"Well, that was a perfect end to a perfect vacation." He said brightly. Ziva smiled sadly.
"I was just as surprised, although in retrospect we should have seen something like this coming. Tori is very attached to Karina. But it never occurred to me that she thought we had moved here." Ziva shook her head.
"Yeah, that caught me by surprise, too." Tony nodded thoughtfully. He pulled Ziva into his arms. "I'm ready to go home. This has been great, far better than I ever imagined or hoped for. But it's time."
Ziva snuggled into his side, lightly running her fingers through his chest hairs. "I am as well. I miss our family." Tony kissed her temple, his hand rubbing small circles on her upper arm.
"This time tomorrow, we will be home." Tony sighed contentedly.
Disclaimer: I only own my characters
Chapter Thirty-Six: "Back to Real Life"
Tony and Ziva settled happily into their first class seats. The eight plus hour flight would get them into Dulles near eight pm. Tony had called Gibbs from Heathrow to let him know that they were getting ready to board. Gibbs didn't say much except that Bridget had been fine and to let her spend the night, rather than have him come over and get her.
They had discussed briefly about getting together, but Gibbs nixed that idea. He had a feeling that Tony would want to dissect everything that had happened at NCIS during his absence, and Gibbs didn't want to do that while he was jetlagged and suffering from flight fatigue. Besides, in reality it was McGee's job to give the SITREP to Tony, not his. Couple that with the fact that they probably wouldn't even get to their home until 10 p.m. it made even less sense to get together.
Gibbs' only hesitation in not denying this meeting was his desire to see the grandchildren. He couldn't believe how much he missed Karina and Jack, and they had only been gone a week and a few days. Mimi had also expressed her desire to see them right away, but she understood where Gibbs was coming from and ultimately agreed with his decision.
The flight was on time and relatively smooth, with only one episode of mild turbulence. The babies only had an issue with the air pressure changes again, but fortunately did not need to be medicated. Karina and Jack both slept for about five hours and woke up just in time for the landing.
By the time Tony and Ziva retrieved their luggage and got into the car, they were exhausted. "I'm glad I didn't push meeting with Gibbs and McGee tonight. I am whipped." Tony murmured softly as he placed Karina into her car seat.
Ziva nodded wearily, situating Jack into his little seat. "Yes, it is just as well. You will need to be alert and rested when you go over those reports. I don't envy you." Ziva touched his arm as she settled into the front seat.
"I have no reason to hear what went down, but I am very concerned about Dorneget, Tony. What little you have told me is troubling." Ziva sighed and reclined her seat just a bit.
Tony pulled onto the parkway and headed for the beltway. "I think we'll probably meet tomorrow night, when they get home from work. Unless they can't bring the reports to me; then I will have to go in. Damn." Tony grimaced.
Ziva considered that. "You would have to go in to see the recordings of the interrogations anyway, but that can probably wait until you return from our vacation, yes? There is nothing you can do at this point to change the outcome, Tony. Let it be for tonight, get some good sleep, and see what tomorrow brings."
Keeping his eyes on the road, Tony reached over and grabbed Ziva's hand and brought it to his lips. "What was that for?" Ziva asked softly.
"That, my ninja bride, was for being my voice of reason, for being my…everything." Tony risked a glance at his wife. "I love you, Ziva."
"I love you, Tony." Ziva intertwined her fingers through his.
Tony and Ziva's Home: North Arlington
"We're home!" Tony sang out softly as he pulled into the driveway. Ziva startled slightly, and then blushed.
"I am sorry, Tony. I must have dozed off." She gathered up her things and got out.
"That's ok; I slept all the way home, too." Tony joked. Ziva gave him an exasperated look.
"Here, let me go open the house and get the luggage in, and then we can get Karina and Jack settled." Tony grabbed two suitcases and brought them into the family room. Two more suitcases and a garment bag later, Tony had Karina in his arms as he watched Ziva get Jack out of his car seat.
Tony smiled as Jack looked around wide eyed, burped and then went back to sleep. Ziva chuckled at her son's antics. "Hopefully they will sleep through the night, but they have already had many hours of sleep."
Tony made a face. "Well, if they wake up, they wake up. We'll figure something out." Sure enough, as soon as they started to undress Karina, she woke right up and wanted something to eat.
"Should we bathe them tonight, or do you think that will wake them up more?" Tony asked as he watched Karina grab Bobo and start talking to him.
"Hmmm, I think no. Here Karina, Mommy has some yogurt for you." Karina held up her arms and Ziva picked her up and took her into their sitting room.
She held Karina on her lap as she ate the treat. Ziva looked up at Tony. "Why don't you take a shower? Karina and I are fine right now."
Tony rubbed his face. "Are you sure? I can take care of Karina so you can go first." Ziva smiled and pointed to the bathroom door. Tony didn't need to be told twice. Giving them both a quick kiss, Tony unpacked his toiletries and ran the water.
By the time he got out, Karina was sitting in her rocker "breast feeding" her baby while Ziva was feeding Jack. "The little rascal woke up after all, huh?" Tony bent to kiss Jack's head. He looked at Karina, who didn't seem in any hurry to go back to sleep. "You don't think she'll stay awake for hours, do you? I know our internal clocks are out of whack, but I'm not looking forward to staying up all night."
Ziva looked at Karina. "I do not think she will. When I am done with Jack, I will take a quick shower. Then we can put them in bed with us. I think if we try to go to sleep, so will she. Jack will fall back asleep without any problem."
Tony looked skeptical. "Won't they fall out of bed? What if we fall asleep and she tries to go somewhere?"
Ziva burped Jack. "It will be fine, Tony. We will put them between us." She stood up and handed Jack to him. "I will be right back. Karina, sit with your baby until Mommy comes back, ok?"
"Ok, Mommy." Karina kissed her baby and then pretended to burp her. Ziva smiled at her daughter and looked at Tony. He was smiling and shaking his head.
Tony lay back on the bed, cuddling Jack to his chest. "Hey, big guy, it's time to go back to sleep, ok?" Tony looked at Karina. "You are sleepy yet, Punkin?"
Karina looked at Tony. "No!" She giggled. Tony sighed. It was going to be a long night.
Fortunately, once Ziva got out of the shower and brought Karina up into the bed with them, Karina settled down and was sleeping once more in less than an hour. Tony and Ziva lay on their sides, their children between them. Each laid a hand on one of their children's tummies, their fingers brushing each other. Smiling at one another, they sighed happily and finally drifted off to sleep.
Gibbs and Mimi's Home
Ziva and Mimi cleared the dinner table as Gibbs took Karina and Jack into the living room. Karina was telling him all about "Sopie" and "Toey" and Gibbs looked appropriately interested and excited as her voice became more animated.
Mimi chuckled. "Sounds like Karina had a ball with her cousins." Ziva nodded and smiled as she looked at her daughter.
"She was quite taken with Tori. And poor Tori was so heartbroken when we left. She thought we had moved there permanently. Our last evening with them was quite, um…loud."
Ziva looked at Mimi critically. "How are you doing? Are you bored yet?" Mimi shook her head.
"Not really. I'm still working; I'm just not going into the clinic. But that will probably slow down as well once Jethro retires." They both turned and looked at Gibbs, Tony, Karina and Jack.
"Knock, knock!" Tim opened the sliding glass door and came into the kitchen. "Hi Ziva! Welcome back to how the lower class lives." Tim gave her a hug.
Ziva chuckled and kissed his cheek. "Give me the lower class any day, McGee. Oh, our vacation was very lovely; in fact it was absolutely wonderful. But we are glad to be home."
Tony and Gibbs looked up as Tim came into the dining room. "That's our cue." Tony picked up Karina. "Okay, Punkin. Go with Mommy now, ok? Daddy and Grandpa and Uncle Tim need to work for a bit."
Ziva took Karina and Mimi took Jack. "We will go visit Abby for a bit, and then we will head back home." Ziva told Tony. He kissed her softly and she touched his face, telling him with her eyes not to worry.
Tim put the laptop down on the table and signed in with his password. "There you go, Tony." Tim pushed the computer over to him.
"Thanks, McGee." Tony murmured. He sat quietly as he read through the reports. The number of reports was mind boggling: a report from every Agent who had a hand in this case. His eyes opened wide in surprise when he got to the part about the military and the CIA stepping in with an order to cease and desist.
He purposely kept his expression neutral and did not look up at McGee or Gibbs as he studied the documents. He wanted to get his own impression regarding what had occurred, rather than be swayed by a stray look or set of the mouth.
Tony took a deep breath as he got to the reports regarding Agent Dorneget and his subsequent actions. He rubbed the back of his neck as he became more concerned; each word spelling out the unbelievable scenario that resulted from this unexpected event. Finally finished with his task, Tony sat back and drummed his fingers on the table.
He finally looked up at McGee and Gibbs, noting Tim's pale face. "Wow…" He murmured softly. Tony leaned forward and looked at McGee. "The first thing I want to say to you is that I would have handled this exactly the same way you did. You did an outstanding job handling a horrible situation. You should be proud, Tim."
Tim let out his breath, relief flooding his features as a more healthy color returned to his face. Gibbs nodded in agreement, proud of Tony for giving credit where credit was due.
"Where is Dorneget now?" Tony asked, looking at his notes. Tim sighed and scratched his head.
"Well, I took his out of the field and sent him for his psych evaluations. Unfortunately, the Psychiatrist recommended that Ned be placed on administrative leave for the time being."
Tony sat up straight at that. "Why?" He asked, looking from McGee to Gibbs, trying to read their faces for some clue that would explain such an extreme measure.
Tim handed over Dorneget personnel file. "According to the report, he thinks Dornie is suffering from PTS, as well as being unusually empathetic to our suspect. He feels that Dornie isn't able to make rational decisions right now and he could compromise any investigation he may be a part of."
Tony opened his mouth, but nothing came out. "I know." McGee agreed.
Tony looked at his notes. "Did I miss something? I can see that Zelner was able to sway Dorneget to his side, and Dorneget exhibited questionable behavior, even for him, but…isn't that extreme?"
Gibbs looked at Tim. "Tony, it's not that Dorneget is sympathetic to Zelner's cause and therefore sympathetic to a cold-blooded murderer. He truly believes what Zelner said went down."
"And why is that a problem? It seems pretty straight forward to me." Tony frowned as he saw both McGee and Gibbs shaking their heads.
Tony looked concerned. "Is there something that is not in these reports? Something related to the military and the CIA perhaps that we were not allowed to repeat?"
McGee took a sip of his iced tea. "It was unbelievable, Tony. They came in and grabbed all of our notes. What you just read is from memory. Fortunately Abby made a copy of the interrogations before they showed up, grabbed their own copy and wiped ours clean." He shook his head.
"We didn't put down everything that Zelner told us because it is too sensitive." Gibbs cut in. "I personally doubt that what Zelner believes happened, did happen. But Dorneget does believe him, and that's a problem."
Tony sat back, stunned. "What does Zelner and by extension Dorneget, believe?"
"He believes that his team wasn't sent to take photos to prove that Iran is manufacturing nuclear weapons. He believes that his team was the proof; that his commanding officers knew there was a nuclear site in the area, and that there was run-off from the site. The proof would not be the photos, the proof would be dead marines; dead from radiation exposure."
Tony's eyes opened wide in alarm. "That's…you don't think that's true, do you? I mean…ah, hell. I don't know what I mean." Tony stood up and started pacing.
"I don't guess it really matters at the end of the day whether it's true or not, as horrible as that sounds. What we need to do is make sure Dorneget doesn't believe it's true." Tony bent over, placing his hands on his knees.
"Tony, for what it's worth I don't think that was the op, to purposely expose innocent Marines to radiation. I think it was an unfortunate occurrence, that they were casualties of war. But you're right about Dorneget. If we can't get him to give up this notion of a conspiracy against our troops, he's done. He's no use to us." Gibbs looked grim.
Tony and Ziva's Home
Ziva kept the children quiet, sensing Tony's mood. She could see he was very worried, and as much as she wanted to talk to him about it, she sadly realized that she was no longer read in to their cases, at least not this one.
So she did the only thing she could, being the loving woman that she was. She seduced her husband and gave him something else to think about for a while that night. Seeing his relaxed, smiling face as he fell asleep brought her a sense of relief. She snuggled against him, stroking his hand and spoke soft words of love to him until she could no longer keep her own eyes open.
Gibbs and Mimi's Home
Saturdaydawned bright and clear, the sky an iridescent blue that took your breath away: perfect weather for an end of the summer cookout and oh, by the way, a baby shower. Lily and Abby had put their heads together to plan the event, and Mimi was more than a little bit worried.
She didn't want a big fuss, and she also knew how Lily and Abby's brains worked. After laying down some ground rules, Mimi was finally convinced that the shower wouldn't be anything over the top and to just be quiet and relax. Gibbs chuckled and put his arm around her to lead her out of the room if the discussion went in a direction she didn't like.
However, Mimi did get her way on one item: family only. Her co-workers would be throwing her a shower when she went in for her next checkup, so she didn't feel the need to include them. "We'll have enough people here with all of the babies. There's only so much room, and so much food." Mimi reasoned. Abby and Lily agreed with her sentiment about the babies. If everyone came, there would six infants/toddlers running amuck in the Gibbs household. Plus three dogs: Jethro and Bridget would be visiting outside with Bailey.
"Where do you want me to put this, Lily?" Ziva asked as she brought in her large bowl of fruit salad. Lily gratefully took the dish. "We can always count on you to keep us healthy, Ziva!" Lily laughed. "I made a big, gooey chocolate cake!"
The home was full of the happy sounds of babies gurgling and adults laughing. Tony was hilarious describing the antics of Karina, "Toey" and "Sopie". They didn't share the news regarding Jack's pending inheritance rights, but Tony knew he would talk to Gibbs about it soon.
Jack was starting to crawl, although he tended to pull himself along on his stomach more often than not. "He reminds me of Grunts maneuvering under barbed wire." Gibbs joked. Jack just looked up at him and grinned. Will and Belle were sitting up and banging their toys, watching every movement Karina and Jamie made.
The nursery was a big hit. Gibbs and Mimi wouldn't let anyone see it until it was finished. The nautical theme was perfectly in keeping with Gibbs' military experience, his work at NCIS and Mimi's Florida roots. A stuffed bulldog and alligator lay in the newly hand-made crib. Colors of red, white and blue adorned the room, along with anchors and sailboats.
The cradle, already engraved with "Andrew George" was in its place of honor in their bedroom, just waiting for it precious little occupant to arrive.
"So explain the names again to me, Gibbs?" Abby asked, looking at the intricate carvings.
Gibbs hugged Mimi tightly. "We are naming him for our mothers: Ann was my mom, and Georgia is Mimi's." Mimi's eyes misted a little as she thought of her mother in the Alzheimer's unit in Gainesville.
"And you are going to call him Drew?" Abby persisted.
Mimi nodded. "We definitely didn't want Andy. Drew or Andrew, depending upon my mood, I guess." Everyone laughed at that.
"Well, you look wonderful, Mimi. I think you've had the easiest pregnancy of all of us. Well, except maybe for Breena." Ziva smiled at Breena. Breena smiled back softly, but the smile didn't reach her eyes. Ziva wondered briefly if something was wrong, but she dismissed it from her mind.
"It's too bad Stan and Melinda couldn't come, but I guess a trip to San Diego would trump this." Tony mused. Stan and Melinda were celebrating their anniversary by visiting her family. They hadn't seen them in almost a year and they were dying to see Lizzie.
Mimi and Gibbs were both overwhelmed by the generosity of the gifts, which everyone just waved off. "Look what you've done for us!" McGee exclaimed. "This is nothing compared to that."
Gibbs was holding Will and buried his head into the baby's little neck, trying to not betray his emotions at the moment. He was really going to miss working with this special group; his family, his friends. As if reading his mind, Jimmy spoke up.
"When is your last day again, Gibbs?" Everyone looked at Gibbs and Mimi, the room so quiet a pin could drop. Jimmy looked around in a panic. "Uh, I'm sorry. Was I not supposed to ask that question?" Ducky put his hand on Jimmy's shoulder to allay his concern.
"It's alright, Jimmy. Intellectually, we have all accepted the inevitable parting of the ways. But one cannot always presume to control the psychological effects of such an event. We will be, and in fact, already are, in excellent hands with our dear Anthony at the helm of our intrepid group. Still, it will be a sad day."
"Like Hell, it will." Gibbs spoke up. "I don't want any sad sacks moping around on my last day. In fact, maybe I won't even come in one day and you won't know it's the last." Abby gasped at that.
"You…you have to come in for one last time, Gibbs! There's going to be a ceremony and speeches, and…"
Gibbs rolled his eyes. "That's just what I don't want. Whose brilliant idea was that? DiNozzo?" Gibbs playfully glared at Tony, showing him he was not really angry, but as Gibbs refused to attend every ceremony that centered on him getting some award in the past, he was letting Tony know to not expect too much.
"I plead 'not guilty', Boss. Vance is in charge of the whole affair. I can give your retirement speech if you like. Thank you, Boss." Tony replied as Gibbs lightly slapped the back of his head.
"You need to quit calling me Boss, Tony." He said quietly. Tony shook his head.
"You will always be my Boss, Gibbs." Tony said seriously, looking him straight in the eye to make sure Gibbs knew he was not joking around. Gibbs just nodded slightly, taking his comment for the compliment it was.
Thanks for being patient after I spoiled you last week by posting two chapters in three days. I am really bummed that I will be missing the premiere because I have a meeting that night. Thank God for the DVR, and "On Demand". But after the second episode, I doubt I will be recording every episode automatically. Hey! I have a fun idea! GG has let it be known that the "250th episode" will "be something we have never done before!" Haha why does that sound familiar? Give me your ideas of what you think it will be about and I will write a one-shot for it in my "Promonitions" story, giving you credit for the idea. But I determine if the idea is plausible, so no alien abductions please. I love the "X-Files" but this is not that. And now…
SPOILER ALERT: READ NO FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO KNOW
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MW had a little Twitter fest and gave people fifteen minutes to ask what they wanted to know about the premiere and season eleven. From his answers, vague as they were, if can be surmised that Tony and Ziva do kiss. My guess is we will see one kiss when they part, but I hope I am wrong. He also said to invest in Kleenex, so lots of crying expected.
He also said something that I don't like. He was asked if there would be any "movie references" in Season 11 and he replied "Casablanca". And now for my speculation:
The obvious conclusion about that is "We'll always have Paris." I'm one of the few who don't think much happened in Paris. Sure, maybe they had sex, but should their whole relationship be summed up by a one-night stand? Maybe they got out their differences, maybe Ziva had a nightmare and Tony was there to comfort her as many fanfic writers like to describe. Or maybe nothing happened at all. They flew in to Paris, spent the night, shared a bed and left the next day as far as I can tell.
No, my worry is the other part of the ending of Casablanca. Ilsa leaves Casablanca with her husband Victor, a safe haven, rather than stay with the love of her life, Rick, full of danger. Does Ziva (Ilsa) take the safe route and stay with Adam (Victor) rather than run headlong into danger with Tony (Rick)? We all know Ziva is in danger; the whole team has been targeted. I don't think Ziva has taken off to remove herself from danger; I think she has left to move the danger to her away from Tony (and maybe the others, but for my purposes, it is Tony). She seeks out Adam and Orli, if not Mossad. She goes to Israel. Tony has to go there to find her. Tony comes back alone. This might sound like over the top ranting, but it has been announced that Adam is in Ep 11-1 and Orli is in Ep 11-2. "Young Ziva" also makes an appearance in both episodes, so it could be about Eli and Orli or it could serve as a reminder to Ziva as to who she really is and that is why she returns to Israel. GG said we would learn what makes Ziva "tick". In the end, Ziva is from Israel and maybe, but I hope not, Mossad. If she returns to Mossad after everything that has happened, then this character's journey has been a total lie and waste of time.
"We will be ok, Tony." Some have voiced the concern that the "we" refers to Ziva and Adam. I don't think so, as I can't imagine Tony being concerned at all over Adam's well-being. In fact, if Adam is in Ep 11-2, I hope Tony sees him and breaks his jaw for taking advantage of Ziva when she was so vulnerable.
My fantasy? Tony and Ziva did get together after they quit NCIS. Ziva leaves, not just because of the danger to herself and Tony; but because she is pregnant. She believes she can protect the baby better in Israel than in the US for some reason. Once he finds out, Tony at first decides to stay with Ziva and their unborn child. But after a few weeks (growing facial hairs anyone?) Tony begins to become restless. He is not used to this kind of life; he is used to his creature comforts. Ziva understands and makes him return to the US and NCIS without her, for his own good. She will sacrifice her own desires for his well-being, if not his happiness. The "we will be ok" is in reference to her and the baby. Will this happen? I seriously doubt it. I am sure the "we" refers to her and Tony, but I'm not sure how they can be ok, especially if we are not. I'm done. Discuss.