Chapter 1

A Fresh Start

Sometime in May 2016

~~At the Navy Yard~~

At the parking Garage, Tony had almost reached his car when he heard a voice calling his name. He stopped himself before inserting his key into the door lock and stood up straight. "Tony!" The voice called out again. Tony turned around to see who was calling him. He fumed inside when he saw who it was.

Vance ran up to Tony and said breathlessly, "Got a few minutes?" Vance reached out to pat Tony's shoulder.

"Good thing that Tali's with my dad for now. I've only got a few minutes, Director." Tony raised his eyebrows, and reached up to scratch his head. A million things were going through his mind at once, trying to process the sudden turn of events that led to the big falling-out with Gibbs and walking off the job, the sudden news that he was a father to a child he never knew or met, never mind the fact that he and Ziva had created a child together.

Vance nodded. "I just got your resignation papers, and a phone call from Orli at the same time. But first, what's the deal with your resignation?" He held up the letter.

"Well, you know, ever since Ziva left, I've been getting the feeling that I'm being treated like a piece of furniture in the bullpen. It's not the same with Gibbs now." Tony scoffed, then continued on. "I felt like that Gibbs wanted – no, needed me – so I came back."

Vance sighed, and shifted his stance slightly. He said quietly to Tony, "I do understand how you feel. But regardless of what Gibbs says about you, I would have to disagree with him. You've done an outstanding job as a Special Agent. You do go out of your way to make sure you pin it down on the cases." He held up a finger in the air. "But I will tell you this: I have seen how Gibbs has changed. I believe he's having a rough patch with his, you know, emotional well-being." He tapped a finger on his temple.

"Right, just because I broke one of his own rules by being with Ziva and creating a child with her? Once he figured it out in the office, you saw how he reacted. Why should it matter so much to him when he did the same thing on the job?" He scoffed at Vance. "I figured out that there was something between him and Jenny Shepherd in the past, just by the way he acted around her."

"Point well taken." Vance nodded once. "The real reason why I came was because of the phone call from Orli. She has filled me in on some details, but am I to understand that your resignation is because of your duty to family? Taking care of your child that you have only just begun to know?"

Tony sighed. "Yeah, and find Ziva if I can. I have this strong feeling that she's not dead. I don't know why, or how. But I do know this: I will need to have a regular nine-to-five because I got a daughter to care for, and to get to know. Spend a little time at home, just learning about her and how to be a father."

Vance smiled. "Ziva would have wanted that, I think. Right now, since we have no idea about whether or not she is truly dead, or her whereabouts if she is still alive, you just take it one day at a time." He shook his head slightly as he continued. "While I understand Gibbs' position with his Rule 12, that doesn't mean he's right about that. Don't let him get to you. You hand this in," he held up the letter, "you let him win."

"Yeah, so? Is that so important?" Tony scoffed. "Especially when I just found out about my daughter?"

"The package deal," Vance tilted his head to Tony. "You do remember the conversation with Orli?" Vance's voice was barely above a whisper.

Tony stopped himself, and looked up at the parking garage ceiling. "If I resign, the package deal is off?"

"Depends on how we handle this." Vance smiled slightly. "I might have an idea how we could handle it."

Tony nodded slowly and scoffed. "What are you thinking of, Director? As long as it's not working with or for Gibbs anymore."

Vance nodded, smiling, then leaned over to Tony's ear and whispered, "Work for me and the Mossad as per agreement with Orli. Off the books. Make the package deal work that way." He stood back and said, "Officially, you've resigned from NCIS." Then he whispered to Tony, "Unofficially, not from me." He winked to Tony.

Tony nodded slowly and then started to chuckle softly. "You sly bastard. I get a code name and everything?"

Vance chuckled shortly. "Don't worry about working with Gibbs anymore. As far as he's concerned, he will no longer know the intel came from you. It'll come from me. Need to know basis only. And even then, your name will not be revealed."

Tony grinned deviously. "That might just work after all. So, the letter goes into the file, but then I still deliver you the goods from the Mossad and I feed back what you find to the Mossad," he whispered to Vance. "While in Israel, I can maybe find Ziva as well."

Vance winked again to Tony. "Orli called also to say that there have been no signs of Ziva in or around that building within the hours preceding the blast. Mossad's picked the place clean looking for any signs." Vance held up his left arm and looked at his watch. "I better get back upstairs and file this. Work with them and get yourself set up while I deal with things here. Expect a call from me sometime later. Talk with you later... Diaper Bag." Vance chuckled as he turned around and walked into the building.

Tony blinked his eyes as he watched Vance walk into the building, as he thought to himself, "This is the best news I ever got. There is hope that Ziva is alive. I am gonna find her." Tony smiled to himself as he got into his car to start the engine.

~~Tel Aviv Airport, Israel~~

As Tony pushed Tali as she slept in her stroller, he slung his back a little higher up on his shoulder as he made his way down the terminal out into the baggage claim area. He stopped when he recognized two faces in the sea of people walking to their various destinations, then turned and walked up to them. "Thought that was you, Orli. And Adam, long time no see."

"I'd like to extend a very warm welcome to Israel." Orli smiled to Tony. "I received the phone call from Director Vance the moment you got in the air." She turned to Adam and said, "Let's go to a quieter place where we can talk more. Our limo, perhaps?"

Tony blinked his eyes at Orli. "How nice to have a mobile meeting area." He leaned slightly to Orli. "Your agency?"

Orli held out a hand and started walking in the direction where the limo was waiting. "Your luggage is being taken care of. You'll have them with you shortly. Vance briefed with me."

Tony shrugged his shoulders as he walked with Orli and Adam, pushing Tali's stroller in front of him. "Sure, why not. We'll see how things go," he smiled to Orli. "Good thing it's nice out tonight. The flight was smooth. Tali fell asleep a couple hours before we landed. She's gonna be out like a light for a while."

Moments later, they reached the limo and got in, Tony carefully putting Tali in the car seat without waking her. "So, here we are, on Israeli soil. I'm interested in learning more about what's on your mind," he said as Orli closed the door behind her.

Adam shifted in his seat, looking at Tony, but saying nothing.

Orli smiled and leaned forward to call out to the driver, "Wait here, please." She rolled up the divider between the driver and the passenger. When the divider has closed completely, she turned to Tony. "You'll take the package deal?"

Tony smiled. "I came to an agreement with Vance, so yes, I'm guessing that I'm on board with you now as well."

Orli smiled, then procured a package from a hidden area in the limo. "In this package you will find everything you need to get started. Adam will be your contact." Orli smiled at Tony.

Tony smiled as he put the package inside the diaper bag. "Thanks. I'll read it when I find a place here."

"You are free to leave now," Orli said to Tony. "Have a safe trip into town."

"Alright, thank you." Tony smiled as he started getting out of the car. He turned around and got Tali out.

"Have fun with the camels," Adam spoke for the first time.

Tony laughed. "You have camels over here?"

"One more thing, Tony?" Orli held up a finger, stopping Tony in his tracks.

"What's that?" Tony said.

"You might want to check your diaper bag itself for more clues," Orli said. She waved him off. "Have a pleasant evening."

Tony closed the door to the limo and watched it drive away. He

sighed to himself, then walked back to the airport toward the baggage claim area, where his bags were. Moments later, he reached the baggage claim, and saw someone standing next to his suitcase. The person raised his arm and called out. "Anthony DiNozzo?"

"How'd you know it was me?" Tony looked warily at the person.

"Orli sent me," he said. "Your bag is here."

"Abba?" Tali called out from her stroller. She had finally woken up, slightly confused as to where she was. "Where we? Where Ima?"

Tony turned around to look at Tali, then smiled at her. "You're awake. We're here in Israel." He smiled to Tali, then glanced up at the person, only to find that he'd vanished, leaving him and Tali alone with his suitcase.

"We see Ima?" Tali asked, a hopeful tone in her voice.

"Yeah, if we can find her," Tony said to Tali. He thought to himself, "Alright, let's see if she has some snacks in the bag now. What's this clue about the diaper bag does Orli mean, anyway?" Tony turned to open the diaper bag, and started rooting around for some light snacks for Tali, when his hand accidentally opened the false bottom in the diaper bag and hit something hard and small in the very bottom of the bag. Puzzled, he closed his fingers around the object and pulled it out. It was a cell phone. Burn phone, obviously, he thought to himself. He flipped the phone open, and a small note fell out and he quickly caught it. He read the tiny print on the paper; it read "Please call me." He turned the paper over, and saw three numbers on it. Blinking, he thumbed in 000 and hit Send and waited for it to ring.

The line picked up and a prerecorded message said, "Please verify your identity. Someone will call you within half an hour."

"Tony DiNozzo" Tony said on the phone as his eyes shifted about carefully. He suddenly noticed that the person who was by his bag earlier was standing about fifty yards down the hall, watching him.

"Your identity has been verified. Please wait for the call." The line went dead.

"Right," Tony said as he hung the phone up and shoved it into his pocket. He got his bag, and pulled it on its wheels as he pushed the stroller ahead of him. He had barely reached the doorways of the airport when the phone rang. He stopped before he reached the door and quickly moved to the side as he pulled the phone out. Flipping it open, he answered it. "Hello, Tony DiNozzo speaking."

A female voice sounded on the phone. "Your whereabouts, please?"

The voice sounded very familiar to Tony, but he couldn't quite place who it was. The connection was somewhat poor, a bit staticky.

"Still in the airport, trying to figure out where to go next." Tony said to the voice on the phone.

"You are to fly out to Cairo immediately. Your tickets are waiting for you at the EgyptAir counter. You should be able to get on the next plane. It leaves in twenty minutes. When you arrive, go to the hotel near the airport." The line went dead.

Tony stood rooted, holding the phone at his ear for a moment after the line went dead. "Alright, guess we turn around and go back inside," he muttered to himself, as he turned around and walked toward the EgyptAir counter.

Tali twisted herself in the stroller and looked up at Tony. "We see Ima?"

Tony smiled at Tali. "Maybe. We gotta get on another plane."

~~Cairo, Egypt~~

As he got out of the shuttle, carrying Tali, he watched as the driver got his suitcase and stroller out. As he put Tali in the stroller, he glanced up at the hotel. Tali slowly swiveled her head around her, taking in the new surroundings, watching people walk around in different garb than what she had been seeing back in the States. He pushed the stroller in front of him as Tali babbled incessantly at the different sights, and Tony smiled at Tali's voice. He walked up to the concierge desk in the main lobby. As Tony stood in the line to wait for his turn, he glanced down at Tali, chuckling at her babbling and pointing her fingers at random things in the lobby. He looked back up at the line and sighed. A few more minutes, then he can check himself in and get some much-needed rest after flying close to eighteen hours so far.

"Ima?" Tali pointed to a woman who was standing in the distance.

"What?" Tony looked down at Tali, then followed her pointing finger, and noticed a woman in traditional hijab attire. "What'd you say, Tali?"

"Ima!" Tali kept pointing finger at the woman in hijab clothing. She tried to free herself from the stroller so she could take off running.

"Stay here, Tali," Tony whispered to Tali as he knelt down to her. "We'll see her in a minute. I just wanted to get a room first." He glanced up, and saw that the woman had disappeared. He stood up slowly, looking at where she stood moments before. Could've sworn that was her, he thought to himself.

"Next?" The desk clerk called out.

Tony pushed the stroller up to the desk and smiled up at the clerk. "I'd like a room for me and my daughter here," Tony said to the clerk as he pointed to Tali.

The clerk smiled and bowed his head to Tony. His voice carried a thick accent as he said, "Very good. Your card for your room. You are in the executive suite. Have a nice stay, Mr. DiNozzo." The clerk handed Tony the room key card.

Tony reached into his pocket and pulled his wallet out. "And how much would that be?"

The clerk held up his hand and waved Tony off. "No need. It's already been paid for."

"Oh, really, now?" Tony looked at the desk clerk. "Well, in that case, I'll be going up to my room now. Where I can finally stretch out and get some much-needed rest." He pulled the stroller back and away from the desk. He went down the hall toward the elevators.

As Tony rounded the corner into the elevator bank, Tali looked up at Tony. "I see Ima."

"Did you say you see Ima?" Tony stopped midway in his turn and looked down at Tali.

Tali nodded and giggled at Tony. She turned back around in her stroller. Her tiny fingers started fiddling with the straps on the stroller, unnoticed by Tony.

This brought a chuckle to Tony's lips. "Where do you see her?"

Suddenly Tali freed herself from the stroller and clambered out and started running down the hallway. "Ima!" Tali called out as she ran.

"Tali, no!" Tony lunged out to try to catch her, but missed her. He looked up and saw the same woman he had seen earlier, walking toward them in the hallway. She reached out and picked Tali up and hugged her tightly.

Tony ran toward the woman, catching up with her. He flashed a smile to the woman. "Sorry about my daughter, she misses her mother."

The woman's eyes smiled at Tony as she said, "Hi Tony, it is me." She held out a hand and waved daintily at Tony.

"Ima is here!" Tali squealed in excitement and hugged the woman tightly.

Tony blinked and swallowed back the sudden lump that had formed in his throat. "I-is that you, Ziva?" He shook his head a couple times, then whispered to her, "But the house -"

"Not here, not now." Ziva cut him off gently. She cradled Tali and patted her back. "Let's go to your room."

"Alright." Tony nodded and pushed the button for the elevators. The doors slid open immediately on one of the elevators. Tony smiled and pushed his stroller and suitcase into the elevator.

Ziva walked in behind him and pressed the call button for the floor that Tony's suite was in, then pressed the Stop button as the doors slid closed and the elevator started moving. "How'd Tali know it was you?" Tony muttered to Ziva.

Ziva chuckled at Tony. "This hijab was the same one that I was wearing when I sent Tali away to be with you. And I left a scarf in the diaper bag to remind her. And also she can remember my scent."

"And the whole time I was looking at you and I never knew," Tony whispered.

"We have to be discreet for the time being," Ziva turned the stop button off and let the elevator rise to their floor.

Tony flicked his eyebrows up then let them settle on his forehead. "Well, whatever it is, it's still good to see you again." He sighed, and smiled as he faced the front of the elevator as he waited for it to reach the floor.

~~Tiva Reunited~~

As Tony opened the door to the hotel room, he stepped back as he waved Ziva and Tali into the room. He then pulled his suitcase into the room and closed the door behind him, and looked around the room, taking note of where everything was. "Wow, this is nice," he muttered to himself as he walked into the suite and stood in the middle of it. He looked over to Ziva and said, "I call dibs on the bed," he smiled as he made a beeline to the bed and then flopped down on it, sighing in relief. "You wouldn't believe how good a bed feels after being cramped up on a plane for so long your legs forget how to walk."

"I bet," Ziva chuckled. "And of course, your back can't handle those airline seats as well." She walked up to the bed, looking down at Tony as she cradled Tali.

Tony sat up on the bed and looked at Ziva and smiled. "You do look good in that hijab, you know. Your latest fashion statement?"

Ziva chuckled, then shook her head slightly. "I've been wearing these ever since I went on the run." She reached up and slowly pulled the top of her hijab back and undid the face covering, and smiled at Tony.

"Ima!" Tali squealed and hugged her tightly. She was overjoyed to see Ziva's face again.

"Wow, I'm still having a hard time believing that it's you," Tony slowly stood up and walked closer to Ziva, reaching out his hand to stroke Ziva's cheek. "Everyone assumed you were dead, in that farmhouse explosion. I had the strong feeling that you weren't, and so that's why I came out here to find you."

Ziva smiled at Tony. "I knew you'd find me. There is so much I want to tell you, but we will make the time to talk about it. Just not right now. What I want now is to just want to hold you, and our Tali." She reached out to hold Tony close to her.

"Ima, me hungwy," Tali muttered into Ziva's ear as she rested her head on Ziva's shoulder.

Ziva looked at Tali and smiled. "I'll get you something to eat." She turned to Tony. "You brought snacks for her in the bag?"

Tony chuckled at Ziva as he reached for the diaper bag and held it up. He disengaged himself from Ziva and put the bag on the bed. "Got some snacks for her," he said as he rooted through the bag and got a bag of crackers and cookies and held them up. "Which do you want, Tali?"

Tali giggled as she pointed toward the bag of cookies. "Me want," she said to Tony.

Tony chuckled. "Figured you'd want the cookies." He handed the bag over to Tali and said to Ziva, "We've been living on nothing but crackers and cookies on the flight over." He opened the bag of crackers and started stuffing them in his mouth. "Come to think of it, I'm a little hungry, too," he looked at the remaining cracker in the bag with a slight look of disgust. "And they're stale, as usual."

Ziva chuckled. "At least Tali doesn't mind the cookies. I'll have to fix you two something proper." Ziva smiled at Tony.

"Oh, that would be so wonderful. Does this place have room service?" Tony reached for the phone, looking at Ziva.

Ziva smiled at Tony. "Of course. We maintain a small presence here in Egypt."

"Is that so?" Tony's eyebrows shot up as he picked up the phone. "Let's see what room service could do for us, then." He dialed the number for room service.

~~Tiva family bonding~~

About forty minutes later, the doorbell rang. "Room service!" the voice called out from the other side of the door.

"Oh, great, they're here." Tony smiled as he walked toward entrance and opened it.

The hotel servant pushed the cart with food into the room. "Your order, sir." He lifted the top off of the plates, revealing the food order that Tony had placed.

Tony held out a fifty-dollar bill and handed it to the porter. "That looks delicious. The steak looks good." Tony smiled at the food.

"Enjoy your dinner, sir," the servant said as he bowed to Tony, then walked out of the room.

Tony smiled as he pushed the cart of food into the room. "Our food's here. Guess what I got us?" Tony held out a hand to the food.

Ziva looked up from tending to Tali and smiled. "The food smells wonderful from over here." She then looked down at Tali and said, "Dinner time. Let's get ready to eat." Ziva stood up from the bed, reaching out for Tali to come to her.

"We eat together?" Tali perked up, a smile on her face as she walked up to Ziva.

"Yes, we'll eat together. You, me, and Abba, as a family. How's that sound to you?" Ziva spoke to Tali with a joyful voice as she picked Tali up and walked into the living room where there was a table nearby.

Tony looked up at Ziva and blinked. After a moment, he smiled at Ziva. "Yep, you got that right. A family," he muttered to himself. He was still coming to grips with how everything had unfolded in the past days and weeks. He automatically moved about as he placed the plates of food on the table, his thoughts and questions percolating through and then flowing through his mind as he sat down at the table across from Ziva.

Ziva sat down at the table and placed Tali on her lap. She saw the questions forming in Tony's eyes, and smiled at Tony. "How have you been holding up these days?"

Tony sighed as he jabbed his fork in his food and took a bite. He chewed his food quickly, then swallowed it. "Mm, real food for a change." He flicked his eyes up to Ziva. "Been doing okay. Well, except for the last couple of weeks or so. Ever since I found out I have a daughter, actually." He looked back down to his food and took another bite.

Ziva looked across the table to Tony. She could see the hurt within Tony's eyes, and the slight amount of confusion within him. She reached across the table and held Tony's free hand. "It is really good to see you and Tali again. It's been too long." She tilted her head to Tony and smiled.

"It feels good to see you again. This time, with a child that we created together – our daughter." He set his fork down and looked up at Ziva and his face turned into a puzzled expression. "How come you never told me for two and a half years about her? I would have liked to be there for you."

Ziva sighed and gently squeezed Tony's hand. "I did call. But I hung up because I was afraid of telling you and then having another miscarriage." Ziva sighed yet again. "When she was born, I almost called you. But I didn't. Something told me not to at that time."

"And you couldn't figure out what it was?" Tony took a sip from his drink as he looked across the table at Ziva.

"Not at the time. The next time I called was when danger has found me. I hung up because I had run out of time to warn you." Ziva blinked back the sting in her eyes, knowing that tears were about form.

"That explains why I kept getting those hang-up calls randomly at work." Tony sat up a bit straighter. "The last one was minutes before the news came flashing on the tube about that farmhouse being blown to pieces."

"I had gotten out just in time. Adam came to warn me." Ziva turned to Tali, who was contentedly eating her food. "We went to another safe house and that's where I was able to transfer Tali over to Adam. I left instructions with him to meet up with Orli and take care of business."

"Well, you can imagine my total surprise when I found out that day when I met Tali for the first time." Tony took another bite of food. "Mm, this is good."

"And for that, I am very happy that Tali made it safe." Ziva smiled at Tony. "What did Gibbs say about it?"

Tony chuckled. "Oh, he wasn't a happy camper for sure. I got treated like furniture almost ever since the day you left." Tony raised his eyebrows and held up two fingers. "Two and a half years of it. And then, when he found out about Tali, he just about had a cow."

Ziva tilted her head to Tony, raising an eyebrow. "Oh? What did he have a cow about?"

"Apparently I had broken his sacred Rule Twelve." Tony jabbed his fork in his food and took a huge bite of it and chewed a bit noisily through his food, then took another bite. "Good thing I'm not gonna work for him anymore," he muttered to himself around his food.

Ziva scoffed. "What would it matter to him since I resigned from NCIS? It isn't his place to decide."

Tony scoffed as he picked up another bite of food and held it in the air. "Who knows. That's Gibbs for you. He doesn't know we're married, either. In any case, he's not my boss anymore."

Before Ziva could say anything, Tali turned to Ziva and patted her arm. "Ima? Me done." She pointed to her nearly-empty, if a bit messy, plate.

Ziva smiled at Tali. "That's good! Let's get you cleaned up for the night, okay?" Ziva turned in her chair and wiped a few crumbs off of Tali's face, then got up, holding Tali. "Let me get her cleaned up, then we can talk a bit more later," Ziva looked up at Tony. "I'll let you finish eating." She turned and walked toward the bedroom.

Tony looked up and smiled at Ziva. "Alright. This food is good, and I'm not even halfway done eating."

Ziva smiled back at Tony. "That's good. I can see your brain working overtime in think mode while you eat." She entered the bedroom, leaving Tony to his meal.

Tiva~

Eventually, after the sun had set on Cairo later that evening, Tony stood at the window, looking out at the city lights lighting up the skyline, listening to Ziva singing the lullaby song to Tali in the background. He turned to look at Ziva through the doorway of the bedroom as she sang the song to Tali, smiling and thinking to himself, "I wonder what would happen if Ziva had to leave me and Tali and go on the run again? I don't think I'll be able to take being apart from my wife again." Tony then turned from the window and walked over to the couch and flopped down in it, taking his phone out.

After a few moments later, Ziva walked out of the bedroom, closing the door to a crack just wide enough to allow a little bit of light to enter the bedroom. She quietly walked over to the couch and sat down by Tony. "Tali's sleeping in the playpen now. Always have loved that lullaby song, it always put her right to sleep."

"I'll have to keep that in mind. Took me a short time to try to figure out that any bedtime song would put her to sleep. But you have this way about you that puts her down even faster than I could ever do." Tony smiled at Ziva, holding her hand.

Ziva looked at Tony. "Who was that on the phone? I thought I heard you talking quietly on the phone."

Tony sighed and smiled at Ziva. "Nobody special unless you count Vance and Orli. Just called 'em to let them know that I am with you and Tali."

Ziva's eyebrows furrowed in puzzlement. "Vance? But I thought you said you're not working with Gibbs anymore."

Tony turned in the couch to look at Ziva more squarely. "Ah, but there's the difference." He held up a finger in the air. "You're right – not with Gibbs. But I do work with Vance, and the Mossad. Kind of like the go-between. Only Vance, Orli, me, and now you, know about this arrangement. The package deal, remember?"

"Oh," Ziva raised an eyebrow. "So, Gibbs is unaware of this... arrangement?"

Tony chuckled. "At least for the time being. To NCIS, I've officially resigned. But to Vance, we are Diaper Bag. Code word secret."

Ziva laughed. "Only he would come up with that." Her smile vanished after a moment. "So how would Vance handle the intel that needs to go to Gibbs, or from him to us?"

"The beauty of this is we are now, to Gibbs, nobody. He doesn't know. It's strictly need-to-know basis only." He looked at Ziva a bit more closely. "How did you know to get away before the house blew up, anyway?"

"Adam came to warn me." Ziva sighed. "Were it not for him, Tali and I would not be alive. Somehow, someone knew where we were."

"Did Adam know who was after you? Were you with him the whole time, the last two and a half years?" Tony asked, a slight hint of jealousy creeping up in his voice.

Ziva shook her head quickly. "It's not what you think, Tony. Most of the time, I was alone with Tali. Yes, he did come every so often to check on me. To Tali, he's just an uncle."

"Well, I don't get why Kort sent people over to blow the house up, but at least he's dead and won't be such a danger to us. Can't say the same for whoever's after you, now." Tony shrugged and held his hands up in the air.

Ziva sat up straight in the couch. "Kort's dead? That's good to hear. Who took him down?"

"We all did." Tony shrugged. "Pulled my gun out and said, 'This is for Ziva,' then shot him. Head shot. Everybody else started firing at him. Gibbs, McGee, the rest of the team just opened up on him. He went down like a sack of potatoes."

Ziva laughed. "Good for you for taking that animal down. He can't hurt us anymore. I wasn't about to let him get to Tali. Glad you got to him first. So, what does this mean now?"

"Well, Adam's not your handler anymore. The arrangement's changed now that I'm in the picture." Tony smiled at Ziva.

Ziva looked at Tony, eyebrow raised. "So, does this mean that you're my handler now?"

Tony shook his head and chuckled slightly. "Partners, not handlers." He gestured toward the diaper bag. "Papers in there has all the details of what I'm gonna be working on. I met Orli and Adam at the airport in Tel Aviv, you know?"

"So, you did meet with them." Ziva sat back. "And you took the package deal?"

"Yeah. To NCIS, I've resigned after a big blowout at Gibbs. But Vance and Orli know otherwise. As per the package deal agreement."

Ziva nodded slowly, taking this in. "Interesting arrangement. Certainly sounds much better than being alone and on the run, like the last two-and-a-half years. I thought I handle it myself, but it got to where I couldn't function because of the anxiety that had gotten to me. Once you showed up, the anxiety just... went away. I felt at peace again." She leaned her head on Tony's chest and closed her eyes, listening to his heartbeat through his chest, holding Tony.

Tony looked down at Ziva, and smiled. "I knew you'd like that. I'd rather be working with you and raising our family while we do our jobs. Travel, go places, then settle down when the time is right." He took a deep breath, looking at Ziva, then reached over to Ziva and placed a finger under Ziva's chin and lifted it up, and smiled at her. "One day at a time for both of us. Go where the flow takes us, right?"

Ziva smiled, then moved herself over to Tony's lap and snuggled up to him. "And Rule Twelve no longer applies to us, right?"

Tony chuckled. "No Rule Twelve anymore. Gibbs and that rule is out the window. We're together now, and we can do whatever we want, as long as we do our jobs." He reached up and held Ziva as she sat on his lap.

Ziva smiled at Tony. "Even this?" She let one side of her robe fall open, exposing her full breast to him.

Tony chuckled softly. "You have no idea how much I've missed how beautiful you are. And the feel of you under my hands," he whispered to her as he reached up to feel her breast, squeezing it ever so gently.

Tony's touch electrified Ziva, and she let out a small gasp of excitement. She leaned toward Tony and placed a gentle, loving full-on kiss on his lips. She kissed him passionately, moving her hips slowly in Tony's lap.

Tony broke for air. "Let's do this, quietly, here." He adjusted Ziva slightly on his lap, then pulled her in close to her and whispered to her, "I've been dreaming of the day I'd be with you again, feeling your skin under my hands again. Your warmth."

"Oh, Tony, it's been far too long," Ziva whispered in his ear as he felt the warmth radiating from Tony under her. She moved up closer to Tony, and let him impale her womanhood, and moaned in pleasure. "Make love with me," she whispered to him as she gave him a full-on kiss.

Tony broke for air, then whispered, "Oh, Ziva, come to me," He then pulled her close to him, feeling her warmth. He kissed her full-on as they made love with each other on the couch.

A/N: Dear Readers, This new story arc takes place starting after the episode of Family First in Season 13. Let's take a journey through what happens in their lives as time goes on. Thank you for the Reviews, Tweets, Messages and Kudos.