Chapter 13: The Perfect Gift - 2035

"I need your help, Ima," Tali walked into her mother's office.

"With what?" Ziva looked up from the screen where she was checking her email, removing her reading glasses.

Tali sighed, "I need an idea for a Christmas gift for Chaim. I want to get the perfect gift for his first Christmas with our family."

"There is no such thing as the perfect gift, yaldati," her Ima smiled and patted the chair next to her desk. "Sit, and let me tell you a story…"

"Okay, but you do know that I've read The Gift of the Magi?"

Ziva nodded, "That is a good story, but not the one I want to tell you. This is from our family, back in 2018, our first Christmas in this house…"

~December 2018~

Ziva was at her wit's end; she'd wrapped gifts for the kids, the extended family, and two of the neighbors. Tony had helped with most of the gift wrapping. He'd also taken a roll of paper and the tape to his office and shut the door. She figured he was wrapping her gifts. And therein lay the problem; she had yet to find a gift for her husband.

She'd paid attention to things he'd commented on or drooled over during the year, giving ideas to family as to what to buy for him for a Christmas gift. Boxed movie collections, a few books about classic cinema, the outdoor grilling tool set; none of them struck her as the perfect gift for her to give to him. She'd passed the ideas along to others, knowing that he would end up with most of the items from friends and family.

None of the ideas for gifts that she came up with seemed right; she had even spent part of her afternoon one Saturday when Tony offered to stay with the kids so she could get some me time wandering the local mall in search of gifts for him. Nothing seemed to jump out at her and not one of the ideas suggested by the variety of stores clicked with her.

Even checking Tony's online wish lists offered no solution to the dilemma. She had made his favorite cookies, snickerdoodles, or ugiyott qinamonn, in a triple batch, knowing he'd eat at least half of them before Christmas.

By 2300 on Christmas Eve, all the gifts were placed under and around the tree in the family room. Tali's shiny purple bicycle had been assembled including the training wheels and purple sparkly streamers from the handlebars. A large bow was attached to the seat. Tony left Ziva to fuss with the gift placements and retrieved the brightly wrapped packages from him to her. Ziva watched her husband place the last gifts under the tree.

"Penny for your thoughts?" he wrapped his arms around her from behind, nuzzling his face into her hair at her neckline.

Ziva sighed, "They are not worth even a penny. I will figure it out." She turned to face him and wrapped her arms around his neck. "You do know that I love you, yes?"

"Uh huh, ani ohev otcha, neshama," he fused his lips to hers. He broke for air, "Shall we take this to our room?" When she nodded, he led her to the master suite.

Two hours later, Ziva was still awake; sleep was not happening. Tony was snoring lightly at her side, his arm wrapped loosely over her hips. She carefully turned to glance at the bedside clock; 0137. She gently moved her husband's arm and slid out from under the covers. She padded to her office and partially closed the door after switching on the lamp on her desk.

She had to do something for a gift for her lover. An IOU or gift voucher would have to do; she started writing.

My love, if not for your steady belief in me, even when I did not believe in myself, we would still be dancing around the love we share. I cannot put into words how much I love you even on the best of days. You are always there for me, and you always have been there. Every time I fell, your arms have been there to catch me, even when I believed I did not deserve your love. When I saw you across from me in that hell made by the monster, I knew then that I could not exist without you. You told me that you could not live without me. I could not verbalize at the time, but I felt the same about you. When I spiraled into darkness after my father's assassination, you were there to try to pull me out of my own head. You were the one who could see the inner demons pulling at my very soul, and you tried your best to reach to me. I pushed you away, thinking that I could not lose you as I had lost everyone else that I loved. Even when I made you leave you left a piece of yourself with me. Yes, our daughter was growing within my womb, but also your love was in my heart and in my soul, hidden by the darkness. When Tali was born, I saw so much of you in her. My heart could once again see some light. Now that we are a family, I cannot imagine my life any other way. I will love you for the rest of my days, Anthony DiNozzo. You are my forever, my something permanent, and you are my salvation.

Ani ohevet otach, neshama. Ziva

"And I still have that letter," Tony's voice from the doorway startled mother and daughter. He opened his wallet and pulled out a folded piece of paper. Tali immediately recognized her Ima's handwriting. "I read it about once a week to remind me how much I love your Ima, Tali. She saved me from myself, too. This was one of the best gifts I have ever received because it came from her heart. Her soul and mine are always and forever linked as one."

He walked to Ziva's desk and pulled her into his arms, firmly planting his lips on hers. Tali looked at the open doorway, feeling a bit awkward. She looked back at her parents when they separated for air. Both had tears threatening to spill over.

"I think I get it," she remarked and wrapped her parents in a hug. "It comes from the heart and the soul."