Happy 2014! It feels like years since I worked on this, and technically it was last year… Anyway, back at home and not feeling the story at all. Or any story for that matter. But I promised I would continue. This will probably not be overly long, just something to get out and feed my muse again.

Tony flopped back down on the sofa and let his head fall back against the cushions. "They're upstairs sleeping." Tony answered quietly. Gibbs let out his breath, relieved that they were all still on the premises.

"So, bad night with the kids, huh? Is one or both sick or something?" Gibbs looked closely at Tony, worried about how exhausted he was.

Tony turned his head and peered at Gibbs and in that moment, he knew that whatever happened, it wasn't that they had a "tough night with the kids." Gibbs sat down next to Tony.

"What's happened?"

Disclaimer: Not mine

Chapter Thirteen: "Drawing a Line"

Tony stared straight ahead, recognizing Gibbs' annoying ability to read between the lines and being a Dad or Grandpa or whatever in the hell he was right now. Tony just wasn't sure who he should be talking to, if anyone.

He didn't like the idea of airing his and Ziva's dirty laundry, wanting to keep some semblance of privacy about their lives. Right, like we've ever been able to keep things to ourselves. Tony smiled without humor at his delusional thoughts that he had a normal family with normal problems.

He sat up with a groan and cracked his neck, making Gibbs wince. Gibbs had his own orthopedic issues, mostly in the patellar area of his legs. But he had made a thesis out of ignoring the aches, pains and…noises…his offending joints made as he demanded movement from them that was not given with ease. Denial was easier than acceptance, as Gibbs truly believed that the moment he accepted his physical limitations he would curl up into a ball and die.

He eyed Tony as he continued his body stretch, wondering if he was purposefully wrenching his body around to divert his thoughts from whatever in the hell was going on in DiNozzo/David Land.

Finally, Tony completed his body contortions and looked down at Gibbs, smiling softly at the pained expression on his face. "It's not as bad as it sounds." He murmured, wondering if he was trying to make Gibbs feel better, or if he was projecting onto his and Ziva's own disaster in the making. He chuckled at Gibbs' blatant glare.

"Let's get some coffee." Tony led them into the kitchen, where an almost full pot was already waiting to be assaulted. He silently filled their cups, and with a slight glance toward the upstairs, Tony led Gibbs down into the basement.

Gibbs frowned and tried to keep his cool. He wasn't sure he really wanted to know about any personal problems Tony and Ziva were having. Mimi was far better at being supportive and empathetic and understood those kinds of things. Besides, all he would probably do would be to head slap Tony into the middle of next month.

By the time they got downstairs and Tony started pacing, Gibbs was ready to bolt. "Look." He blurted out. "If it's none of my business, just tell me. I don't want any gory details of yours and Ziva's personal life. It's none of my business if you have a fight, and frankly I'd rather not know about it."

Tony stopped pacing and actually chuckled at Gibbs. "I only wish it was a little marital spat." Gibbs frowned at that. If it wasn't personal, it was most likely work. And Gibbs was not read into work.

"I'm not your Boss anymore, Tony. And I don't work for NCIS. Not sure what you can actually tell me." Tony nodded, not surprised Gibbs had made the leap in logic.

"It's Ziva's father." Tony began simply. Gibbs started in surprise and then glared.

"What's that bastard done now?" He growled. Despite Ziva welcoming her father into her growing family, Gibbs had never forgiven him of how he had used her, placed her in peril and then left her to die. The job be damned: family came first. Gibbs stopped at his thoughts, noting the irony in his own past of his rules and keeping the job, and the team, ahead of one's personal desires. He shook his head and gave Tony his complete attention.

"We don't know that he has actually done anything, yet. But something is going on with him, something big." Tony took a deep breath. "I heard Ziva telling the kids goodbye last night, apologizing for leaving them." Gibbs' head jerked up at that.

"David has no right to recall Ziva. She's an American now, Tony. He has no claim to her." Gibbs studied Tony's expression carefully, noting the sadness that was there.

"No he doesn't. Not as her Director and certainly not as her father." Tony responded quietly. He looked Gibbs squarely in the eye. "But Vance does, or Secretary Jarvis does. Ziva is afraid she is going to be sent to spy on her father."

Gibbs sat still, stunned by Tony's admission. Leon wouldn't do that, would he? As soon as the thought formed he swore at his own folly. Of'course he would, if the situation warranted it. And the SecNav didn't give a rat's ass about anyone's personal feelings, or safety for that matter, if there was a job to be done and he hand-picked you to do it, as if it was a big favor he was bestowing like a present with a huge red bow on top.

Gibbs recalled the mission Jarvis had given Tony, behind his back no less. It had almost gotten Tony killed, twice, and Jarvis had been completely in the wrong regarding his Intel.

Gibbs tried to think of something to say, something that would ease the pain in Tony's eyes, but his reputation as a functional mute had followed him into retirement. "Shit!" was as eloquent as he could get.

"Shit indeed, as Ducky would say." Tony smiled without humor. "We talked for hours about this, what we could do, or not do, or hell…I don't know Gibbs. But I do know that Ziva will not be going to Israel."

Gibbs eyed him warily. "How are you going to prevent that, assuming it comes up? Because what I'm hearing right now is that you two are worried something like this might happen, but it hasn't actually come to pass?" Gibbs was hopeful that this conversation was all in the realm of possible future scenarios as opposed to Ziva had already been handed orders.

Tony nodded and sat down. "There has been nothing in writing or verbal for that matter. A lot of offside comments, innuendo and looks mostly at this point. But Ziva has a lot of experience with this type of behavior. If she says that something is being planned and she is going to be used, then I believe her."

"Used." Gibbs echoed. "Used as in being the operative or as in full-filling a certain role?" Tony eyed his former boss carefully, not surprised he caught on to the nuances.

"We both believe she will be used as bait or asked to play the daughter role to get information out of Eli. The first word I thought of when Ziva was trying to explain all of this was pawn." Gibbs' gut churned as he listened to Tony and Ziva's take on things. Now he got up and started pacing.

His first instinct was to go over to Leon's and read him the riot act, an act of sheer folly he quickly realized. He didn't work for Leon Vance anymore and had no reason to know what was going on at NCIS unless he was recalled as a consultant.

They both looked up as they heard steps coming down the stairs. Tony got up quickly and headed toward the kitchen. Gibbs could hear muffled voices and the soft sound of kissing. He smiled to himself, satisfied at least that Tony and Ziva were ok and on the same page.

Gibbs stood in the middle of the room as Ziva came down, followed by Tony. He held out his arms, noting her sad smile as she complied. "We will be ok, Gibbs. I promise." Gibbs kissed her temple, looking at Tony. His expression left nothing to the imagination.

Tony nodded, agreeing wholeheartedly with Gibbs' sentiment. Gibbs cleared his throat. "Tony told me some of what is going on. I'm not going to tell you what to do, but I am going to tell you this. You have every right to refuse an assignment."

Tony and Ziva looked at Gibbs in total disbelief and then started laughing. "Yeah, right, Boss. Like that would work. We still need to be employed at this point in our lives."

As soon as the words left Tony's mouth, he realized it wasn't necessarily true. Although he couldn't imagine Ziva voluntarily quitting her job should it come to that, he felt that such a decision would be fine with him and would be something they could live with.

Gibbs looked uncomfortable for a moment after his suggestion. He hemmed and hawed a bit, causing Tony and Ziva to look at each other in amusement and concern. "Well, maybe you could work on that third grandchild a bit harder." He finally mumbled out of the side of his mouth.

Tony's mouth dropped open in shock. He wasn't embarrassed that Gibbs had just suggested that Ziva use pregnancy as a reason for refusing an assignment. He just couldn't believe that Gibbs had any idea that they had decided to try for baby number three.

Ziva started chuckling again, a deep-throated affair that quickly deteriorated into snorts. "Would that have worked with you?" She asked, her eyes teasing her former boss.

Gibbs went slightly green, and then red with embarrassment. "Ziva, you know I kept you out of the field both times." Ziva continued to chuckle, acknowledging the truth of his statement. She looked at Tony, noting his still shocked expression.

She sobered quickly. "Unfortunately, we do not have too much control in the situation. It happens or it doesn't." She shrugged, trying to minimize the heaviness of the discussion.

The silence in the room was slightly overbearing and Gibbs was more than uneasy. "Are the kids still asleep?" He asked, changing the subject slightly.

Ziva nodded. "They picked up on our mood and have been cranky all day. I made us all take a nap." She sighed, hating how this was affecting her children.

Gibbs nodded. "Do you have a plan, should any of this come about?" He needed some reassurance that Tony had a handle on this. He had no doubt that he would do everything in his power to protect his family, but since this involved Ziva, the parameters were different.

"We're going to talk to Vance tomorrow." Tony began.

"No." Ziva interrupted, causing to Tony to frown at her. She looked at him closely. "I will talk to him, Tony. We have to make this about me, not us. He will be more amenable, I think. Or perhaps he will not. I do not know." She chewed her bottom lip, suddenly unsure of what, if anything, she could do to diffuse this potential situation. "This conversation could go very badly. You do not need to risk your job as well."

"I need to have a say in this." Tony growled. Ziva placed her hand on his chest in comfort.

"And you will have a say. You will just not be voicing it. I will take every one of your concerns, our concerns, to him, along with your…suggestions for lack of a better word. But they will come from me, not you." Ziva silently begged him to acquiesce to her.

Tony looked into her eyes, searching for any indication that she wasn't being totally honest and upfront with him. What he saw was the deep and abiding love his wife had for him and their children. He relaxed his stance and nodded.

Gibbs relaxed as well, recognizing the acceptance on Tony's face. "What are your suggestions, if I may ask?" He turned to Tony.

Tony rubbed Ziva's shoulder, needing the comfort of feeling her warmth. "Well, as I said before Ziva will not be going to Israel. We will use the kids as an excuse if we need to. Hell, Ziva is no longer a Field Agent, so other than wanting a favor I'm not sure she can be ordered to go." Tony sighed and scratched his unshaven face.

"She will not be in any private meeting with Eli unless it is in our home." Gibbs raised his eyes at that, not sure that was a wise choice.

"Are you sure you want to bring any of this here, where the kids are?" Gibbs was thinking of potential threats against the Director of Mossad. The last place he should be is near those babies. Tony and Ziva both went pale and looked at each other, understanding his unspoken thoughts.

"I hadn't considered that. We were only thinking of scenarios in which Ziva wouldn't be in a situation where she was in an uncontrolled setting." Tony now looked sick to his stomach.

Gibbs nodded, understanding their logic but not their conclusion. "In that case, the only logical place would be at NCIS or any of the other agencies. But I don't know if you would get David to agree to that. It's not very personal, if that is what he would be looking for. And if Ziva is being asked to pump him for information, that would be the obvious place to do it, and therefore he would be unwilling to give it."

They all sighed, feeling they were back at square one. Ziva took a deep breath. "I think the only thing I can ask for right now is to not be put into a situation where I am alone with my Father and his men, wherever that may be."

"And that's the problem isn't it? If Vance or SecNav are really going to order you to spy on your Father, how can you have a bunch a Feds around when you do it? This just goes from bad to worse." Tony swore.

"Talk to Vance." Gibbs said quietly. "He may not want you to spy at all. He may just want your input regarding how your Father thinks, or to interpret when he speaks in Hebrew. If he wants to use you, Ziva, you call the shots on this. You have the power here. He's the one that needs you, not the other way around. Help where you can, draw the line where it needs to be drawn."

Tony and Ziva held their breath. Gibbs made it sound so clear and simple, even though they both knew that where Eli David was concerned it was anything but. However, Gibbs was absolutely correct: until they spoke with Vance they were just projecting and getting themselves all worked up.

Ziva put her arm around Tony's waist and leaned against him. "Gibbs is right. We need to calm down and find out exactly what is expected of me, if anything. I am sorry I caused all of this."

Tony looked at her in surprise. "You didn't cause this. If anyone did, it's your father." Ziva shook her head.

"No, I reacted to a situation that hasn't even been presented yet. I caused you to think that I would leave you and our children because I let my imagination get the better of me. And now we have pulled in our friends because they are worried about us." She hid her head into his chest, upset with her lack of control of the situation.

Tony looked at Gibbs, stunned by her admission. Gibbs cocked his head, telling him in no uncertain terms to take care of his wife. He stood up slowly.

"I'll be heading back. Let me know if you need anything. We can take the kids if you want us to." Gibbs looked at Ziva, and pulled on one of her curls.

"Take care of yourself, Kid." He kissed her temple and headed back upstairs.

NCIS

Leon Vance looked over his calendar, frowning at the number of meetings he had scheduled at the Pentagon that week. This thing with Eli David was either going to give him an ulcer or an early retirement he thought, unable to decide which he would prefer.

He had been watching Ziva DiNozzo carefully when she had been present during the discussions regarding the Director of Mossad's latest actions. She had been concerned and worried, but her worry was not necessarily extended to her father. Leon sighed. He didn't like using his Agent's personal lives to get information he wanted. But he and Secretary Jarvis were convinced that Eli David was up to something and whatever that something was it wasn't necessarily in the U.S's best interests.

He straightened his tie and reached for his buzzer. Before he could press the button, Angela's voice came through. "Director Vance? Agent DiNozzo is here to see you." Vance looked toward his door, wondering which "DiNozzo" was on the other side. He got up and opened the door, not really surprised to see Ziva standing there.

"Come in, have a seat." Vance pointed toward the chair and took his own seat behind his desk. Ziva sat carefully, looking around at her surroundings. She noted the framed photo of Jackie and the kids on his desk, a slight smile tugging at her mouth. They were such wonderful children, a source of pride and joy for the Director.

She wondered when she had ceased to be her father's child as opposed to his soldier. Was it the moment Tali had died? No, he had always treated her, and Ari, as little Mossad officers in training. Tali had been the exception, his delicate little flower who loved singing and dolls as opposed to guns and kick-boxing. How ironic that it would be she who would be the first to die, so violently and at such a young age.

Ziva shook the thoughts from her head. She needed to be focused and in control for this meeting. She looked up and met Leon Vance's eyes. He looked slightly concerned, but not angry so she felt some relief. He understood that this was an important discussion, and not a SITREP on something she was working on. Yet.

"Director Vance, I need to speak to you about Eli David." Ziva began. Vance sat up straight.

"Go on." He encouraged, hoping she was about to give him some important intelligence she had come across. She gave a slight head shake, understanding his eager expression.

"I do not have any information that will help you." She began. She took a deep breath, knowing that she what she was about to say could end her career.

"I know that as the daughter of the Director of Mossad, it may be assumed that I am in a position to speak to him and find out what his plans are, for Israel, for Mossad. But that would be an incorrect assumption. My father does not, and will not tell me his secrets. If there is any plan to use me to get such information it will not work."

Vance stared at her for a few moments. He should have known that she would have come to that conclusion, and he was disappointed that she felt that such methods would be futile. He clasped his hands, raising his pointed fingers to his lips in thought.

"Perhaps while you were working under him that would have been true. But your relationship is different now, I would expect…"

"Expect nothing. The relationship we have now is tenuous at best. The last thing he will do is discuss Mossad with me." Ziva cut in.

Vance stood up and walked around his desk. "And what about his own personal plans, his thoughts? Surely he would tell you if he was planning on making any big changes in his life, such as retiring?" Ziva looked up with startled eyes.

"Is that what you think? That the great Eli David is considering retiring from the Directorship of Mossad?" She shook her head sadly. "One does not retire from such a position. You either die or you are removed, in which case you would prefer to die."

And there we are, planting the seeds for the demise of Eli David. As I said in a previous chapter, I will visit the result of "Shabbat Shalom" but not the actual plot. How this all goes down will be different, but with some of the same characters. Ziva will most definitely not be the same in this story as she was on the show. By the way, I have no idea what the name of Vance's assistant is. Thanks as always for your great support and reviews.