OMG thanks for all the awesome reviews, please keep on doing so!
As promised, here is the next chapter, in which their new house is described in 1476 words; as well as a heartfelt conversation between our favourite engaged couple.
Chapter Ten: More like a mansion
The house was more like a mansion than anything. It was three stories tall, made of sandstone coloured bricks and black roofing. Multiple chimneys were pointing out of the roof, and the triple garage almost summoned their cars. The front lawn behind the hedge boasted the greenest lawn they had seen in a long time and was landscaped perfectly. A path lead down to the mailbox from the front door, while another lead from the driveway, through a gate, around to the back yard.
"Shall we go in?" Jenny asked, having been the first to recover her voice. They were all awestruck by the outside of the house, so theoretically, the inside should be the same.
Everyone stepped inside and didn't move from the entrance hall. The house was more beautiful than they would have thought. Polished hardwood floors flowed through the house and the soft yellow walls were inviting enough to display frames on once they had settled. A large formal dining room was off to the immediate left, a doorframe leading into what looked like a large, modern kitchen. To the right was a small study, complete with glass-fronted cabinets already installed to display weapons and awards.
Tony started walking down the hall until, just after the study, he reached the large open-plan family area. To him, it looked like it took up majority of the floor. A long winding staircase at the back was elegant enough to not look out of place, but displayed enough room beside it for a puzzle of family photos one day.
The family area boasted a large fireplace and enough room for his home entertainment system and his entire DVD collection. The kitchen was immediately opposite; all appliances stainless steel, it was spacious enough to have multiple people cooking at once, but the island in the middle was there as extra space. A large breakfast bar attached meant that the dining room only needed to be used for special occasions.
They explored further, still in silent awe. Behind the staircase were two small bedrooms and an even smaller bathroom, presumably for the housekeeper and governess; a large laundry room was behind them. A larger bathroom was across the hall, as was a large play room, already painted bright colours. The large glass windows allowed natural light to illuminate the room, and the colours of the sunset cast ominous but beautiful shadows on the floor. The room led to a large backyard, which already had an in-ground pool. Around the side, closer to the kitchen, was a large outdoor entertainment area in the patio. Like the front yard, it too had been perfectly landscaped.
"This is like an oasis in the middle of town," Abby whispered.
"No wonder your father chose this house," Gibbs commented. "It's perfect for you two."
Tony and Ziva smiled. "Come on," Ziva said, grabbing her partner's hand. "We still have two more floors to explore."
They headed up the staircase to the middle level. The walls were painted more of an aqua-blue, but the floor was still polished hardwood. The white doors were all open, showing no less than six different rooms minimum. The spacious amount of room in between the doors also housed a fireplace, and was large enough to be a games/entertainment room.
The first three doors lead to decent sized bedrooms, all with built-in wardrobes and doors leading onto a spacious balcony overlooking the yard. The fourth doorway displayed a white-tiled bathroom. Next was a small office/study, and after that, the master bedroom.
The master bedroom was large enough for a king-size bed to fit comfortable in it, with enough room to manoeuvre around it into the walk-in wardrobe and adjoining ensuite. Like the other bedrooms, it also had a door leading to the balcony.
The third, smaller level of the house had another four bedrooms, a bathroom and a playroom, all in the same fashion as the ones below, except this level had no balcony. These rooms were slightly bigger than their counterparts below, but were still cosy all the same.
"Makes you want to move in right away, doesn't it?" Jenny asked.
"We're gonna need to furnish it first," Tony mumbled, not letting Ziva's hand go. "Come on, guys," he said after another long, silent moment. "It's getting late, we should start heading home."
The others nodded in agreement.
"How about we meet for breakfast at, say, 0800?" Jen offered. "I know this great place that serves the most amazing pancakes; any flavour possible. You in?"
Everyone nodded, Abby more eagerly than everyone else.
"Sure, text us the address and we'll see you there," Tim replied.
The silence was broken, and everyone started heading down the stairs to the bottom floor before they all left. Tony set the alarm before he locked the door, and they went back to his apartment so everyone could pick up their cars to drive home.
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Tony and Ziva lay naked in bed later that evening, curled up together. Neither were able to sleep, as both had something on their minds.
"That house is massive," Tony began, breaking the comfortable silence. "How many grandkids does your dad expect?"
Ziva sighed. "Judging from the way he was talking; more than two or three."
"It's a good thing they've given us a furniture allowance. How much is that, anyway?"
"Normally, for a house that size, between fifty and one hundred thousand dollars," Ziva deadpanned.
Tony whistled as he breathed out. "I think we're going to need all of it, sweetcheeks," he mentioned, hugging her closer to him. She nuzzled her head further into his neck. "When do you want to move in?" he asked as an afterthought. "After the wedding, or before?"
Ziva knew now was the time to mention what happened at the café to him. "Tony," she said, sitting up to look him in the eye. "We might have to have our wedding sooner rather than later; I do not want to be a fat bride."
"What?" Tony was puzzled. "Ziva, you barely have an ounce of fat on you!"
"Pregnant women have much more than usual, Tony," she mentioned.
"Wait a minute," he smiled widely. "Are you telling me you're pregnant?"
Ziva sighed again. "I might be pregnant," she whispered, bowing her head to stare at the sheets. "I am not sure yet."
Tony said nothing, he just hugged her close to his body. "Even if you're not, sweetcheeks, what do you think of a summer wedding? The first week of June sound okay to you?"
Ziva sat up. "Tony, I am being serious here. It is the beginning of March; that is less than three months away. What if I am pregnant?"
"Then I will love you just the same, if not more."
She smiled softly. "Yes, I know; I love you too. But I need to get something of my chest, Tony, about me possibly being pregnant."
He nodded, looking deep into her eyes; he grabbed her hands for support.
She sighed, letting out a deep breath before starting. "Do you remember when I mentioned my sisters, Tali and Shiloh?"
Tony nodded again. "Yeah, Shiloh was murdered and Tali the victim of a suicide bomber?"
She nodded. "Yes, well, they weren't just my sisters, they were twins, just like my mother Anna and my Aunt Adina."
"So?" Tony asked. "I don't see the problem."
"The problem, Tony," Ziva began, her tone of voice rising a little. "Is that a history of multiple births run in the female line of my family! It is very possible that my first pregnancy ends up being multiple children!"
Tony just smiled and hugged her, kissing her forehead to calm her down. "Zee, I still don't see the problem. You're the only woman I could ever see myself raising a family with and, frankly, the bigger the better as far as I'm concerned. I grew up as an only child with no one to play with; you lost your bothers and sisters to terrorism. I think that's why your father gave us such a big house; we'll probably fill it without a problem."
Ziva sighed into his chest. "You're right, maybe I just overreacted."
"Yeah," Tony nodded. "Come on; I'll take you to the doctor's first thing Monday morning; we're due for our yearly physicals anyway. Then we can find out for sure if there are going to be mini DiNozzo's running around soon."
She nodded her head and kissed his chest. "Thank you for being so understanding."
"Anytime, sweetcheeks, anytime."
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The house is like a cross between the Walker house in Pasadena, CA from 'Brothers and Sisters', and something that came out of my head. There is no picture, but i had the clearest picture when i was writing it.