Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS and never been to Norfolk, VA. This chapter in set at the end of the August 2020.

Ziva pulled onto the I-95 highway. Tony was in the seat next to her, their daughters asleep in the back. Two suitcases sat in the trunk of the car.

It had just turned seven am and the four DiNozzos were on their way to Norfolk, Virginia for a short trip. A very short trip. In fact, they were only staying one night. As it was a three hour drive to Norfolk from their home in Alexandria, Tony and Ziva agreed that six hours in the car in total, in less than twenty-four hours was just a little too much for the girls. And their parents.

So Ziva booked a family room for one night in a hotel. By leaving their home at six-thirty in the morning, they would arrive in Norfolk around nine-thirty/ ten. They could spend the whole day exploring the city, spend the night, and also have the next morning for anything else. Roughly twenty-six hours in total, give or take.

However, it was twenty-six hours that was somewhere else other than their home.

Tony and Ziva loved their house. It was a good house for them when they bought it, and they have turned it into a lovely home for their girls, filled with memories that Tony and Ziva didn't exactly have. But after five months of being stuck in their home, and for Tony especially not being able to leave it for twelve weeks, the walls were starting to feel like they moving in.

The roads were quiet, which wasn't surprising given how early in the morning it was and the face that the pandemic was still on going. Ziva looked over at Tony. He was still snoozing, having fallen asleep as soon as the pulled out of their driveway. Ziva had offered to drive first, so that Tony could sleep if he wanted. Tali and Tilly were still sleeping too, both girls having inherited Tony's sleep habits. Especially Tali.

Ziva was enjoying the quietness of early mornings. When she went for a run, it was usually in the morning; no one around who wanted to play or ask endless questions, or have the TV on or music playing.

Just simple peace and quiet.

'Ima are we there yet?'

Ziva glanced in the mirror and smiled. Tilly was awake.

'Not yet Bug. We have another couple of hours to go.'

'Oh' said Tilly, sounding disappointed.

'You could read or draw' suggested Ziva.

'Hmm?' said Tilly, thinking. 'I think I'll just look outside.'

Ziva chuckled to herself. Tilly took everything in her stride, unlike Tali who like to plan things, sometimes in great detail. Tali was an over packer. Tilly packed just enough.

Over the next hour, Tony and Tali eventually woke up.

'Are we there yet Ima?' asked Tali.

'Not yet Bean' replied Ziva. She turned to Tony. 'You OK?' she asked.

'Yeah' replied Tony. 'Still waking up. How are you? How's the drive?'

'It has been good. Tilly woke up about seven, yes Bug?' Tilly nodded. 'We are almost at Fredericksburg' Ziva added.

'You want to switch?' offered Tony. Ziva shook her head.

'I am fine. You can drive home tomorrow.'

'Deal' said Tony. 'I'm looking forward to this' he said.

'Me too' said Tali.

'And me' added Tilly, not wanting to be left out.

'That is good' said Ziva. 'Because we are almost half way there.'

Tali and Tilly were sitting eating the biggest ice creams they had ever seen. Most of the ice cream didn't make into their mouths. Ziva was thankful she had wipes in her bag.

She looked over at her husband. Whilst Tony's face was not quite so covered in ice cream, he still had some around his mouth. Ziva laughed.

'What?' Tony asked. Ziva shook her head and waved a finger around her mouth, indicating the mess he was making. 'Oh, really ninja?' Tony scooped out a bit of ice cream with his finger and placed it on Ziva's nose.

'Tony!' cried Ziva, trying to wipe the ice cream off. Tali and Tilly started laughing. 'Careful, girls. You will drop your ice creams' she said.

The four DiNozzos were at the beach, enjoying the sun, sand, sea and ice cream. When they first got to Norfolk, they went to the Virginia Zoo, which was a big hit with Tali and Tilly. Both girls loved animals, and even though there were social distancing measures in place, like wearing a mask and no petting area, everyone had fun.

The beach was quieter than Tony thought it would be. He pictured it overtaken by loads of families, desperate to have a break outside before going back home and facing the mountain of home schooling. Even though September was just around the corner, they still didn't have a definite return date for the girls. Tali's school was seriously considering pushing the return date back a couple of weeks, just to see what would happen. Both schools were still technically open though, for children whose parents worked as doctors, nurses, and other essential workers.

'Finished' said Tali. Ziva wiped her hands and face, before Tali went running towards the sea.

'Don't go too far Tali!' shouted Tony. Tali and Tilly were very good swimmers for their ages, but swimming in the sea was completely different from a pool.

'Ima.'

Tony and Ziva looked up at Tilly and burst out laughing. Her entire face and hands were covered with ice cream, and bits of broken cone littered the floor around her feet. She must have inhaled the rest of her ice cream so she could catch up with Tali.

'Ok, go and play' said Ziva after wiping down Tilly. Ziva shuffled up closer to Tony who draped his arm around her. They watch Tali and Tilly run in and out of the sea with the tide. Tilly loved it. The last time they had been to the beach, she could barely walk. Now, she was running around, three and a half months shy of her fourth birthday.

'I am so glad we went to Paris last year' said Tony. Ziva chuckled.

'Me too. I am also glad we did not tell the girls about Disneyland until the morning of.'

'Totally agree' said Tony. 'I do not envy any parent who had to tell their child that they weren't going to the magical kingdom.'

'How are you feeling?' Ziva asked Tony.

'Better' he said. 'It's nice being out of the house.' Ziva nodded in agreement. Shrieks of laughter came wafting over.

'That is a nice sound' said Ziva, smiling.

'Yes it is' agreed Tony.

Sooner rather than later, the trip to Norfolk was over. Both Tali and Tilly were very sad about the fact they had to go home. Tony and Ziva were also a little disappointed but both were looking forward to not sharing a room with their daughters. Family rooms in hotels were not designed for stays longer than two nights.

Tony was driving home when Ziva's phone dinged.

'Zi we agreed. No work emails whilst on vacation.' Ziva looked at her husband. 'Fine' said Tony, giving in.

Ziva opened the email. It was a request for information about family photoshoots.

'They want prices and information about social distancing measures we have in place' she said to Tony. She sounded excited. Tony smiled.

Whilst Bean and Bug Photography had a drop in income in 2020, compared to some families in the world, it was nothing. Tony and Ziva had created income through editing, started planning the video resources with Education Restart, and started brainstorming their own online photography courses. It was early days yet, but Tony and Ziva had ideas for five courses.

'Do they say anything else?' asked Tony. Ziva read the email again.

'They want a holiday themed family photo. Perhaps they want it taken in November' she said.

'Maybe' said Tony. 'We better get started on those measures.' Ziva chuckled.

'Perhaps this is something we could market' she said.

'What? Social distancing measures?' asked Tony.

'No. Specific holiday photos. Christmas, Hanukkah, New Year.'

'Almost like themed photos.' Ziva nodded.

'Yes. It is still summer.'

'Technically' interjected Tony.

'Winter is still several weeks away. Anything could happen.'

Tony looked at his wife. This is what they both loved about their jobs. It gave them a chance to be creative and try new ideas and things.

'Write up a marketing plan then' he said.

Ziva pulled out a notepad and pen and started writing.

Thanks for reading and reviewing. I hope you liked it.

As with the previous chapter, I wanted the characters move towards normal, but still with a sense of uncertainity regarding the pandemic. There has been a small jump forwards in time and if I follow the rest of my plan, this story will continue into 2021.

I also realised I haven't updated Constantly Waiting for a few weeks. This is because I completely forgot. Nevertheless, I will endeavour to return to it some point soon.

Stay safe and see you soon :)