Tim McGee sighed with relief when Tony was forced to stop throwing paper balls at him to answer his ringing telephone.
"NCIS, Very Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo, how may I help you?" Tony said smiling.
"Agent DiNozzo, this is Officer Gallen, with Bethesda Police Department." came the deep voiced reply.
"Uh, what can I do for you, Officer Gallen?" Tony asked confused. The team didn't have any cases in common with Bethesda PD.
"Sir, I calling to inform you that your wife and daughter were involved in an auto accident."
Tony stood up quickly, his chair slamming into the file cabinet behind his desk, and began gearing up. "How bad?"
"Apparently their car was struck by an SUV driven by a drunk driver."
"I didn't ask what happened," Tony yelled, "I asked how badly they were injured?" All around the office agents stopped to see what the commotion was about.
"I'm sorry, Agent DiNozzo, I don't have that information."
"What hospital?" Tony demanded. Gibbs, having heard Tony's side of the conversation, quickly grabbed his gear and came to stand in front of the younger man.
"Holy Cross in Silver Spring."
Tony slammed the receiver down as soon as the man answered. He began running to the elevator, Gibbs at his side.
"How bad?" Gibbs asked.
"A drunk hit their car. Paramedics took them to Holy Cross." Tony replied as he stepped into the elevator, not even waiting for the doors to fully open. Gibbs was right behind him.
"I'll drive."
Tony nodded, knowing that Gibbs would get them there faster than he could.
(TIVA)
As Gibbs drove the twenty minute drive in ten minutes, Tony let his mind wander to how well things had been going the last few months. When Dr. Rosen had told them that the baby was going to be fine, Ziva had finally relaxed and began to enjoy being pregnant. Just two weeks later they had been forced to go shopping for maternity clothes. Ziva had predictably, been putting it off, saying that the maternity clothes she'd seen just were too cutsie, and just weren't for her.
Tony had agreed and then dragged her to A Pea in the Pod, in the Mall at White Flint. She had been delightfully surprised at their offerings; cargo pants, boot cut denims, side ruched tee shirts, tanks, long sleeve crew necks, and cardigans. After a few minutes Tony had taken Arianya upstairs to the Pottery Barn, and left Ziva to pick out whatever she wanted.
After looking around a bit Arianya cajoled Tony into buying her a new doll. He really couldn't resist when she looked up at him with her big brown eyes, and stuck out her lower lip. So they ended up purchasing Lucy, a cloth doll, with a tuft of black hair. Tony then headed to the Godiva Chocolatier and purchased a package of dark truffle heart biscuits, a package of petite mousse biscuits, and a canister of dark chocolate cocoa for Ziva. Another stop at Bed, Bath and Beyond for an exotic coconut gift pack, and Tony headed back to A Pea in the Pod. He spotted Ziva immediately, sitting on a bench just outside the doorway, surrounded by several bags. She smiled up at him, and after a quick kiss, Tony picked up the bags and herded his girls to the Cheesecake Factory for lunch.
In July, Ziva had thrown him a surprise birthday party. They had spent a wonderful afternoon barbecuing and swimming in their backyard with the team, Ziva's father and Aunt Nettie, and a few friends. Ziva had presented Tony with two autographed photos of Jack Nicholson, from his roles in The Shining, and A Few Good Men, which he loved. The best present he received though, had happened two weeks earlier when he'd first felt Peanut kicking. Ziva had experienced it nearly a month earlier, but the kicks were too soft to be felt from the outside, until then.
In August, Arianya's adoption had been finalized. Tony was surprised at how attached he'd become to the little girl. Yes he loved her because she was Ziva's niece, but he realized that he also loved her for herself. She was an incredibly smart, adorable, loving child, and she amazed him everyday. Just before the court date she'd started telling everyone that she was going to "be a 'Merican" and her new name was "Arianya Dee-Nozzo."
September became 'baby month'. One Saturday, Tony invited the team over for a 'nursery party'. By the end of the day the room had been painted a pale yellow, a cherry wood crib had been assembled, while the matching dresser was filled with adorable little onesies, socks, sleepers and gowns, a changing pad was placed on it's top and a diaper bag was filled, and hung nearby on the wall. Ziva had decided on a rain forest jungle theme, and using a stencil set, Abby had spent the afternoon painting various baby animals around the room. Ziva ended up in tears when she saw it completed.
The next day she and Tony had made a list of baby names they liked. They were cuddled together in bed, with the baby name book.
"I don't want to name Peanut after me if he's a boy." Tony said, his hands rubbing circles on Ziva's swollen belly.
"Why not?" Ziva asked as settled more firmly against his chest, the book in her hand.
"I want him to be his own person, and not have an image he feels the need to live up to." Tony explained, feeling a series of gentle kicks under his hand. "Besides," he continued. "Judaism is matrilineal, so I thought we'd give the baby a Hebrew name."
Ziva smiled up at him. "That is very sweet of you, Tony, but Peanut is also Israeli, American and Italian. Should we not honor those limbs of Peanuts heritage as well?"
Tony burst out laughing. "Branches, Zi, not limbs. And in America children often have names that reflect their ethnic backgrounds. Being Jewish is pretty much synonymous with being Israeli, and DiNozzo is obviously an Italian surname."
"You have given this some thought." Ziva replied. "Alright, we will give Peanut a Hebrew name."
They spent an hour of fun looking through the book and picking out their favorites. Of course, Tony made several jokes about some of the more obscure names like Abner, Beathag, Gadalyahu, Lemuela, Ofer, and Shadrach. They did however, pick several they liked; Adina, Chayim, Kelila, Matai, and Shai.
Tony was pulled from his reverie when Gibbs pulled into the hospital parking lot, and then a spot just outside the emergency room entrance. They both hurried inside, and up to the registration desk.
"My wife and daughter were in an accident, Arianya and Ziva DiNozzo?" Tony blurted out immediately.
The receptionist looked through her list and shook her head, "I'm sorry, but there's no one by that name here."
Seeing Tony's panic, Gibbs stepped in. "Try the last name of David, D-A-V-I-D."
"Oh yes," the young woman immediately replied. "is that incorrect?"
"Yes," Tony replied, "that's my wife's maiden name, but it doesn't matter right now. Can I see them?"
"I'll let the doctor's know you're here and someone should be right out." The brunette replied as she stood up and walked towards the door at the back of the cubicle. She was back within moments, and a minute later the security door opened to reveal a female nurse.
"Mister DiNozzo, I'm Maxine Daley. Please accept my apologies, we used the names given to us by the paramedics. Now your daughter suffered superficial lacerations and a broken right arm. Right now she's in the Pediatric E.R., but she'll be going to the casting room shortly."
Tony nodded as he and Gibbs followed her down the hallway, past the nurses station, and into an exam room. What he saw both broke his heart and answered his prayers.
Arianya was sitting on a stretcher in her undershirt and panties, silent tears running down her face. She looked frightened and alone. There were several small cuts on her face and hands. Her right arm rested on a small table, and Tony could see the lump, midway between her elbow and wrist, where it was obviously broken. He sent up a silent prayer of thanks that his little girl was basically alright. In the time since she'd come into his life, Tony had fallen completely in love with hid daughter, despite her biological parentage.
"Tateleh," he called softly.
Arianya looked up and saw him, a look of relief crossed over her face as she called out.
"Daddy!" she held out her left arm.
Tony quickly crossed the small space and leaned down so he could wrap her in his arms. She clung to him with her left arm, her hand clutching his jacket. She sobbed against his shoulder, uttering a stream of Hebrew too fast for him to follow.
After a few moments Tony had calmed the four-year-old down by rubbing her back and whispering reassurances. He spoke with the doctor and left her in Gibbs care while he went to see Ziva.
"Your wife is in our Acute Care E.R., she has a small laceration on her forehead and possibly a broken wrist." Maxine conveyed the information she'd gathered while Tony was with Arianya. "More importantly, however, is that she was in labor upon arrival."
"But the baby's not due for another four weeks." Tony responded as they walked through a set of doors into another area of the Emergency Department.
"Her doctor is aware of that, your wife was on her way to see Dr. Rosen at the time of the accident. When she arrived, she was already eight centimeters dilated. We're prepping her for delivery now." She explained, stopping in front of an exam room. She opened the door and ushered Tony in.
His head was swirling, trying to process everything, but when Tony walked into the room everything clicked. His eyes located Ziva instantly, and then she looked up and their eyes locked. Tony saw all of Ziva's emotions in that one moment. The most prominent were fear and relief. Fear for Peanut's health, and relief that he was there with her.
(TIVA)
AN: OK so Peanut's on the way! No I'm not asking for votes of a boy vs. girl, this is MY story, so just read it and love it! LOL! Seriously though, I can't believe this story is so long. I had a simple idea that has totally snowballed. I'm hoping those of you who like it will tell me 'cause we're nearly done, just a few chapters left. Three or four, five tops. So come on, give me some love! Push that button and send me a review. *****Thanks to all those who reviewed last time, and most especially to those who were first timers!