Celebration
Tony looks at his watch again, it's 7 am and that means Ziva is about to arrive from her morning run. He's been waiting for this moment ever since she came back into his life, her birthday… she's turning 39 and he wants to make this day special, even if they have to work. That's why instead of being sleeping like he would usually do, he's up and making breakfast for her
The sound of the key at the door puts a smile on his face, he rushes to the door and as soon as she opens it, he kisses her until his lungs are burning "hey" he says "was peanut able to keep up with you?" he asks, touching her barely there belly
Ziva smiles, she's 6 weeks pregnant and doesn't feel like her body has changed but she already loves her little peanut with all her heart "peanut is perfectly fine… we missed you though" she says, kissing him again "you taste like chocolate…and pancakes"
"That's because I made some for you" Tony says, excited to start their day "happy birthday Ziva" he hugs her, "I love you more than you can imagine"
Ziva kisses his cheek "and I love you most Tony" she says softly "I can't wait until Saturday"
"Me neither" he says, before leading her to the table "you can eat first and then shower, boss says we have permission to go in later"
"But I'm all sweaty…" Ziva says
Tony smirks "I like you sweaty" he whispers in her ear
"I'm sure you do" Ziva says, biting her lip "we have to go to work". She laughs when she sees Tony's pout "but… since we are coming back home early" she trails off
Tony's face lights up again "I like how that sounds" he kisses her cheek and sits in front of her "so, how does 39 feels?"
"Not very different…" Ziva says "though I do have to say this has been a much better birthday than last year, I missed you so much"
Tony takes her hand "I missed you too" he says "but now you're here, we're starting our life together and that's all I care…"
"You are absolutely right" she says, enjoying her breakfast "By the way, Emily's probably going to be here before we come back from work, so we should leave a key outside"
Tony raises an eyebrow "of course, we should get her a copy"
Ziva nods "that's a great idea; she will love you for it"
"Can I ask you something?" Tony says "why does Emily insist she's 45? Because you are 5 years younger, so she should be 44 right?"
Ziva laughs "she is 44, but she thinks that if she gets used to the idea of being 45 before it actually happens, when it does it will be less… traumatic"
Tony laughs too "really? Bond girl is scared of being old?"
Ziva shakes her head "no, it's a game she started when she turned 29… Elizabeth used to bother her because she was still single, so she decided to come up with a new way to cope with her age and being single" she says "now she just does it for fun"
"Fun?" Tony asks, amused with the story. He loves to hear their stories, in a way he has been able to meet this whole other side of Ziva's world that seems so different from the woman he first met, who he used to think was closed off and hard to love… he was so, so wrong
"Yeah, I mean if you didn't know would you believe she's even 40?" Ziva says
"Ok, I got it…" Tony says, finally understanding "you 2 are so… unique" he says, not being able to come up with a better word
Ziva smirks "You don't know half of it yet"
~~Friends from the Past~~
Gibbs smiles looking at his gift for his Ziver, the beautiful crib will be for sure the main piece of peanut's nursery, she is only 6 weeks pregnant but he knows how fast time can go by and he honestly can't wait t have his grand-daughter or grand-son (he's pretty sure is a girl though) in his arms
He smiles, happy that his work is done and goes upstairs… he has another gift for her, first because the crib is more like a family gift and then because the moment he saw her star, the star of David, exactly the same one to which Tony held on so tightly during her time away and that also has too many bad memories attached to it, in bright silver rather than the gold he was so used to see… he knew it was perfect to symbolize a new beginning, a brighter future. He puts it softly on the black velvet box, hoping she will love it as much as he did when he first saw it
He looks at his watch and realizes Ziva must be awake by now so he calls, and patiently waits for her to pick up… "Ziver" he breaths out, almost remembering her first call from Israel all those months ago, but the moment was so different
"Abba" she says, happy to hear his voice "good morning"
He smiles "Good morning Ziver and happy birthday" his love for her clear in his voice
"Thank you, Tony and I just finished breakfast and we're on our way to the navy yard"
"Ziva, I'm so glad that you're with us this year" he says, pulling out the star from the black box again "I love you"
Ziva's eyes shine with unshed tears "and I you, I'm happy to be here… I'm home"
"Home… sounds perfect" he adds "I'll see you, Tony and peanut soon" he hears her laughing and hangs up. The shining silver star goes back to the box as he goes back to his coffee, the first of his day, before gathering his things and head to the navy yard
~~Friends from the Past~~
Emily slowly goes upstairs, straight into Hotch's office. He woke up before her that morning because of an early meeting with Mateo (who she still couldn't call chief) She knocks twice before she hears his deep voice telling her to go inside "hey" she says softly, before sitting on the couch
Hotch smiles, just the sight of his Emily… of his wife, makes him happier "hey…" he stands up from his desk and sits right next to her "good morning Ms. Hotchner" he says, before kissing her
"Mmm that definitely makes up for waking up alone this morning, Sir" she says, playful as always
"Sir? I thought you only called me that when you are mad" He says, with a smirk that pretty much proves her he knows she's over it
Emily shakes her head "actually I'm here to ask you if you wanted to go with me to the navy yard… I know I said I would wait until I got out of work to say happy birthday but…"
"Go" he says, interrupting her "go and say happy birthday to Ziva"
Emily bites her lip "Actually… I'll take the rest of the day off" Hotch raises an eyebrow and she does it too "I'll skip the navy yard and go straight to Ziva and Tony's place… I have to prepare everything"
Hotch laughs "Oh… Emily, you know I can't…" He says amused
She takes his hand and interrupts him "just this once"
"And next year, and the one after that…"
She huffs "well, of course… it's Ziva's birthday"
"How did you do it back then?" Hotch asks, she never asked for something like this
Emily laughs "when we were in DC I usually waited for her at her old apartment or outside the yard and if we weren't I used skype and then showed up at her place when we were back, the only one I missed was last year"
"Then who am I to stop you" Hotch kisses her "go, I'll see you there later"
Emily smiles "Thanks, I love you. I'll pick up Jack from school" she says, leaving the office. She doesn't have much to do, so she will be using her free time to relax and have lunch with his son, who also wants to buy a present for Zi. After almost 20 years of friendship she knows that Ziva appreciates anything someone she loves gives her, but she makes an effort every year in her gifts… this year she'll be giving her a couple of tickets for the opera, a beautiful coat and a photo album, that has many memories of their younger years… she laughs at herself thinking she just sounded like an old lady in her head
The drive to Jack's school is short and peaceful. Usually JJ or Hotch are the ones that pick up the kids, but Henry stayed at home today and she gave herself the day off, she walks closer to the entrance of the school and is surprised to find some of the parents from Jack's class. She waves at them but doesn't stop to say hi, most of the moms look at her from head to toe and she's glad the ambassador taught her to always look her best; she plays with her wedding band and smiles to herself when she hears some gasps. She spots Jack between the children "Jack!" she calls for him
Jack's face lights up as soon as he sees her "mom!" he yells and runs towards her, happy that she came to pick him up
Emily opens her arms and hugs him tight; she kisses his head "how was your day buddy?"
"Very good, I got a 10 for my report about Europe, and the teacher even gave me extra points for the cool stories" Jack says excited
"That's wonderful buddy!"Emily takes her son's hand and starts walking to the car and laughs when she hears one of the kids tell his mom about how amazing Jack's mom was. After making sure Jack has his seatbelt on, she goes around and sits behind the wheel "what do you want to eat?" she asks
Jack thinks for a while "Pizza" he says happily. "hey mom?" he suddenly says
"Yeah?"
"Do you think Gibbs would let my class visit the navy yard?" he asks. After today's presentation, everyone wants to meet the MCRT… specially Ziva, given she and his mom were the ones that told him some stories he could use
Emily chuckles, she knew this was going to happen… last time Jack did a presentation about his dad's job, his entire class ended up meeting the BAU's A team. "I'm sure he'll be on board"
~~Friends from the Past~~
When Ziva comes back from her lunch with Tony, she's not surprised to find Abby, Gibbs and McGee wearing hats and yelling happy birthday as loud as they can. What's still weird for her is to find Ellie's desk empty, she decided to go back to the NSA, but she promised to be there for her wedding. Ziva doesn't dwell much on it and hugs her friends "that's why you didn't come up here until now" she chuckles
Abby shakes her head "I wanted it to be a surprise" she says and then looks back at Gibbs "doesn't he look cute?" she smirks before giving Ziva her present "I was going to give it to you later but I couldn't wait" She bought Ziva a couple of classic movies and the latest Disney success Frozen. "That's for peanut" she adds
"Thank you Abby" She kisses her cheek
McGee hugs her tightly "happy birthday Ziva" he says before kissing her cheek
"Thank you Tim" Ziva says softly, he's like a little brother to her and he was the first one of the team to accept her
McGee gives her a little box "I noticed that your Ipod broke" he says
"It's perfect Tim, running without music is so boring" she says and hugs him again
"You don't even have to do anything to it, it has your music and everything" he adds
Ziva smiles "even better"
Gibbs smirks at Ziva, the only one worse with technology than he is her. He hugs her and kisses her cheek "happy birthday again kid" he says
"Thank you" Ziva says, smiling at him "I need to have a picture of you wearing the hat"
"Consider it a present" he says and winks at her, "my gift for you is in your desk, the other one will be at your place later"
Ziva takes the black velvet box on her desk and carefully opens it, she gasps and her eyes are shining with tears "Abba…" she whispers and hugs him "it's beautiful"
Gibbs hugs her again "I figured you needed a new one with better memories" he whispers
Ziva nods and quickly takes off her golden star "my mother's star of David" she explain to the group "and now I'll have one from my father" she says, and asks for Tony's help to put it on her neck, the silver star shinning beautifully against her skin
Tony kisses her cheek and says "if our peanut is a girl, we could give it to her when she is old enough" taking the golden one and putting it into the black box
Everyone nods "Our own family tradition" Ziva says, drying her tears "I love you… all of you" she opens her arms and Tony, Abby, Tim and even Gibbs join. Ziva knows once again she made the right decision
Ducky clears his throat "I'm sorry for being late, it seems like I missed all the fun" he says, smiling
Gibbs drags him towards them "please join us" he says "now, this is a family hug" he adds, briefly thinking of Shannon and Kelly
"Happy birthday my dear Ziva" Ducky adds "I'll make sure to be on time for dinner and bring you a gift" Everyone let go and Ducky kisses Ziva's cheek "I love you very much dear"
Ziva smiles "I love you too Ducky"
~~Friends from the Past~~
Emily smiles wickedly reading Tony's note: You know where everything is, and keep the key. Tony. "Ready to surprise Zi?" she asks to a very excited Jack
Jack quickly nods "ready… but mom, how is a surprise if you do this every year?" he asks
She chuckles "well… is not really a surprise but it's fun"
"Ok" he says happily, after all he loves Ziva and he will make anything to make her happy
Emily takes his hand and they enter the apartment "so, cupcakes or muffins?"
"I thought we were going to bake a cake?" he looks at her curiously
She steps into the kitchen and winks at him "yes, but I'm sure we will have enough time" she quickly pulls out some bowls "but wait, we have to sing happy birthday to Zi first!". Jack goes to the living room to wait for her beside the couch "please dial straight to Ziva's desk"
Jack nods and chuckles when he sees her running from the kitchen "hurry mom, she picked up" he says and then adds "hello Zi, it's Jack"
"Hi Zi!" Emily joins and puts the call on the speaker "ready?" she asks to a very excited Jack and when he nods they both sing happy birthday
Ziva is smiling during the whole call "I love you so much, both of you" she says "I'll see you later ok? Thank you"
"We love you too Zi" Jack says "and peanut too!" he adds before hanging up
Emily kisses Jack's head and smiles "now, cake and …?" she asks
Jack thinks about it and says "red velvet cake with strawberries and… chocolate muffins!" he declares
She quickly works on both things, laughing with a flour-covered Jack. She enjoys spending time with her boy, seeing him so happy and so relaxed around her makes her heart feel warmer. "Jack, look the cake is going up" she's excited, baking has always been a challenge for her but still she makes the effort every year for her friend… they both do
Jack laughs at her excitement "mom, you've done this many times…" he says
"I know, but a few of those times were a complete disaster" Emily tells him, laughing of her own baking skills
~~Friends from the Past~~
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY ZIVA!" Her whole family yell when she blows the candles, and then they clap. Emily, Hotch, Jack, JJ, Henry, Will, Abby, Tim, Ducky, Jimmy, Breena, Pen, Derek, Spencer, David, Gibbs and Tony clap as loud as they can
Ziva smiles at them "Thank you, I… I can't believe I'm 39" she says
"Don't forget pregnant and about to be married" Penelope and Abby speak at the same time and everyone laughs
She chuckles "and that too"
Tony puts a hand on her shoulder "ok so, I need you to come to the living room for a moment" he says to everyone but never taking his eyes off Ziva "See everyone gave you a present, even peanut got a present" he says, smiling at Gibbs "but I haven't give you mine" he stands up and hands her the picture of the house she said she liked all those months ago, the American dream come true "do you still like it?"
Ziva has tears in her eyes, she found this house at least 4 months ago while they were planning some parts of their future together… it was close to Gibb's house, the neighborhood is peaceful and it has enough room for them and peanut (and maybe more), but he hasn't paid attention to her, or at least that was she thought back then… it turns out she was wrong "Tony" she manages to say his name after a while "is this for real?"
He kisses her forehead and nods, if it's possible, the smile on his face seems even wider than before "the American dream remember? I just want it with you, I want it all with you and our peanut" Tony kisses her softly
"Oh Tony is perfect" Ziva says, her voice barely above a whisper "I love you" she says before putting their joined hands on her belly "we love you"
Gibbs and Ducky smile knowingly at each other, while Abby and Emily try to stop the happy tears. For Abby is all about them finally being together after years of flirting, bickering and failing miserably at pretending they were just friends, but for Emily it was even more special… she saw it from the very beginning, the way her eyes lighted up every time he was mentioned, how annoyed she could get whenever he said something childish, when she started to fall for him up until she realized she was head over heels in love with the one and only Tony Dinozzo; she was there for the jealousy, the heartache, the awkwardness and finally the happiness. By now Emily couldn't stop the tears so she just squeezed Hotch's hand and leaned onto his side to look at the happy family
~~Friends from the Past~~
And it's a wrap for Ziva's birthday, this one was really hard to finish (that's why it has taken me so long to update) but TIVA's wedding is practically writing itself so it should be up by this weekend… unless you know, life decides to get messy and sets me back a couple of days
I really hope you liked this chapter (which turned out way longer than I had intended). I have so much fun writing about these shows, it's gonna be hard to let this universe go someday (still far)
Kisses, Cami