The minute the elevator doors slid shut, she spun on him, her eyes fiery. "Why did you do that?"
He shrugged. "Do what?"
Ziva's jaw dropped. "You just told Gibbs that you're the father of this baby!"
"No I did not," he said simply. "Gibbs assumed. I just chose not to correct him."
"You are absolutely insane," she hissed. "You just sacrificed your career just because my birth control decided to fail? What is wrong with you?" she quickly Gibb's slapped the back of his head, causing Tony to flinch.
He shrugged, settling his jacket back around his shoulders more comfortably. "I didn't sacrifice anything, Zee-vah."
"He's threatening to court-marshall you!"
Tony smirked slightly. "Its fine. Just... let's go grab a bite to eat and talk like normal people. You know – not in an elevator?"
He watched as Ziva paled slightly and settled a hand over her stomach at the mention of food. "No. No food for me, thanks."
"You need to eat. Have you had anything today?"
She shook her head and sighed, realizing that screaming at Tony in the elevator wasn't going to undo the damage that he had done with Gibbs.
Tony rolled his eyes just as the doors to the elevator slid open on the parking garage. He gently took her elbow and guided her to his mustang. "Let's go find you food that doesn't make you turn that oh-so-attractive shade of green, ok?"
He watched as she sipped the smoothie through the straw.
"Feel better?"
She nodded, tucking a curly lock behind her ear.
"You need to eat," he gently chastised. "Its a little more important now that you have that kid to feed, too. No more skipping meals, Zee-vah."
"What are you? The calorie police?" she countered, glaring at him as she slurped her fruit smoothie again.
He merely rolled his eyes and ignored her biting remarks.
Ziva set the cup down, wiping her hands on her pant legs to rid them from the moisture of the cup's condensation. "What do you want from me, Tony?" she asked carefully.
He frowned, popping another potato chip into his mouth. "What do you mean?" he asked forgetting that he was ever taught manners and speaking with his mouth full.
"What do you want from me in exchange for this charade of yours?" she asked, accenting 'charade' with her beautiful French intonations.
He shrugged. "Nothing."
"I do not believe you," she replied. "There's always something – always a string attached."
Tony shook his head. "Nope. Just thought it'd be easier for you to pretend that I'm the father, rather than have Gibbs, me, and McGeek fly to Israel to kick Rivkin's butt."
"They would not-"
"Oh we so would," Tony countered, popping another potato chip into his mouth. "Mossad or not, they'd be all over him like white on rice, Ziva. You know its true."
She sighed and propped her head on a hand. "Tony," she said, her voice tired. "I am not even sure if I'm going to keep the baby."
His eyes widened. "I didn't know that was an option for you."
"I had never thought about it, really."
"Really?" He asked, his eyebrows raised. "I thought it was something all women thought about. The big 'what if?' question."
She shrugged. "I have always been careful. I never thought I would need to worry."
Tony reached across and stole her smoothie, taking a large slurp before setting it back in front of her, much to Ziva's amusement.
"Is it something you have thought of?" Ziva asked him.
He nodded. "Yeah. Of course. Its not like anyone wants to have a back-up plan in case they wind up pregnant. But I think most people have an idea of what they would do."
"And what would you do?"
Tony thought for a moment, trying to decide how to answer. "I don't think you've met my sister Carla- you'd love her. She's fiesty, just like you," he said with a smirk. "But she likes to remind me that as long as I don't have a uterus, my opinion doesn't count for much."
Ziva snickered. "She sounds quite smart."
He cocked an eyebrow in agreement. "But I think that what I'd prefer depends on the situation. If I was in a relationship and it was just a surprise pregnancy, I'd like to think that we could raise the kid and give it a good home. I don't think I'd be too horrible as a dad."
She nodded, encouraging him to continue.
"But because Michael's an ass and you're going through this alone-" Tony said, his voice taking on a dangerous lilt as he spoke of Michael's decision.
"He's not an ass, Tony," she interrupted, defending her former lover. "He is just not ready for a family."
"That's all fine and dandy, Ziva, but even I, the king of no-commitment-sex, would step up if my partner was pregnant!"
Ziva felt a tear creep into her eye unexpectedly and she blinked it away. She covered his hand with her own across the cafe-table. "You stepped up for me."
He smirked. "You're my partner, aren't you?"