Chapter 36, And Grows Some More: 2048 - 2049
Christmas 2047 saw the family scattered around the country. Jimmy and Breena along with Charles, Beth and Rebecca flew to New Mexico to spend Christmas with the Vance side of their family. Beth was almost eight months pregnant, but her doctor cleared her to fly. Charles and Beth stayed with Jared and Tori, while Jimmy and Breena stayed with Abby and Leon.
Tim, Anthony, Katie, Anthony, Kelly and Shannon drove to Atlanta to spend Christmas with John and Rivka. LJ, Savannah and Jessica traveled with Ellie and Clayton to Oklahoma. Tali, Chaim, Levi, Elijah, Noah and Elisheva flew to Israel to visit Chaim's parents.
Ziva and Tony were the only ones staying in DC. They would be on Skype with the family on Christmas day. Tim designated them the official "guardians" of Sherlock and Watson. With none of the children or grandchildren in the house, they chose to do minimal decorations. They put out the menorah for Chanukah on 13 December. After the last night of Chanukah, they put up a small Christmas tree that was pre-decorated and all of the Christmas stockings. Ziva had wanted to just put out their own two stockings, but Tony had insisted they needed all of them, including Gibbs' and Delilah's. He even dug through boxes of Christmas decorations to find Ducky's stocking from years ago. He couldn't explain the need to have them all out, but Ziva understood.
On Christmas Eve, they went to a local food kitchen and helped serve Christmas dinner to almost four hundred people. Through NCIS, they participated in an "Angel Tree" and besides purchasing gifts for ten needy children, they also helped deliver the gifts. Tony dressed as Santa and Ziva as Mrs. Claus. Nick took pictures of the couple dressed in their holiday outfits. Tony sent a picture to Tim, Abby and Jimmy with the caption 'Merry Christmas.'
Christmas day started with a Skype call to the Atlanta family and watching the kids and grandkids open gifts. Next call was to Oklahoma, and then to New Mexico. After saying their goodbyes to the family in New Mexico, Ziva started making Christmas dinner for the two of them. Tony helped with the olive chicken, garlic bread, and salad. When the food was ready, he opened a bottle of wine and set it at the small table in the breakfast nook. Ziva placed the plates of food on the table. Tony pulled her to him and locked his lips on hers. He pointed above the table, where he had hung a sprig of mistletoe. His eyes twinkled as did Ziva's. They were both remembering a long ago Christmas party at NCIS where Tony had spent a good part of the evening trying to get Ziva to stand under some mistletoe. When he thought he had finally succeeded, Gibbs walked over and kissed Ziva on the cheek. At Tony's crestfallen look, Ziva had teased him, "If you wanted to kiss me, you should have just done it." He had pulled her to him and kissed her right then and there with all of NCIS watching.
~TIVA~
Robert James Palmer arrived on 3 February 2048 at 1434. Beth's water had broken in the office at Slater's. Since Jimmy had been there that day, he rode with Charles and Beth and later, everyone was glad he had. Jimmy delivered Robert in the back seat of his son's car on the way to the hospital.
Rebecca was fascinated with her baby brother. She would show him off to anyone she could.
~TIVA~
Tony's eightieth birthday was on a Wednesday. With the children working, Ziva decided to have a quiet dinner on the day of his birthday with Tim. She had invited Jimmy and Breena, but they had flown out to New Mexico for Jared's promotion to Colonel.
Ziva made olive chicken, one of Tony's favorite dishes, and she knew Tim liked the dish as well. Tim brought wine and a salad. The three ate in the family room, watching DVDs of family events, starting with the first Thanksgiving at Ducky's house. They laughed at some of the antics of the kids when they were small, and more than one comment was made how one of the grandkids was so like a parent. Tony stopped playing the DVDs after Gibbs' last Christmas; they were all getting teary-eyed.
Tim cleared the dinner plates for Ziva and loaded the dishwasher. They took the rest of the wine out on the deck and talked as the sun went down. As the stars appeared, Tony looked up and made a wish on the first star he saw, "I wish that we will be here to do this again in ten years." Ziva squeezed his hand; she knew he was thinking how his mother had died young and Senior had passed before his ninetieth birthday.
"I wish that in whatever comes after this world, we will still be a family." Ziva had spent more of her life with her family of the heart than she had with blood family. She thought about her parents, both passing relatively young, and her siblings, neither of whom made it past their thirtieth birthday.
Tim spoke quietly, "I wish we will be able to see those who have already left when we get to wherever the other side is." He was thinking about Delilah; he missed her so much. Sherlock and Watson were great to have as companions, and they slept on the bed with Tim, but he missed his wife. Some nights, he could almost feel her presence.
Tony, sensing heaviness in their moods, suddenly stood up and ran into the backyard. "I'm it, you two go hide and I'll find you. One, two, three…"
Tim looked at Ziva and they both shrugged. "What the heck? Let's go hide." Tim smiled at Ziva. She nodded and then whispered in his ear, "Remember to use your ninja skills and move quietly. We cannot let him hear us moving to hide."
"…ninety seven, ninety eight, ninety nine, one hundred. Here I come ready or not." Tony opened his eyes and let them adjust to the low light of the backyard. He had heard Tim moving in the direction of the shed, and Ziva had stepped twice on the porch board that creaked. He moved in the direction of the shed, quietly, so that he could listen for Tim.
As he stepped around the back of the shed, he spotted a shadow near the old maple tree. Tim appeared to be looking the other direction. Tony stealthily crept up behind Tim and tapped him on the shoulder. "Found you." Tim startled and then laughed. Tim headed back to the porch and Tony kept looking for Ziva. He headed along the fence on the side of the yard away from the shed. He stopped and listened every few steps.
He saw a branch on the crape myrtle hedge move slightly. He very quietly walked to the spot where he had seen the branch move. He turned towards the hedge and reached a hand at the barely perceptible shadow. His hand touched Ziva's side and he tickled her. She tried not to laugh, but he persisted, and she finally burst out laughing. He helped her out of the hedge and kissed her. They walked hand in hand back to the porch.
"Bet you both thought I couldn't find you. See, this 'old' guy still has it." Tony gloated. Tim and Ziva kidded him that they had gone easy on him due to his age. The three of them laughed until their sides hurt. When Tim commented that the neighbors had probably called the men in white coats to take them away to the nut house, Tony had to explain the idioms to Ziva and that made things even funnier. He was laughing so hard he had tears running down his face. Once Ziva got the idiom, she had to sit down because she was laughing so much. It was always good to laugh with friends.
~TIVA~
On the Saturday after Tony's birthday, the family had a cookout in the backyard. All the kids and grandkids were there, including John, Rivka, and Adam. Tim helped with the grilling and they set up an inflatable water slide for the children. Parents got in on the fun as well, and Ziva had to remind Tony that he was not a kid anymore and climbing the waterslide and sliding down was not a good idea.
John and Rivka announced that Adam would be a big brother in February.
~TIVA~
Christmas 2048, Tony and Ziva flew to Atlanta. Anthony and Katie hosted the dinner for the DC family at Ziva and Tony's house. A long Skype call between the two locations resulted as presents were unwrapped. Tim sat at the head of the table in DC and Jimmy and Anthony kidded him about being the "elder" of the family in Tony's absence. When Tim reminded Jimmy that he was a day younger than Jimmy, and that Anthony, as the host, should be at the head of the table, the kidding stopped.
On 27 December, Tony and Ziva flew from Atlanta to Tel Aviv to celebrate the New Year and their anniversary in Israel. They stayed at the farmhouse, and spent much of their time in the olive grove or on the farmhouse porch. Ziva had been adding family pictures to the wall each year they came over from the States, updating family group shots and adding names to the family tree she had painted on the wall where the pictures were hung.
"I want this to be a way for our children and grandchildren and the generations that follow to know their heritage," Ziva explained to Tony. She had framed a quote and hung it in the middle of the tree trunk: "To forget one's ancestors is to be a brook without a source, a tree without a root. " –Chinese Proverb
On New Year's Eve, Ziva prepared a dinner that they could carry into the olive grove. Tony found the old picnic basket and blanket and put them in the wagon. They walked hand in hand to their special place, counting the trees and rows carefully. "One day, we will have to put some sort of marker here," Tony remarked. "It will be easier to find that way." Ziva nodded in agreement.
They placed the blanket on the ground and Ziva opened the basket. They lowered the sides of the wagon and used it as a makeshift table. Tony poured wine for both of them. He raised his glass, "To us; thirty two years married and forty three plus years together. May we have many more." Ziva touched her glass to his.
The chicken and pasta salad was delicious, and they finished all that Ziva had brought with them. She packed the dishes and flatware back in the basket and Tony folded the wagon sides back up so they could use the wagon as a back rest. Tony sat against the side of the wagon and Ziva leaned on his shoulder, his arm around her. "Zi?" Tony spoke softly. "Do you think we should be buried here? I like the idea of our ashes being put together right here in a spot that is special for us."
Ziva was quiet for a bit while she thought it over. She knew that Jewish tradition forbid cremation, but she had not been an adherent to her religion of birth since she was a preteen. "Yes, Tony, I like that idea. I do not need a traditional Jewish burial. But we must be together."
"We will make the plans for our final wishes written when we go home. And we can let all five kids know, plus Tim and Jimmy." Tony was glad she agreed; he wanted to be with her forever.
"Now, let's stop being serious and celebrate our anniversary." Tony grinned at her and kissed her. She caressed his face and returned the kiss. "My heart, my soul, my body, my mind are all yours forever, Ziva. I love you for always."
Ziva caressed his face, and looked into those emerald green eyes that she had loved for so long. She still could get lost in them so easily. "You are my everything, Tony. I love you forever." She locked her lips on his. "Let us go back to the house, yes?"
Later, as they lay on the bed, Ziva ran her fingers over Tony's bare chest. She still could create fire in him every time and every place she touched him. He traced lazy circles on her breasts and abdomen. He kissed her and drew her to him. "I will never stop wanting you, Zi."
~TIVA~
On 22 February 2049, Brian Sean McGee came into the world at 0648. Big brother Adam showed off his baby brother to Saba, Savta and Grandpa via Skype three days later. "Savta, Saba and Grandpa, he cries and he poops." All three grandparents remembered a similar conversation many, many years before with Tali.
~TIVA~
Tony and Ziva flew back stateside in April. They had made stops in Berlin and Paris, checking the properties in those cities, and visiting places where they had made memories. They held hands as they walked about Berlin and Paris; they danced in the club in Berlin where they had nearly spoken their love thirty five years ago. They visited the petting zoo in Paris where Tali laughed at the soft coats on the animals so long ago.
~TIVA~
When John, Rivka, Adam, and Brian came north for the Fourth of July holiday, Ziva had portraits made of each of her children with their families, individual portrait of each person, group photos with her, Tony and their children, with the grandchildren, and a group photo of all of them. In the extended family photos, she had included Tim, Jimmy and Breena, and Clayton and Ellie as well. Anthony had set up his equipment in the DiNozzo living room and used it as a portrait studio. His assistant came to help and Ziva was pleased with the results. All of the DiNozzo children asked for copies of the portrait of their parents with Ziva and Tony facing each other, arms wrapped around the other and their foreheads touching. They had gazed into each other's eyes as Anthony was checking the lighting and his assistant had snapped several candid photos while they were lost in the other's eyes.