Chapter 19, Two Weeks, No Kids: Summer 2027
A/N Parallel story "Grandpa Gibbs in Charge" will be posted between this chapter and the next of this story.
Gibbs dropped Tony and Ziva at Dulles to catch their flight to Tel Aviv on El Al early on a Thursday morning. They would be gone for nineteen days. The children had said their goodbyes at home, and Abby had made sure they all got to their summer day camp activities. Gibbs would be staying with the five DiNozzo children for the first nine days and then he would be taking all nine grandchildren to his cabin for the following week, returning on the Sunday before the elder DiNozzos returned stateside. The McGee and Palmer children would be going on family vacations after the week at the cabin.
Tony and Ziva were going to check on the renovations at the Haifa beach house and the construction of the new house at the olive grove. This trip would also be their "no kids" escape for the year. As they settled into their seats for the first leg of the journey, from Dulles to JFK in New York, Ziva reminisced about the flight with her father's body fourteen and one half years prior. How her life had changed, for the better, from that day! Eli's assassination had triggered her journey to redefine herself. She took Tony's hand in hers and squeezed it lightly. He gave her a questioning look.
"I was just thinking about Eli and the flight to take his body back to Israel." She looked at Tony and smiled. "I think that was the first time that I was no longer afraid to love you."
~TIVA~
The flight to JFK was smooth and arrived a bit early. They had a three hour and forty minutes layover in New York. Ziva sent text messages to Gibbs, Abby and Tali to let them know she and Tony were in New York waiting for the next flight. Tony found a sandwich shop on the concourse and they had lunch while they waited. The 1330 flight boarded without delay and they were soon in the air for the ten and one half hour flight to Tel Aviv. They would arrive there about 0715 Friday morning, local time. For this flight, they booked first class seats for the comfort and ability to sleep on a bed-like seat.
After they were in the air, Ziva took out the documents for the house plans and the information the contractors had sent to them. The Haifa house was completed, and according to the latest information from Tel Aviv, the new house at the olive grove would be finished close to when they arrived. She also had proposals from two contractors in Santiago, Chile about the renovations and repairs the house there. Tony and Ziva looked over the proposals and the findings of the building inspector they had hired. The house was sturdy, but the wiring needed to be replaced. Gibbs had given them his view on the reports, and they had appreciated his input. While a higher cost, the contractor who proposed modernizing the insulation and windows while he was rewiring was their preference. They decided to give that contractor the go-ahead when they got back stateside.
Decision made, Ziva put away the paperwork, and pulled her book out of the bag. Tony was checking the movies available in-flight. He decided to watch the latest book to movie, "Deep Six," on his tablet instead, so he put on his headset and relaxed as Ziva read the newest novel by Thom E. Gemcity. Ziva happened to glance over at Tony's screen as the opening title was on the screen and laughed out loud. She nudged Tony and held up her book. He laughed and shook his head. "Rule 39!" (*There is no such thing as coincidence.*)
~TIVA~
Both managed to get some sleep on the flight, so when they arrived in Tel Aviv, they were ready for the morning. After gathering their bags, they got their rental vehicle and headed to Haifa. Before they went to the house, Ziva had Tony stop at the market so they could buy groceries. Since it was Friday, the market would close early for Shabbat, so they needed to get the shopping done.
At the house, they unloaded groceries and their luggage, noticing how the low-e windows helped keep the inside of the house cooler. Ziva opened shutters to let light into the house. Tony put the perishable items in the refrigerator, and most of the meat in the freezer. They planned to cook at the house as much as possible, partly because they enjoyed cooking together, and partly because it was easier to stay on diets by eating at home.
The house seemed almost too quiet; both were used to the usual noise and activity of five children. Tony sent a text to Gibbs to let him know that they had arrived in Haifa. "Arrived. House too quiet!" Within two minutes he had a reply from Gibbs, "All quiet here" to which Tony replied, "Wasn't expecting you to reply." Another reply from Gibbs, "Kids are still asleep" had Tony chuckling. "They better be!" One last message from Gibbs made Tony laugh out loud, "Virtual head slap :)". Tony smiled; Gibbs had come a long way with technology so he could keep up with the grandkids.
Ziva prepared lunch for herself and Tony. They had found lots of fresh vegetables at the market, and Ziva made a salad. The dining table seemed way too large for just the two of them, so they took their food out to the porch to eat. Tony held up his glass, "To ten and one half years of marriage and almost twenty two years together."
Ziva touched her glass to his with a smile. "It has been a wonderful journey with you and I look forward the rest of our years together. May there be many, many more."
The couple spent the rest of the day at the house, relaxing and trying not to fall asleep. They had an early dinner of olive chicken with rice, and went to bed not long after the sun set.
~TIVA~
Saturday morning, Tony woke up before Ziva. He quietly got up and went to the kitchen to fix breakfast. He made omelets and poured two glasses of orange juice. He took the food on a tray to the bedroom as Ziva was just waking up. "Good morning, my ninja! Have I told you today how much I love you?"
Ziva smiled and noticed the tray in his hands. "Breakfast in bed? You are spoiling me, Mr. DiNozzo."
Tony placed the tray on the nightstand, and kissed Ziva. "Always, my love, always."
After breakfast, Ziva suggested that they go to the beach. They changed into swimwear and sandals, with Tony joking with Ziva about her bikini from their Poconos get-away. She smiled and told him that while she had packed it, only he would get to see it, and that would be later. The beach was not as crowded as it would be on other days, since it was Shabbat. They put their beach chairs in the sand and placed hats, sandals and t-shirts on the chairs. Hand in hand, they walked to the water. Memories of the last trip to Haifa, when they had taught the younger children how to swim and of LJ splashing in the water came to both. Ziva turned to Tony, "Remembering our last trip here has finally given me some happy memories of Haifa again." She leaned into him and kissed him. He pulled her closer and deepened the kiss. She would always be his better half, and he loved her more each day.
Tony took Ziva's hand and pulled her into the water, splashing and laughing. As the water got to almost chest deep, Ziva ducked under and swam several feet away. Tony watched for her to come up to the surface, surprised at how far she had moved. He dove under and swam towards her. He surfaced and she was behind him, tapping him on the shoulder and saying, "Tag, you are it!" As he turned she swam away, with him following. She stopped and turned towards him as he pulled up almost in her face. He kissed her on the lips and grinned. "Tag, now you're it!" He went under and swam around her. Ziva waited until he surfaced and then put her arms around his neck. She locked her lips on his, and kissed him hungrily. "Perhaps we should return to the house, yes?" Tony murmured his agreement through kisses.
They swam in to shallower water and walked to shore. Sandals went on feet and the chairs and shirts and hats were picked up. Tony intertwined his free hand with Ziva's and they just about ran to the house. The chairs were discarded on the back porch and the loose clothing was left with them. Once inside, Tony untied the halter neck ties on Ziva's swimsuit and started sliding it down her body. He got it past her hips and let it fall to the floor where she stepped out of it as she slid Tony's swim trunks down. He stepped out of them and led her to the bedroom.
~TIVA~
As they lay intertwined after their love-making, they shared memories from the NCIS days. When Tony mentioned Ducky, they both grew somber. Ducky had been gone nearly six years, but he was still missed by all of the NCIS family. Then they remembered all who had been lost, some in the line of duty: Kate Todd, Jenny Shepard, Michelle Lee, Mike Franks, Paula Cassady, and Ned Dorneget.
To lighten the mood, Tony remembered Abby's lab and Bert the hippo. Ziva mentioned the pranks and one stake-out from an apartment in particular. She and Tony had pranked each other, but Gibbs had pulled the ultimate prank, effectively ending the pranking for the rest of the stakeout. How he had managed to get the current boat from his basement into the stakeout apartment was a mystery Gibbs would take to the grave. "What about super-gluing Tim's keyboard?" Tony was laughing now. Ziva laughed and with a sparkle in her eye mentioned the time Tony had set off confetti fireworks for New Years.
"I do not miss the stressful work we did. But, being on Gibbs' team is what brought us together; you and me as a couple and the whole group as a family. I would not trade that for all the coffee in Taiwan." Ziva was grateful for her NCIS family and how they had transcended work to make a real family.
Tony smirked at Ziva's mangling of the idiom, "It's all the tea in China, Zi. But you're correct, what we took with us from those days is priceless."