene as his sisters. I looked at the tag.
Shane Adin it said, and I looked at the baby. His innocent face was perfect, and he moved his lips in his sleep. I smiled and looked over at the other baby. I picked up the name tag, and stopped. Abby looked at me, a smile on her face. I looked up to see McGee and Gibbs also looking at me, and I quickly looked down at the name tag again. This time, the name registered.
Anthony Matthew was printed in perfect handwriting, sitting there on the name tag. Just reading it made my heart flip and I smiled weakly. I looked up again, and saw Abby leave the room behind Gibbs and McGee. She waved at me before shutting the door, and I looked back down at the baby.
I heard Ziva stir, and looked at her. She was rolling over, her arms moving above her head. I got up and sat down in the chair Abby had previously occupied. I put my hands on the bed, waiting for her to wake up. She did, rather slowly, and looked up at me. Her eyes were sleepy for a second before she realized who I was. She reached out and took my hand, smiling. She blinked the sleep out of her eyes, and I smiled.
"Hey." I said quietly. She smiled at me, rolling back over on her side. She curled her legs up to her chest, and didn't let go of my hand.
"You're late." She said, and I shrugged.
"I had to walk here."
"From LA?" She asked, and I laughed.
"No, not from LA. From my apartment." I said, and she nodded.
"Oh." She said, and we fell into silence. I shifted in my chair, and she moved her head on the pillow.
"Why are you so quiet? I would have thought you would be rambling on about something, and saying how this reminds you of a movie." She said quietly, and I looked down at her. She still had her eyes shut, but she was smiling.
"I'm just taking it all in." I said, and she hummed.
"What's on your mind?" She asked more seriously, and I sighed. I moved so I had my elbow on her bed, and my chin was right next to her shoulder.
"Who is the father?" I asked, and she finally opened her eyes. I saw the wall go up, and I sighed again. She didn't answer, and I shut my own eyes.
"You wouldn't be mad about who he is." She stated, and I scoffed.
"He isn't even here." I whispered quietly, but she ignored my comment.
"He's a really good friend. I think you'd like him." She said, and I rolled my eyes under my eye lids.
"Right. Because I should totally be nice to the jerk that isn't even here to support you after having his three kids." I said scornfully, moving back in the chair. I pulled my hand away from her, and we sat in a tension filled silence.
"I think you'd be surprised." She said, and I had had enough. I got up, leaving with out saying anything else. When I walked out into the waiting room, Abby looked at me carefully. I moved past her, and down the hall. Once I was far away from everyone, I fell against the wall and sunk to the ground. I put my head in my hands, mentally kicking myself. I had gotten the idea that maybe, just maybe, those three kids were mine. But the timing was wrong. Pregnancies were nine months, not ten. I knew it wasn't possible, not possible at all. I had seen Ziva go though this pregnancy. She would have told me, and not danced around the subject. She would have just told me.
I hit myself in the head, leaning my head back against the wall. I didn't notice Gibbs was sitting next to me until he spoke.
"You need to stop hitting yourself. You're going to go brain dead." He said, and I looked at him incredulously.
"Says the man how slaps me in the back of the head almost every day." I said bitterly, and he smiled.
"Not enough to hurt you." He said, and I shook my head.
"Right." I said, looking back down at my legs.
"Tony, what's wrong?" He asked, and I looked at him. He was being the father, taking up the roll of being my fatherly figure and trying to help me. I shook my head though, and turned back to my legs.
"DiNozzo, you barged out of there, and are now sitting here upset. What is wrong?" He stressed the last part, putting is hand on my shoulder. It reminded me of when Kate died.
"He's not here." I said, suddenly finding my shoe very interesting.
"You mean the father? Oh no, he's here." Gibbs said, and I stared at him.
"Where, leaving on the first floor? I don't see him Gibbs, or am I being left out of the loop. Again." I spat, and Gibbs shrugged.
"No, you just aren't as smart as the rest of us." He said, getting up and moving down the hall.
"What does that mean!?" I yelled, and he turned to look at me.
"It takes an idiot not to recognize his own kids." He said simply before walking out of sight.
I looked down at my hands, grumbling again.
"What a mor-"I stopped, looking up.
"What?" I whispered, getting up. I ran down the hall, catching up with Gibbs just before he entered the waiting room.
"You knew?" I asked as he stopped walking and turned to face me. A smirk spread on his face, and I scrunched my eyebrows.
"Why do you think I put her on desk duty in another unit and sent you to LA? I was punishing you guys." He said with a smirk, and I glared at him. I suddenly had the sudden urge to punch him, but knew that I shouldn't. He was right. He turned away with a grin, walking back into the waiting room. I stood there for a minute, before moving out of the hall, through the waiting room, and through the double doors.
I made my way into Ziva's room, only to see her curled up on the bed the way I had left her, and a sad smile spread on my face. But it was replaced by a happy one as I sat down.
"You know, I've been thinking. And I've got to say that I think he is a jerk." I said, and Ziva didn't open her eyes. I leaned down so I was resting my chin on the bed in front of her face.
"And he's not a good friend." I said, and she opened her eyes. I could see the small tears on her eye lashes, and I reached up to whip them away.
"Why isn't he?" She asked, and I frowned at her.
"He made you cry. He's a jerk." I said, and she laughed quietly.
"You are really degrading on yourself." She said, and I nodded.
"Yes, but when I mess up this badly, I think I'm allowed to be degrading." I said to her, and she nodded.
"Only a little." She whispered, and I smiled. I bent my head up and kissed her cheek, resting my chin back on the bed.
"I'm sorry Ziva. I should have been here. And I should have known." I said, and she shook her head.
"You couldn't have been here. Gibbs sent you to LA just for this reason."
"I know, but I could have fought it." I said, and she laughed.
"I would have loved to see that." She said, and we fell into silence. I smiled at her calm face, and I reached up to trace her jaw line.
"I should have known." I said.
"Yes, you should have." She said, rolling over. She moved to the other side of the bed, and I took that as a sign to join her. I moved up onto the bed, wrapping my arms around her. She snuggled into my arms like she did that night, and I smiled.
"I should have known." I said again, and she laughed.
"No need crying over spilled silk."
"Milk." I corrected, and she mumbled some Hebrew. I looked over at my shoulder at my three children, suddenly feeling light. Ziva seemed to sense it, and she patted my cheek.
"Are you going to be alright now? Am I going to have you back to normal?" She asked, and I nodded. I slowly bent down and kissed her, moving my hand into her hair. She wrapped her arms around my neck, and I moaned a little. When I pulled back, she smiled at me. She moved her head into my neck, wrapping her leg around my waist. I smiled, pulling her close to me. I knew I was smiling from ear to ear, but didn't care.
I was a father of three beautiful kids, and their mother was laying in my arms, her legs and arms wrapped around me. For once, I was actually doing something right.
"I love you." I whispered in her ear, and I could hear her smile.
"I love you too." She said before kissing my neck, and drifting to sleep. I fell asleep to the sound of her breathing and her heart.
--
Just this morning, I was sitting on a hospital floor, fretting over spilt milk. Just this morning, I was a single man, with no attachments or commitments besides my job and friends. Just this morning, I was carefree and stupid.
Just this morning, I found out that none of that mattered, and that it was all changing.
Just this morning, I found out what I was doing the rest of my life.
Ah, well. Tony seems OOC it's because he's upset. Remember that. Anywho, it's eight minutes till midnight, and it's summer. I want to catch up on sleep.... ha. Reviews please? Night/Good Morning/Good Afternoon depending on where you are. Izzy.
Give me your favorite line. :)