Here's some fluff for a change :)
They have a day off for once, it's some small American holiday that Ziva can't remember the name of, and as long as they don't get a call, then they have the day to themselves.
Which means she and Gibbs are headed to the baseball field, hoping to get some batting practice in. When they get to the field though, it's clear that their plans will have to change, because the place is full of teenagers practicing and kids and their families goofing off.
When they'd come before the field was quiet and empty, abandoned for the night. Now though it was a surprisingly warm day and baseball season was just around the corner, so it seemed the entire population of the nearby neighborhood had come to enjoy the day off.
"It's alright," Gibbs says, noticing her worried expression, "We can find a quiet corner somewhere."
They make their way to one of the smaller practice fields, which had a few families playing catch and a gaggle of boys who looked like they were starting a game.
"Ready?" Gibbs calls and she nods. He throws the ball to her. She was glad they could do this again. They'd had a few major cases the past few weeks and hadn't had much time for rest. She was looking forward to a nice relaxing evening-
"Well we can't just play an uneven number!" One of the boys next to them yelled, ruining the peaceful moment.
"Why not?"
"Well it's not fair!"
"Ok ask one of them then!"
She sees Gibbs struggle to keep a straight face as all the boys turn to face them in unison, unaware that they can hear every word.
"We can't ask them! They're grown-ups, it'll be even more uneven!"
"Not if you ask the girl."
This prompted a debate about whether or not girls could play baseball and if they were worse than boys. Gibbs was chuckling quietly at this point, and Ziva was having a hard time keeping a straight face.
Eventually the boys came to the conclusion that yes, girls could play baseball, since she was tossing the ball back and forth with ease, and that since she was an adult girl she would be just as the rest of them (she had glared at the boy who had said this and Gibbs had to hide his laugh with a coughing fit)
Then of course began the discussion over who should ask them, and at this point Ziva was this close to going over there and showing them how good she was at baseball. Before she could however, the boys appointed one of their friends the spokesperson. He was a scrawny kid with bright red hair and Ziva remembered him as one of the ones most adamant that girls could play baseball (citing his older sister as proof)
"Excuse me Miss," he says nervously, "Me and my friends were gonna play a game, but we got an uneven number, and we were wondering if you could play with us."
Ziva glances at Gibbs and he raises an eyebrow and nods, a look that she interpreted to mean "Show them how it's done."
"Alright," Ziva said.
The boy grinned, "Awesome, this way."
Gibbs went over to the bleachers to watch the game. He laughed quietly at the sight of Ziva, a good three feet taller than the kids, standing in the middle of the crowd. There's some debate before the oldest boy (who Gibbs remembers was most vocal about girls not being able to play baseball) and the redhead moved to the side and began picking teams. Ziva ends up on the red-head's team with several of the smaller-looking kids and Gibbs smiles.
Is it immature of him to be looking forward to Ziva destroying the annoying kid? Probably. But he's going to enjoy it regardless.
"Which one is yours?" One of the parents asked.
"That one," Gibbs said, nodding to Ziva and it's not technically a lie.
The woman laughs, "Oh I was wondering who that was, I hope my son didn't annoy you both."
Gibbs shook his head, "Not at all. Which one's yours?"
"Micheal," the woman says, pointing at the red-head, "We just moved here a few months ago and he's had a hard time making friends. Thankfully these boys invited him to play today. I'm Katherine by the way"
Gibbs nods, "Jethro." He pauses, thinking about how long it's been since he's had this kind of conversation. It stops for a bit as the game begins. Ziva's team is batting, and a tiny boy who couldn't be more than six steps up to the plate. Gibbs leans forward to watch as the boy swings and hits the ball surprisingly hard to the cheers of his team mates
After a few more hits Katherine turns to him again, "Do you have any other kids?"
Gibbs finds himself nodding, "Six."
Katherine laughs, "Really?"
Gibbs smiles, "They're not all related by blood," he explains.
The woman nods, "Yes one of mine's adopted to, Nya, she's over there with my husband."
Gibbs looks to see the toddler chasing happily after the ball rolling across the field.
"So what are your kids' names?"
"Abby's the oldest," he found himself saying, "And then there's Tony, Tim, and then Ziva, the one playing, is the youngest."
The woman nodded and then frowned, "Wait, that's only four."
Gibbs gave a small smile, "Kate, she was around Tony's age, died a few years ago, and Kelly…" the woman was a stranger, why was he saying this, "She when she was only eight. She's the only one who was biologically mine." he cleared his throat, "She'd be Ziva's age now if…."
He couldn't make himself finish.
"Oh I'm… I'm so sorry," Katherine said.
Gibbs shrugged, "It's alright, it's been a few years."
"Still."
The conversion pauses again as the teams switch sides. Ziva isn't playing as hard as she could, making sure to stay mostly on the same level as the boys. She's not messing up on purpose, he notices, but rather running a little slower and throwing softer. He smiles as she kneels next to one of the kids and shows him a better way to catch the ball.
"So five kids," Katherine says, "How do you keep them from killing each other?"
Gibbs laughs, "I have no idea."
Ziva narrows her eyes as she stares at the boy on the plate. The sun is getting lower in the sky now, and some families are starting to leave. A few of the boys playing had already gone home while others begged their parents to let them stay a few more minutes.
Right now the game is tied, and the other team has players on first and second. They just need to get one more person out.
She'd been going pretty easy on the boys for most of the game. She helped her team when she good, but she didn't want to take over. Plus it was nice to be able to play a game like this without worrying about the score or how well she was doing. She never got to play games like this as a child.
She glanced over to the bleachers, where Gibbs was talking to one of the other parents.
He waved at her and held up five fingers. Five more minutes, she thought, turning her gaze to the opposing team once more, she could work with that.
The boy on the plate swings his bat and the ball flies into the air. She starts running, full speed this time to the cheers of the kids around her. The ball hits the ground, and she scoops it up.
"Michael!" She yells. The kid looks up from where he's standing on third base, and she throws the ball. He reaches out and grabs it a split second before the runner hits the base.
"Tie Game!" yells one of the boys, Richard, into a megaphone.
Her team erupts into cheers and swarms Michael. Michael however runs over to her, "Ms. Ziva that was awesome! How did you throw it that far?"
"Lots of practice," she says, ruffling his hair, "Now come one, your parents are waiting."
She walks over to where Gibbs is standing and Michael runs to his mom, "Mom did you see! I caught it!"
"You did great buddy!" his mom said, laughing as Michael began giving her a play-by-play of the game.
"You did great too, Ziver." Gibbs said, pulling her into a hug.
"Ms. Ziva," Michael ran over, "Do you want to come to dinner at my house? Your dad can come too!"
"My-" she looks over at Gibbs who is very obviously not meeting her gaze and smiles, "Well that sounds lovely Michael but your parents-"
"Are the ones who suggested it," Michael's mom says.
Ziva turns to Gibbs who shrugs, "Up to you."
She turns back to Michael, "We would love to."
"Awesome!" Michael says, "Come on!"
They follow them to the parking lot, Gibb's arm draped around her shoulder and Michael's innocent words echoing in her head.
"Your dad."
She looks over at Gibbs, who is so so different from Eli and thinks that maybe things will be ok.