A/N: Sorry I haven't updated, we got to Cairo and with all the turmoil I've been without internet. They closed our downtown campus and my Dad freaked and put us on a plane to Tel Aviv Saturday night, right now we're debating whether we can stay in Cairo for the semester or we need to relocate to Tel Aviv. It's pretty stressful so I'm not sure how put together this chapter will be, my mind seems to be jumping around a lot. Anyway….read & review PLEASE!
"Before We Come Undone"
"I'm just trying to understand who I was and who I am/but you are changing just the same/so can you tell me who's to blame?/could we put our weapons down just to figure this out?"~Kris Allen
Ziva David couldn't make herself get up from the warmth of her bed to face the morning chill of Washington, D.C. for her usual run. Instead she buried her head further into her husband's neck and instinctively, his arms tightened around her. Ziva loved waking up next to Tony, she loved his musky scent, how his hair was always a disaster in the morning and yet somehow still looked great, how his surprisingly strong arms made her feel like there was no place that could possibly be more safe. She had never been one for cuddling but with Tony it was different, with Tony she just didn't want to let go. She opened her eyes and propped her head up on one arm and just studied her sleeping husband.
"Mrs. DiNozzo, are you watching me sleep?" Tony asked, not once opening his eyes.
Ziva smiled at his use of 'Mrs. DiNozzo', she hadn't changed her name so socially she was still Ziva David, but in the comfort of their own home, she was more than happy to be Mrs. DiNozzo.
"Yes I was, Mr. DiNozzo." Ziva said, the grin on Tony's face making her own light up.
Tony opened his eyes and stared at her for a minute. "Good morning, beautiful." He said, caressing her cheek with his hand.
One of the things Ziva treasured most about her relationship with Tony was their honesty, so when he called her beautiful when she woke up with horrible bed head and sleep still in her eyes, she could tell by the sincerity in his eyes, that he meant it, and this always made her feel so unconditionally loved.
"We do not have to be up for another hour." Ziva said quietly.
"Are you propositioning me?" Tony asked, propping himself up with one arm, the mischievous grin on his face made her burst out laughing.
"What if I am?" She said seductively, leaning forward to lock their lips in a passionate kiss.
Since they had been working longer hours than usual the past couple weeks, Gibbs decided it would be okay to bring Natalie into work instead of calling up the babysitter. He also thought she would be a good distraction for Ziva since Eli would be around all day for the conference.
Gibbs and Natalie rolled into the bullpen at 0745 , a bit later than usual for Gibbs, even for a Saturday, but he just hadn't had the heart to wake Natalie up any earlier than absolutely necessary. The little girl had woken up easily enough but the drive to the Navy Yard had lulled her back to a light sleep.
The elevator opened to Gibbs, one arm carrying a sleeping Natalie and the other carrying a black bag with a big purple heart and gold crown which read "Princess" in the middle and was filled with things to keep Natalie occupied during the day.
McGee was one of the few people in the bullpen and immediately spotted Gibbs.
He smiled at the sight of Gibbs, "Morning, Boss".
Gibbs set down the bag, little girl still in his arms, and shot McGee a stare that let him know he would be on the receiving end of a slap to the back of the head if he didn't wipe the smirk off his face.
McGee immediately went back to working on his computer.
Gibbs went over to Ziva's desk to grab the blanket she kept there in case they ended up working so late that it wasn't practical to go home. He laid the blanket out on the floor behind his desk and carefully placed the sleeping girl and the stuffed penguin she clutched onto it.
At around 0805 Tony and Ziva strolled into the bullpen, both looking significantly less stressed than the night before, their hands clasped together. Normally Gibbs would have objected to this display of public affection at work but he decided to let it go, just for today.
They pulled their hands apart as they made their way to their desks; Tony was the first to speak. "Morning Boss, McGeek."
Gibbs put a finger up to his lips signaling for DiNozzo to lower his voice and then pointing to Natalie, who was sleeping behind him.
DiNozzo's face showed confused and then immediately brightened upon realizing his daughter was asleep behind Gibbs desk.
"We've all been working a lot so I though she deserved to spend some time here."
"Thanks, Boss." Tony said, giving Gibbs a grateful look.
"How you holding up, Ziver?" Gibbs asked.
Ziva smiled, "Much better than yesterday."
Suddenly a head popped up from behind Gibbs' desk. Tony was the first to spot it.
"Well, well, well, did the Peanut have a big night with Gibbs?" Tony said, kneeling to the ground so Natalie could throw herself onto him in a full-force hug.
"Hey, Peanut." Tony said, holding his little girl and stroking her long brown hair, "did you have a good time with Gibbs?"
"Yeah, the movie was so good! We also made macaroni and cheese and painted!" Natalie said, as excitedly as possible for a little girl who had just woken up.
Natalie turned her head to see Ziva, who was seated at her chair. "Mommy." She said, jumping out of Tony's arms and over into Ziva's.
"Shalom, Mammelah." Ziva said, taking great comfort in the embrace of her daughter.
The morning passed slowly, if they didn't get a call about a murder then they would hopefully be out at a reasonable hour, maybe even early. The conference was due to start in an hour and Eli David was due to make an appearance soon.
By mid afternoon Ziva and Natalie had gone to Abby's lab, Natalie needed a nap but refused to indulge and Ziva was hoping Abby would have something to show her and tire her out enough to make her concede to a nap.
Tony stayed in the bullpen all day. He wanted to talk to Eli David; he HAD to talk to Eli David. He needed to try and make things right, Ziva was finally happy but he knew this was weighing down on her immensely. He needed to fix this for her.
Sure enough, during one of their breaks, Eli David sauntered into the bullpen, eyeing DiNozzo.
"Agent DiNozzo," he said "could I have a word with you, somewhere a little more private perhaps?"
Tony nodded curtly, and got up to lead him to the break room. Since they were practically the only ones there, he was certain it would be empty; walking in he breathed a sigh of relief that he was right.
Tony turned around and stared coldly at Eli David, Tony was not going to be the one to start this conversation and he was making that clear.
"Agent DiNozzo, you have married my daughter." He said calmly.
"Which makes her my wife." Tony said, not willing to let Eli accuse him of anything.
Eli laughed, "You are a stubborn one, I remember that from your last visit to Israel."
Tony grimaced, as good as things were now, it was still hard to think about those few weeks a year and a half ago, the moment when he thought he'd lost Ziva forever.
"That may be, but that's because I want what's best for Ziva."
"I always had a plan for Ziva, she was always the most promising, it was all ruined when she came to America and met you." Eli said, his eyes cold.
"Ziva isn't yours to give away. She isn't some object, she's a person, she deserves to be happy. You treat her like she's disposable, your own personal Mossad Assasin. Did you ever consider what she wanted? That someday she might want to get married and have a family of her own? All she tried to do her whole life was make you proud of her and you send her on a suicide mission. She's the only daughter you have left and you threw her away." Tony said, his voice stern.
"You do not understand my job, nor do you understand what it is like to lose a child." Eli said, his glare stony.
"No, I understand that you've always put your job ahead of your family because that's how you deal with pain. You use your job as an excuse to be emotionally distant. And no, I haven't lost a child and I can't even imagine how horrible that must be. But you didn't have to lose Ziva. You chose to lose her." Tony replied, his voice stern.
"It is too late. I cannot be who Ziva wants me to be." Eli replied, in what Tony sensed was true sincerity.
"Yeah, that may be true but you can try to make it up to her. You can let her know that you're proud of who she's become. That's all she wants." Tony said, his voice calm.
"You are treating her well, I trust." Eli asked.
"I would do anything for her." Tony said, his eyes showing his sincerity.
Eli stood in the doorway of Abby's office, Ziva was tucked behind the desk, Natalie curled up next to her, staring intently at the pages of a book. It looked like they were almost done so in a moment of kindness, Eli decided not to interrupt.
He heard Ziva's voice, softly reading to the small child sitting beside her, "I'll eat you up I love you so." Ziva read, placing a kiss on the little girl's head and closing the book. She got up slowly and brushed Natalie's hair back as she lay down and got comfortable. Eli noted the expression on her face, it was light and carefree, a smile spread across her face as she made sure the little girl was comfortable.
She turned and saw Eli and her expression immediately faltered. She made her way out and closed the door to Abby's office; seeing that they were alone in the lab she figured Abby must have gone upstairs to bother McGee.
They stood in Abby's lab silently for a moment until Eli spoke.
"You are very good with her. You remind me of your mother, the way you tuck her hair behind her ears." Eli said.
Ziva knew that this was a peace offering of sorts, his way of telling her that he approved of the person she had become. She stayed silent, not sure of how to respond to that.
"I know that I was not the kind of father you needed." Eli said, obviously struggling for words.
Ziva knew this was as close to an apology as she would get.
"I think I turned out all right." She said, smiling at him for the first time in years.
Eli smiled back, "I have missed your smile."
"You are wrong about Tony you know, he does love me." Ziva said, her voice strong and unwavering.
"I know." Eli said, his voice quiet.
Ziva knew she would never get the relationship with her father she so desired as a child, but being angry at Eli wasn't helping, forgiving was easier and it really did make her feel as if a weight was lifted off her shoulders.
"I should get back upstairs." Eli said.
Ziva nodded and smiled as he made his way to the elevator.
The rest of the day had been quiet and Tony, Ziva, and Natalie had been able to go home by dinner. They stopped for dinner since neither Tony nor Ziva felt like cooking. They arrived home by eight and Natalie, who had a big day, fell asleep quickly after they got home and Tony and Ziva put her to bed.
The couple made their way out to the living room to watch a movie before they too headed to bed. They made themselves comfortable in each other's arms on the sofa and settled in for the movie.
Before Tony could hit play, Ziva turned to him to speak.
"Thank you, Tony." Ziva said, looking him in the eyes.
Tony knew without questioning what she was talking about. "Ziva I'm your husband, you don't have to thank me for defending you." Tony replied, his face dead serious.
"Yes, yes I do. Because you always have, even when we were not together you always have been on my side. I have never had anyone else do that for me." Ziva said, a look of genuine gratitude on her face.
"I love you." Tony said, not breaking their eye contact.
"I love you, too." Ziva said, placing a soft kiss on his lips.
A/N: REVIEW PLEASE? Thank you :] xoxo cerie