The return of the prewritten chapter. I forgot that I had this one written up. I really need to do something about Malachi. I am starting to hate him. Oh, I have just realised that I do not think I ever actually concluded the Jell-O case, did I? It seems the FBI are still grappling with that. Maybe we should check in on them sometime. Perhaps in the next chapter. I do not know. I do not really want to write anything at the moment. Or I do and I simply do not know what to write.
LXI. Among The Things Billy Pilgrim Could Not Change Were The Past, Present And Future.
"Ziva?"
"Yes, Abby?" Ziva looked up at the Goth's tone. She wanted something, she could tell. It was Tony's first day back, albeit on desk-duty, and she had been bored at home, so she had brought the twins to the office. Tony had spent half the morning showing them off to people before Gibbs had grumbled something half-heartedly about getting on with some work.
"Well, I was just wondering…" She walked over and started playing with Adabelle's foot. Ziva just narrowed her eyes as she held Bod, uncertain of what it was her friend was trying to do.
"Have you asked her yet? Have you asked her?" McGee bounded in and grinned when he spotted Ziva in the lab.
"No, she has not asked me anything."
"Well, I was wondering… Halloween is coming up."
"In five months."
"It's less than half a year." Abby shrugged before continuing. "What I wanted to know was if I would be allowed to dress the twins for Halloween."
"Hey! I want to dress one of them!"
"Oh, come on, McGee! Halloween's my holiday!" Abby stomped her feet, the loud bang causing Ichabod to jump slightly in his mothers arms.
"There are two of them. You only need one!" He argued. "I have such a good idea. Please?" It was not Ziva who he was pleading with, but Abby.
"Fine. I guess you can dress one."
"No. Neither of you are dressing either of my children." Ziva interrupted the fight.
"Why do they want to dress our kids?" Tony waltzed in, Gibbs hot on his heels.
"Abby and McGee want to dress them for Halloween."
"Halloween's in five months, Abs. It's a bit early." Gibbs frowned.
"No, actually at Halloween."
"I don't see why not." Tony shrugged and both Abby and McGee's faces lit up. Ziva's face, however, did not seem so impressed. She carefully handed Ichabod to Gibbs and walked over to Tony, pinching his earlobe. Hard. "Ow! Ow ow ow ow ow!"
"You do not see why not?"
"No. I mean, I think it would be kinda…cute…" He whimpered. She squeezed harder for a second before releasing him. "Come on, Ziva. I think it would be fun."
"And where would they go in these costumes?"
"The NCIS Halloween party." Gibbs supplied. "Even I think it's a good idea, Ziva."
"Please, Ziva?" Abby looked at her with her best puppy-dog eyes. "I promise that you won't regret it."
Ziva pursed her lips. "No." She shook her head, taking Ichabod from Gibbs and placing him in his carrier, picking up Ada's and storming towards the elevator.
"I'll work on her." Tony winked before turning and following his wife.
"I get Bod."
"Wha…No fair!"
"But Timmy, I have a great idea!" Abby stomped her feet.
"So do I! Come on, Abs…please, I've got no idea how you dress a girl!"
Gibbs rolled his eyes. "Hey, the pair of you! Why don't you wait for Ziva to say yes. Then, how about you enter the costume competition as two groups; the girls and the guys."
"Brilliant idea, O Greatness." Abby bowed down to him. "Now, what did you come down here to ask about?"
"Any progress?"
Abby sighed and looked at him, shaking her head. "He's disappeared again. It's like he's a ghost."
"Well, find me some ectoplasm, Abby. We need to get somewhere with this." He turned on his heel and left.
"Ziva's struggling with this, isn't she?"
"Well, wouldn't you be, McGee? I mean, her psycho ex is trying to kill her babies and her husband."
"And I thought you had a bad taste in men." He smiled.
"Hey! You were one of those men. And besides, if Ziva's taste in men were really that bad, she and Tony would not be together, would they?"
"Well…I would not say Tony's exactly a good choice. And I was excluding myself from your bad taste."
"You can't just exclude yourself, it doesn't work like that." Abby slurped at her Caf-Pow! innocently and shrugged, turning back to the monitor. "Ugh! I hate this guy, McGee! I really hate him!"
"We all do, Abs." He rubbed his eyes and sighed. "Come on. From the top."
"Why not?"
"Because, I do not want my children paraded around in some stupid costumes." She hissed at him.
He simply chuckled and shook his head. "Spoilsport. That's what Halloween's all about, Ziva. Come on, just let Abby and McGee have their fun, and then we can go back to dressing them like normal little people."
"You think calling me names is really going to convince me to let Abby and McGee dress my children?"
"Wha…oh. Spoilsport? That just means that, y'know, you need to loosen up a bit."
"I would be fine with it, but you have seen how Abby dresses, what part of you really thinks that I want either of my children dressing like Abby? And McGee? He will put them in some costume from one of his computer games." She muttered to him quietly as they stood behind the stairs. Jenny and Gibbs were babysitting in her office, and Tony could see Ziva visibly getting antsy at not seeing her children for nearly thirty minutes.
"What's wrong with the way Abby dresses?" She raised her eyebrows at him and he nodded. "Fair point, but do you really think she would tattoo a baby?"
"Yes, Tony, I really do. I love Abby, she is like a sister, but I do not trust her to dress my children."
He nodded and sighed. "I can see where you're coming from, but I really don't see the harm in letting them dress the kids up for one night under our supervision. You never know, you might even enjoy yourself. Halloween is fun, and the NCIS party is always great. Besides, it will be a good way to show of our babies, and show everyone how proud you are of them." He tilted his head as she blushed slightly, turning her face away from his gaze. "And there's not a snowball's chance in hell that anybody could beat our kids in the costume party. I mean, they are the most adorable kids in existence, and if they are dressed up in cute little outfits, they are certain to win."
"I…I guess it can be no harm. So long as there is constant supervision."
"There will be, don't worry." He kissed her forehead. "Do you want to go and tell them the good news or shall I?"
"I…I think I might just go and check on how Jenny and Gibbs are doing."
"Ziva, they're fine. It's not the first time Gibbs has looked after a baby before."
"Yes, but has he ever looked after two at once?"
"I do not know, but he has Jenny there to help him. Come on. They are fine. You need to relax a little." He took her hand and pressed a kiss to her lips. She breathed slowly, leaning into his side. "Okay?"
"Okay."
"Now come on. Let's go tell the crazies that they get the task of finding costumes to make our kids cuter than they already are."
