Brown on Green

by BuryTheHatchet

They parted at an airport three years ago. Now she is living in London, content if not entirely happy. Abby would say that it is fate that the dead sailor walked into the bookshop and brought a book, not that Abby will ever find out. Look at the rest of my stories and guess the pairing. Or you could just look at the characters involved. That would probably be easier.

4. Silver Linings

This took a lot longer than I predicted, for the simple reason that every time I thought I was done with one idea I had another two that popped into my head. Mathematically, that is a lot of ideas. Actually, that is a lot of ideas, mathematically or otherwise. Anyway, to complicate matters further, none of my writing ever actually happens in the correct order, which means that I write the end before the beginning and the beginning after the middle and it is all back to front and upside-down, chapter 9 before chapter 6 and the such-like. This means that once I slotted everything together, I had to go through the whole thing and correct any inaccuracies and continuity issues, which can be quite time consuming when you keep forgetting which bits you changed to what and which plot you went with.

This was actually going to be called something different, but I liked this title more and so there is going to be one last chapter with the original title of this chapter. You will have to wait a little bit for that one I am afraid.

Silver Linings

"ImaDaddyImaDaddyImaDaddyImaDaddy!" Anton launched himself at the bed and the couple sleeping on it.

Tony yawned and rolled over. He picked him up and held him by the torso so their bodies were parallel and Anton was suspended mid-air. "0430h. Right on schedule, Bud." He sighed as the child squealed with delight. "Who needs an alarm clock when you have a two-year-old?"

"Anton, Baby, we talked about you waking up so early." Ziva groaned as she shifted closer to her husband and snuggled her head into the crook of his neck. She looked up into his emerald orbs, bright with a cheeky glint of laughter, and saw his father's eyes look back at her. It was the same look Tony would have when he was playing a prank or telling a joke or laughing at something. It had an air of freedom about it, and a feeling of peace. It reminded her of leaving the office with Tony late at night after a long day, when they were the last two there and they had just finished hour upon hour of paperwork, when they had just been liberated from the constraints of deadlines and protocol.

"We go for walk! See duckys!" Tony lowered the boy down so he lay between himself and Ziva, nestled into the small gap created by their bodies.

"Not this morning, Baby."

"Why?"

"Well, because we're gonna stay here today with Ellie and McGee."

"Lellie and Gwee!" He chuckled. "I hungwy. Me have bweakfast?"

"What do you want?"

"Stwawbewies!"

"We do not have any strawberries, Baby."

"Nelon?"

"I think we can do something with melon. What do you want, Tony?" She pressed her lips to his jawbone, just below his ear.

"You."

"Apart from me."

"How about those amazing fried eggs you cook?"

"What happened to me never cooking you breakfast?" She wondered allowed.

"I think it was more just omelettes. And, I realised that you cooking me breakfast is so much better than me eating whatever I could find in the fridge. And, you haven't tried to break any legs whilst making omelettes in the past few months, so I think we're safe." He moved his arm over Anton so he could rest his hand on her stomach and he grinned. "You don't have to make breakfast if you don't feel up to it."

"I have told you before that cooking relaxes me. I can cook eggs if you want eggs." She smiled and groaned quietly as she stood. Tony raised his eyebrows and she laughed, making him shake his head subtly. Anton stood up on the bed, walking over to the edge and wrapping his arms around her neck. She lifted him up and kissed his nose, making him giggle. "Come on. Let us see what everybody else wants for breakfast."

"Lellie and Gwee!"

"Mmhm." She nodded, carrying him through to the living room where Bishop was sat looking out of the window. "Anything I should worry about?" She leaned over behind the agent, making her jump. "Sorry. Old habits do not die fast."

"Huh? Oh, old habits die hard. Yeah, Tony mentioned that about you." She smiled sleepily. "Nothing interesting. Just watching people. You have a good view from here, what with being so close to the park you get a lot of foot traffic."

"Anton likes seeing the ducks at the park."

"Hence the rubber duck pyjamas?"

"Hence the rubber duck pyjamas." Ziva nodded and shifted her child on her hip. "What do you want for breakfast? I am cooking eggs for Tony and Anton wants melon. We also have cornflakes, bread, jam, yogurt, fruit…I can probably sort whatever it is you want."

"Oh, you don't have to…"

"You are protecting us. It is the least I could do."

"Well, some eggs wouldn't go amiss. Can you do them scrambled?"

"Of course. McGee is outside the door?" Ellie nodded and Ziva smiled, walking over to the front door, opening it and making McGee yelp.

"Why didn't you knock?!" He screeched and Anton laughed.

"Because we are on the inside of the door and you are on the outside. And this is my front door, not yours."

"Right. Yeah. Um, everything okay?" He tried to change the subject.

"Yes. I am cooking breakfast and I wondered what you would like."

"Can you make those pancakes you used to make when we were on stakeout?"

"Of course. Can you ask Gibbs what he wants please?"

"Yeah…uh," He gripped her arm when she turned back into the apartment. "He says he just wants coffee."

"I can make coffee. He still drinks it with more coffee than water?"

"He says yes. He also says to make sure it's not decaf."

"Tell him that I would not dare." She smiled and walked back inside, Anton on her hip.

"Bweakyfast!"

"Yes. Breakfast." She sat him on the kitchen counter. "You sit still whilst Ima makes breakfast, or you will not get any."

"Nelon?"

"Sure, Baby." She ruffled his hair and pulled a carton of eggs out of the fridge. "Just let me get everyone else's started."

"No, Ima! I hungwy!" His bottom lip began to quiver and Ziva sighed.

"Fine. We shall do yours first. But you will have to explain to everyone why their breakfast is late." Her son wasn't spoilt; he just lacked patience, much like his father.

"I hungwy." He crossed his arms in front of his chest and pouted at her, and it took all of her self-control not to laugh at the image.

"I am sure that you will win the hearts of everybody here with a face like that." She kissed his nose.

"You certainly will, dear lad." A voice from behind her said and she grinned, turning around to look at the old gentleman in the doorway to her kitchen.

"Doctor Donald Mallard." She walked over to him and into his arms. "Ducky."

"Shalom, Ziva." He stepped back. "Let's have a look at you then. Three years can change a person." He smiled. "Beautiful as ever. If young Anthony does not work out…"

"Hey, who says I'm not gonna work out? We're working out just fine." Tony walked past into the kitchen and removed a pile of plates from the cupboard.

"My problem with Ducky's statement was the young part."

"Hey! I am young. I'm young, aren't I, Buddy?"

"No. Daddy old." He grinned and Ziva pressed a kiss to her son's cheek.

"Yes, he is."

"McGee let you in?" Tony changed the subject.

"Yes. He is apparently looking forward to some pancakes."

"Yes, I will start making them as soon as I have…hold on." She grinned and walked back over to her son, picking him up and carrying him over to the doctor. "Ducky, meet Anton Mattia DiNozzo. Anton, meet Ducky."

"Ducky! I like duckys!" Anton giggled. "Ima, we go see duckys?"

"Not today, Baby."

"Why?"

"Why did we say we were not going to see the duckys earlier?"

"Lellie and Gwee!"

"Exactly." She nodded and turned back to Ducky.

"I hear congratulations are in order. Abby told me about the wedding."

"Sound like England! We in 'Mewica now Ima!" The child stated matter-of-factly, pointing to Ducky as he spoke.

"I heard about your life in London as well. I always did like London. And I like your pyjamas, young man."

"Duckys."

"You are a very handsome little boy. How old are you?"

"I two." He grinned proudly. "I a big boy."

"I can see that. Do you like it here in America?" He walked over to the table in the centre of the kitchen and sat down, Ziva placing Anton in the chair next to him, raised up by two cushions.

"I like Daddy and duckys and Daddy and duckys in 'Mewica."

"Buddy, the duckys are different duckys than the ones in London." Tony placed a beaker of dilute squash on the table in front of him.

"Same." He insisted with a shake of the head.

"Daddy is correct, Baby. The duckys in London were different duckys. Do you remember the white one? There is not a white ducky here, is there?"

"He stay in London in pond. He no like fly."

"But he's a duck, Buddy. Duckys like to fly. It's why they have wings." And with that Tony was quacking and flapping his arms about like wings, pulling silly faces and making Anton laugh.

"Do not make him laugh whilst he is eating, Tony." Ziva placed a bowl of chopped melon on the table and the child immediately reached over and helped himself, juice running down his chin in seconds. She plucked a small piece out of the bowl whilst he wasn't looking and popped it in her mouth.

"You're beautiful, y'know that?" Tony murmured in her ear as he wrapped his arms around her from behind. She tried to walk to the cooker where the eggs were still siting, then gave up and turned around. "And you're loving and caring and kind and warm and…" He broke off as their lips connected. Slow and sweet, warm and tender. Their hands found each other and linked together and they each smiled into the kiss.

"Tony, stop. If you want breakfast, you have to stop."

"I think I can go without breakfast."

"But I do not think that Ellie and McGee will be able to. Do you?" She chuckled as he frowned and shook his head. "Ducky, are you staying for breakfast?"

"No, my dear, I must be getting on to work. Mr Palmer is going to be late today, he's spending the morning with Breena and Victoria."

"It still seems so surreal that Palmer has a daughter." Ziva rested her head on Tony's chest.

"I'm still grasping the idea that we have a son." Tony shrugged. "Think I will be for the rest of my life."

"And soon it will not just be a son."

"Maybe a little girl?"

"Or another little boy." She smiled as she murmured in his ear.

"I can't wait."

"Me either. But we are going to have to wait because nobody but Anton has had their breakfast yet." She pressed her lips quickly but firmly to his then extricated herself from his arms.

"You need any help with that?"

"Do you think you can help without making a mess?"

"No."

"Then there is your answer." She tapped him lightly on the cheek. "Thank you for the offer, though, My Little Hairy Butt."

---

"Do you really think he's going to show? Just to kill Tony?"

"I think it is highly probable." Ellie sighed as she watched out of the window. Gibbs nodded up from where he sat in the car. "What were they like? Tony and Ziva, when you all worked together?"

"Tony was much like he is now, only younger, less tired, happier, not as happy as he is with Ziva and Anton, but happier than he is at work, and more immature. He was also more mature in some ways. Ziva was…not really like she is now. When she came to us, she was a killer. We'd just lost Kate, she'd just lost her brother, although we didn't know he was her brother at the time. She was confined by these boundaries that Mossad had made her conform to, and yet it was like she was straining against them, fighting to be individual, to think for herself. And then she softened slightly. Not much, but after a year she was a person, not just an officer. I don't know when it was that she fell in love with Tony, but I'm pretty sure that was what started the change in her." McGee smiled, leaning against the wall next to the window. "Tony and Ziva, they were thick as thieves. They went through a lot, together and apart. Tony's undercover op, Jenny's death, Michael's death, Somalia, Mike's death, Eli's death."

"What happened in Somalia?"

"Things I have not spoken about in many years." Ziva said as she walked through, Anton on her hip, now cleaned from the mess of breakfast and dressed for the day in blue t-shirt and a pair of orange corduroy dungarees.

"Sorry, Ziva. I didn't mean…"

"It is fine, McGee. It was a long time ago." She shrugged. "The past is in the past."

"You went through hell out there, Ziva."

"We all did."

"No, you were there for months. Tony and I, we were there for a few days. We can't begin to imagine what he did to you."

"No. You cannot. And I would prefer you did not try. Some memories should stay buried. There are things that it would do no good for you to be worrying about anymore, and Tony should definitely not have the images that his mind could conjure plaguing him." She had a distant, haunted look in her eyes and McGee wished he had never mentioned it. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Anton placed his hand on her cheek and she looked at him, smiling softly. "I never have to go back there again. I am staying here with you and your Daddy. And I am never leaving." Her voice was quiet as she leaned her forehead against her son's, looking into his clear, emerald eyes.

---

"How much longer do we have to stay under house arrest, Boss?" Tony whined. Parenthood had done nothing to improve his patience.

"Don't know, DiNozzo." Gibbs sighed, sipping the coffee Ziva had placed on the table in front of him. She was currently vacuuming the carpet in the lounge, banishing Tony, Gibbs and Anton to the kitchen-diner, whilst McGee kept watch from the car and Ellie stood outside the front door. "DiNozzo, do you think this would have happened between you two if she had stayed?"

"You mean, was it because she left that I finally managed to pluck up the courage? I don't know." He shrugged, helping Anton put a piece of jigsaw puzzle into the picture that was growing on the table. "I think…I think partly what happened in Israel was me trying to convince her to come back, partly it was because we both knew, deep down, that she wasn't coming back and it would be our last chance, and partly it was just built-up sexual tension. If she hadn't gone to Israel, nothing would've pushed us towards it."

"I'm…I'm sorry, DiNozzo." Gibbs nodded to him and Tony frowned.

"What have you got to be sorry for? My family's the best thing that's happened to me in, well, my entire life."

"You missed Ziva's pregnancy, Anton's birth, his first and second birthdays."

"There'll always be second chances." He smiled. "There was nothing you could have done about it."

"I could have been more accepting about you leaving to see them. Been more trusting."

"With my track record and history, I'm surprised you were as trusting as you were." He looked to his boss then down to his son on his lap.

"Talking about history, have you told your father yet?" Tony's smile faded. "I'll take that guilty look as a 'no' then. He deserves to know that he has a grandson."

"I don't think that's such a good idea, Boss. Maybe in a year or two."

"Tony, you need to…get Anton and Ziva into the bathroom. Looks like your wish has come true." Gibbs listened to the earwig in his ear.

"Huh?"

"Richards is on his way up. Get them into the bathroom and stay there." He stood up and un-holstered his SIG, making his way to the front door where Bishop was positioned.

"But Boss, I…"

"No, DiNozzo. Rule 44. If you join us then Ziva will want to too, won't she?"

"No, she's…yeah." He nodded and sighed as he carried Anton through. Yes Ziva wasn't the agent she was when she resigned, but she was still Ziva, and no matter what happened, Ziva would always want to be a part of the action, particularly when her husband got to be a part of it. "Showtime, Sweetcheeks."

"Now? I have not finished the vacuuming."

"And I don't think that the guy trying to kill me will mind if the carpet is not pristine." Tony groaned and walked over to her, placing a hand on the small of her back. "Once the new baby is Anton's age, you are getting a job, Sweetcheeks. You vacuumed the carpet yesterday." He hissed into her ear. "I do not think the poor carpet can take it."

"Just get into the bathroom, Tony." She rolled her eyes, knowing that he was right.

"It not bath-time." Anton shook his head and pouted, a look of confusion written on his face as his parents sat down next to each other with their backs to the bathtub. Tony held the child securely in his lap, resting his cheek on the boy's mass of curly brown hair and staring into Ziva's eyes. She still had the look of determination and bravery that she had always had, but there was something added. He could see fear for her family in her eyes too now.

"I know, Buddy, but we're gonna stay in here for a little bit."

"Why?"

"We're gonna play hide and seek. Grandpa Gibbs is gonna try and find us." Tony tried to smile and struggled.

"Don't worry. Grandpa Gibbs not find us here." Anton grinned and patted his father's cheeks.

"Yes. We shall stay nice and quiet, and nobody will be able to find us." Ziva said, the fear not tainting her strong, confident voice.

"Sing song please, Ima." He whispered, reaching over to cover his parents entwined hands that were curled onto her stomach with his little one. She smiled and thought for a moment before starting to softly sing 'Raindrops keep falling on my head'. Tony joined in quietly, promising himself he would show Anton Butch Cassidy when everything was over. They fell silent when the first gunshot rang out. The child cried and buried his head into Tony's chest at the second.

"Anton, Baby, you have to be really quiet now." Ziva whispered as she stood and walked over to the toilet, un-taping the gun that was stashed there.

Tony looked up and winked at her. "Godfather style." She walked back and sat next to him, resting her head on his shoulder.

"I love you, Tony."

"Don't say it like that. Saying it like that makes it sound like a goodbye, and we've had too many of those already." He tilted her chin up so he was looking into her eyes. "No more goodbyes." The door handle clicked as it turned and they prepared themselves for the worst, only to be confronted with Gibbs.

"Good plan, DiNozzo."

"What happened?"

"Pulled a gun on McGee. So Bishop put a round in his shoulder. Then he aimed at her. He won't be bothering us again." He smiled and leaned down to pick Anton up. "Hey, big boy. You okay?"

"No like funder." He shook his head, fat teardrops streaming down his cheeks.

"The thunder's stopped now." Gibbs smiled, pressing a kiss to the little boy's forehead as his parents stood up, each sighing in relief.

---

"What are you thinking about?" Tony asked as he felt drops of moisture soaking into his shirt.

"My father." Ziva whispered. She was wedged comfortably between him and the back of the sofa, her cheek pressed to his chest and Anton sleeping just below it. Her arm was draped over his small body and her hand was lightly drawing patterns on Tony's side. "I was wondering what he would have thought of Anton."

"And what do you think he would have thought of Anton?"

"I do not know. I think he would have wanted to meet him, just once. But I believe that would have been all. Anton is half you, and my father never approved of you."

"Yeah, that always came across pretty loud and clear." Tony played with strands of her hair.

"But, when he was here, the last time I saw him before… We were looking at photos. He found the photo of me undercover."

"The fake pregnancy."

"Yes. He alluded to my starting a family, having children. I always thought he meant for me to, one day, return to Israel, marry a nice Jewish man of his standards. But now I look back on it he never implied that. He never even suggested I return." She found his hand and clasped it in hers. "I never wanted to disappoint him. It was always my biggest fear."

"Ziva, nothing you have done could disappoint him. You will never be a disappointment, to anyone. I can promise you that, Ziva."

"Tony, he was never proud of me."

"I think that deep down he was. I just don't think he knew how to express it." He didn't himself believe it. He had never liked Eli, not since the day Ziva had mentioned him never turning up to any of her dance performances. But he loved his wife, and if bending the truth to convince her that her father loved her was what it took to give her confidence, that was what he would do. He would do anything for her, even if it did make Eli David turn in his grave. "He was like Gibbs in that respect."

"No. He was nothing like Gibbs." She shook her head. "Gibbs puts family first. That was something he never did."

"I still think he would have been proud of you. I am proud of you. You have done so well, with work, with life, with Anton, with love." He pressed his lips softly to the top of her head. "I love you, Ziva DiNozzo. Never forget that."

"And you will never forget that I love you?" She looked up at him.

"Not in a thousand years." He smiled down at her as she laid her head back on his chest, sighing contently and letting her eyes drift close.

---

Ziva felt soft lips on the exposed skin of the back of her neck and warm arms wrapping around her waist. She grinned, turning around so their fronts were pressed together. Tony leaned his forehead down to meet hers. His hands sat on her hips as his thumbs ran up and down the outside of her stomach. "When do we tell him? About the baby?"

"Gibbs?"

"Anton." He looked at her, knowing that she knew what he meant.

"I do not know. After the scan."

"Why don't we take him along to the scan with us? It might be an easier way to explain it to him." She looked up at him and smiled slightly.

"It does solve that problem." She wrapped her arms around his neck and rested her head on his chest. "When do we tell Gibbs?"

"I don't know."

"I have asked Ellie to keep quiet about the baby for now. I believe she will."

"Unless Gibbs interrogates her."

"There is always that." She chuckled quietly; pressing light kisses to his bare chest. "Is he asleep?"

"Finally. He kept asking for one more story. Then he wanted to go and see the duckys. What is it with him and the duckys?"

"When he could not sleep, or if I was having a bad day, or if he was having a bad day, I would take him to the park and we would sit and watch the ducks. It was more the water that calmed me down, but he liked watching the ducks." She chuckled slightly before they lapsed back into silence. She continued to brush trails of kisses along his chest as he played with her dark, curly hair where it cascaded down her back.

"Where were you and what were you doing when you found out about Anton?"

"I had been traveling. Visiting old friends, enemies. Going to places with good and bad memories. I was in Cairo, where I first met Jen. I had been feeling ill for a couple of days, and I thought that it was just the traveling, but then I missed my period and I…my world went from bad to worse in a matter of minutes." She looked up at his confused face. "I was terrified. I had never seriously considered being a mother, and I could not come back to you, not after I had sent you away. And so I spent the rest of my week in Egypt not doing volunteer work and remembering, like I had planned to, but considering my options. The way I saw it, I had two. Either I could go back to Israel, to my Aunt Nettie, and explain everything to her, go through everything with her. Or, I could go on traveling, ignore the fact that I was pregnant for as long as physically possible."

"You went with the former?"

"Latter. Denial was easier, even if it was childish." She sighed. "I was in Paris when he first kicked: the hotel that we stayed at. I even asked for the same room." She smiled at the memory. "I could not ignore him after that. And so then I went back to Nettie. She died three weeks before he was born."

"I'm sorry, Ziva."

"She was getting old. She said that she was ready to go." She wrapped her arms tighter around him. "Can we go to bed, please?"

"Of course." He smiled, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "This time you don't need to worry about being alone. I'll be here for the rest of eternity. Trust me, you're not getting rid of me now."

"I do not think I would want to get rid of you, My Little Hairy Butt."

---

"Daddy Daddy Daddy!" Anton squealed as he ran out of the elevator and wrapped his arms around Tony's legs.

"Hey, Buddy. Hey, Beautiful." He pressed a quick kiss to Ziva's lips when she followed him over.

"Are you ready to go?"

"Go where, Agent DiNozzo?" Gibbs looked up from the report he was reading.

"I, uh…we have a, uh, appointment."

"You have not told him, have you?" Ziva glared and looked over to Ellie, rolling her eyes. The young agent just smiled and shook her head. She walked over to Gibbs so McGee and Abby couldn't overhear. "I have an ultrasound appointment."

He smiled. It was the first time she had seen him properly smile since she had returned. "Who else knows?"

"Tony and Ellie. We are going to be taking Anton along with us. Then we shall tell Abby and McGee and everyone else when we get back."

"Congratulations." He nodded. "DiNozzo, get going." He called over her head and the senior field agent hurried to grab his bag, scooping up Anton in one arm. Everyone watched as they left.

"Where are they going, Boss?" McGee looked up from where he and Abby were trying to look like they weren't interested at all in what they were saying.

"Doctors appointment."

"Gibbs!" Abby cried. "What's wrong? Who's sick? We've only just got Ziva back, and Anton and…"

"Abs, they're gonna be okay. Nothing life-threatening." He smiled at her worry. She just pouted, turning back to McGee.

---

"Why we here?" Anton asked for the fifth time since they had sat down in the waiting room.

"Ima has to see a doctor." Tony said, taking his wife's hand in his own and pressing a kiss to her knuckles.

"Ima poorly?"

"No, Baby. Ima is not poorly."

"Why?"

"Why am I not poorly?"

"Why we here if you not poorly?" He stood up uneasily on his father's knees and walked over to stand on her lap. She placed her hands on the sides of his torso to steady him as he leaned his forehead on hers and looked into her eyes, a frown creasing his face.

"Well…" She was cut off by her name being called. "Come on." She stood up, swinging him onto her hip and pressing a kiss to his cheek. Tony gripped her hand and beamed at her.

"Nervous?"

"Excited." She grinned.

"Why you 'cited Ima?"

"Because this is very exciting." Tony ruffled his son's hair as the child pondered this. Luckily, the conundrum kept him quiet until they were in the examination room.

"Hi. I'm Doctor Harvey. You must be Ziva." He held his hand out for Ziva to shake and she accepted it, smiling. Tony bristled. The doctor was young, for a doctor, and dashing. He had dark hair, perfectly sculpted of course, and tanned skin with perfect white teeth and a good smile. And Ziva was smiling at him.

"Tony DiNozzo. Ziva's husband." He said gruffly.

"I think he got that from the fact that we share a surname, Tony." She murmured and he growled.

"And who's this little man?"

"I Anton. I a big boy." The child grinned.

"You are? And how old are you, Anton?"

"Two. I almost fwee!"

"Wow. You're almost an adult." The doctor smiled. "So Ziva, did you come here when you were pregnant with Anton or…"

"I was in Israel. It would have been a long journey just for a doctors appointment." She explained.

"Ah, well, yes, that would be the case. If you'll just sit down, we have a lot to discuss. So, Anton, can you just sit on your Daddy's lap over there for a minute?"

"Want Ima!"

"Anton, Baby, I am going to be sat on this bed here and Daddy is going to be on that chair. Just there, you can hold my hand if you want." She handed him to Tony and within moments he was happily playing with his father's tie.

He sat swinging his legs on his father's lap, taking in everything in the room and understanding more or less nothing as he tried to listen to what the adults were saying. There were a lot of long words that he had never even heard before along with words he had heard but didn't understand. After what felt like hours, but was in reality about fifteen minutes, he decided that he was bored of sitting on Tony's lap and, whilst Tony was distracted by a question from the doctor, he slipped off and wandered around the office. Everything looked pretty much the same as it had from his position sat down, only higher up.

"Have you had any morning sickness at all, Ziva?"

Anton knew the answer to this question. "Ima not poorly, she 'cited. Can we go see Auntie Absy now pwease?"

"Anton, do you know why your Ima is here?"

"Because she not poorly, she 'cited." He repeated, huffing in an exasperated manner. Why did nobody ever listen to him?

"But do you know why she's excited?"

"Because this vewy 'citing."

"It is. But do you know what 'it' is?"

That question stumped him. He turned to his father and then his mother. And then he turned to the doctor. "Do you know what 'it' is?"

"I should hope I do." He smiled. "Anton, would you like to climb up on the bed and see something very, very special?" He nodded and Dr Harvey lifted him up so he could sit next to where Ziva lay. She rolled her t-shirt up without being asked and the doctor smiled. Anton watched as the doctor squeezed a small amount of clear gel onto his mother's stomach and took a curious looking object with a wire connecting it to a machine. He looked at the doctor sceptically and then turned to where the object was moving over Ziva's skin. He studied her stomach closely. It didn't seem any different or special to normal. In fact, it didn't look any different or special compared to his. He moved his head closer, but still couldn't figure out what was so important. Maybe it was slightly less flat than it normally was, but he could explain that easily; she had been eating too many of his daddy's pizzas. "Over here, Anton." Dr Harvey pointed to a screen where a black and white image was flickering slightly. "Do you know what that is?"

"A movie."

"Not quite." He chuckled at Anton's frown. "That there…" He pointed to a small patch in the corner of the screen. "Is a little baby."

"It don't look like baby." The boy shook his head.

"But it is a baby. And it's inside your Ima's tummy."

"Why it in Ima's tummy?"

"Well, your Ima is keeping the baby nice and warm and safe until it's big enough to come and meet you."

"When?"

"Well, in a few months." The doctor continued to answer Anton's questions and Tony took his wife's hand in his.

"That's our baby." He beamed, pride and excitement gleaming in his eyes. "We're gonna have a little baby."

---

Tony spun her under his arm as they walked off the elevator, catching her and planting a kiss on her lips. "You're beautiful. And amazing. And wonderful. And I love you."

"I love you, too."

"I wuv you!" Anton grinned, sat on Tony's shoulders.

"And we love yo…" She was cut off by Abby colliding with her, wrapping her arms around her so tightly she could barely breathe.

"Abby, please let my wife go."

"No. I don't want her to die. You're not allowed to be sick. We've just got you back."

"Absy, Ima not poorly, she 'cited." Anton sighed, reaching down and patting the scientist's head.

"What?" Abby pulled back. "Why's she excited?" She was now thoroughly confused.

"'Cause of baby in tummy. Doctor says so." He stated matter-of-factly. Abby's eyes bulged.

"Baby? Eeeeeeee!" She bounced around.

"Well, there goes the need to make some sort of formal announcement." Tony shrugged and Ziva laughed as the rest of Team Gibbs gathered by the elevator.

"What's going on?" McGee looked between the three adults and Anton. Ellie just smirked. "What?!"

"Ima got baby in tummy!"

"Really? Oh, congratulations guys. That's great news." McGee nodded, chuckling as Tony puffed his chest out.

"We have a picture." He held out the grainy image and pointed. "Look, that's my little princess."

"Who says that we are having a girl, Tony?"

"My gut." He shrugged. "Would you like a baby sister, Anton?"

"Yeah!"

"Tony, do not get his hopes up. You might have a baby brother, Anton."

"Both!" He grinned and everyone had to stifle laughs.

"No. One or the other." Ziva smiled up at him.

"I be big brother!"

"You're gonna be a great big brother." Abby said. "Oh, does this mean that I get to knit another babygrow?!"

---

The loud rumble shook the building. She reflexively coiled up next to his warm body, trembling. She heard a scrambling sound and a flash of light momentarily lit up the room, revealing her son's pale face in the doorway. "Ima." She sat up slightly and Anton ran over to her, clambering up onto the bed and burying himself into her side.

"It is only thunder, Baby." She said as confidently as possible as another loud crack echoed around the room and she pulled him down so they were both clinging on to Tony for dear life. "Daddy will keep us safe."

"Will he now?" Tony asked sleepily, wrapping his arms around the two of them.

"Yes, I believe he will." Ziva smiled as he nuzzled his hair. Anton squealed slightly when another clap of thunder shattered the silence in the room. Rain started hammering down outside, pounding on the window and creating a relaxing rhythm. She calmed at the rain. She'd always liked rain – to her the rain symbolised hope.

"I'll always keep you safe. All three of you." He smiled, pulling his son and pregnant wife close, wrapping them in his arms and never wanting to ever have to let go of them.

---

"They should keep an eye on you, you're gonna be a great agent one day. Hey Gibbs, oh…" He stopped in his tracks and stared at the sight he was confronted with as the junior agent walked away, leaving the older man in the entrance of the squad room. He looked around, checking that the agent had brought him up to the correct floor. Everything looked right, it was definitely his son's desk, but it wasn't his son sat at it. Or it was and he just couldn't see him for the woman attached to his lips. But it couldn't have been, because this man wore a wedding band and his son was not married. He cast an appraising eye up and down the woman's back, watching as the man's hands roamed. She had a head of dark, curly hair and a good figure.

"What time are you getting home tonight?" He froze at the voice. He knew that accented voice. He'd been undercover with the woman who owned the exotic voice. And she had left, broken his son's heart.

"An' then duckies quack-quack-quack!" His head whipped up at the grateful distraction of a child's voice.

"Really? And what did Daddy do?"

"He go quack-quack-quack too!" The child in Bishop's arms squealed with laughter.

"Your daddy's funny isn't he." She smirked and looked up at the sound of a quiet, awkward cough. "Mr DiNozzo?!" Tony and Ziva leapt apart at Ellie's yelp and were frantically looking around for signs of his father.

"'Nozzo! An-Ton 'Nozzo!" Anton grinned proudly at his recitation of his name. For the past few weeks Tony, Ziva and the team had been going over what to do if he got lost. He started shouting out his address, muddling some of the words. Senior was confronted with his son's eyes as the little boy turned and looked at him.

"Dad?!"

"Son?!"

"Ima!"

"Ziva?!"

"Grab your gear!" Everyone turned to look at Gibbs as he walked in and froze. He retraced his steps and stared at the group.

"Not a great time, Boss."

"Tony!" Abby shrieked, running through the bullpen and throwing herself at Tony's father. "I heard you were in town! Oh, it's so good to see you, it's been so long!"

"Abby." He patted her back, stunned into speechlessness.

"Dad, what are you doing here?"

"DiNozzo, dead man's not gonna wait."

"He's dead, he's not going anywhere." Tony muttered.

"Bishop, McGee, grab your gear." He nodded. "Take the day if you want, DiNozzo. Oh, and Bishop?"

"Yes, Gibbs?"

"Leave Anton here." She nodded and placed the child down, letting him run over to Ziva, his little legs almost tripping over themselves, laughing when he was lifted off the floor again and spun in the air by his mother.

"Come on, Baby. We are going to give Daddy some space." She murmured, pressing a kiss to the crown of his head.

"Oh, no you don't." Tony snagged an arm around her waist, tethering her to him. "I need help."

"Well, we have always known that." She smiled, trying to lighten his mood that had suddenly plummeted, along with his confidence levels.

"I think I'll…just…um…I think I hear Major MassSpec beeping." Abby said, sensing the building tension and evacuating the room whilst she still had the chance.

"What's going on here, Junior?"

"Long story. Very long story. Um, see, Ziva left and…"

"I remember that part. You looked miserable." Ziva looked down at her shoes in shame.

"Yeah, anyway, when I went to Israel to try and bring her home we…she…I…" This wasn't the sort of conversation he wanted to be having with his father. "I mean it only happened three times."

"Four. It was four times. In the olive grove as well." Ziva pointed out.

"I was counting the olive grove." He frowned.

"We made love in the olive grove, and then you carried me through to the bedroom and we made love there, then I was crying and I ran through to the kitchen and broke the glass, then you were trying to convince me to go back, and then I cried some more, and then again in the bedroom, and then we slept and then just before you left…"

"Oh, I forgot those damn terracotta tiles in the sitting room." He frowned at the memory.

"You pulled all of the sofa cushions onto the floor, Tony. You were barely in contact with the terracotta tiles. Besides, you were on top." They were brought back to the conversation at hand by an embarrassed cough and both Tony and Ziva flushed scarlet.

"Forgot you were there, Dad." Tony-the-Younger smiled sheepishly. "Anyway, it was only for one night, and then I came back and I was miserable, as you said, but little did I know that half way across the world Ziva was wandering round pregnant with my kid."

"You are so romantic." Ziva looked up at him, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

"I know." He nodded. "So anyway, August sort of time, I go over to England for a case, and turns out the guy I'm interviewing is living with Ziva. Of course, I don't find this out until I've been there a few days, and then I see her and she has this kid with her and the kid looks like me, but he's got darker skin and hair, and my hair's not curly. And then there was a bit of a commotion, which doesn't really matter, and I had to go back to America, but I promised to call and visit, and I did, and then, uh, I proposed and we kinda eloped, sort of, and then we both came back here and I have a new apartment and we live there together and it's uh, it's really great."

"And you didn't feel that you could tell me that you have a wife and son? All it would take is a phone call."

Tony winced slightly. "Gibbs and Abby and everyone here only found out a week or so ago. We didn't tell anybody, Dad."

"His name is Anton. He is going to be three on the 18th June." Ziva smiled, readjusting Anton on her hip so her father-in-law could see him properly. "Anton, this is your Grandpa."

"Like Ducky and Gibbsy?"

"Sort of, yes. He is Daddy's daddy."

"Anthony DiNozzo, Senior." He held his hand out and the child shook it.

"Daddy Anthony DiNozzo."

"He is." Senior nodded, his eyes dropping to Ziva's stomach. Somehow in all of the confusion and shock he had missed the bump.

"Oh, and er, number two's on the way, due end of August." Tony grinned.

"Congratulations. I always knew DiNozzos had great DNA."

"So, er, what are you doing here?"

"Well, I was actually just passing through. I'm on a plane to Berlin in an hour, I just wanted to see how you were doing. I'm hopefully staying for the next couple of months."

"Oh. I was going to say, we were planning on having bolognaise for dinner, if you wanted to join us, but you can't, so… Never mind. There's always next time, hey Dad." He put on a forced smiled and Ziva leaned into his side comfortingly.

"Well, I best be going. Congratulations, on everything. You're looking as beautiful as ever, Ziva." He grinned and winked before turning around and walking out.

"That was…weird. And uncomfortable." Tony ran a hand over his chin and pulled his wife and son into a hug.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, I just…I don't know…my father…"

"I know. I have been there." She nuzzled her face into his neck.

"Ziva, can you promise me something?"

"Anything."

"Never let me turn out like him."

"Tony." She pulled away and looked into his eyes. "You do not need me to promise that. You are so different from him that you never could turn out like him."

"But…"

"No buts. I would not love you if you were anyone but the man you are." She pressed her lips softly to his cheek. "Come on, Gibbs said you can have the day off. We can go to the park."

"Duckies!"

"And watched the duckies." He nodded, smiling as he picked his bag up and took his wife's hand, heading towards the elevator, the park and the duckies.

---

"Ima?" Anton looked up at his mother as she folded the laundry.

"Yes, Baby?"

He patted her bump. "How did baby get in your tummy?" She froze. They had discussed how they were going to answer this question. They were going to sit Anton down and explain the basics when he asked. But then, would Tony really do that? No, he would probably chicken out and palm this job on to her. Well, if she got there first then he would have no-one to pass the task onto.

"How about you ask Daddy that question when we go and visit him later?"

"Okay." He nodded and toddled off, content that his question would be answered as soon as they visited the Navy Yard. Ziva sighed in relief and leaned back on the sofa, smirking when she realised that Tony was going to have the honours of explaining. She'd explain next time.

---

"Daddy?"

"Yeah, Bud?" Tony asked, Anton sat on his lap as he typed up the cold case file that was being put into the system. Ziva had mysteriously disappeared off to Abby's lab almost as soon as they had arrived, leaving him with his son. He reached for the coffee that had been sat untouched on his desk since he had arrived and took a sip.

"How did baby get into Ima's tummy?"

Tony choked and spluttered the, thankfully cold, liquid down his shirt at the child's innocent question. He had been expecting something like 'What's for dinner?' or 'Can we go and see the duckys?'. He looked around desperately for some excuse as to not answer him when a bright idea struck him. If he told Anton to ask Ziva he wouldn't have to explain it. He would get out of it. "Er, I think that's a question you should ask Ima."

"I did." He looked up and frowned. "She said I ask you."

"She did, did she? I shall have to have a word with your Ima." He groaned, just as McGee walked in and sat down. "Why don't you ask Uncle McGee? He'll know the answer." He whispered to his son. "Hey, McGee, I just spilt my coffee, I need to go and change. And I have to go and talk to Ziva. Can I leave Anton with you for a bit?"

"Yeah, sure." McGee smiled. Tony dashed out of the room and McGee frowned. "How are you this morning, Anton?"

"I cool." He nodded and wandered over. "Gwee?"

"Yes?"

"I got question. You answer it?"

"I'll do my best." He shrugged and smiled at the little boy who was pouting at his feet.

"Ima has baby in her tummy, yes?"

"Yes…" He could see where this was going and he really didn't want to have to be the one to answer this question. Why couldn't Anton have asked him about computers, or investigations, or how to deal with Tony's movie references?

"How did baby get in there?"

"Er, um…well, see…why don't you ask your Daddy that question?"

"I did. He said ask Ima and I did so he said ask Gwee." Anton stuck his bottom lip out, confused as to why nobody was willing to explain such a simple question to him.

"Well..." He went through his list of people that Anton could ask. "You could always ask Auntie Ellie."

"Will Lellie tell me?"

"Yeah. She should do." McGee nodded. "Come on, let's go find her." He picked the child up and carried him through to the break room. "Ah, Ellie. I need to hit the head and Tony left Anton with me. You couldn't just take him so I can go to the bathroom for me, could you?" He put his best urgent face on.

"I don't see why not. I always have time for my favourite little boy." She smiled as McGee sat him on the chair next to her.

"Thanks." Tim smiled before running off, in the direction of Abby's lab.

Anton peered up at the screen of her laptop. "What you doing?"

"I'm typing up a report. It's really boring." She said in a stage whisper, making the boy giggle. "What are you doing?"

"I got problem." His brow furrowed.

"You do? Oh, what's wrong?"

"No one will answer my question. Not Ima or Daddy or Gwee."

"Well, maybe they don't have the answer?"

"But they got to have answer!" His face crumpled and he waved his arms in the air.

"Okay, why don't we see if I can answer your question?"

"You pwomise?"

"I'll answer it if I have the answer. I promise."

"How did baby get into Ima's tummy?" He stared at her intently.

"Well…" She started, then stopped. If Tony and Ziva hadn't told him then there was surely a reason. She couldn't risk their trust in her. Anton burst into tears and climbed off of the chair, realising that Ellie wasn't going to tell him either. He stomped his feet before turning and running down the corridor. "Wait! Anton! Wait!" She leapt up and followed him, trying to catch up. "Wow, you're fast for a two year old." She ran into the squad room, attracting a lot of attention, hot on Anton's heels.

"Bishop, what's going on?"

"Uh, I… I have to go and give a file to Abby." She nodded as Anton flung himself into Gibbs arms. She left as quickly as she had arrived, hitting the button in the elevator as the doors closed in slow motion. It took an age for the elevator to arrive in the lab, but as soon as it did she ran out. "McGee!" She halted when four guilty faces turned to look at her. "You set me up!"

"Well…not exactly. I just told Anton that you were more likely to answer his question than I was."

"And we did the same." Ziva said guiltily, turning back to the screen showing the squad room. "I did not want him to get upset."

"Hey, it's okay. Gibbs will calm him down, then we can explain it to him together." Tony said, taking a handful of popcorn from the bowl on Abby's table. Ziva slapped his hand away.

"This is not the time for you to be eating."

"Sorry."

"You will be, DiNozzo." Gibbs voice made all five heads whip round. He carried Anton in his arms, his little red face contorted in confusion and tears streaming down his cheeks.

"Anton, Baby, Ima and Daddy did not mean to upset you." Ziva stretched her arms out and Gibbs transferred the child over.

"Want know how Ima!"

"I know you do Baby." They walked through to the office area of Abby's lab and she sat in Abby's desk chair. Everyone gathered round and Gibbs smirked as Tony and Ziva fumbled for the correct words.

"See, Buddy, when an Ima and Daddy love each other very much…"

"Very, very much…"

"Thank you, Abs. When an Ima and Daddy love each other very, very much…"

"Like you and Ima?"

"Just like me and Ima…" He trailed off, uncertain of what to say next.

"Well, then they might decide that they want a baby." Ellie jumped in.

"Exactly. And so they have a very special hug."

"A very, very special hug."

"Abs." Tony warned.

"Sorry."

"And that makes the baby start to grow."

He paused and considered this. "But how does baby get in tummy?"

"The baby's already kinda in there. And the very special hug just kinda warms it up and makes it grow." Abby smiled, proud of her contribution.

"Do I have babies in my tummy?"

"No. Only Imas have babies."

"Oh. Lellie, you have babies in your tummy?"

Ellie froze. "Er, yeah. But Jake and I haven't warmed the baby up yet."

"You not love him enough?" Anton frowned, confused.

"Anton!" Ziva cried and blushed. "Sorry. You do not say things like that."

"No, we do love each other, we just aren't ready to have a baby." She smiled sheepishly.

"Oh. Why?"

"Because a baby's a big thing to think about." Tony sighed.

"No it's not. Baby small."

"But a baby takes a lot of looking after and costs a lot of money, so it takes a lot of thinking about." Tim explained.

Anton nodded, content. For about 30 seconds. "How does the very special hug actuwally work?"

Tony groaned and started whimpering. "That's a question for when you're a bit older." Gibbs chuckled, picking him up and ruffling his hair.

---

Anton yawned. "Okay, Buddy. Bedtime."

"But I not tired." He yawned again as Tony carried him through to his room, Ziva following closely behind. He stood on the bed and Tony kissed the crown of his head before tilting forwards so Anton could do the same. "Night-night, Daddy."

"Night, Buddy."

Ziva walked over and pressed a kiss to his nose, making him chuckled, and he kissed her nose back. "Night-night, Ima."

"Lilah tov, Anton."

"Night-night, Baby." He pulled her pyjama top up to reveal the smooth skin of her bump and pressed a kiss to it. "Sleep tight." He whispered, kissing the baby one more time before plonking himself down on the bed. His parents smiled as he tried to tuck himself in and Tony had to help. "Storwy pwease?"

"Sure. What about?" Tony sat on the floor as Ziva perched on the edge of the bed.

"Hmmm." He thought for a moment. "Dwagon and 'nail."

"A dragon and a snail? I'll see what I can do." He scratched his head for a minute before grinning. "Got it! Okay, so, you ready?"

"Mmhm."

"You comfortable, Sweetcheeks?"

"Perfectly so."

"Then we'll begin. Once upon a time, there was a little boy called Anton. Now, Anton was playing in the park with the Ducks."

"Quack, quack, quack."

"Just like that, and he found a magic leaf. He knew it was magic because it was all glittery and sparkly and also his Ima told him it was magic and everything that Ima says is true. Most of the time, anyway. So he picked up the magic leaf and all of a sudden he was in this place that he didn't recognise. There were stones the size of his bed and strange plants with flowers as big as the kitchen. And all of a sudden there was a strange humming sound and a big helicopter came down. But it wasn't actually a helicopter, it was a dragonfly, and it had four big wings and it landed in the middle of the road. Anton climbed on it's back and it took off, and it flew really high. He could see all of the other children in the park and the ducks and he could see his Daddy and his Ima and his Uncle McGee and his Aunties Abby and Ellie, and his Grandpa Gibbs. And then it flew higher, and it flew past a really big aeroplane, which was really loud and Anton had to cover his ears. And then they went even higher, through the clouds and higher than the tallest mountains, and as high as the stars and the moon. The man on the moon waved at Anton, because even though he was so small, he could still see him because he had really good eyesight so he could see all of the people on earth. And then Anton started getting sleepy and so the dragonfly flew back down and landed back in the park. But he was still really, really small and he didn't know how to grow back to the right height again, which made him sad because he started to miss his Ima and Daddy. All of a sudden there was a roar and he looked up to see a giant snail, all slimy, with silvery skin, looming over him. At first he was scared, but, after finishing his mouthful of lettuce leaf, the snail told him that the best way to grow taller was to eat lettuce leafs, which was what he was doing and that was why he was so much taller than Anton. So Anton found some lettuce leafs and started munching and crunching on them and all of a sudden he shot up like a beanstalk, making his Ima jump because he had been lost and then all of a sudden he was standing next to her, two inches taller than he had been when he had disappeared. And so, Anton took his Ima's hand, and he took his Daddy's hand, and together they walked home, and as they walked home Anton retold his story, making certain to wave to the man in the moon before he went to bed that night. The end."

"'Nother." He said sleepily and Tony chuckled.

"No, Buddy. Not tonight. We'll have another story tomorrow."

"Sleep well, Baby." Ziva smoothed his hair back and smiled as his eyes fluttered shut for the night, watching as he quickly succumbed to sleep.

---

"And this basement makes the perfect games room. The owners have recently had it done up, so it's very modern with new fittings. There's a small bathroom down here as well. The furniture's all built in down here, apart from the pool table, which the owners don't want any more. This does mean that nothing can be rearranged to your own personal taste, but it doesn't mean you can't add your own touch." The estate agent said as they walked down the stairs into the subterranean room. A bar and pool table stood at one end of the long room, and at the other a large screen was set into the wall along with a hi-fi system. A wrap-around sofa was built into a waist-high brick wall and a hanging wicker chair flanked either end. The walls were a navy blue and the carpets were deep grey. Spotlights illuminated the room, dimmed down to optimum movie watching level, and LED strips lined the skirting boards, softly changing colours. "The house would be at a higher price, but they've had trouble marketing the basement because the furniture is not moveable, so everything is based on what the previous owners wanted and liked."

"I like it." Tony grinned like a child on Christmas.

"Of course you do, My Little Hairy Butt." Ziva sniggered, leaning her head on his shoulder as he wrapped an arm around her waist.

The estate agent grinned like a Cheshire cat. "And, if you come through here, my favourite room of the house. It's been kept a secret, because the owners designed and built the house, and they didn't want someone buying the house if they weren't going to appreciate all of the rooms. Nobody else has shown an interest in the house once they realised that the furniture down here is all built in, so, nobody has seen this room yet." She grinned, her hand on a frosted glass sliding door, hidden behind the stairs. She pushed the door open and a dark tiled room, illuminated by the same coloured LED strips and tiny pinprick lights in the ceiling to imitate stars. The room itself housed a long pool with soft lights glowing from its depths. Four pool recliners were angled, two at each end of the tiled area, towards the centre of the pool. "There are lights on the walls which make the room more practical for having children down here, or you can keep it to your own sanctuary."

"It is perfect." Ziva whispered in Tony's ear and he grinned, turning his head slightly to press a soft kiss to her lips and brushing a gentle hand over her bump.

"I'll give you a while to talk it over. You can take another look around; I'll give you as long as you need. I'll be in the garden when you're ready." The estate agent smiled and headed back upstairs. Tony took Ziva's hand and grinned.

"I like it."

"You just like the basement." She laughed.

"Well, what's your favourite part?" He said as they walked up the stairs into the open plan downstairs area. Everything was made of maple wood, stainless steel and glass, with white and cream soft furnishings. A large, simple sitting room backed onto an open dinning room separated from the kitchen by a breakfast bar. Floor to ceiling glass windows lined the back wall, with a sliding door leading out to a deck and then onto a large expanse of green grass surrounded by tall trees.

"I like the master bedroom. It is the perfect size for a nice, big, Californian King. And the big en-suite with the big bathtub and the large shower room."

"Now, if I said that, you would roll your eyes and slap the back of my head." He looked at her and she grinned.

"Ah, yes, but I can get away with saying it because you love me so much."

"That may be true." He laughed.

"I also like the attic office." The office she referenced had four sloping walls coming to an apex, with skylights in each, flooding the room with sunlight.

"Do either of us really need an office? You don't work and I don't bring my work home with me." He smirked as her face fell slightly. "I guess we could always convert it into something more useful. It could be a gym, or a play room, or whatever we want it to be. It could make quite a cool quiet room, for reading and stuff."

"I like that idea." She grinned. "There is of course one problem, Tony." She looked up at him.

"And what's that?"

"Well, that radius around the navy yard that you drew on the map…"

"Yes?"

"That gave the boundaries of how far we could move…"

"Yes?"

"It crosses the end of the road. We are about 100 yards out of range." She smiled and he laughed.

"I do not think that 100 yards will kill us." He pressed his lips to hers and grinned. "Can you picture us here?"

"Yes. I can see Anton and a little brother or sister running around in the garden, and I can see you in the basement and…"

"What?" He tilted his head in confusion as she trailed off.

"We cannot have a basement. You will start building a boat."

"Oh, Ziva…" He chuckled, wrapping his arms tightly around her and pressing numerous kisses to the top of her head. "I love you so much." He laughed and planted a chaste kiss to her lips. "When have I ever shown the slightest desire to build a boat?"

"I do not know, but I do not want you to start."

"I won't. I promise."

---

"I fwee! I fwee!"

"No, Bud, you're very expensive." Tony groaned as he rolled over, pulling his pillow over his head to block out the child's excited cries.

"Daddy, I fwee!"

"Daddy heard you the first time, but it's…" He poked his head out to look at the clock. "0415h. Daddy doesn't get up until at least 0430h."

"Daddy!" He shouted, climbing up on the bed and standing on Tony's chest.

"OWW! Okay, Buddy, I'm awake! Why can't you wake Ima up instead?" He sat up, being careful to catch Anton when he tumbled backwards.

"Because he woke me up quarter of an hour ago." Tony looked to the doorway where Ziva was lounging, her arms folded and a sly smile on her face. "I saved you from waking up at 0400h. I think you owe me for that."

"Well, by about 1800h tonight, he'll be asleep, and then…" He grinned wolfishly at her and she shook her head, walking over and giving him a quick peck on the lips. "Good morning, beautiful."

"Good morning, Mon Petit Pois."

"Good morning, Anton!" He jumped up, feeling left out. "I fwee!"

"I think we know, Baby." Ziva laughed. She clapped her hands together. "Breakfast time."

"Pancakes!"

"Birthday pancakes!" Tony grinned, leaping out of bed and grabbing Anton much like a football, making him howl with laughter as his father jogged down the stairs of their new house with him under his arm.

"Please be careful, Tony. I am not going to be spending the day in hospital because one of you got hurt." She took the stairs slightly slower. She stepped into the kitchen to find Tony already starting to make the pancake mixture and a mess. She sighed. There was no point in even trying to tell him to be more careful, to try not to get the flour everywhere.

---

"It's Play-Doh!" Abby said excitedly as Anton peeled the wrapping paper away.

"What is Play-Doh?" Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at Ziva like she was insane.

"You've had a kid for three years and you don't know what Play-Doh is?" McGee raised his eyebrows. "It's the best thing ever!"

"It smells really good!" Abby grinned. "That's why I got it for him."

"I love the smell of Play-Doh in the morning!" Tony laughed.

"But what is it?"

"It's this soft, squishy modelling putty sort of stuff."

"It was originally sold as wall paper cleaner. The two men who marketed it wanted to call it 'Rainbow Modelling Compound'." Ducky said, adding his usual snippets of trivia.

"Every child has to have Play-Doh at some point in their life." Ellie shrugged.

"It's true. Kelly made me a star out of the stuff once." Gibbs smiled at the memory.

"Colourful!" He squealed in delight as he inspected the colour of every pot. All twenty of them.

"Anton, can you say thank you to Auntie Abby please?"

"Tank you, Absy." He ran across the middle of the bullpen to where she was sat on the floor and hugged her. He then ran back to Ziva and sat back in his position in the circle of people sat on the floor. "Gwee next!"

"Ok. Happy birthday little man." He handed over the brightly wrapped gift and smiled. Ziva gasped when he pulled the paper off. There sat a stack of books in Hebrew. "I was thinking, you said something a couple of weeks ago about him learning Hebrew, and what better way to learn than children's books. And this way Tony can learn too." He smiled. "I asked the people in the apartment next to mine what books their son liked when he was three, and found them in Hebrew." Ziva went through them all, reading the titles to Anton. Tony managed to figure out the titles from the cover illustrations. "The Gruffalo, The Tiger Who Came For Tea, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, The Very Busy Spider, Winnie the Pooh, We're Going On A Bear Hunt and Where The Wild Things Are. Thank you, McGee, they are wonderful." She smiled. "Anton, can you say thank you to Uncle McGee?"

"Tank you, Gwee! Gwampa Ducky next!"

"There you go."

"Tank you." Anton smiled as the present, wrapped in rubber duck wrapping paper, was passed around the circle. A children's doctors play-kit.

"Ah, Ducky, you're already trying to mould our child into a doctor." Tony laughed.

"It's never too soon to start getting the future generations interested in what they want to be when they're older. Of course, many children change their minds by the time they reach university, and even then some haven't made up their minds, but some carry their ambitions with them from the day they have their first toy train or stethoscope."

"Tank you Ducky."

"I guess that just leaves me." Gibbs said. He'd spoken about his gift with Tony and Ziva already. He stood up and walked over, sitting down next to the birthday boy. "Now, your present from me is too big to wrap up, and it hasn't been built yet, because I'm gonna need your help, but I'm going to build you a tree house in your garden." He said and Anton's eyes lit up.

"A big one?"

"A really big one. And it can have lots of levels and a rope swing and…" The group watched as Gibbs got excited about his project. It was the first time any of them had ever seen him so…enthusiastic as he described his plans to the boy.

---

"Oh, this place is beautiful, Ziva!" Abby grinned as she walked into the airy room. The pale light of the morning streamed through the glass, lighting up the entire room. She could see Gibbs, Ducky and Tony, with Anton on his shoulders, through the back windows, setting up a barbeque for the evening. "He seems excited." She pointed as Tony laughed.

"Yes." Ziva sighed dreamily. "He is waiting for McGee to turn up before he shows everyone the basement. I can foresee there being many 'Men's nights' down there." She started guiding her down the stairs that were positioned under the stairs going up to the bedrooms and attic. Abby gasped as she looked around.

"This is so cool! I bet Tony loves it down here!"

"You have not seen the best bit." She led her to the swimming pool. "I like turning the LED strips off and just having the stars on the ceiling. It is very romantic."

"Haha, this is gonna be such a loud house."

"What?" Ziva looked at her, confused, as they returned upstairs to answer the knock on the door.

"Well, with such a romantic room, and four bedrooms, you're going to have a room spare…"

"No, Abby. We like it as it is. Baby will make four, and four is good." She shook her head. "Please do not give Tony any ideas." She opened the door and smiled as Vance stood with Kayla and Jared.

"Ziva. You look well."

"As do you. And you two have grown up so much! Come on in. Gibbs, Ducky and Tony are in the garden if you want to go through."

"You and Agent DiNozzo have a beautiful house." Vance nodded as they all walked out onto the deck.

"We like it here." Tony said, grinning as he swung Anton down from his shoulders. "Once McGee and Palmer get here, we can start on painting the nursery, since that's why everyone is here."

"And here I thought it was for Gibbs famous steak." Vance smiled as he watched Jared take a ball out from behind his back and walking down the steps to the grass. Anton followed him, curious to this new boy that was in his back garden. Kayla joined them and Jared tossed her the American Football. She gave it a little throw to Anton, who stumbled but still managed to catch it. He put all of his effort to throw it and Jared dove to catch it, laughing as the game continued. Leon felt a lot calmer than he had in a while as he saw his children laugh and play with Anton.

There was another knock on the door and Ziva turned to get it when Tony wrapped his arms around her torso, ensnaring her. "I'll get it. Please sit down."

"I do not need to sit down."

"But I want you to." He pressed a kiss to her cheek before walking through the house. He walked back through moments later with the rest of the party. McGee and Delilah came through first, followed by Ellie and Jake, and then Breena and Jimmy, Victoria held in his arms.

"Sorry, we would have been here sooner, but Jimmy got us lost." McGee rolled his eyes.

"I told you, if you had let me drive then we wouldn't have had the problem." He held his hands up in defence.

"But it was my car, Jimmy." Ellie cried.

"Hey, hey, no arguments. We're having a good day today." Tony said. "Now, we've got a lot to get done, so we need to get going with the painting." He pressed his lips to Ziva. "You're not painting."

"But Tony!" They'd had this argument for the past week.

"No. The paint isn't good for Baby." He brushed her hair out of her eyes and smiled as she relented. "Thank you."

"Delilah and I are staying here with Victoria anyway." Breena smiled, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"I'll stay too." Kayla said, climbing up the stairs. Jared bounded up behind her with Anton handing off his back like a monkey.

"The little dude's cool." Anton squealed with laughter as the older boy ran down the steps again and started doing laps up and down the garden.

"Just be careful!" Vance warned and Tony shook his head.

"Anton's fine. He grew up with Ziva's driving." They started heading inside, all but Breena, Delilah, Ziva, Kayla and the two children.

"When are you due?" Delilah asked as they arranged themselves on the outdoor seating.

"Next month. August 24th." She sighed as Anton crawled onto her lap and pressed a hand to her stomach. She chuckled and moved his hand to the other side and Anton grinned when the baby kicked. He took Victoria's wrist and carefully guided her hand to sit next to his.

"Ima has baby in tummy." He pouted when Victoria jumped back, shocked by the kick. "Not scary." He took the little girl's hand and moved it back to his mother's stomach, trying to push her taut t-shirt up to display her golden skin. Ziva helped, rolling the fabric up, and smiled proudly as he pressed a kiss to where his hand had been. "Anton love Baby." He grinned, eliciting 'Aww's and coos from everyone who wasn't his mother.

"Just like his father. He knows just how to get all the women to fall in love with him."

---

Laughter filled the air of the warm summer evening, along with the smells of the barbeque and the gentle yellow glow of fairy lights tangled in the branches of the trees that surrounded the garden. The two children slept peacefully on the outdoor sofa, their heads together and their feet at opposite ends of the chair. Their small hands were clasped together, not letting go to allow their parents separate them.

"Meet the future Mrs DiNozzo." Tony chuckled quietly as he and Jimmy watched their offspring snore. "You've done a good job, Autopsy Gremlin."

"Well, I don't think you've done so badly yourself. He's a great kid."

"So is Victoria. One very beautiful little girl. You'll have to keep her away from the boys."

"Oh, don't worry. Breena suggested asking Ziva for some self defence lessons for Victoria when she's older." Jimmy smiled.

"I'm sure she'll be honoured that you thought of her for it. And she'll probably be happy to comply."

"Well, we better be getting home." Leon said as both Kayla and Jared groaned.

"Aw, but Dad, can't we just stay for a little bit longer. Tony hasn't started doing his film impressions yet!"

"That's exactly why we are leaving now, Jared. It's late and you've got school tomorrow."

"Fine. Hey, Ziva, can you tell Anton that I'll teach him to build a go-cart the next time I see him, because he wanted to know how and I don't think I told him I would." Jared asked.

"Sure." She smiled. "Now go on to bed. Your dad is right, you have school tomorrow and you will be falling asleep in your lessons if you do not get some sleep now."

"Thanks for having us." They waved as they went through the house, letting themselves out so as not to pull Tony and Ziva away from the party.

"She's a great mum, isn't she Timmy." Abby sighed and watched as Tony stood together, wrapped in one another's arms.

"Yeah. They're great parents."

"You know, I remember, oh, about seven years ago, you and I made a little bet." She grinned as they sat down with Delilah.

"What bet?"

"Uh, I don't know. I can't think of what you're talking about, Abby." McGee shook his head. He knew exactly what bet she was talking about.

"I said that Ziva would be a great mum, and you disagreed. I do believe you owe me fifty bucks now."

"Wha…? That was ages ago! I thought that was nullified!"

"Well, you never cancelled the bet."

"But Ziva left!"

"And now she's back and she's a great mum." Delilah stated. "How could you think she wouldn't be?"

"You didn't know her back then. She was…Ziva David…she wasn't really mum-material."

"Abby thought she was." Both women looked at him with raised eyebrows and he stuttered, relenting and pulling out his wallet when he realised that they weren't going to back down.

---

"She's beautiful." He smiled, leaning over and capturing his wife's lips softly in his. "Just like her mother. Scooch over." She raised her eyebrows at him and he flinched. "Please?"

"Of course, my Little Hairy Butt." She grinned and carefully eased herself as far across as possible, making sure not to jostle the small, sleeping infant in her arms. He climbed up next to her, wrapping his arm around her shoulders.

"Good job." He kissed her temple before leaning down and pressing a light kiss to his daughter's forehead. "Y'know, I think I'm gonna miss your bump." He sighed and allowed his eyes to wander up and down her body. "We may have to do something about that."

She frowned at him and tilted her head before her eyes widened in realisation. "No." She shook her head. "No. Two is enough."

"You think?"

"Right now I do, yes. I have just gone through ten hours of labour, Tony. The answer is no. For now." She held a finger up when he started to protest. "I do not advise you argue."

"I'm going to follow your advice because, well, you have that little scary glint in your eyes that tells me that if I don't then I'm gonna be sleeping on the couch for the next week."

"I was thinking more you would be the one to wake up and take care of our little angel during the night for the next two weeks." She shrugged and leaned her head on his shoulder. "But then I realised that I actually quite liked the night-time feeds with Anton." She smiled wistfully.

"Really? Why?"

"I do not know. I think…it was always so quiet, so peaceful. I could sit up and watch him sleep for hours. Still can." She looked down as the child stirred. "And it reminded me of late night cases, calls from Gibbs. I used to wonder what you were doing whilst I was feeding him. I would wonder if you were working a case or on a date with some girl or if you were thinking of me."

"Always. I was always thinking about you. Every day. Every night." He smiled, pulling her closer to him and stroking the soft cheek of their little girl, her blue eyes fluttering open to stare lazily at him. "She really is beautiful."

"Where is Anton?"

"Waiting room with Gibbs and everyone. He was asleep in Ellie's arms when I last checked."

"He likes her." She chuckled.

"Yeah. Jake's got some competition."

"Competing with a DiNozzo. A hard task." She laughed. "We should probably tell them, yes?"

"I guess. They've been waiting out there for most of the day." He shrugged. "You want me to go get them?"

"I want you to stay here with your arms around me and our daughter in my arms like this forever. But I want Anton here too, so I guess you will need to move." She sighed and snuggled herself deeper into the warmth of his arms.

"If you want Anton, you're gonna have to let me move." He chuckled.

"Tony, the last time I held a child in my arms, lying in a hospital bed, you were not there." Her voice quavered and she closed her eyes to try and bar the tears that threatened to fall. "I do not want to be alone again."

"Oh, Ziva…you never have to be alone again. I promise you I'll be by your side. 'Till the very end." He captured her lips in a tender kiss. "Give me five minutes and I'll bring the rest of our family in. I love you."

"Hm. I love you too." She watched as he slid off the bed and walked through the door. "That is your Daddy." She played with the infant's tiny hand. "He is a very good man and you and your brother are very lucky to have him." The door opened again and Tony came through, Anton sat on his shoulders.

"Ima! Ima! Ima!" He started pounding on his father's head.

"Y'know, Buddy, what with you and Grandpa Gibbs hitting my head, I really am surprised that I don't have brain damage."

"Maybe you do, DiNozzo." Gibbs walked in behind him, followed by the rest of the group. "Would explain why you seem incapable of following orders."

"How would we be able to tell, I mean, with anyone else it would be obvious, but with Tony…"

"If I were you, McGee, I would not finish that sentence." Ziva threatened.

"Of course, we could use his choice of wife as evidence to prove that he most certainly is not brain damaged." Tim quickly recovered. "She's beautiful."

"My wife or my daughter?"

"Both." Gibbs smiled, walking over and pressing a kiss to Ziva's forehead. "Does she have a name?"

Ziva nodded to Tony and he grinned. "Well, since Anton has English and Italian names, and Ziva told me that I could name her, I have spent the past few months looking at baby names. I feel like we should split their heritage half and half. Anton has names from my side of the family, so our baby girl is going to have names from Ziva's side." He smiled and looked at his daughter. "I suggested Tali, but Ziva disagreed."

"I would not be able to explain to her what happened to her Aunt Tali, and although Tali would have been honoured, I could not do it. I could not name her and worry that she would suffer the same fate." Her voice cracked as the tears spilled down her cheeks.

"Hey, I know. It's okay. It's alright." He wiped her tears away and climbed onto the bed next to her again, this time with Anton on his lap. "When I was looking at baby names I became so interested with their meanings. I mean, who could know that names could mean so much. There were a couple that I really, really liked though, and that Ziva likes."

"Tony." Abby was getting impatient. "I want to know what you named your baby girl!"

"Patience, Abs." He chuckled. "Auntie Abby needs to learn some patience, doesn't she?" He took his daughter's tiny hand in his. "Aviva means springtime. Esther means hidden. Esther was also a very beautiful woman."

"She saved Mordecai and the Jewish. That is why we celebrate Purim." Ziva sighed softly in contentment and rested her head on Tony's shoulder. "I remember my mother telling me Esther's story."

"Aviva Esther DiNozzo."

"I like it." Ziva smiled and yawned.

"How about you, Buddy? Do you like your sister's name?"

"She look funny. She all pink."

"She is, isn't she. I'll bet you looked like that too when you were born."

"You were." Ziva smiled at his shocked, horrified expression.

"Can I touch?" He leaned over and extended his arm, waiting for his father's permission.

"Sit very still on Daddy's lap, Anton, and you can hold her." She said and he all of a sudden wriggled to get comfortable and settled down. Tony lifted his daughter out of Ziva's arms and cradled her so Anton was trapped between his chest and his arms.

"Gentle, gentle, gentle, Bud. She's very delicate."

"Am I dedicate?"

"Not as delicate as Viva is."

"Viva?" Ziva raised her eyebrows at him and he gulped, cowering slightly behind Anton.

"Er…yeah."

"She has been named for less than ten minutes and you are already shortening her name?"

"Well, I…you're gonna kill me, aren't you?"

"No. I will not kill you. Maim you, maybe, but not kill." She grinned, leaning her head on his shoulder and wrapping her arm around him and Anton, pressing a soft kiss to the top of her son's head and smiling down at her baby girl. She flicked her eyes up to where the rest of her family were standing and felt, for possibly the first time in her life, whole: complete.

---

Moonlight streamed through the window and bathed the room in a pale light. She was exhausted, but she couldn't sleep. She could only sit on the edge of their bed and stare at the sleeping girl in the bassinette. Every so often she would squirm slightly, rub her face with a mittened hand or clench and unclench her fist. She felt her husband's weight shift behind her on the bed so he was kneeling behind her. "You can't sit and watch her all night. She won't disappear." He gently massaged her shoulders and she leaned back into his body, revelling in the warmth.

"She will need feeding in half an hour. I will stay awake until she has been fed."

"You need your sleep too, Ziva." He rubbed her back. "If you won't sleep then at least lay back here." She nodded and shuffled back, curling into his side. Her head nestled onto his shoulder and he rubbed calming circles on her back. Her eyes fluttered closed and her breathing slowed until she was snoring lightly. He knew the nightmares had been bad since they had come back from the hospital, but he didn't know why. He suspected that it was related to Anton's birth, her fear that she would end up alone, this time with two children. He watched as she slept, enchanted once again by the innocence and vulnerability that softened her face in sleep. He suspected that it was what had originally started tipping the balance from lust to love, all those years ago when they had been undercover. He had spent half the night watching her sleep, this exotic, violent, dangerous woman, and such peace had settled across her features, features that were usually tight with the burden of all of the things she had seen and done. He had spent a long time after that, years in fact, trying to coax that serenity out whilst she was awake too, because it filled him with a strange, overwhelming feeling of joy every time he saw it. It was always very fleeting, and never complete, but sometimes, on occasion, she would fully let go of the tensions that bound her to the ground. Those occasions had been becoming more and more frequent, until Eli died, and then it was like she reverted back to the old Ziva, the Ziva he had met after Kate died. Except he still trusted her, and his feelings were so much more on the side of love than lust. And then she disappeared off to Israel, and then dropped off the map completely after their night together. Until he found her in London, almost a year before their daughter was born. Aviva started crying and he carefully moved so he didn't wake his wife. He quietly walked to the bassinette at the end of the bed and scooped the child up, cradling her in his arms. "Hush now, we're not going to wake Ima. She needs her sleep." He whispered and carried her downstairs to the kitchen. He opened the fridge and plucked out a prepared bottle of breast milk, almost dropping it twice before he managed to heat it up.

"Daddy, Viva woke me up." Anton yawned as he sat himself at the table.

"Okay, well, we're gonna be real quiet now because Ima's sleeping." He smiled wearily at his son. "Come on." They carefully trudged sleepily up the stairs, Tony always keeping behind Anton to ensure he didn't tumble, and crept into the master bedroom. Tony sat down, propping himself up with the pillows. Anton climbed up and curled up next to him and yawned, quickly slipping back into a peaceful slumber. Tony fed his daughter in the moonlight; his wife and son curled up either side of him, and couldn't help but smile at how everything had fitted together so nicely. He couldn't help but think back to all the times, all the occasions, all the tragedies that had led to that point. If Kate had not died, Ziva would never have stood in front of him and interrogated him about phone-sex. If Director Morrow hadn't resigned, Jenny wouldn't have taken over. If Jenny hadn't slept with Gibbs in Paris, she wouldn't have had the hold over him that allowed Ziva to stay. If they hadn't been given their undercover assignment, he would not have spent half the night watching her sleep, and he would not have started falling in love with her, even if he didn't know it at the time. If Gibbs hadn't left, they wouldn't have grown so close, they wouldn't have spent the nights of the summer talking and laughing and getting to know one another. If Jenny hadn't assigned him to the La Grenouille case, he would not have developed feelings for Jeanne, and broken Ziva's heart in the process. If Jenny had not died, they would not have been separated and she would not have been partnered with Rivkin. If he had not killed Rivkin, she would not have been sent to Somalia, and Saleem would not have broken her so many times over until she lost the will to live, until she had prepared herself to die. If they had not rescued her from Somalia, she would have died, and Saleem would have continued to live, swilling Caf-Pow! and terrorising the world. If they hadn't been sent to Paris, they would not have shared a bed; he would not have had another chance to watch her sleep peacefully, not until Israel, for she hadn't slept peacefully at all in Berlin. If Eli had not been killed, she would not have gone on her revenge mission. If they had not resigned, she would not have gone back to Israel, gone into hiding. If he had not have found her, Anton would never have been conceived. If Gibbs had not sent him to London, he would not have met his son. He would not have married his wife. They would not have had their baby girl. Every cloud has its silver lining. His silver linings were his family. A year ago, all hope for a family had been lost, but then fate intervened. He got his happily ever after. He got his movie ending. He had the beautiful wife and the two children. A big house, with a big garden and an indoor pool. A job he liked and a boss that wasn't so bad, once you got to know him. He had everything he never thought he needed and everything he always wanted.

The house is actually based on a childhood friend's house. Her parents built it; they had their own company. Her mum was an architect and interior designer and her dad was a builder. Every room was built and designed to fit whomever lived in it. It was a nightmare to sell, because everything was personalised to how they wanted it.

I was watching the episode 'Housekeeping' with Michael and Coté's commentary whilst writing some of this. I laugh every time I listen to it.

I have noticed that as I read through my work, I can often tell which episode, or film, I was watching, or music I was listening to, as I wrote each section, although that might just be that my memory surrounding trivial things such as what people say, what I was doing at random times and general useless trivia is much stronger than my memory of the important things.

This turned out to be a lot longer than I thought it would. Oh, well. I put some of the shorter segments in to break it up, because there are a lot of big blocks of text with very little actually happening except thinking. I remember being in an English lesson a good few years ago and we were reading 'A Christmas Carol' and one of the girls said "I hate Dickens because he always goes on and on and nothing actually happens, he just spends most of the book describing what everything looks like and what people are thinking." I quite like that about Dickens, but to my surprise most of the class, actually all of the class bar me, agreed with her. I never know whether my writing is too much like that and whether people would rather more things to actually happen. Tell me what you think, I value your opinion.

Do we want more? I hope your answer is yes because I have one more chapter.