Rifiuto: Non Miriena
Washington, D.C.,
The Navy Yard,
Six Weeks Later
"Again."
"Gibbs, I am tired."
"Again."
"I am tired."
"Again."
"What part of tired do you not understand?"
"Again, kid."
The eighteen-year-old wiped at the perspiration on her forehead, turning to search for her parents. They were down in the NCIS gym; Gibbs had decided that today would be a close combat day- when Yonah had followed her parents into the bullpen that morning- thanks to a campus holiday- the Team Leader had decided that it would be a good idea if they all took a cold case day and got some combat practice in. Of course, as soon as they'd entered the gym, Tony and her parents had disappeared, leaving the teenager with Gibbs.
And since Shirah had returned to Israel to start the new semester, and Nara had caught a flight to L.A. a week earlier, that left Yoni to begin her combat training, on Gibbs's orders.
Someone landed hard on the mat outside the boxing area, and Yoni looked up to see her mother straddling Tony, tugging his arms behind his back. Her father was kneeling not far from the pair, spotting the older man, not that he needed to; Tony was pretty much tied up at the moment. Without a word, the senior agent managed to get a leg up, hitting Ziva in the ass and sending her over his head. Instantly, the older agent scrambled to hold the Israeli down, his legs at her hips and his hands holding her arms above her head.
"You have been holding back, Tony." Ziva raised an eyebrow. "Why?"
Tony chuckled nervously; he usually didn't go to hard on Ziva- partially because she was the youngest- and only female- agent on the team, and partially because she was... well, Tim's wife. "Well... for one, you're... Tim's..." She glanced at her husband, who raised an eyebrow. "And, also because you're... well..."
"A girl?" Tim filled in; Tony swallowed as Ziva locked eyes with her husband.
"Hey, baby, do I look like a girl to you?" The junior agent chuckled softly, shaking his head.
"All I see right now are two NCIS special agents." She grinned, her nose wrinkling in silent delight when Tim caught on to what she was planning. The junior agent stood, backing away and placing his hands on his hips.
"Me too."
With a wince, he turned to his partner. "Hope you wore a cup, Tony."
The older man glanced at his partner, giving him a quick, snide smile. "Funny, McG-" He let out a squeal of surprised pain as Ziva kneed him hard in the groin, getting out of the way as the senior agent crumpled to his knees. Tim hissed.
"Even I felt that."
Ziva chuckled, going to her husband and slinging an arm around his neck, pulling him close. "I would never do such a thing to you, baby. You gave me our girls, why would I do something as painful as that to the man who gave me three of the most beautiful babies in the D.C., area?" She kissed him softly, slowly, before pulling away. "Besides, Tony deserved it."
"What did he do now?"
She shrugged. "He has not done anything yet. That was for whatever stupid thing he will try to do to us later." She glanced back at Tony, who had finally managed to pick himself up off the floor. "You had better get ice, Tony." She then took Tim's hand, tugging him onto the mat. "Come on, baby. You and me. I promise, I will go easy on you." Ziva quickly dropped into a soft ready stance; Tim raised an eyebrow.
"You? Go easy on me? Oh, no. We go all out or not at all." He mirrored her stance. "We're grappling today."
Ziva raised one slender eyebrow. "If you are sure, baby."
Neither noticed as Yoni slipped out of the boxing ring, joining Tony on the bench to watch her parents.
In a matter of minutes, Ziva's back hit the mat and Tim was on top of her, pinning her down. And just as quickly, she was back on her feet. Yoni watched, completely taken in by how well her parents seemed to block each others' advances-
"I... did not know they could-" She stopped, and Tony glanced at her, giving her a weak smile.
"Your parents are pretty damn good at this sort of thing, Yon-Yon. But then again, your momma's former Mossad, and, I have a feeling, that despite your daddy's MIT-John Hopkins education, that he probably learned a few things from Momma Ninja over there. Which means you should have too." Yoni shrugged, leaning into Tony's side when he held out an arm.
"I am not like either Ima or Abba, or even my sisters. I do not fit into my own family. If I do not fit into my own family, how am I going to fit into a place like Syria, or and organization, or even life, Uncle Tony?" He glanced at the girl.
"You fit into your family, Yon-Yon, trust me, you do. You have a lot of your daddy in you, and... some of your momma." Tony cocked his head to the side. "You're more like your daddy, though; though you do have your momma's beauty. Except for your eyes- your eyes are all McGee." Yoni smiled softly, resting her head on her uncle's shoulder.
Ziva slammed onto the mat, finding herself once more pinned beneath her husband. "You wore a cup, right, Tim?" He leaned down, his silky lips brushing against her ear.
"Unlike Tony, I learned early to protect myself when I play with you." She grinned, meeting his gaze. In one swift move, Ziva sent her husband careening over her head onto the mat; she stood, foot going to his throat. It momentarily stunned Tim, before he was able to grab her ankle and throw her. By the time they finished, both were out of breath; Ziva's ponytail had come loose and her shirt had ridden up, revealing a thin strip of stomach- and a naval piercing she'd gotten on a whim in Cairo, when she'd met Jenny, before coming to America. Of course, she'd removed the piercing with each pregnancy, having it re-pierced a few months after Nara had been born. The small Jewish Star dangled from her naval, the tiny gold trinket another reminder of her heritage, like the star around her neck. Yoni's gaze went to the body jewelry, confused. There was so little that she actually knew about her parents-
She decided, then and there, to discover more about the couple who'd given her and her sisters life before she left for Syria.
"So, how did boxing with Gibbs go, ktana?" Ziva asked, grabbing a towel off the bench and quickly wiping at her neck. Yoni sat up, turning as Gibbs joined them. Ziva's eyebrows rose. "That is part of our deal, Yonaleh." She tossed the towel back onto the bench, going to her daughter and catching her chin. "I suggest you do as Gibbs wants, if you want to go to Syria." She then pressed a kiss to her daughter's lips before pulling away and turning to Tim. "I am going to go take a shower. Care to join me, Timothy?"
Without a word, Tim turned back to his daughter, nodding towards Gibbs before taking his wife's hand and allowing her to tug him towards the showers. Yoni turned back to Gibbs, who waited for her. With a sigh and a quick squeeze from Tony, she got up.
