Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS

Paper, Clock and Carnations

Ziva pulled an arm out from under the duvet and reached for her phone. She switched off the alarm before switching on the lamp. She didn't want to waste any time, falling back asleep. Not that Tali would allow her parents to sleep in too long. On weekdays, they had the arrangement that it had to 7 am before Tali could come and seek out her parents. On the weekend, it had to be 7.30 at the earliest. Ziva had found, though, that as Tali got older, the later she came to wake her Ima and Daddy.

Ziva felt the mattress shift. Tony had rolled over and was now pulling Ziva towards him. He placed light kisses on her temple.

'Good morning' he said quietly.

'Good morning' replied Ziva, smiling. She moved her head to look at Tony. 'Happy anniversary' she added. Tony grinned and chuckled. He lowered his head and kissed Ziva passionately.

'Happy anniversary' he replied, making Ziva smile.

'You want to do presents now?' asked Ziva. 'Before Tali comes in?'

'OK' said Tony, still quiet. He kissed Ziva again. 'I love you Zi' he added.

'I love you too Tony.'

They both sat up, Ziva reaching into her nightstand and Tony underneath their bed.

'You first' said Tony, handing Ziva a gift bag. She peeled off the tape that sealed the bag and pulled out the tissue paper hiding the present.

'More unwrapping?' said Ziva when she finally found the present.

'It's the best part' said Tony, grinning. Ziva peeled off the tape and a collection of notebooks fell out. Her favourite notebook to take class notes at university (Ziva would be starting her sophomore year in a couple of weeks), her favourite notebook to journal in, along with three smaller notebooks that Ziva liked to write to-dos and other lists in. There was another present in the bag. Ziva unwrapped to find a beautifully bound notebook, with the letter Z and then monogrammed with Ziva's name on the front.

'Tony this is beautiful' said Ziva, as she ran her hand across the letter Z. 'Thank you.' Tony smiled and they kissed again. Ziva handed Tony a small box. He ripped off the paper and opened the box. A watch sat snuggly inside it, the smooth strap showing a little.

'You have been thinking of getting a smartwatch, yes?' said Ziva. Tony nodded. 'This does everything except the washing up.' Tony laughed.

'I love it' he said. 'Exactly what I wanted.'

Tony and Ziva locked eyes, smiling at each other. Before long they were kissing passionately, their presents left forgotten. Ziva laid back down on the bed as Tony kissing down her jawline and neck.

'Ima. Daddy. I'm hungry.' The door opened and Tali came in, unicorns all over her pyjamas. Tony and Ziva sprung apart as quickly as they could. 'What you doing?' asked Tali.

'Nothing T' said Tony.

Ziva clambered off the bed and led Tali out of the bedroom.

'What shall we have for breakfast then?' she asked her eight-year-old daughter.

'It's Sunday' said Tali. 'We have waffles on Sunday.' Ziva smiled, relishing in having family traditions.

'Yes we do Tali' she said. 'Are you going to help me?' Tali smiled and got her apron from its hook next to the fridge.

Tony came into the kitchen and sat down at the table.

'Do you know what today is, T?' he asked.

'Sunday' replied Tali. Tony and Ziva laughed.

'Yes it is' said Ziva. 'But do you remember what we were doing a year ago?' Tali thought for a moment.

'Your wedding' she said excitedly. 'Was it a year ago?'

'Yep' said Tony.

'Wow. Is that why you're going out for dinner tonight?' she asked.

'Yes' said Ziva, as she pulled out the waffles from the waffle pan. 'And Ruby is coming to babysit.'

'I'm not a baby Ima' said Tali, sitting down. Ziva smiled kindly.

'OK. Ruby is coming to play with you and hang out, yes?'

'OK' said Tali.

They sat down to eat their waffles, Tali covering hers in toppings, before getting dressed and going outside for a bike ride. It was September and the weather still reasonably good. The clocks didn't change for another seven or so weeks, giving everyone lots of daylight still.

Tali, Tony and Ziva clicked on their helmets and pushed off on their bikes. On his wrist was Tony's new smartwatch, keeping track of his steps and exercise. In the last few months, Tony had become interested in getting fitter again. He was going to the gym two to three times, as well as walking more. He had even stopped taking the elevator in their building, using the stairs instead. He wasn't 100% sure why he was on such a health kick but was certain that his next birthday, the big 5-0 had something to do with it.

'Careful Tali' called Ziva, as Tali zipped through the crowd.

'Don't go too far' said Tony. Tali giggled as she rode on ahead.

Since taking the training wheels off her bike, Tali loved riding it. Almost every weekend over the spring and summer, they had gone for a family bike ride in their nearest park. Tali was really looking forward to going back to school in a couple of days. Now that she was in third grade, Tali and her friends got to go to forest school on Friday afternoons, and use the library by themselves.

After a good hour of cycling around the park, Tony and Ziva were feeling a little tired.

'Shall we go home and have lunch?' suggested Tony.

'That sounds like a good idea' said Ziva. They both looked at Tali, who looked a little disappointed.

'We'll go cycling next weekend' said Tony. 'But I'm getting hungry.'

'OK' said Tali. She was also getting a little hungry too.

They made their way towards the park exit, and over to their building. When searching for apartments when they first moved to Paris, Tony looked for one that was near a park for kids. He didn't like the idea of Tali being cooped upside all day. Or himself for that matter.

Tony spotted a delivery man standing outside the building's main door.

'Excuse me' he said. 'Can I help you?'

'Delivery for Mr and Mrs DiNozzo' said the delivery man.

'That is us' said Ziva. Tony pulled out his ID and showed it to the man. He offered the scanner to Tony, who signed it. The delivery man produced a large bouquet of flowers before saying goodbye.

'Oh wow' said Ziva, looking at the flowers. 'Carnations.' Tony found the note attached and opened it. He laughed.

'Tony and Ziva. Happy first anniversary, love Senior'. Ziva laughed.

'The flowers are from Papa?' asked Tali, her nose buried in them.

'Apparently' said Tony.

There was a knock at the apartment door. Ziva, wearing her fancy black dress, answered it.

'Hi Ruby' she said, letting her friend in and giving her a hug.

'Hi Ziva' said Ruby. 'You look amazing.'

'Thank you' said Ziva, smiling. She had to admit that she felt pretty good too.

They went into the living room and found Tali sitting at the coffee table, colouring in a picture.

'Hi Tali' said Ruby.

'Hi Ruby' replied the eight-year-old. Tali had met Ruby a few months ago, just before she went back to England for the summer. Ruby had been back in Paris less than a week, wanting to get settled into her new accommodation before classes started.

Tony came over to them.

'Car's here' he said to Ziva.

'Oh, OK' she said, grabbing her bag. 'There is plenty of food in the kitchen' she said to Ruby. 'Help yourself. Tali has already had some dinner. Phone numbers are on the fridge door if you need them but you already have my number anyway.'

'We'll be fine' said Ruby. 'Won't we Tali?' Tali nodded. 'Have a nice dinner' added Ruby.

Tony and Ziva said goodbye to Tali before going downstairs to the car.

Ziva gazed out of the car window as it sped towards their destination. She had always loved the city, but in the last couple of years, its beauty seemed to have been heightened in some way. Even during the lockdown of 2020, the city of lights and love was still beautiful.

The car pulled up outside the restaurant and Tony promised the driver a decent review. He joined Ziva, who was waiting outside.

'It's been a while since we've been here' said Tony.

'365 days' said Ziva, smiling. They stepped inside and were greeted by the maître di.

'It's under DiNozzo' said Tony. The maître di checked the booking system.

'Ah, yes' he said. 'Your first anniversary. I believe you had your wedding reception here.'

'Yes' said Ziva.

'Allow me to offer my congratulations on your first anniversary' he said, as he led Tony and Ziva to a table. 'Best table in the house, with a view of the Eiffel Tower.' Ziva peered through the window and spotted the glittering tower. The maître di offered them two menus. 'Can I get you anything, to begin with?'

'Some champagne, please' said Tony. The maître di nodded and went to get some champagne.

'This is perfect Tony' said Ziva, still gazing outside. The maître di arrived with two glasses of champagne.

'Enjoy' he said, before leaving Tony and Ziva to enjoy their night. Tony handed a glass to Ziva.

'Happy anniversary ninja' he said, as they clinked their glasses. Ziva smiled and laughed.

'Happy anniversary wildcard.'

Thanks for reading. I hope you liked it.

This chapter wasn't groundbreaking or anything. It was nice and simple, and believe it or not, I nearly didn't write it. In my research, I found the traditional gift for a first anniversary is paper, the modern gift is a clock, and the flower is carnation.

Stay safe friends and see you soon :)