Chapter 4

Let's Get to Work

Sometime in January 2017

~~Tiva's Farmhouse, on the outskirts of NYC~~

As the first rays of the sun peeked through the windows and filtered into the master bedroom, Ziva stirred awake and rubbed her eyes as she awoke. The sound of giggling floated through the open bedroom door, and Ziva propped herself up on an elbow and listened, smiling at the sound of Tali's voice coming from the kitchen, with Tony's voice peppered throughout the conversation. Ziva threw back the covers and pulled herself up and sat at the edge of the bed, looking over at the doorway. She could hear most of the conversation taking place. Ziva chuckled as she heard Tali burst out in an explosion of giggles and started to rub her very pregnant belly. She smiled at herself as she looked down at her enormous belly as she felt the baby give her a couple of kicks inside her. "Oof! Easy there, kiddo," she muttered to herself as she rubbed her belly some more, causing the baby to settle down inside of her. She thought to herself, Oh my baby, I know, I know, I'm eating for two. I can't wait to hold you in my arms, my sweet baby. Not going to be very long, now." She planted her feet on the floor and stood up and made her way toward the bathroom, the sounds of giggling and soft cheery conversation following her.

Tony stood in front of the stove, inspecting his handiwork, stealing quick glances over at Tali as she babbled on about random things. He smiled at the sound of Tali's bright, cheery voice, marveling at how quickly she'd picked up words and was able to carry on a conversation with him. Satisfied with his cooking, he held up the pan so Tali could see from across the island bar. "Now that's a perfectly done omelet, wouldn't you say?"

Tali nodded her head and smiled at Tony. "Yeah! Ima will like that surprise a lot!" Just then, she heard a small noise behind her, and quickly turned her head around. Ziva was standing at the doorway of the kitchen, smiling at Tony and Tali. "Ima!" Tali exclaimed in excitement at seeing her Ima up for the morning and quickly hopped down from her chair and dashed over to Ziva.

Ziva smiled down at Tali and hugged her close. "What's this about a surprise that I hear?" She glanced up at Tony, still smiling, before looking back down at Tali.

Tali patted Ziva on her belly a couple times, then pointed toward Tony. "Ima! I helped Abba make some om'lets!" She did a couple of small, excited hops in place as she clapped her hands together, her mouth spreading in a wide, toothy grin as she looked up at Ziva.

Ziva's eyes went wide as she gasped in surprise, then her lips widened into a smile. "Really? The food smells so good that I swear that our baby could smell it as well." She patted her belly as the baby kicked yet again. "Ow, settle down. Food's coming."

Tali giggled at her mother. But before she could say anything,

Tony called out from the stove, setting the pan back down on the stove and turning off the burner. "Hey, breakfast's ready. Why don't you two sit at the table over there? I'm bringing it over, now."

Ziva caught the look in Tony's eyes, and she blinked at Tony. She could see what Tony's eyes were trying to tell her. How much he'd loved to look at Ziva, who positively glowed from the pregnancy in Tony's eyes. She made her way over to the kitchen table and gasped at the sight of a bundle of roses in a vase sitting at the center of the table, the table already set up for breakfast. "Awww. That's so beautiful," she murmured as she pointed to the roses.

Tony flashed a smile to Ziva. "That's Tali's idea. I just helped her out a little, that's all. She just wanted to treat you to a nice special morning." He slid the omelets out onto the plates and brought them out to the table. "There we go, a plate for each of us."

"Yummy!" Tali quickly ran to her chair and clambered up into it as Tony set her plate down in front of her. She smiled up at Tony and said, "That looks good!"

"There you go, Tali," Tony said as he flashed a smile to Tali. He turned and set Ziva's plate down in front of her, giving her a quick peck on her cheek. "'Morning, sweetcheeks. You have a good rest last night?" He sat down in his chair as he put his plate in front of himself and looked up at Ziva.

Ziva smiled at Tony as she returned the kiss. "Wonderful." She sniffed at the air and looked around. "House still smells new. And this surprise setting here with these roses, what more could I ask for?"

"Yeah, took me and McGee burning the midnight oil a lot of nights trying to get the place ready for you and Tali. And the baby, too. Glad that we made the little hideaway work out." Tony flashed a smile and a wink to Ziva. "As far as anyone knows, we'll just be calling from an undisclosed location. Working from an undisclosed location. Only problem is the one sitting with us right now."

Ziva glanced over to Tali, who had already started eating her omelet. She looked back to Tony. "You have a solution for that?" Her eyebrows raised halfway.

Tony let out a low chuckle. "Way ahead of you." Tony turned to Tali and said, "Hey, Tali, guess what. Savta's coming over in a little bit."

Tali sat up straight and smiled. "Really? She's comin' over?"

Tony nodded and smiled. "Yeah. She said she misses seeing you. You wanna spend some time with her for the day?"

Tali squealed in delight as she bounced in her chair. "Yes! Can I get ready?" She stepped down out of her chair.

Tony chuckled and looked over at Tali's plate. "You got a couple more bites to go. Finish that up, and then you can go pack your bag." He pointed over to the plate.

Ziva chuckled at Tony, then looked at Tali. "I'll help you get cleaned up after you eat your food, okay?" She smiled at Tali.

Tali nodded as she shoveled her food into her mouth and started chewing.

Tony chuckled at Tali, then looked down at his food and carved out a bite and jabbed his fork in it and brought it up to his mouth. Just before he put it in his mouth, he said, "Y'know, McHandyman's coming over later, as well."

Ziva raised an eyebrow, holding her fork midair. "Oh? What brings him out here again?"

Tony tilted his head slightly and smiled at Ziva. "You know, the package deal that we worked on while you and Tali spent your time out at the beach house."

"Oh, that's right. I'd almost forgotten about that. Is that why the house smells new? What changed?" Ziva looked back at Tony, putting an elbow on the table and her chin in her hand.

"You'll see in a bit. Mainly because our friend from work wanted to check in with us. You know, Vance. Got an email from him a couple of days ago. That's why I had Ade come over, to take Tali off our hands for a bit."

Ziva nodded. "So that's why McGee's coming. Something come up that warranted the call from the center?"

Tony shrugged slightly and nodded. "That and to make sure everything's running smooth on our end. Networking geek stuff that's beyond my understanding. You know how the elf-lord always starts mumbling under his breath every time he runs across routers and IP addresses and numbers and gateways and all that."

Ziva chuckled at Tony. "Who could forget? He's gonna know I'm here, though."

Tony chuckled. "Time for him to meet his 'reliable source'. And to also know how I know that you were in a 'safe place'. You know, I told him that I found you but you're in a safe place, but never told him specifically where." Tony's voice had dropped to a near-whisper at the end. His eyes flicked over to Tali, then looked back at Ziva.

Ziva saw the quick glance. "Got it. When will Ade be by?"

Just then, the doorbell rang. Tony looked toward the living room. "That should be her." He scooted his chair back and stood up, looking over to Tali. "And our little girl's done with her breakfast, just in time." He pointed to Tali's plate, which was nearly empty. "All done, Tali?" he asked her.

"Yup!" Tali licked her lips, smiling up at Tony as she rubbed her belly. "Now I get ready?"

Tony smiled at Tali. "Have Ima help you get ready. I'll go check the door, then I'll check your bag." He turned to walk out to the door as Tali scampered to her room.

"Ooh!" Ziva pushed herself up off her chair and followed Tali to her room. "Wait up, Tali!"

Tony chuckled at Tali and Ziva as he walked to the front door. He returned a couple of moments later, followed by Adelaide.

"Where's everybody else?" Adelaide's voice boomed out across the room as she looked around the room.

Tony said, enunciating his voice clearly, "Ziva's getting her cleaned up. We just finished breakfast."

"Ah!" Adelaide smiled to Tony.

"Savta's here!" Tali delighted squeal reached their ears as she ran up the hallway up to Adelaide and hugged her tightly.

Ziva trailed behind Tali, holding her belly up as she waddled over to Adelaide. "This sure isn't like how it was when I was carrying Tali. Back then, I had no time to be tired."

Tony cocked his head to Ziva. "You alright, hon?"

Ziva nodded and smiled at Tony. "I'll be fine." She turned to face Adelaide. "Good to see you again. Glad you came to help out."

Adelaide batted the air in front of Ziva. "Oh, it's not a problem. I'm willing to take her off your hands for the day. Let you get whatever you need done."

Tony leaned down to Tali. "You got your bag packed?"

Tali nodded. "I think I got everything. Ima helped with the bag."

Ziva winked and smiled at Tony. "Bag's on the bed. Tali, you wanna go get your bag?"

"Yippeee!" Tali burst into a smile and ran off to get her bag, her voice trailing behind her.

Ziva chuckled as she watched Tali scamper off to get her bag. "I packed an overnighter for her," she whispered to Tony. She turned to Adelaide and asked, "You wouldn't mind keeping her for the night if the need arises?"

Tony's eyebrows flicked upward momentarily as he smiled. "Yeah, never know how long things will be," he said, picking up on Ziva's underlying message immediately.

"Oh, not a problem! I'm sure she'll enjoy spending some time with me," Adelaide said, her booming voice filling the room.

~~Basement, in the secret bunker toward the back~~

Ziva slowly walked around room, her eyes passing over the huge work bench lined with a bank of large computer monitors on the wall. As she sat in a chair in front of the workbench and looked up at the wall above the monitors, a ringing sound filled the room, startling Ziva. She quickly looked down to the workbench and noticed a light flashing on the central monitor, indicating an incoming call. Her eyes flicked down toward the display screen below the monitor and she recognized the name on the caller ID. She smiled as she flicked the switch to complete the call. She looked up at the monitor as an image of Leon Vance standing in his office filled the screen. "Hello," Ziva said after she slipped on a headset and adjusted the mic boom and smiled up to Vance on the screen. "It's good to see you, Vance. It's been far too long." Her voice quavered ever so slightly, because she didn't know what to expect after all this time. Would he blow up at her for faking her own death?

But, no. Vance smiled back at Ziva through the monitor. "Hey, there, Ziva! You're a sight for sore eyes. How have you been holding up?"

Ziva smiled and turned sideways in her chair, smiling up at Vance, holding her pregnant belly. "Doing well, thank you."

Vance's eyes went wide in surprise, and he beamed at Ziva, his eyes sparkling in happiness. "Oh, you're expecting? When are you due?"

Ziva smiled back. "I'm so ready to have this soccer player out of there already. A few weeks more and that'll happen." As if to accentuate her point, the baby decided to kick into her diaphragm at that moment, causing Ziva to gasp. "Ooh! Stop kicking me already," she whispered breathlessly to the baby as she reached up and pushed down the top of her belly just enough to get the baby off of her vital organs, then rubbed it gently.

"Wow, he's an active one, isn't he?" Vance chuckled.

Ziva nodded. She let out a sigh. "I know I should have made contact with you all these years ago after the farmhouse explosion. I had to do what I had to do." She swallowed back the lump in her throat, then continued. "It was to protect myself and my family. Especially Gibbs and this family."

Vance nodded once. "Totally understandable. You don't have to explain, I would have done the same thing you did. People might not understand your method behind your madness, but it is obvious that there is always a good reason behind your next moves that you make." Vance shifted on his foot slightly. "Tony been there for you the whole time?"

Ziva nodded and smiled at the man on the screen. "All the time. He's been making sure that I make it to the doctor's office for my checkups. He's never had that chance with Tali. The whole thing was a total surprise for him, I'm sure." Ziva let out a short chuckle. "We even got married in Israel. Found a nice little place up in the country and Tony's been spending his time fixing things up around the place."

Vance's face shifted to a more serious tone. "Yeah, speaking of Tony, where is he? He's not in the room with you?"

Just then, the door leading to the secret room clicked open and Tony stepped through it, followed closely by McGee. "There you are, Ziva." Tony smiled to her as he strode over to her. He looked up at the screen and waved to the camera. "Hey, Vance. Good to see you."

Vance smiled at Tony. "Good to see you. You look like you've been busy." He looked around Tony and said, "Is that McGee back there?"

McGee stopped short and let the door swing closed and stood, staring at Ziva. "Ziva? So, you're the secret contact that I've been passing messages to and from." He blinked at Ziva, not believing his own eyes. He knew what he'd seen on the news that day, but had heard only very faint rumblings that she had made it through the explosion, having not been there at all in the first place. "You've made it out, after all," he whispered to himself.

Ziva folded her arms together and cocked her head at McGee, smiling at him, then glanced over to Tony. "Your idea? To keep him the dark?" she asked him in an undertone.

"But I thought it would be the best, you know." Tony tilted his head slightly and whispered back to Ziva.

"But I wouldn't have minded him knowing," Ziva whispered back.

McGee looked back at Tony and Ziva, and he noticed the ring on Ziva's hand. "Uhm, Ziva? Is that a ring on your finger?" McGee pointed toward it.

Ziva smiled and held up her hand, flashing the stone to McGee. "Married and everything. Baby on the way as well."

Vance cleared his throat loudly on the screen. "While it's good to have a reunion and to catch up, now's not exactly the time. We have business to attend to."

McGee snapped his eyes to the screen. "Yes, boss. Glad that everything's working normally. At least the equipment says the line's secure, anyway."

"That's good to hear. That's why I had the work crew go with you, McGee, to help Tony out with the setup down there." He shifted his gaze to Tony and Ziva and smiled. "What you've got now is essentially its own SCIF room. Only I and McGee have the clearance to maintain contact with you. It's code word level over here. I made sure of that. The rest of the agency doesn't have this level of clearance."

Tony raised an eyebrow. "Valuable asset to you, right? Part of the package deal that you and, uh, what's her name? Orli? Set up?"

Vance nodded and grinned at Tony. "Yup. Part of the package deal. Why don't we try calling 'em up over there, make sure everything works as intended?"

Ziva stepped up next to Tony. "Just tell me how to connect and I'll ring her up."

McGee spoke up. "Important numbers are in the memory bank. Bring up her name and hit dial. It'll connect automatically if she's there."

Ziva raised an eyebrow. "Nice. Now, let's see," she muttered to herself as she swiped the screen of the dialer, bringing up the directory. She quickly scrolled up to Orli's name and clicked on it and stood back up to look at the bank of monitors.

On another monitor, and window-boxed on the main monitor, Orli's image popped into view. "Good to see everyone at this time of hour. Especially you, Ziva."

Ziva smiled up at Orli. "It's been a while. Been busy preparing to become a mother again. This time, under better circumstances."

Vance spoke up. "I hate to admit, but it seems that things are working even better on your own end than mine. You're coming in clear as day, Orli."

McGee smiled. "Two gigabit per second fiber link, run through secure links, no one really knows our identity. Should be plenty enough for us to do our work together."

"Perfect!" Vance clapped his hands together. "Now, we can get down to business. Hearing some traffic about certain prisoners talking about future plans. I've been keeping my ears to the ground, listening for any news."

Adam stepped up next to Orli and held up a small stack of papers. "The rumors are being verified as we speak. It has been confirmed that there's been a cell formed inside a prison that's somewhere deep inside Hamas territory. So far, thing's been quiet out there, however. Just murmurings of rumors."

Orli turned to Adam. "How valid are the reports?"

Adam sighed. "I've got a man somewhat close, but he's not far enough inside. He only catches bits and pieces and puts things together."

Orli nodded and turned to face the monitor. "Sounds like we've got our work cut out for us. Shall we?"

Vance nodded. "Pull up a chair, everybody, and work the problem for a while."

Everybody murmured assent as they pulled up their chairs to the workbench. McGee breathed a sigh of relief and smiled inwardly. "Just like old times," he whispered to himself.

"I didn't catch that?" Tony automatically said.

Ziva had heard it more clearly than Tony did, and she smiled and nodded, replying back to McGee. "Yup, just like old times."

A few hours later, after Orli and Vance had disconnected from the video conference call, Tony pushed himself back from the workbench and looked at Ziva and McGee. "Well, that went much better than I expected." He looked over to McGee and his face crinkled up in a slightly puzzled look. "Gibbs know anything about this?" he whispered to McGee.

McGee chuckled. "Nope. He's not cleared for this work. Vance wouldn't let it happen."

"I'm getting a little hungry." Ziva patted her belly. "I'm eating for two, remember?"

"Let's order some Chinese," Tony said, flashing a smile to Ziva. "How's that sound?"

Ziva smiled. "I'm famished. That sounds wonderful."

Tony nodded his head once and smiled, holding a finger up in the air. "Chinese it is, then."

Half an hour later, after the Chinese delivery had dropped off their orders, Tony, Ziva, and McGee settled into their chairs around the kitchen table, with the only light source shining from the kitchen, lighting the room up to a medium level of brightness. Tony put the two bags on the table and opened one of them, letting out a sigh of satisfaction. "Here we go. One chicken lo mein for you," he said, handing a container to Ziva.

"Ooh, sounds nice," McGee interjected. "I get the sweet and sour chicken. Here, I'll get that from you," He held out his hands and got the box of food before Tony could lose his grip on it.

"Thanks," Tony said. "Was about to slip out of my hands there. What'd they do, drench the chicken in the sauce?"

McGee looked at the box, noticing the stain from the chicken inside, and chuckled. "Something. That's probably because the chicken's very fresh out of the fryer. Here's the sweet and sour sauce, safe and sound." McGee plucked the sauce from the top of the box and set it aside.

Tony rubbed his hands together and opened his box of rice and his box of chicken. "Nothing like some General Tso's chicken to set me straight after all that work we'd been doing back there."

Ziva chuckled at Tony. "While you think while you eat, Tony, let me ask you, McGee, how's work been for you these years?" Ziva kept her gaze on McGee as she jabbed her fork into the lo mein and twirled it around, winding the noodles around her fork.

McGee picked up his fork and jabbed it into a piece of chicken, letting out a sigh. "Busy. Doing lots of computer work, lots of taking pictures out in the field, collecting pieces of evidence." He shrugged his shoulders. "You know how it was."

Ziva smiled and nodded. "How are the replacements doing? I'm sure they have their own style of doing things." She put the forkful of lo mein in her mouth and started chewing, waiting for McGee's response.

Before McGee could respond, however, Tony blurted out, "I'm pretty sure they'll never quite match up to your ninja skills, Ziva." He waggled his eyebrows at Ziva.

McGee burst out in a chuckle. "They're different, that's for sure. Ellie Bishop, she claims she does her best work sitting on the floor, can you believe that?"

"Yeah, until she got a little talking to, eventually. She started using her chair for what it was there for in the first place a lot more often." Tony nodded. "I remember that."

McGee nodded. "Yeah, anyway, Torres is who he is. Does a good job, though." He shrugged his shoulders. "I kinda don't really care for his personality at times, though."

Tony let out a dry chuckle. "Least he's not stopping you from doing your job, that's what counts." Tony took another bite of his food and sat back and looked at McGee.

McGee shrugged as he popped another piece of sweet and sour chicken in his mouth. "Sometimes I feel like I'm just a piece of furniture there. I just exist to spit out data and information and numbers, nothing more, nothing less."

Ziva put her arms on the table, fork still in her hand, and leaned forward and looked McGee in his eyes. "What do you mean, exactly? That you're left to your own work and expected to not speak unless directly spoken to?"

McGee's face contorted into a puzzled sort of look. "Yeah, pretty much. It started after Gibbs gave Bishop a little talking to about certain aspects of her work, and she started putting in more quality work. Like I'm no longer the probie. Which is kind of true, anyway." He shrugged his shoulders. "It's kind of hard to describe how Gibbs is these days. He's just not been the same person pretty much since you left, Tony."

Tony let out a sarcastic chuckle. "I know exactly what you mean. I got the same kind of treatment from Gibbs. That I was a piece of furniture to him. Just because of this stupid Rule Twelve thing he's always been holding over our heads." He scoffed. "Glad I'm not gonna have to deal with him anymore. Just through Vance, and now you."

"None of the other team members know, either," McGee said. "The only way I knew this was special was when Vance kept having me leave and run an errand for him. Dead drops and the like. Never knew who this reliable source was until Vance sent me here."

Ziva chuckled. "You've got to respect Vance and his secretive ways. He's holding up his end of the bargain with the Mossad, and we are part of the package deal that he and Orli set up."

"So, wait," McGee leaned forward slightly in his chair. "How did you make it out alive from that farmhouse? You know, the explosion there."

"I was never there to begin with. I had left only minutes prior to the explosion. Adam had a close call, but he still got out safely, as you can see." Ziva sat back and looked at Tony. "Spent all this time until not too long ago being on the run."

Tony nodded, swallowing his food and holding up a finger. "Long story short, I managed to find her and get her to safety. Everything's been relatively smooth since then. That bunker setup's a sweet deal. Really makes our work a lot easier."

McGee chuckled. "I made sure you got the best setup, and made sure all security protocols were in place. You've got faster Internet access than NCIS does, now. Just don't be downloading bootleg movies, now." He wagged his finger in Tony's direction.

Tony chuckled. "Oh, so you still remember that trailer full of DVDs? I still got the cover from one of 'em."

Ziva laughed. "You still held onto that DVD cover?" She looked at Tony. "Where is it?"

Tony threw his hands up in the air and shrugged his shoulders, chuckling. "Somewhere in a box, I don't know. You're way more important than that thing, anyway."

Ziva chuckled at Tony. "That's sweet of you to say." She turned to McGee and tilted her head at McGee. "What do you mean exactly by Gibbs not being himself these days?"

McGee let out a sigh as he toyed with the food within the box. "Well, like I said, he seems to be putting more pressure on the new agents and expecting them to step up their game. Never satisfied with their performance, always asking for more and better."

Tony guffawed. "Yeah, well, Gibbs always wants you to do your best on the job. Never slacking. Never having a relationship. All work, no play." Tony chopped the air with his hand in front of him.

McGee sat up, a bit of anger in his eyes. "That's exactly it. Wring you dry then toss you to the side and treat you like furniture. But I guess he means well, right?"

Tony scoffed. "You got that right about the never being good enough for his satisfaction. You even step out of line on one of his rules, and especially if it was one of his core rules, good luck to you because your career's toast, pretty much." He held his hands out in the air and shrugged. "He's got his ways of pushing you out. Make you quit, save him the paperwork of having to explain why he fired you."

"Boys, boys." Ziva put her hands on Tony and McGee's shoulders. "Enough of that. If it wasn't for Vance, I wouldn't be working as liaison for NCIS. But in time, Gibbs is going to find out somehow. When that time comes, I'll be the one talking to Gibbs. Let me handle him when that right time comes." Ziva placed a hand on her chest and looked at Tony intently. Her eyes bore into Tony's, emphasizing that she will set Gibbs straight. "I think he's been blaming himself for a lot of things and I believe that some of that is due to me."

"Hmph." Tony harumphed. "We'll see about that, when the time comes."

Ziva patted Tony on his arm. "Hey. It'll be fine. Gibbs may not like what I might have to say to him, but that's fine. He needs to move on from his past and let go. I don't think he's gotten to that point yet."

McGee took a sip of his drink, looking at Ziva and Tony thoughtfully. "I think you two working together reminded him too much of himself with Jenny. And when Tali came into the picture, well, it wasn't quite pretty," McGee said softly.

Ziva raised an eyebrow at McGee. "So you were there when it happened? How did it go?" She put her arms on the table and leaned forward, suddenly interested.

McGee let out a wry chuckle. "Steam practically coming out of Gibbs' ears when he made the connection that you two were at it behind his back the whole time. I don't think he ever looked at Tony the same since that day."

Tony let out a chuckle. "He can't stop us now because we're married. Besides, we don't report to Gibbs anymore. We go straight to the top. I'd rather work with Vance, anyway."

Ziva nodded. "We're too valuable an asset for NCIS to lose, so this is the best way that Vance can still have us work for and with him. Officially, we've resigned with NCIS. But off the record, we've just been reassigned to duty."

"It's a pretty slick arrangement with Israel, too, from my understanding," Tony said. "Makes it easier for intel to be shared than through official channels."

"None of the rest of the team knows, not even Ducky and Jimmy?" Ziva tilted her head to McGee. "They're doing well, I take it?"

McGee nodded. "Autopsy's been running smoothly. Jimmy's filling the role pretty well. Ducky still stops by every so often to offer advice and wisdom to Jimmy."

Tony nodded. "That's good to hear, about them. Forensics not changed a bit?"

McGee chuckled. "She's still in her own world, nothing new there." McGee's gaze was noncommittal, as he shrugged his shoulders.

Tony chuckled. "Different people, the same old dynamic. That's the one thing you can count on for any government agency. People may come and go, but the work never changes."

McGee sat back in his chair and stretched his arms out. "Yeah. It's good to get out of the bullpen for a while and get some real work done for a change."

"We gonna expect more of the same from now on, on occasion?" Ziva asked McGee.

"Whenever Vance sends me your way." McGee nodded. "I have a feeling that he'll be doing that from time to time. Let's hope Gibbs doesn't start digging into things."

"You got that right," Tony muttered to McGee. "Just not ready to face him yet. I don't know if I will ever be. As long as we're going through Vance, I'm fine with that arrangement. It worked out great."

"Yeah. No Gibbs breathing down our necks," McGee said as he smiled at Tony. "Better than old times, in some ways."

Tony nodded. "The more work we could do, and the easier things flowed, the quicker time went, right, McGee?"

McGee nodded, then looked down at his watch. "Yeah, speaking of time. I didn't realize how late things had gotten. We got more done than even I expected today. Had a good time working with you two, I'll tell you that much." He reached out and patted Tony on his shoulder.

Ziva chuckled at McGee. "I didn't realize the time either. I've got to get up and get myself more comfortable. I've been sitting in chairs way too long." She slowly got up from her chair and stretched out.

Tony chuckled at Ziva. "You'll be fine resting while I drop McGee off in the city?"

Ziva took a couple of steps toward Tony. "I'll be fine. I'll just be resting and waiting for you." She put a hand on Tony's cheek and smiled at him, then dropped her hand and took a couple of steps toward the bedroom. She stopped short of entering the hallway and turned around to look at McGee. "It was great seeing you again. Hang in there and keep up the good work. We'll see you again. Have a good night, and a safe trip back to the city."

McGee smiled and waved at Ziva. "Will do my best at work, and I'll drive carefully going home." He turned to Tony. "Ready now, whenever you are."

Tony nodded once and smiled to McGee. "Alright, let's go. Gimme a second, though." He held up a finger, and followed Ziva into the bedroom, catching up with Ziva as she reached the side of the bed. "You doing okay, hon?" he asked in a quiet voice.

Ziva looked up at Tony and smiled. "Just tired, getting ready to unwind and rest." She pulled the covers back and then turned to face Tony, reaching up and putting her arms around his neck and smiling up at him. "Drive safe when you're dropping McGee off.

Tony put his arms around Ziva's waist and pulled her closer to him, kissing her on her lips. "I shouldn't be too long dropping him off. I'll be back before you know it," he said, his voice barely above a whisper.

Ziva nodded and smiled. "Hurry back. I'll be waiting for you."

Tony stepped back from Ziva, smiling and waving to her. "Love you. I'll be back." He stepped out of the room.

~~Be warned, MA content, Tiva having a steamy night~~

Almost an hour later, Tony quietly slipped into the bedroom and looked down at Ziva resting on the bed. He smiled at her, looking over her very pregnant form as she rested on the bed. He quietly slipped out of his clothes, leaving just his boxers on, and stealthily moved the covers aside and slipped into bed, flipping the covers over himself. He settled his head on his pillow and looked at Ziva as he gently rubbed her belly. "I'm back, honey," he whispered into her ear.

A small grin formed on Ziva's lips and she snuggled up close to Tony. "Good drive to the city?" she asked, tilting her head up slightly, her eyes still closed.

"Very smooth traffic, for once. Glad I got home a little sooner than I had expected. The quicker I got home, the more time I could spend with you," he whispered, smiling as he gently trailed his fingers in aimless circles on Ziva's belly. "Won't be long before he comes, now, right?"

Ziva put a hand on Tony's and pressed it against her belly. "I'm supposed to be a few weeks yet, but this one feels different. I have the feeling he's going to be coming out sooner than later."

"Really?" Tony propped himself up on his elbow a little, looking down at Ziva's belly. He glanced up at Ziva's face and kissed her cheek. "Then I guess we'll just see how things happen, go with the flow." He smiled at Ziva.

Ziva turned over on her back and looked up at Tony and smiled at him. "I just know I want to be close to you. To feel your touch. Today's been a good day, but I'd like to feel you again."

Tony smiled at Ziva and placed his hand on her belly, feeling the baby twitch and move within. "He's looking forward to getting out, isn't he?" he murmured to Ziva.

Ziva chuckled softly. "He's been very active today. Tires me out a lot. You notice how Tali's been clingy as of late? Even she's feeling that something's going to happen soon."

Tony nodded. "I noticed that too. But I think Tali will turn out to be a wonderful big sister." He propped himself up further and looked at Ziva. "I'm sure of it."

Ziva looked up at Tony. "It'll be interesting for Tali, for sure." She looked out the window, thinking about the day's happenings.

Suddenly, the clouds moved aside and the moon shone into the bedroom, exposing Ziva's face in a pale light. Tony looked at her beauty in the dim moonlight and tilted his head. "You know, I've been noticing that seemed to be glowing more than usual all day long today. You said you're due in a few weeks, right? I just wanted to make sure I heard you correctly."

Ziva chuckled at Tony and nodded. "That's what the doctor said a couple of weeks ago. But my body's been telling me different. As if it's not going to be a few weeks. It's going to be a few days later, I think."

Tony reached over and hugged Ziva. "It's going to be alright. I'll be with you every step of the way." He smiled at Ziva, then kissed her full on.

Ziva reached up and pulled Tony close to her, returning his kiss. She smiled briefly as she felt one of Tony's hands gently caressing one of her breasts. After a few moments, he slowly made his way downward to her belly. "How's that feel?" Tony asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

Ziva arched up slightly against Tony's hand. "Feels good," she said huskily. "It's been far too long since you – oh, that feels good, Tony, don't stop!" she said as felt Tony's hand start caressing her womanhood. "Don't stop, that feels good," she whispered to Tony as she reached up to kiss him yet again.

Tony chuckled slightly, then smiled at Ziva. "Feels good to just be with you, feel you. Touch you."

Ziva chuckled. "And have me feel your knee, no doubt." She reached down and gently rubbed Tony's manhood. "It's there, alright."

Tony chuckled. "Well, there is that, too. How're we gonna make this work?"

Ziva pushed Tony back in bed and sat herself up in bed and looked at Tony. "Let's find out, shall we?" She swung a leg over Tony and sat astride him.

"Oh! There we go," Tony chuckled as Ziva sat astride him and started to slowly rock her hips back and forth on him.

"We'll find ways to make it work," Ziva said, smiling as she leaned onto Tony's shoulder with one hand as she adjusted things down there with her other hand, then slid herself onto Tony, moaning in pleasure.

Tony groaned in pleasure as he felt himself enter Ziva. "Oh, yes," he whispered to her as he started moving in unison with her, holding onto her buttocks and legs.

"Don't stop," Ziva breathed out huskily as she continued rocking on top of Tony, bringing herself and him to climax. "Oh, oh, yes!" Her voice climbed as she reached closer to climax.

Tony grunted as he drove himself deeper inside of her, letting out an exclamation as he climaxed deep within her.

As Ziva climaxed, her womanhood clenched down onto Tony, and she held on tight as waves of pleasure swept over her, nearly overwhelming her senses. As the energy drained from her, she slowly sank down on top of Tony, keeping him inside of her, hugging Tony.

~~Tiva~~

An hour after the lovemaking activity on the bed, Tony quietly got out of bed, leaving Ziva to rest in bed, and quietly walked toward the bathroom to clean up. "Wow, what a workout," he whispered to himself as he put fresh pajama pants on.

Ziva lay in bed, her eyes open, a small smile on her lips as she looked out the window, noticing the full moon riding high in the sky. She shifted her gaze and looked toward the bathroom where Tony was cleaning himself up, then back up at the sky.

Tony stepped out of the bathroom a couple of seconds later and looked at Ziva laying there in bed. He walked up slowly to her, and noticed that her eyes were open. "You doing alright, honey?"

Ziva nodded her head on the pillow and smiled. "I'd be falling asleep if our baby would stop moving for once." She rubbed her belly gently. "Every time I start falling asleep, I get a kick out of him."

Tony chuckled. "Maybe if I lay down beside you, that'll help?"

Ziva smiled. "As long as we lay still, I think that helps a lot. Every time we go to bed together, the baby calms right down and gives me the chance to sleep."

Tony smiled as he carefully got into bed with Ziva. "Well, let's try that, then." He snuggled up close to Ziva, and closed his eyes and held her tightly, breathing in her scent. "I'm right here."

Ziva snuggled up closer to Tony and smiled as she closed her eyes. She let the sands of sleep draw her deeper into sleep, and as she let herself sink deeper, she whispered to Tony, "I think the baby's going to let me rest, now."

"That's good," Tony said, smiling to himself. He adjusted himself slightly, then said, "I love you, my sweetcheeks."

"I love you, too, Tony," Ziva whispered back to Tony. After a moment, she added, "Good night."

Tony looked down at Ziva, watching as she rested peacefully in his arms. Finally, she gets to sleep, he thought to himself. "Sleep tight. I'll see you in the morning," Tony whispered to Ziva.

A snore escaped Ziva's lips, bringing a smile to Tony. He shook his head slightly as he lay back down on the bed and gently snuggled up to Ziva and started to fall asleep.

A/N: Hello Readers. I'm back from my vacation, and now it's time that I got my writing bug back. I'm glad it didn't take too long to start writing again. Thank you for enjoying this chapter. There will be more to come. Thank you for the Reviews, Tweets, Messages and Kudos.