Part 2

Autumn Changes

Chapter 13

November 18. 9 days to go.

A lot of changes were happening for the entire team, not just the Tony and Ziva branch. Yvette had arrived the previous week with her 36-week-old pregnant belly. Tony had met her briefly.

McGee and Delilah were getting even more serious by the minute. McGee didn't talk about her very much at work, but Tony just knew.

Dorneget had moved on from his temporary position as Ziva's replacement on the MCRT. Vance had assigned a woman named Eleanor Bishop. None of the others were sure how they felt about her.

Kayla Vance had just celebrated her 15th birthday, and she now had a boyfriend, something her father felt the need to consult Ziva about, and much to Ziva's amusement. Somehow, she had become Kayla's female role model since her mother's death, not that she was complaining.

Every day, Tony was happier because it meant he was one day closer to taking Ziva home from the hospital. He had already enlisted Abby's help in finding a dog that both he and Ziva could agree on. Abby couldn't believe Ziva was the one who came up with the name, Bogie.

Ziva had started to get some of her strength back. She was eating more, and the vomiting wasn't as frequent. The tumor was getting smaller, but the oncologist still wasn't happy with the rate it was decreasing at.

Senior had decided to hold off on his visit until Christmas. Hopefully, by then, Ziva would be out of the hospital, and they could celebrate between the three of them.

Of course, all these changes were like a dagger in Abby. She didn't want her NCIS family to change. Gibbs told her that the family was expanding, which caused Abby to smile. Gibbs reminded her that Abby had her own biological family. She had two brothers, Luca and Kyle. Luca had given her two adorable nieces.

So, the team had decided that Christmas Eve would be celebrated within their own separate branches, but Christmas Day would be reserved for the whole team. None of them had any objections.

Tony got off work that night and went straight to the hospital.

"How you feeling, Bumpkin?"

"Bumpkin?" Ziva repeated.

"You know, you question ever pet name I call you." He noticed, handing her some lasagna he picked up from an Italian place on the way over.

"Do you think about the names in advance, or do they just roll off your tongue with ease?" she wondered as she took a bite.

"They just come naturally."

"Where's your food?" she asked.

"I ate it in the car." He said matter-of-factly. "Really, I don't think that lasagna compares to your homemade lasagna. I really miss that."

"I miss cooking."

"You'll get to soon." He reminded her.

Ziva frowned as she took another bite. "It's too salty." She decided. Tony handed her some water. "Thank you."

"So, I was thinking about you today, which is something I do every day, and I realized that you are not the kind of person to just watch movie after movie like I am, so I needed to get you something that could help you occupy yourself a bit. I really wanted to get you stuff to knit with just to see your face, but I think I found a few things." He said, reaching into the take-out bag to get what he had bought earlier.

"Oh, Tony, you did not have to get me anything."

"Do you want it or not?" he asked.

"I want to see."

"Okay, well I have three things, one of which is from McGee. He says hi by the way. He wanted to come by, but I think he was a little too preoccupied with Delilah."

"Stop it, Tony." She playfully scolded him.

"Anyways, here you go." He handed her two books. One was in Hebrew, and one was in English. They were two completely different books, but she knew which one came from whom. Tony was the one who would go out of his way to find literature printed in her native tongue. For some reason, books printed in Hebrew were difficult to find in America. The third object he handed her was a leather-encased journal. The stitching on the cover was just beautiful. It was of roses in several different colors. She opened it up to find that it was blank, but it had an engraving on the inside cover. A personal engraving from Tony.

Z,

For everything you can't tell me. For every thought I miss. Don't let it be forgotten because every one of your thoughts is a part of you that I want to hold on to.

~T

Ziva's breath caught as she read the engraving. She looked up at Tony with love, and he handed her a pen.

"Just to pass the time." He said.

"Come here." She told him quietly.

He obliged without a second thought, kissing her sweetly and passionately. He missed the passion.

"Thank you." She said when they parted.

"No problem, Gum Drop." He said as he sat back in his chair, stealing a bite of Ziva's bread stick in the process.

She broke it in half, handing him the larger half, even though she knew he had already eaten his fair share. Her appetite was still not very large. "Anything interesting happen at work?" she asked.

"Not really. No case today, which I guess is good because that means the military world is somewhat at peace, but Ducky's trying to talk Gibbs into Twitter because Ducky just loves it. Of course, Gibbs isn't too happy about the social networking thing."

"I can imagine."

"Why don't you have a twitter?"

"No, Tony." She said adamantly.

"Come on. We could follow each other."

"So, you just want another follower?" she asked. Tony nodded, and she rolled her eyes. "Anything happening outside of work?"

Tony laughed. "Okay. One thing happened. A friend of mine from Baltimore PD. A guy named Dylan, well he and his wife are moving down here from Baltimore, and they invited me to dinner when they settle into their new house. Apparently, I'm the only one they know in the area. By the way, that invitation extends to you."

"Sounds nice."

"Yup. Don't know if they're gonna follow through with the invitation, though. Dylan just might be after my job."

Ziva chuckled.

"I'm serious, Ziva."

"I know you are."

Just then, Tony's phone vibrated, alerting him that he had a new text message. He was still smiling at Ziva when he looked down at his phone, and then his eyes widened. Ziva immediately grew concerned.

"Tony, what's wrong?" Ziva asked, her voice filled with worry.

"Nothing's wrong." He said with a smile. "We're about to have a niece. Yvette's water just broke. They're on their way to this hospital. Looks like I'm not leaving here tonight."

"When will they get here?"

"About ten minutes."

"You have to go. You have to be there when they check in." Ziva told him.

"Ziva, it's not like the baby will be born right when they get here. It'll take a few hours. It's ten right now. Elizabeth probably won't be born until tomorrow." He explained to her.

Ziva still wanted Tony to be there when Elizabeth was born, especially because she couldn't be there herself. "At least promise me you'll go when Elizabeth gets to 7 cm." she asked of him.

"7 cm?"

"Dilated, Tony."

"Right." He said, a little bit embarrassed. "Looks like Jimmy won't be getting his Friday the 13th baby. Poor guy."

"She is three weeks early, isn't she?"

"Yup. I hope Breena and Jimmy are ready to be parents."

"They are." Ziva said confidently. "I wish I could be there. You have to take lots of pictures for me, and I want a picture of you holding her. I need to get that one framed. I also want a picture of Elizabeth with Breena and Jimmy. Tony, we need a photo album." Ziva decided.

Tony smiled. He found it fun to watch Ziva get all worked up, especially over home improvement, babies, and sentimental things. "Sure thing." He said.

"We need to start taking more photos."

"Ziva, calm down."

"We need more shelves to put the photos."

"Ziva, let's focus on Elizabeth, then you getting out of the hospital, then getting a dog, then home improvement."

"Okay."

"Elizabeth Debony Palmer. That's a mouthful."

"Tony, it's a beautiful name." Ziva said.

"As long as Acelynn is still available." Tony mumbled.

"I cannot believe that you have been thinking about that name for years now. The original Acelynn is probably an adult by now, but I will admit that name is very pretty, too."

Tony's phone vibrated again. This message was from Abby. He didn't even have to see whose number it was. It had about ninety exclamation points and it was written in all capital letters. "Abby's on her way." He announced, passing her the phone.

Ziva laughed. "She most certainly is."

"Maybe I can get Jimmy to bring up Baby Elizabeth." Tony suggested.

"That is not necessary. Just take a lot of pictures. If all of yours come out blurry, then hopefully I can depend on Abby."

"Hey! I take great pictures!" he defended himself.

Ziva smirked, thinking about the photos he had taken while they were in Paris. Most of those were out of focus and blurry, sometimes even missing a section of the monument altogether. However, he did seem to take good photos when there were people in them. The picture he had taken of her was very flattering, much to her relief. He would never let her hear the end of it if he had taken a bad photo of her.

Tony seemed to know what she was thinking, so he amended his statement. "I take great pictures most of the time, but hey, everyone makes mistakes."

"Some more than others."

Jimmy sent them an update every ten to fifteen minutes. Abby arrived half an hour later, and McGee said he would be there in a couple minutes. He had called Tony to tell him that.

"McGee sounded a little out of breath." Tony told Ziva. "At 11:45 at night. You know what that means, right? I bet I could trace his cell and place him in Delilah's apartment. Man, he makes me proud."

"Tony, stay out of his sex life. He stays out of yours."

Tony wanted to make a comment about how his sex life was currently nonexistent, but he realized that even if he said it jokingly, Ziva would be hurt by it, and her spirits were already down because she wouldn't be able to be there when Elizabeth was born.

"True, but still, I think he's competing with me."

"Tony." She admonished.

"I mean, think about it, Ziva. He hooks up with Delilah just when you and I officially become a couple."

"Actually, Tony, McGee and Delilah were together about a week before you and I were." Ziva told him, and Tony's bubble had been popped. Ziva smiled.

"You laugh at my pain." He said before looking down at his phone. "Yvette's 4 cm dilated. They won't have to give her an epidural. Can you decode that please?" he asked.

"It just means that they won't have to induce labor. She gets to deliver naturally. Lucky her." Ziva explained.

"Does that mean women don't normally deliver naturally?"

"Do you really want me to have to explain childbirth to you?" she asked, already having ideas in her head to freak him out. She really wanted to see the expression on his face when she explained a C-section.

By 2:00, Yvette was 7 cm dilated. Tony could tell that Ziva was trying her best to stay awake. He kissed her goodbye before he went downstairs to find the room. The only two people in the room were Yvette and Breena. Jimmy, Ducky, Abby, and McGee were waiting in the designated waiting area. Tony took a seat in between Jimmy and McGee.

"Why aren't you in there?" Tony asked Jimmy.

"They want me to wait until she starts pushing. Yvette's request, and I kinda can't argue with her. She's giving me her kid."

"Your kid." Abby corrected. "My niece."

"My niece, too." McGee said.

"But come on. I'm gonna be her favorite uncle." Tony reminded them.

"Uncle Tony." Abby said sweetly, trying the name out. "Auntie Ziva."

"Aunt." Tony corrected. "She doesn't want to be Auntie. I guess you can have that title." He said.

"Is that because Ziva's gonna have the title, Mommy?" McGee joked, knowing it would make Tony uncomfortable. It always made him laugh to see his reaction every time he brought up marriage and children.

"Oh, my God!" Abby nearly exclaimed. "Is Ziva pregnant?"

Ducky and Jimmy were both now interested in the conversation, and McGee was grinning like an idiot.

"No. Ziva's not pregnant."

"Is she trying to be?" Abby further asked.

"No. We are getting a dog soon. That's it." Tony told them before deciding to turn the tables on McGee. "What about you, Tim. Is there gonna be a McDaddy anytime soon. Delilah seems to be the type that just can't wait to settle down." Tony said.

"She does want to settle down, but we're taking it slow." McGee assured them.

"Is she the type that'll write Delilah McGee all over her work notebooks like a little schoolgirl? You're robbing the cradle with her."

"Not as much as you are. Delilah's only a few months younger than Ziva, and you're a few years older than me." McGee informed him.

"Palmer, how much younger is Breena than you?"

"Five years, 3 months, 11 days." He answered without hesitation.

"Face it, Tony. You and Ziva have the biggest age gap."

Before Tony and McGee could get into another argument, Breena came out of the delivery room. "Jimmy, it's time! She's about to start pushing! Come on!" Breena might not have been the one giving birth to a baby, but she definitely had a mother's glow going for her. She looked so happy and excited, and when Jimmy found out it was time he looked excited, confused, anxious, nervous, and delighted all at the same time.

"I'm about to be a dad." He said. Breena nodded. Tony was able to catch a glimpse of Jimmy kissing Breena as they walked hand-in-hand into the delivery room. Tony couldn't help but think it was sweet.

Twelve minutes later, the group could hear the cries of an infant, and they all knew simultaneously she was here. Tony quickly texted Ziva to let her know. Ziva replied by telling him to take as many pictures as possible.

After four minutes, Abby couldn't take the waiting anymore, and she was about to burst into the room herself when Jimmy came out, holding a baby wrapped in a pink blanket with her head covered by a matching hat, in his arms.

"Elizabeth, meet your family." He said.

Abby squealed in delight as she held out her arms to hold the baby. Jimmy reluctantly handed her over. He didn't want to let go of her yet. Tony snapped a photo of Abby holding her before Abby held her out to him.

"What?" Tony asked.

"Hold her." Abby said.

Tony took the child in his arms, and Abby was able to take a picture. He held her as he walked in the delivery room to find Jimmy holding onto Breena, their smiles big and bright.

"What do you think of our daughter?" Breena whispered.

"She's perfect." Tony told them.

"Born November 19, 2013 at 3:21 a.m. 6 lbs. 13 oz." Jimmy said from memory.

Tony handed Elizabeth back over to her parents. "Ziva wanted a picture of the three of you." He said as he took the shot.

"How is she?" Breena wondered.

"Sad that she couldn't be here." Tony said.

"She'll be here soon." Ducky assured them before holding out his arms. "May I hold Miss Elizabeth?" he asked.

They passed her around for a while, none of them wanting to give her up. After an hour, Tony had taken over a hundred photos of the whole experience.

"You'll bring her to work, right? So Gibbs can see her, too?" Abby asked.

"Already here, Abs." Gibbs said from behind them, surprising all of them. Abby leapt into his arms, which was expected by Gibbs. "Ziva called." He said, answering everyone's unspoken question. "Went up to visit. Figured I could come here, too."

"Of course, Agent Gibbs." Jimmy said happily. "Did you want to hold her?" he asked.

"You enjoy her. It's getting kinda crowded in here. Breena, always good to see you." He said politely.

"Likewise, Agent Gibbs."

"Yeah, I'm gonna call Ziva and send her the photos." Tony said, stepping out of the delivery room. Of course, everyone told Tony to tell Ziva they missed her and were thinking about her.

Ziva picked up on the fifth ring, which meant she had probably fallen asleep. That must have been the reason Gibbs left when he did.

"Hello?" Ziva answered drowsily.

"You're an aunt, and I'm an uncle." He told her.

"I know. Isn't it great?" Ziva asked.

"Yup. Stay tuned for a lot of pictures coming your way. I'll be up soon. I'll probably spend the night in your room, if that's okay with you. Anyways, we have a baby now."

"Jimmy and Breena have a baby." She corrected him.

Tony smiled. "Yeah, I know, but still."

Ziva heard the words that Tony had not said. They weren't ready to start talking about children yet. She knew they both wanted them, but they had so much to deal with right now, so they had both silently agreed that once they had tackled all the obstacles in front of them, they would discuss it. "So, I will see you soon?" Ziva asked.

"You bet." Tony said as he hung up the phone to walk back into the delivery room. One day, it would be him in Jimmy's place, smiling proudly at his baby. He used to be scared of the idea, but now he welcomed it, which showed how much he had really grown up. He had Ziva to thank for that.

"Congratulations, Palmer Family." Tony said for the first time that night.

"Thanks, Tony. Hey, do you think you could send me some of those pictures you took? I know Breena's family would love some."

"Sure thing, Jimmy. When are you two going down to visit?"

"Don't know and don't care. I'm a dad."

Tony couldn't stop staring at the beautiful baby. "Can I hold her again?"

What did you think? How did you like this chapter? I loved writing it, and I was glad that I could give you guys a chapter that was a little longer than usual. I hope you enjoyed.

I'm really busy at the moment, but I'll try to give you the next chapter withing the next few days. Hopefully, by Friday because I'm going out of town this weekend. Please leave me a review, and thank you so much to everyone who has been reviewing. It means so much to me.

Love you all!
Serena