Chapter 16: Pictures with Santa

~2017~

"I do not understand this obsession with pictures with a fictional character, Tony," Ziva followed her husband and daughter to the display marked 'Pictures with Santa' as six-month-old Anthony squirmed in the baby carrier.

He turned and grinned at his wife, "It's an American tradition, Ziva. How long have you been a citizen? Surely it was part of the study for your citizenship test… Besides, every parent needs to have at least one set of Santa pictures with crying kids for future blackmail over the kids."

Ziva snickered, "So are you saying that your father has such pictures?" She would pay good money to see any pictures of her husband with the jolly Christmas symbol, crying or not.

Three-year-old Tali listened to her parents' bickering, tugging at the neckline of her dress. The lacy collar itched and bothered her neck. Ima had promised she could take the dress off after the photos were taken.

Tony paused, "NO!... um… maybe… but if he did, I'm sure he would have already found a way to embarrass me with them." He turned back to the teenager taking the fee for the Santa pictures.

"Ten dollars for five digital images or forty-five dollars for the printed package," the girl recited the options for the photo shoot. "Digital are emailed to you; printed pictures are available in eight to ten working days…"

"We will do the digital images," Ziva quickly decided before her other half spent money that she thought a bit much for a silly bunch of Santa pictures. Tony paid the cash while Ziva completed the form and signed the release for her children to be photographed.

"Ho, ho, ho," the stereo-typical mall Santa greeted the family as they entered the area for their turn.

Tali hid behind her Abba's leg and peeked at the large man in the red fuzzy suit. Anthony squirmed as Ziva took him from the carrier. She wiped as much of the drool as she could from his face and shirt, setting the baby in Santa's arms. Tony led Tali over next to her brother.

"It's okay, Tali-T, that's Santa Claus. We're gonna have some pictures made to share with the family. Can you smile for me so the nice man can take the pictures?" he coaxed the little girl.

She frowned just as Ziva managed to get a huge smile from Anthony. Click.

"Come on, Tals, one little smile for Abba, please?" Anthony grinned and Tali grimaced as she tugged at the itchy lace collar. Click.

Tony made a silly face at his little girl, "Please smile for Abba?" Anthony laughed at his father's face; Tali had a small smile but turned just as the shutter went Click.

Ziva switched places with Tony, "One smile, Tali; that is all we need. Then we will go get some ice cream." Tali's face lit up and she grinned; Anthony yawned. Click.

"I give up," Tony raised his hands in frustration; Tali looked at her Abba as did Anthony. Click. Both had an expression of amusement on their faces; Ziva had to admit that it was the best of their five shots. Tony just shook his head and took Anthony in his arms so Ziva could help Tali change to her jeans and long-sleeved t-shirt in the family restroom.

~2020~

Tali and Anthony held hands as the two walked through the mall with their parents. Ima and Abba each carried one of their almost ten-month-old twin sisters, Rivka and Beth. All four children wore matching red and green holiday-themed sweatshirts with jeans. The six-year-old and three-year-old knew the routine: sit in Santa's lap, smile for five snapshots, get ice cream as a treat.

"Tali, Anthony, come," Ima called the two older children to Santa's chair. "This year, you will be standing by Santa so that he can hold your sisters in his lap. Remember big smiles and then we get ice cream."

"Yes, Ima," the two chorused.

First shot; Anthony was looking at something off to the side; Beth yawned instead of smiled. Second shot; Tali and Anthony were snickering at their Abba's silly faces that he made to get the babies to smile. Riv and Beth were laughing but Riv turned to look at Anthony just as the shutter snapped. Third shot; Santa spoke to the two babies, causing both to have a deer-in-the-headlights look. Fourth shot; all four kids were smiling but Santa and Tali had their eyes closed. Fifth shot; Rivka started fussing and refused to smile; Anthony got antsy and was standing on one foot as the shutter snapped.

Ziva declared the second shot the best because of her husband's antics that resulted in the snickers.

~2021~

Tali and Anthony each held the hand of a twin as Abba carried baby LJ in a sling carrier. The two-month-old infant was asleep as they walked to the photo area. Ziva watched over the four older kids, keeping an eye on the twenty-two-month-old girls to make sure one or the other didn't suddenly dart away.

Tali and Anthony posed nicely, smiling in each picture; LJ slept through the entire session, shifting once but not waking. The twins were the handful; one or the other or both kept trying to run off. In fact, in three of the shots, at least one twin was blurred because she was in motion. Ziva finally got Beth to stand with Tali and almost had Riv in place with Anthony. A shopper walked by with a large assortment of balloons and Riv turned to watch just as the shutter clicked. In the final shot, Beth had her thumb in her mouth and Rivka was pouting.

Tony decided that year's pictures should have the subtitle 'What was I thinking?'

~2025~

The year of the DiNozzo disaster, the pictures of the kids with Santa almost didn't happen. They'd put it off due to the weather at first, then the series of injuries happened. Tired of hearing the kids ask when they would be able to get the annual Santa picture, Ziva called Gibbs.

"Do you still have the Santa costume?" she asked on the day after Christmas.

"Yep; haven't had a chance to return it since the toy deliveries," Gibbs replied. "Why?"

Ziva explained that the family had not had the chance to get the usual pictures for the holiday before Anthony broke his arm; Tony broke his ankle in the sledding accident that also resulted in a broken foot for Rivka and a fractured wrist for Beth; and Ziva dropped the frozen turkey on her foot, resulting in a broken right foot.

Gibbs quickly figured out what Ziva wanted, "Let me get the Santa suit and I'll be there in half an hour. I'll call Jack Sloane to meet me at your place with her DSLR. That work?"

"Yes, thank you!" Ziva had her family prepare for the pictures as best they could.

After, Tony laughed, "We finally get everyone smiling and staying in one place and it's because most of us are limited mobility!"

Tali and LJ shared a look; neither of them had been hurt in any way. "Well, Abba, this is also the first year that you and Ima are also in the pictures."

"Five of seven in a cast, sling, and or ankle boot; we have immortalized the DiNozzo disaster," Ziva quipped to the laughter of her family.

"We do keep things interesting!" Tony retorted to more chuckles all around.

A/N For more details about the "DiNozzo Disaster" see chapters 15 and 16 of "You Complete Me."