Chapter 18: A Full House – 2066

"Ima, you DO NOT need to be trying to be helping in the kitchen," Tali admonished her mother. "It's only been a little over a month since you were released from the hospital."

"But, I want…"

"NO. Go sit with Abba on the loveseat; you both are still healing from saving the neighbor from the fire," Tali helped her mother sit on the loveseat next to Abba. "Anthony, Katie, Riv, Beth, LJ, and I have this under control."

Tony intertwined his fingers with Ziva's and grinned, "She means it, Zi. LJ's right, our daughter has turned into her Ima. Besides, they won't let Tim do anything either." He nodded towards their brother of the heart who was hobbling into the room with a cane, his son shadowing the older man in case he stumbled.

"I am NOT an invalid, John. Please stop hovering," an exasperated Tim McGee groused at his son. "You'd think I was a fragile old man the way you and your sister are babying me."

Tony and Ziva shared a look and a smile, which Tim noticed as he sat in the recliner next to them, "It's NOT funny, you two," their brother groaned. "Your five are doing the same to you two!"

"We KNOW!" the couple spoke as one, eyes locked in an amused gaze.

John sighed as Anthony came into the room to check on his parents, apparently sent by his older sister. "Look, Dad, Uncle Tony, Aunt Ziva, we almost lost you three not so long ago; indulge your children and let us pamper you for once." He looked at his cousin/brother-in-law for support.

"John's right; you gave us all a major scare, trying to be agents again," Anthony looked at each of the three. "We want to enjoy what time we have left with you, not have to worry that you are…" He wiped at his eyes, trying not to let his tears of frustration and sadness at thinking about his parents' mortality show. Ziva reached out for her son's hand; he sat on the arm of the loveseat beside his Ima and clasped her hand in his.

"Anthony, motek," she said softly, "We are OLD; Abba is ninety-eight and I am eighty-seven. Uncle Tim is eighty-nine. We are not going to deny that we could be gone tomorrow, but we are also not going to sit around and do nothing. We have to enjoy what time we have left. Do you understand?"

"Yeah, I get it. But no more acting like you're part of Grandpa's NCIS team again, okay?"

Tony moved slightly so that he could put his hand on top of Ziva and Anthony's joined hands; he gave a gentle squeeze, "Anthony, the training NEVER leaves. If we had to do it again, we would. Hopefully, that situation won't repeat any time soon." He looked Anthony in the eyes and continued, "I love you Anthony; thank you for caring about your parents so much."

"Love you too, Abba. I love you, Ima," Anthony moved around and hugged both of his parents, not hiding his tears this time. John and Tim shared a tearful hug at the same time.

Beth sniffled and wiped her eyes as she watched the scene unfold in the family room. "Not to interrupt a family moment or anything, but Tali needs you two, Anthony and John, to help LJ, Charles, and Chaim set up the tables for dinner. We have forty-nine people to feed plus the two babies! Savannah just left to get Aunt Ellie and Uncle Clay; we'll eat once they get here."

John and Anthony headed to the dining room to help with the tables; Levi and Noah came into the family room carrying their babies. Levi handed four-and-one-half-month old Ryan to his Saba while Noah put one-and-one-half-month-old Noah, Junior in his Savta's arms. Tony and Ziva grinned at their newest great-grandsons, numbers ten and eleven of the great-grands.

Anthony and Katie's three three-and-one-half-year-old grandchildren, Anthony V – better known as Tony – and Shan's twins, Mark and Maria, came running in from the play room. Mark was toting one of the Sherlock and Watson books and handed it to his great-grandfather McGee.

"Great-Papa, will you read to us, PLEASE?" the little boy gave Tim his best puppy eyes.

"Yeah, please, we like when you read the stories and make the cat sounds!" little Maria added with a grin. Little Tony nodded and flashed his best DiNozzo grin as his two-year-old sister Ziva and four-year-old cousin Rich (Levi's son) joined the group.

"Everybody sit down on the floor, and that way Saba Raba and Savta Raba can also hear the story," Tim replied as he turned the book to face the kids. He knew the stories from memory (he'd written them after all) and began to tell the story after the kids settled at his feet. "Sherlock and Watson Meet the Puppies," he began to grins all around.

In the kitchen, Tali was in what LJ called her "take-charge Ima" mode. She assigned tasks to each person helping get the meal ready, supervising all. She was texting with her sister Rivka, who was at Tali's house with two pans of lasagna in the oven and her sister-in-law Katie, who was at her own house with another two pans of lasagna in the oven. Tali and Beth had four more pans in Ima's ovens; coordinating heating the eight pans of lasagna with heating eight loaves of garlic bread and six plain loaves of Italian bread, and prepping three huge bowls of salad. The food would be served buffet style to make getting forty-nine adults and children fed, including setting up high chairs for one-year-old Avigail (Elisheva's daughter) and eighteen-month-olds Rivka (Elijah's daughter) and Sean (Kelly's son.)

Seating the entire family had also been a challenge; the dining room table expanded to hold twenty-four; eight could be seated at the table in the breakfast nook when its leaves were added; four at the counter in the kitchen; three little ones in high chairs; the six newly engaged young people in couples at a portable table in the playroom; and Ima, Abba, Uncle Tim, Uncle Clay, and Aunt Ellie in the family room.

Tali's four were all married with families as were Anthony's three. Rivka's oldest, Adam; Beth's oldest, Rebecca; and LJ's oldest, Jessica had all become engaged in the past forty-eight hours. The youngest five of the DiNozzo grandchildren were all teens, ranging from eighteen to fourteen. Time had a way of marching forward; Tali was thankful that her parents had lived to see eleven great-grandchildren so far, with two more on the way in 2067.

Rivka and Katie arrived with their pans of lasagna just as the timer for allowance for the pans at the DiNozzo house to 'set' buzzed. Garlic bread and plain bread was cut and put into serving pans; the bowls of salad were on the counter as well as a stack of plates. Chaim called everyone to the family room and asked them to join hands. Ziva looked around at the extended family; forty-nine sets of joined hands plus the two babies in their mother's arms.

She leaned towards Tony and whispered, "We are so blessed; look at this family! Who would have imagined that we would have so many to call ours?"

She disentangled their joined hands to wipe a tear from his cheek and swipe at her own eyes as he replied quietly, "A legacy of love, Zi; almost all of this grew from our love, Sweetcheeks. Ani ohev otcha."

"Ani ohevet otach," she whispered as Chaim called for silence as he began a generic blessing over the food and more importantly, over the family.

"We ask a blessing over this meal for all fifty-one people gathered here; may the good food sustain our bodies. We ask a blessing over the love that is shared among the fifty-one souls who have become a part of this family. May we each grow in that love, have our hearts enriched, and our souls nourished; family is the reason for the season. Love is what builds a family and we have it in abundance. Amein."

"Amen," chorused most of the group in reply as hands were squeezed lightly around the circle of family.

"Are we going to eat now?" little Tony piped up. "I'm hungry!" The adults all chuckled at the little boy's DiNozzo grin and eagerness to eat; a true legacy to his namesake great-grandfather.

"Yes, kiddo, and all of you kids get to go first," Katie ruffled her grandson's hair. He scowled at her and then took her hand and just about dragged her to the kitchen to fill his plate.

Once the younger kids were happily chowing down on lasagna, the five teens served the eldest generation, and then the others lined up to fill plates and find seats. Tali and Katie were the last two to move along the serving line.

Tali turned to her sister-in-law/cousin, "We did it!"

"Yeah, we did," Katie replied as the two high-fived and grinned as they filled their plates and joined their spouses at the kitchen nook table. "Merry Christmas, everyone!"

After the meal and clean-up were finished, John, Charles, and LJ coordinated the opening of gifts with each family taking a turn with the elder generation in the family room. First up were Tali and Chaim with their gang: Levi and Jackie with Rachel, 6, Rich, and Ryan; Elijah and Shoshanna with Rivka, plus a baby due in June; Noah and Deanna with Noah, Jr.; and Elisheva and Harland with Avigail. Tony and Ziva gave each of the grandchildren and their spouses a check for one thousand dollars; each of the great-grandchildren had gifts to open or have opened for them. Anthony took pictures with the entire group and with his parents with each grandchild and family.

Next up was Anthony and Katie with their brood: Anthony IV and Margaret with little Tony and Ziva; Kelly and Brian with Sean; and Shannon and Michael with twins Mark and Maria and a baby due in July that they had just confirmed three days before Christmas. Similar to Tali's family, each grandchild and spouse received a one thousand dollar check, and the children had gifts to open. Anthony set the cameras for the various shots and when he was to be in them, John moved in to snap the shutter.

Third up were Rivka and John plus Adam and his fiancée Lynn, Brian, 17, and Abigail, 16. Adam and Lynn received a one thousand dollar check and the two teens were given five hundred dollars each. The fourth group were Beth and Charles, Rebecca and her fiancé Drew and Robert, 18. The couple, like their cousins, received one thousand dollars; Robert got five hundred.

Last up were LJ and Savannah plus Jessica and her fiancé Dan, Jackson, 16, and Jethro, 14. Again, the couple received one thousand dollars from Tony and Ziva and the teens, five hundred each. After each family was done opening gifts from the patriarch and matriarch of the DiNozzo clan, Anthony gathered the grandchildren into a group for pictures and then the great-grandchildren. Little ones were getting sleepy and families started getting ready to head home.

Finally, Anthony IV took several pictures of the eldest DiNozzos with their offspring, including recreating some favorite shots from their childhood Christmases. Everyone laughed as LJ tried to get into his Ima's lap and finally ended up sitting on the arm of the loveseat and leaning his head on her to pretend to be in her lap.

LJ and Savannah took Clay and Ellie back to their apartment in a retirement village on their way back home. Families headed out after wishing each other a merry Christmas. Anthony and Katie helped Tim into their SUV to take him home, leaving only Tali and Chaim who were finishing cleaning up in the kitchen.

"I think we got it all cleaned up and the dishes put away, Ima," Tali hugged her mother and then her Abba.

"Thank you, Tali, for making this a memorable Christmas," Ziva squeezed her eldest's hand. "And you, as well, Chaim. Toda raba."

Tony grinned at his baby, his fifty-two-year-old 'little girl,' and pulled her into another hug, "You know you will always be my baby girl, Tals. Thank you a million times over."

"Yeah, Abba, I know," she sniffled as the tears formed in her eyes. "Love you to the moon and back."

"Love you more," he felt the tears forming. "Merry Christmas."

Tali and Chaim said good night and headed home, leaving a very quiet house behind for the couple whose love created the legacy celebrated that day.

"Finally some quiet," Tony joked to Ziva as he pulled her to him. "Too quiet," he whispered as he kissed her lips. They broke for air and he pointed upward in the entry foyer, "Mistletoe!"

Ziva started to reply and noticed her love deep in thought, "A penny for your thoughts?"

He grinned his special Ziva-only grin at her, "Counting how many sprigs of mistletoe between here and our room… Sweetcheeks, you had better be ready to be kissed all the way to the bed…"

"I am looking forward to it and then cuddling with you as well," she replied with her Tony-only smile that still melted his insides every time.

A/N for more on our trio's heroics, see chapters 48 and 49 of the mothership "You Complete Me"