Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS. This chapter is set during the 2020 pandemic

Tony stood at the window by the front door, watching Ziva back her car into the garage. He heard her switch the engine off, open and trunk and then walk through the door between the house and garage. Her arms were laden down with reusable grocery bags.

Tony stepped towards her.

'Here, let me help you' said Tony.

'No, Tony. Everything needs to be disinfected first. Then you can put it away for me.'

Tony sighed tiredly, as Ziva went into the kitchen, washed her hands and began to disinfect the food she bought.

The lockdown had just finished its seventh week. Seven weeks of Tony being stuck inside his own home, only going outside to the same backyard every day.

Tony was fed up.

At the very beginning, Tony had found the lockdown confusing. There was confusion over what to do, where to go, if you should wear a mask, or leave the mask at home. There was worry over the economy and the effect on finances. There was making sure Tali and Tilly felt safe and they kept on top of the school work, and didn't kill each other. Or their parents.

Tony then moved onto the productivity phase of the lockdown. He got into a good rhythm. Looking and applying for video editing jobs, getting those jobs, completing them and improving his portfolio. Even when the childcare schedule changed, and the hours Tony worked were fewer, Tony was still productive. He even managed to exercise frequently, perhaps not as much as Ziva though.

Every other day, Tony either went swimming in their pool (which Tony and Ziva were very grateful for right now), or a YouTube cardio routine in the backyard, or Pilates or Yoga in the basement. Pilates and Yoga were a new discovery for Tony this lockdown.

Then the exercise got boring and repetitive. The editing work started to dwindle. Paid editing work wasn't coming in as much as it had done, for either Tony or Ziva. This was a perfectly normal thing to happen, but it was now almost June and normally Tony and Ziva would be gearing up for summer filled with weddings and parties.

If there was no global pandemic and the entire wedding industry halted.

As stated before, Tony was bored and fed up. He had even found himself getting jealous of Ziva, Tali and Tilly when they went outside, even if it wasn't particularly far. The other day, Ziva had driven the girls over to their friends house for a birthday party car parade. All three DiNozzo women came back, very excited and very chatty. Ziva was now in the process of planning a birthday party car parade for Tali's birthday in a few weeks' time.

Tony had wanted to go as well. However when he asked the doctor, he said no. The DiNozzo's had their own backyard, with a pool, and therefore there was no need for Tony to leave the house. Once upon a time, a younger Tony, might have challenged the doctor's instructions, but now Tony was a husband and father, and he didn't want to risk it. Even if he was going out of his mind with boredom.

'OK Tony' called Ziva. Tony stepped into the kitchen. 'Everything has been disinfected now.' Tony kissed her check and went to put the groceries away. 'Where are Tali and Tilly?' asked Ziva.

'Outside' said Tony. Ziva peered through the kitchen window and sure enough, Tali and Tilly were playing on their climbing frame. 'You never know. It might keep them entertained for a little bit.'

Ziva chuckled. It was a good thing that the weather was warmer and drier. They were able to use the pool more, as well as the rest of the garden. After seven weeks of lockdown, Tony and Ziva were starting to run out of ideas of how to entertain the girls, and the lack of imagination and need for working hours, had led Tony and Ziva straight to technology. Notably the iPad and TV.

'How are you?' asked Ziva.

'I'm alright' said Tony, emptying cereal from its plastic bag and into a glass container. He put it back in the cupboard.

'Tony. I am serious. We promised each other to be honest.'

'Zi, I'm fine.' Ziva raised an eyebrow, and Tony sighed. 'I went to sleep in a funk and woke up in the same funk. Barely slept last night, which is not helping the funk.'

Tony closed the cupboard door a little too hard, the slam echoing.

It was like Tony and Ziva had sort of swapped. At the beginning, Ziva had struggled and Tony thrived. Now it was the other way around, and Tony was struggling to think of a solution that would get him out of his funk.

The backdoor opened and Tilly came inside.

'Hi Ima' she said, the DiNozzo grin across her face.

'Hi Tilly' said Ziva, smiling at her daughter. 'You and Tali having fun outside.'

Tilly nodded.

'Are we still going to swimming today?' she asked.

Tony and Ziva chuckled. They had started swimming on Fridays when the weather got nicer. Tilly always asked, just to make sure.

'Yes Tilly' said Tony. 'We're swimming this afternoon.'

'Yay!' cried Tilly. She ran back outside. 'Tali we're swimming' she shouted to her big sister. Tali was at the top of the climbing frame.

'Whoopee!' she cried, making Tony and Ziva laugh.

Ziva's phone dinged.

'What is it?' asked Tony.

'Email from Gloria at Education Restart' said Ziva. She went to her laptop sitting at the kitchen table.

'Zi, we said no work on Fridays' said Tony.

'One email will not hurt' said Ziva. She woke up the sleeping laptop and found Gloria's email. 'Oh, Tony. Come look at this.'

Tony put the eggs he was holding down and went to peer at Gloria's email over Ziva's shoulder.

Tony and Ziva,

Hope you are well. We are trying to keep our services going which has been a challenge for sure. One thing we are looking at is how to make the courses we offer essentially lockdown proof. Heaven forbid there is another pandemic, or the lockdown is extended, I want to make sure our clients can access the resources they need. The most popular idea is that we have video versions of our courses that can be accessed via a learning platform we're creating. We've already approached a programmer to start work on the platform and we are hoping that Bean and Bug would be our film crew. It is a little ambitious at the moment as we have almost ten courses including the business course Ziva and I were working on before the lockdown.

We won't be able to film anything for a couple of months at least but that should give us time to plan as much as possible. We want the videos to have subtitles in Spanish and Arabic as well, which I'm hoping you can help with Ziva.

Let me know what you think of the idea.

Yours,

Gloria.

Ziva looked up at Tony.

'What do you think?' she asked. 'Sounds like fun actually.'

Tony was smiling.

'Yes it does' he said.

'Shall I take your smile to mean yes?' asked Ziva.

'Yes' said Tony.

Ziva was in bed, reading her latest book on her Kindle. Howl's Moving Castle. It was a little young for her but Ziva was enjoying it none the less. A potential good read for Tali and Tilly when they were older. Ziva had started researching chapter books for six year olds as Tali's sixth birthday was fast approaching.

It had been a good day. The girls had enjoyed swimming and something had shifted in Tony. He was different in the afternoon than he had been in the morning. Ziva knew that he was struggling with being stuck at home, and that the worry of finances plus his dad and Maggie did not help.

Tony came into the bedroom, closed the door and sat down on the bed. He seemed happy, almost excited.

'What is it Tony?' asked Ziva. 'Something is different. Ever since we got Gloria's email before lunch, you have been slightly less funky.'

Tony laughed.

'My funk might be starting to lift' he said. 'I've had an idea.'

'Oh dear' said Ziva, a small smirk on her face.

'Hey' said Tony. 'I started googling after we got Gloria's email. Their idea to have video versions of their courses is a really good idea, and like Gloria said, we've got to do some planning first; writing scripts, compiling shot lists. Things like that.' He paused. 'It's given me an idea.'

'What?' asked Ziva, a little nervous.

'What if we created our own online course and sell it?'

'What!?' Ziva was surprised and confused.

'I did some more googling. Setting up online courses in 2020 is really easy now. We've got the equipment and knowledge to film videos. We can create a course on photography, maybe break it down depending on subject or type of photography, and then sell them. I also googled how to set up online store. It's also really easy. You seem hesitant' he added.

'It is not that Tony' said Ziva. 'I am just a little taken aback. It is a lot of information to get at ten o'clock at night.' Ziva saw Tony's face fall slightly. 'You are really interested in this, yes?'

Tony nodded.

'After the last few months, I don't think we can solely rely on just photoshoots of any kind, or editing jobs. Online courses might not make us millions but it could be another source of income.'

Ziva took a deep breath.

'Do you mind if I think about it?' she asked. 'I want to do my own ogling.'

'Googling' said Tony, with a smile. She had done that deliberately. 'Of course think about it. This is not something we can do overnight.'

Ziva leaned forward and kissed Tony.

'I love you Tony' she said.

'I love you too Zi.'

The next day, Tony was playing with the girls when Ziva came over to them.

'Ima looking' said Tali, and she held up her drawing of what looked like a train.

'It is lovely Tali' said Ziva. 'I need to talk to Daddy for a bit though.' Tony and Ziva went into the kitchen.

'What is it?' asked Tony.

'Your online course idea' began Ziva. Tony looked hopeful. 'You are right. It has a lot of potential and scope. We could even expand to other types of photography we do not do, work and collaborate with other photographers and videographers. We could have a whole pricing system, like we do for our editing work.'

Tony smiled. Ziva was beginning to get excited about it.

'I think we do need to be careful that any work with Education Restart does not get affected by this.'

'Agree' said Tony. Ziva smiled.

'I am a little apprehensive about being in front of the camera' she added. Tony smiled.

'It'll be fine. You'll see.'

'We have some brainstorming to do' Ziva said, a smile on her face.

'Yes we do' said Tony.

Thanks for reading. I hope you liked it.

I wanted this chapter to show Tony's frustration with being stuck at home, and the different phases we've all probably gone through during the lockdown. I know I have. I hope it's somewhat realistic. I also wanted it to be positive in some way. I plan to revisiting Tony and Ziva's online course idea, as well as working with Education Restart, later on in the story.

Stay safe and seen you soon.