Disclaimer:

this story takes place shortly after 13x24 and is based on what Ziva told Gibbs in 17x10 about her reunion with Tony and Tali.

Chapter 1

June 2016, Cairo, Egypt

He woke up with his throat blocked from the dusty air he was breathing in all night. Somewhere, far from his mindful comfort place he had been in the past hours he could hear cars and voices shouting in a language he could not understand. Combined with the rattling sound of the rusty air conditioner hanging from the ceiling, there was no chance for Tony to sleep back in. So he lay on his back, staring at the flower-patterned wallpaper above him that was already crumbling away from the stone ceiling. For a moment he wasn't sure if the past few weeks in his life weren't a crazy dream, not because it seemed unreal but because he had been here before. In the same place, doing the same thing, having only one goal that he wanted to reach so desperately that seemed like it was thousands of miles away. Finding Ziva. He could remember how he woke up one morning, three years ago suddenly knowing how to find the love of his life. He could remember the feeling and the hope he felt when he finally figured out which steps she was doing next. But things were different now, he was following clues of which he wasn't even sure if they were clues or just coincidences and the only thing that kept him going was a little glimmer of hope that Ziva David wanted him to find her this time.

There was one other thing that kept him from not giving up. Talis warm little body was pressed closely to his chest and her steady breathing gave him a vague feeling of safety. Tony still couldn't believe that he was a father, a few months ago he couldn't even think of having any kind of commitment in his future, let alone a kid. Though he had to admit, this was not the way he ever imagined having children. Trying to handle his daughter, who he didn't even know existed until a couple of weeks ago was a challenge. Tony knew that parenthood was never easy, but having not only to deal with changing diapers, feeding her the right food and taking care that she didn't run away but also having to cross the language barrier, comforting her when all she wanted was her ima and doing so while in an unknown country was too much to take. He was exhausted. He was drowning in self regret for ever letting Ziva slip away. She was all he wanted in his life; she was right in front of him for eight years and he failed to take action. Just as his thoughts started to fade into a slightly dangerous zone for his self-esteem he could feel Tali move. Just seconds later she was up and jumping up and down on the bed, holding kelev in her tiny little arms. Tony smiled and playfully caught her and then started tickling her. "good morning little monkey, want to get breakfast?" He asked her as they were both out of breath from laughing. "bee-k-ast?" Tali asked him, looking at him with her big, round eyes. "Yes Tali, breakfast. Aruhat Bocker." Tony said calmly and was once again glad he took a couple hebrew classes a few years back. Tali nodded, hopped off the bed and brought back a linen dress and leggings.

" and what's that Tali?" Tony pointed to a colourful picture in the small children book he was holding. "fox! "Tali said excited. They were sitting in a small corner cafe on one of the most touristic streets in Cairo, Tali was sitting on Tonys lap and they were looking at Talis favourite book: a children version of "the little prince". Tony found it on the bottom of Talis go bag and on the last page he discovered a sticky note with Zivas handwriting on it: "Talis grandmas last movie" Tony almost broke out in tears when he read it to Tali for the first time. "that's right, it's a fox." Tony answered warmly and took a sip of his coffee. He cut off another piece of scrambled egg on bread and transferred it to his coffee plate which he used for Talis breakfast. The waitress passing by smiled at the sight of the little girl having egg all over her face and it relieved Tony that they seemed to fit into the profile of American tourists. The real reason they were sitting in exactly that cafe, with a perfect view over the busy street was because Tony managed to find the address of one of Eli Davids old estates and he hoped that if Ziva was in Egypt, she would stay at this place. Even though it seemed like such a small possibility for Tony to just bump into her, he didn't lose hope. Just as he thought about how small the chances were, he saw a woman leaving the apartment he was observing, crossing the street and walking straight towards the coffee place they were having breakfast in. Even though her face and hair was hidden behind a dark blue hijab, Tony somehow knew it was Ziva. It was the way her body moved and the aura that seemed to be around her that made it more than a gut feeling. He had absolutely no doubt this was Ziva. Tony knew he had to act fast. Ziva had to have a good reason why she left Tali and faked her own death, so there was a great chance that she was hiding from someone or being followed. Tony felt the special agent side of him coming to the surface for the first time a since he killed Trent Kort. He analysed the situation quickly and for his luck they were sitting in the front row seating of the cafe, with direct access to the busy street. Tonys heart started beating faster as Ziva came closer and just as she was walking by the cafe Tony threw the content of his coffee cup in Zivas direction, the brown liquid spilling all over her. " I'm so sorry, I really need to teach my daughter Tali how to not play with her food." He quickly shouted over to her and got up a few napkins in his hand. He knew that if Ziva was playing along, she definitely was being watched.

As soon as he kneeled down in front of her and handed her the napkins everything around them seemed to stop. Ziva just stared at Tony and he stared back, losing himself in her beautiful eyes. Their hands touched, just for a few seconds but feeling Zivas warm hand on his gave him a kick of energy and hope. Just a fraction of a second later he could see something change in her eyes, an expression he had only seen very few times on her. Fear. " Tony. You can't be here, it's not safe." She whispered, her voice fragile and her eyes started filling up with tears. Tonys apprehension was confirmed, she was definitely being watched. Tony grabbed the business card of the hotel he and Tali were staying at, got up, picked up another napkin from the table and wrapped the card into it, in a way it was only possible for Ziva to see . " sorry again, I hope we didn't ruin your clothes." He said loudly and handed her the napkin. " Don't worry, accidents can happen." She answered and glanced over to Tali, who was looking at the pictures in her book again. " 208 " Tony whispered almost unnoticeably, just before Ziva walked away.

I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter. let me know whether you liked it or not :) next chapter will be up in the next few days.