Hey guys. I know I suck. I am so so sorry about how long it has taken me to update but I started university in September and I had to move from my home in England to Northern Ireland which is quite a long journey and of course it has taken me a while to adjust and with all the studying and social life I haven't found time to update. Anyway I am hoping to get back into my regular rhythm soon so hopefully you won't have to wait as long for the next chapter. Anyway hope you enjoy.

Chapter 38 – Reconciliation

Another week passed and slowly the frost between Tony and Ziva began to vanish. They were both still quiet around the other but they were both trying desperately hard to make things work between them for Tali. They both still loved each other too and the rest of their team mates were sure that that would help ease the tension. But they all knew that the main reason they were fighting so hard to repair what had been was for their little girl.

Tali had seen instantly that her mommy and daddy were upset with each other and had given them the first gentle push to getting back together. Even now if there was any frost between them the sight of her would melt it all away. Gibbs was pleased that they were trying so hard for her. Everyone knew how pissed he would be if they had let it all slip away and hurt Tali in the middle.

Yet there was still tension between them and occasionally they would snap at each other. But they soon stopped fighting after a few minutes and occasionally they would go back to their usual bickering banter.

They were just finishing up a case involving the murder of a female petty officer. It had turned out that it had been her husband who had murdered her. He had gotten jealous of the fact that his wife worked away so often surrounded by men. He had assumed she was cheating on him when she had started keeping secrets from him and stabbed her in a jealous rage. Unfortunately she hadn't been having an affair; she had been planning a romantic getaway for their anniversary.

Unfortunately the idea of a couple having difficulties and the wife keeping secrets had brought up old wounds for Tony and Ziva and they had both taken opposing sides during this investigation. Tony had said that the wife shouldn't have hidden things from her husband whilst Ziva defended the wife, saying she was trying to do something nice for her husband.

It had led to many arguments which had often strayed from the case and turned into Tony and Ziva arguing about their own issues. Gibbs had hoped that now the case had finished the arguments would stop. But his two agents seemed determined to have one last bicker before the case was put to rest.

Gibbs ignored them as best he could until Ziva started cussing in Hebrew; that was when he intervened.

"Ok that's it" he growled leaping up and storming out from behind his desk "you two cool it; these arguments are not helping you two cool off which you have been trying to do for months now. Tony take a walk; go see how Abby's final report is going. Ziva, why don't you go get Tali and bring her here. Lord she might be able to stop the two of you bickering long enough for us to get our work done" and with that he stormed back to his desk past McGee who was sat there eying what was going on awkwardly.

Tony and Ziva stared at each other before they both turned and headed off in separate directions to do their jobs. When she got out of the building Ziva decided to walk to the day care centre; it was a beautiful spring day and she needed to clear her head. As she walked though Ziva realised that Gibbs was right. The bickering had gone on for long enough. It had been nearly gone but then this case had brought it all back up again. She sighed as she trudged down the road; hopefully once the case was out of the way things would go back to normal. But she knew that there would be other cases like this; cases that involved touchy issues that would remind them of everything they had been through. And they couldn't start arguing like that again.

She remained lost in her thoughts until she arrived at the day care centre where she quickly shook her head to focus and pushed all thoughts of hers and Tony's problems aside as she pushed open the door smiling at the girl working the reception who quickly buzzed her through the gate that stopped any of the children running out alone.

She looked around and soon spotted Tali sitting with some other children including her friend Maya who lived two floors down and a couple of boys. She was chatting away to them and Ziva was amused to see that the boys were listening to her. Tali clearly was a lot like her; she didn't let the boys boss her about.

Tali spotted her just then and grinned "I'm going my mommy's here" she announced "see you tomorrow" she added before she leapt to her feet and dashed over to Ziva who bent to catch hold of her "hi mommy" she exclaimed excitedly "hello my love" Ziva said quickly lifting her four year old up into her arms smiling happily as she kissed her cheek. "Have you had a good day?" "Yeah" Tali exclaimed "we played dressing up. Luca and Harry were the princes and Maya and I were princesses and we rescued them from the dragon who was Joey" Ziva smiled "the princesses rescued the princes hmm" she said as she caught hold of Tali's jacket and set her down before she helped her chattering daughter into it. "Yeah" Tali said "Joey didn't like that cuz he said princes rescue princesses not the other way round but I said girls can rescue boys and Maya and me did it. We show-ed him that princesses can rescue princes too."

Ziva smiled "well that sounds like a lot of fun my love" she said and Tali nodded "it was so much fun, I can't wait to come back tomorrow and do it again" she said. Still smiling at her hyper daughter Ziva caught hold of her bag and carefully guided her daughter out of the centre waving goodbye to the child-minders as she did so.

As they walked down the road Tali swung from Ziva's hand chattering away. Ziva listened to her excited talk allowing it to distract her from her worries about how things would be with Tony when she returned.

They were almost back when her phone rang and she stopped briefly to rummage in her bag until she found it. She pulled it out and saw that it was Gibbs.

"Gibbs I am almost there…" she began but Gibbs cut her off. "It isn't that" he said "it is about your notes on the interview you took from the neighbours at the beginning of the investigation"

Ziva frowned "what about it" she asked reaching out to catch hold of Tali as she danced around nearing the edge of the pavement "Tali stay away from the edge of the pavement tateleh" she said before turning her attention back to Gibbs.

"It says here that the neighbours heard arguing around 10.30 pm" he stated "yes that is what they told me" Ziva responded as they slowly continued to walk down the road with Tali jumping over the cracks in the pavement giggling excitedly.

"Well the other neighbours on the other side said that they heard arguing around 11.45" Gibbs explained "which is a lot closer to our time of death, they also said they heard nothing before that time."

Ziva sighed "that is not good for the case because it will give the jury doubt about the reliability of our witnesses with two varying answers". Out of the corner of her eye Ziva could see Tali dancing along beside her still incredibly wired up after her day. Looking up she spotted Tony standing at the coffee cart on the other side of the road waiting for some drinks.

"I need you to go back and check with both neighbours about what they heard, make sure you find out what time everything really happened."

Ziva nodded "Yes I will go now Gibbs just as soon as I give Tali to Tony ok"

"Look mommy there's daddy" Tali interjected spotting her father across the road and Ziva nodded.

Before she had even realised it Tali had taken off yelling excitedly to her father. The moment it had registered though Ziva jerked to it. "Tali wait" she yelled. But Tali was already leaping across the road.

Ziva registered everything at once. The sight of her daughter dashing across the road, the sound of car tyres screeching as they struggled to grip the tarmac. The rush of fear she felt as she watched the car continue to move towards her daughter.

"Tali NO" she screamed as she took off into the road after her daughter and on the other side of the road she saw Tony's head snap up. But there was nothing she could do and she let out a scream of horror as the car slammed straight into her daughter throwing her sideways. She hit the ground hard and Ziva saw her head smack hard against the tarmac and she instantly fell still.

"No" she screamed as she fell to the ground beside her daughter instantly reaching out to her. "No Tali please… please be ok" she begged as she gently dragged her daughter out from under the car. She dimly registered the driver staggering out of his car stammering that there was nothing he could do as he moved towards them but then Tony was there shoving him aside as he fell down on the other side of Tali. His phone was already out and he was calling for an ambulance sounding more panicked than Ziva had ever heard him. He was shouting at the operator, telling them to quit trying to get him to calm down and to just get the ambulance there now. He was as white as a sheet as he reached out to his daughter and Ziva let out a sob as she saw the blood streaming from a gash on Tali's forehead.

She looked up at Tony as he looked at her and their eyes met, both filled with terror not knowing what to say, both not wanting to process what had happened. Breathing fast Ziva looked back down at Tali "come on baby please wake up" she begged stroking hair out of Tali's face willing her daughter to wake up. But Tali didn't move she just lay there eyes closed.

Ziva heard more shouting and looked up to see Gibbs running towards them having clearly heard what had happened on the phone and had hightailed it down here. The driver of the car saw the badge on his belt and instantly began to stammer that it wasn't his fault but Gibbs just bellowed at him to shut up and not move as he crouched down next to Tony.

"Oh God" he groaned as he saw the blood on Tali's face. Ziva looked up at him "there was nothing I could so" she implored feeling tears slide down her cheeks "she… she saw Tony and took off, I… I tried to stop her but… but I wasn't fast enough"

"Shhh Ziver" Gibbs murmured looking at her gently before he looked at Tony who was still staring at Tali in shock. "Have you called 911" he asked and numbly Tony nodded. Gibbs saw the phone in his hand and reached out and took it. The operator must have still been on the line because he slowly began to speak to her carefully giving them all the information they had been trying to get from Tony who had been too panicked to respond.

It wasn't much later that an ambulance arrived. It made its way through the circle of on lookers who had formed a circle around them. As the paramedics arrived Gibbs straightened up and pulled out his phone calling McGee and after quickly telling him what had happened he told him to come down and take some statements.

Whilst he was doing that the paramedics moved forward and managed to push the shell shocked Tony aside. But when they tried to do the same with Ziva she just clung to her daughter sobbing for her to wake up no longer able to stop the tears from streaming down her cheeks.

Slowly Tony moved over to crouch besides her gripping her shoulder tightly as the paramedics hurriedly assessed Tali before one of them ran over to grab the stretcher and a neck brace. They carefully strapped the brace on before they lifted her up and carried her towards the ambulance. Tony quickly helped Ziva to her feet before they both stumbled over to the ambulance and clambered in struggling to remain strong.

The whole journey to the hospital Ziva clung to Tali whenever she could with tears streaming down her cheeks. Tony kept his arm wrapped around her shoulders staring at his motionless daughter struggling not to break down at the sight of her covered in so much blood. But the closer they got to the hospital the harder it became not to break down and he couldn't hold back some tears that slipped down his cheeks.

When they arrived the paramedics quickly took their gurney out into the hospital where they were met by a team of surgeons. Ziva clung to the edge of the gurney begging Tali to wake up.

The followed the gurney until a solemn looking doctor stepped in their path and gently told them they couldn't go any further. Tony caught hold of Ziva holding her up as the gurney moved away carrying their daughter with it and it soon disappeared out of sight.

Ziva sagged then and Tony kept hold of her whispering that it would be ok, struggling to believe that it would. That was when Ziva turned and stared up at him with red eyes. "Tony" she choked out before the fear seemed to overwhelm her and she just choked back tears. Slowly Tony pulled her into his arms holding her tight as she buried her face into his shoulder crying miserably.

"Tony" he heard and he looked over to see Gibbs striding towards them looking worried. "What happened is she ok?" he asked.

It took Tony a minute to find his voice "um… they… just took her… into surgery… we don't know anything yet." Slowly Gibbs nodded and looked down at Ziva "come on" he said "let's go find somewhere to sit" he said gently. Tony nodded and gently steered Ziva to the waiting room and lowered her into a seat.

"What happened to the driver?" Tony asked gently remaining standing next to Gibbs. He couldn't sit down, he had to feel like he was doing something; otherwise that wall he was already struggling to hold together might fail.

"McGee took his statement, name and details" Gibbs said "along with other witness statements. The driver claims that it wasn't his fault but some of the witnesses said they thought he was going too fast."

Tony clenched his fists "if he was I swear to god I am going to kill him" he growled but Gibbs put a warning hand on his shoulder "careful DiNozzo we don't know whose fault it was at this moment" he warned.

"It was my fault" came a small whisper from the side and they both looked over at Ziva who was sitting there with her head in her hands staring blankly at the floor. "It was my fault" she repeated "I should have been watching her more closely. I knew she was excitable. She had been bouncing around the entire walk. I should have held her hand. I should have stopped her. I should have gotten to her sooner…."

"Hey" Tony cut in crouching in front of her and forcing her to look at him "it was not your fault Ziva, you couldn't have known she would run across the road like that. She has never done anything like that before. You couldn't have known she would suddenly do it."

"I'm her mother Tony" Ziva whispered weakly "I should have known." Tony stared at her "no" he said "you are not to blame, don't you dare start blaming yourself." "But I have too" Ziva whispered "I am her mother…" "and I am her father" Tony interjected staring up at her with wide eyes "I should have protected her; that is what a father is meant to do… I know you feel guilty Ziva… I do too… but blaming ourselves isn't going to help Tali ok… we have to stay strong for her"

Ziva stared at him "But what if she doesn't make it" she whispered "I can't lose her" "she will make it" Tony said firmly "come on she is a DiNozzo, she is strong, she won't leave us… and she is your daughter Zee, you are the strongest person I have ever met, and it is certainly a trait you passed on to Tali so I know it in my heart that she will get through this."

Ziva stared at him for a long time before slowly she nodded and reached up to cup his cheek staring into his eyes as he stared back at her before he slowly manoeuvred himself into the seat beside her and held out his arms for her to slowly fall into and then he wrapped her up in his protective embrace holding her tightly.

Gibbs watched them glad that they had started to lean on each other once again. But he couldn't shift that uneasy feeling he felt in the pit of his stomach, nor the image of Tali lying on the ground covered in blood. He shook his head to focus; he knew Tali was indeed a very strong little girl as Tony had said, but she was only little, and cars were very big when they struck something small.

"Gibbs" he heard and he turned to see McGee and Abby hurrying down the hall towards him both looking worried "we got here as soon as we could" Abby gasped. "Is she ok" McGee interjected looking worried for his honorary niece.

"We don't know anything yet" Gibbs said "they took her into surgery about fifteen minutes ago and we haven't heard anything since." Abby slowly nodded still looking worried. She looked over at Tony and Ziva both sitting clinging to each other like a drowning man would cling to a life line. "Are they ok" she asked and Gibbs reached out to squeeze her shoulder "they are as you would expect" he said softly.

They all settled down to wait and were soon joined by Ducky and Palmer once their shift had finished. They waited in silence eyes on the doors that Tali had been taken through. Every time it opened they would leap to their feet only to slump back down disappointed.

It was late evening when finally the doctor came out. "Family of Tali DiNozzo" he called and they all leapt up and followed Tony and Ziva over to the doctor. "How is she" Tony demanded looking apprehensive "she's ok right."

The doctor sighed "your daughter was struck very hard by the car, because of her height it broke two ribs which led to some internal bleeding. She also fractured her wrist and sustained a severe blow to the head which we are concerned about as it may mean she has a concussion." He looked around at them all staring at him, trying to understand what he was saying. Then a small smile slipped onto his face "but given the situation I am happy to say she was incredibly lucky. I have seen children come in in much worse states than your daughter from less severe accidents. We are incredibly lucky she didn't injure her spine. Of course we want to keep her in for a few days to monitor but I feel comfortable saying that your daughter will make a full recovery."

They all stared at him. "She's going to be ok" Ziva whispered seemingly unable to believe what she had heard. The doctor nodded "Tali is going to be fine" he clarified and everyone let out audible sighs of relief as Tony squeezed Ziva's shoulders kissing the top of her head murmuring "she's ok Zee, our little ninja is going to be ok" and tears of relief slowly trickled down Ziva's cheeks.

"May we see her" Tony asked and the doctor nodded "certainly. We gave her an anaesthetic so she probably won't awaken till the morning. She is also on some strong painkillers so will definitely be confused when she does awaken." Tony nodded and they all followed the doctor down the hall into the children's ward where they were led to a small private room where Tali lay in a hospital bed.

Ziva had to choke back another sob when she saw her daughter's grazed and bruised face, but she also felt a surge of relief at knowing that she would be ok. Slowly she and Tony sank into seats on either side of Tali's bed and Ziva quickly caught hold of her daughter's hand squeezing it gently as though trying to reassure her unconscious daughter that she was there. Tony just stared at her face before he rose and leaned over his daughter gently brushing hair out of her eyes before he gently placed a kiss on her forehead and murmured "you'll be ok princess, you'll be ok"

"Here" Abby said and they both looked up and smiled as they saw Abby holding Bernie the stuffed hippo. "McGee found him in the road and brought him to me, he had torn his side but I stitched him up and he is as good as new…see" she held out the toy and slowly Tony took it "thanks Abs" he said weakly "and thanks Tim… for finding it… she wouldn't have been happy if she had woken up without him" McGee nodded giving Tony a small smile.

Gibbs looked over his shoulder as he heard the sound of the nurses coming into the ward. One came over to them and quickly began to check the machines that Tali was still attached to. "I am afraid visiting hours are ending soon" she said looking at Gibbs, McGee, Abby, Ducky and Palmer. "Only parents are allowed to stay overnight; you can come back in the morning."

Abby looked like she was about to protest but Gibbs placed a soothing hand on her shoulder "thank you" he said to the nurse before looking at Abby "come on Abs let's leave her with her mommy and daddy ok" slowly Abby nodded and reached out to touch Tali's arm gently before she backed away.

Gibbs slowly bent and kissed the top of Ziva's head as he squeezed her shoulder "get some rest Ziver" he murmured and she nodded tearing her gaze away from her daughter briefly to look up at him "Thank you" she whispered and he nodded before clapping Tony on the shoulder and casting one last look in Tali's direction before he followed the others out of the door.

Once they had left Tony looked over at Ziva to find her staring at Tali with a fearful look on her face. "You ok" he asked quietly. Ziva didn't respond at first; she just continued to stare at her daughter. Then eventually she said "I have never been so afraid in my life. I was so scared that Tali wouldn't pull through… I mean we have been through a lot but for the first time I actually watched her get hurt and I felt so powerless. I have never felt powerless before Tony and it scared me so much"

"Hey you heard the doctors" Tony said reaching across the bed "Tali is going to be fine, don't think about it" he gently took her hand and slowly she looked up at him "I was scared" she whispered "scared you'd hate me even more for not watching her properly, for not holding her hand. I was scared you'd blame me and that you'd never forgive me."

Tony tightened his grip around her hand "you are not to blame Ziva" he said "I don't blame you, you need to stop blaming yourself, what happened was an accident and what's done is done and there is nothing we can do about it now ok?"

Ziva hesitated clearly uncertain before she finally nodded and Tony gave her a small smile before he reached up to stroke a few tears from her cheeks before he looked down at Tali lying in the bed. "You will be ok my ninja" he murmured "You'll be awake tomorrow and you will be fine won't you"

Tali didn't move but Tony slowly placed her beloved stuffed hippo beside her and smiled as her arm twitched and then her hand quickly formed a fist around Bernie's leg making both her mother and father smile as they both reached out to touch her arms with one hand before they slowly reached across the bed and quickly joined hands creating a link, forming a supporting structure trying to create comfort for each other.

And that was how they remained waiting for their daughter to wake up.

Hope you guys enjoyed that. Again I am really sorry that it took me so long to update.

Thanks to everyone who read and reviewed. I would love some more – they really inspire me to update so please let me know what you think. P.S PM me if you have any questions, suggestions or just want to chat. I would love to get to know you ;)

Thanks

Mysticgirl