Chapter 6: Back to Normality (or not)

"You called Mossad." Ziva stated in realisation.
"It seemed like the best option." Tony remarked. "Now, we need to get out of the country."
"Why? What?" Ziva queried in confusion.
"The FSB agents you were tortured by have linked you with your work in foreign intelligence, and you're now one of Russia's most wanted." Tony informed Ziva. "Not to mention that they will have informed the other Turncoats across the world."

"You'll spend a few weeks under protective custody in Tel Aviv." Orli informed the couple. It took nearly a year and a half for Orli and her allies to smooth over the situation in Russia.

"So, we're back in America." Tony commented.
"The question is: what do we do now?" Ziva queried.

2018
A few weeks passed after Tony and Ziva had reunited with the rest of their NCIS family. As per Ziva's wishes in her I Will list, and the promise that Tony had made himself and Tali, neither went back to active duty at NCIS, for the fear of violence. However, they both agreed that there was nowhere else that they would work quite as well as in the familiar, albeit rather jarring, orange walls of the federal agency. With the assistance of Gibbs and Vance, both found a job that they would be able to excel at and keep in contact with the active members of the MCRT; Tony was employed as a community liaison, contacting and being contacted by police services across the country and forwarding the information to the appropriate people and teams, allowing him to make the most of his contacts and knowledge of how said police forces worked. Meanwhile, Ziva was employed as a translator, an important asset for the service whenever there was any international coordination and cooperation, as well as for intelligence gathering, with Ellie pulling some favours and being able to score Ziva a role as a part-time translator for the NSA. Whilst they did most of their work in the Navy Yard, their particular roles did allow for some of the work to be done at home, so the couple could look after Tali. Tali was fairly healthy, but she was growing up, developing a stubborn attitude similar to both her parents, and most children her age. The first major event for the pair was Tali's fourth birthday in early July. To celebrate, Ziva and Tony had once again organised for all the family to come over, as well as a few other young families they'd gotten to know around the area. In the short time that they had known each other and been able to remember, Tali and Victoria had become good friends, to the point that they were nearly inseparable. The DiNozzo-David family's backyard was full of both parents and children, most of the latter running around on a sugar high. The primary exception was the McGee twins who were being cuddled by Delilah and Ziva. Meanwhile, Tony and Tim were in the kitchen, doing a small bit of cleaning so that the load at the end of the day was smaller.
"You know, if someone said that we'd be standing here now even four years ago, I don't think either of us would have believed you." Tony told McGee.
"I don't know. I'd probably think it was quite obvious you end up with Ziva. Though, either of you having kids was certainly unexpected." McGee replied and both adults chuckled.
"Was it that obvious?" Tony asked honestly.
"Yes, it was, ever since your mission undercover. I'm pretty sure even Gibbs knew there was something there." Tim replied.
"Oh, yeah, I remember that, with you as a bus boy." Tony commented, and the pair laughed again. The pair continued to chat, when Tali ran in, Victoria in tow. When she saw her dad, Tali ran away from Victoria and grabbed onto Tony.
"Abba, Ima says it's time for presents!" Tali insisted. Tony chuckled and allowed Tali to drag him outside so that she could open her presents. As Tali excitedly did so, Tony stood by Ziva who was taking pictures.
"I'm so glad we could celebrate this with all our family." Tony whispered into Ziva's ear. She smiled and nodded, her hand finding his for a moment. The rest of the day was spent celebrating the young Dinozzo-David's birthday. Later that night, Ziva and Toy were finishing the cleaning and tidying up after the party, whilst Tali was fast asleep in her bedroom, exhausted from the playing and the house littered with her presents, and her favourite, a wooden dog on wheels from 'Grampa Gibbs', on her bedside table.
"Today was really nice." Ziva commented. "It was so nice to see Tali enjoying herself."
"She's adapted really well to life in America." Tony added. "You enjoyed yourself too from the looks of it."
"I had my worries about being back." Ziva admitted. "But, I never intended on the old team being so welcoming."
"I know." Tony assured Ziva, wrapping his arm around her and kissing her on the side of the head. The couple continued to work quietly. As they did, Ziva looked over to Tony, unspoken thoughts speeding through her head. For a few weeks after Tali's birthday, nothing major happened and life was some semblance of regular. However, one day, the couple's life was flipped on its axis.

The day was much like usual as it began. Tony was working from home, and Ziva was going to the Navy Yard, as there was a representative from the Saudi Arabian Navy coming to talk to SecNav about joint missions, so the agency required an Arabic interpreter, and Ziva was by far the most fluent available at short notice. However, the discussions with Saudi Arabia did cause controversy, evidenced by a crowd of protestors forming a short distance from the entrance to the Navy Yard. The protesters, whilst angry, seemed non-violent, so no major action was taken against them. Everything seemed normal, the meeting taking place in MTAC with representatives from Capitol Hill and the UN joining via video conference, and Gibbs' team spending the day finishing off paperwork from their latest case. Everything was normal when a man walked in dressed in a suit. At first, he seemed like a normal NCIS agent, but he drew his firearm and fired it into the ceiling, causing yells from around the room. Every agent drew their firearms, but then a few around the room turned on the other agents.
"All of you, put your weapons on the ground." The leader ordered. Wary that the infiltrators had the upper hand, the NCIS agents did as they had been ordered. In MTAC, the group, consisting of SecNav, Vance, Gibbs, and the four Saudi delegates, heard the gunshots and within moments, the room's security protocols kicked in, the doors locking and mobile signal jammers activating. Everyone in MTAC began to panic slightly, though the Americans attempted to keep a calm demeanour. Ziva tried to calm the Saudi delegates, who were making accusations of lax security or intentionally causing the security incident. More gunfire from outside MTAC caused the delegation to go silent. Whilst they talked in hushed voices between themselves, Ziva walked across to Gibbs.
"What are we going to do?" Ziva asked the elder agent, who frowned and shook his head.
"It's out of our hands. We just need to keep ourselves and our guests calm." Gibbs advised Ziva. Ziva nodded then turned back to the rest of MTAC, worst case scenarios playing out in the forefront of her mind.

Meanwhile, Tony was finishing up some paperwork at home when his phone rang. He looked and saw it was Delilah calling. He answered the phone and barely had time to think of a greeting before Delilah started talking quickly.
"Tony, turn on the news!" Delilah instructed urgently.
"What's going on, Delilah?" Tony queried worriedly.
"Just do it. Any network." Delilah insisted. Walking through to his and Ziva's shared bedroom, the sitting room's TV currently being used by Tali, and tuned into a news channel, nearly dropping the phone and remote as he saw the news story. The lower third read 'Hostage Situation at Navy Yard'. A serious looking reporter was standing in front of the Navy Yard's security gate, with soldiers and police bustling behind them.
"It is currently unknown how many hostages are being held, and what the motives of the hostage takers are." The reporter stated. "All we know is that, with no word from the hostage takers or authorities, this situation is not ending any time soon."
"I'll get there as soon as I can." Tony told Delilah before ending the call. He ran next door, getting the neighbours to look after Tali. Once he had organised a childminder, Tony drove to the Navy Yard, making a stop at the McGee's house to pick up Delilah. When they reached the Navy Yard, it was still bustling with activity. Tony and Delilah were stopped by a marine.
"The site is in lockdown." The marine stated. Agent Valeri Page walked over to the checkpoint.
"Let them through, Smith." Agent Page ordered. "They'll be able to help."
The marine stepped out of Tony's and Delilah's way. Tony and Delilah moved over to Agent Page.
"What can we do to help?" Delilah asked Agent Page.

Back in the NCIS building, Tim was downstairs in what used to be Abby's lab when there were the gunshots upstairs. Thankfully, the lab was empty at that point, so he had nobody present to worry about. He snuck out of the lab, wary that somebody might want to get evidence from the lab. He quickly slid into a broom closet when he heard movement down the stairs.
"We need to clear this floor. She's somewhere in the building." One of the gunmen walking along the corridor commented.
They're looking for someone. Tim thought to himself, and his mind came up with two possibilities as to who the 'she' the gunmen were referring to was, and neither was particularly appealing to him. Once he was sure the gunmen had passed him, he slipped out of the broom closet and back down the corridor, formulating a plan as he snuck towards the stairs. He knew that Ellie and Torres would be in the main area, unless the gunmen had moved hostages.

In MTAC, the Saudi delegates were still talking in hushed tones. SecNav, Vance, and Gibbs were discussing what needed to happen if and when the doors were opened and the multiple circumstances that the doors might be opened under. Ziva, not wanting to intrude on the conversation had sat away from the two groups, trying to calmly evaluate what seemed to be happening, and worrying about Tony. She knew that as soon as heard anything about the incident, he would be in the Navy Yard at a moment's notice. She worried about this putting him in the line of fire, and the dangers it could cause not just for him, but for Tali as well if the gunmen were able to breach the secure room. Ziva heard shouting outside, and it sounded like someone was struggling. Suddenly, there was a crack of a gunshot. There was the sound of movement, and the sound of the eye scanner. However, there was a beep a few seconds later, indicating they were unsuccessful in trying to access MTAC, which was also evidenced by the following loud cussing from the other side of the door.
"They can't get in until the lockdown is deactivated." Vance explained to Ziva and the Saudi delegation. "Only I or a REACT agent is able to stop the lockdown procedures."
"REACT is probably outside by now and making a plan of how to deal with it." Ziva assured the room and herself.

REACT was indeed outside and planning. However, they weren't able to make a fully formed plan without an idea of the numbers they were facing against. Suddenly, there was a sign from the building. One of the marines ran to the tent that had been set up to run the raid from and were Agent Page was finishing off her briefing with Tony and Delilah.
"Ma'am, we have a light from a window." The marine informed Agent Page, and therefore the rest of the tent. "Someone seems to be signalling us."
Agent Page, Tony, and Delilah all looked at each other before quickly moving outside to watch the signal.

Whilst Agent Page had been briefing Tony and Delilah, Tim had been sneaking through the NCIS building until he reached the edge of the main office. Gunmen were patrolling the area, whilst their hostages were all sat on the floor, most cuffed to desks or radiator. With the constant patrols, Tim couldn't get any closer but licked eyes with Bishop and Torres, who had both been handcuffed to the latter's desk. All three tried to formulate some way of getting the two handcuffed agents free and over to Tim. However, all their plans required a distraction. The gunmen ended up creating the needed distraction when they dragged one of the senior agents from their desk. There was shouting from multiple agents, but the gunmen wouldn't listen. The agent was dragged up to MTAC. Whilst the gunmen in the main area were focussed on the struggle going up to MTAC, Nick finished picking the lock on his handcuffs, meaning it was only attached to Ellie's wrist, essentially freeing them both. The struggle continued long enough for the pair to crawl quickly along the floor until they were next to Tim.
"We need to get out of here." Ellie stated in a whisper.
"They're probably covering the entrances and exits." Nick replied.
"Then, we need to get word out to the outside world." Tim commented quietly. "REACT should have shown up by now."
Ellie and Nick both nodded in agreement. The trio snuck back down the corridor. They were able to make it down the stairs and into the forensics lab. Through the basement window, they could see movement on the edge of the Navy Yard, including military vehicles showing that there had Tim's predictions were correct. The trio searched around the lab, and Ellie found a torch.
"I have an idea." She informed the others. "Would Agent Page know Morse Code?"
The trio wrote out a message and translated it into Morse Code. Once this was done, they transmitted the message to the barricade outside.

Agent Page, Delilah, and Tony joined the soldiers outside watching the signal. They immediately spotted a pattern.
"It's Morse Code." Tony deduced.
"We can see that." Delilah retorted. "Do you know what it's saying?"
"No…" Tony admitted. "Codes tended to be Tim's thing. Or Ellie's."
"Well, it's a good thing I do." Agent Page remarked, glaring at the other two adults for a moment, before turning to another REACT agent. "Get me some paper."
It only took Agent Page a few moments to decode the message: '20 Hostiles. Trying to get into MTAC. Entrances guarded and most in MCRT office.'
With the information on numbers and distribution of the gunmen, the REACT team were able to complete their plan and they began to put it into action. Snipers took up positions across from the NCIS building and neutralised the guards at the front door after they were drawn outside by some stones being thrown and making noises. The REACT movements slowly started to move through the building. Meanwhile, another team went via the evidence garage. They were able to sneak through and got to the main office, cutting off all exits for the gunmen. They were able to neutralise the remaining gunmen.

In MTAC, Ziva held her breath as there were shouts from the main area. Some shouted in fear when there was gunfire from outside the room. There was movement towards the MTAC door and the sound of scanning. When the door clicked open, Ziva and Gibbs both drew their guns. However, they lowered it when agent Page walked in alongside a few other REACT agents.
"The situation has been neutralised. Everything is safe." Agent Page informed the people in the room, and Ziva translated this information for the Saudi delegates, who were then escorted out of MTAC and out of the NCIS building. As she left the room, Ziva saw that the NCIS agents had all been freed, and that the gunmen were either handcuffed and being lead out or being wheeled out on a gurney. Ziva saw the team around their desks. Ellie, Nick, and Tim were standing talking to some other NCIS agents and looked over as Ziva and Gibbs walked over to them. Before anyone could say anything though, the elevator pinged and opened with Tony and Delilah inside. The two couples quickly moved to each other, hugging and reassuring each other that they were alright.
"Ziva, there's something we need to tell you." Ellie commented after Ziva and Tony had reunited.
"What is it?" Ziva asked with concern.
"They were looking for you. I don't know why." Ellie informed the group, having overheard some of the gunmen discussing their reasoning for the attack. The team all looked at Ziva in silence.

A while later, Ziva and Tony arrived home and picked up Tali from the neighbours. Ziva had put Tali to bed and walked back to the lounge.
"Today was quite something." Ziva stated to Tony.
"You could say that again." Tony replied with a sigh. "It was bit of a wakeup call. Even though we're not full agents, our lives are inherently dangerous. Today made me realise there's some things I should have done already and should do before it's too late."
"What do you mean?" Ziva asked, turning away for a moment to pick up the book she had been reading over the last few evenings. When she turned back though, she nearly dropped the book as she turned back. In front of her, Tony had knelt on one knee and taken a small box from somewhere.
"I should have done this in Israel four years and 10 months ago. I was waiting for the right moment to ask, but today showed that the right moment might not come before it's too late." Tony stated before taking a deep breath and opening the box, revealing a beautiful ring. "Ziva David, will you marry me?"
Ziva looked at Tony in shocked silence for a moment, before it faded, and joy replaced it.
"Yes, Tony, I will marry you." Ziva answered, tearing up slightly and nodding. Tony let out a relieved sigh and stood, stepping forward and kissing Ziva who kissed him back with the same joy and love.
"Ani ohev otach." Tony said after they separated and as he slid the engagement ring onto Ziva's finger.
"Ani ohevet otkha." Ziva replied with a smile before kissing Tony again. The pair held each other close for the rest of the night.

A/N: I hope you enjoyed this chapter. This is by far the longest chapter in my story so far. I know there's been a lot of action in the last few chapters and not many family moments, but I promise there will be more of that over the rest of the story, but I would say it wouldn't be NCIS without action. I did also want to end this chapter on a happier note. As I have said before, I am happy to take any requests via PM or review.

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-TheOnlineTypewriter