Chapter 11
~~Eight months after Adam's burial~~
Ziva and Tony both sat down at the kitchen table with their cups of coffee, enjoying the fragrance of the freshly-brewed coffee. Ziva looked up at the calendar, which was on June 2039, looking at the circled-in date, and sighed.
"Yeah, I know." Tony's voice cut through her thoughts. She had been thinking about how this year was going to be the first birthday with one twin no longer around. "Can't imagine what he's gonna think about today," Tony sighed.
Ziva nodded and took a sip of her coffee, deep in thought. She carefully set her cup down. "Let's hope today turns out to be a good birthday for Ethan." She flashed a smile at Tony.
"Yeah, let's keep a positive face on things." Tony smiled before taking a sip of his coffee. "Ooh, just right." He blew over the coffee a couple of times to cool it just a bit.
Ziva smiled, then looked toward the doorway, where she heard the sound of footsteps coming closer. She saw Ethan walking into the kitchen, hair disheveled from the previous night's sleep.
Tony let out a small sigh. "Oh, fer..." he muttered to himself. That pajama shirt that Ethan was wearing always bothered him for just the first millisecond he laid his eyes on them; for a moment Ethan looked exactly like Adam when he had just woken up.
"Good morning, Ethan." Ziva smiled while she spoke and signed to him. She had noticed that he didn't have his sound processors on. He usually didn't put them on until after breakfast, anyway. "No breakfast. We're going out for brunch."
Ethan smiled sleepily. "Sounds good. I'll be a few minutes." He walked over to the sink and got himself a drink, then turned to walk back out of the room.
Ziva caught his attention. "Don't be long." She smiled. "Remember? We leave for the beach house for the weekend. So, make sure you're packed and ready."
Ethan's eyes brightened. "Oh, that's right! I almost forgot. Uncle Tim coming too?"
Tony nodded. "Yeah, we're picking him up." He signed the word "picking up" as he spoke.
"'Kay, I'll be down in a few." Ethan smiled and went to his room to get ready for the weekend.
Eventually, after about an hour's drive, they stopped at a family-run Mexican restaurant. After the waitress led them to a table by a large window, Tony and Ziva sat at the table facing Ethan and McGee and glanced over their menus.
"Ethan?" Tony dropped his menu and looked up at Ethan. Ethan hadn't heard him over the noise. He gently tapped the table, getting Ethan's attention. "Get whatever you want. It's your birthday, you know." Tony smiled and waved his hand at the menu that Ethan was holding.
Ethan looked up at Tony. "Really? Cool." He dropped his head back to the menu. "I was thinking of, let's see now... ah. How about this Burrito Grande, and maybe some nacho chips?" Ethan jabbed his finger at his choice on the menu.
Tony chuckled. "That burrito's a good choice." He looked up at the ceiling, going back down memory lane. "That reminds me of how your Ima loved to wait until I was just about to bite into my big burrito and then, steal it right from my hand and take a bite out of it. Started way back in those days when we were working with Gibbs." Tony turned to Ziva and smiled. "You remember that?"
Ziva laughed. "Oh, yes. For some reason, his burritos would always taste better than mine."
McGee chuckled at that memory and mimed Ziva waiting and watching, then snatching an imaginary burrito out of someone's hand. "Zwoop! She'd just grab it out of your hand, have a bite then gave it back to you before you knew what happened."
Ziva chuckled at Tony and McGee, then turned to Ethan and waggled her eyebrows and smiled. "Well, Ethan, you better watch out because I will do the same thing to you."
Ethan laughed at Ziva. "No, you're not getting my burrito!"
"You guys ready to order?" The bright cheerful voice of the waitress reached their ears.
"Oh, yes. Let's order up for the birthday boy here." Tony smiled and pointed to Ethan.
"Oh, happy birthday to you! What would you like?" The waitress asked Ethan, who ordered up his food of choice. "Oh, that's a good choice, especially today." She jotted down the order.
"Thanks," Ethan smiled and handed the menu back. "I'd also like a little thing of nacho chips if you've got that as well?"
"No worries, we'll be bringing that out to the table anyway, with some salsa sauce." The waitress flashed a smile, then turned to the rest of the family. "And may I take your orders?" The waitress held her pad and pen at the ready.
After lunch, the trio got into the SUV and headed out for the beach house. As soon as Tony made it a few blocks past the restaurant, his eye caught sight of something that reminded him of the upcoming trip. He turned to Ziva briefly. "Hon? Need anything from the store before we head on out?"
Ziva snapped her eyes off the phone display she was reading and turned to Tony. "Oh, yes, I wanted to stop by at the food store to get what we needed for the weekend." She glanced in the back. She saw that Ethan was busy talking with McGee. She nodded slightly, satisfied that his attention was elsewhere. "Just heard from Tali."
Tony raised his eyebrow as he glanced over at Ziva. "Yeah? She doing good?" He looked ahead again. "Oh, here we are." He turned into the entranceway to the grocery store and found a parking spot.
Ziva smiled. "Yup. All's set." She gathered up her purse and her shopping list, ready to exit the car the moment it stopped.
"Here we are." Tony put the transmission into park as he finished parking in his slot. "Ethan, McGeek, we'll be back in a few." He turned to them and smiled as he stepped out of the car.
McGee raised a hand. "No problem, we'll just chill here."
"We're good." Ethan smiled.
Ziva and Tony joined up and walked into the store. "Tali's there with the kids," Ziva said as she strode toward the store.
Tony turned his head toward Ziva as he matched her stride. "Yeah? Sounds like she had a smooth flight in. What'd she have to say?"
As they stepped through the entryway, Ziva nodded. "Everybody else is there also, she got there half an hour after they arrived."
Tony smiled. "Ah, sounds good. They need anything before we get out of here?"
"That's where we're headed. She said something about needing some extra food, and I told her we were getting more food."
Tony nodded. "Right on, lead the way." He held out his hand and smiled.
A couple of hours later, Tony pulled up into the driveway, and opened the garage door. As soon as the door fully opened, he pulled the SUV up into the garage. As soon as the SUV stopped, Ziva got out of the car. "I've got to go into the kitchen. You guys can go ahead unload from the back." Ziva smiled at them, then turned and walked into the house.
Tony smiled. "Right. Alright, boys, let's unload." He hit the rear-hatch-open button as he stepped out and walked toward the back.
"Made it, finally." Ethan met Tony at the back and pulled out his own bags.
McGee turned to Ethan and nodded as he pulled his own bag toward him. "Smooth traffic all the way, right?"
"Yup." Ethan smiled and walked into the house.
Ziva stopped in the middle of the kitchen and listened. She thought she could hear... something. "Tali?" she called out quietly. Just then, her phone dinged. An eyebrow shot up as she pulled her phone out and looked at the display, smiling at the text that appeared.
"Ima?" Ethan appeared beside her, smiling.
Quickly putting the phone away, she looked at Ethan and smiled. "Oh, you're here, Ethan." She emphasized his name slightly. Ziva heard the sound of slight giggling coming from the general vicinity of the pantry closet. "Let's see what we need to do first." She walked over to open the door, quickly glanced in, then just as quickly shut the door. "I just realized something. Could you help make room in the pantry for the food we just bought?" She pointed toward the pantry.
"Oh, sure." Ethan looked at the pantry, then back at Ziva. "Something wrong?" He had seen the look on her face.
Ziva raised an eyebrow. "Oh, nothing – just forgot that we had left a bit of mess in there." She smiled innocently.
Ethan raised an eyebrow. "Sure we did." He walked over to the door anyway, and pulled the door open and -
"Unka Ethan!" Brett squealed in delight.
"Oh!" Ethan stepped back, taking in the sight of Tali with Brett and Sarah. Tali shouted "Surprise! Happy birthday!"
Brett jumped up, squealing in laughter while Sarah jumped up and down "Unka!" they squealed in unison.
"Thought we would surprise you, just like old times right?" Tali tilted her head toward Ethan, her eyes and mouth smiling.
Ethan gasped in surprise. "Tali!" Ethan ran up and hugged Tali. "Didn't think you'd come."
Tali scoffed. "What, me miss your birthday? Never!" She batted her hand in the air.
McGee called out from the adjoining dining room. "Hey, look, out on the beach. Who's that?" He quickly pointed out the window.
"Yeah, I see 'em." Tony stepped up to the dining room doorway and pointed out toward them.
Ziva turned and looked out the window. "Ethan, I can't see who they are exactly, will you go out and see who they are? They look like they're headed for here."
"Who?" Ethan stepped over to Tony, and followed Tony's pointing finger.
Just then, the taller of the two distant figures raised an arm and waved vigorously.
Ethan squinted. "Is that AJ?"
"Why don't you go and see?" Tony prodded Ethan slightly. "My eyes, you know." In reality, he could see just fine.
Ethan automatically opened the door and stepped out. "AJ?" He yelled out as he took a few steps. "Is that you?"
The figure started running toward him. "Yeah, bro!"
"Yeah!" Ethan took off running, and slammed into the distant figure in a full bearhug.
Tony and Ziva chuckled.
"Good to see them together again." Tali walked up toward them.
Ziva turned to Tali and smiled. "It's been somewhat rocky the last few months for Ethan. Just started getting a little better recently."
Tony sighed. "Kid could use a pick-me-up moment like this." He turned to Brett. "Hey, little man!"
"PaPaw!" Brett waddled up to him, arms stretched out in the air. "Uppie?"
Tony laughed. "Uppie you come!" He swooped down and swept Brett up into the air and into his arms, causing him to squeal in delight.
Ziva chuckled. "Tony. You're not that young anymore, be careful." She waggled a finger at him.
Tony chuckled at Ziva. "Oh, he's not that heavy."
"Yes, but he squirms. Keep that in mind." Ziva smiled.
Tali laughed. "Here you go, Ima." She handed Sarah over to Ziva, then shook out her hands. "Glad the flight in was smooth. The babies were wonderful on the plane." Tali sighed and looked out the window.
Ziva nodded and smiled. "Too bad your Savta and Ben couldn't make it in."
Tali turned back to Ziva. "Yeah. Ben's been real busy, working on his latest mission debrief for the Mossad. He was okay with me and the kids coming out to visit."
"And Savta?" Ziva tilted her head at Tali. "She's doing okay?"
Tali smiled. "That's the thing. I was planning on bringing Savta with me, but Aunt Jessica showed up out of the blue, with her two kids."
"Oh?" Ziva raised an eyebrow and smiled. "That's good, how's she been doing? I haven't heard from her in so long."
Tali sighed. "Well, she's doing great with her two kids now. She's glad she left that hot mess of a law firm and her husband too. Changed over to real estate, because she's got more time for her kids that way."
"Oh, that's nice. The law firm's what's been keeping her busy?" Ziva looked at Sarah as she cooed in her arms, then back at Tali.
"A big part of why she left the firm. Overworked and underpaid." Tali chuckled. "She told me her boss was a chauvinistic prick."
Ziva scoffed. "Can't stand the type. Good that she left the firm. So, she's doing good in real estate?"
"Oh, Ima, she's like in the top ten earners position for her company." Tali smiled. "I'd say she's doing really well."
McGee turned from the window he was looking out of and smiled. "I'm going to step outside for a bit. I think I see someone I know coming up."
"Oh?" Ziva turned to look out the window, and her eyes brightened at the sight of John and Becky walking up to the beach house.
"Oh, there they are." Tony chuckled. "Was wondering if they were gonna make it in after all. Go on out there, McGeek." Tony shooed him on.
"Here, let me take him." Tali reached out and plucked Brett out of Tony's arms, who had fallen asleep. "I'll put him in the pen."
Ziva nodded. "I'll help, Sarah's also asleep." She followed Tali to the play pen and laid Sarah down alongside Brett before returning to the kitchen.
McGee chuckled slightly. "I'll be back." He headed out the door to meet up with John and Becky.
Tali smiled. "I'll go with you as well, I wanna say hi to everybody." She followed McGee.
Tony chuckled. "Perfect time to start the cookout, doncha say? I'll get the grill warmed up."
Ziva smiled and opened the door. "I think the babies will be fine in here for a few. I'll help set the deck up, then be back in here with the food." She stepped out to the deck, and Tony trailed closely behind.
"Hey, everybody!" Tony waved at everyone as he walked past to the grill and smiled. He started setting up the grill.
Later in the early evening, as the clouds started clearing away, AJ started rushing about setting up his telescope on the beach in front of the deck, while Channah and Ethan were helping.
"Something happening?" John asked.
AJ looked up. "Annular solar eclipse, supposed to happen any minute now."
Becky gasped. "Oh, that's right! I read something about that today."
John looked at Becky. "I did too, the other day, totally forgot." They both turned to watch AJ and Channah and Ethan set up the telescope. "How do you view an eclipse, anyway, AJ?"
AJ reached into his telescope accessories case and pulled out a large circular object. "With this, a solar filter. Goes on the front of the telescope."
Tony looked out over the beach, surveying the whole scene that lay in front of him, taking in the sights and sounds of the youngsters setting up the telescope. He sighed and stood up, then walked up to the deck rails and looked up at the sky, contemplating things, how they had been these past few months. Man, these last eight months, what a roller coaster, he thought to himself. He then looked down at AJ setting up the telescope, surrounded by the other three members of the entourage. He turned his ears to the conversation happening nearby; he could only hear bits and pieces of the conversation.
"Sky's getting darker all of a sudden." Tony turned to look at Ziva, who had just appeared beside him. She tilted her head toward AJ and the others. "They're happy."
Tony smiled and nodded. "Annular eclipse, AJ said. Moon's passing in front of the sun right about now." He turned to Ziva and smiled. "They're happy to see each other again."
Ziva walked up closer to Tony and took ahold of his arm and leaned her head on his shoulder. "This is beautiful , the way the sun makes everything look."
"Yeah, it does." Tony smiled and kissed the top of her head before turning back to look at AJ and the others. He could see that Ethan was enjoying his time, having fun taking a look through the telescope, marvelling at the eclipse, letting the others have their viewing time.
Just then, as the eclipse reached its peak, a resounding "Happy birthday, Ethan!" sounded out from where the telescope stood.
AJ waved and called out. "Ima, Dad! Wanna come take a look? You too, Uncle Tim."
"Oh, yes!" Ziva smiled and quickly walked over to the telescope, followed closely by Tony.
"Here, let me." AJ quickly took the eyepiece off and put a CCD chip on the eyepiece adapter. An image of the eclipse popped up in its full glory on the laptop screen.
"Oh!" Tony gasped. "Wow, that's awesome!" He pointed to the outline of the moon passing in front of the sun.
Ziva leaned in slightly closer. "Yeah, see? You've got more than half of the sun covered." She looked up at the sky, in the general direction of but not directly at the sun. The sky looked like someone had turned the lights down halfway, and the air felt cool. "You feel that?" Ziva said out loud.
AJ looked up at Ziva. "Yeah, it's cool because not as much heat is getting to us, same thing as light."
McGee looked at the sky, then at the screen. "Very neat to see this. He pointed toward the image on the screen. "Did you see that?"
Ethan said, "Yeah! That looked like the space station passing in front of the telescope, cool!"
Tony sighed. "Good to see him happy, again," He said in an undertone as he tilted his head slightly toward Ethan.
Ziva glanced up at Tony. "Yes. I feel the same. He's not been the same since -" She couldn't bring herself to talk about Adam, not just yet.
Tony nodded softly. "Oh yeah, took me a while to finally get through to Ethan. Thanks for helping me out. Even if it meant you had to walk out on me for a month or so." He knew that he hadn't exactly been keeping up his end of the promise with his relationship with Ethan up to the day that Adam had died.
Ziva tilted her head toward Tony and chuckled slightly. "Well, I didn't have much choice in the matter at the time. Ima was under the weather and didn't want Tali or her kids to get sick." She smiled slightly. "Glad that Jessica was able to come out eventually and help out."
Tony reached out his arm around Ziva, looking at her. "Yeah, well, it was a bit of an eye-opener for me. Thinking about how I had taken the easy way out all the time." He sighed and looked back out at Ethan. "That little man taught me more things in that month than I ever learned with Adam in his time here."
Ziva looked at Tony. "Oh? Still reminds you of him a bit, though?" She smiled slightly.
Tony sighed. "Yes, in a good way now. It's like, he's got pieces of Adam in him now." He smiled and looked at Ethan once more. "Look at him. He loves adventuring now. Some of the things that Adam did, he's doing now."
Ziva smiled. "An embodiment, then. Like the twins become one, within Ethan."
Tony had a slightly puzzled look on his face as he slowly turned to Ziva. "Funny you should say that. Some days I could swear I'm talking to Adam, the way Ethan talks. Some days, it's clearly Ethan. How's that work, again?"
Ziva chuckled slightly. "One of those things you can't easily describe, only see in action as it happens. Like Ethan took upon Adam's role, but in his own way."
"That's right." Tony's eyebrows raised slightly, in understanding. "Like he wants to respect his brother, in his way?"
Ziva shook her head slightly. "Beyond that. More like, Adam is embodied within him now, and now Ethan does everything that Adam does, but in his own style and way."
Tony smiled. "So that makes sense why it suddenly became a little easier for me to relate to Ethan. Because I was relating to the Adam within him."
Ziva nodded. "Something like that. More like a balance between us two." Her eyes told Tony a lot more. We share the load evenly now, her eyes said, with regard to Ethan.
Tony's eyes flashed in acknowledgement. He hugged Ziva and pecked her cheek. Just then, they heard footsteps, and they looked up at the stairs.
"Enjoying yourselves?" McGee called out to John and Becky from his deck chair. He had sat down earlier because his back had started bothering him. That old injury had never fully healed right.
John waved at McGee as he walked up toward the house. "Yeah. Got to see a space station flying past at the same time as the eclipse." He smiled.
"Whoa, cool!" McGee's eyebrows raised in amazement.
Becky sat down while John went into the house. "Ah, beautiful out here."
Ziva looked up and smiled. "It is, indeed. Glad we came out here." She turned as Ethan walked up to Ziva. "Enjoying yourselves?" She signed to Ethan as he walked up.
Ethan smiled and nodded. "Best birthday I ever had in a long time. Thanks, Ima, Dad." He walked to his chair by Ziva's and plopped himself into it.
AJ and Channah stayed behind for a couple of minutes putting dust covers on the telescope for the time being.
Tony smiled and sat in his chair and looked up at the sky as the sky started darkening, turning into dusk. "Ah, it's good to be out here for a change. Wouldn't you say?" He reached up and gently pulled Ziva to her chair.
Ziva smiled as she sat into her chair, and leaned toward Tony. "Yes, and have family with us. That means you, too, McGee." She smiled at him.
McGee chuckled. "It's good to see John up and about and back to his active self. Still has the occasional migraines, though." He shook his head slightly. "Never had 'em before the accident, now that I recall it."
"Oh?" Ziva looked at McGee.
"Good thing he's got a thick noggin," Tony chuckled.
McGee let out a derisive chuckle. "Hate seeing him suffer with those migraines, though. He's had to set up his bedroom special, keep it pitch black when he's having one of those migraines."
"I can only imagine." Ziva sighed.
"Ah, I'm back. Just put the kids down for their bedtime." Tali quickly walked over to an empty chair and sat the baby monitor next to her. "Got my ears out just in case." She smiled.
"Easy to take care of?" McGee raised an eyebrow.
Tali chuckled. "Oh, they've never caused much issue for me. How about you, was it the same?"
McGee guffawed. "Hardly. John took after me, he was the easy-going one. Morgan was a handful, though." He snorted derisively. "Surprised she lasted this long with that woman before she took off and joined the military. I don't blame her, she signed up the moment she turned 18."
Tony laughed. "I can see why. That woman needs a good dose of Thorazine, or something. Good thing John kicked her out of the room, he didn't need her drama."
McGee laughed. "Yeah, well. Heard from Morgan recently. Couple months back." He smiled and tilted his head. "Wants to meet up sometime soon. She's got leave coming up, didn't say when."
Ziva raised an eyebrow. "That's good that you and she get along well enough. Give her our regards, will you?"
"Will do next time I email her," McGee said as he smiled.**
Moments later, John came out of the house, carrying a cooler full of drinks. He set it down on the deck in the middle of the circle of chairs and pulled out two drinks, one for himself and one for Becky. "Here you go, Bec'."
"Thanks." Becky smiled as she took the drink from John.
"No problem." John smiled, then looked up at the sky, in deep thought.
Just then, a very bright shooting star streaked across the sky, lighting up the beach out over the ocean.
"Oh!" AJ exclaimed. "Look at that!"
Ethan jumped up out of his chair. "Whoa!" He pointed in the sky at the shooting star.
Tony stared, transfixed at the sight. "Wow. Once in a lifetime."
Channah walked up to AJ and hugged him as she looked up out at the shooting star. "Amazing!"
AJ glanced back at her. "Yeah, it is, isn't it?" He hugged her close and watched as a series of shooting stars rained across the darkening sky.
"It's like he's up there, telling us it's okay." Ethan absentmindedly said, staring at the shooting stars.
Tony turned sharply toward Ethan. "Come again?"
Ziva got up and walked closer to Ethan. "Who's up there?" She looked up at the sky.
Ethan looked at Ziva. "Adam. I was saying happy birthday to him, and he said it back."
A chill ran down Ziva's spine, but she smiled to hide it. "Adam said that?"
"Yup. You saw that shooting star, didn't you?" Ethan smiled.
Ziva raised an eyebrow, then sat back in her chair. Her eyes locked onto Tony's and she saw his eyes.
"Wow." Tony muttered. Yeah, I saw it, too, his eyes told her.
"Uhm." John cleared his throat.
Becky looked at John and put a hand on his lap. "You feel that?" she asked quietly.
AJ and Channah both simultaneously said "I felt that, too!"
John gulped. A certain sense of feeling had reverberated throughout everyone present at the same time the shooting star appeared, followed by a series of shooting stars. They all had a sudden sense of calm, of a sense of well-being, wholesomeness. "I feel at peace all of a sudden."
Tali nodded. "Same here. The moment I wished him happy birthday I felt that same kind of peace come."
"So what exactly happened?" Ethan blurted out, without thinking. He looked up at John.
John was taken aback by the question. He looked down and sighed. "Uhm, where to start," he whispered to himself. He took a moment to frame his thought, putting his head into his hands for a moment and thinking. "Remember when you went to get your sound processors taken care of that day?"
Ethan sat up straighter. "Yeah. The ones I had weren't working right for some reason, and I got these green ones. I got sick that day, at the same time of the accident."
John sighed. "Yeah. Adam had a flat on his bike, so he fixed it before we took off, I was on the phone at the time."
Tony chuckled. "That would explain the mess in the garage. It's still there."
"What?!" Tali looked at Tony. "You mean to tell me you never cleaned that mess up?"
Ziva shook her head. "Never touched the garage since."
"I was going to clean it up, but Dad said leave it. Never went in there since." Ethan said.
Tony nodded. "I've been meaning to, but just never went in there."
"Yeah, well." John sighed. "We went out for our bike rides, and was having a good ride when some drunk drove by in this ratty yellow car and almost ran us off the road."
"Wait, you've seen that guy before?" Tony sat up.
Ethan sat, transfixed. "I think I saw that yellow car somewhere. Feels like I saw it in a dream, though," he muttered to himself.
Ziva heard it, however. "You said you had a dream?"
Ethan shrugged. "Dunno, just remember the image in my mind."
John gulped audibly. "Yeah. I never heard Hebrew swearing until that day, when Adam cussed him out."
Ethan laughed. "That's him. People wouldn't know the difference between him complimenting them or insulting them, he would keep such a straight face."
Tony laughed. "Now I find this out about Adam?"
Ethan laughed and threw a throw pillow at Tony. "We kept our secrets from you, you know."
Tony laughed and threw it back. "Gotta have your own fun moments." He turned to Ziva. "That's something."
Ziva laughed and batted his arm. "I knew something was up with them, but they have bested even the best of the Mossad," she said jokingly.
AJ laughed. "I got to see a little bit of that in action one day, a long time ago before the... accident."
"Do tell." Tony sat up. He wanted to hear more about Adam, what he was like when he was still around.
AJ shook his head. "No way. Can't violate that twin bond." He laughed.
Becky and Tali laughed.
"So anyway, after that, we pulled over for a bit to enjoy the scenery. We talked." John sighed and took a breath before continuing. "He asked me what I would do with that guy if I was a cop."
McGee raised an eyebrow. "And?"
John turned to McGee. "I told him I'd take the drunk off the road and throw him into the slammer. DUI? Major offense right there."
Tony scoffed. "You can say that again. Get caught drinking and driving, bye bye driver's license."
"Indeed." John looked at Tony, then back at Ethan. "Anyway, after that crazy driver drove off and we pulled over, we talked about what I would do, like I said. Then we went for a little more riding." John sighed, then took a deep breath.
Ziva looked at John. "And then?" She was reading his body language, sensing that he was coming up onto the pivotal event that changed everyone's lives.
John exhaled slowly. "We came upon this street that lead to this T-intersection, you know that area?" He got a nod. "I heard a car behind us, and by the time I looked, that yellow car was right on top of us. I got knocked off my bike at the same time I heard a loud thump behind me and saw Adam flying past me."
Ethan let out a short, sharp gasp. "That's why I felt like I was flying, in my dream!"
Ziva turned sharply toward Ethan and held his hand. "Oh!"
Ethan spoke up. "There are times I have wondered, why did I survive that day? Why did I get sick, all of a sudden better the next day and Adam is..." Ethan paused to take a deep breath.
John looked at Ethan. "Ethan, none of this could have been predicted. Just one of those things." John bit his lip, as he looked at Ethan. He took a deep breath while looking down, then sat up straight and looked at everyone, then at Becky as she took one of his hands and held it. "Alright, you wanted to know more about what happened?"
Ethan looked at John. "I need to know. Only bits and pieces I got from... what other people told me." He couldn't explain what he had seen in his dream while he got sick, not yet.
John sighed. "When I hit the ground and came to a stop, I heard his body hit the ground." He clapped his hands together. "I rushed over to Adam just when the car hit a tree and blew up. He... didn't look good." John shook his head.
Tony sighed deeply and ran a hand over his face. "Did he... say anything?"
John shook his head. "Not much. Couldn't move too much on account of the pain. Adam was struggling to speak, coughing up blood." He sighed and sat up straighter. "What he could say, he did in sign language."
Ziva frowned slightly. "What'd he say?"
John turned toward Ziva. He held up an outstretched hand with the thumb touching the chin. Mother, he signed. He then moved it to where his thumb touched his forehead in the father sign.
Ziva gasped and a tear leaked out of her eye.
John continued. "He managed to say the names of everyone as well. Said take care of everyone." He let out a deep sigh.
"Take your time, you got us, my son." McGee spoke up gently.
"Adam started to say things that did not make sense, and thats when I knew. I could... smell it. That was when I became woozy. I held on as long as I could, for him." Tears started flowing from John's eyes. "He died in my arms," he whispered.
Becky reached over and hugged John. "I'm here, babe." She held him close in her embrace.
"Thanks." His voice was thick with emotion. John returned the hug and wiped away his tears. He paused, then took a breath. "Last thing I remember was a nurse coming up to us. I was told later that I was found cradling Adam when I passed out."
McGee sat back, absorbing this new piece of information. "This is the first time I'm hearing this. He's never said anything about the accident until now," he said quietly to Tony. "Tried to talk to him about it, and he wouldn't, not until now."
Tony nodded. "Figured he wanted to talk face to face with Ethan." He turned back to the two.
Ethan was considering things, turning over the new information in his mind. "So that's where it all fits. The yellow car, the flying." He turned to Ziva. "The moment I fell asleep in the car, I started getting sick. I dreamed that I saw a yellow car, then all of a sudden I was flying and tumbling through the air, causing my stomach to get all upset."
Ziva gasped. "You scared me that day! You looked so peaceful, like you had died. I had to shake you, and then you had that seizure." She sat up a little straighter. "Do you remember throwing up on Dad?"
Ethan shook his head. "No, not really, all I remember was seeing what Adam was seeing. That I was seeing John talking to me. I wondered why he was talking to me in my dream at the time."
Ziva drew in a long gasp. "Ethan!"
Tony suddenly had an itch on the back of his head, and he involuntarily reached up and scratched it. "I could have sworn Adam spoke to me in that hospital that night."
Ethan sighed. "Just telling you what I saw in my dream that day. I knew then that Adam had died."
Goosebumps appeared on both Tony and Ziva's arms. "Wow," Ziva whispered. "It all fits."
John suddenly got up and paced around for a bit. He sighed. "Ever since that day, I've been doing a lot of thinking. About how I wanted to honor Adam." He stopped at the deck rails and looked out over the ocean. After a moment, he returned to the circle of chairs and pulled out a folded sheet of paper and sat down.
Tony chuckled. "Anything you do would be good in my book."
"Adam's always thought highly of you." Ziva added.
John held up the folded sheet of papers. "Applied to be a cop." He smiled and shook the papers. "I got into the police academy out in New York City."
McGee raised an eyebrow. "Oh, wow! Congrats." He had not known this; John had kept this a total secret even from his own father.
"Way to go, John!" Tony held out a high-five.
John gave everybody high-fives as everybody congratulated and cheered him on. "New York City, here I come!"
Becky spoke up. "We'll keep in touch, right?"
John smiled. "Oh, yeah. I'll be busy in training, but I'll make the time to write you every so often."
McGee asked, "When do you leave for training?"
John held up his letter. "They said that they'll send me orders to report to training shortly. Just got this letter the other day."
"So, when did you apply?" Tali asked.
"Sent the application in a few weeks back. You know how it is with such a large PD." John shrugged. He put the paper back in his pocket.
Becky smiled. "More time for me to go to school, more time for you to better yourself." She patted John on the arm.
It was AJ's turn to pull out a folded letter. "Got my letter of acceptance." He broke out into a slow smile. "You'll never guess where I'm going," he said in singsong voice.
Ziva turned to AJ and raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Where?"
AJ just shook the letter and grinned even further. "Astrophysics. Cambridge."
Becky scoffed. "What?! And leave me all alone here?" She turned to Tony and Ziva. "I'm gonna be here all alone!"
"I get the house to myself now?" Becky turned to Ethan, who'd spoken. "The whole house to myself?" Ethan waggled his eyebrows and smiled.
Tony and Ziva chuckled. Tony said "Not if Becky wants to stay at our house while she's going to school."
Ziva nodded. "Save yourself a bit of money while you're going to school, Becky. You're welcome to stay if you want."
Ethan looked slightly crestfallen, but only for a moment. "Still, you're not gonna be alone after all, Bec'."
Tali laughed. "That's right. And you will always have family there for you."
AJ stood up and walked over to the deck rails and looked out over the ocean. "I'm sure he's out there, looking over us."
Channah sighed and nodded, then stood up and walked up next to AJ. "He is. I'm positive." She put a hand on his shoulder. "I can feel it."
Tali pulled out a small piece of folded paper from her pocket and turned it over in her hands, thinking it over for a few moments, looking at the paper turning over in her hands. She sighed then opened the paper and started to read the first couple of sentences, then held the paper to her chest. "I wrote this not long after Adam died." She cleared her throat, and then began reading.
"Dear Adam, I remember the last conversation you and I had. Random stuff, like school, friends, your bike, enjoying your adventures with Ethan. You told me what you always wanted to be in your future." Tali paused and took a breath, then returned to the letter. "You even told that you wanted to be an audiologist, to understand hearing loss better and to help people out."
Ziva said, "That would make sense that Adam would want that." She smiled at Tali.
"One thing that struck me during that conversation, Ima, was how he was thankful for Ethan to be his twin brother. I found that interesting at the time, but didn't think much of it." She returned to her letter. " Your last words seem to be eerie as I looked back. Did you know that your time might be up soon? We will never know, only our Maker, our Allah, our Lord knows. Adam, you would be greatly missed, I love you my baby brother, rest well." She let the letter drop into her lap and smiled, with a tear streaking down her cheek.
Tony's voice was hoarse. "Yeah. Think I remember him mentioning something about wanting to understand deafness better and helping people out.'
"Thanks." Ziva smiled at Tali. "For sharing your feelings."
Tali quickly wiped away a tear. "Wanted to remember Adam in a good way." She smiled.
Tony called out toward AJ. "Anthony, wanna say what's on your mind? Anything." Tony smiled gently at AJ.
AJ turned and looked at Tony, then looked back at Channah, then stood up, with a smile on his face. "Alright, well, first of all, I wanted to thank Ima and Dad for allowing Channah to be there for me during those roughest times in the beginning." He reached over and patted Channah's arm. "She's been my rock throughout the whole time." He looked up at the sky. "Yes, Adam, she's my girlfriend. Sorry I was a bit of a jerk on that front to you."
Ziva raised an eyebrow at AJ. "Really? You two looked good together." She smiled at AJ and Channah.
AJ smiled abashedly. "Ever since Adam died, I've always wanted to tell him how proud I've been to be his brother. He loved helping me with some of the telescope setup, and I've always loved helping him with fixing his bike and stuff."
Tony nodded. "I've got to clean that garage up." That sudden itch was back.
Becky cleared her throat. "Uhm. Just wanted to say how I feel about it. I miss Adam so, so much. I remember he always loved my paintings, always said I could be an interior designer." She sighed. "I'll keep that end of the bargain. I want to go in for inteior design classes." She smiled.
Ziva looked at Becky and smiled. "A nice goal to have. Whatever you need, we're always there for you."
"For every one of you kids," Tony added, with a smile on his face.
Suddenly realizing it was his turn, Ethan stood up and said, "Just a minute, I'll be back." He quickly walked into the house.
Tony looked at Ziva, slightly puzzled. "He okay? He seemed to be okay to me until now."
Ziva shrugged. "I think he's fine. There he is," she said, pointing to him, as he walked back in.
Ethan walked back to the circle of chairs, holding something in his hands. He held it up. "This is what I found when I was looking for something that day I was banging on that dresser trying to get that drawer opened." He turned to Tony and Ziva. "Remember that day? I was so mad at the dresser because it wouldn't open. Just when I got the drawer opened, that card popped out. I never opened it until that day, after you left the room."
Tony gulped. "Your birthday card from Adam..."
Ethan nodded. He put the card aside, he had read it before. He opened the letter, which he hadn't read fully until now. He sighed as he started reading.
"Ethan, I'm writing this to you on the night before our birthday. I could not sleep for some reason, so I got up and sat by the window, looking out at the moon. I look over, and I see you sleeping peacefully, and I listen and hear your quiet breathing. I listen to the quiet sounds of the night, where everyone is sleeping, and you hear the tick of the clock in the other room, the occasional chirp of a bird. The sounds put me at ease from this one dream that had kept waking me up for last few nights. I could not figure it out. I only see bits and pieces. It's like... fate? It seems so real, though, and that's got me to thinking. Could one see their future?" Ethan dropped the letter a bit. "This part had me thinking for a long time." He sighed, then took a deep breath and went back to his letter. "I'm not sure. The one thing that I worry about is what would happen if one of us was not around for the other anymore. I worry that one of us will not be able to be there for the other person anymore. Whatever happens, I want you to know that you've always meant a lot to me. I am super thankful to have you as my twin brother. Ethan, please remember this: if I'm no longer with you in this life, remember me and that I loved you first because you are my twin brother. I love you so much. Keep my spirit going forward with yours always. Please be strong for them, and give them some patience. Do your best to help Ima and Dad, and the others understand the world that I was in with you, allow them love and support you. Always remember, at lo devad." Ethan folded the letter up and sighed. "I never fully read this letter. I couldn't read more than the first two lines because it was so hard then." He sat in his chair.
Ziva reached over and rubbed his back. "That was a beautiful letter he wrote to you." She reached out and grasped Ethan's hand that was holding the letter. "Cherish it, for the rest of your life." She grasped it more firmly.
"Wow, the little man knew?" Tony's whisper was harsh.
"Knew without knowing," Ziva answered Tony in an undertone.
McGee was amazed. "Wow. He was, er..." He couldn't find words to adequately describe his character. "One of a kind, even though he was a twin to Ethan."
Ethan stood up and walked out of the deck toward the beach and took a few steps and stopped to look up at the sky. "Wish you were here, Adam," he whispered under his breath.
AJ got up, followed by Channah. "Let's go over to the telescope," AJ said quietly.
Tony started to get up, but Ziva grabbed him. "Let him be for a moment." She looked up at Tony. "Give him a little time." She had sensed something in Ethan in the way he walked out there.
John and Becky both got up and walked over to AJ and Channah and watched as AJ took off the dust covers and set it up to view a different part of the sky.
"Hunting for extraterrestrial life still?" John chuckled lightly.
AJ laughed. "Not quite, not with this. Always loved looking at nebulae." AJ turned to the astronomy guide, its pages turned to the on the Crab nebula.
John nodded. "So what do you use to hunt for ET?"
AJ shrugged. "Bigger telescopes. Radio telescopes, satellites. We try listening and looking in as many wavelengths as possible. IR, UV, x-ray, you name it."
Ethan turned to the group and walked over. "Adam loved helping out with the telescope."
"And now it's your duty to carry on the task," AJ joshed with Ethan. He reached out and patted Ethan on the shoulder and held out a hand to the accessories case. "Filters, eyepieces, all that."
Tony and Ziva looked at each other and smiled. "They look happy now," she said. "One more thing. Tali, mind coming with me to help?" She beckoned Tali.
Tali got up. "Sure, Ima, I'll help."
Ziva and Tali walked into the house, and moments later they emerged carrying a birthday cake and plates and forks for the birthday cake. Ziva called out, "Everybody ready for the birthday cake?"
Tali smiled as she lit the candles while everybody came over to the table on the deck. "Okay, here we go!"
"Ready, Ethan? Make a wish and blow out the candles." Ziva smiled at Ethan.
Ethan smiled and looked around at everyone, then looked up at the sky, making a wish. Then he took a deep breath and blew out the candles. Just then, another large shooting star streaked directly overhead heading out over the ocean.
"Oh!" Ziva gasped, followed by a chorus of "oohh's" and "whoa's".
Suddenly, everyone felt at peace, as if Adam was telling them through the shooting star that everything was going to be okay.
"Tony, do you feel that peace?" Ziva sighed as she looked up at the sky at the sudden appearance of more shooting stars.
"Oh yeah, I feel it, too." He reached out and hugged Ziva by his side and brought her close to him. "This is perfect. The night out with our family. Us going through this together." Tony tilted his head toward Ziva, smiles gently, kissing Ziva on her lips.
"Mm-hmm." Ziva chuckled under her breath, then looked back out at the others.
McGee walked up to John's side. "Beautiful night out there." He tilted his head up to the sky. "You ever wonder about life out there?"
John slowly nodded his head. "After what we talked about? What, this?" He held his hand out to the skies. "Maybe, if you looked hard enough. I guess we'll have AJ to try to answer that for us. I'm not science enough."
McGee chuckled. "You're cop enough, that's good enough for me." He smiled at John and clapped him on the shoulder.
John nodded. "Thanks. For being there for me." He turned to AJ, who was focusing the telescope onto the Crab Nebula. The image popped up on the laptop screen as he brought the telescope into focus. "You think there may be life in there?" He pointed toward the screen.
McGee shrugged. "Would be interesting if there were three-eyed women on that planet."
John turned to McGee with an incredulous look on his face, then let out a loud laugh. "I'd expect Tony to say that, not you."
Tony laughed. "He's learned from the master, hasn't he?" He walked up to McGee and clapped him on the shoulder.
AJ stepped back to enjoy the tapestry on the display. "All those colors in the nebula, that's stuff left over from the exploding star," he spoke quietly. He turned to the others. "Yeah, there's life out there – the building blocks, at least."
Ziva raised an eyebrow. "What's that saying I've heard about? That we're 'made from stars'?"
AJ nodded. "All the chemical elements in our bodies, in the planets, everywhere, came from stars." He held out a hand toward the display. "That's just repeating the cycle."
Ziva pondered this. "The cycle of life. As it applies to plants, animals, and humans, so does it apply to things in space."
Becky exclaimed. "Look! Up there." She pointed to a point in the sky just past the Orion constellation. A star had just suddenly appeared out of nowhere.
AJ took notice. "Oh, lemme swing the scope over!" He steered the telescope over to it, and the image of a supernova appeared on the screen. "Whoa, a star just blew up!" He hurriedly took pictures on the display.
Channah quickly stepped over to AJ's side. "Betelgeuse?"
AJ shook his head. "No, a different star, farther away than Betelgeuse." He tried to compare to his star maps which star just blew up, but could find nothing. "Must be really far away," he muttered to himself.
"You sending pictures to the other astronomers?" Channah asked.
"Cambridge's gotta know about this." AJ attached photos and sent them off to the head of the astrophysics department at Cambridge University.
Tali looked up at the shooting stars and the newly-appeared star. "Wow, the skies sure are beautiful tonight. All this... activity... happening out there." She sighed.
Ziva nodded absentmindedly as she looked up at the wild night sky. "It's like Adam's telling us to be at peace." She turned to Tony. "I'm going inside. Want to come with me?"
Tony got up out of his chair and stretched. "Yeah, it's getting a bit chilly out here." He glanced at the others, then back at Ziva. He lowered his voice, "Let's let the kids be. They're having a good time." He wrapped his arm around Ziva's shoulders and turned toward the house. "Wanna come too, McGeek?"
McGee slowly got up out of his chair and started walking toward the house. "Yeah, sure. Getting a bit cold out here."
The trio walked into the house.
After a moment, Tali said, "What do you think of the night, Ima?" She turned at the same time she said the last word, then noticed that they were not there. "Oh, they went in." She shrugged, then turned back to the group.
Back in the house, Ziva, Tony, and McGee went into the living room and sat in their recliners.
"Ahhh." Tony sighed as he sank into his recliner, letting the chair mold itself to his body. "What a day, huh?"
McGee let out a short chuckle. "Yeah. I'd say it was a much-needed day for everyone."
Tony let out a long sigh. "I gotta tell you something, though. It's like Adam's instilled a piece of him into everyone out there. I can see bits and pieces of him in AJ, Becky, Tali, and even Ethan."
"How so?" Ziva looked at Tony. She had noticed things also, but in different ways. "I've noticed things also, so I'm curious if I'm seeing the same things you are."
Tony sat up a little. "Well, you noticed how John's gonna become a cop, after that conversation he had with Adam. And Becky continuing on with her dream?
Ziva nodded. "Carry Adam's legacy on, sure." She smiled. "I think that's what Adam would want us to do. Be happy, carry his legacy on."
McGee raised an eyebrow. "Yeah. That sounds about right." He nodded his head. "I can see that."
Tony raised an eyebrow. "Never thought about that. I guess we are carrying on his legacy without realizing it." He looked out the window and whispered to himself. "Thanks, Adam."
Just then, a shooting star streaked across the window, this time smaller.
"Did you see that?" Tony said out of reflex.
"Yes!" Ziva exclaimed. "it happened on this side of the house, I'm sure the others didn't see it."
Tony nodded. "I said thanks to Adam and got an answer," Tony whispered. He was struck by the timing of the shooting star, how it had appeared the moment he thanked Adam for everything. It was if Adam had heard him again.
"I think he heard us," Ziva said, reaching out and holding Tony's hand. She smiled at Tony when he turned to look at her. "He's with us. In here." She tapped her chest. "He'll always be with us."
McGee nodded. "Never a day goes by without me thinking about him. He will be missed, for sure. But celebrated also." He got up. "Well, I think I'll get some rack time. My back, you know."
Tony looked up at McGee and smiled. "Alright, good night. Hopefully we don't find a McBroken Back in the morning." He chuckled at McGee.
McGee laughed. "Yeah, you could un-pretzel me in the morning if I need it."
Ziva shook her head and laughed at them. "There will be no pretzel-ing or breaking backs happening in my house."
"'Night." McGee laughed at Ziva, then turned and went off to his guest room.
Tony sighed. "Wow, what a night." He stretched out in his chair.
Ziva took the opportunity to get out of her chair and then carefully drape herself over Tony's body on the chair. "Ahhh. Just you and me now."
Tony chuckled. "Well, maybe for a few minutes." He pulled Ziva closer to him. It felt as if a weight had suddenly been lifted off his chest and shoulders. "Feels better all of a sudden now. Maybe it was the talking we did."
Ziva nodded and touched a finger on Tony's nose. "And the kids being over to spend time with Ethan. You know he needed it." She smiled at Tony.
"Yeah – you can tell the change in Ethan when he saw everybody." Tony smiled back at her.
Just then, they heard the sound of the back door opening. Moments later, Tali walked into the living room. "Oh, there you are. Just came in to check on the babies." She waved at them.
"Okay. Thought I heard them just a moment ago." Ziva smiled at Tali.
Tali smiled and walked away to tend to the babies.
Ziva turned back to Tony. "Now, where were we?" She leaned closer to him and said, "Maybe this is where we left off." She kissed him full on the lips.
Tony returned the kiss and hugged her. He drew her in to his embrace, fully enjoying the feel and scent of her warm body against his. He then released the kiss on Ziva. "Mm, maybe that's where."
Ziva chuckled, then snuggled up against Tony. "You know, this is the first time in a long time where I've felt this kind of peace again. This quietness that I get every time I'm with you."
Tony sighed. "Yeah, it's been rough for a while." He turned toward her and smiled. "Glad we're past that, now." He pecked her on the lips.
Ziva smiled. "I'm glad this day happened. For everyone. We can move forward now. Together."
Tony nodded and smiled. "Moving forward, together. I like that." He hugged Ziva, as she rested her head on his chest. He let out a long sigh. "Love you, my sweetcheeks."
Ziva tilted her head up at Tony and smiled. "Love you, too, babe." She snuggled up closer to Tony and let out a sigh and closed her eyes as she relaxed on Tony's side.
A/N: Readers, Thank you for the Reviews, Tweets, Messages and Kudos.