Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS

Making friends

The family of four stood in the foyer of the school building. It was your typical school foyer/ reception area. Posters of what the school stood for, the motto painted on the wall. Photos of the staff, teaching and non-teaching, each with their names underneath.

The parents looked more nervous than their children, both of whom were wearing brand new school uniforms. First day of their brand new school.

A door opened and the principal walked in, followed by a woman and two children.

'Mr and Mrs Fry, sorry to keep you waiting' said Principal Burns. He shook hands with them and then turned to the two children. 'You must be Tessie and Harry' he said. They both nodded. Principal Burns turned to the woman and other children. 'Tessie, this is Tali. She will be in your class. Harry, this is Louis. He is in your class. Miss Fontaine will take you to your classes, OK?'

Tessie and Harry said goodbye to their parents before going with Miss Fontaine.

'Hi' said Tali, waving at Tessie. 'I'm Tali.'

'Tessie.' She spoke with an American accent.

'Are you from America?' asked Tali as they walked back to their classroom. Tessie nodded.

'Yonkers' she said. 'It's near New York.'

'I've been there' said Tali. 'In the summer. My daddy's American. He grew up in Long Island and my Papa lives in DC.'

'I've never been to DC' said Tessie. 'But my auntie lives in Long Island.'

'OK girls' said Miss Fontaine. 'Here's your class.'

'See you at break Harry' said Tessie to her little brother.

Tali and Tessie walked into their classroom.

'Ok green class. We have a new person joining us today' began their teacher as the two girls sat down.

Tali and Tony walked through the park gate and towards the play park. It was Sunday morning and Ziva was the American Library in Paris, doing her weekly volunteering shift. Tali seemed to quite hyper this morning and so Tony suggested that she burn some energy off at the play park.

'Daddy. Tessie's here' said Tali, pointing towards the climbing frame and swing sets.

'Is she?' said Tony, trying to remember who Tessie was.

'Yeah' said Tali. 'She and her brother Harry started school last week. They're new.'

'OK' said Tony, now remembering something Tali said about a new girl in her class. Tali ran over to Tessie.

'Hi Tessie' she said.

'Hi Tali' replied a little girl with brown hair. She looked up at Tony, eyes wide, as he walked up behind Tali.

'This is my daddy' explained Tali.

'Hi Tessie' said Tony. 'Are you here with your parents?' Tessie nodded.

'Daddy's over there' she said, pointing to a man in his early forties with dark blond hair. Tony noticed the American accent Tessie spoke with.

'Where's Harry?' asked Tali.

'This way' said Tessie and the two girls ran off to look for Harry. Tony wandered over to the man Tessie pointed to.

'Hi. Are you Tessie and Harry's dad?' asked Tony.

'Yeah' said the man, unsure what was going on.

'I'm Tony DiNozzo' said Tony. 'My daughter Tali is in Tessie's class at school.'

'Tessie mentioned a new friend called Tali. Jason Fry' he replied and offered his hand to Tony who shook it. Tony sat down next to Jason.

'How are they settling into school?' asked Tony.

'Tessie and Harry seem fine. With it being an international school, there are more similarities than differences with their school in the states.' Tony nodded, watching the kids run around.

'When did you move here?' he asked.

'Almost four weeks ago. I got offered a new role at work at their offices here in Paris. I talked it with Emma, my wife' he added. 'The idea of living in Paris and seeing more of Europe. We couldn't turn it down. The reality is different from expectation.'

Tony laughed loudly. He couldn't help but agree.

'I totally get what you mean' he said. 'Tali could have some mega tantrums when she was a toddler. They were definitely unexpected.' Jason laughed.

'How long have you lived in Paris?' he asked Tony.

'Six years. We moved a few months after Tali turned two' said Tony. 'My wife Ziva couldn't join us permanently because of work for a couple of years but we made it work.'

'What did she do?' asked Jason.

'Ziva used to work in intelligence. She's studying at AUP now and works part-time for a friend of ours.' Jason seemed impressed.

The two men carried on talking, watching Tali, Tessie, Harry and all the other kids run around the park. Jason and Emma had moved from Yonkers, New York to Paris after being offered his current role. It was more money than he earned back in New York and they got to live in Paris.

But as Jason had already said, reality is more difficult than expectation. Neither Jason nor Emma spoke much French but Jason got to interact with his colleagues, making friends and connections that way. Emma didn't have a job at the moment, and they were unsure if she would get one anyway. In the last month, Emma and Jason had been arguing a lot, both feeling the stress of the monumental move across half the globe.

'Daddy can we go get crepes?' asked Tali, as she, Tessie and Harry came over to their dads. 'Tessie and Harry have never had them.'

'Another time perhaps' said Tony. 'But we have to go. Ima will be home for lunch soon.'

'But' began Tali.

'And the three of us have to go see Mommy as well' said Jason. They had left Emma in their new apartment, tackling the last little bit of unpacking and organising.

'But' began Tessie. 'Me and Tali want to play.'

'You'll see each other at school tomorrow' said Jason, thankful that Tessie had made at least one good friend. Jason and Tony stood up. Tony reached into his wallet and pulled out a business card.

'If you need any help settling in' he said, offering it to Jason, who took it.

'Thanks Tony.' He handed Tony his business card. 'See you soon Tali' he added.

'Bye' said Tali, waving at her friends as they walked away.

When Tony and Tali reached their home, they found Ziva in the kitchen, making lunch.

'How was the park?' she asked, smiling. Ziva smiled more than in the past.

'Tessie and Harry were there' said Tali. 'I went really high on the swings and almost made it to the other end of the obstacle course without stopping and Daddy talked to Tessie's dad.'

'Wow' said Ziva. 'Go wash your hands before we eat.' Tali bounced off to the bathroom to wash her hands. Ziva turned to Tony. 'You made a new friend too?' she asked. Tony smiled.

'I suppose so. Apparently Tali's new friend and her family moved from Yonkers to Paris about a month ago. They're still settling in, getting used to the city.'

'Moving continents is a big thing' said Ziva. She should know. She had done it multiple times. Middle east to North America at least twice, then going back to the middle east, before moving to western Europe.

'You might see Tessie' mom at pick up. She's called Emma I think' said Tony.

The bathroom door opened and seconds later, Tali was back in the kitchen.

'What's for lunch? I'm starving'

A couple of days later, Ziva was waiting in the playground for Tali's class to be let out. She put down her rucksack on the floor, glad to have a short break from carrying it. Ziva had been at university all morning for classes and then a study session in the library in the afternoon. Her laptop was in the bag and after a while, it started to get heavy.

Out of the corner of her eye, Ziva noticed a woman with red hair. She didn't recognise her, and Ziva was wondering if this was the mother of Tali's new friend. She picked up her rucksack and walked over.

'Hi. Are you Tessie's mother?' Ziva asked tentatively.

'Yes I am' said the woman. 'Are you Tali's mom?' Ziva smiled and chuckled.

'Yes. Ziva DiNozzo.' She offered her hand.

'Emma Fry' replied the woman, shaking Ziva's hand. 'How are you?'

'I am good' said Ziva. 'A little tired. I have been in class all day.'

'You're a teacher?'

'Student. At American University of Paris' said Ziva.

'Wow' said Emma.

'What about you?' asked Ziva. 'How are you settling into Paris?'

'We're getting there' said Emma. 'It's just taking longer than I thought it would.'

'It is a big thing to move continents' said Ziva. Emma looked curious. 'I am from Israel originally but I lived in DC for eight years. It is where Tony and I met actually. I have both US and Israeli citizenship.'

'Wow' said Emma again.

'It is the little things you forget about. You think it will be easy to find things but then something happens and it is suddenly a little bit more difficult' said Ziva.

'That is very true' said Emma.

The school door opened and children started coming out of school. Tali, Tessie and Harry made their way over to their mothers.

'Hi Ima' said Tali.

'Hello motek' said Ziva, hugging her daughter. 'Did you have a good day?'

'It was OK' said Tali. Ziva smiled and laughed a little.

'Come on then. Let's go home' said Ziva, guiding Tali towards the school gates.

On the way home, Tali chatted non stop about what she and her friends did. Ziva found herself thinking back to when she first moved to DC. It had been just before her 23rd birthday. Most people would have been nervous at leaving their home and birthplace to move thousands of miles away at 22, but Ziva had felt more relieved than apprehensive. After everything that had gone down with Eli and Ari only months before, Ziva had needed space. Plus, she had also been looking forward to being somewhere, where she wasn't the boss's daughter.

'Ima, can Tessie come over to play?' Tali's voice dragged Ziva out of her daydream.

'Um, yes. I think she can. Maybe next week perhaps' said Ziva. Tali liked that suggestion.

The two of them walked into their building and started climbing the stairs to their floor. Tony's getting fit and healthy phase was still going on and had rubbed off on Ziva. As a result, she had quit taking elevators and now made Tali and herself climb the stairs instead. It was good exercise and a part of Ziva didn't want her daughter to assume that there would always be an elevator to use.

Tony was at his desk, a work from home day for him. Moreau Security Services was going to a conference in a couple of months' time and Tony was doing some work on a presentation.

'Hi Daddy' said Tali.

'Hey T' said Tony, hugging his daughter. 'Good day at school?'

'It was OK' replied Tali.

'Tali go change out of your uniform please' called Ziva. 'Then snack in the kitchen.'

Ziva placed some chopped fruit and peanut butter on the table for Tali before going over to Tony.

'How was class?' he asked.

'It was good. I now have a ton of reading to do.'

'Joys of higher education said Tony. Ziva smiled.

'Do you have the number for Tali's friend Tessie's parents?' she asked.

'Yeah. I've got Jason's number somewhere. Why?'

'Well, Tali asked if Tessie could come over for a playdate and it got me thinking about having the whole family over for dinner. Maybe we can help them in some way.'

Tony smiled at Ziva.

'Sounds a great idea. I'll find his number.'

The following Saturday, Jason, Emma, Tessie and Harry got out of the car and pressed the buzzer by the name DiNozzo.

'Hello?' came Tony's disembodied voice over the intercom.

'Hey it's Jason.'

'Great. Third floor.' Tony clicked off and the door buzzed open.

The Frys made their way up to the third floor and into the DiNozzo's apartment.

'Tessie' said Tali, darting forward. 'Come see my room.'

The two girls disappeared, followed by Harry. Tony felt slightly sorry for the five-year-old, with only two eight-year-old girls to play with.

'Thanks for this Ziva' said Emma.

'It is nothing' said Ziva. 'Would you like a drink? We have wine.'

'That would be great' said Jason, and he and Emma followed Tony into the living room.

'Have you always lived here?' asked Emma.

'Yes. We moved in just after Tali turned 2' said Tony. 'How's your apartment coming?'

'We're getting there' said Jason.

'Back in Yonkers we lived in a four-bed semi-detached house' said Emma. 'Now we're in a three-bed apartment. We've had to declutter and give away a lot of stuff.'

Tony handed them each a glass of wine and Ziva came and sat down too. Sounds of the kids playing came from Tali's bedroom.

'So, we have something for you' said Ziva. Jason and Emma looked intrigued. 'It is nothing big' she added. 'Just a list of things we think might be useful.'

'A couple of babysitters, including Tali's nanny, Clara and Ziva's friend, Ruby' said Tony. 'After school places for the kids, including where Tali has swimming lessons once a week. There's also a couple of stores that sell American food.'

'Best places to get clothes and shoes for children' said Ziva. 'Movie theatre that shows movies in English. Books shops that sell English books.'

'I also listed the place where I took an intensive French course when we first moved. It really helped' said Tony.

Jason took the notes that Ziva handed over to them.

'Thank you so much' he said.

'Yes, thank you' reiterated Emma. 'It was something I was going start looking into this next week. Our French is essentially non-existent.'

Tony laughed.

'Same here' he said. 'Ziva had easy it. She already spoke French when we moved.'

'I would not say easy Tony' said Ziva. 'More than once I have mixed my French with my Spanish.'

'Don't speak ten languages then' said Tony jokingly.

'You speak ten languages Ziva' said Emma. Ziva nodded. Emma was amazed once again.

The kids suddenly appeared in the living room.

'Is dinner ready yet?' asked Tali. 'We're starving.'

Four hours later, Emma and Jason climbed into bed, switching off the light and snuggling down under the duvet.

'Today was good' said Jason.

'Really good' added Emma. 'It was really nice of them to invite us to dinner.'

'And give us all that information. I feel a weight has lifted a little off our shoulders.'

'Me too' said Emma. She and Ziva had a good chat in the kitchen, Emma telling Ziva about the mild panic attack she had when she had ventured out on her own. Ziva said she understood and gave Emma a couple of pointers with the public transport in the city. She had also suggested Emma come to the night out Ziva had with some of the other mothers from the school. It only happened once a quarter but there were no husbands, no kids and no work.

'I was thinking' said Jason, rolling over and facing his wife. 'We should plan a trip away. The kids have a school holiday in October. Nothing too far away but something to plan and look forward too. And maybe even a date night or two now that we have names of babysitters' he added. Emma smiled.

'Sounds like a perfect idea' said Emma.

Over in the DiNozzo apartment, Tony and Ziva were also in bed.

'Tonight was fun' said Tony. 'Why haven't we had more dinner parties?'

'I have no idea' said Ziva. 'You want to do another one?'

'If you don't mind cooking.'

'You know I do not' said Ziva. She leaned over and kissed Tony. 'I love you, my wildcard.'

'I love you too my ninja' replied Tony.

Thanks for reading. I hope you liked it.

I wanted to have Tony and Ziva make some new friends, especially Tony for some reason. I like the idea of Tony and Ziva passing on the information and helping someone else settle into life in a new city, especially perhaps Americans. They've already got something in common.

Stay safe friends and see you soon :)