Here's chapter two! I hope you enjoy, let me know what you think!
Two
Tony and Ziva woke up the next morning to Tony's cell phone ringing loudly on the bedside table. He reached over and picked it up, hitting talk and pressing the speaker to his ear.
"Hello?" He asked, groggy.
"Junior!" Ziva heard Senior's voice from the other side of the bed.
"What are your plans for the day?" Senior asked.
Tony shrugged. "Not much of anything, why what's up?" He asked.
"I was wondering if you wanted to meet me at the hotel for breakfast." Senior told him.
Tony looked over at the clock; 8:45. Of course his father would call before nine.
"Yeah, sure. What time?" He asked.
Senior thought for a moment. "Does ten work?"
Tony nodded. "Yeah, ten's good. I'll meet you in the lobby."
Senior smiled. "Alright, see you then son." He said before he hung up the phone.
Ziva looked over at Tony when he put his phone down on the table.
"What was that about?" She asked.
"He wants me to meet him at his hotel for breakfast at ten." Tony told her.
Ziva smiled. "That is good, isn't it?" She asked.
Tony shrugged. "I'm not sure. Maybe he'll tell my why he's here."
Ziva nodded. "Well if you like, I can drop you off and go get caught up on some paperwork?" She asked.
Tony nodded. "Alright. Shower?" He asked.
Ziva sniffed and turned up her nose playfully. "You need one." She joked.
Tony laughed. "You're never gonna get tired of that joke are you?" He asked.
She shook her head. "Probably not."
Tony sat up and pulled Ziva with him. He wrapped one arm around her back and hooked the other under her legs and stood up. Ziva laughed and laid her head on his shoulder as he walked toward the bathroom with her in his arms.
As much as she would deny it to anyone who accused her, she loved it when Tony did things like that with her, even if it was unnecessary. She enjoyed the closeness in simple things that they shared. She hadn't ever had that in a relationship before.
Tony set her down on the counter and reached into the shower to turn the water on and adjust it.
He stood in front of Ziva, resting his hands on her hips. He leaned in to kiss her, and Ziva's hands came up to wrap around his shoulders, pulling him to her.
Tony pulled away a moment later, smiling brightly.
"Come on, water should be warm by now." He said.
Ziva slid off the counter and stepped into the shower behind Tony.
XXXXX
Ziva pulled up to the sidewalk outside the Adams House Hotel and put the car in park. Tony leaned over to kiss her quickly.
"I'll see you later." Tony said.
Ziva nodded. "I am just going to go in and do paperwork. Call if you need me to pick you up." She told him.
Tony nodded and his right hand reached for the door handle. He pushed the door open and stepped out onto the busy sidewalk.
"Love you." He called through the open door.
Ziva smiled. "Love you too." She said before he closed the door.
She watched to make sure he got into the hotel before putting the car in drive and pulling away from the sidewalk.
Tony walked out of the revolving door and stood to the side. He took a deep breath, trying to centre himself as he scanned the crowd for his father. He saw Senior at the concierge desk, talking to another man, it looked like they knew each other well, as they were still laughing about something when Tony tapped his father on the shoulder.
Senior turned around. "Junior! You're just in time, let me introduce you to an old friend." Senior boasted as he moved to stand beside Tony. "This is Russell Archer, we met in Morocco, in what was it? Sixty-four? Sixty-five, maybe? Anyway, Arch, this is my son, Anthony Junior."
Archer held his hand out to Tony. "Your father has told me many good things." He said with a thick French accent, shaking Tony's hand.
Tony smiled. "Nice to meet you." He said.
"Here's my number Arch," Senior handed the man a piece of paper. "Call me later and we'll get together, we should get going."
Archer nodded. "Of course, I should be on my way as well." He said as he pulled his jacket on.
Senior and Archer said their goodbyes, and a minute later, Senior was leading Tony through the restaurant to his reserved table.
"He's a good guy." Senior said as they sat down. "Saved my ass more than a few times."
Tony nodded. "He seems nice." Was all he could think to say.
Senior nodded. "Alright, you've gotta be wondering why in hell I'm here, right?" He asked.
Tony nodded again. "And why you didn't call to let me know you were coming." He said.
"I've been thinking about buying a house in D.C." Senior told Tony.
Tony was stunned. "What?" He asked. "Why?"
Senior shrugged. "I wanted to be able to see you more. I thought it might be easier if I had an actual place to stay in that didn't cost four hundred a night."
Tony nodded. "I guess that makes sense."
"I won't buy here if you don't want me to though. I don't want to crowd you." Senior backtracked.
Tony shook his head. "No, dad, I want you here." He told him. "I think I'd like it."
Senior smiled. "That was kind of the reason I wanted you to meet me today. I've got a few appointments set up to look at some houses, I was hoping you would go with me." He told Tony.
Tony nodded. "Yeah, sure. That sounds great." He said.
He was happy that his father would consider moving closer to him. Even if he said he didn't care about a relationship with him, he did want one.
Tony was snapped out of his thoughts when a waiter put a menu down in front of him.
"I will give you a few minutes." The waiter said before he turned on his heel and walked toward another table.
Tony opened the menu and flipped through the pages quickly. He settled on Belgian waffles almost immediately and closed his menu. He watched Senior read through the menu for a few minutes before he too closed the book.
"So, you and Ziva?" Senior said, looking up at Tony.
Tony nodded. "Yeah." He said simply. He wasn't sure what else to say.
"You love her." Senior said. It wasn't a question, it was a statement.
Tony nodded once again. "I do. More than anything else." He told his father honestly.
"So how long have you two really been together? Why haven't you popped the question? It seems like you two have been together for years, you just didn't tell anyone." Senior said.
Tony shook his head. "No, no, it's only been since August, after I was attacked… there wasn't anything, well nothing that was acted on until then." He said. "I don't really know how we got so close. It's just always been that way."
Senior smiled. "I'm glad you found someone son. She's a good one." He said.
Tony nodded. "I know. And I want to hold onto her for as long as she'll let me." He told Senior.
"I felt the same way about your mother." Senior said. "God she was way too good for me though." He laughed.
Tony smiled. "You never talk about mom." He said.
Senior shrugged. "You never ask me to."
Tony nodded. "Okay, that's fair."
Their conversation was interrupted a moment later by the waiter coming over to take their order.
XXXXX
Ziva closed the file she had been staring at for the last twenty minutes with a huff. She slid it to the side and rested her elbows on top of her desk, her fingers rubbing at her temples.
She was surprised when she opened her eyes and a tall, dark-skinned woman was staring down at her.
"Can I help you?" Ziva asked.
The woman nodded. "You're agent Ziva David, correct?" She asked.
Ziva nodded. "Yes." She said shortly.
"I'm Doctor Kalela Oliver, I'm the Operational Psychologist overseeing agent DiNozzo's psychological evaluations. I would like to speak to you for a moment, if you've got the time." She asked.
Ziva nodded and pushed her chair away from her desk so she could stand.
"Of course. Lead the way." Ziva said.
Doctor Oliver turned and walked out of the squad room, toward the stairs that would take them to the conference room.
Ziva shut the door behind her and sat down across from Doctor Oliver at the table.
Doctor Oliver opened her notepad and picked up her pen.
"So, agent DiNozzo has given me permission to ask you a few questions about his recovery and mental health." She explained.
Ziva nodded. "Alright. I will try to help as much as I can." She said.
"I understand that you are in a romantic relationship with agent DiNozzo, is that correct?" Doctor Oliver asked.
Ziva nodded. "Yes, I am."
"And how is that going?" Doctor Oliver asked.
Ziva smiled and she leaned back in her chair slightly. "It is good. We are both very happy." She said.
Doctor Oliver smiled. "That's good. Would you say you're the person who knows the most about him?" She asked.
Ziva nodded slowly. "I would say so, yes."
"Do you think he is ready for restricted duty?" Doctor Oliver asked.
"What do you mean?" Ziva asked.
"How is his recovery going, in your opinion? What have you noticed?"
Ziva thought for a moment. "He has made incredible progress. At first he was terrified, he couldn't think about anything but what had happened to him." She said.
"And now?" Doctor Oliver asked.
"I believe that he would have no problems on desk duty." Ziva told her confidently.
"And I've been told he's been seeing a therapist." Doctor Oliver said.
Ziva nodded. "Yes, twice a week. It has helped him."
Doctor Oliver nodded. "Would you be worried about his mental health if he were to be placed on restricted duty?" She asked.
Ziva shook her head. "No. Tony is one of the best agents I have ever known, and no, I am not just saying that because we are together. I would not be seriously concerned at all."
Doctor Oliver nodded. "Thank you for your honesty, agent David. I appreciate it." She said.
Ziva nodded and stood up from the table. "Thank you." She said before she walked out of the room.
XXXXX
"Why do you think you need such a big house dad?" Tony asked as they pulled up at the fourth house of the day. "Everything we've looked at has been three bedrooms or more."
Senior closed the car door and led Tony toward the house, where the real estate agent was standing waiting for them.
"Well I figured that I could have extra room for you, and now Ziva, to come stay for a few days if you wanted to, and hey, maybe even some grandkids one day… I'm not getting any younger here, Junior." Senior said as they walked up the front path.
"Grandkids are definitely a long way away dad. A long, long way away." Tony told him.
"Whatever you say son, but I want one before I'm dead." Senior said. "You must be Jim." He said, holding his hand out to the real estate agent standing by the front door.
He nodded and shook Senior's hand. "It's nice to finally meet you, mister DiNozzo."
"Call me Anthony." Senior said happily.
Jim nodded. "Alright, let's take a look inside, shall we?"
Senior nodded and stepped back to stand beside Tony, waiting patiently for the door to be unlocked.
Jim pushed the door open and led the two men inside.
"As you can see here, we have a nice open concept kitchen-living room area. The kitchen includes a walk-in pantry and marble counter tops. All of the floors are hardwood, oak if I'm not mistaken, and brand new, actually." Jim said as he led them toward the staircase.
"Upstairs is the master suite, another bedroom, and a bathroom attached to each. And downstairs you have two more bedrooms, a recreational space, laundry room, and a shared bathroom." Jim said.
"What about the bathrooms on the main floor?" Tony asked.
Jim nodded. "Of course, right through here." He told Tony as they walked past the stairs on the right wall. He pointed at a door leading off the living room. "Feel free to have a look around, gentlemen, and I'll be here if you have any questions."
Senior turned around to look at Tony. "Upstairs first?" He asked.
Tony nodded and followed his father up the stairs.
They stepped through the door of the master bedroom and were shocked at its size.
"Who needs this much space in the bedroom?" Tony asked quietly.
Senior laughed. "Some people have beds that take up more than five feet of space Junior." He jabbed.
Tony laughed. "It came with the place. And I liked my bed."
Senior nodded. "Whatever you say." He said as he opened the door to the en-suite bathroom. "Good God come look at the bath tub."
Tony stepped into the bathroom behind Senior. "Looks more like a swimming pool." Tony said. "Wait, how much are they asking for this house?"
Senior shrugged. "Nine hundred thousand I think."
"Where in hell are you gonna get nine hundred thousand dollars from?" Tony asked.
"Don't worry about it Junior. I'm not really liking this one anyway." Senior said quietly.
Tony nodded unsurely. "Let's go check out the rest of it." Tony said, walking out of the bathroom.
XXXXX
Ziva looked up from her laptop when she heard Tony sliding his key into the door.
Tony pushed the door open a second later and entered the apartment, kicking his shoes off. He hung up his keys and peeled his jacket off.
"Hey you." Tony said, walking toward Ziva.
Ziva closed her laptop and set it down on the coffee table. Tony sat down beside her on the couch. She wrapped her arm around his shoulders, and he leaned into her.
"How was your day?" Ziva asked.
"Filled with hardwood and marble." He told her.
Ziva looked confused. "What?" She asked.
Tony chuckled. "Senior wants to buy a house so he can spend more time here."
Ziva smiled. "That is good, isn't it?" She asked.
Tony shrugged. "Yeah, I think so."
"Do you want him here that much?" Ziva asked.
Tony thought for a moment. "Yeah." He told her. "You should've seen the places we went to look at. They were huge." Tony told her.
"Why does he want a big place?" Ziva asked.
Tony shook his head. "Something about having space for us to come and visit and having space for grandkids."
Ziva sighed. "Oh." She said quietly.
Tony wrapped his arm around her. "I know." He said softly. He kissed her forehead softly.
Ziva leaned into him, resting her head on his chest silently.
"You okay?" Tony asked gently.
Ziva shrugged. "I suppose."
"Do you wanna talk about it?" Tony asked.
"What is there to talk about?" Ziva asked. "I probably can't get pregnant, which means to grandchildren. That is all there is to it."
Tony rubbed her back gently. "There are other ways to have kids Zi." He reminded her.
Ziva nodded. "I know… I don't even think they would approve me for adoption… I don't make enough money, I have a dangerous job…" She trailed off.
"You know-"
Ziva cut him off. "Can we please talk about something else?" She asked softly, looking up at him.
Tony nodded when he saw the tears in her eyes. "It'll work out." He said simply.
Ziva nodded. "I know." She said quietly.
Tony hugged her tightly against himself. "Come on, let's grab something to eat. There's still pie left."
Ziva laughed lightly. "Alright."