Three
" Tony, this is ridiculous."
" No it isn't!" He peered over the edge of the fence, eyes narrowing. " I'm telling you-"
" You think he is shirty, yes, so I have heard!"
He raised an eyebrow, looking at her, before going back to his observation. " It's shifty, but yes, I do. Look at him, look at the way he's looking at her. I don't like how he is holding that spade either." He shifted on the balls of his feet, teeth gritted. " I knew we should'd done a background check."
Ziva rolled her eyes, before placing her hands on his shoulders, squeezing lightly. " I do not think, my love, that Adam-"
" Adam, of course. Even the name, had to be Adam-"
" Has any other plans with our daughter other than to sit and continue digging in the sandbox and enjoy this play date."
He raised a finger to her lips instantly, shushing her. " Play afternoon. Don't you dare use the 'd' word." He turned back to his watch, glowering at the small boy who sat next to his daughter. " Said it once, I'll say it again, all boys want something. Never just friendship. I don't trust him. "
" Tony," Ziva sighed exasperatedly, leaning over to hiss in his ear, " He is three."
Five
" Okay, we're all set!" Ziva gently brushed the lapel of her cardigan, Tali beaming, gently pulling at the hem of her pinafore, before her mother knelt back, beaming. " My, look how smart you look, yafa shelli!" She glanced back, expecting a similar reply, frowning as Tony remained silent. " Doesn't she, Daddy?" Receiving a grunt as a reply, she rose, frowning. " Tony."
He sighed, leaning down to Tali, gently patting down a stray strand of hair. " Still think she's too little." Ziva rolled her eyes, letting out a sigh and crossing her arms.
" She is not 'too little', Tony. She is perfectly capable of looking after herself. It will be good for her, she will enjoy it! Won't you, motek?" Tali nodded enthusiastically, beaming at Tony, who frowned, before sighing heavily, gently cupping her cheeks in his hands.
" Okay, well, I guess your mother has a point, huh. So, you know that Ima and I are just a phone call away if you need us-"
" Tony." He ignored Ziva's warning, pressing on.
" And your lunch is all packed, and there's a snack in there too for you, it's your favourite-"
" Tony."
" And if anybody gives you hassle, you tell them that your Abba was a US Federal Agent for a lot of years, and your Ima knows the director of Mossad and is legally registered as a weapon in several US states, and that your aunt will make sure there is no evidence, and your Gibbs has a lot of contacts in Mexico-"
" Abba!" Tali giggled, reaching forward to poke Tony's nose. " I am a big girl." She beamed once more, rosy cheeks shining, and Tony looked at her, managing to force himself to chuckle.
" Of course you are. Look at you with your uniform, and your hair all up in pigtails, and your little back pack, and those shiny new shoes…Okay, okay. You're gonna do great." He bit back the lump in his throat, pulling her in for a kiss on the forehead and a tight hug, before standing up, allowing Ziva to bend down to their daughter, whispering words of encouragement, before Tali bounded off towards the gathering crowd of other children, a teacher gently shepherding them into some kind of formation.
Tony sniffed slightly, refusing to meet Ziva's knowing stare, clearing his throat as he watched the crowd of children, eyes locked on their daughter. "I'm telling you, we should've done a profile on each of them. Parents might be nutjobs."
" Tony, you are not profiling five year olds!"
Seven
" A fight? They put her in time out for some boy bullying her and called it a fight?!" Ziva sighed, arms crossed, Tony waving his hand at their daughter, who stood against the door, hair wild and dishevelled, pout evident.
" Tony, let us all calm down. I am sure we can speak to the school, and discuss with the teacher what happened."
" Like hell we will!" He rose to his feet, hands finding his hips, turning to glare at Ziva. " We'll go over to this little dick's house, and I'll show him what's what. Nobody messes with my girl. I'm serious Ziva, he has no idea what he is in for."
Mother and daughter shared a look, before Tali spoke up. " Abba." Tony's rant fell silent, looking back to his daughter, who sniffed, straightening her shoulders, before looking back to him. " You do not need to. It is sorted." She raised a finger to silence his protests (looking so very like her mother, he noted) and continued. " He was simply annoying me. Pulling my hair. Trying to trip me up. So I sorted it."
Her father stared for a moment, before he grinned proudly, smugly shooting a grin at Ziva.
" That's my girl! Taking control, taking no crap. None of this parent-teacher nonsense. So what happened? You tell him your Abba is still a good shot with a gun, and your grandpa used to be a sniper and he backed off?"
" I hit him." Tony's face twisted to one of horror, and he stared at her, mouth hanging open, Tali blinking innocently.
" Talia DiNozzo. You hit him?"
She nodded, batting her eyelashes, the very hint of a smirk twisting at the corner of her mouth. " With a chair."
Ziva's own smirk was unmissable, gently bumping her hip against her husband as she passed, Tony still staring at the young girl dumbfounded, as his wife sauntered into the kitchen. " That's my girl."
" A chair? You're seven!"