Chapter 10
The house was painted simply, the living room light and fresh, multiple sofas and chairs, ranging from leather to fabric covered, all scattered around the massive room, and Gibbs could see the glass doors that led to a conservatory, and the garden beyond it, lit by lamps around the grass. Mahala then led him up the stairs to the second floor, her feet padding along the laminate flooring, avoiding the carpets thrown around, and Gibbs wondered if she had a reason for that, maybe she'd tripped over one too many times? Again, Gibbs thought about how much Tony and Ziva had manifested themselves in their children; speaking of...
"Where're the twins?" He asked quietly, and Mahala smiled over her shoulder, walking him down the landing, to a small hall with two doors opposite each other. One door was painted blue, planes and cars racing across the wood, and someone had carefully painted 'Benjamin' in white onto the blue; opposite the door was painted a very light pink, with fairies and glitter placed across it, and 'Sara' also painted in white. Gibbs ran his hands over the writing on Sara's door, and noticed that the fairies were also painted, and he suspected the cars and planes were the same.
"Mom did that, all of it; she and Dad spent three weekends, full ones, on decorating all our rooms, Dad on the backgrounds, Mom on the details. You should have seen them," Mahala sighed, her fingers also now tracing Ziva's artwork, only on her brother's door, "Working, and laughing, with each other, all of us playing together, redoing our rooms... it was amazing. I don't think we've had time like that since." Tears were gathering in her eyes, and Gibbs looked on pained, and was about to reach forward, but two blurs suddenly skidded to a halt in front of them.
"What you doing in front of our rooms?" Ben asked, already in his pyjamas, his sister the same, and Mahala smiled at him, opening his door, and letting the boy in first, Sara still following. Gibbs stayed in the doorway, watching as Mahala tucked the little boy in, kissing his forehead as she pressed a button on a small box on his nightstand. A man's deep, slow voice started to flow from the CD player, an audio book, and the five-year-old's eyes started to droop. Mahala took Sara's hand to lead her to her room, closing Ben's behind her. She repeated the process to the little girl, before closing the door and smiling at Gibbs.
"You do that often?" He asked as they walked away, Mahala still showing him most of the house. She nodded, and seemed to be thinking of her words as he poked his head into what was a bathroom, white and earthen tiled, a large mirror dominating one wall, make-up and hair products all battling for space on a small shelf underneath.
"We do have a babysitter who comes in to take care of us, well, the twins mostly, but when Mom and Dad work late and can't get anyone in, I'm happy to help out, plus it means I get to spend more time with them; after all the... complications our family's been through, I take all the time I can get." Mahala replied slowly, her words hitching every now and again in her throat, and Gibbs felt bad for the events of the past few years, despite having little or no control over them; despite wanting to give Mahala some space, a question was pressing on his lips that he just wouldn't let go: he viewed it as releasing his inner DiNozzo for once.
"The twins... when were they born?" He asked, and he hoped he was being subtle enough to...
"I don't think you're really wanting to ask that,Agent Gibbs," Mahala giggled, and Gibbs wanted to groan at being rumbled so quickly, she definitely inherited her mother's quick mind and father's humour, "Whenever my dad suggests something to do with them, or the guys get too... trying, in her words, all my mom says is that she's always hated stakeouts." Gibbs choked on his coffee. He shook his head as the teenager looked to him, his face turning bright red, and he wasn't sure why. Anger? Shock? A slight bit of embarrassment?
"When, and where were you born, Mahala?" He finally asked, and the girl smiled as she led him across the hall.
"You want my story? Oh, this is Mom and Dad's room; judging by how they talk about you, they would be powerless to stop you entering if you wanted to, so go ahead. I... I wanna see it anyway, if you don't mind, I need their presence..." She murmured and pushed against the light green door, with vines over it, the words 'Ima and Padre' painted on. Inside was a large double bed, the walls painted a light blue and cream, and there were photos everywhere. As Gibbs moved closer to see what they were of, Mahala started to speak again, "Dad met Mom on a holiday; they were together in a bar, and things just... clicked, as Dad calls it, from there. When he left, they were both upset, and lost contact,"
Gibbs listened intently, and was surprised to see the corresponding picture in front of him; a much younger Tony was smiling into the camera, sunglasses on his tan face, taking the picture, his arm outstretched in the slight corner, while Ziva was beside him, heads rested together, her eyes glittering as she grinned into the camera. Behind them was some sort of beach, and Gibbs could easily imagine the two of them soaking up the sun, no cares, no work, "Once Mom found out she was pregnant, she tried so hard to find Dad, to tell him, but had to give up, but only when I was about eight. When she transferred here, she brought me with her, of course, but didn't introduce me to Dad for months; she was scared, I remember her telling me once, scared of Dad rejecting her, me, that she put it off for so long,"
Another picture was of Tony, this time with Mahala, and they looked to be dancing, the girl about ten, Christmas lights were strung up behind them, a Menorah glittering on a window sill. Mahala was laughing, her curly hair in a ponytail, wearing a deep green dress, her dad in a suit; Gibbs wondered where they'd been to be dressed up so nicely. Next to this was a picture of Ziva, also dressed up, and her daughter, helping Mahala put her stocking on the fireplace, Ziva smiling softly at the girl's ecstatic expression. Another photo was of the same night, though slightly blurry and off-centre, Ziva and Tony with their arms around each other, grinning at their daughter, obviously taking the photo. They looked so proud, so happy; it almost hurt him to see them so carefree. I never knew.
"But, one day, she brought him to our house, something about dinner, and we were introduced. To say he was shocked would be an understatement, but he was great about it; just stepped up to the... plate, is that it? Yeah, plate, and was the best dad ever, like I hadn't ever grown up for the first years of my life without one... it hurt so bad when we got separated." She whispered, her fingers brushing over the frames. Gibbs guided her out of the room, still looking at the many photos, letting the girl drift away into the bathroom. He didn't miss the tears on her face.
A/N: Sorry for the delay, it's exam season, so I've been swamped! So here it is and hopefully a few more questions have been answered! So, tell me what you think and if you want more!