Chapter Twenty-Nine
Tony watched Ziva as she walked into Abby's lab with a clingy Conner. They were about to leave on a case and Ziva had to go this time.
Abby gave her friend a tight hug after she set the little boy down. "I'll keep him safe Ziva." She promised.
Ziva hugged her back. "Please do." She pulled away and saw Conner reaching up to her whining.
"Mom." Conner whimpered.
Ziva's heart tore. "No tateleh. Stay with Aunt Abby. She can play with you while I am gone."
Tony watched as a torn ninja walked back to him, trying not to look back at the whimpering eleven and half month old boy. Ziva stepped onto the elevator and heard Conner's whimpers turning into crying. It took all she had to not go back to him and hold him close to her and get him to calm down and smile.
Tony gently put a hand on her arm. He understood why this was so hard for her. She was still scared to lose her son. The custody fight was scary enough. It was only two weeks ago that Ziva had gotten the call from Eli. The call that had shaken her up so badly.
Ziva looked up at him and hugged him. "I am scared Tony."
Tony was surprised. It was two weeks since Ziva had even shown an ounce of what she was feeling, let alone tell him. "It's okay Ziva." He held her. "It's going to be okay my ninja." And those were the words that comforted the young Israeli woman.
When they came back Ziva didn't wait for the elevator to bring her to Abby's lab. She ran down the stairs carrying the evidence. She went into Abby's lab and was met by a "mom!".
"Conner!" Ziva set the evidence on the table and picked up her son and held him close to her.
Conner nuzzled his head into Ziva's neck. "Mom." He kept repeating it over and over.
Abby signed the evidence sheet for Ziva so she could leave, "thanks Ziva!"
"Thank you Abby." Ziva smiled at her friend and carried her son to the elevator where a smiling Tony stood.
Conner sat on his mother's lap as she sat at her desk talking to someone on the phone. Ziva absent mindedly kept running her hand over her son's blonde hair. It came from his father, but Conner's personality was definitely his mother's. Conner played with one of his toys he had gotten for Christmas.
Tony watched Ziva as she hung up and made a few notes before kissing her son's head. He realized maybe he could get Eli and the grandparents of Conner to change their mind. To help Ziva keep little Conner. He knew exactly what it was to.
That night after both mother and son had fallen asleep Tony sat in his room, on the phone with Eli David.
"Ah Anthony. Such an, unpleasant surprise."Eli smirked. "At such a late hour none the less."
"Yeah Eli you haven't made such an unpleasant surprise yourself. Just so you know, Ziva has her son because that petty officer raped her. He hurt your daughter!"
"It does not faze me Tony. Ziva is strong, she should have been able to take care of herself to make sure it didn't happen."
"Well you know what Eli? The whole NCIS headquarters is pissed off about how you're taking sides with people, you don't even know, over your own daughter! Vance and Gibbs both won't let that petty officer take Conner away from Ziva. She's taken extreme care over him. Even with having to deal with work, she can do it." Tony argued getting even more frustrated that Eli was doing this.
"And how would you know Tony?" Eli snarled.
"Because, I've been doing something her own father hasn't. I've been taking care of her and making sure she has what she needs. I've given her something I'm sure you've never given her."
"And what's that?"
"Love." Tony surprised himself on that one. "I love her. That's what she needs. Not her father fighting for someone he doesn't know to get the one thing she cares about the most. And if you can't find it in your heart to be a decent parent, I sure hope that Gibbs kicks your ass." And with that a very special agent Tony hung up on the Mossad director. Without blinking an eye.
