All These New People
Tali meets the NCIS gang and her grandfather after Orli brings her to Tony – May 2016
Tony sighed at the knock on the conference room door; he jumped up quickly to answer whoever it was since Tali had finally dozed off. She'd climbed in his lap as he talked with Orli and snuggled against his chest. He'd absently stroked her back, just as he had with the child's mother, as he listened to the Mossad director. He'd felt her weight sink into his chest as she fell asleep. Orli wheeled the stroller over to his chair and they'd maneuvered the sleeping toddler into it.
Tony yanked the door open; Abby had had her ear pressed to the door. Bishop, Palmer, and Tim were standing behind the forensic scientist.
"Is it true? Can we see her?" Abby nearly squealed. Tony glared at the woman; his papa bear instincts kicked into gear. So help her if she woke the sleeping little one…
"Abby, she's sleeping; please don't wake her," he admonished as the Goth pushed her way into the room. "We just got her to sleep…"
"Wow," Tim put a hand on Tony's shoulder, "You have a kid…" McGee could see resemblance both to Ziva and to Tony on the angelic face of the little girl. Ziva's curls, Tony's eye and mouth structure, a beautiful child really…
"She's adorable, Tony," Ellie smiled at her teammate. "We can meet her later, right guys?" she suggested to the others.
Tony was about to respond to Bishop when a piercing scream filled the room. Tony turned to his child immediately; Abby was just about in the kid's face. "Abby, BACK OFF!" he hastened to his baby and pulled her into his arms. Tali wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face in his shoulder.
"It's okay Tali; I have you, baby girl," Tony whispered to his child. She sniffled and snuggled closer into him. "All these new people must be kinda scary for you." He felt her relax into his hug as he started rubbing her back again.
"Come on guys; let's let her sleep," Jimmy Palmer, the experienced parent of the group, tried to herd the others, especially Abby, out of the room. "We can come back later, maybe one at a time," he suggested to Tony, who nodded appreciatively. The others followed Tim from the room; Palmer and Bishop had to just about shove Abby out the door.
Orli observed the father and child, "You are a natural, Tony." She wished that Ziva could see her baby and her love together; a happy family of three would have been the ideal reunion.
"You have no idea how terrified I am," he spoke softly to keep Tali from startling again. "But, as terrified as I am of kids in general, I have to admit that all I feel for Tali right now is love. It's definitely different when it's your own kid…" he trailed off as he heard soft snores from the child curled into his chest and neck. His heart was just about bursting with unconditional love for the perfect little human in his arms. She was half him and half Ziva, and he loved her more than anything already.
Another soft knock interrupted the conversation again. This time Orli rose, letting Tony stay seated with his daughter sleeping against him. She opened to the door to Leon Vance. The director paused to watch his agent with the little girl.
"It is a beautiful sight, yes?" Orli indicated the father and child to her counterpart.
Leon nodded, "Indeed it is; I hate to disturb them, but I've brought Ducky to take DNA swabs from Tali."
Tony shifted slightly, "Do we have to? I KNOW in my heart she is mine. That's what counts, isn't it?"
"Anthony, it won't take but a minute to swab for epithelial cells from her cheek," Ducky held the swab in a gloved hand. "We don't even have to disturb her nap. Just hold her so that I can gently open her mouth and take the swab."
The old doctor was sliding the swabbed sample into a sterile sleeve when Tali's eyes fluttered open. She looked up at her father and then at the chief medical examiner. She grinned and shyly waved at the old man.
"Sh'lom," she spoke softly and smiled again.
"Shalom, Miss Talia," Ducky held out a hand to the child. She tapped his palm with her fingers and giggled. "I am Doctor Mallard, but you may call me Ducky."
"Bar-e-vaz, duck," Tali giggled some more and then made a quacking sound as she mimed a beak with her fingers.
"How soon can you have results, Doctor Mallard?" Leon broke into the conversation. Tali looked over at the NCIS director. She smiled a shy smile and turned her face into her father's chest.
"That is Director Vance," Tony spoke to his daughter. "He's the top dog around here…"
"Sh'lom," she again turned into her father's chest for comfort and safety.
Leon held out a hand as Ducky had, "Pleased to meet you Miss Tali." Tali did the same tapping motion on his palm with her fingers as she had for Ducky and giggled with a shy smile towards the man.
Ducky held up the now sleeved swab from Tali, "Twenty-four hours maximum, Director. I will get right on this. Am I correct in assuming that you prefer that I do the testing myself rather than have Ms. Sciuto do the test?"
Vance nodded to the old doctor, "Yes, Doctor Mallard, and thank you." He followed the older man from the room as Tony gathered Tali's things. It was time to head on home with his baby.
"She has a duffel bag, the stroller, and a car seat," Orli listed off for the new father. At his surprised look, she continued, "Yes, I had my assistant purchase a toddler car seat for you while we were talking earlier. I believe he left it at your desk."
Tony sighed and slowly shook his head to clear his mind, "Thank you; one less thing I will have to go buy tonight." He slung the strap of the duffel over his shoulder and wheeled the stroller with Tali to the conference room door. "Oh, one more question," he glanced over at Orli. "How much English does she know, if any?"
"Ziva was very adamant about Tali learning both Hebrew and English," the Mossad director responded. "Hopefully, you will be able to figure out each other quickly!"
Not what he wanted to hear – a typical Mossad non-answer – but it would suffice; at least he had a chance of understanding his daughter and she had a chance of understanding him. It was a place to start for now.
He maneuvered to the elevator to go down one floor to the bullpen. He needed to grab his own backpack plus Tali's new car seat before heading to the parking garage. Tony wheeled the stroller and its precious cargo towards his desk; he noticed Tim and Gibbs at their desks.
Tim waved to Tali and she waved back, albeit shyly. "That's Probie," Tony began, then changed his mind. "That's McUncle, Tali; can you tell him hello?"
Tali looked at Tim and waved again, "Sh'lom, munka!" Tony had to bite the inside of his lip to keep from laughing out loud at the expression on McGee's face.
"You didn't, TONY!" Tim walked towards his teammate and the little girl slowly. "Hi, Tali. I'm Tim. You can call me UNCLE Tim if you want." He knelt in front of the stroller and held out his hand. Tali smiled and tapped her fingers on his palm as she did with Ducky and Vance.
"Munka."
"Uncle."
"Unka," she grinned a full on DiNozzo grin at him. There was no mistaking this child's parentage.
"After you're done flirting with my kid, would you help me carry her things to the car? Please?" Tony gestured to the duffel, the boxed car seat, and Tali in her stroller. "I gotta grow some more arms…"
"Sure, gimme the car seat," Tim stood up and took the box.
"Bull pen's no place for a kid, DiNozzo," Gibbs strode past with his coffee cup in hand. Tony noticed that the older man did not even look at his daughter; in fact, Gibbs had hot-footed out of Vance's office soon after Tali was brought in. His scowl spoke volumes to the SFA.
Tony checked around his desk, making sure he had everything to take home, including his own backpack. He slung the strap for the backpack over his left shoulder and the strap for Tali's duffel over the right side. Tim carried the car seat in its box as Tony pushed the stroller to the elevator. He was about to use his elbow to press the call button when the doors slid open and Ellie stepped out.
"Oh, hi," the blonde smiled. She waved at Tali, but the little girl just turned her head toward her father.
"She's okay, Tali. That's Bishop," he explained. "Can you say hello?"
Tali peeked towards the woman, "Sh'lom Bop." She gave a small shy smile and then turned back towards Tony.
Ellie held the doors while the SFA maneuvered into the elevator next to Tim.
"Thanks, Bish."
"Toda Bssh," a tiny voice echoed. Again, Tony had to try not to laugh at what Tali called someone. He had to admit he was proud of her for trying to say the names.
When the little girl squirmed in her stroller, Tony did the one thing he could think of to do; he narrated the elevator ride to the toddler.
"So, we're gonna go home after Uncle Tim and I figure out how to get your car seat in the car. But the car we will be riding in isn't mine; it's a rental. I couldn't find one that felt 'right' to replace mine, so I figured I'd rent something for a bit. Guess that was a good choice," Tony rambled.
"Do you think she understands what you're saying?" Tim asked out of curiosity. "I mean, wouldn't she know Hebrew instead of English?"
"Orli said that Zi…va…" Tony choked on the name. "Her mother taught her both Hebrew and English, whatever that means."
Tim heard the catch in Tony's voice; he had put the box on the elevator floor, so he laid a hand on Tony's arm. "Hey, I'm really sorry about your loss." He locked eyes with the older man.
"Thanks, Tim… I… it's… it's all… still so… so raw," Tony fought his emotions; he did not want to turn into a blubbering mess again. Tim had already seen melt-down Tony one too many times. "So, how do we get that contraption in the car?" he pointed towards the car seat.
"Beats me, but we can read the directions, I guess," Tim shrugged. Then he had an idea, "Or we can call Palmer to help. After all, he is the one with the kid… Oh, jeez, that didn't come out right… Sorry…"
"No prob; I'm still wrapping my head around it too. God, Tim, I'm a father. Someone's dad…" Tony blinked his eyes and shook his head. "Speaking of fathers, I guess I need to call Senior when I get home…"
Tim nodded, "Yeah, Tali should meet her grandfather soon."
The elevator doors opened at the ground floor and the two men exited to the parking area. Tim nearly laughed out loud when he followed Tony to, of all things, a Charger similar to the ones NCIS agents used. The only difference that Tim noted was the color; instead of navy blue, Tony's rental vehicle was a burgundy red.
Once he opened doors and the trunk with the fob, Tony grabbed his cell from his jacket pocket and dialed the Gremlin. Jimmy appeared within minutes as Tony and Tim were tugging the car seat out of the box.
Tali spotted the ME assistant first. "Sh'lom Unka!" she called out. Tony turned and grinned at Palmer as he waved at the little girl.
"Hi, Tali! You may certainly call me Uncle. I like that. I'm Uncle Jimmy. Now let me help your dad with that car seat so you two can get home," Jimmy turned to Tony. "Watch what I do, so you can do it on your own if you need to move the seat to another vehicle. Better yet, I'll show you and then you can try it on your own with me to help."
Fifteen minutes later, the seat was securely installed in the rear of the rental Charger, Tali was strapped in, and the stroller folded and placed in the trunk with the box from the car seat. Tony started to put Tali's duffel in the trunk with his backpack, but Jimmy stopped him.
"Keep her bag in the passenger seat. That way if she needs something, you can get to it easily."
"Uh, okay. Hey, thanks guys," Tony slid into the driver's seat and waved. "I need to get this little lady home before I turn into a pumpkin. See you tomorrow." He glanced back at Tali; she was watching him intently. She looked so much like her mother Tony almost froze. "Well, munchkin, it's time to go home. And then we need to figure out what to feed you and see what all is in your duffel and get the bed set up for you to sleep and…" he rambled talking about his plan for the rest of the day, places they passed on the way, and general things. Somehow talking to the little girl just made sense to him, and in its own way, also provided comfort. Tali seemed to enjoy listening so he kept talking.
When he turned into the parking lot for his building, he spotted a familiar figure on the front step. Crap, he'd forgotten that he'd promised his father that the two of them would go out for dinner that night.
"Well Miss Tali, you are about to meet another member of the family. Those two uncles at NCIS are like brothers to me, but they aren't blood relations. That old man over there," he pointed to his father, "Is your grandfather; my father, Senior."
He parked the car and opened his door as Senior trotted over.
"Son just unlock the passenger door and we can get going, the reservation is in twenty minutes," Senior called out.
"Dad," Tony swallowed hard. "Um, plans have, um changed…"
"Oh? I thought we agreed…" Senior cocked an eyebrow at his son over the roof of the car.
"I'm not alone," Tony started as he opened the rear door on the driver's side.
"Son!"
Tony sighed, "No, Dad. Not that kind of… never mind. There's someone here you need to meet." He ducked into the rear seat area and freed the little girl from the car seat harness. She moved to the side of the seat and he scooped his baby into his arms. "If you'll grab that duffel on the front seat, I'll explain as we go inside. Just let me get her stroller from the trunk."
"Uh, okay," Senior spotted the bag Tony indicated and lifted it by the strap. "Wait, stroller?"
Tony wheeled the stroller around to the passenger side, "Dad, meet your granddaughter, Tali. Tali, meet your grandfather DiNozzo."
Senior's mouth hung open; he was speechless. He looked at the little girl, then at his son. One look at the unruly curls on the toddler's head and he knew immediately. "You… have… a… child!"
"Yeah, me and Zi," Tony choked on her name again; he fought back the tears that had been threatening to spill all day. "WE have a daughter."
"Sh'lom," Tali grinned at Senior. His heart melted at the smile. One life may have ended too soon, but the little life in front of him was just beginning.
"Shalom!" Senior grinned back with a matching DiNozzo grin. "Let's go inside, Junior!"