I am sorry that I have not updated this in a while, I honestly had not realised how long it had been and I life has been rather hectic. So I apologise and I might even update 'Her Return' tonight if I can get it finished.
XIX. Home Is Where the Heart Is.
"So, what did you put down for the sweepstake?" Ziva asked as Jenny walked past.
"I don't know what you're talking about." She smiled her most innocent 'director smile'.
"The bet over whether I will have a girl or a boy. I caught Abby going around and asking people yesterday." Ziva smiled.
"Boy." Jenny smiled then paused and frowned. "Does Abby know that you know?"
"No, I have found it rather amusing watching everybody's attempts at hiding it from me."
"You don't mind?"
"No." She shook her head and smiled. "I have taken part in many sweepstakes involving colleagues."
Jenny smiled. "Have you booked an appointment for your scan yet?"
"Next week." Ziva nodded. "I have already spoken to Gibbs about it and he said that it is fine." She looked down at the paperwork on her desk.
"Hey Jenny, how're you today?" Tony asked as he walked over and sat on the edge of Ziva's desk.
"I'm well, thank you agent DiNozzo." She nodded.
"We're going out." He picked Ziva's coat up and held it out for her to put on.
"Where?" Both women asked simultaneously.
"It's a surprize, can't say." He grinned.
"Tony…" She groaned. "I do not like surprizes."
"I think you'll like this one. Bring your bag, we're not coming back tonight." He said, collecting his things.
"Has Gibbs cleared this?" The director asked.
"Yeah." Tony shrugged.
"What is so important, Tony?" Ziva asked as he grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the elevator.
"You'll see." He grinned.
"What are we doing here, Tony?" She asked as they stood in the snow. They had walked to a street about fifteen minutes from the navy yard. Trees lined the road, one every two brownstones.
"Come on." He took her hands and led her up the icy steps, preventing her from slipping. He hit the doorbell and wrapped his arm around her shoulder, pressing a kiss to the side of her head. The lock clicked and the door swung wide open.
"Tony!" The man at the door grinned.
"Al, it's been too long." DiNozzo hugged him and Ziva frowned, looking between the two men. "This is Ziva." He smiled and nodded to her.
"Ziva David." She held her hand out and he shook it.
"Alexander Larson, but you can call me Al." He smiled, a very similar smile to Tony's – charming. "Please, come in." He moved and Tony and Ziva stepped through the threshold.
"What are we doing here?" Ziva asked quietly.
"Patience, young one." He did his very best Obi Wan voice.
"This is my wife, Sandra." Al said as a blonde woman walked over. They had walked into an airy kitchen at the back of the house. Ziva surveyed her surroundings, smiling at the children's paintings on the fridge. A timer dinged and Sandra walked to the oven to remove a loaf of bread.
"Al went to Ohio State with me." Tony grinned.
"I used to think they were the best years of my life. I was wrong, these are now." He smiled and pointed to a canvas with an image of him, his wife and two young children.
"They are beautiful." Ziva nodded.
"Thank you." Sandra smiled. "You like to see the rest of the house?"
"Er, sure." She frowned, confused. "Tony?"
"Go ahead, I've already seen it." He pointed to the doorway and waited for the two women to walk out. "So you're really thinking about selling the place?"
"You really thinking about buying it?" Al smiled and Tony shook his head laughing.
"We need a house."
"Do I detect hidden motivations?" Tony's old friend handed him a mug of coffee.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"You look happy. You're not scared that having a kid's gonna change your whole life?" He asked, sitting down on a barstool.
"Did I say anything about kids?"
"No-one buys a house without needing to." Al laughed. "When Sandra fell pregnant with Michael, we were already married, we'd even been trying for a kid, and I still freaked out when she told me. Don't think I was calm until the day he was born." He laughed.
"What're you trying to tell me, Al?"
"Just that you're the last person I thought to be settling down. And happy about it."
"I'm not getting any younger. And I love her, she's amazing."
"You look good together." He raised his shoulders. "It's a good feeling, holding your kid for the first time, hearing their first laugh, their first word."
"I can't wait." He grinned.
"You'll regret saying in a few months. Get as much sleep now as you can."
"So, both the bathrooms were redone last year along with the kitchen. The bedrooms have just been repainted." Sandra smiled as they returned to the kitchen.
"They look very nice." Ziva nodded and smiled, kissing Tony as she walked over. "You taste like coffee." She whispered in his ear.
"You're not having any." He tapped her nose and pushed his mug away from her slightly. "So, what do you think?"
"Of the house?" She asked.
"Could you see yourself living here?" Al smiled.
"I do not think we could afford to live in a place like this." She sighed. "But I do like it here." Tony nodded to his friend and the homeowners walked through to the living room. "Maybe in a few years."
"Yeah, there's the funny thing." Tony laughed. "Al has a job waiting for him in California. The family leaves in two months, need to sell quickly so not asking for much, don't need it either." He added the last part quietly. "Al's been working on this house since he left Ohio, wants it to go to someone he knows will keep it in good condition." Ziva raised her eyebrows.
"So we are buying a house?" She grinned and hugged him.
"I didn't expect you to be so excited." He laughed, hugging her back and kissing the top of her head. "I was expecting you to say that we should wait until we know that everything's ok."
"Well, I think that we are fortunate to have such an offer, and if you are as serious about this as I am, then if something goes wrong there are always second chances." She laid her hand on his chest and smiled softly.
"You're so amazing." Tony grinned.
"We are doing this?"
"We're buying the house."
