A/N: Sorry it took me so long to post this. It's been a really busy week with work and getting my son ready to start preschool next week. Plus our County Fair was this weekend… yeah. Busy! The next two chapters are already written and will be posted tomorrow. The baby's name will be revealed soon, promise!
Baby Dinozzo seemed to like to do cartwheels all day long. All day, that is, until his Daddy's hand came near Mommy's belly. The baby had been kicking for a couple of weeks now, and Tony had yet to feel it.
The first time he had kicked, Ziva had been down in the lab, helping Abby. Gibbs had taken pity on her, letting her get away from her desk when she had finished her paperwork to play lab assistant for a little while. Abby had a hunch that it might have more to do with the death threats Ziva had been making against Tim and Jason than pity, but she cheerfully accepted the company anyway.
Ziva had been down there for a couple of hours, actually somewhat enjoying herself. At least she was learning something, and she got to shoot a gun a few times when Abby needed to run a ballistic test. She knew that she shouldn't be down there when Abby was working with chemicals and organic materials, but today she was all computers and guns. The only thing Ziva could really complain about was Abby's taste in music, and the forensic scientist had been kind enough to at least keep it turned down.
Ziva was sitting at Abby's desk, looking something up on her computer and frowning at the screen. One hand was absentmindedly rubbing her belly when it suddenly moved under her palm. Her eyes opened wide and she looked down in surprise. She rubbed again a little harder, trying to get him to do it again, and he obliged. A slow smile spread across her face and she jumped up in excitement to go tell Abby.
Of course, Abby had felt him kick that day. And a couple of times since. Ziva silenced anyone else's requests to touch her with a look. Not that many had tried. But when she got home that night and tried to get the baby to kick for Tony, he adamantly refused. In fact, every night since then he had refused. He kicked at work all day long, but once they were home, he was still. Tony would lay with his ear against her belly, talking to the baby and trying to bribe him into kicking. He'd already offered favorite child status (like he had any competition), a puppy, a pony, even a red Ferrari like Magnum's. Ziva thought it was a little but funny, as if their child was telling his father already that he would not do anything he didn't want to do. Tony didn't find it funny at all, attributing his son's stubbornness to his mother.
Tony even tried to feel the baby kick at work. If he saw Ziva in the elevator or if they happened to be able to get away for lunch, but still no luck. It was starting to bum him out.
So now Friday night had rolled around, and Tony decided to surprise Ziva with a date night. Who knew how many there would be after the baby was born, and there hadn't really been any before she got pregnant. He took her to dinner at a beautiful little Italian restaurant, and then to an action movie (her choice). He had bought her flowers for the coffee table, and put on a soft jazz cd while he gave her a neck massage when they got home.
A while later, when he was laying in bed, Ziva pressed up against his side, head on his chest, Tony was pleased with himself. He was thinking about what a great date night he'd planned and how lucky Ziva was to have him when he felt something move just above his hip. Ziva tilted her head to grin up at him and quickly grabbed his hand, moving it to the spot. The baby kicked again and Ziva's grin grew wider.
Tony look at her and then back to his hand for a few moments, eyes wide. And then he smiled, repositioning himself and Ziva so that he could whisper thank you's to his son and explain that he had only been kidding about the pony.