Chapter 35, Life Goes On and the Family Grows: 2046 – 2047
The first half of 2046 had been life going on as usual around the support of the family for Tim and Delilah. Katie and John had relied on their spouses for emotional support and by extension, the DiNozzo family. Tony and Ziva had been so involved in the care and recuperation of both Tim and Delilah that they had not taken their annual break with just them.
August and September flew by, with Tim leaning on his brothers and sisters for support to make it through. Mostly that had been Tony and Ziva, but neither one minded. Tim was too important to leave dangling without Delilah to ground him. Katie and Anthony tried to include Tim in family activities and give him plenty of time with the grandchildren.
Charles and Beth had helped Uncle Tim with the funeral, final disposition of the remains and had encouraged him to join a grief support group at the chapel affiliated with Slater's. Tim tried the group a few times, and although he felt welcome, his introverted nature caused him to hold back around people he did not know.
Tony and Ziva were concerned about their brother. Tim seemed to be just functioning from day to day, and the only time he seemed happy was with the grandkids. Ziva and Tony were talking about what they could do for Tim one night as they cuddled in bed.
"I wish we could find a way to get Tim's light to shine again," Ziva looked at Tony as he thought out loud. "Something that he can throw himself into and find joy again." Tony looked at Ziva, connecting with her via their eye language. Both were quiet as they thought when Ziva sat up suddenly.
"Let's take Tim to pick out a pet at the animal shelter." Ziva liked the idea even more now that she had said it out loud. Tony nodded.
"I also thought about encouraging him to write again. He loved it when he was writing the L.J. Tibbs novels!" Tony liked his idea as well as Ziva's.
The next day, they picked Tim up at his apartment for their weekly lunch together. After lunch, Tony mentioned that they had an errand to run and would Tim mind tagging along. He shrugged his shoulders.
Tony turned into the parking lot for the Animal Shelter and grinned at Ziva. Tim looked up and saw some dogs playing in a fenced in area. Tony asked Tim to help him take the bags of dog and cat food into the shelter. He and Ziva had taken food there before as a donation and the shelter folks appreciated it greatly.
Ziva wandered along the hallway of adoptable animals. There were dogs of all sizes, puppies, and in a separate area, cats and kittens. Tony and Tim followed Ziva. As they were walking past a cage with two grown cats, Tim stopped. There was something about the way the black and white cat had looked at him. He walked over and put his hand on the cage bars. The black and white cat looked at Tim and sniffed the air. The orange tabby walked to Tim's hand and butted his head against the bars and what he could reach of Tim's hand. Finally the black and white came over and he reached out a paw to Tim with a plaintive 'meow.' Tim ran his fingers over both cats' heads and scratched under their chins. The cats purred and leaned into Tim's touch. He turned to leave and both cats grabbed his shirt with their paws and again "meow, meow."
"They like McCatWhisperer," Tony was enjoying seeing Tim interact with another living being and enjoying it. Ziva nodded her agreement.
Tim looked at Ziva, "Do you think they would let me take these two home?" She went to look for the adoption process worker. Tony stayed with Tim. "They need me, Tony. I can't leave them here."
Tim filled out the paperwork, and paid the adoption fees. He left with two new furry friends. He asked Tony to stop at the pet superstore near the apartment so he could get cat food, litter, litter boxes, dishes and beds for his new pals. Ziva smiled as Tim filled his cart, the two cats in their travel box peeking through the air holes and Tim showing them all the things he was buying for them.
They loaded Tim's purchases in the back of the SUV and drove back to the apartment, Tim sitting next to the box and talking to the cats and assuring them that they would be freed soon. Tony and Ziva helped Tim carry everything into the apartment and get the cat beds and scratching tree set up as the two curious cats explored the apartment and wound around Tim's legs.
Tim named the black and white one Sherlock and the orange tabby Watson. When Tony and Ziva left, Tim was sitting in his recliner with a cat on each leg. Ziva squeezed Tony's hand, "I think we did something good for both Tim and the cats today!"
~TIVA~
Tim started writing a blog about the adventures of Sherlock and Watson and by Christmas, had written two children's stories that he illustrated with pictures of the cats for Adam. Kelly and Shannon asked for copies too. Tony paid Tim for copies for Noah and Elisheva. At first Tim didn't want to take the money from Tony, but then he decided to use whatever money he made from the books to buy cat food and litter for the shelter where his now famous cats had captured his heart. By March of 2047, Tim had publishing deals for both books and was under contract for as many more as he could write. Tim hired Anthony to be his professional cat photographer and the next internet and book stars were launched.
~TIVA~
Tony and Ziva hosted Christmas dinner 2046 as they had every year since Gibbs had moved in with them. The out of town children were all able to travel and they had a full table once again. Tim set up the videos as in previous years, and even though Sherlock and Watson stayed home, Tim had set up a video feed to his apartment so the grandchildren could watch the antics of the two cats.
After dinner and opening presents, the family gathered in the family room to watch "It's a Wonderful Life," a tradition that had started all those years ago at NCIS. Tim, Tony and Ziva told the story, as they did every year, of how they had set up the first gathering in MTAC and how Gibbs had been dead set against it, but was the first to make sure the tradition continued.
As the movie started, Tony and Ziva sat on the loveseat curled together, and looked around. Tali and Chaim sat on the other loveseat with Noah and Elisheva in their laps, and Levi and Elijah at their feet. Anthony and Katie sat on the floor, Kelly and Shannon leaning on their parents. Anthony sat in Grandpa's lap in the recliner. Beth and Charles leaned against the coffee table on a blanket they had set on the floor with Rebecca between them. Rivka and John sat on the bean bag chairs by Tim with Adam sitting in John's lap. LJ and Savannah, now six months pregnant, were on one end of the sofa and Jimmy and Breena on the other.
"Zi, we have a beautiful family. I couldn't ask for better." Tony whispered in her ear. "We have Gibbs to thank for that, you know."
"Indeed we do, Tony. Abba started this family of the heart, and I can feel him in the room with us." Ziva wiped a tear from Tony's cheek as he did the same for her. Tony nodded, afraid if he said anything more, he would cry. He pulled Ziva to him and planted a kiss on her lips.
"I love you, Ziva. Merry Christmas." Tony looked upward, "And Merry Christmas to you, too, Dad Gibbs."
Now was Ziva's turn to just nod, or the tears would spill. "Merry Christmas, Abba." She whispered so only Tony could hear.
~TIVA~
Two days after Christmas, Tony and Ziva boarded a flight from Dulles to Paris. They spent their thirtieth anniversary in the city of light and romance. The flat had been used as a vacation destination by many of the family over the years. To Tony and Ziva, though, the flat would always be special. It was where they had finally quit running from the past and allowed the present and their love to determine the future.
They visited all of their favorite places and reminisced but also made new memories. They spent lazy mornings in bed, still needing the physical nearness that they craved for all of the time they had known each other. They held hands and shared private conversations with their heads together. They kissed often and deeply.
After a week in Paris, they flew to Tel Aviv and spent a month in Israel at the farmhouse and Haifa beach house. They walked hand in hand on the beach, delighting in the simple things: a beautiful shell, a silly gull trying to beg for food from them, the sunset over the Mediterranean. At night, they cuddled in bed, touching each other as if they were discovering the other for the first time. They made love and reveled in the intimacy. Several nights they took blankets into the olive grove and watched the stars from their special spot. They shared memories and thought back to the night Tali had been conceived, the night that had cemented their connection forever, although neither realized it at the time.
By day, they explored the Israeli markets and attractions, or spent a lazy day reading or watching movie marathons. They reveled in the time that was just the two of them. One night when both were in a particularly nostalgic mood, Ziva asked Tony if he would change anything if he could do it all over again.
He thought about his response for a while, and asked Ziva if she would change anything. She, too, had to contemplate her response.
Tony finally spoke, "As much as I would change that awful night I left you on the tarmac, the more I think about it, the more I am SURE I would not change a thing. That was a necessary part of our journey, as painful as it was, and we HAD to go through that step to get where we are."
Ziva nodded, "I had the same thoughts. I regretted sending you away, but without that painful step, we could not have gotten here. Tony, I love you so much and you are so much a part of me. I cannot even remember when you were not a part of my life. I truly think my soul knew you even before we met. You complete me."
"Oh, Zi, where would I be without you? I loved you from the day I met you and I agree, my soul knew yours even before we met." Tony wiped tears from his eyes, and Ziva kissed his face. He wiped her tears off her face and put his lips on hers.
He cupped her face in his hands, "I sure hope there is something beyond this Earthly life, because the thought of not being with you terrifies me." Ziva put her hands on his and nodded. The thought of being without Tony was not anything she wished to dwell upon.
~TIVA~
Jessica Renee DiNozzo made her appearance on 23 March 2047, weighing in at six pounds, three ounces and nineteen and one half inches long. LJ and Savannah were smitten immediately. Tony and Ziva had treated new grandparents Ellie and Clayton to dinner. As they listened to the two brag to anyone who would listen about their new granddaughter, Tony nudged Ziva. "Were we ever that bad about bragging on Levi?" Ziva shrugged. "It goes with the title." She and Tony locked eyes and smiled.
~TIVA~
In November, Breena and Ziva planned a quiet dinner to celebrate Jimmy and Tim's seventieth birthdays. Nothing fancy, just the five of them, the Gibbs children, and a lasagna dinner. Breena had made a small cake for dessert and Tony had made sure they had both vanilla bean (Tim's favorite) and chunky monkey (Jimmy's favorite) ice cream to go with the cake.
The five laughed and shared stories well into the night and the two birthday boys took particular delight in reminding Tony that the next decade hit would be his eightieth birthday in July.
"Joke all you want, children, I am and always will be the BIG brother!" Tony had the last word. He raised his wine glass, and the others joined him, "To family! To Gibbs, may he rest in peace."
"Hear, hear." "Salud." "Shalom."