Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS.

Apologies for being away, but I was doing NaNoWriMo which I won!

Family Tree

Ziva sat upright in bed, her breathing a little heavier than normal. She climbed out of bed and went into Tali's bedroom. Her seven-year-old daughter was softly snoring, fast asleep with Kelev tucked under her arm. Ziva smiled to herself and placed a kiss on Tali's forehead.

'I love you my sweet Tali' she whispered very quietly.

Ziva tiptoed back to her bedroom and climbed back into bed.

'Hey' whispered Tony in the dark. 'You OK?'

'Difficult dream' said Ziva. 'I needed to see Tali.'

'What happened?' asked Tony. They both had learnt the power of sharing dreams, and how it could help with feelings of guilt.

'I was playing with Tali at the park but she kept turning into my sister. We got separated somehow and I could not find her. It was odd, the way they kept shifting between the two of them. It was not scary or a nightmare but I did not like being reminded of being separated from my daughter or sister.'

Ziva felt Tony take her hand and squeeze it. Managing her demons had become so much easier since coming home to him. Regular therapy and the prescribed medication helped, but without Tony having her six, Ziva knew in her gut that the struggle would be greater.

Tony gave a yawn.

'Go back to sleep, Tony' said Ziva.

'Are you sure? We can talk more if you want to.'

'I will be alright. Go to sleep.'

'OK' said Tony. He pulled Ziva over towards him, wrapping his arms around his wife. 'I love you Zi' he added, placing a kiss behind her ear. Ziva smiled.

'I love you too Tony.'

The next day, Ziva was sitting at her desk, catching up on her studying when Tali and Clara came home from school.

'Hi, Ima' said Tali, going over to Ziva.

'Hello motek' said Ziva, hugging Tali. 'Did you have fun at school today?'

'It was alright' said Tali.

Tony walked into the living room.

'Tali, did you tell them about your class project?' asked Clara.

'What project?' asked Ziva.

'We have to make a family tree for history' said Tali. 'You have to put your parents and grandparents and any other family on it and write about each person.'

'That sounds interesting' said Tony. Tali nodded.

Clara came into the living room.

'Tali you need to get changed' she said. 'Then we can play for a couple of hours.'

'OK' said Tali, and she went to her bedroom.

Before Ima came back to Tali and Daddy, Tali and Clara sometimes did homework after school, especially if Daddy was really busy, but that Ima was back, they just played for a couple of hours. Tali liked doing her homework with Ima. Clara only did twelve hours a week with Tali now, plus any babysitting. Tony and Ziva wanted to keep Clara around as much as possible and were glad that Tali had another adult she could turn to if she got into trouble.

Ziva watched Tali and Clara play, instead of the class prep she should have been doing it. It struck her that the day after she has a dream about her sister. Maybe it was a coincidence, but Ziva could hear Gibbs' voice running through her head.

Rule 39. There's no such thing as a coincidence.

Later that night, after Tali had a bath and reluctantly went to bed after reading more of Peter Pan, Ziva was in the kitchen, pulling out the paperwork from Tali's school bag. They did this daily, just to make sure they didn't miss anything or Tali try to hide something from them. Like most kids, she was very good at telling her parents the information she was most excited about, normally any birthday party invites.

Ziva smoothed the crumpled letter from Tali's school bag and placed it on the table.

'Is that about her project?' asked Tony. Ziva nodded.

'Create a presentation about your family members and history' she read out loud from the letter. 'Include names, dates, their jobs, where they lived and any interesting facts. If possible please use photographs.'

Tony sat at the small dining table.

'It actually sounds interesting' he said, taking the letter from Ziva. He looked at her. 'Are you going to be OK with this?'

'Why would I not be?' she asked.

'It's about family. Tali's gonna want to know names and jobs and who people were. Plus your dream last night.'

The kettle finished boiling and Ziva poured the hot water into two mugs. She handed one to Tony, as she sat down.

'I will just take her questions one at a time' she said slowly. 'And maybe not necessarily prompt other questions she is not ready for. She was bound to ask questions at some point.'

'I know' said Tony. 'But understandably, you don't like talking about certain parts of your family history, even with me.' He took a sip of his tea.

'True' said Ziva. 'But perhaps I need to start to talk about it more.' Tony looked at Ziva, mouth slightly open in surprise. 'What Tony?' she asked.

'Nothing' he said, smiling. 'I'm just proud of you Zi. Once upon a time, you'd have shut down any conversation about family.'

'It will not be easy, but we have made progress in that department, yes' said Ziva. Tony nodded as he drank his tea. Father and son were much closer and talked about the difficult things more in the last ten years or so.

Ziva smiled, getting an idea.

'What if we got your father involved?' Tony thought about it.

'He'd love that. So would Tali, and he probably knows more about his parents and their families than I do. We could also ask Crispin' he added.

'Your cousin?' asked Ziva. Tony nodded.

'He can tell Tali more about the Paddington side of the family than me as well. Come to think of it, I don't really know that much about my family.

'Well, perhaps this project with rectify that' said Ziva, sounding optimistic.

'Hopefully' said Tony.

That weekend, Tali sat down in front of the computer with Tony, ready to Skype with Senior. The familiar tune started to ring, alerting them to the call. Tony smiled slightly, remembering when toddler Tali would 'sing' along whenever someone called. Tali clicked on the red button and Senior's face came onto the screen.

'Hi Papa' said Tali, waving like mad.

'Hi Tali' replied Senior. 'Junior' he added.

'Hey Dad.'

'Where's Ziva?' asked Senior.

'At the library' said Tali.

'Working or studying?'

'Working actually' said Tony. 'She should be back in time for lunch.' Ziva volunteered at the American Library of Paris four hours a week, two of those on the weekends, alternating between Saturdays and Sundays.

'So what is this I hear about a school project' said Senior.

'It's about my family history' said Tali. 'Daddy said you can help me.'

'I can try' said Senior. 'What do you want to know?'

'Daddy said you had brothers' said Tali.

'Yes, I did. I had three older brothers, which made me the youngest.' Tony picked up a notepad and pen to take down notes for Tali. 'Vincenzo was the eldest, then Laurenzio and Maurizio. Technically I was Antonio but at some point, we all changed our names to Vincent, Laurence, Maurice and Antony.'

'When were you born?' asked Tali. Senior chuckled and smiled.

'I was born in 1943. Maurice was three years older and born in 1940. Laurence was born in 1937, and Vincent was nearly eight years older than me so he was born in…' Senior did the math in his head.

'1935' said Tony.

'Yep that's it' said Senior. 'Unfortunately, my brothers had passed away now.'

'That's sad' said Tali.

'Yeah it is, but I have good memories and Vinnie was quite ill by the end.' Cancer. Senior remembered visiting his eldest big brother in the hospital and slightly shocked at how deteriorating Vinnie had become.

'What about your mom and dad?' asked Tali. 'What were they called?' Senior chuckled.

'My dad was called Vincenzo senior.'

'Like you Papa' pointed out Tali. Senior laughed.

'Kinda, yeah. He was born in Brooklyn, in 1913. His parents were called Alfonso and Lucia DiNozzo.'

'And your mom?' asked Tali.

'She was called Isabella Rossi' said Senior. 'And she was born in 1914 and in Sicily.' Tali's eyes went wide.

'I didn't know that' said Tony.

'Yeah' said Senior. 'She was the last one to be born in Italy. Ma and her family sailed to the US in 1918, just as the war was ending.'

Tali and Tony listened to Senior talk about the DiNozzo family for at least another hour. Giovanni DiNozzo had been the DiNozzo who emigrated to the US in the early 1900s and eventually became a truck driver.

Tali loved listening to Senior's stories and was excited when they spoke to Crispin the next day.

'Well, your Nana Joy and my dad, Richard, had another brother, Clive' said Crispin.

'Nana had two brothers?' asked Tali. Crispin nodded.

'Yep, and they lived in Oxford' said Crispin.

'I thought Mom grew up in London' said Tony.

'They moved when my dad was two and your mum four. Uncle Clive was eight. Their father, Peter, got a new job and they moved to London.'

'What did he do?' asked Tali.

'He was an engineer' said Crispin. 'He worked on the London Underground and the channel tunnel.'

'Really?' asked Tali. She had been on both, visiting Auntie Abby and Crispin & Co in the UK.

'Yep' said Crispin.

'What about Nana Joy's mommy?' asked Tali.

'She was called Agatha, and was a trained nurse, but left it when Uncle Clive was born.'

'I never knew Granny was a nurse' said Tony.

'Yeah. After she gave it up, she worked as a doctor's surgery receptionist for a while'

'Do you know anything about their parents?' asked Tali.

'Not a ton but Grandpa's parents were Scottish. I'll email everything over.'

'Thanks for this, Cris' said Tony.

'No problem. It's good to learn about your family history' said Crispin. 'I have a list of questions I wish I could ask Dad but his memory is completely gone. Doesn't even remember who I am.' Crispin's father and Tony's Uncle Richard had severe Dementia and lived in a nursing home.

After they finished talking with Crispin, Tony handed over all the notes he had taken for Tali.

'Here you go T' he said. 'Plenty to start with for your project. Have you thought about how you're going to do it?'

Smiling, Tali told Tony what her project was going to look like.

A couple of days after talking to Senior and Crispin, Tali was sitting at the coffee table in the living room, her family history project spread out across it.

'Ima, you haven't told me what your family did' said Tali, turning to her mother who was sitting in her favourite armchair. Ziva had written down a list of names, dates and places she knew from her side of the family but hadn't told Tali anything beyond that. She wanted Tali to be the one to prompt the conversation. It seemed safer that way.

Ziva paused, got up and sat down next to Tali on the floor.

'What do you want to know?' she asked.

'What did Saba do?' asked Tali.

'Um' began Ziva. 'Saba worked in intelligence.'

'What does that mean?' asked Tali.

'He helped track down the bad guys' said Ziva.

'Like you and Daddy?' asked Tali. Ziva smiled a little and nodded.

'Yes, I suppose so. Sometimes we worked together to track down the same bad guys.' It was partially true. There was the international arms dealer who sold weapons to Zaire, the mole in NCIS which turned out to be Agent Lee, and then when Eli came to DC for an NCIS conference.

'What about Safta?' asked Tali. Ziva smiled, thinking of her mother fondly.

'Safta did not have a job. She looked after me and my sister, but I think she wanted to be a writer perhaps. She loved reading. We used to read together, like you and I do' said Ziva. Tali smiled. She liked that too.

'What about Auntie Tali?' asked Tali. Ziva smiled sadly.

'She wanted to be an opera singer. She loved music' said Ziva.

'Is that why you and Daddy go to the opera?' asked Tali. Ziva smiled and stroked Tali's hair.

'Yes. We go on her birthday, or as close to her birthday as possible. To honour her life and memory' explained Ziva.

Tali turned to her Ima.

'Why did you name me after Auntie Tali?' she asked. Tali had wanted to ask for some time now but was afraid Ima would get sad and not tell Tali the answer.

Ziva smiled sadly and shifted closer to Tali.

'Auntie Tali was the best one out the three of us' said Ziva, pointing to a photo of three siblings. 'She was kind and caring, beautiful and happy. She loved to laugh and make people happy with her singing. I wanted you to be like that.'

'But I don't sing' said Tali.

'No but you make me and Daddy laugh and smile. You are beautiful and caring. You help your friends, yes.' Tali nodded. 'Most importantly, you are kind, my Tali' said Ziva.

Tali looked like she was on the edge of tears, so Ziva pulled her into a tight hug.

'It is OK Tali' she said quietly. 'I know it is sad and it is OK to be sad.'

'But we still remember the good times' said Tali, sniffing and wiping her nose. Ziva smiled, sad that her seven-year-old knew what to say.

'Yes. That is what we do. Are you going to do some more on your project? You have nearly finished it.'

Tali nodded and turned back to the coffee table. Ziva looked up and noticed Tony standing just outside the door to the living room. She got up and hugged her husband.

'You ok?' he asked.

'Yes' said Ziva. 'It was not easy but a start.' They stood watching Tali for a few minutes.

'Ima, Daddy.'

'Yeah T?' said Tony.

'I've finished my family history project. Want to see it?'

Smiling, Tony and Ziva sat down on the sofa and watched Tali give her presentation.

January, thirty years later

Tony and Ziva were sitting in the living room, reading. Well, Ziva was reading. Tony was on his brand new iPad Pro 22a. It had been a Christmas present from Ziva. Ziva balanced her book on her lap and reached up to put her now grey hair into a ponytail. She always concentrated better with her hair up.

The front door to the apartment opened.

'Hello?' said a woman's voice. The sound of children chatting came with it.

'In here' called Ziva, and a grown-up Tali walked into the living room, accompanied by a seven-year-old girl and a three-year-old boy.

'Saba' cried the boy and he ran over to Tony.

'Hey Olly' said Tony, putting his iPad down and picking up his grandson and putting him on his lap. 'Did you have fun at preschool?' Olly started chatting away about his morning at preschool.

Tali went over to Ziva.

'Hello motek' said Ziva, as she and Tali kissed each other's cheeks.

'Hi Safta' said Amelie, sitting next to her grandmother.

'Hello darling' said Ziva, giving her granddaughter a hug and a kiss on her forehead. 'How was school?'

'It was alright' said Amelie. Ziva and Tony shared a smile. Amelie was so much like Tali.

'Tell Saba and Safta about your class project' said Tali to Amelie as she hung up their coats.

'Ooh' said Tony. 'What is it?'

'We have to do a project on our family history' said Amelie, informing her grandparents. 'We have to put your parents and grandparents and any other family on it and write about each person.'

Tony and Ziva shared another look and smile.

'That sounds interesting' said Ziva.

'Do you think you can help?' asked Amelie. She looked between her Saba and Safta. Tony and Ziva shared a third look and smile. Memories of Tali's family history project came to mind.

'I think that's something we can help with' said Tony.

'Yay' cried Olly, clapping his hands and making everyone laugh.

Thanks for reading. I hope you liked it.

With the family history, I wanted to make it plausible and realistic with the names, dates and locations. I used my own family history as a basis to work from, though changed quite a bit of it. Tony is an older dad, but that doesn't mean that Senior was. In my mind, there are about 30 years between Senior and Tony. I could image Senior being the youngest of four boys.

Another story should be up soon

Stay safe and see you soon :)