Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS
Corsica was beautiful. Granted it was August and the sun had been shining nonstop for weeks now, but the way the sun glinted off the sea; it was the perfect shade of aqua blue and looked glorious to swim in. Ziva could not wait.
Wait, however, she would have to. For it was early evening and there were two hungry DiNozzo's nearby who wanted feeding.
'Is dinner nearly ready?' asked Tali.
'Almost motek. You coming to help me?' Ziva walked back inside the villa and Tali followed, leaving Tony watching the view from the patio.
They were in Corsica, staying not far from Bastia. They had rented a villa, one that was far too big and probably too expensive for the week they were staying, but it was their first official family vacation together, so why not. They had landed early afternoon and now Ziva was making dinner. Yes, they could have gone out to eat, but Ziva loved to cook.
'Daddy, dinner's ready' came Tali's voice.
'Let's eat outside' called Tony. 'It's too nice to stay indoors.' Tali came racing outside and over to Tony. 'Woah. Careful munchkin.'
Tali laughed and sat down on one of the loungers. Ziva came outside, carrying a tray with plates, cutlery and a large bowl with a salad in it. Ziva started to spoon out the salad.
'This looks delicious, Zi' said Tony, picking up a fork. She smiled and handed Tony and Tali plates each and the two dug in.
'You know Ima' began Tali. 'You're a much better cook than Daddy.'
Ziva burst out laughing.
'Thank you Tali. That is very sweet of you.' Ziva glanced at Tony. 'What?'
'I'm not arguing with her' said Tony. 'She's right. You're a much better cook than me.'
The sun had set. The three of them were cuddled up on one of the loungers. The sky was so clear that they could see lots of stars. Tali was mesmerized by them.
'What about that one?' she asked, pointing up. 'And that one. And that one.' Ziva and Tony laughed. Tali was such an inquisitive child. She wanted to know everything about everything. Over the years, Tony had only just encouraged it as much as possible.
Ziva shivered slightly in the cool summer air. Tony rubbed her shoulder for warmth and support, pulling all three of them closer together.
'Ow, Daddy. What are you doing?'
'Sorry, Tali' replied Tony.
Tali looked at Tony and noticed tears.
'Daddy, what's the matter?'
'Nothing baby.'
'But you're crying.' Tony had a wet face.
'Happy tears, Tali. They're happy tears.' Tony wiped the tears away.
Ziva glanced at her phone.
'Ok, Tali. Time for bed.'
'But?'
'No, Tali' said Tony. 'We agreed you can stay up an extra 30 minutes on vacation. Time for bed.'
'OK' said Tali and she reluctantly got up and walked very, very slowly into the villa.
Ziva put her book down on the nightstand and was about to pull out her pyjamas when she heard something coming from the bathroom. Opening the door she found Tony crying.
'Tony, what is it?' asked Ziva, who went over and hugged him.
'Happy tears, I swear Zi.'
'Let's sit' said Ziva and they sat down on the floor. 'What happened?'
Tony reached up and grabbed his phone. He showed it to Ziva. There was a calendar alert on the screen that had popped up. It said one word.
Four.
'I do not understand' said Ziva, as Tony wiped tears from his eyes. He sniffed.
'Four years since we had a mini-reunion in Cairo.'
'I thought that was next month.'
'Technically yes it is' said Tony. 'After you left Cairo, Tali and I stayed a little bit longer before we went back to Paris. Those first few months were rough. Really rough. Tali was so confused about you not being there. Man, did she throw some impressive tantrums.' Tony sniffed. Ziva smiled.
'There was one day just before our first Christmas together, that she probably had her best and worst tantrum. I was sitting on the floor in the middle of the hallway, holding a sobbing Tali and I decided then and there, that I was going to give you four years from our Cairo reunion to find the person who wanted you dead and to come home. If you hadn't contacted me by then, I was going to start looking for you.'
'How? What about Tali?' asked Ziva.
'Fifteen years as a federal agent and I managed to keep a couple of contacts in various place. FBI, CIA, NSA, Interpol, Shin Bet, Mossad and of course, NCIS. I was going to look for a year. The tiniest hint that you were alive or something and I would have stopped looking and carried on as normal.'
'What if you did not?' Ziva was afraid of the answer.
'As difficult as it would have been, I would begin to move in some way. I hated the idea and I really, really did not want to do it, but Tali and I could only live in limbo, waiting for you, for so long. Then you called last December.'
Tears had begun to well up in Tony's eyes again. Ziva nodded.
'I heard your voice. You sounded scared and worried but I was so happy. You were alive and that fact that you asked me to take Tali into hiding, I knew you almost there, almost at the end. Getting the text, saying that it was all clear, was probably the best Christmas present ever. No matter how cheesy that sounds.'
They both chucked. Ziva rested her head on Tony's shoulder, his arm draped over her shoulders. They leaned against the sink cabinet.
'Living without you Zi sucked. It really sucked. But I was beginning to think that it was always going to be this way. It would just be me and Tali and I would never get us; you and me, and Tali.'
'So when you got the calendar notification…' asked Ziva.
'I just started crying. I couldn't help it. I had held on for so long and I finally got the one thing I have only wanted for the past three years, maybe more. You, me and our beautiful daughter.'
Ziva smiled and glanced up at Tony. God, he was handsome. She got up and reached for Tony's hand. He took it and the two fell into bed, kissing.
Sometime later, Tony and Ziva were lying bed, wrapped up in sheets and each other.
'Can I ask something?' asked Ziva.
'Fire away.'
'Have you thought about seeing somebody, to talk to?'
'What, like Dr. Leroux?' asked Tony.
'Maybe, or someone else.' Ziva sat up better and turned to Tony. 'Leroux might not be the best fit for you. She is for me and since I have started talking to her, life has gotten easier. It feels good to talk to someone.'
Tony chuckled.
'Who are you and what have you done with my Ziva?' Ziva laughed out loud, making Tony smile.
'That was the old Ziva. The one who thought she had to do everything on her own, who thought that asking for help was weak. It is not, Tony.'
'I know. That's why I hired Clara. She was a godsend in the early days.'
'Parenting is a two-person job' said Ziva. Tony chuckled and nodded.
'Yes, it is.' He thought for a second. 'Maybe I should take a couple of pages out of your book.'
'Huh?'
'Yes, talk to someone, but perhaps also try and make new friends. My friendship circle is pretty, um, small.' Tony thought for another second. 'Tali and I used to go to this baby and toddler group. There were a couple of dads there. We're still in contact.'
'Maybe call them, go out for a drink or whatever it is men do when they hang out together' said Ziva. Tony laughed. He leaned forward and kissed Ziva passionately.
'I love you Zi' he whispered.
'I love you too, Tony' she replied.
Hope you liked it.
A lot of information in this chapter. The rough timeline is that Tali went to Tony in May 2016. The Cairo reunion was in September 2016. Ziva called Tony in December 2019. Tony's plan was to wait until August/ September 2020 before looking for Ziva.
The next chapter will have Tim, Delilah and the twins
Thank you for reading. See you soon :)
