Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS. I am not a photographer or have my own podcast.

Ziva felt herself wake up. It was probably around five am. She glanced at her clock. It was 5.30 am. Waking up early was due to a lifetime of habit. Sometimes Ziva still got up at five, get ahead start on the day's to-dos. Today, however, Ziva felt like staying in bed a little longer.

The bedroom door creaked open a little and Ziva saw Tali poke her head around it.

'Tali?' whispered Ziva. Tali looked over at her mother, then disappeared. Ziva quietly got out of bed and followed her daughter.

'Tali, are you ok?' asked Ziva. Tali nodded her head. Doggy was tucked under her arm. 'Why are you awake so early?'

'I just woke up' she said, shrugging slightly. Ziva crouched down, stroking Tali's face. She studied it, making sure that everything was ok. Ziva smiled eventually.

'How about we go downstairs and read for a bit?' she asked. Tali smiled and nodded her head, her tongue poking out between the gap in her teeth. Tali had recently lost a tooth.

The two of them went downstairs, Tali selecting a book from the bookshelves. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Ziva sat down on the sofa, switching the lamp she liked to use when reading on. Tail curled up next to Ziva, a little closer than normal. Ziva draped an arm around Tali and began to read.

When Tali first woke up this morning, she decided to climb into bed with Ima and Daddy. They had been really busy and Tali was missing her parents. Especially Ima. Like Tali, Ima loved to read books.

'Do you want to read a bit?' asked Ziva. This had been something Tali's teacher was actively encouraging. Tali took the book and started to read out loud slowly. Ziva stroked Tali's hair and kissed on the forehead, listening to Tali reading. Ziva loved listening to Tali reading, helping her with words she didn't know. There weren't that many. Tali had always been a big bookworm since she was a toddler.

But it reminded Ziva of doing the same activity with her own mother as a child. Curled up next to Rivka as they read book after book together.

'Ima I need to pee' said Tali, plonking the book on Ziva's lap. She ran to the downstairs bathroom, passing Tony as he came downstairs to the family room.

'What's going on?' he asked, sounding sleepy.

'Tali woke up early so we came downstairs to read' explained Ziva. Tony chuckled. 'What are you doing up?' she asked.

'Woke up and you weren't there' he said. They heard the sound of the toilet flushing, the running of water and moments later, Tali emerged from the bathroom.

'Better?' asked Ziva. Tali nodded and sat back down next to Ziva.

'Sit down Daddy' she said, patting the empty sofa next to her. Tony smiled and sat down. He kissed the top of Tali's head. It was like the early days when they were a family of three.

Tony and Ziva always tried to make time for their girls one on two. However, between work and both girls in school almost full time, it was difficult, and both Tony and Ziva worried that they would end up focusing one and not the other. It was one of Ziva's biggest fears that she would end up favouriting one of her daughters.

Tali's stomach rumbled, loudly.

'I'm hungry' said Tali. She looked up at her dad. 'Can we have pancakes?' she asked, sneakily. Tony and Ziva chuckled.

'Maybe' said Tony. 'I may need some help though.' Tali grinned and went into the kitchen. Tony and Ziva heard her put her apron on.

'Do you think she's OK?' asked Tony.

'Yes' said Ziva. 'I think she just missed us. We have been busy lately.' Tony nodded. He leaned over and kissed Ziva.

'Daddy come on! I want pancakes.' He turned to see Tali standing in the kitchen doorway, hands on her hips, and looking very Ziva-ish.

'Ok, Bean. I'm coming' and Tony got up to help his daughter make pancakes.

Tony knocked on the door, his bag swung on his shoulder. A few minutes later, the door opened, a man with red hair and glasses on the other side.

'Tony, hi' he said, offering his hand to shake. Tony shook it.

'Hi Tyler. How are you?' said Tony as he walked into Tyler's studio.

'I'm good. Coffee?'

'Yes please.' Tyler went into a little kitchen and came back with two mugs of coffee. He led Tony over to table with microphones on it.

Tony was going to be a guest on Tyler Bond's podcast – The Tyler Bond Show.

Tyler explained to Tony the setup and how the morning would proceed with the interview. The two men sat down and Tyler began recording for the podcast.

'Hello and welcome to The Tyler Bond Show. My name is Tyler Bond and I have a license to take photos.' Tony laughed, Tyler smiled. 'My guest today is one half of the team over at Bean and Bug Photography. He has had an interesting journey to becoming a freelance photographer and video editor. He's here today to talk about a new course that Bean and Bug are launching in a couple of weeks' time. It's Tony DiNozzo.'

'Hello' said Tony.

'How are you today?' asked Tyler.

'I'm good. A little nervous. I've never been on a podcast before' said Tony.

'There's a first time for everything' said Tyler. Tony laughed. 'So, correct me if I'm wrong, but you used to be a federal agent.

'Yep, that is correct' said Tony. 'After I graduated from college, I was a cop for about six years, then transferred to NCIS, where I worked for fifteen years.'

'You met your wife there, correct?'

'Almost sixteen years ago. Me and Ziva worked together at NCIS for eight years.'

'So how and when did you become freelance photographers?' asked Tyler. 'It's not the most obvious transition.'

Tony laughed.

'No it's not and it did take a little getting used to' he said. 'We were on vacation in Hawaii at the end of 2013, beginning of 2014. Zi had borrowed a camera from a co-worker at her new job and really enjoyed taking photos of our trip. When we came home Zi bought her own camera and started taking photos daily. She started getting odd jobs, here and there, and within three years, had acquired enough clients to seriously consider going full time with photography.'

'Both you and Ziva are self-taught' said Tyler.

'Kinda' replied Tony. 'We both had forensic training in our previous jobs as federal agents, so we had some idea how to use a camera, exposure, angles, lighting. You need good quality photos for forensics. Zi and I needed to learn how to shift from crime scene photos to family portraits and weddings.'

'Incredible' said Tyler, slight amazement in his voice. 'That was four years ago right?' 'Almost to the day' said Tony, smiling. He thought of the first few weeks of the business. When Tali was only two and Tilly still a baby.

'And now you're expanding the business to include videography and online courses' said Tyler.

'Yes. A couple of years ago I took a class on how to edit videos and started working with a couple of YouTubers. Turns out, I really enjoy it so I started making my own videos to edit. Bean and Bug offer currently offers three different tiers of wedding photography packages and now we're offering wedding videography as an addition to each one.'

'And the online courses launch next month, right?'

'April 25th' said Tony.

'Not long now' said Tyler. 'How did the course come about?'

'It was during the 2020 lockdown' said Tony. 'We were googling ideas of how to keep the business going without photoshoots and eventually landed on selling online courses. It took me a couple of days to convince Zi, but eventually, she was on board. We've created photography for beginners course that's split into five different sections; basic gear, camera basics, basic lighting, and basic editing. Everything you need to get started in photography, especially if you don't have any background or prior knowledge. You can buy the entire course in one go or buy a section at a time.'

As the interview went on, Tony talked about the course in more depth. He and Ziva wanted to make sure that it was accessible to almost anyone who had a laptop, internet connection, and a desire to learn about photography.

In the early days of Bean and Bug, they had relied on online tutorials so much and wanted to help in a similar way. The whole beginner's course was $40, or each section only $9. Ziva was also busy writing scripts for other videos about shutter speed, ISO, and in depth, slightly more advance courses. Maybe it was the fact that Ziva was a prolific journaler, but she was really enjoying writing these scripts.

Tony and Tyler finished recording the podcast. Tony liked the setup that Tyler and the two spoke about it for bit. Tony now found himself thinking about getting more involved with podcasts; listen to them more, learn to edit them, and maybe even create his very own podcast.

When Tony got home, he found Ziva jumping between editing for Education Restart, writing scripts for their courses, and looking at potential studio spaces.

'How was it?' she asked.

'It was a lot fun actually' said Tony, sitting down at his desk. 'Tyler said the podcast should be up in a couple of weeks. What about you?'

'I have written a draft for the styling your photos video. I've watched your latest edits on the Education Restart videos and I may have found us a studio space to look at.'

'Really?' asked Tony, intrigued. Ziva nodded.

'It is technically an apartment, but I think it has potential. It is close by, maybe a forty-five-minute walk from here. The building has a lift for clients who cannot use stairs, plus space for us to have a separate meeting place, shooting space, and office space.'

Tony smiled. He could hear the excitement in Ziva's voice.

'You want to have a look at it?' Ziva nodded. 'Set it up then' he said.

Ziva smiled and dialed the number of the agent.

Thanks for reading and reviewing.

Like I said up top, I am not a photographer and only listen to podcasts. I did research and I hope it's accurate as possible.

The next chapter will feature Team Gibbs and a Tilly/ Ziva moment.

Stay safe and see you soon :)