Disclaimer: I don't own anything… literally…

A/N: I hope you all enjoy this. I know it is short, but I hope to extend it. It is just something that popped into my head while I was working. Please review and let me know what ya think. I always appreciate feedback. And big thank you to all those who reviewed my other stories. Hope you enjoy. Later.

EARLY BIRD

As the early morning sun trickles through the blinds, a toddler's innocent laughter fills the quiet room. The light slowly hits the child's face. He turns into it. He is around a year old. He rubs his eyes. He rolls to his right, but is blocked by a large figure; to the left, same thing. Finally, he resorts to just kicking his feet and laughing. The covers slowly fall away and he begins to babble. He rolls back to his left and begins slapping the sleeping figure while continuing his baby babbles.

"No, no." Is sleepily said through the pillow. "Play with daddy." She encourages.

The baby stops momentarily before giggling some more and once again slapping the sleeping figure. This time he gets no response so he turns to the figure on the other side. He reaches for the man's face. He concentrates as he thinks through his assault plan. Finally, he takes his hand and uses one finger to touch the man's eye lid. The man reaches up and moves the baby's hand. The baby pauses for a moment and then pinches the man's nose. The man grins and then moves the child's hand once more. Finally one his last attempt the toddler pushes himself up on his elbows and uses both hands to clasp his father's cheeks and then he leans his forehead against his.

"Dada!" He exclaims along with some more babbles.

"Alright, alright. I'm up. Come on, let's make mommy some breakfast." He whispers to the child before placing a rough kiss to his cheeks. The child giggles and wraps his arms around his father's neck.

They quickly make their way out of the room and after a quick diaper change they find themselves in the kitchen. The man places the boy in his highchair and hands him a bottle. The boy drinks from it eagerly while his dad prepares breakfast. Few minutes pass before the boy drops the bottle on his table and screams.

"Mama!" The child exclaims happily as he sees his mother step into the doorway.

"Are you supposed to have that bottle?" She asks the boy acting grumpy. The man turns to watch their interaction. The baby grins at her before reaching his little hand out and swiftly knocking the bottle off his tray. She grins at him and walks to him to place a kiss on his forehead before bending and picking up the bottle only to hand it back to him. He again drinks from it greedily. She walks to the man.

"You know we are supposed to be breaking him from that."

"I know, but he just likes it so much." He replies as he turns the stove off and removes the last of the pancakes from the skillet. He turns to her and she wraps her arms around his waist and rests her head on his chest. He returns her hug and watches the boy from over her shoulder. The boy lets out another squeal.

"We really have to work on that talking don't we buddy." He says to him over her shoulder. "Hungry?" He asks her.

"Starving." She replies as she turns and makes her way to the table next to the little boy.

He watches her interact with him and reflects back on how it all came to be like this. The simplicity of their lives compared to what it used to be. They still worked of course but neither worked as many hours or took as many risks. There was no more running in guns 'a blazin' as they say. Now their days were more filled with little things that would seem too domesticated and monotonous to matter to most people, but somehow it had became their lifelines. The small boy playing with his mother's hair had irrevocably changed their lives forever, and neither of them had been expecting it.

They had only technically been dating a few months when they discovered they were expecting their little bundle of joy and it didn't take long for them to realize he was going to be coming into the world whether they were ready for him or not.

FLASHBACK

The day had started out similar enough. Morning round of love making followed by a light breakfast with too many coffees to count, and what was supposed to be a short jog before work. Needless to say Ziva had been feeling tired a lot lately but they had both thought that it was the hectic case and their vigorous lovemaking that seemed to be insatiable. He knew something was wrong. He could feel it and he hated it. What he hated even more was that he couldn't put his finger on what it was. Typically his gut would always lead him in the right direction, but that was when it was work related. In his personal life his gut got him into more bad situations than good. That's when he found it. She had been taking an obscenely long time about showering, and his urge to join her had beat out his reasoning behind why they needed to hurry. So, he stealthily entered the bathroom and closed the door. The smell of her shampoo immediately filled his nostrils. He removes his shirt and tosses it to the floor. He reaches for the counter, his mind completely set on his target that is silhouetted through the frosted glass, his hand grasps the counter as he removes one sock and then the other. He releases the counter but stops. There's a small stick on the edge. A familiar stick. A stick that could change his entire world simply by having one cheesy pepto bismol colored line or two. The noise of the shower water fades as the spray does. He picks up the small stick and looks at it. He squints and looks again. He moves the stick closer and then back out again.

"You can move it all you want Gibbs. It isn't going to change what it says."

"How long have you known?" He asks her.

"How long have I been in the shower?" She says as she steps out and retrieves her towel from the rack. She instinctively wraps herself quickly.

He's shocked but for some reason incredibly excited and worried all at the same time. His inner turmoil isn't lost on her, but she mistakenly takes his lack of response to mean that he isn't happy about the baby.

"I am keeping it. Even if we don't stay together. I want this baby." She blurts out, still standing just outside the shower. Gibbs is caught off guard by what she says.

"I want it too." He assures her as he puts the test down. He wraps her into an engulfing hug and kisses her damp neck. He rests his lips on her shoulder and tries to figure out how he let this happen only to realize that he doesn't care. This is what he wanted all along. Ziva and a baby… a family.

"Are you sure you are alright with this?" She asks him when he doesn't release her.

"This is perfect Ziva." He whispers. She wonders if he's crying because of the crack in his voice but she never feel a tear drop or a whimper. He finally releases her.

PRESENT

"I'm going to get us ready while you eat." She tells him before retrieving the baby from his highchair and disappearing upstairs. He knows she is right. They have a long day ahead of them. Another high profile case that seems to always land in their laps but still required their full attention. He eats his pancakes quickly since his daydream had apparently lasted too long for him to eat with his family. Yes, today was indeed going to be a long day but today was special and no one was going to ruin it… today he was going to ask her to be his wife…

TBC…