A/N: This chapter is set in April 2020, so our little family is still in lockdown, but this is a mostly happy chapter, with our family watching movies. Like the Valentine's Day chapter is broken into smaller sections, rather than one scene. Also spoilers for 'Saving Mr Banks' and 'Three Men and a Baby'. Stay safe friends.
I. Opening Credits
Tony felt a triumphant smile cross his face, as the blue and white disney logo appeared on the television.
"Yeah baby," he said to himself, as he balled his fists, and did a triumphant fist pump.
It had taken him nearly an hour to sign up for a free trial on Disney plus, and get the streaming platform from his laptop to the television. All the digital wrangling had made him nostalgic for DVD's. For holding the box in his hands. For waking up to the looping menu on the television. For the extra's. The DiNozzo movie collection still included a handful of DVD's, mostly of hard to source variety, but the rest had gone digital.
He sat down on the couch, and flicked through the menu, recognising many of the titles as ones he had brought on his google play account for Tali. He had started renting the movies, not understanding just how many times his daughter wanted to watch Tangled, and had eventually learnt that it was a better return on investment to buy the movie, rather than repeatedly rent it.
Tali's giggle echoed from the open bathroom door. She and Ziva were playing 'hair salon' while Tony worked on his surprise. Hair salon was a game Tony was more than happy to pass onto Ziva, when she came back to them. Tali's curls tangled so easily, and she did not like to sit still. And, like ballet, Tony wanted his partner and their daughter to share something just for them.
Tali still went to him first, when things got hard, even if Ziva was right there.
Tony had thought that it would be easier for Tali, now that she was older. Things could be explained to her. A five and a half year old was more rational than a two year old.
A two year old that cried and screamed for her mother, until she was blue in the face.
Tony took in a deep breath, wanting to banish the sad thoughts that had bubbled up. He and Ziva would talk about that stuff, but not now.
Not when there was nowhere to go, if they needed a time out.
Tony flicked through the menu, making a mental note of some of the movies he had seen, surprised that a few of them were Disney movies.
"Shall we show your father?" Ziva's voice carried through. "Shall, I see if he is done with the surprise?"
Tony got up from the sofa, feeling the ache in his calves from the kids exercise video all three members of the family had done after breakfast. When this is over, Tony told himself, he would rejoin that gym, and actually go this time.
Tony walked down the narrow hallway, or the gallery as he had renamed it, when it started becoming a display space for Tali's quarantine artwork. Her productivity was enviable.
"Surprise is ready," Tony said, from outside the bathroom door.
"Yay," Tali squealed, as the door opened, and Tali rushed out. Her hair was in two perfect pigtails, and she was wearing clean clothes.
Ziva's resolution that they dress like grown-ups had fallen away as the lockdown moved from March to April, but she had insisted that each member of the household at least change their clothes from their pyjamas.
Ziva stepped out from behind the door, her hair was in a tight Lara Croft braid, and one of his OSU shirts over leggings.
"Wait on the couch," Tony called out to Tali. "Then, I'll show you the surprise."
Tali did as she was told, and sat down in front of the television.
"Let me guess," Ziva said, as she walked toward the couch. "Your surprise involves movies."
"Am I that predictable?" he asked.
Ziva stopped, at the end of the hallway, just before that narrow hallway opened into the living room. It was a spot that Ziva often stopped at to watch Tali from, taking her in.
"Sometimes, yes." she said, moving her head slightly, and whipping him with her braid.
"And, that's a bad thing?" he asked, as he stood next to her. She leaned her head on his shoulder.
"No," Ziva replied. "I just thought it might be good to do something more productive."
Ziva had turned lockdown into a series of projects. She had deep cleaned the bathroom managing to make the ancient tiles sparkle. She had organised Tali's toys, weeding out the ones she had grown out of, only to put the bag under their bed because none of the charity shops were open. Ziva spent hours in the kitchen each evening producing elaborate meals, even if Tali was still a bit iffy about most vegetables. They'd turned the corner on broccoli recently, and Tali had started eating the baby trees.
Tony knew why Ziva was like this. Ziva needed to be in control, and by scrubbing the bathroom until her fingers bled, gave her that sense of control for a few precious moments. For a few moments everything was okay.
Except nothing was really okay. Tony and Tali had only left their house for hurried walks around the block, every few days, at the crack of dawn, before the streets got too busy. Tony had used a walk outside, as a bribe with Tali, like he used to do with ice cream day.
The minute this was over, and the ice cream shop opened again, Tony was going to take his girls there, and buy them both double scoops.
He could not wait until the day, he no longer had to put Tali's tiny butterfly mask on her face, careful not to get her curls caught in the elastic.
"We're kinda running out of productive projects," he said, as he looked toward the dining area. The windowsill had been turned into a greenhouse. Ziva was trying to grow veggies from scraps, and some herbs. She and Tali were also doing an experiment, where they grew seedlings in different conditions. "We're allowed to be unproductive. It's a global pandemic."
"Daddy," Tali whined. "Where is the surprise?"
"One sec, kiddo," Tony said.
"Sorry," Ziva said softly. "I just-."
"This is hard," he interrupted. "I know this isn't exactly what you planned for Passover, but I thought some movies might cheer us all up."
Ziva patted his chest.
"Thank you," Ziva whispered. "Thank you for trying."
Passover had started the evening before, and Ziva had somehow managed to produce an exquisite roast lamb dish from their tiny kitchen. They had not managed to source everything needed for the seder plate, but Tali was mesmerized as Ziva explained Passover to her, giving her daughter a sanitized version of her own childhood. It was much better than all those picture books, Tony had read to her.
"That's all we can do," he said. "Just keep trying."
"So is there something special about these movies?" Ziva asked. "That makes them a surprise."
"Only that they come from the happiest place on earth," Tony announced.
Ziva looked up at him, with a frown.
"Disney movies," he whispered. "We're watching Disney movies. Disney plus finally launched in France. Tali and I have been waiting for this forever."
Ziva smiled.
"Disney plus is like Netflix, yes?" she asked.
"Yeah," he said. "But for Disney movies, and some NatGeo stuff, but I'm pretty sure no one's dropping seven euros a month, to watch a documentary about elephants."
"I like elephants," Ziva declared. Tali got her defiance from her
Tony felt a laugh roll through him.
"Maybe we'll watch that when munchkin goes to bed," Tony said. "At least we don't have to worry about her waking up, and walking in on something R-rated."
Ziva smirked at the memory of Tony's attempt to catch Ziva up on some of the pop culture she had missed during her time on the run, only for Tali to wake up and walk in on what was about to become a graphic sex scene.
"I think Tali will like the surprise," Ziva said.
"Well, it's a little spoiled now," he said, "But, it's probably the closest we're going to get to the happiest place on earth this year."
Ziva cocked her head at him.
"She's been bugging me about going to Disneyland Paris since she found out what it was," Tony said. "I told her that we'd go when you came back. I was gonna see if we could swing it for Easter break, but obviously lockdown got in the way."
"Maybe next year," she said.
"Yeah," he replied. "Shall, we let Tali in on the surprise?"
Ziva nodded, and they walked toward the couch. They sat down on opposite ends of the couch, with Tali in the middle of them. Tali snuggled close to him.
Tony pressed the remote, and the blue menu of Disney plus appeared.
Tali's mouth dropped open.
"Can we watch Frozen?" Tali asked.
Tony and Ziva both shook their heads.
"We've got Frozen," Tony said, as he handed the remote to her. "Why don't we watch something we've never seen before?"
Tali's bottom lip started to wobble, and Tony turned himself slightly so that he could shield himself from her puppy dog eyes.
Ziva carefully took the remote from Tali's hand.
"They have Fantasia, I loved that movie, when I was your age," Ziva uttered. "It has dancing flowers."
Tony could only remember the naked fairies, and being thoroughly confused when he watched it for the first time and confused by the lack of plot. By the end of it, he'd fallen in love with the music. He did not think Tali would have the patience for it, just yet.
"You've seen some of these?" Tony asked. "I thought your parents didn't have a tv."
"You didn't have a tv?" Tali asked, her eyes wide. "When you were a kid?"
Tony could feel his daughters wonder at unlocking parts of her mother. There was so much to unearth. And, they had a whole lifetime together to unravel all the layers.
"We did," Ziva said, her voice getting soft, like it often did when she talked about her family, "But, we did not watch it very often, my mother preferred we read, and my father did not like the noise. But, my Aunt Nettie had a television, and a VHS player. She used to work nights, so she liked to record her shows. She looked after us occasionally, and would put a movie on for us as a treat. There was a woman across the hall from her, who collected videos. Her cousin used to send them to her from the US. She told my mother, it was helping us practice our English."
"What was your favourite Ima?" Tali asked, as she looked at Ziva with big eyes.
"It has been a long time since I have seen any of these,I am not sure which one was my favourite," Ziva whispered. "But, I think I liked this one. It has dogs in it, I think you will like it."
Tali loved dogs. She loved dog soft toys, especially Kelev. She loved passing dogs on the streets. She loved the lady downstairs little Pomeranian.
Maybe, one day they'd get her a dog, and Tali would draw the little rascal into all of her family pictures.
Ziva pressed play on The Lady and the Tramp, and the family snuggled into the couch. Tali snuggled closer to Ziva.
"You know Tali," Tony started, as the opening scenes played. "This film was made before computers existed. All of this is hand drawn."
"You can't draw a whole movie," Tali declared, her eyes wide.
II. Saving Mr Banks
Tony stifled a yawn, and blinked rapidly, trying to stay awake. He had done nothing of substance all day, but was exhausted. This was the third movie he had watched that day, after The Lady in the Tramp, the little family had watched Mulan, which Tali had thoroughly enjoyed. Then, after feeding their little monster, and getting her settled into bed, the older members of the household had settled in for another movie Saving Mr Banks.
Saving Mr Banks had been a compromise, Tony had wanted to finally introduce Ziva to The Avengers, but the nearly three hour run time had made Ziva balk. Ziva had suggested the documentary about elephants narrated by a former member of the British royal family. Then they had come across Saving Mr Banks, which interested Ziva because she had read P.L Travers to learn English, and Tony liked a good period piece.
Except, Tony was bored. The movie was perfect on paper, but just did not hit the spot. There wasn't a lot of action to keep him interested.
"You know when we first met," Tony started as the movie played a scene of P.L Travers childhood in Australia. "Netflix still sent DVDs in the mail."
Those humid summer evenings came back to him easily. Gibbs was on his Sangria sabbatical. Tony was stuck in Gibbs shadow. The meetings started as Ziva wanting to feed Tony, and they have become movie nights. Sometimes, those nights were something else. Sometimes, they were two people trying to soothe themselves with the other. Tony, only understood now, how much of that was Ziva trying to put herself back together, and how broken she had been.
"Netflix sent DVD's in the mail?" Ziva asked, pulling him back into the present.
Her feet were on his lap. His stomach was full from dinner. There were empty wine glasses on the coffee table. It was all so domestic.
"Yeah," he said. "Remember the documentary about the guy who got eaten by a bear that came from Netflix. I liked them, because they didn't charge late fees, and our job didn't exactly keep bankers hours. I mean neither did Blockbuster in the end, but by then it was a losing game."
How long ago, and faraway it all seemed now.
How much time, he and Ziva had wasted.
"No," Ziva whispered. "It did not."
The movie played on, moving from outback Australia to Walt Disney's studios in the early sixties..
"You know there's a documentary of the Sherman brothers on here," Tony said, as he ran his hand up Ziva's calf. "Apparently, they hated each other."
"Maybe we can watch it tomorrow," Ziva said softly, as she reached for his hand. "Let's watch this one now. I am enjoying it."
"Okay," he said.
The movie wore on, and Tony found himself enjoying it in places. He enjoyed watching Ziva watch it, she was engrossed by the movie, her eyes barely left the screen.
Walt Disney and PL Travers were sitting in her living room in London, and then Tony heard muffled sobs from Ziva.
"Ziva," he called out, as he reached out for her. "Are you okay?"
Ziva pulled herself up, and sat with her knees to chest. A protective stance.
"I do not know why this has gotten to me," Ziva said. "It is just when Disney told PL Travers to stop blaming herself for not being able to help her father, and to not let the past dictate the present, I felt that. It is just a movie, it should not have affected me like this."
Tony felt his heart sink.
"What you are feeling Ziva David," he started. "Is the magic of cinema. It puts a name to the things we feel, and lets us feel them in a safe place."
No wonder she had been so engrossed by the movie, it featured a little girl who absolutely adored her less than perfect father. A girl who could not save her father, but tried to reincarnate him in a book.
"Is that why you like it?" she asked.
"I mostly like it for entertainment, or to go somewhere else for two hours," he said, as he reached out for her, and wrapped his arms around her. "But, sometimes I stumble across something that really hits the spot, and makes me think. That's the magic of it all."
Ziva wiped her eyes with the collar of her t-shirt.
"I love you," she whispered.
"I love you too," he said, placing a kiss on her forehead.
The movie reached his end, and PL Travers got her happy ending, and maybe one day Ziva David would get hers too.
II. Intermission
Tony watched as Senior's face pixelated on the screen. It had been a month since they had put Senior on the plane, not knowing when they would see him again. Tony still felt the ache in his stomach, when he had watched his Dad walk through the security doors at Charles De Gaulle airport, with a mask on his face, and a rolling suitcase behind him.
"Junior, can you hear me?" Senior asked, his voice tinny in the computer speakers.
Senior's face appeared back on the screen. Tony noticed that his Dad's hair had gotten long, and he was wearing the closest he had ever come to casual clothes.
"Yeah," Tony said, as he watched Ziva from above the laptop. She was making lunch in the kitchen. "I can hear you."
"So, what did you want to show me?" Senior asked.
Tony smiled, and picked up his laptop. He walked across the living area passing the remnants of the pillow fort from earlier in the day.
"Well, we got that Disney streaming service," Tony said, as he handed the laptop to Tali, who was stretched out on the couch. They'd let Tali dress herself, and she was wearing a tutu under a t-shirt. "And, we found something on there you might like."
Tali waved at Senior on the computer.
"Hi Pop-Pop," Tali said. "Daddy said there's movies from when you were a kid on here."
"Hi Sweetheart," Senior said through the speakers. "I don't know about that, it's been a longtime since I was a kid."
Tony pressed play on Three Little Wolves, and Tali turned the laptop around.
"Can you see it?" Tony asked.
"Yes," Senior said, his voice cracking. "Oh wow, I haven't seen that in nearly eighty years."
Ziva appeared from the kitchen with a tea towel over her shoulder. A smile on her face.
"My brothers and I used to go to see these, at the pictures," Senior said, his voice soft. "It was during the depression, so it was such a treat to go."
Tali let out a laugh, and Senior laughed carried through the speaker.
The film finished, and Tony picked up the laptop, and placed it on Tali's lap. Ziva took her seat on the other side of Tali. Senior waved at Ziva.
"You know Tali, didn't believe us when we told her that all these movies were hand drawn," Tony said.
Senior laughed. His whole head filled the screen.
"It's amazing isn't it," Senior said. "All of this was done before computers."
"Do you wanna watch another one?" Tony asked. "We watched the Pied Piper earlier, Tali liked that."
Senior smiled.
"Yeah," Senior said. "Let's watch another. I haven't got much else to do."
Tony grabbed the remote, and started flicking through the shorts.
"Is The Ugly Duckling on there?" Senior said. "My oldest brother Sal took us to that, it was one of the last ones they played like this. Sal went to war. He was the only one of us who was old enough to be called up, my Mama cried so hard when he left. When he came back, it took him a long time to adjust, I guess he never was like he was before. Anyway, Vinny and I would try and reenact these movies for him. Sometimes we got a laugh from him. It was the sweetest sound."
A tear fell down Ziva's face. She knew that pain.
Tony felt his chest ache. Uncle Sal had been the Uncle found on a golf course talking about mole people. Uncle Sal had been the Uncle, who never came to Thanksgiving.
He had never been quite right.
"You know Dad, we can give you our login details," Tony said, as his Dad looked away from the screen. "If you wanna watch some of these."
Senior shook his head.
Both of his paternal Uncles had died years ago, when Tony was still in high school. Sal in a car accident, when Tony was a sophomore, a car accident that Tony had eventually understood to be something else. A cry for help. Vincenzo, the Uncle with the butcher shop, and the daughter a few years older than Tony, had died of a heart attack in his shop, mere weeks before he was set to retire, having finally accepted that his shop would never compete against the supermarket a block away.
Senior had been the last one left, for almost thirty years now.
"Save 'em," Senior said. "For next time I'm over. It's nice watching them with Tali, it makes me feel like a kid again. Especially, sitting with her."
Tony wondered when they would next see Senior in the flesh. The news said travel might not resume until the new year.
Ziva looked toward the kitchen and got up slowly.
"I have got to check on lunch," Ziva announced. "It is good to see you. See you tomorrow."
"Bye sweetheart," Senior said. "I sure do miss your cooking."
Ziva blew him a kiss and got up from the couch.
Tony flicked through the menu, and found The Ugly Duckling.
"I know it's not the same as being on the couch together," Tony said, as he turned the laptop around, and placed it on one of the more firm cushions. "But, I've gotta help Ziva with lunch, so maybe you two can watch a couple more."
"I'd like that," Senior said.
Tony pressed play, and handed Tali the remote.
He stood behind the couch, and studied the scene. Tali laughed at the movie, and then a few seconds later Senior's laugh came through on the speakers. A warm feeling washed over him.
This was the magic of cinema.
IV. Three Men and A Baby
Tony figited on the couch, as Three Men and A Baby played, like Saving Mr Banks, two nights prior, Three Men and A Baby had been a compromise. Ziva had wanted to watch Sister Act, as their nighttime movie, which Tony had refused to do point blank. He had seen that movie once, and once was enough.
His suggestion had been Wonder Woman, thinking that it might be a good way to introduce Ziva to the Marvel cinematic universe, hoping the fact that Gal Gadot was Israeli would help. It turned out that Wonder Woman was not on Disney plus, just yet.
Then Ziva had found Three Men and A Baby, and practically drooled over Tom Selleck holding a baby. Technically, it was her turn to choose a movie, as he had picked the night before. They had watched a rather lacklustre documentary about the Sherman brothers. So, Tony had let her pressed play.
And, it had been fine, as he watched the three characters lead their bachelor lifestyles in eighties New York.
Then the baby was introduced, and Tom Selleck's character went to the store to buy food and had no idea what to feed her.
"I can't watch this," Tony said, softly, as he moved Ziva's feet from their place on his lap. "I'm going to bed."
Ziva pressed pause, and the screen froze on Tom Selleck looking very harried in the store.
"Technically, it is my turn," Ziva said, her voice a purr. "So, despite your tastes, we are watching this."
It was warmer than previous nights, and she was wearing just his t-shirt. Tony ran his hand up her smooth calves. She had shaved today, when she had a bath, which also doubled a quiet time.
"I know," he said. "And, I won't get between you and Tom Selleck, but I can't watch this. It hits a little too close to home."
He watched as Ziva's face fell.
"Because of how Tali came to you?" Ziva asked. It never took her long to catch on.
Tony nodded.
"I know Tali was a little older. I know you were in danger, and you weren't in a good place," Tony said, as he moved closer. "But, the scene where he doesn't know what to get the baby, that was me. If Jimmy hadn't come back to my place with me, after I got Tali, I wouldn't have known what to do. I'd never even changed a diaper before."
Ziva reached for his face, and placed her hand on his cheek.
"I am sorry," she whispered.
Tali's cries for her mother echoed in his head. Ima! Where Ima! Want Ima!
"I know," he said, "And, I'm not telling you this to make you feel bad. I just can't watch this."
I want her too, baby, he'd said as he laid her down next to him, so they could sleep. Believe me, more than anything.
"I should have thought about the movie before I pressed play," Ziva said. "You said you wanted to watch something else. I did not think."
"I didn't think it would affect me like this," he said. "I didn't want to watch the movie, because I'd seen it before."
Ziva looked deep into his eyes.
"You do not talk about what it was like for you," Ziva whispered. "It must have been so hard to go from being a bachelor to having a two year old in one afternoon."
"I'd do it all over again," he said. "A million times over."
"You cannot say that," Ziva said. "I knew I was putting you in a difficult situation, but I also knew you would keep her safe."
Tony pressed his finger to Ziva's lip.
"A bit of notice would have been nice, I mean most Dad's get nine months to prepare, but I wasn't lying when I said that I would do it all over again," Tony said. "I love her, and I love being her Dad. It doesn't matter how it happened, all that matters is that we're a family now."
Ziva gave him a smile.
"Yes," she said, as she handed him the remote. "That is all that matters. Do you want to pick a movie?"
Tony handed the remote back to her.
"I'm pretty beat," he said,as he raised his arms into the air. "I think I might go to bed."
Ziva pressed the off button on the remote. The screen went blank.
"I think that is a good idea," she said, as she took his hand, and they walked toward the bedroom.
V. Closing Credits
Because of the overlap of Passover and Easter, Tony had not planned to make a big deal of Easter. The benefit of the lockdown was that all the days blended into one, anyway, so Tali would not have even known what she was missing. Especially, as her virtual school wasn't meeting until the following week, because school holidays still happened in lockdown.
Then on Easter Sunday, Ziva presented them with a chocolate bunny each, as they ate their breakfast. She must have gotten them on her weekly shopping trip.
"Where did you hide these?" Tony asked, as he spooned eggs into his mouth. Ziva had also made them a huge breakfast feast.
"I have my places," Ziva said, as she sat down at the table. "Secret places."
"But, we don't have any for you," Tali cried.
"It is okay, Ahuva," Ziva said, as she reached up for Tali's head and touched her messy bed hair. "I am sure, your father will share."
Tony smiled, and the egg fell from his spoon onto his pajamas.
"If you ask nicely," he said, moving the bunny closer to him. So Ziva could not go full ninja, and take it from him. "Very nicely."
"I'll share with you, Ima," Tali declared, as she moved her chocolate bunny toward Ziva. "When we watch the movie."
"Thank you, Motek," Ziva said. "Maybe, I should let you pick the movie."
Over the long weekend, they had introduced Tali to many classic Disney movies. She had loved The Little Mermaid, even if Ziva was a little miffed that Ariel had to lose her voice to get her man. Tali had adored the Lion King, preferring the cartoon to the live action version. The original The Parent Trap, with Hayley Mills, had not gone down well, Tali had asked if she had a secret twin and that's why her Ima was away for so long. She had been rather disappointed to learn she was in fact an only child. Ziva had gotten a faraway look in her eye, when Tony had explained that Tali was an only child, and that some families only had one kid and they were still a family.
"You know exactly what she is going to pick," he hissed at Ziva. Ziva gave him a smirk in response.
Let it Go, played in his head. He heard the damn song in his sleep.
They could torture prisoners with that song. They probably did, somewhere.
"Can we watch Frozen?" Tali asked, her words all running together with excitement. "And then Frozen II. I can wear my special Frozen dress like Elsa,and we can sing the songs. Daddy, knows all the songs."
Tony was pretty sure that Tali's blue Elsa dress was little more than rags, but Tali loved it.
"Looks like we've got a plan for the day," Tony announced, as he picked up his coffee.
It was going to be a good day, in the happiest place on earth.
A/N:
I don't own a thing.
Thank you for being so patient with the updates. Thank you for all the kind words, especially the last chapter, because I wasn't so sure how that would land. I owe so many review replies, so if FFN doesn't go funny with the reviews, I will get onto them soon. Please know, I appreciate every review I receive. Thank you so much.
I got a free trial of Disney+ over Easter (it's a four day weekend down under), which led to this chapter being included in the plan. I hope you enjoy the chapter.
Next chapter is going to feature Mother's Day. I can still only promise fortnightly updates, right now, as the muse is still fickle. Stay safe friends.