Chapter 7: Hot Chocolate and Cookies – 2027

Ziva checked the shopping list to make sure she had all she needed to get for the holiday cookie baking on her list. The list of types of cookies had grown since the Sunday after Thanksgiving when she'd placed a small whiteboard on the side of the fridge. Chocolate chip, peanut butter, oatmeal, snickerdoodles, Linzer tarts, sugar cookies, almond balls, egg-white cookies, spritz (cookie press) shapes, madeleines, bear paw cookies, and anise drops – the complete list included family and individual favorites. Everyone had promised to help with the baking, and Ziva planned to hold them to their promises.

The oven timer sounded, pulling her from her thoughts. The breakfast quiches were ready to take from the oven and placed on wire racks to set and cool before serving. No sooner did she place the two quiches on the cooling racks than the kitchen was invaded by her hungry family.

"Smells good," Tony nuzzled her neck from behind as the kids set the table and got their breakfast beverages. "And I may not be talking about the food…" he whispered in her ear.

"We have a lot to get done today," Ziva turned and brushed her lips across her husband's. "Who are you taking with you?"

"Don't know," he slipped his hands into oven mitts and carried the spinach and ham quiche to the table. Ziva followed with the bacon and mushroom quiche. At the table, she cut each egg pie into eight wedges, plating one of each for each person.

Tony retrieved his coffee mug from the counter, topping it off before grabbing Ziva's large mug of tea. He placed both to the table next to the glasses of orange juice at their places.

"Quiches are good, Ima," Anthony had nearly finished one slice of his breakfast already and was eying the two remaining pieces in the pie pans. The ten-year-old could pack away the food; Ziva didn't mind the growing boy eating almost as much food as his father.

"Thank you, Anthony," Ziva smiled across the table at her elder son. She turned to the others, "We have a lot of errands to do today, plus weekend chores. Abba is going to the warehouse club to get some groceries and other things, plus to the Christmas tree lot to pick up our tree, wreaths, and mistletoe. I am going to the grocery store and the superstore for groceries and other things.

"I will need at least two helpers at the stores," she added.

Tony swallowed a bite of quiche, "I will need at least one helper for my errands. Who wants to go with me?"

LJ spoke first, "I want to go with you, Ima. I went with Abba last week."

"I'll go with Abba," Riv volunteered and looked at her twin with a question in her eyes.

Tali spoke next, "Is it okay if I stay here to do my chores? I have bathrooms this week and it would be easier for me if I could clean while everyone else is out."

Ziva nodded, "That is fine with me; Tony?" She looked over at the children's father; he nodded his agreement.

'I'll go with you, Ima," Anthony offered. "I like pushing the shopping cart for you."

"Good, we will probably need two carts today!"

Beth looked at her parents, and then at Tali. "Could I stay home with Tali? I have the vacuuming this week and it would be easier to do when others are out."

Tony looked to his oldest daughter, "You okay with that, Tals?"

"Yep; we can also start the dough for the sugar cookies and the Linzer tarts or any of the other ones that need to be refrigerated after mixing," Tali offered to her Ima. "I don't mind doing that to help get the baking started."

Ziva agreed to the plan, "I think we have a plan for the day. Tali, I will go through the ingredients we have already and figure out which ones you can work on the dough after we finish eating."

After the breakfast cleanup, Ziva helped Tali get the ingredients out on the counter to make the dough for the sugar cookies and for the spritz cookies. Tony and Rivka headed out to do their errands as did Ziva and the boys. Tali and Beth completed the weekend chores on their lists for the weekend and mixed the doughs in the stand mixer. Both balls of dough were put in covered bowls and refrigerated. Tali was wiping down the countertops when Anthony came in from the garage with bags of groceries. LJ and Ziva followed with more bags; Ziva asked Tali and Beth to help carry in the remaining bags in the van. In all they had thirty-five bags full of their regular shopping plus the supplies for cookie baking.

~DiNozzo~

A week later, Ziva helped LJ slide the last of the chocolate chip cookies from the baking sheet to the cooling racks. The kid grinned from ear to ear; this year had been the first year Ima let him help with the baking. Tali and Rivka were dusting the Linzer tarts with powdered sugar at the breakfast nook table, Anthony, Beth, and Tony were dipping the bear claw cookies and madeleines in melted dark, milk, or white chocolate at another part of the counter. Tins of finished cookies lined a shelf in the garage to be shared with family and friends. A separate section held containers of cookies for their family, including a special tin for the family's traditional post tree decorating snack of hot chocolate and cookies.

Ziva glanced around the kitchen; Tony caught her gaze and grinned his signature DiNozzo grin. This was the true meaning of Christmas: family and memories in the making.