"There are my beautiful grandkids!" Anthony DiNozzo Sr scooped Tom and Tali in his arms before he whirled them round and placed them back onto the floor.
"How's my favourite daughter keeping up?" His eyes appraised her and she knew battle would be futile. At this moment her face could be read like a book- anything she said would be known as a lie.
"She's managing. How are you doing Tony?" His brows furrowed and when he leaned in to talk to her his voice was soft.
"You don't need to keep up the strong façade Ziva." There were tears in his eyes. She embraced him tenderly and patted him on the back. He seemed to understand- ever since Eli had passed away there had been a hole which no one could fill. It was surprising to all of them but Tony's father seemed to just 'get' her – sometimes more so than her own father ever could and now was one of those instances.
"I'm all cried out," she shrugged it off and forced herself to smile. Someone cleared their throat and both Ziva and Tony Sr turned towards the source of the noise. It was Michelle.
"You have to come now," she was panting. "They established a video link...Tony's live." Ziva barely registered her legs moving and she soon found herself in MTAC. Michael turned round and watched her run in. He sighed – why were the best women already taken?
When she saw the face on the monitor she stopped. The face was unshaved and unkempt, the hair long and greasy but it was him. Her ahuvi and soulmate.
"Tony," the name was almost alien to her tongue. "It's you." A weak smile played on his lips.
"Sure it's me Ziva. You okay?" Tears rolled down her face and she felt like throwing a glass at the screen in MTAC. She vehemently shook her head.
"No Tony. I've missed you so much and it gets worse each passing day." She stepped forward and touched the screen. Some part of her could feel his stubble and the warmth underneath. "And now I've seen you its worse. You're not okay so how could I be?" There was silence in MTAC and Ziva was suddenly aware of everyone else in the room. Director Vance coughed.
"Hang in there Agent DiNozzo. The exchange will take place in about 3 weeks from now." When Tony laughed it was a harsh one.
"3 weeks is nothing for me Director. I'll be waiting." The door opened noisily. Ziva tore her eyes away from the screen and found her children running towards her. Tony was silent.
"Why'd you go Mama?" Tom clung to her shirt. She kissed his head and gently moved his hair from her face.
"To see Daddy. Look at the screen Tom." He turned his face to the screen and started to smile. His grin broke her heart and she was sure it broke Tony's too.
You must be Tom," his voice was choked. "I heard about you from your mom...but that was a long time ago. I thought I would never..." He stopped suddenly and Ziva felt movement on her other side.
"Is that really you Daddy?" Tali stepped forward, wary to the point of being frightened. "You look different." His cheeks were glistening when he spoke again.
"I should be saying that honey...you've grown up so much." Suddenly there were shouts in Arabic and Tony deftly replied. Ziva frowned and he shrugged; exactly like he used to in the bullpen. It was casual and careless- something the old Tony clearly continued to do. She sighed, releasing tension.
"Learning Arabic helped me to stay alive this long. They're telling me to shut down. It's a miracle we got this much Zi...I'll be back." He smiled briefly before the screen went black.
Ziva sighed and placed her head in her hands. She had thought it would be easier once she saw Tony again. But it wasn't.