Reply to the Guest reviewer: There will be Tiva-ish moments, but that isn't the main focus of this story.
Things got easier when they started school. It was easier to find babysitting at short notice, since the times they went to and came from school were regular, and when they made friends at school, Milo and Lynnie simply went to their houses after school -which saved on babysitter fees.
Of course, owing to the erraticness of his job, Tony ended up buying them mobile phones. Had he been in any other job, if the kids had a mother, he wouldn't dream of giving a child as young as 4 a mobile –but you did what you had to do. And apart from the fact Lynnie insisted that hers should be pink, they didn't spend excess time on the phones, and instead played the way kids should.
…
He met her during a lunch break, when he realised that in the morning rush, his own lunch was languishing in the fridge, and had to go out to buy something.
He ended up at a café with only one free table, eating chips and a chicken sandwich, when he heard someone approach the table.
"Erm….is it OK if I sit here?" The woman was pretty and slim, wearing a grey jacket over a nurse's uniform and looking slightly frazzled.
Tony looked around to see that somehow, all the other tables were still full to bursting.
"Sure." She sat down on the chair opposite him.
"I'm sorry, it's just that now was the only time I could get away for a lunch break ….it was kind of busy at work. "Her cheeks went pink and Tony felt himself warming to her.
"It's OK." He gave his most charming smile. "Let's pretend we know each other. I tell you my name, you tell me yours.
I'm Anthony DiNozzo, but my friends call me Tony."
"I'm Jeanne Benoit. I'm a nurse…as you can see. "She laughed, pointing at her uniform . "Redbridge Hospital, just down the road.. What about you?"
Tony hesitated for a nanosecond "I'm actually a federal agent. NCIS."
"Oh, so you're a navy cop then. "
Usually, the term navy cop was used mockingly, but with Jeanne's lightly accented voice, it didn't sound like that.
"Oh, so you've heard of us! That's good to know. I was starting to think we'd gone into oblivion or something. Most people we meet don't even know that the agency exists. I don't take it personally anymore though. "
"So, the job is very important to you."
"You could put it like that. Plus, I have a great team that make it worth doing…but don't tell them I said that. "he whispered the last part of that sentence conspiratorially
She laughed again. Her laughter sounded like delicate glass bells, and Tony stored that sound in his memory.
When it was time for both of them to go back to work, they exchanged numbers and a promise to meet up again the next time their lunch breaks matched up.
…
The second time they met up, he told her about Milo and Lynnie. If this was going to become more than a friendship, then she needed to know. He'd had too many experiences of the most casual of relationships where the girl had backed off as soon as he'd told them. Like they didn't want to share their affections, or thought they'd be turned into a mum or something like that.
But Jeanne wasn't like that. When he told her, the first two things she asked was.
"What do they look like? When will I meet them?"
He showed her a picture from last Christmas on his phone and replied "Well, what about next Sunday ? "
…
Lynnie was taking ages choosing what to wear. Again. Even when just going to school , she did this. And understandably, her brother was annoyed.
"I was ready A CENTURY before you!" he yelled. He was dressed casually, in jeans and a white t-shirt under a dark blue thin jumper.
Tony chuckled at the 6-year-old's temper, because he knew that it only ever manifested itself in angry words and often hilarious facial expressions.
"Did you get your coat?" Milo thought, then jumped up and ran into his room. Just as the door to that room shut , Lynnie came out , carrying her grey coat and wearing a black long-sleeved top , a purple skirt , glittery belt around the waist , black tights , and rather than have her hair in the usual bunches , she was wearing it down , held back by a purple Alice-band.
"Finally. You look good ,Lyns." Lynnie's eyes lit up , and she put on her coat , then went to find her shoes. Tony breathed a sigh of relief. If there was so much drama around getting ready now , what was it going to be like when they were teenagers? He could only guess.
5 minutes later , they had all left the bungalow .
…
"You don't work at NCIS?" Lynnie's hazel eyes went huge , like she didn't think such a thing was possible.
"Nope , I'm a nurse. "
Lynnie twisted her fork , the spaghetti knot growing bigger and gave her a wide eyed look.
"Not everyone I know works at NCIS, Lynnie. Otherwise you wouldn't have people left doing ordinary jobs." Tony jumped in to prevent any clashes."
The little girl nodded seriously "And you meet lots of interesting people in Daddy's job. I'm going to be at NCIS when I am older. " She informed them.
Jeanne laughed.
"You know , when I was about your age , I wanted to be an astronaut." She said.
"Really?" Milo wanted to know.
"Yeah . "
"How come you didn't become one?"
"It was easier to become a nurse. And I like looking after sick people."
"Oh." After that, there was a silence as they ate. When they finished, as a treat , Tony ordered ice-cream for dessert .While they were waiting , Jeanne decided to try and get the conversation with them going again.
"What's school like, then?" The question wasn't directed at any twin in particular, but Milo answered first.
"Its fun. Do you know there are 5 sets of twins in first grade, not counting me and Lynnie –and 3 of them are in our class?"
"Wow. Really?"
"Yeah. I play basketball with Johnny and Liam, and sometimes when Dad's at work we go to Mark and Mallory's house after school. But I have friends who aren't twins as well. "
"That's cool. Until today, I didn't know any twins. Do you play basketball with Tony?"
Tony grinned sheepishly "We try to. "
"Normally on Sunday nights we watch movies and order pizza. Or we heat up a supermarket pizza, cos that's cheaper. "Lynnie told her "But today we are here instead. "
Jeanne blushed. "Oh, I'm sorry. "
"It's OK. " Lynnie smiled. "Me and Milo, we like you." The ice-cream arrived , and the twins tucked into it in unison , then gave each other a look , a sign of twin communication that only they understood the meaning of. Because they were fraternal twins rather than identical twins, watching them was even more disconcerting.
Then Lynnie looked at Jeanne.
"One day, you should come and watch a movie and eat pizza with us. Unless Dad has a case, then we'll probably end up staying at Mark and Mallory's house. Or Ella's house. Or Jake's house. But if he isn't, you can come. "
Both Jeanne and Tony chuckled.
"I think we should make sure Tony is OK with it first." Jeanne said.
Tony laughed "its fine by me. You're welcome any time. Although I'll warn you now, our house is pretty small. And messy. "
"Oh, that's fine. "
"Milo, Lynnie, we should finish up now. It's getting late and there's school tomorrow. "
In unison, the twins said "We're finished!"
…
From there on, the relationship blossomed. Of course, with the strains of work, and having to bring up the twins, things were difficult, and they rarely got time for themselves. But somehow, it worked, and Tony was determined to keep it that way.
One Wednesday at work, he was filing away some paperwork when Director Shepard approached him.
"Special Agent DiNozzo?"
"That's me." He joked, but the red headed director did not smile.
"A quick word?" judging by her voice , she had something serious on her mind , so Tony followed her office.
Director Shepard went to her desk, and sat at her chair. She motioned to the chair that was opposite at her desk, but Tony declined, and instead stood, waiting for the director to say something.
He certainly didn't expect that something to be the name of his girlfriend, and he was speechless.
"Y-yes. What about her?"
"Have you met her father?"
He hadn't, and told her so . Then he asked "But what does that have to do with anything?"
Once again, the response confused him
"La Grenouille *"
"What?"
"He's an arms dealer. Your Jeanne's father. "
"Is he under an on-going NCIS investigation?"
"No ."
"Then with all due respect, Director, I don't see what the issue is."
There was a long silence, and the Director's blue eyes regarded Tony with an unreadable expression. Then she nodded and said.
"You may go."
…
While Tony wondered about whether that conversation was worth telling Jeanne about, Ziva made plans for a 2 week-long vacation to Israel. When she went, the squadroom was quieter-it always was when one of the team was gone. But it wasn't bad , since she would return.
Tony put his worries away, all of them stuck up Ziva's postcards on the walls of their workspaces, and two weeks of their lives went by without much event.
Then the day Ziva was supposed to return came along.
But she didn't
^^ The first cliff-hanger of this story! This arc of the story has turned out to be a combo of seasons 4-7…hope you like it so don't get annoyed at me bringing Jeanne in .I know she is hated a lot , but to be honest , despite preferring Tony and Ziva , I don't really hate her , I was just pissed off at her for trying to frame Tony for her father's death and stuff
* I am not sure how to spell the name that was used to refer to Jeanne's father…sorry
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