Ziva's cell phone chirped. She picked it up, reading the message from Tony, "Got the confession. See you in 20."

Ziva scurried through the apartment, turning the oven on and moving back to the living room to fluff the pillows on the couch. She plugged the lights of the small Christmas tree in and turned on a cd. The sounds of Frank Sinatra poured from the speakers. Like clockwork, the lock on the apartment flipped and Tony walked in, dropping his bag by the door, "What is this?"

She smiled with her hands on her hips, "A DiNozzo Family Christmas."

Tony nodded and grinned as he moved towards her, kissing her sweetly on the forehead and then her lips as he assessed his surroundings, "Christmas tree lit, Old Blue Eyes is playing...is that It's A Wonderful Life next to the dvd player?"

"It is."

"And do I smell," he sniffed the air of the apartment, "Lasagna, annnnd...chocolate chip cookies?"

"Correct again."

"Now this is a DiNozzo Christmas! I can get used to this!"

"You should get comfortable, and then we can have dinner and watch the movie, yes?"

"Sounds great."

Tony showered quickly and returned to the living room to find Ziva looking out of the window. Her eyes met his in the reflection of the glass as she turned to him, "Are you hungry?"

"Yeah. It smells great Zi."

"I thought we could eat dinner and then watch the movie while we eat cookies."

Tony opened the oven as Ziva tried to shoo him away, "I have it, Tony."

"Ah! No. You cooked and made a special night for us. At least let me serve up dinner..."

She glared at him playfully as she sat at the dining room table, "Fine. I will allow it, just this once!"

He chuckled as he cut into the casserole dish, making their plates. They talked about the case over dinner, before Ziva changed the topic, "Alright, enough about work. It is Christmas time, which means time for family, not cases and work."

"What kinda conversation you have in mind, Zi?"

"Baby names."

Tony's eyes bulged, "Are there any you like?"

"Ahuv, Jordan, Toby, and David. Although I am still unsure about David and Toby. David sounds too much like my maiden name and Toby reminds me of Agent Fornell."

Tony laughed as he spoke, "Yeah I don't want our kid to turn out like Fornell. I think I'd pick Leroy Jethro over that."

Ziva laughed as he asked, "What do Ahuv and Jordan mean?"

"Ahuv means beloved, and Jordan means descend."

Tony got up as he thought over the names and put their dinner dishes in the sink before kneeling in front of her. His hands rested on her belly and he leaned his face towards her and the baby as he spoke, "What ya think baby? Are you a Ahuv?"

He rested his ear against her stomach. Ziva ran a hand down the side of his face, holding his cheek in her palm. After a few minutes Tony asked, "Are you a Jordan?"

Ziva gasped lightly causing Tony to pull away and look up, "What is it?"

"The baby moved that time."

Tony's hands rubbed her belly as he spoke again, "Little Jordan DiNozzo. What does your mommy think of that?"

Zivas hands rested on top of his, "She loves it. What about Daddy?"

"It's perfect. What about a middle name though?"

"We have time for that, yes?"

Tony smiled and stood, holding Ziva's hands as she stood from her chair. He pulled her into a hug, that became a slow dance as Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas played from the speakers. They smiled and laughed as he spun her in her socks on the tile floor. As the song ended Ziva asked him, "Are you ready for the movie?"

"Yeah, but I have a little something for you first!"

Ziva huffed, "I thought we said no gifts?"

"It's not! Just a little silly thing."

Tony handed her a wrapped box after she sat on the couch. She chuckled as she looked at the wrap job, "Did you do this yourself?"

He grinned as he ran his hand through the hair on the back of his hair, "Guilty. Sorry it's not pretty looking."

Ziva smiled, "Your effort is noted. May I open it?"

"Yeah, rip into it!"

She opened the box to find a large pile of flannel and a smaller wrapped package. She pulled the flannel from the box, finding two pairs of pajama pants. She looked at Tony slightly perplexed as he spoke, "Open the last part and I'll explain."

She opened the smaller package to find a dvd, "A Christmas Story? I have never seen this."

"I wanted to start a little tradition for our family. Matching jammies for Christmas Eve, and the movie just because, well...it's hilarious."

Ziva got up and started to walk from the room, "Where ya goin'?"

"I want to put my Christmas pajamas on. You are going to wear yours too, yes?"

He grabbed the flannel and followed her to the bedroom changing quickly to get back to their plans for the evening . Tony set up It's A Wonderful Life as Ziva brought the plate of cookies from the kitchen. He plopped himself on the couch as Ziva handed him a cookie and curled into his side, munching on a cookie too. They watched the movie with the soft glow of the Christmas tree. He turned the movie off as the credits rolled, looking at the clock. "Merry Christmas Ziva."

"Is it after midnight?"

"Yeah."

She smiled and nuzzled into his body, "Merry Christmas Tony."

They stayed like that until she fell asleep. Tony carried her gently to their bedroom, tucking her into the comforter and pillows before climbing in softly next to her. He whispered into the night air, "Goodnight Ziva. Goodnight Jordan."

XXX

Tony propped himself on his side and sighed to himself, "Come on! Wake up!"

He rolled onto his back, flopping his head into the pillow impatiently. An aggravated breath left his lips before Ziva's voice rang out, "You are worse than a small child! I am awake. I just thought it would be nice to sleep in on Christmas morning."

Tony rolled back onto his side, pulling her into him with his arm. Heat radiated off of her, sending his winter chill away. "Oh. Didn't realize you were up. Morning sweet cheeks."

His lips brushed her cheek as she turned towards him, nuzzling into his chest, "Good morning my little hairy butt."

Her arm snaked around him, pulling her closer to his warm body. He closed his eyes as he breathed in the scent of her shampoo and sighed softly. Within minutes his breathing had softened and found a rhythm. She smiled, and closed her own eyes as she whispered, "Works every time."

The sound of a cell phone ringing roused them from their slumber. Tony rolled over and patted the nightstand down blindly, until his hand found the vibrating and ringing phone. "Hello?"

"Where are you guys?"

"McGee? It's Christmas morning. Why are you calling at an obscene hour? Oh no! Were you a McGrinch this year? Did Santa leave you coal?"

"Tony. It's 4 p.m. We're waiting for you guys."

Tony bolted upright, startling Ziva in the process. His eyes caught the time on the clock, "Oh man! I'll call you back in a minute McGoo."

He clicked his phone shut as Ziva spoke, "What is it?"

"We slept...late. The Christmas dinner party thing at Ducky's already started."

"But that was not supposed to start until three, yes?"

"It's four!"

Ziva sighed heavily, rubbing the sleep from her eyes as she spoke, "Tony...would you be terribly disappointed if we did not go?"

He looked at her with a sideways glance, "I dunno. I'm kinda okay with it, but I don't know how the rest of them will feel."

"What if we go just for dessert? Then we do not have to rush around, but we will still see them."

Tony opened the phone and dialed, "Hey Tim...we are way off schedule today. Would you guys be upset if we came just for dessert and company a little later?"

"One sec..."

Tony could hear McGee's muffled voice speaking to the rest of the team as his hand covered the phone's receiver. He returned just a moment later, "Hey. Everyone says rest up and don't forget the chocolate chip cookies."

"Thanks McGee. See you in a few hours."

Tony threw his legs over the edge of the bed and padded out of the room as Ziva got up. She came out of the bathroom to find Tony in the kitchen, "What are you up to, Tony?"

"Making Christmas breakfast."

She smiled and walked towards the counter, cracking a few eggs into a bowl as he cooked sausage links.

XXX

Ziva passed through the living room after their meal to start getting ready for the party, when a silver package with a pale blue bow under the tree caught her eye. "Tony?"

"Yeah..."

"What is this?"

His voice was closer this time, "What's what?"

"That, under the tree."

"I dunno, maybe you should check it out."

Ziva rolled her eyes, "Seriously Tony. We said no gifts."

"I didn't get you anything other than the pajama pants and our movie."

She read the tag on the gift to herself before smiling and looking up at Tony. "Well, whose it for, Zi."

"To Jordan, Love Santa."

Tony took her by the hand and pulled her over to the couch as he spoke, "You gonna open it?"

Ziva pulled the ribbon off, sticking it on top of Tony's matted bedhead, giggling in the process, "Now that is a picture for our photo album."

He rolled his eyes and laughed as her nimble fingers tugged at the paper until a plain white box revealed itself. She popped the top off and dug through layers of white tissue paper before her hands finally found the gift. She pulled the object up out of the box. Fabric sea turtles hung from the mobile's frame, as well as some brightly colored fish and starfish. Her shoulders shook as she began to sob. Panic washed over Tony's face as his voice dropped, "Zi? Are you alright? I'm sorry if I..."

She shook her head and leaned into him, running her fingers over the fabric sea turtle, "I am fine. It is just so...thoughtful...and beautiful. Santa did a wonderful job."

Tony let out a relieved breath as he realized it was the hormones that were getting the best of her in that moment, "I'm glad you like it."

"I love it."

"Santa thought we might like to use it as an inspiration when we decorate the nursery in the new house."

Ziva smiled, holding the mobile out in front of them as they watched the sea creatures spin and dance.