Another long chapter for you guys today, because you have been absolutely fabulous to me lately with the reviews. I hope you enjoy it as always.
Hundan.
They were all still at the hospital a lot later that evening. Tony's dad had come out of surgery earlier but they were still waiting for him to wake up. Tony had just returned from checking on his dad to find everyone out in the hallway on the plastic chairs he'd been sitting in a lot for the past day. All three of them were asleep. Maxi sat on one of the chairs, her head was bent to the side as she slept on her own shoulder. Ziva sat slumped in her chair as Caleb rested half on her lap and half on her chest. They all looked so peaceful right now.
Tony walked over to them and quietly sat down on the seat next to Ziva. He smiled at her sleeping form. She was so beautiful and carefree when she was asleep. He knew he shouldn't leave them here in the hallway of the hospital, they should go to his hotel –that he still hasn't gone back to since he got here, his bags are just sitting in the room by themselves- so they can sleep in a proper bed. Not some hard plastic chair.
He lifted his hand up to the side of Ziva's face, tucking her hair behind her ear. She stirred. He knew that would work. She blinked a few times before settling her eyes on him and smiling.
"Is he awake?" she asked, hopeful. He shook his head.
"No, not yet. I just thought I should wake you up, you should take the kids back to my hotel. I don't want you guys sleeping here all night" he explained quietly, still leaving his hand in her hair, running it through her curls again. He loved her hair.
"It's ok really, we don't mind sticking around" she assured him with a smile. He knows she might not mind, but he would prefer her to be in a comfortable bed right now, he would prefer them all to be.
"I know Ziva, but I'm meant to be looking out for you guys and I want you to be comfortable. I would like it very much if you went back to the hotel and had some proper rest" he replied. The way he said 'I'm meant to be looking out for you guys' really got to her. Did he think of them as his family? His family that he had to take care of? Today was really pulling on her heart strings a lot, mainly when it concerned him and the kids. She looked at him, and really looked at him.
"I don't want to leave you here alone" she said quietly. He smiled and leant closer, placing a soft kiss to her forehead.
"It's ok, I'll be fine. As soon as I know my dads ok, and he's awake, I'll come to the hotel. I promise" he whispered as he pulled back to look her in the eyes.
"Ok, you call if you need anything though, right?" she asked. He nodded. She carefully stood up, making sure not to wake Caleb who rested against her. He moved and adjusted to the new position she held him in but he stayed asleep. She couldn't help but smile as she watched Tony bend down and gently shake Maxi to ruse her from her sleep. The younger girl looked around and looked up to Tony.
"You guys are heading back to the hotel, so you can get some proper sleep" Tony explained to her as she began to sit up in the seat and stretch her neck a little.
"Are you coming back with us?" Maxi asked.
"Na, I'm going to wait until my dad wakes up" he explained. Maxi nodded, understanding that he wasn't going to leave his dad until he knew he was ok. Maxi would have done the same thing with her dad if she had the chance when he had passed. She'd never even seen her father after he died. Not even a cold face in a coffin. She got nothing. When she asked her mother why, she'd never told her why, she'd normally just breakdown and cry, so Maxi stopped asking.
Maxi and Tony stood and Ziva stepped closer. Maxi couldn't help but watch as she and Tony said their goodbyes, they didn't hide anything, they weren't really thinking about that at the moment.
"If you're hungry or anything, you can order room service. I don't mind" he said as he pulled his hotel key card out of his pocket and gave it to her. Their hands holding longer than normal. She nodded towards him.
"I'll see you later?" she asked. He smiled softly and brought his hand up to the side of her face, stroking his thumb across her cheek.
"I really do hope so" he replied. He hoped his dad would wake up soon, the wait to see if he was ok was killing him.
"When he does wake, you tell him I say hi, alright?" she asked. He nodded.
"Of course, he'll love that" he replied, smiling a bit more. He knew how much his dad loved Ziva, he thought she was magnificent. He wondered how his dad was going to eventually take the news that he and Ziva were together, and that it was serious. But that would be for another day.
"It would be good if you ate something, I know how much you like vending machines" she replied. He smiled, he loved how she was always worried about him, making sure he was eating when she knew he wasn't.
"I'll go get something soon, alright? You better get to the hotel, Maxi looks like she's going to fall asleep any second" he stated, motioning to Maxi who wasn't paying much attention to them now because her eyes were drooping a little as she tried to stay awake, and stand of course.
"Ok, I'll see you later" she repeated before she leant up and placed a small kiss to his lips. He kissed back but made sure he didn't step closer to her and squash Caleb who was still asleep in Ziva's arms.
"Yeah, you will" he smiled as he leant back from the kiss. She smiled and stared at him for a moment before turning on her heels and gathering Maxi's hand in her free one. Maxi gave him a tired waved and he watched the two of them walk hand in hand down the hallway. Maxi's head falling on Ziva's shoulder. He loved this family he had become a part of, and to start off with he hadn't even realized what he was getting himself into. But now things were just so perfect. He only hoped his dad would wake up soon and get better, then everything in his life would be perfect.
He'd been sitting in an even more uncomfortable chair then the one in the hall for just over an hour when his dad's eyelids flickered and he began to open his eyes. Tony's previously frozen heart felt like it had just started beating again.
"Dad?" he whispered. When he noticed his dad's hand moving on the bed he reached out and gathered it in his own one. Giving it a gentle squeeze. His dad blinked a few more times before his eyes fully opened and settled on him.
"Junior" his dad said with a small smile. Tony hoped his eyes weren't tearing up right now.
"I'm so glad you're ok Dad" Tony stated, smiling softly. His dad gave a small chuckle but stopped when a pain grew in his chest, he brought his hand out to clutch his chest.
"Now you know how I feel when I hear when you've been hurt, most of the time not until years after" his dad continued despite his pain. It wasn't like the pain was going anywhere, he would be sore in the chest for months. And Tony knew his dad wasn't trying to start an argument with that last comment, he knew his dad was just upset Tony doesn't tell him these things.
"It's better if you don't know, you'll just worry too much" Tony replied lightly and sent his dad a smile. His dad smiled back but didn't laugh, it would hurt too much if he did.
"I don't know why you picked a job so dangerous Junior" his dad commented. Tony shrugged, as if it was nothing.
"Who else is going to catch the bad guys if I don't?" he replied. Tony was glad the conversation was light and easy between them. He didn't like it when they argued, they'd had too much of that over the years. A silence hung between them and Tony just looked at his dad, thinking that he was damn well lucky his dad had made it.
"How are you feeling?" Tony asked. His dad gave a small half shrug, too much movement wouldn't be good.
"I've had my better days, but as long as the old timers still ticking, I think I'll survive the day" he said.
"I'll make sure the nurse brings you some more painkillers later" Tony replied. He knew his dad was hurting but he deflected the fact he was, it was something Tony did a lot too. His dad gave his hand a gentle squeeze.
"Thanks son" he replied. His dad had more or less just honestly admitted he was in pain. That was rare but Tony believed he and his dad had a new relationship building between them, and he liked this one a lot better than the last one. He watched as his dad looked him over.
"Have you been here all day?" his dad asked. Tony shrugged.
"Yeah, I haven't left since I got here yesterday" Tony replied. He couldn't help the guilty smile on his face.
"Junior…" his dad said, he wasn't angry he was just upset that Tony had probably not looked after himself properly in the last twenty four hours "Have you even slept?" his dad asked. His son hadn't stayed up this long just because he was in the hospital, had he?
"Maybe an hour or two, but I'm used to it" Tony said with another shrug. He hadn't had that much sleep since he got here. For one, he couldn't sleep with all his thoughts and two, he didn't like hospitals so falling asleep in one was never on his top list of things to do. It normally gave him memories of his mother's death if he did, and that's something that's hard for him when it's brought up again. It's too emotional.
"Junior, you should have gone back to your hotel room to sleep, I would have been fine" his dad assured him. He never thought his dad would care this much about his wellbeing.
"I wouldn't have slept anyways, its ok Dad, I'm used to the limited sleep thing" he explained again.
"You know, I think that boss of yours Gibbs pushes you too hard sometimes" his dad said.
"It's not like it's a bad thing Dad, I know I could do with more sleep sometimes but if we spend that time sleeping the killers we hunt down, the rapists, the kidnappers, the terrorists, they all have more time to do what they do. It's only right that a little bit of sleep is given in favor of catching them faster" he explained. His dad had never thought of it that way before.
"Still, it must not be very healthy for you" his dad went on. He had to smile at how worried his dad was about him all of a sudden, maybe when his heart stopped and he faced death, things changed in him. He realized there was important things he didn't pay attention too enough, like his son.
"I survive Dad, I've done this for a long time now" he stated. His dad just looked at him and understood that his son was right, he'd done it for a very long time and it's what he does. There's no changing that. His dad wasn't sure what to say next so Tony spoke up.
"Ziva wanted me to tell you she says hi" he said, a little shyly. He didn't know where this conversation was heading. He watched his dads eyes light up, he knew his father adored Ziva.
"Ziva? How is that beautiful partner of yours?" he asked brightly. Tony smiled, Ziva, she was absolutely fantastic, they were absolutely fantastic.
"Yeah she's good Dad" he replied. The conversation about just how good she was, and how their relationship was right now, that would be brought up another time. He wasn't ready for that conversation with his father quite yet. Anthony smiled at his son, there was a twinkle in his son's eye when he talked about his partner, he saw it. But Tony obviously didn't want to say whatever it was on his mind about his partner. He would make sure to ask next time.
"You know you should go back to your hotel room, you really need your rest son. You look terrible right now" his dad told him. Tony chuckled.
"Thanks Dad" he said sarcastically with a smile. His dad returned it.
"Go, I'll be fine. And I'll be here when you come back tomorrow, don't come too early though, you get your rest" he told his son. Tony gave his dad's hand one last squeeze before letting go and standing from his chair.
"Alright, see you Dad, I'll be back in the morning" Tony replied. He was heading out the door when his dad called out.
"Make sure one of those beautiful looking nurses brings me painkillers" he called out and Tony laughed.
"Sure Dad, I'll make sure" he replied. He watched his dad smile back as he left the room. He was so happy his dad was awake and okay. He didn't know what he would have done if he hadn't of woken up. And his relationship with his dad right now, he hoped it stayed like this, he loved how easy it was right now. How it really felt like a true father/son relationship. Something he'd always never truly had with his dad since his mother passed away.
When he called her and she picked up on the first ring, he knew she had been awake. She shouldn't have been awake, she should have been asleep. But he knew her too well to think she would be asleep.
"How is he?" she asked, not bothering with the greetings. He had to smile, over the years they hardly bothered with saying hello, normally they only did it when one of them was nervous about something or they just felt like saying a casual 'hey'.
"He's good, he's awake and rather cheerful. We actually talked civilly for the first time in a while" he explained to her. He leant his forehead against the cool wood of the door in front of him.
"That's really good news Tony, are you coming back anytime soon? Or are you going to stay with your dad?" she asked. She was so happy to hear his dad was okay and that the things between Tony and his dad were on good terms right now. He brought his hand up to the door and pressed his palm against it.
"I'm outside the door, you've got my key" he said with a smile. He heard a few sheets ruffle over her side of the phone and then a short moment later the door was unlocked with a click and he stood up straight as she opened the door. She stood on the other side of the door, smiling at him softly as she still held the phone to her ear. They just stared for a moment, like they had been apart for months without seeing the other. For some reason, it felt like they had.
She closed her phone and reached out her hand and gathered his forearm in her grasp. Gently pulling him inside the hotel room with a smile. He slipped his phone into his pocket and followed her as she pulled him inside, closing the door behind him. She stopped when they stood by the bed and she brought her hands up to his tie, taking the already loosened material off of him.
"You need to get some sleep, you have been up far too long and I can see the dark circles under your eyes" she stated. He chuckled at the fact both her and his father had said the same thing. And he smiled at her, because she was just so caring and he never thought she could be quite like this, well not before he saw her with the kids. Her hands went to his suit jacket and slowly slid it off of his shoulders. She smiled up at him before leaning up on her toes and giving him a brief kiss to the lips before she gently pushed him in the direction of the bed.
"Go on, get in bed before I force you to" she announced and he found himself chuckling again but doing as she said. As he undid his belt and pants he watched as she walked over to the other side of the room where he could see Maxi and Caleb asleep on the pull-out couch bed. As he slipped under the sheets of the bed –which were still warm from when Ziva had been in them a short time ago- he watched her pull the sheets up around the kids a bit more and smile down at them. It was a touching sight.
She made her way back over to the bed and climbed in the opposite side to him. She sent him a smile as she shuffled over closer to him and brought her hand around his waist when she snuggled in close. His own arms went around her automatically and held her to his chest. He let out a long breath as he finally relaxed, finally was able to get some rest, and in the comfort of Ziva around him none the less.
He closed his eyes and let his body really sink into the mattress. A moment later he felt warm lips press a small kiss to his neck.
"Goodnight Tony" she breathed against his neck. He smiled and pulled her a little closer.
"Goodnight Zi" he whispered in return, blindly placing a kiss to the top of her head. She sighed against him and that's when he felt her fully relax. He knew that this was stressful for her, sure it wasn't as much as he was dealing with but it still effected her quite a bit. Especially with her personal relationship to him. But he was glad she was here. He didn't know if he could have handled today without seeing her. Her and the kids.
Tony had planned on staying for a few more days up in New York but his father had insisted he go back to Washington DC, that he shouldn't miss work on an account of him being stuck in the hospital on recovery. Tony had insisted right back, saying he should stay for a few days. But his father said he didn't need to. He'd come and been here for him when he'd needed his son and that meant so much. That had been what made his dad happy.
"You still upset about not staying?" Ziva voice stated. He looked up and watched her take a seat next to him on the bench. On his lunch break he'd disappeared to go get coffee by himself, he'd needed a breather, a moment to think through his own thoughts. And now he sat on one of the benches by the coffee stall across from the Navy yard.
"A little, yeah" he replied, sipping on his freshly made coffee. He felt her hand settle on his thigh, giving it a gentle pat to get his attention. He moved his eyes back to her, holding her gaze.
"He will be fine" she assured him. He noticed that her hand stayed on his leg.
"I know, I just think that I should have stayed, I know he said I should go back to work and all, but I just think I could have spared a few days" he explained. He placed his coffee down on the seat next to him and brought his hand down to her one on his leg, gently threading his fingers between hers. They hadn't been out in public as a couple much, so public affection hadn't really been tested by them. He knows it was only holding hands, but this was them they were talking about. They worked together, they were just so much more important than any other relationship he had ever had, it just simply meant so much more.
"Don't think Tony. Sometimes you think too much, you over analyze things. Your father is fine and it will take him a while to recover, he will be in the hospital for a while and he knows your job is important to you. He wouldn't hold you back from it. And if he needs you I am sure he will call, yes?" she stated. He stared at her for a moment as he let her words sink in. She was right, in the end. He nodded towards her and gave her hand a small squeeze.
"I called him last night" Tony admitted.
"Yeah?" she asked with a small smile "How is he?" she asked. He smiled lightly in return.
"He said he's good, the nurses are treating him well and he's become very fond of one of them, the young blonde one apparently" Tony said with a chuckle as he gave a small roll of his eyes. His father never changed. He watched as Ziva grinned next to him.
"Sounds like someone I know" she said, giving him a pointed look, still grinning.
"Not quite, I prefer brunettes" he smiled and sent her a wink. If it was possible, the smile she had grew bigger. If they were anywhere else right in this moment he would probably kiss her. But the possibility of someone from the Navy Yard seeing them was very high, he could see at least two people at the coffee stall that worked in the same building as them, spreading rumors was not what they wanted right now.
Holding hands wasn't as major or eye catching to a passerby as kissing was. She held his hand a little tighter, she would have done the same thing as him but she was thinking just what he was.
"I'm sorry about Saturday night" Tony suddenly stated. She looked up at him a little confused. What was he meant to be sorry about?
"I told you already Tony, you didn't wake me when you called to get into the hotel" she stated. That was the only thing she could think of. He chuckled.
"No, not that. Remember I was meant to be taking you out on a date? But it sort of never happened because things came up" he explained. He could probably pinpoint the exact moment she realized what he was talking about.
"Oh, that" she said with an amused smile. She had forgotten all about that, she had been so busy worrying about him and his dad, and what to do with the kids.
"I was thinking we could redo those plans, maybe this weekend?" he asked. He hoped she would, he was really looking forward to taking her on a genuine date. He could really show her why all these years the women fall at his feet. His charm was really only the beginning to how he treated a woman, and for Ziva he would take it just that much further. This wouldn't be a one night stand date which he'd done more than enough over the years, this would be different for him in a way. This would be the first of what he hoped to be many dates in a permanent relationship. Well he hoped anyways, he was going to try his hardest to make it be like that.
"I would like that very much. I will talk to Gibbs and see if he can watch the kids" she replied. He smiled and they sat there for a while, just in the comfort of each other in complete comfortable silence, holding hands on a bench.
Gibbs had seen the way Ziva had stayed back after he dismissed them all for the night. He'd seen the way Tony had approached her desk, and even though Tony thought Gibbs hadn't heard the whisper between them, truth was Gibbs had heard and he was sort of worried about what he heard. There would only be one reason for Tony to tell her he will see her soon. He wondered just how often it was he was going to her home after work and in the weekends.
And there was something in the way they had been looking at each other lately, there was just something different about it. Sure they held very personal an inappropriate looks a lot over the years, but this was different all together. This wasn't just some random look of desire or flirtation, this was one that held a lot deeper meaning to it, and deeper than it ever had when they looked at each other. Almost holding a promise. And it was starting to worry him, he was worried about how close they were getting. It was more than ever before.
When everyone had left he heard Ziva shut down her computer and turn off her light. She grabbed her backpack and hoisted it on her shoulder. He knew she had stayed back for a reason, and when she came to stand in front of his desk there was a look in her eyes that caught his attention. She was nervous somewhat.
"Gibbs" she said, lifting her eyes to look straight at him.
"Yes Ziver?" he asked.
"Are you…busy Saturday night?" she asked. Her voice was rather quiet and he knew what this was about, the kids. He knew she would be hesitant the first time she would ask him to watch them for her, she worried when she put her responsibilities of her kids onto others. Its funny how he always thinks of them as her kids now, it's just grown on him. He knows he's not the only one who it has grown on either, he knows she thinks of them as her own. She always will.
"My social calendar is pretty open Ziver" he replied. He watched her smile at his humor. He knew he had made plans for Hollis to come over for dinner that night, but he knew she wouldn't mind having a few others over. Hollis was good with kids, even though she never had any, deep down she was a softy for them. No matter how tough a woman she is. She's like him in that way.
"I was just wondering if you could do me a big favor and maybe watch the kids for a bit?" she asked. He could see she was unsure when she asked, she was unsure what he was going to say.
"Of course I will Ziver, I told you, anytime you need" Gibbs replied. He did wonder the reason to why she needed a sitter on a Saturday night.
"I am not sure how long for" she said. He saw something flicker in her eyes, he had a feeling he knew where she was going. Also he knew who she was going with, otherwise she would have asked him to look after the kids.
"Do I need to be worried about what the two of you are doing?" he suddenly asked. He watched her eyes widen a little and her mouth hang open. She wondered how he had figured it out.
"I do not think this will change how we work together, we have always been close" she found herself replying. She didn't actually know what to say to him about this, she hadn't been expecting this conversation with him tonight. He looked at her for a moment before lifting his hand and motioning her to come around his desk. She did and he then motioned her to sit down on his desk, she did so, watching his movements.
"Have you two thought about what it is you are doing?" he asked quietly. He wanted to make sure that they knew how serious of a road this was to take. This wasn't an easy relationship to work.
"I have thought about this for a long time and I know that I am serious about what it is we are doing" she replied. She knew Tony was serious about it also, but she couldn't answer to the fact he had thought about it, had he?
"And DiNozzo's thought about what it is he is doing? You think he's going to be serious about this? You know well what his record with women is like" Gibbs asked. He wasn't trying to get Ziva to change her mind about being with Tony, he just wanted her to be so sure about what it was they were doing. This was even more serious than normal now Ziva had two kids at home. Was Tony ready for that to be a bigger part of his life? Dating Ziva would do so.
"I cannot speak for him about what he has thought about but I do know he is serious about what it is we are doing, more so than I ever thought he would. Tony has changed Gibbs, I would have thought you would have noticed, and his track record with women does not put me off who he is as a person to me. He is different with me" she replied. Gibbs knew this to be true, Tony had always been different with Ziva.
"If I try giving you my honest opinion on this, would you listen?" Gibbs asked. He has a feeling what he says wouldn't matter in the end, they would still do it. Ziva's eyes softened somewhat.
"You are like a father to me Gibbs and I would always listen to what it is you have to say, but I will not change what it is I am doing with Tony. I will listen and take your words to heart, but it would not change what we are doing" she explained. She would not change her relationship with Tony for anything, nothing was going to take this wonderful relationship from her. Not even Gibbs. She watched as Gibbs thought it over and she knew his next thoughts would be about work. Because not only did this affect their personal relationship, it affected their professional one also.
"If this is going to be a problem at work-" she began but he cut her off. He wasn't having either of them moving teams, they were his team and no matter what he couldn't let anyone of them go. He needed each one, they all hold a piece of his perfect team and no one could replace them.
"I don't see a problem with it as long as it stays out of my office. If you two keep it how you have been it will be fine" he replied. He was giving her the short answer, he didn't want to go into the details of how they really should think more about what they are doing and how much he worries that they will go their own way in a few months and the shit will hit the fan, he will lose one of his team members to another team because they cannot work together anymore. He doesn't want to tell her these things.
He should be positive about this, he should trust them on this. If this was a relationship that went further than just sex, he knew they would be serious about it. Tony and Ziva were both people who had problems committing to something serious. He's going to try stop thinking before he digs himself into a hole and cannot climb out of the thoughts he has of them screwing this up.
Ziva reached out and placed her hand on his shoulder. Even though he said he was fine with it, she could see he doubted it a little, he was worried that his team was going to break apart if things went wrong. And his team was family, he couldn't have that.
"Gibbs, you need to trust us on this. We are not taking this lightly, we wouldn't start this if we didn't think it was going to last" she said quietly. She also didn't want the team to separate on an account of them having a messy break-up. Gibbs stared at her with his light blue eyes, he could tell that she really meant that. He brought his hand up to his shoulder and covered her one.
"I trust you, it's just hard. I know what it's like to work a relationship with your partner, it isn't easy and I only want the best for you both" Gibbs replied honestly. She smiled softly because that was such a heartfelt thing to say, she really took that comment to heart.
"Tony is the best I could ever ask for" she replied. It was honest, she couldn't get anyone better. No one knows her like he does, no one understands her like he does, no one is like he is with her kids. Gibbs had seen this, seen how he is with Ziva, seen how he is with both the kids. Maybe after seeing these things he should have a bit more faith in them.
Gibbs stood from his chair and leant down and placed a small kiss to her forehead.
"At least I know I can trust the man that's with you and you're kids" he said quietly. Ziva knows she's been with a lot of troubled men in her life, a few who Gibbs didn't trust one bit. But he knew Tony, and he trust Tony more than anyone else.
"But you should head home, I don't want DiNozzo waiting around for you all night" he said as he cracked a smile and she realized he'd heard them when Tony left "I will see you in the morning Ziver, goodnight" he stated as he gave her a smile, one she saw as more personal. She smiled back.
"Thank you Gibbs, goodnight" she replied. He nodded and sat back down at his desk. He watched her make her way out of the building for the night and watched as her steps held more of a bounce to them. Lately she'd been a lot happier than he'd seen her before. Maybe Tony was the best person for her.