Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS

Tony sat up in bed. The room was dark, a sliver of light from the street peeping through the curtains. Noise from the living room had woken him up. Tony had left Ziva reading on the sofa, and by the looks of an empty bed, she had fallen asleep. However, it didn't sound like it anymore. Tony got up and went to see if Ziva was alright.

At first sight, he knew she wasn't; tossing, turning and sounding like she was scared and in trouble.

'No' said Ziva in her sleep. 'No, no, get away from me. No, no, no, no. No!' She sat bolt upright on the sofa, breathing heavy and her book falling to the floor with a crash.

'Hey, Ziva, it's alright.' Tony perched on the edge of the sofa. Within seconds they were back in his apartment after her father died, or when they were at the farmhouse and she had woken because of another bad dream.

'Tony' breathed Ziva.

'It's OK' he said, trying to reassure her. With a couple of minutes, Ziva seemed to have composed herself.

'Go back to bed, Tony. I am alright.' Ziva went to retrieve her book. She didn't sound alright but she was being typical Ziva again. Trying to do everything on her own.

'No, Ziva' said Tony, firmly. 'Do not do this. Come to bed and get some decent sleep.'

Ziva hesitated.

'I do not… think I can sleep' she said slowly, emotion in her voice. 'Not after that.' Tony gave her a sympathetic smile and tucked some hair behind her ear. It felt odd, this teensy bit of intimacy.

Tony spotted something on the shelves behind Ziva and smiled.

'I have an idea' he said. 'Meet me in the bedroom. I'll be there in a couple of minutes.' Ziva raised an eyebrow. 'Trust me Ziva.'

She took a deep breath and made her way to the bedroom. Tony nipped into the kitchen and grabbed a couple of bags of snacks. On his way back, he grabbed a couple of DVDs. Tony was walking back to his room when he spotted Tali peeking out of her bedroom door.

'Hey, T. Why are you awake?'

'I heard noises' said the little girl. She sounded worried.

'Ima had a bad dream, that's all, sweetie.'

'Is she going to leave?' Tali was close to tears now. Tony crouched down to Tali's height. Tali still kept asking that question, even though she had stopped climbing into bed with Tony and Ziva.

'No baby. Ima's not going to leave.' Tears started to form in Tali's eyes. 'Oh come here, Tali.' Tony opened his arms and picked up Tali. He grabbed the DVDs and snacks he had picked up and went into his room. Ziva was sitting on the bed.

'OK, OK, OK' said Tony, in a jolly tone. He put Tali on the bed and showed them the DVDs. 'The Sound of Music and The Wizard of Oz. Family movie night at 2 am. What do you say?' Ziva and Tali looked at Tony blankly. 'Trust me, ladies, it'll be great.' Tony put the movie on, climbed on the bed, Tali on his left and Ziva on his right. He placed a kiss on both their heads.

'Everything is going to be OK' he said. 'Just OK.'

The next day, Tali woke up to find herself sandwiched between her Ima and Daddy. They must have switched places at some point in the night. Daddy was still asleep but Ima was awake.

'Hi' whispered Tali.

'Morning Tali. Shall we go into the living room?' suggested Ziva. Tali nodded and the two crept out of the bedroom.

'Are you alright?' asked Tali, sounding very cautious and worried. Ziva crouched to Tali's height.

'Yes, Tali. I am alright. I am really sorry if I scared you last night.'

'Daddy said you had a bad dream.'

'I did.'

'Were there monsters in it? My bad dreams have monsters.' Ziva gave Tali a small smile. Monster was the right word.

'Yes, there were monsters in my dream, but I am working to get rid of them, to stop dreaming about them. That is why I go to therapy.' Tali nodded slowly, though at five years old, Ziva wondered if she truly understood the situation. 'So, I was thinking that we could make Daddy breakfast to say thank you for looking after us last night' said Ziva.

'OK' said Tali.

'But I need your help. I do not know what Daddy's favourite breakfast is.' Tali smiled.

'French toast.'

'OK, then' continued Ziva. 'What ingredients do we need to make French toast?'

'Um, we need bread and eggs and milk. Oh and Daddy likes to put syrup on his French toast.'

'OK then. Let's see what we have the fridge' said Ziva, and Tali ran over to the kitchen.

When Tony got up, the bed was empty but the apartment smelled delicious. He walked into the kitchen and found Ziva and Tali cooking.

'What's going on?' he asked, intrigued.

'Sit down Daddy' instructed Tali. Tony did as he was told to. Tali, with Ziva's careful help, carried a plate of French Toast and put on the table.

'Ta-Da!' said Tali, happily.

'What's this?' asked Tony. Ziva sat down, pulling Tali onto her lap.

'It is a thank you, Tony. For looking after us last night, and for always being there.'

Tony smiled.

'I will always be Ziva' he said, reaching for her hand. 'No matter what, I will always be there for the two of you.' Tali got off Ziva's lap and hugged Tony.

'Love you Daddy' she said. Tony smiled.

'I love you too Tali.'

Tali and Ziva went back over to the kitchen to make their own breakfast. Tony tucked into his French Toast. It was delicious, but given how good a cook Ziva was, he wasn't surprised.

The past three years had been a lot for Tony. Within a very short space of time, he lost the love of his life, became a single father, found the love of his life, and became a single father all over again. Raising Tali by himself, without Ziva, had been difficult, constantly dodging questions about where Tali's mother was. It was one reason why Tony decided to hire Clara. An extra pair of hands, who just so happened to be female and Jewish.

He worried about what would happen if Ziva never came back. For those three years, Tony felt like he was living in limbo; raising Tali, keeping her safe, but all the while, waiting for Ziva to call with the good news that she was coming home. When she had called, telling him to take Tali into hiding, Tony knew that it was bad. Ziva would not break her cover if it wasn't necessary. Tony had been so relieved to get Ziva's text that it was all clear.

Tali and Ziva came with their breakfasts and sat down at the table with Tony. If you had told Tony seventeen years ago that one day, he would be eating breakfast with the love of his life and their daughter, Tony DiNozzo Junior would not believe you.

Later that afternoon, Ziva was sitting in the chair next to the window, Tony at his desk. The armchair next to the window had become Ziva's favourite. Large, comfortable, with a view of the apartment, and a view outside. It had good natural light from the window and a decent lamp nearby for when it got dark. It was the perfect spot for reading.

Tali came in from her bedroom, carrying something.

'Here you go Ima' said Tali, and she handed a shoebox over to her mother.

'What is this Tali?' asked Ziva intrigued.

'It's a monster fighting kit' explained the little girl.

'A what?' asked Ziva. Tony had turned to see what was going on.

'A monster-fighting kit. Look.' Tali took the lid off and started taking things out of it. 'It's got a zapping gun to zap the monsters and this is a shield button that you can wear. When you press it, it protects you from the monsters and they can't get you.' Tali pulled out an old empty perfume bottle. 'This is has a net in it which traps the monsters when you fire it at them and this has monster snacks for nice monsters who don't chase you.' Ziva peered into the envelope that Tali was holding. It had sequins and buttons in it.

'Nice monsters?' asked Tony.

'Yes, Daddy. Like the BFG. He's a friendly giant but the Fleshlumpeater is really, really scary so he doesn't get the monster snacks.'

'Tali, I love it' said Ziva. She pulled her daughter into a hug, marveling at her imagination and kindness. 'I love you Tali' said Ziva

'I love you too, Ima' replied Tali.

Ziva gasped slightly. It had been seven weeks since her return and this was the first time Tali had said I love you. She pulled Tali closer to her.

'Ow. Ima, you're hugging too tight.'

'I am sorry motek.' Ziva release the hug. 'Go on. Go and play Tali.' Tali ran back to her room and toys.

'You OK?' asked Tony when Tali was out of earshot.

'Mm-hm' replied Ziva, though she was the on verge of tears.

That night Ziva did not have a nightmare.

Hope you liked it.

I wanted to try and show the pressure Tony potentially faced in the separation as a single dad. I'm hoping this will be an reoccurring theme.

Thank you for reading. See you soon