Bonding

Disclaimer: I don't own anything connecting to the show.

Summary: Ziva is on maternity leave and bored out of her mind. And to make things worse, Gibbs had Jackson look after her. But it turns out not to be such a bad thing after all… (established Zibbs)

Lying in bed, Ziva had been staring at the ceiling for the last couple of hours. At least it felt hours for her. She should definitely mention it to Gibbs that the ceiling needed some painting… and if they were at the subject she should also suggest to paint a picture on it, or at least some pattern. She would surely go nuts in the weeks to come if she had to stare at the white wall.

She sighed frustrated and rubbed the back of her hands against her eyes. She hadn't signed up for this when she agreed to have a baby. But who would have thought that Gibbs would go all dutiful and protective father-to-be on her and practically forbid her to leave the bed. A few days ago the doctor warned her that her blood pressure had been a little high. Just a little, for God's sake, but her husband made such a big deal out of it that finally she saw it better to do as she was told before Gibbs would be the one ending up in the hospital because of his high blood pressure.

So there she was lying in bed all day long for the last couple of days with six books lying on the nightstand, the last of which she had already finished the day before, and with a knitted sweater, two pairs of socks and a little cap for the baby. And she had left nothing to do just to stare at the ceiling…

And to make things worse, she had been put into the care of Jackson Gibbs. She loved the old man dearly but she really didn't need a babysitter. Obviously, Gibbs thought otherwise and left his father with strict instructions regarding his pregnant wife. In the last few days, Ziva really felt like shedding some blood.

Finally she decided that she had had enough. Slowly, she sat up and listened. There seemed to be no movements in the house. She smiled with a mischievous glint in her eyes and looked down at her large belly conspiringly.

"And now we are getting our own drink." She stroked her belly with a smile then pushed herself up from the bed. "Mommy really does not need anybody to get a glass of milk."

She slowly walked down the stairs cursing under her breath every time her feet connected with the wood with a loud thud. But fortunately nobody came to send her back to bed so she continued her journey confidently. Turning into the living room, she had to smile when her eyes fell on the sleeping form of Jackson. He was snoring lightly in the armchair. Ziva wobbled over to the couch and grabbed the blanket lying on its armrest then slowly laid it on her father-in-law. With an affectionate smile, she gently stroked his cheek then went to get her drink.

When she returned from the kitchen, Jackson was still sleeping soundly so Ziva decided to walk around the house a little. Finally she ended up in the attic and without anything better to do she began to look for those baby clothes Gibbs had mentioned not so long ago.

Almost an hour and a half later she was still in the attic, sitting on the floor with crossed legs and with a box in front of her. She got so caught up in her search that she didn't even notice the time pass. She had found the clothes and she had found some old books, too and at the moment she was engrossed in examining the content of a box that seemed to hold some old toys.

She smiled at the old plush toys and dolls she had lifted from the box then her eyes settled on something else. She carefully took it out of the box and laughed out when it finally rested in her hand. It was a My Little Pony, a white little pony with rainbow-colored mane. Ziva just kept looking at it with a dreamy expression then leant forward to see if there was any more in the box. There were no more ponies in the box but Ziva gasped when she saw what else was in there. Her eyes lit up even more and after she had put the little pony aside, she reached into the box and took a smaller one out of it.

"I cannot believe it!" She said in awe as she looked at the box of the My Little Pony board game. She remembered having one just like that one in her hand. It brought back so many memories for her.

Six-year-old Ziva David padded down the stairs in her nightgown and with a box in her hands. Slowly she made her way to her father's study and when she could see that the lights were on, she smiled. After reaching the door, she pushed it open carefully then peeked in. Eli David was sitting behind his impressive desk deep in work.

"Dad!" Ziva gave a happy gap-toothed smile to her father.

"Ziva." Her father acknowledged her presence somewhat surprised. "What are you doing still up? You should be in bed."

"I was waiting for you." The little girl declared merrily not even noticing the reproaching tone of her father. "You promised that we will play today." She was clearly excited about the prospect of playing with the man, who, on the other hand, looked exhausted and troubled… and somewhat annoyed with his daughter's interruption.

"Ziva…" He began but the girl cut him off.

"You promised, Dad!" She whined then the smile was back on her face as she lifted the box in her hands so that her father could see it. "You can be with the blue pony." She offered then ran up to the coffee table that was surrounded by a couch and two armchairs. She quickly lifted the lid from the box and produced the board from it and placed the little ponies on it.

Her father let out a deep sigh then stood up and walked to his daughter. He crouched down next to her and stroked her brown curls.

"Ziva, your father has a lot of things to do. We will play another time."

"But Dad…"

"What have I told about that tone?" Eli David lifted a finger warningly at which Ziva bowed her head dejectedly. "I told you that we would play another time. I promise, Ziva." He gently lifted her head to be able to look into her eyes. "I promise."

Ziva threw her arms around her father's neck and buried her head into the crook of his neck. Eli smiled gently and stroked her back affectionately.

"Now, go back to bed. I have to finish here."

"Can I stay here? I will not say word, promise."

Eli considered it for a moment but then nodded at her daughter with a ghost of smile and after putting a kiss on her forehead, he straightened up and went back to his work.

Ziva fell asleep on the coach not long after that.

Ziva smiled sadly at that memory. They had come such a long way since then. Eli David had never been the best of fathers but back then she knew that he had tried. She knew that her father had cared about her…

But she hadn't even spoken to his father for months now… and it didn't seem as if Eli David had got any objection regarding their lack of communication. In a way, she had lost her father, too, when she decided to leave her country behind.

Ziva was pulled out of her thoughts by a loud creak behind her. She snapped her head in the direction of the noise and smiled when she noticed Jackson standing in the door.

"So here you are." He smiled kindly, though reproachfully at Ziva. "I've been looking for you, young lady." Ziva had the decency to look somewhat chastised but smiled back at the man nonetheless.

"I got bored." She explained her sudden disappearance to her father-in-law. "And it is not as if can just sneak around without anybody noticing it." She pointed out. After all she all but sounded like a whole herd of elephants when she had descended the stairs. It wasn't her fault that Jackson just kept sleeping.

"Oh, you can do a lot of surprising things, Ziva." Jackson pointed out chuckling as he walked up to the young woman. And that was the truth. As he had been looking for Ziva, he seriously considered chaining the woman to her bed. She should be resting as per doctor's order but so far Jackson felt as if he had been spending more time by chasing after his very pregnant daughter-in-law then knowing her in bed. "What you've got there?" He inquired looking at her hands which were still holding the My Little Pony board game.

"Oh, that… I have been just looking for the baby clothes Jethro mentioned the other day and I found this game. I…" Here she got silent as she looked back down at the game. "This one was my favorite as a little girl." She chuckled a little and Jackson couldn't help noticing the bitterness in it. "I remember I always wanted to play it with my father… I was always on his heels… and he always sent me away telling me that we would play another time. Damn…" She laughed embarrassed as tears appeared in her eyes.

Jackson crouched down next to her and put a comforting hand on her shoulder then reached for the box and took it from her.

"Ha… it sure looks like fun." He looked at Ziva. "Do you think I can be with the blue pony?" He asked the woman with twinkling eyes.

"What?" Ziva asked stunned.

"Well, we have still some time until Leroy arrives so maybe you don't have to get bored in bed… we can always play a round or two…" He offered and smiled when a beaming smile appeared on Ziva's face.

"I would like that." Ziva smiled at the old man. Jackson straightened with a smile then helped Ziva up the floor and together they slowly made their way down to the living room.

The one or two rounds turned out to be more than four, in fact, and about two hours later Ziva and Jackson were still sitting on the living room floor, Jackson leaning against the couch with Ziva sitting cross-legged right next to him with the game board spread out in front of them on the coffee table. Jackson bore a smug expression as he counted his steps with the blue pony. He was clearly satisfied with himself. Ziva, on the other hand, looked absolutely scandalized as she regarded Jackson, her mouth hanging slightly open.

"That's it." Jackson leant back against the couch still sporting that annoying smug expression. "Right in for the finish line."

"You know that it was cheating." Ziva pointed out still not believing that the old man had pulled a stunt like that.

"Cheating? What are you talking about, young lady? The card said that I can take six more steps."

"Yes, the card after your card which read…" With some difficulty Ziva leant forward to retrieve the card. "You miss your turn." Ziva raised an accusing eyebrow at Jackson.

"Oh. That was my card?" Jackson asked surprised but Ziva knew better than to believe her father-in-law. "They must have stuck together." He tried to shrug it off.

"Of course." Ziva answered clearly not convinced and reached for the blue pony to put it back on its former horseshoe. "Face it, Dad. You are a cheater!" She smiled at Jackson but her smile quickly disappeared when she realized what she had just called the older man. She looked at him stunned but Jackson just smiled back at her affectionately.

"And you are a good observer, Ziva." He reached out and stroked her cheek tenderly. Tears began to glister in Ziva's eyes at the older man's affection but she was spared the embarrassment of crying when Jackson turned mischievous. "But you know that my pony still can beat yours."

Ziva laughed out still fighting her tears and leant closer to Jackson and kissed his cheek.

"You just wish so, Dad." Jackson just chuckled.

As it turned out, Ziva had been right and her red pony was the first to reach the goal. She leant back against the couch with a happy smile as she watched Jackson packing up the game.

"Thank you." She said finally and Jackson turned to her surprised as he stood next to the coffee table.

"For what?" He chuckled somewhat embarrassed at that complete gratitude that emanated from Ziva and which he didn't really know what to think of.

"For being here with me…" Ziva clarified somberly, looking into the man's eyes. "…for doing things that my own father would never do for me." She reached out to grab Jackson's hand and squeezed it. "For being more like a father to me than Eli David."

With a sigh, Jackson sat back down next to Ziva and gently stroked her hair.

"I don't know what kind of a man your father is, well apart from what Leroy had told me about him… but I do know one thing. He sure as hell doesn't deserve a daughter like you. And well, let's face it, I don't deserve a daughter like you, either… but fortunately, I'm not stupid enough to let such an opportunity go into waste. Ziva, I'm really proud to have you in my family and if anybody, I am the one who owes you gratitude. What your mere presence had done to my son and me… it is beyond any words. And I'd be proud to call you my daughter."

"I love you, Dad." Ziva managed to say through her now falling tears.

"I love you, too, Ziva." Jackson told her as he pulled Ziva into his arms. "You know I always wanted a daughter. Who would have thought that after fifty years I would get one after all?" He added and chuckled when he could hear Ziva laugh out.

"Alright." Jackson spoke up after a while, realizing that they should really get moving otherwise his son would quickly find out that Ziva had spent the afternoon out of bed. "Let's put you back into bed otherwise we'll be in big trouble when Leroy arrives."

Ziva, though reluctantly, stood up and let Jackson escort her back to bed. She leant back against her pillow with a heavy sigh. However, her spirit was higher than earlier that day because the following weeks didn't promise endless boredom anymore. Now she knew that she had a companion in sneaking around behind Gibbs' back.

Her old saying still applied after all: what Gibbs does not know about, it cannot hurt him… or them.

THE END

Thanks for reading! I hope you liked it!