Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS

It was late. Tali and Tilly were upstairs in bed and Tony and Ziva were sitting on the sofa in the family room, very close together and sharing soft kisses

'Let's go upstairs' suggested Ziva, quietly. Tony smiled and continued to place soft kisses down his wife's neck.

'I like that idea' he said. 'Perhaps you could wear that thing you wore on my birthday.'

Ziva chuckled.

'I seemed to recall I did not wear it for very long.'

Tony stopped kissing Ziva's neck and grinned at his wife. Memories of his birthday came to his mind.

'Daddy?'

Tony and Ziva looked over at the door and saw Tilly poking her head out from behind the door frame. Her lovie, Bunny, tucked in her arms.

'Tilly? What's the matter Bug?' asked Tony.

'Can't sleep' said the little girl quietly.

'Come here' said Tony, opening his arms to Tilly. Tilly ran across the room to Tony. He picked her up and put her on his lap.

Ziva stroked Tilly's brown curls. Their daughters were so similar in appearance.

'Why are you not sleeping?' asked Ziva. Tilly shrugged her shoulders.

'Is it perhaps something to do with school?' asked Tony. Tilly shrugged her shoulders again. Ziva smiled kindly.

It was the end of August and that meant the beginning of a new school year. Both Tali and Tilly had almost three months off during the summer, spending most of it playing with their friends and cousins, and spending time with Nettie. They had also gone to Wilmington for a weeks' vacation, spending almost 100% of the time at the beach.

Now the summer was coming to a close. Tali would be starting second grade and Tilly would be starting PreK at Sherwood. It would be the first time both girls would be at the same school.

'Are nervous about school Tilly?' asked Tony. Tilly shrugged for the third time.

'What if I don't like it or the other kids don't like me?' she asked eventually.

'Oh Tilly' said Ziva. 'You will love it at Sherwood.'

'Really?' Tilly didn't sound convinced.

'Yes Bug' said Tony, swaying her on his lap a little. 'You'll make loads of friends, and Nova will be there, so will Tali. You'll have your own uniform as well'

'And you will come home at lunch, just like preschool' added Ziva. 'OK?' Tilly shrugged for the fourth time.

'Why don't we go a read another bedtime story?' suggested Tony, brushing Tilly's hair off her face. Tilly smiled and nodded. She liked that idea.

Tony manoeuvred Tilly so that he could carry her better. She wrapped her little arms around Tony's neck.

'Night Ima. Love ya' called Tilly quietly.

'Goodnight motek. I love you too' said Ziva. She smiled, watching her husband carry their youngest daughter up to bed.

Tony put Tilly down on the floor of her bedroom.

'What do you want to read?' he asked. Tilly went over to her bookshelves and pulled out Cinderella. They sat down on Tilly's bed and Tony began to read.

'Once upon a time, there was a beautiful girl with golden hair and eyes as blue as the sky.'

Tilly laid down in her bed, Bunny in her arms, and by the time Tony had finished reading Cinderella, Tilly was fast asleep.

Tony put the book on Tilly's nightstand and kissed the top of her head.

'Goodnight my little Bug' he whispered.

'Tilly OK?' called Ziva from the bathroom when Tony came into their bedroom.

'Yeah. She's OK. Fast asleep' reported Tony.

'Well, that is good.'

Tony turned around and saw his wife wearing the very revealing lingerie she wore on his birthday.

'Wow' breathed Tony. Ziva smiled and walked over to Tony. 'You look incredible, Zi' he said.

'Thank you' said Ziva.

Tony lowered his head and kissed Ziva passionately. Once again, Ziva did not wear that lingerie for very long.

Five days later, Tali and Tilly were standing by the front door wearing matching uniforms, holding their school bags. This time around, Tilly was wearing matching shoes on the right feet.

'They look so cute' said Tony quietly to Ziva, who chuckled.

'OK girls' she said. 'Have you got everything?' Tali and Tilly nodded. 'Ok, then. Into the car.'

Tony drove the four of them over to Sherwood School. Tali was excited to see her friends and settled into her new classroom quickly. Tali was an expert at this after four years at Sherwood. Tilly held onto Ima's hand as they walked down the hall to the Pre-K classroom.

'Tilly!' They turned around and saw Nova walking up behind them with her parents.

'Nova.' The two girls hugged. 'I'm glad you're here' Tilly said quietly to her best friend.

'Me too' replied Nova.

Tilly and Nova said goodbye to their parents and went to sit down in their new classroom. Within seconds, they were chatting with another classmate.

Ziva looked at Tony. His eyes were glassy.

'Tony? Are you OK?' she asked.

'Both our babies are at school now' he said. Ziva chuckled and linked arms with as they walked out of the school and back to the car.

'Tilly will be home within the next four hours' she said.

'I know' replied Tony. 'There's just something about the fact that they both now go to Sherwood. No more preschool for us.'

'I guess not' said Ziva. 'Just the rest of elementary school, high school and then college to go.'

Tony laughed as they pulled out of the parking lot.

Three weeks later, Tony and Ziva sat in their car, wearing black and driving towards Baltimore. Instead of sorting out the new studio and office, Tony and Ziva were on their way to a funeral.

A couple of days after Tali and Tilly went back to school, Tony got a call from a former colleague at Baltimore Police Department, that another former colleague had died from Prostate cancer.

Jimmy Wilson had been a detective who Tony worked with from his Baltimore days, retiring in 2012. Apparently, his diagnosis of Prostate cancer had been quite sudden, with the doctors giving Jimmy only months to live. He, his wife and children made the most of what they had left.

In many ways, it reminded both Tony and Ziva of when Admiral McGee had been diagnosed, giving Tim only a couple of years left with his father. Tony remembered Jimmy's wife, Brenda. Like Ziva, Brenda was an excellent cook and Jimmy was constantly coming to work with boxes of freshly baked something for the precinct.

Ziva glanced at her husband, then back at the road.

'Are you OK Tony?' she asked. Tony looked at her.

'Yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking.'

'About Jimmy?'

'A little.'

Since hearing the news about Jimmy, Tony had been thinking about a lot of things really. Things like the past, memories of working in Baltimore. Things like making sure he got a health check-up with his doctor, especially his prostate. Things like making sure his and Ziva's wills were up-to-date, and the fact that Jimmy wasn't that much older than Tony.

'I think there were only fifteen years between me and Jimmy' said Tony. 'Maybe less.'

'I do not think age matters when it comes to cancer' said Ziva.

'I know that. I guess it's the whole thing of being almost fifty, and with the pandemic, and life in general.'

Ziva nodded her understanding. She too had been thinking about life in a similar way; getting closer to forty, becoming older than her mother, Tilly moving up to Pre-K at Sherwood.

Ziva pulled the car into the parking lot and they walked over to the church where the funeral was.

'DiNozzo.'

Tony and Ziva turned to see Ramsey Malone walk over to them.

'Malone' said Tony, happy to see his old colleague. The two men hugged. 'You remember my wife, Ziva?' said Tony. '

'Yes, of course.' Malone and Ziva kissed on the cheek. 'How are you DiNozzo?'

'Not bad' replied Tony.

'Still photographers?' asked Malone.

'Yeah, we're still photographers' replied Tony. Malone chuckled.

'And your kids?'

'They are wonderful' said Ziva. She pulled out her phone and showed an up-to-date photo of Tali and Tilly in their matching school uniforms.

'They've gotten big' said Malone. Ziva and Tony nodded.

Today they had dropped the girls off at school as normal, but Senior would be picking them up as Tony and Ziva wouldn't make it back to Alexandria in time. Nettie had volunteered to sort out some of the studio stuff so that it was all finished before the launch party in a couple of weeks. There were also a couple of deliveries expected over the next couple of days and it was useful to have at least one person there during the day. The renovation had taken longer than originally either Tony or Ziva thought.

A door opened and out walked the pastor, choir and the grieving family.

'Come on' said Ziva. 'Let's find somewhere to sit.'

Thanks for reading. I hope you liked it.

The next chapter is the last one and will be up by the end of the week.

Stay safe and see you soon.