Chapter 10: Mistletoe - 2029
Tony carried the step ladder from the garage into the kitchen. Ziva and the three younger kids were out grocery shopping. Anthony and Tali were at basketball and band practices, respectively. It was the perfect day to hang his mistletoe around the house. He put the checklist he'd printed that morning on the counter.
Over kitchen sink
Over microwave
Over coffeemaker
Over bar stools at counter
Over breakfast nook table
Over doorway from garage
Over doorway to dining room
He moved into the dining room; his one concession to his wife was that he only put one or two sprigs in the dining room.
Over Ziva's place at the table
Over the entry to the main hall
On to the living room, he grinned at the memory of their first Christmas in the house. Ziva had not expected him to hang any mistletoe in the living room since they rarely used the room.
Over fireplace by track lighting
Over sofa by the windows
Over doorway to main hallway
In the entry foyer, sprigs went everywhere on his list and two new places.
Over front door
Over coat hooks
Over shoe rack
Over Ziva's coat tree
Over entry to main hallway
On to the playroom, where he used just two sprigs.
Over the loveseat by the windows
Over the entry to foyer
In the main hallway, he hung a spring over the entry to the hallway to the kids' bedrooms and another over the coat closet door. A third sprig hung over the opening to the family room.
Over the loveseat
Over the sofa
Over the recliner
Over the area usually used for playing Xbox games
Over the sliding door to the back yard
Over the piano
Over the entry to the kitchen
Over the entry to the secondary hallway that led to master suite
As he tacked the sprig over the laundry room door, another memory crossed his mind. A bit of fun with just the two of them when the kids were spending the night at the Palmer house. He grinned at the M-rated memory.
Over the laundry room door
Over the washer
Over the dryer
Over the large closet that held towels and cleaning supplies
Another sprig was attached to the ceiling over the short hallway to the offices.
Over Ziva's office door
Over Ziva's desk
Over Tony's office door
Over Tony's desk
He quickly checked how many sprigs remained in the large box before hanging the sprig over the master bedroom doorway.
Over Ziva's dresser
Over Tony's bureau
Over the entry to the master bath
Over Ziva's sink
Over Tony's sink
Over the entry to the walk-in shower
Over the garden tub
Over the entrance to Ziva's closet
Over the entrance to Tony's closet
Over the small table in the sitting area
Over the sliding door to the deck
He paused to weave the final three sprigs together. One sprig for himself, one for Ziva, and the third larger sprig that represented them as a couple. Out of two became one, he thought as he remembered the first year he'd woven the three sprigs together. He'd hung them over the queen-sized bed in Ziva's apartment back when they worked at NCIS. The year of the post-elevator us…
He smiled a wry smile, wondering for a second what their life would be like if she'd stayed in DC the following year instead of fleeing to Israel. All water under the bridge as far as he was concerned; their life together was what counted. Their story had taken a twisted and convoluted path, but he wouldn't change a thing. Not when that path had brought them to what they now had. Nope, he wouldn't trade the odd path he and Ziva had taken for the world.