Chapter 2
The Winter of the Mole
~~At Rose Hill Home, January 2044~~
Early in the morning, Ziva stirred awake and yawned. She sighed and rested her head on the pillow, looking out the window, watching the occasional snow flurry fall past. "Mm," Ziva sighed yet again, then said, "Tony." No response. She turned over to notice Tony missing from the bed. She threw the covers back and got up and walked across the room, her feet padding across the floor as she headed toward the bathroom. On the way there, she grabbed her leggings and Tony's long-sleeve tee-shirt before entering the bathroom and freshening herself up for the morning. She slid the tee on, followed by her leggings, then headed out and down the stairs. Just before heading down the stairs, she quickly glanced into Ethan's room, and saw that he wasn't there. She shrugged slightly and headed on down the stairs. As she was walking down the stairs, she could hear the TV on, and the volume was raised louder than normal. She shook her head slightly, thinking to herself, Tony must have turned it up again, rounding the corner and seeing Ethan at the dining table, reading his tablet.
"Hi Ethan, good morning!" Ziva walked toward Ethan, stopping just before she reached him, and looked down at him.
For a moment Ethan didn't look up. Only after Ziva's shadow passed across the tablet's screen did he look up, in the direction where the shadow was falling from. He closed the cover on the tablet and looked up, smiling at his Ima. "Hey Ima, good morning!"
"TV's on, I hear." She smiled and waved her hand in the general direction of the TV. "You watching ZNN?"
Ethan shook his head slightly, pointing his thumb over his shoulder toward the kitchen. "Dad's in there cooking. He's got the news on." Ethan shrugged, letting out a slight chuckle. For as long as he could remember, Tony always cooked with something on the radio or TV.
Ziva glanced in the direction of the tv, then toward the kitchen, before finally returning her gaze to Ethan. "You know that he's got the tv up a little higher than usual? It's a bit too loud, to be honest." Ziva shook her head, reaching across Ethan for the remote so she could turn the TV down.
Ethan chuckled. "Yeah, well, I wasn't really paying attention, to be honest. I've got my music streaming, after all." Ethan smiled.
Ziva laughed at herself. "I should have known, you could directly stream your music to your cochleas."
Ethan laughed. "Yeah."
"You're up early. What's up?" Ziva tilted her head at Ethan, pondered with a smile.
Ethan glanced toward the kitchen, then back at Ziva. "Yeah, I woke up early, for some reason. Came down for a drink, and there Dad was, on his laptop." He held out a hand toward Tony's laptop, which sat to his side on the table, unattended while Tony was cooking breakfast. "Apparently, he was having a little trouble with an email from some foreign company." He reached behind his head and scratched it. "Italian, I think. At least from the country heading in the email."
Ziva raised an eyebrow. "Italian email? What did it say?"
Ethan chuckled. "Couldn't understand a word of it, so I asked Google. It does indeed come back as Italian, and, uhm..." Ethan shrugged before continuing, "Apparently, it's a shipping company of some sort, inquiring about some storage container in Dad's name?"
Ziva's eyes brightened with understanding. "Oh, so Dad needed a bit of help with some of the Italian language. It's been a while for him."
Ethan nodded once. "Apparently it's all of his dad's old stuff that was in storage for years, paid for in advance years ago. Anyway, it seemed that they lost some paperwork in some office shuffle and just now found it." Ethan shrugged slightly and tilted his head toward the kitchen. "I don't know, you can ask Dad for more information on that."
"Huh, I see. Maybe that's what I'll do, ask your father." Ziva smiled at Ethan before turning for the kitchen. Just before the doorway, she paused to smell the pancakes being made while coffee was brewing. She turned back to Ethan, who was still watching her, and raised an eyebrow with a small smile on her lips. "Pancakes?"
Ethan chuckled. "Yup. Dad asked me what he should cook for breakfast. I told him pancakes. He might also be cooking some hash browns as well, I think?" Ethan nodded with a smile.
"Sounds good." Ziva smiled and entered the kitchen. She walked up to Tony from behind, taking care not to cause him to lose focus at the wrong time while flipping the pancakes. "Good morning, Tony." Ziva reached up and hugged Tony from behind and smiled, before moving to kiss him on his cheek.
As soon Tony finished the last batch of pancakes on the griddle, he turned around toward Ziva, and he drew Ziva closer to him. "Good morning, my love." Tony smiled as his eyes locked into Ziva's eyes. Their eyes communicated tons of things about their undying love for each other.
"Noticed Ethan was up earlier than usual. And you listening to the news while cooking." She tilted her head at Tony. "Imagining yourself back at work?"
Tony guffawed. "Yeah, no, I was watching news, Ethan joined me earlier." He turned to watch the pancakes cook, flipping them when they reached optimum done-ness on the first side. He sighed, reaching up and scratching the back of his head. "Got this, well, let's say interesting email from some shipping company in Italy. My Italian's pretty rusty, so I had Ethan help out." He held out a hand in the general direction of Ethan. "I had to call them for clarification, and, well, they all speak Italian." Tony chuckled. "Go figure. You'd expect them to at least have a smidgen of English in their vocabulary, but no. Every last one of them speaks pure blood Italian."
Ziva chuckled. "So Ethan couldn't help you with their Italian?"
Tony shrugged. "He might be good, but he ain't that good. Anyway, well," Tony tilted his head toward Ziva. "I think they'll be calling back pretty soon, asking us when and where to ship this storage container they've been holding for so long." Just then, Tony had a flashback. "Wait a second. I think I remember something," he muttered to himself as he moved the pancakes off the griddle.
"What is it?" Ziva tilted her head toward Tony.
"I hope it's one of those standardized moving containers, and not a regular shipping containers. You know, like PODS."
"Ah, the same kind as the one we got boxed in on one of our missions? The one where I shot that guy's foot through the trailer door?" Ziva had a flashback of that day she and Tony was locked in.
Tony let out a short chuckle. "Yeah. This one we don't have to worry about because this is the stuff that my father had stored since forever." Tony raised his eyebrows and shrugged his shoulders. "Seems that he intended to have them ship his things there to New York years ago. Dad's dying threw a wrench in that plan, and then they lost the paperwork." Tony grinned.
Ziva chuckled at the thought. "Well, I had to laugh for a moment. Do you remember what we did in that box?" She smiled as her mind flashed back toward that day where they had gotten themselves boxed in, and they had all the time on their hands while they were being transported to the main bad guy's warehouse.
Tony chuckled. "Oh, you mean the official mission, or are you talking about the exploratory one that Gibbs never knew about?" Tony waggled his eyebrows, his eyes telling Ziva everything she needed to hear.
Ziva looked up at Tony, her lips forming a sly smile as she looked into Tony's eyes. She could just read the naughty thoughts and memories through Tony's eyes. "Well, that day was an interesting one, for sure. No regrets here." Ziva chuckled, stroking Tony's cheek. Ziva moved her head closer and planted a kiss on Tony's lips.
Before Tony could say something, Ethan walked into the kitchen. "Ima, Dad! ZNN said Uncle Thomas is being sworn in as Senator today." Ethan flashed a smile to Tony and Ziva.
Ziva turned toward Ethan. "That is awesome!" Ziva nodded with a smile.
Tony looked at Ethan. "Oh, nice." He looked back at Ziva. "I think Thomas did a real good job with his campaign over the last few months. Landslide victory over his opponent. I hope for the best for Thomas, he will do awesome, he is a good man." Tony rubbed Ziva's back.
Ethan walked to the island bar. "Are we all going to watch him being sworn in on TV?'
"What time's the swearing-in?" Tony wondered.
"It'll air at noon here, they said."
"Alright, I think we can watch that." Ziva smiled.
Some time later, Ziva sat at the kitchen table working on her laptop, while Tony was doing some business on his phone in the other room. Ethan sipped his coffee, his now-empty plate off to the side, as he pored over his emails on his laptop.
"So Ethan, looks like you just finished your 2nd plate of pancakes, they were good right?." Ziva chuckled as she looked up and over her laptop screen at Ethan's plate.
"Ah, yeah. I'm considering going for some more. Should I?" Ethan chuckled as he rubbed his belly.
Ziva nodded, "Sure, there's some left over there." Ziva sat back and looked more fully at Ethan. "You aren't growing a bottomless pit in there, are you?" Ziva chuckled.
"Maybe. Don't tell Dad, though." He looked down at himself. "Hmm, maybe there is a bottomless pit there. I guess I'll go get some more." Ethan stood up from his chair, walking to the kitchen.
Before Ziva could say something, Tony walked into the room. "Don't tell Dad what?"
Ethan laughed. "Did you have a bottomless pit when you were growing up?" Ethan patted his stomach, then walked off to the kitchen.
"You should know that all DiNozzo boys grow up perpetually hungry," Tony said toward Ethan's retreating figure. He chuckled as he set his phone down on the table as he sat down at the table by Ziva.
Ziva laughed. "Who was that on the phone?"
"Well, just got off the phone with that shipping company back in Italy. They finally got someone who could speak at least a tiny bit of English, and let me tell you, I think their broken English was worse than how rusty my Italian was." Tony sighed as he sat back in his chair.
Ziva raised an eyebrow and tilted her head slightly. "And?"
Tony let out a slight chuckle. "From what I could piece together they wanted to verify the shipping address and who I was. Looks like they're going to ship a 30-foot storage unit container, like what I was thinking earlier." Tony's eyebrows jumped up once then he shrugged. "My guess is it'll be here sometime within 3 to 6 weeks."
"Going by the slow boat, I see. Do you know what's in there?" Ziva asked.
Tony nodded. "Got an inkling from what they told me. Some of Dad's old stuff, I think. We'll see what's actually in there when they get it here."
Ethan returned with a fresh stack of pancakes and sat down at the table. "Anything interesting happen while I was gone?"
Tony and Ziva chuckled. Just then, Tony's phone rang. He automatically picked it up and answered it. "Hello?"
"We just got in on our flight. Ben's picking out a rental car." Tali's voice traveled the short distance from the phone's earpiece to Tony's eardrum.
"Oh, yes, glad you made it safe on your flight." Tony said. His face brightened. "Looking forward to seeing you all soon."
"We'll be on our way as soon as Ben finds a rental." Tali's voice sounded happy, yet slightly tired. Tony put that down to jet lag.
"Right on." Tony hung up and smiled. "Tali's just arrived at the airport. They'll be here soon-ish. Depends on the traffic out there, what with the road construction around the airport."
Ziva's eyes widened in delight. "Oh, nice! It'll be good to see Tali and her family again." A flicker of light swept across the walls of the dining room. Ziva looked out toward the source of the reflection. "That's not Tali..." her voice trailed off as she stepped toward the living room.
"Oh, it's Johnny and Becky!" Ethan called out in a singsong voice as he saw whose car that was.
Tony looked over to Ethan. "Is the McGeekiness with them also?"
Ethan laughed. "Just saw him step out."
Ziva went to the living room door and opened it just as John and Becky got up to the door. "Good to see you two!" She said to the couple, then raised her head up slightly. "And to you too, McGee! Come on in, you all!" She waved them in and then stood to the side, smiling.
"Just heard from AJ, they're coming over as well. You know how Channah is." Becky rolled her eyes with the mention of Channah's name. She continued. "Tali on her way now?"
"Yeah, she just got in from her flight." Ziva nodded.
"Rare chance for me to have the weekend off. Figured I'd take the opportunity as well," John said, smiling as he held Becky around her shoulders.
"Did AJ say when he was coming?" Ziva tilted her head toward Becky.
Becky shrugged slightly. "Soon, he said. It's Channah holding him up."
Ziva's eyebrows flicked up slightly. "Hopefully he isn't delayed too long."
Becky nodded. "He says it won't be long. I don't know anymore." She shrugged her shoulders, then turned and walked toward the coat closet and put her winter coat and purse in it.
"So, what brings the Elf-Lord all the way out here? To bestow more honours on our Eflets?" Tony stepped closer to McGee, chuckling at him.
McGee's face brightened in a smile. "Naw, that's something they gotta earn."
Just then, Ziva's phone rang. She reached down automatically and answered. "AJ?"
"No, Ima, it's me." Tali's voice filtered through to Ziva's ear.
"Oh, hi, Tali." Ziva smiled. "You find a rental?"
Tali's voice was bright and cheery. "On our way right now. The kids are excited to see you all."
"Oh, that's awesome. See you all soon." Ziva smiled as she hung up. "Tali's on her way now."
"I think that's AJ pulling up now," Tony said, stepping closer to the living room window. "Yup, that's him."
Ziva stepped to the door and opened it as AJ bounded up the porch stairs, holding Olivia in one arm, carrying the baby bag on the other. He was fuming and muttering to himself, Ziva noticed.
"Savta!" Olivia held out her arms and clapped her hands, smiling widely when she saw Ziva."
Ziva leaned forward with a smile. "Olivia! Happy to see you!" She held her hands out to grasp Olivia and hold her.
"Good to see you here, too, son." Tony reached out and clapped AJ on his shoulder and brought AJ closer to him. "Good traffic?"
AJ scoffed slightly. "Never better. That woman on the other hand..." He walked with Tony into the house.
Ziva looked at AJ, taking note of his frustration, then back at Channah, who was taking her sweet time getting out of the car. She sat half in, half out of the car, blabbing up a storm on her phone, as usual. Ziva shook her head slightly, then turned to go into the house.
McGee waved at AJ. "Good to see you too."
AJ looked up and smiled. "Whatcha been up to, McGeek?"
McGee chuckled. "Not much lately. Coming here's better than watching the bits and bytes flow across the screen."
AJ laughed. "I hear that. It's good to get out of the house, for once." He looked up at the ceiling, as if looking up at the stars. "If only I could be out there, searching the cosmos for answers."
Tony shook his head and let out a wry chuckle. "Been hen-pecked to death lately?"
Becky came into the room holding Olivia. "Isn't she such a cutie-pie?" She beamed at Olivia, who was babbling contentedly in her arms.
"She's happier here than at home, isn't that right?" Ziva looked up at Tony. Her eyes flicked between Olivia and AJ. She smiled at Olivia.
AJ nodded. "It's that woman. She keeps up with the griping all the time at the house. She can't stand Olivia's crying for some reason."
Becky chuckled slightly. "I don't see why Livy would be such a handful with Channah, she's so sweet. I mean, look at her." She looked at Olivia. "You're happy here, right?" She asked Olivia.
"Yeth!" Olivia piped up, smiling widely in a toothless grin.
AJ nodded. "That's why I keep bringing her here. Away from all the fighting. She doesn't need to be seeing that, but at the same time, I wanna be there for her as much as I can."
Becky reached out and patted AJ on his lap. "You're a wonderful dad, I can see that. You keep doing what you know is right for Livy."
Ziva nodded. "We'll be there for you, no matter what. You're welcome any time."
Tony glanced out the window. "Wow, any minute longer and they're gonna have to surgically remove that phone from her head," Tony said, shaking his head. He returned his gaze to AJ. "She like this all the time?"
McGee looked out the window along with Tony. "Hasn't changed position in the car, either. Amazing how someone could sit there in the same awkward position for so long. That's gotta hurt, the way she's all twisted up with the baby."
"Yeah, what the heck?" John shook his head.
AJ scoffed. "If she's not on the phone she's always on my case about one thing or another. I don't know who's she talking to, she's talking in a different language every time on the phone."
Ziva blinked. She tilted her head at AJ, waiting for more from AJ. When nothing further was forthcoming, she asked, "Could you at least recognize what she's saying?"
AJ slowly shook his head. "I always thought it was Israeli, but the more I listened, it didn't quite sound Israeli."
"Arabic, then." Ziva flashed a look toward Tony. "She is from Israel, after all."
"Hm." Tony's face changed to a bit of a puzzled look, but it was brief. "What's her problem with you, anyway, son?"
AJ sighed and shook his head. "Never satisfied with what I do or try or say. It's like, every time she's pregnant her hormonal switch gets turned to a hundred."
McGee chuckled. "Sounds like how Delilah was when she was pregnant."
Tony turned to McGee. "No wonder you're half insane after all these years. Must be that delayed effect from that woman hounding you all the time back then."
Ziva laughed. "Oh, you two." Just then, a flash of light swept across the living room walls again. "Oh, that must be Tali."
Tony looked out the window again. He could see the children clambering out of the car and running toward the living room door. "Yup, that's them." He quickly went to the living room door and opened it.
"Savta!" Seven-year-old Brett ran up to Ziva and hugged her.
Sarah pattered over to Ziva. "Savta!"
Tony chuckled while looking down at the grandchildren. "Greeting grandma first," he muttered under his breath, smiling. Raising his head, he called out, "Welcome y'all! Glad you could make it in!"
"Thanks, Tony!" Ben raised his arm and waved as he walked up toward the house.
Tali lagged behind, occupied with the two youngest children, trying to get them out of the car. Tony shook his head slightly. "I got this," he said under his breath to Ziva, as he walked out to help Tali.
"Good to see you, too." Ziva looked at Ben as he walked past. Her stare was a bit intense as her eyes bore into his.
Ben felt the cold blast from the stare. He realized he had screwed up by not staying behind and helping Tali, but he shrugged it off. "Good traffic all the way. Kids are fine." He smiled at Ziva, but his smile seemed to go no further than his lips.
Ziva raised an eyebrow ever so slightly as she smiled/smirked at Ben. "That's good to hear. No problems with finding a rental, I see. How was the flight in?"
Ben smiled a bit more genuinely this time. "Very smooth flight. Only hiccup was when some unruly passenger had to be escorted off before the flight." He scoffed slightly. "Drunk, by the sound of it."
Just then, Tali and Tony walked into the house with the two youngest children. "Looks like everybody's here. How's pizza sound for dinner?"
The grandchildren jumped up and down and squealed in delight. "Yes!"
"Wings for me!" AJ called out.
Becky held up a hand. "Could you include salad in the order?"
Tali turned to Becky. "We can make some salad here instead. Way better. Wanna?"
"Oh, yes, let's do that." Becky clapped her hands together and smiled.
"Garlic bread, must!" Ethan called out, signing the word "must" with emphasis.
McGee turned to Ethan. "You planning on slaying vampires any time soon?"
Ethan laughed.
Ziva laughed. "I can make sweet challah for dessert as well.
Later that evening, Ziva and Tony sat at the kitchen table, doing their usual winding-down for the night, sipping warm tea. Just then, they heard the sound of the back door opening, and their eyes clicked open and snapped over to the back door. Ben walked in, with a dusting of snow on his head and shoulders. He stopped just inside the doorway and brushed off the snow from his shoulders.
"Warm enough for you out there, huh?" Tony said from his chair.
Ben gasped and looked up sharply. "Didn't think you'd be up at this time. Thought you'd already gone to bed."
"Just what were you doing out there exactly, Ben?" Ziva tilted her head.
Ben sighed as he finished brushing off the snow. "Couldn't sleep, so I came down here and went out to clear my head." Ben's gaze shifted almost imperceptibly from Ziva.
"Tell me, what's really on your mind?" Ziva's gaze was piercing. She had sensed that something was off about Ben. She just couldn't be sure what.
Ben sighed. "It's work. A lot's been coming up over the past few weeks all of a sudden."
"Still in the archives?" Ziva tilted her head.
Ben tilted a hand back and forth. "Kind of, sort of. Gotta do a little field work to corroborate some things in the archives."
Ziva shook her head. Ben had this look on his face that she could recognize all too well. She had seen it in her father, too, the stressed, slightly hateful look as he answered the question. She had a cold feeling that he was being drawn in too far with the Mossad. She said nothing and got up and walked into the kitchen, full of thoughts.
Tony spoke up. "What kind of field work are you talking about, exactly?"
Ben shrugged his shoulders. "It's more archaeological field work at this time. Stuff that happened fifty-plus years ago."
Tony sat back. "Dude. Why would have the Mossad have an agent be an archaeologist for them when they could easily have farmed that work out?"
"Maybe because there may have been crimes committed that long ago?" Ben said.
Tony shook his head. "Yeah, well, do you even get training in field work like this so you don't muck up the crime scene?"
Ben nodded. "They've been sending me to some training. Nothing combat-related." But his response came off a little too glib, Tony thought to himself.
Ziva returned from the kitchen. She took a look at the two, and then locked eyes with Tony.
He's lying, his eyes told Ziva.
Ziva raised an eyebrow. Oh really? She shifted her gaze to Ben. "What kind of archaeological field work is it exactly that requires Mossad service?" She had heard what Ben had said from the kitchen, despite how quiet he had said the answer.
"More for corroborative evidence for the archives. Look, the underlying criminal investigation on this has been closed." Ben shrugged and held out his hands in the air.
Ziva suddenly reached out and locked Ben in a vice grip on his hand that caused him to yelp in pain, then grimace. "What kind of criminal investigation? If they've closed the investigation 50 years ago, why reopen it?"
"I – can't – say!" Ben grimaced in pain. "Leggo, please!"
"No!" Ziva cut him off. "What caused them to look into an old investigation again? Did something new come up?" She squeezed harder.
Ben yelped slightly, his body jerking uncontrollably as he tried to pull his hand away. It was in this very moment he realized that she meant business. This was the Ziva that had worked with the Mossad years ago. "Okay, okay!" He let out a series of short panting breaths and moaned in pain. "Leggo, please!''
"Okay, okay, hon." Tony stepped in between the two, and grasped Ziva's hand, causing her to let go of Ben. "We need this man, still. He's useless for shovelling out the snow all broken up, now."
Ziva turned to look at Tony, the fire in her eyes easing somewhat. She shook her head slightly at Tony. I'm not satisfied, her eyes flashed to Tony.
Ben collapsed a little in his seat as he held his still-painful hand to his chest. "Agh, damn!" He couldn't move his hand, at first. After a few moments, he finally got some movement back.
Tony looked at Ben. "Man up, son."
"Just be glad you didn't get the paperclip treatment," Ziva sat back and looked at Ben.
Ben gulped. "Paper clip?" He looked up at Tony, who shrugged and held his hands out in the air. He looked back at Ziva, shrugging helplessly. "Yeah. I just don't know how I'm going to be able to tell you, much less Tali this."
Ziva's eyes narrowed for a moment, then relaxed a bit. Her gaze still pierced into Ben, though, and Ben squirmed, as if he felt her reading his mind. She said, "Well, secrets are hard to work around, especially when you need to be honest about things with her. If they're sending you deep undercover -"
"They are. I've got no choice but to take it. They said that I'm the only fit for the mission." Ben swallowed hard as he rubbed his hand, which still hurt from the squeeze. He was still stunned with how strong Ziva could death-grip his hand.
Tony let out a slight chuckle. "You gonna be able to use that hand again? Couldn't be a good agent with a bum hand, right?"
Ben scoffed. "Right, thanks a lot."
"So, did they tell you how long that mission's going to be?" Ziva looked at Ben.
Ben shook his head and tossed his head a little derisively. "No idea. It sounded big, though. I just don't know how I'll be able to tell Tali without saying too much." His voice had an edge to it, which Tony and Ziva picked up on, but couldn't put a finger on.
"You said 'standard agent training'. Mossad trains every field agent other than those that work in the archives how to assassinate and spy for the country. What's up, exactly, with the training?" Ziva tilted her head and planted her hands onto her hips.
Ben sighed. "Long hours at the agency. At first, it was just going through the archives. Then I started finding pieces missing, that required field work. Things didn't add up."
"And now you get assigned a long-term mission? What's that all about? Why didn't they deploy you immediately?"
"Because I wanted to drop my family off first." Ben flexed his hand; it had finally stopped hurting just enough to where he could use it again.
Tony scoffed. "Dropping her and the kids off before every mission and then taking off isn't gonna make things better. If anything, you'll break my daughter's heart one day."
"I think I screwed up." Ben gulped. "What I mean is, this training that they put me through? Doesn't allow me to be the family man that I want to be. I don't get hardly any time off."
Ziva gave a long, hard look at Ben, her eyes narrowed. Tony saw the change in Ziva's eyes and he sat up just a little straighter. Ziva's tone had changed. "Does Tali know about your training sessions?"
Ben looked down at the floor for a moment, then back up. He cleared his throat slightly as he said, "She does know that I am in the training. I've even showed her some moves."
Ziva suddenly reached out for Ben's hand again. "What moves?" Ziva cocked her head at Ben, fire in her eyes.
Ben jerked his hand back before Ziva could death-grip it again. "Hey, now! They're only defensive moves. Nothing serious." He had fear in his eyes as he watched Ziva warily. "Look, the agency asked me to train her so she could at least have some ability to protect the family."
Ziva glowered hard at Ben for a few moments, then stood up, and walked to the kitchen window and looked out for a couple moments. She took a deep breath in and let it out slowly. She turned back to Ben. "They didn't say how long?"
"No. I don't know much details yet, so I'm prepared for it to be long-term." Ben carefully said the words. "All I know is that this was slapped together last minute. One minute I was in the archives, and the next I'm out in the field and getting training."
Ziva reached down and opened a drawer and pulled out a small box. She walked back to the table, and single-handed opened the box and poured out the contents. Paper clips spilled forth onto the table. She looked up at Ben. "I pray that the mission goes well. If it doesn't, you better hope these do not find their way into you."
Ben gasped, looking at the paper clips, the pieces finally falling into place for him. "So the rumors are true. You're the Ziva David?"
Ziva tilted her head. "DiNozzo. I do not know who David is, that is in the past. I'm now Tali's mother."
Tony looked up at Ziva, then back at Ben. "Yup, the very same. But, you keep it to yourself." He stepped a bit closer to Ben. "You know, your father worked with Ziva as well."
"Did he?" Ben turned to look at Ziva, then back at Tony. "I didn't know it was with -"
Tony nodded. "A word to the wise. You might want to keep the information to yourself." His voice tautened. "Do us a favor and do your best to keep Tali and the kids out of whatever you get involved in. If at all possible."
Ben gulped. "What do you want me to do?"
Ziva turned sharply toward Ben. "You'll be leaving on your mission. Tonight. We will take care of Tali and the children."
Ben raised his voice slightly. "Ziva, Tony... I'm sorry, I can't leave just yet. Still waiting on some details of the mission. Can I stay until I get word?"
"Are you bringing the work over here? From Israel?" Ziva glowered at Ben.
Ben gulped and looked at Ziva. "Part of it happens over here, yes."
Anger flashed through Ziva's eyes. "If we get compromised -" She grabbed Ben by the lapels and got into his face.
"Whoa, whoa!" Tony shouted, stepping in between the two. "Nothing's going to happen here, okay?" He gently prised Ziva off of Ben. He turned to Ben. "Don't be bringing stuff over here, okay?"
"What's going on?" Tali's voice reached Tony's ears. He turned to see Tali standing in the doorway.
He stepped back, looking at Ben, then walked past Tali out of the room. "Hi Tali, I will be right back." He headed downstairs.
Tali looked at Tony's retreating figure, then looked back at Ziva, with a puzzled look on her face. "I thought I heard some fighting, Ima. What's that all about?"
Ziva looked at Ben, then looked up to Tali. "You can ask Ben that question. I'm sure he's got a lot to tell you." She snatched the kitchen towel off the table and walked back to the kitchen.
Tali walked toward the table, noticing the box of paperclips spilled out on the table. She looked up at Ben. "What did you do to upset my parents?"
Ben sighed, rubbing his hand. "I think I blew it. I need to tell you something. Sit, please." Ben pulled out two chairs, and sat in one of them, motioning for Tali to sit in the other chair.
Tali sat in the other chair. "What is it?"
Ben sighed. "I got a phone call from Israel. I've been asked to return in a few days, I'm not sure when yet. Still waiting for some more details from them." He shrugged.
"What!? And you leave me here with the kids for now? We're going back later, right?" Tali's shoulders sagged, her face changing to more of a puzzled look.
Ben gulped. "I don't think so. Not for a while, at least."
Tali scoffed and stood up quickly. "Oh, you're gonna just leave us and the kids here?"
A throat cleared. They all turned to see Tony standing in the basement doorway, running a cleaning rag over his 1911 pistol. "Everything'll be fine when Ben's on the mission, right?"
Ben took one look at Tony's eyes, then got up and stormed out from the back door to cool down. Tony's eyes had bored straight into him. Don't screw up, they told him. Tali shook her head slightly and scoffed as Ben stormed off, throwing her hands in the air. "Whatever. Typical Ben, always running off."
Ziva walked over to Tali and hugged her, comforting her. "It'll be okay. You're with us."
Tali shook Ziva off. "I'm going to bed. I've had it with Ben." She angrily stomped off up the stairs to go to bed.
Ziva stood, looking after Tali, puzzled. Her mannerisms reminded her of herself, years ago.
"Let her rest. She's tired from the flight." Tony put his hands on Ziva's shoulders and gently guided her toward the bedroom. "Let's get some rest, shall we?"
~~ Sunday morning ~~
Ziva stood by the French doors, looking out at the fresh snow that had fallen overnight. As she listened to the coffee machine percolate, she gazed out at the snowman that the grandchildren made the day before, now covered up to its waist in fresh snow, she smiled at the still-fresh memory of the children yelling and shrieking in excitement as they had a blast playing in the snow.
After a few moments, Tony walked up behind Ziva, putting his arms around her waist and rested his head on top of Ziva's shoulder, looking in the same direction as Ziva. "Good morning, my love." Tony smiled as he drew Ziva closer to him.
Ziva sighed and smiled at his touch, and put her arms around his. "Good morning, Tony. I just got up not long ago." She turned to him, smiling. "Look at the snowman. He's not going anywhere now."
Tony chuckled. "Guess it's time for the kids to make him taller."
"I think we'll let the kids see for themselves how much more fun they could have today." Ziva turned back to look outside. "I think the children will have plenty of fun today, don't you think?"
Tony nodded. "Yup. Guess I'll have Ben shovel the snow as well, since AJ had a go at it yesterday." Tony suddenly let out a couple of rasping coughs. "Oof, this cough."
Ziva turned around and looked him square in the eyes, planting her hands into her hips and tilting her head at him. "You know, you should have worn that scarf like I asked you to yesterday. The wind, you know."
Tony let out a sheepish grin. "Yeah, I didn't realize how windy it was yesterday when I was out there watching the kids."
"Yeah, you just got better from your asthma not very long ago -" Ziva said, concerned.
Tony cut her off slightly. "I know, hon. I'm going to stay inside today, I think. The cold's been hard on my lungs lately."
Ziva nodded once. "The damage to your lungs from the Y pestis is what hurts you a lot. The cold just aggravates it." She reached out and pulled him closer to her. "Just try to stay out of the cold as much as you can, okay?" She smiled gently at him.
"But the kids -"
"No." Ziva shook her head gently. "Let Tali and Becky and the others carry on the tradition." Her serious look changed into a soft smile on her face. Her eyes told him, I care about you.
Tony wordlessly pulled her into a close embrace and held her. After a couple of moments, he quietly said, "I got you, my sweetcheeks."
Just then, Ziva heard footsteps from upstairs. "Oop, better start cooking breakfast. Kids are getting up now," she said to Tony as she walked back to the kitchen.
Eventually after having a hearty warm breakfast, after everyone had cleared off the table, Tony leaned over to Brett and Sarah, whose attentions were drawn elsewhere. "Hey. Who wants to go play in the snow?"
Brett's head whipped around to Tony and his face brightened into a smile. "Ooh! I wanna play in the snow, grandpa!"
"Me too!" Sarah shrieked in excitement.
Tony chuckled at their happy faces, then looked up at Tali. "Kids got to have fun every once in a while, right?" He chuckled.
Ben scowled slightly. He had an inkling of what might come for him, but he kept it to himself. His lips tautened slightly.
"Oh, stop, Ben." Tali walked up to him. "They're just kids. Let 'em have fun in the snow. We don't see snow that much where we live in Israel, right?"
"Hmph." Ben tilted his head. "You do have a point there, about the snow." He still fumed inside, however, but he did his best to not let it show on his face as he turned toward the windows and looked outside.
Tali smiled and turned back to the kids. "Go get your snow clothes on." She waved them up toward the stairs.
Ziva and Tony laughed as the children bounded out of their chairs and ran upstairs to get their snow clothes on. "Look at 'em go," Tony said, chuckling.
Ethan chuckled at the children as he walked past them. "I'll keep an eye on them out there." He glanced out the window. "Could help 'em with Mr. Frosty out there, he's looking awful short. I'll wait for 'em."
"If Livy's up, I'll take her outside for a bit as well." AJ said. He turned to Channah. "You're fine with that, right?"
Channah briefly looked up from her phone. "Oh, yeah, sure. Not a problem." She looked back down at the phone, typed in something, then shoved the phone back into her pocket and looked around, acting slightly bored.
AJ blinked at her. "You know, that phone can wait a bit." He scoffed as he got up, and shook his head as he walked to the doorway.
"Oh, whatever." Channah rolled her eyes at AJ's receding figure.
"Dada!" Olivia came toddling toward AJ, holding one of Tali's hands.
Tali held Matan in her other arm. "Look who's up, AJ." She was smiling.
"Here you go," Becky set Leah in the high chair.
Ziva flashed a look at Channah, slightly irritated. She shook her head slightly. "He is right, you know. Could we at least enjoy being a family today?"
Channah smiled and nodded, but her smile was artificial. "Oh, yeah, that's not a problem. It's just my dad's business associates calling for orders."
McGee blinked. The way Channah responded about the phone seemed too artificial to him. He looked over at Tony. His face remained expressionless but his eyes told Tony that something was off about Channah.
Tony slowly looked at McGee, then back at Ziva. "What kind of business does he run?" He directed the question to Channah.
Channah twisted her head to Tony, slightly startled. She hadn't expected Tony to talk, much less ask that question. "Oh, he does exports and imports. Exotic art, mainly."
Ben's expression changed ever so slightly. It went unnoticed by everybody else, however. He flashed a look to Ziva, glanced to Channah, then back to Ziva. He debated whether he should tell Ziva, but he didn't have to debate for very long because Matan gave him the perfect chance by dropping his pacifier. Automatically, Ben stepped over to pick it up. As he reached down, he whispered to Ziva in Israeli, in a very low voice, "Sleeper."
Ziva's head twitched in Ben's direction, but she caught herself. She looked down, following Ben's hand as he picked up the binky, but then shifted her eyes up into Ben's, where they locked. "You got it, good." She reached out for the pacifier. Her eyes told Ben that she got the message loud and clear. Suddenly, Ziva's face brightened into a smile. "Oh! Would you do us a favor and shovel out the driveway and sidewalk, Ben?"
Unaware of what had just happened, Tali automatically grabbed the pacifier before Ziva could, and said to Ben, "Thanks, hon. I'm going to put him in the high chair." She walked away with Matan.
Tony nodded. "Would help me immensely if you did," Tony said, backing Ziva up.
Before Ben could respond, the children came bounding back down the stairs, all dressed in their snow clothes. "Ready to go out!" Brett piped up, smiling broadly.
Ben blinked. "Uh, sure." He smiled to the kids, as he put his overcoat on.
Ziva smiled at the children. "All set?" She turned to Ethan. "All yours. Have fun out there," she said, smiling.
Tali smiled at the kids. "Have fun out there. I'll be out in a bit, maybe." She waved the kids toward the door a bit. "Gotta keep an eye on Matan and Leah."
"I'll be back," Ben said, then walked out the door with the children.
Tali sighed, smiling at the children as they clambered out the door to have fun in the snow, then when the last person had exited the house, went back to the kitchen.
"I'll help you," Becky fell into step with Tali and walked to the kitchen.
Ziva walked next to Tony and stood by him, looking out the door before she closed it. Shouts of excitement from the children reached her ears and she smiled as she closed the door. She turned to Tony. "Let's watch out the window."
"Oh!" McGee laughed as AJ got pelted with snow balls. "Look at 'em bombing AJ!"
Tony stepped in front of the window, chuckling. "Look at 'em. I wish I could be out there also, you know." He turned to Ziva, smiling, coughing a bit. He whispered, "What'd he say?"
"I know. But you just got better." Her eyes flicked toward Channah, then back to Tony. "Take it easy, now, and enjoy watching them." She smiled and patted him on the chest, then turned and looked at Channah. "Channah, can you be useful, help Tali and Becky do something besides that phone please?"
Channah sat up straighter, putting the phone down. "Well, what about Livy, Matan and Leah?" Channah shrugged.
"They're just fine over there in their high chairs. We can keep our eyes on them while you help out the girls." Ziva reached out to Olivia's chair, looking up at Channah.
Channah shrugged, and slowly got up, making a show of trying to push her pregnant self up off the chair she was sitting in. "Oh! Getting hard to get up and walk around, now." She rubbed her belly as she waddled over to the kitchen.
Tony shook his head and watched her walk off to the kitchen. "Sits there like a beached whale these days, she's so big," he whispered to himself.
McGee chuckled; he had heard what Tony said. "One day they'll have to come up with a pregnant woman transporter, or something."
"Oh, shush, you two!" Ziva shook her head at them, then looked out the window at the children playing in the snow.
Tony stepped closer to Ziva. "Looks like Mr. Frosty's getting juiced up now. He's looking pretty buff now." He pointed to the snow man, which the children were building up, bigger and better than before.
McGee got up out of his chair shakily, then walked over to the window. "So, what you got out there, he's going to rival the big marshmallow man by the time the kids get done with him."
Ziva reached around her back and scratched it, then stopped. "Do I have a mole back there?" She tried to look around to her back.
"Mole? I don't recall seeing one." Tony looked down her back, seeing none. "All I know are the ones up front." Tony smiled and waggled his eyebrows while he flicked his nipples.
"Oh!" Ziva chuckled and backhanded him on the arm. "Not those!"
McGee guffawed at the exchange.
"Well, what, then?" Tony asked.
Just then, the sound of the back door opening reached Ziva's ears. "Ben's coming back." Her eyes told Tony, More later.
"Oof! Cold out there!" Ben stamped the snow off his boots while taking his coat off.
"All shoveled up now?" Tony nodded to Ben.
Ben nodded, breathless. "Kept getting bombed by snow balls when I was out there, but I got it all done." He let out a short chuckle. "Kids really enjoy themselves out there."
Tony chuckled. "Yeah. More snow from last night means more fun for the kids."
Just then, Becky walked into the room. "Oh, there you are, Ben. Was wondering where you were because I didn't see you out there. I took one look, saw you there, then took another, you were gone." She laughed a bit.
Ben laughed. "Yeah, just got done with the shovelling."
"Oh, that explains it." Becky nodded once, then turned to Ziva and sighed. "The reason I came out is -"
"NO!" Everybody heard Tali's shout from the kitchen, and they all turned to the sound. Tali had pinned Channah on the wall, one hand holding her phone hand in a vise grip and the other on her neck. "You keep going on and on and on about your pregnancy and your belly being in the way! I don't want to hear it! I've carried four children and I did everything myself!"
Ziva and Ben both rushed over to Tali and Channah. Ziva could see the terror in Channah's eyes. "Tali! The baby!" She stepped in between the two and gently separated them.
"I'm getting sick and tired of her moaning on and on about it. If she can't tolerate being pregnant, then why did she make that decision to open her legs for Anthony?!" She dropped Channah's hand, hard, causing her phone to fly out of her hand and go skittering across the kitchen floor. A crack appeared on the front of the display.
"Whoa, whoa, now." Ziva got into her face and shook her head gently. "Let's not go there." She gently pushed Tali away from Channah. "Go finish what you were doing. I'll take care of Channah." She turned to Channah. "You, come with me, now."
"But, you told me to help them out in the kitchen!" Channah pouted slightly.
"Yes, I did. I didn't tell you to come out here and argue with the girls, however, did I? No, you're coming with me." Ziva reached out and grabbed Channah's wrist in a firm grip and led her out of the room.
Channah gulped. She realized that even for an older woman like Ziva, she still had a lot of strength in her grip, and no matter what she tried to do, she couldn't escape Ziva's iron grip as she walked to the living room behind Ziva, quickly bending over to pick up her phone before she lost that chance. She turned the phone over and looked at it. "My screen cracked!"
Ziva turned sharply to her. "Do I care? No." She looked back front and muttered under her breath, in Israeli. "Cry me a river."
Ben looked after Ziva and Channah, then back to Tali, who had gone back to washing the dishes. She was standing in front of the sink, hands on the counter, taking in a deep breath. He shook his head slightly and walked up behind her. "Hey. You okay?" he asked softly to Tali.
Tali stood at the sink and shrugged her shoulders. She waved him off dismissively. "Yeah, I'm fine. That cow can't keep her mouth shut."
Ben chuckled at the derisive term. "Yeah, she can be something. Just don't mind her."
Tali turned to Ben. "So, you done shovelling the snow? Looks good out there."
"Yeah." Ben tilted his head at Tali. "About time for me to take off, for the job."
A tear started forming on Tali's eyes. "I wish you didn't have to leave now." Before Ben could say anything, she held up a hand. "I got it. Did you tell 'em goodbye before you leave?" She went back to washing the dishes, a tear rolling down her face.
Ben sighed and walked up to Tali, hugging her from behind. "Hey. It'll be okay." He kissed her on her forehead. "I told 'em that I'll be back before they know it. I want you to know the same as well." He smiled gently at Tali.
Tali suddenly dropped the washrag and plate she was washing and turned and hugged Ben tightly, not daring to let go for a few long moments, tears flowing.
Ziva stood by the kitchen door, swallowing hard, doing her best to keep the anxiety at bay. She held in her tears, listening to the entire exchange. She looked at Tony, her eyes pleading.
Tony gulped. He walked over to Ziva and held her hands. I know, babe, his eyes said to Ziva. "At least she's safe with us, this time," he whispered to Ziva.
Ziva nodded, almost imperceptibly. "I'm thankful for that." Just then, she saw Ben and Tali walk out of the kitchen.
"Where's Becky?" Tali asked Ziva, seeing that Becky was not in the living room.
"She went outside to talk with John. Channah decided to go outside with Becky since her phone screen crackled itself when it hit the floor."
"Cracked itself, you mean." Tali automatically said. "I'll go outside and watch the kids. Talk with Channah a bit, too, if she's willing."
Tony raised an arm. "No bloodshed out there, okay, Tali?" He smiled, waving a finger in the air.
Tali chuckled. "Try not to, Dad." She turned to put her coat on.
"Just like you, Ziva." Tony chuckled as he watched Tali go outside.
Ben cleared his throat. "Well, it's time for me to hit the road, I think." He reached down to pick up his bag.
Ziva looked at Ben and asked, "Are you going to be able to keep in touch with one of us, if not Tali?"
Ben stopped before the entryway door and turned to Ziva. "I'll do my best if I am able to. No telling how the job will turn out, though." He shrugged, then opened the door and stepped out. Before the door closed, however, he stuck his head back in the door and said again in Hebrew, "Sleeper. Please watch over my family," then closed the door behind him. His voice was barely above a whisper.
"Huh?" Tony tilted his head, a puzzled look on his face. "What was that last part, I didn't catch that?"
Ziva glanced at McGee, then back at Tony. "I told you, I was right about the mole."
"I thought I told you that you don't have a mole on your back." Tony's voice trailed off at the end as he suddenly started to understand what Ziva was trying to tell him. "Oooohhhh, I get it." He looked out the window, his mind still processing the info. After a couple of seconds, he said, "Oh, look, Tali's talking with Channah, and there's no bloodshed yet."
"For now." Ziva's eyes said it all to Tony.
McGee's face changed, and he didn't speak for a few moments as his brain did some rapid deductions and calculations. "So there's a sleeper?" His lips automatically moved with his thoughts.
Ziva was mid-nod when she heard the back door slam open and AJ bellow, "Ima, Dad, something's up with Ethan!" Ziva's head whipped around toward the back door, where she saw AJ running back outside.
"Let's go see," McGee grunted as he got up off the chair and walked over to the back door.
"He better not have lost his sound processors in the snow," Ziva muttered under her breath.
"Not to worry, the ISS can see his sound processors in the snow, they're so bright orange." Tony chuckled.
Ziva shot a look at Tony. "Very funny."
McGee opened the door and stepped out onto the deck, followed closely behind by Tony and Ziva.
"Get 'em!" Suddenly, the trio was bombarded by snow balls.
"I got it all on camera!" Ethan laughed.
"Oh, nothing wrong with you, eh?" Ziva smiled mischievously, then reached down and packed a snow ball and threw one straight at Ethan.
"Snow ball fight!" AJ lobbed a couple of snow balls at Tony.
"Hey -" A snowball went smack! on Tony's chest. Another landed on McGee's shoulder.
"Wheeee!" Sarah tossed a snow ball; it went wild in the air and landed in front of Ziva.
Brett laughed as he beaned Tony with a snow ball.
"Oh, you got my leg!" Tony laughed at Brett and brushed the snow off.
Ziva laughed at the whole thing unfolding in front of her eyes. She looked down at the grandchildren. "Having a good time?"
Brett and Sarah both said, "Yes!" as they jumped up and down in excitement.
Becky walked up toward Ziva and Tony, followed by John. Becky said, "I just checked on the babies, and they're asleep now."
"Oh, that's good, Becky." Ziva turned to Tony, who had just started coughing. "Oh, are you ready to go inside?"
Tony nodded as he continued coughing raggedly.
John walked up toward Ziva and Tony. "I'll go in with him."
Ziva laughed. "Okay, thanks. I'll be in in just a second." She watched as John helped Tony through the door, then closed the door behind John.
"It'll be okay, Ziva." McGee's calm voice brought her back from her internal worry about Tony's health slowly declining in front of her. He could see the worry and sadness in her eyes. "He'll be okay."
Ziva nodded to McGee. "Every winter seems to be harder on his lungs now. Maybe we should look into a warmer place." She shrugged her shoulders.
McGee's eyebrows jumped up momentarily. "Gotta be strong for him, whatever happens. May not be a bad idea, moving to a warm place."
"You got it all handled, Tali?" Ziva called out to Tali, who was keeping the kids occupied, building up the snow man some more.
Tali raised an arm. "I've got em. Won't be long, though. Been out here a while now."
Ziva smiled and nodded. "We're going back inside for now. Enjoy your fun out there."
Before Ziva reached the door, it opened, and John stepped out. "Sorry about that. Work just called. I gotta head in."
Becky appeared beside John. "Gotta go, now. You know how it is with John's job. Sometimes he gets called up." She shrugged her shoulders. "Used to it now, I guess."
Ziva turned to McGee. "That means we will see you later, I guess." She gave him a quick friendly hug and stepped back and smiled.
McGee smiled. "Yup. We'll see each other soon enough, anyway. Let the elf-lets have their fun." He chuckled and waved at the kids.
A chorus of "Bye, Uncle Tim!" rose up from the kids as they waved at him, and McGee got a snow ball or two as well.
Ziva smiled as she and McGee went into the house. They walked to the living room to find Tony sitting on the recliner, lips pursed, trying his best to breathe without coughing.
"Is that cough being hard on you, Tony?" Ziva looked at Tony concernedly. "Do you need your breathing treatment now?"
Tony let out a rasping cough, his face going red from the exertion. He nodded and raised a hand.
Ziva nodded and walked to the bathroom. "I'll get your breathing treatment."
"I'll see you later?" McGee said.
Ziva glanced at McGee and nodded. "I'll talk with you soon." She waved McGee and John off. "I've got it under control."
"Alright, take care." McGee stepped out.
Becky walked up to Ziva and gave her a hug. "I'll be back tomorrow to help out. Take care of Dad." She smiled, then walked over to Tony and gave him a hug. "Take care, Dad, see you tomorrow."
"Alright, see you tomorrow." Tony had stopped coughing long enough to talk with Becky. He took a couple of deep breaths. "I'll be okay, I think. Love you, Becky."
Becky stood back up and smiled, her eyes full of concern for her dad. She then turned to John. "Ready, hon?"
John nodded. "I'll drop you and Dad off at the house then head on in to work."
Eventually that night, AJ and Ethan had retreated to the media room where they were watching some movies to unwind. Tali walked into the living room where Tony and Ziva were. "Got the kids in bed for the night," she sighed heavily as she sat down on the couch by Tony and Ziva.
Ziva smiled at Tali. "That was a good day, wasn't it? The kids out there playing in the snow." She tilted her head at Tali. "Kids must have been wiped out."
Tali laughed. "Sure wiped me out, too. Kids were full of energy all day long."
Tony laughed. "Yeah, the torch is yours now, with the snow tradition."
Tali looked at Tony for a moment, then let out a chuckle. "I figured as much, Dad."
Ziva chuckled along with Tony. "Besides that, we do enjoy the view when everyone's having a ball out in the snow." She turned to Tony and tilted her head. "You see how Channah had mellowed out for the rest of the day after her phone display broke? She even helped out with dinner, played with the kids, for once. Even with Livy."
Tony nodded and let out a sniggering chuckle. "Yeah, since she cant use her phone. I think she had fun out there too, right, Tali?"
"Yeah, for once, she didn't have her face buried in the phone." She mimiced frantic texting. "Oh, speaking of. Channah just wanted me to tell you she's going to go to bed because she's real tired. Wanted to say good night to you all."
Ziva nodded. "That's what I figured. She looked pretty out of it earlier, when she came in. I guess the high energy level took everything right out of her."
"Well, that and the way she's carrying that load. She's awful big at this time, don't you think? Won't be long, now." Just then, her phone rang. She looked down at the display, then back up at Tony and Ziva. "It's Ben. I better go upstairs and talk with him. I'm going to bed afterwards, I'm real tired."
Ziva smiled and nodded. "Sounds good. I think we will do the same, soon." She turned to Tony. "Right, honey?"
Tony nodded. "After my breathing treatment, yeah."
"Good night, Ima, Dad." Tali waved, then walked to the doorway. She stopped before the doorway and turned back to them. "I just wanted to say thank you for letting me and the kids stay with you while Ben is... out there."
Ziva nodded. "We're always there for you in time of need. You're always welcome to stay with us."
Tali smiled. "Love you, Ima, Dad." She turned to go upstairs.
Ziva said, "Good night, Tali."
Almost simultaneously with Ziva, Tony said, "'Night, we love you too."
Tali stopped on the third step and looked back at her parents and smiled, before continuing upstairs. She crouched down a bit and flashed the ILY sign to them.
Ziva and Tony smiled as they watched her head up the stairs, then looked at each other. Tony smiled at Ziva, holding her hand. "Think we did good so far, right?"
Ziva looked at Tony, a little intently. She nodded with a smile, "I think we had a good weekend." Ziva's eyes relaxed a bit. "Your color's better now." She sighed with a smile, leaning her head on Tony's shoulder, hugging him close to her, as she squeezed his arm as she took a deep breath.
"Yeah, I think I'm ready for bed, now." Tony looked down at Ziva. "Let the boys be."
Ziva looked up and smiled. "Let's head to bed."