Okay, so...This chapter. It was extremely hard for me to write. I didn't think it would be, but it was. It's really a filler-type chapter, the good stuff is coming, I promise. I do have ideas for later chapters, so stick with me.

Tony and Ziva may be a little out of character here...but, like I said, this chapter was hard.

I hope you enjoy, and please let me know what you think when you get to the end.

Disclaimer: Still not mine.

It was hard to shock Ziva David.

But Tony DiNozzo certainly knew how to do it.

Her mouth hung open as she stared at him. Her mind was in overdrive with questions and she wanted to make some use of her open mouth and ask the man at least one. But she couldn't seem to form any words.

It was silent for several minutes, and she hadn't even noticed that Tony joined her on his bed until she spoke again. "You have a son?" She asked, just in case she heard him wrong. He only nodded, and Ziva assumed that he was having trouble making his own mouth work. "What is his name?" She decided to go with the most obvious question first.

Tony didn't answer right away; in fact, it felt like half an hour before he answered her, "Andrew." Ziva looked at his handsome face. He was staring at a spot on the wall. "He's 12."

Good. Tony already answered her next question. "Where does he live?"

Tony finally took his stare off of the wall and looked at her, "Arizona."

Ziva looked down at her hands that were in her lap, "You dated his mother?"

"Kerri? Yeah." He said softly. "We only dated for about 6 months." He chuckled sarcastically, "That was a long time back then."

"What happened?" She made herself ask. She didn't really want to know.

He sighed deeply and shrugged a shoulder, "She slept with my roommate." He chuckled sarcastically, "And half the floor, or from what I understand. It was never proven. I thought I was in love." He was looking down at his hands.

Ziva let out a sigh. "If that is true, how does she know it is your child?" She felt awful for asking him that, but she had to. She had to know.

Tony looked at her, "I don't know, Ziva. But I can't just sit here and pretend that she never called. If he's mine, I have to take care of him. I always told myself that if I ever became a father, I wouldn't be like mine."

She understood that the question upset him, "I know, Tony." It was silent again for a while, "So you are going to meet him?" She asked slowly.

Tony nodded as a response. "I have to." He stood from the bed, "According to his Mom, I'm the only thing he's got anymore. "Her mother and father died a long time ago. Kerri is an only child." He walked around his room for a second and then stood still, shaking his head, "I can't do this, Ziva."

Ziva looked at him, "Do what?"

He looked right back at her, "Be a father."

"You do not want kids?"

"Yeah, maybe. Or I did." He sighed deeply, "I don't know. I used to. I'm a federal agent, Ziva."

Ziva nodded slowly, "Yes, I know where you work."

Tony ignored her failed attempt at small humor, "I don't have time to raise a kid right now."

"Tony there are a lot of agents who have a family."

"I know that." He responded." But when and if I get a family, I didn't want it to be like this, Ziva. I'm not ready. I don't know how to be a father. Mine certainly wasn't Ward Cleaver. I have no experience."
It turned silent again and they both jumped when Tony's cell phone started buzzing on his dresser. He rolled his eyes after looking at the caller ID and silenced it. Ziva furrowed her eyebrows and looked at him. He shook his head, "Don't ask."

Sighing, she stood from the bed and walked over to him, grabbing his hands and holding them between herself and Tony. "I know you can do this." She said softly. "You are a great person, Anthony. And you will make a great Dad." Tony barely nodded and then stared at her as she stood on her tip toes and kissed his cheek.

He smiled at her and squeezed her hand, "You know, you could be a great counselor. You should look into it."

"I already have a job." She said with a smile and then became serious, "When are you leaving?"

He sighed, "In about 7 hours." He pulled his hands from Ziva and ran a hand over his face, "I've still got to pack."

"Would you like me to help?" Ziva asked. Over the past week, Tony did nothing to deserve all the niceness she was currently offering him.

If she had known the news, she would've been nicer before as well, she decided. She made a mental note to remind him of that later.

Tony walked over to his closet and pulled out his suitcase. After putting it on his bed, he walked back over to her and put his hands on her shoulders, "No thanks, Zi. You go home and get some sleep. I can handle this." He didn't want her to leave, but it wasn't fair to the Israeli to have to stay.

"You really should not do this by yourself." Ziva said.

"What? Pack?" He smiled at his own joke, but Ziva didn't. She stared at him as he walked up to her. "I'll be fine, Ziva." His voice was low and he stared into her brown eyes. There was suddenly a mood in the room, and if he didn't move away from her soon, he was going to have to do something. He wasn't exactly sure how Ziva would feel about him ripping her clothes off. He cleared his throat and put his hand on the small of her back as he walked with her to the door. "Go home. Have a glass of wine, and get some sleep. Don't worry about me." He watched her walk out, but lightly grabbed her arm to make her turn back to him. "Thank you, Ziva. For everything. You uh," He stopped and let out a chuckle, "really helped tonight. I mean it."

Ziva looked at him. There weren't a lot of times when he was serious, but she knew that this was one of them. She smiled a genuine smile, "You are welcome."