Chapter 40, Another Goodbye and Milestones: 2057 - 2058
Abby had used a walker or wheelchair the whole time she was in DC for Levi and Jackie's wedding. She had also tired easily and several times had fallen asleep in her chair while the family talked and played in the yard. She had stayed for a week extra after Jared and Tori and family flew back to New Mexico.
Tony, Ziva, Tim, Abby, Jimmy and Breena had spent the time together and the six had driven to Stillwater to lay flowers on Gibbs' grave. Abby had fallen asleep in the van on the way home and Tim and Jimmy had to help her into the house when they arrived back at the DiNozzo home. Ziva was worried about Abby, and she called Tori to check that Abby had all of her medications. Tori went through the list with Ziva and everything was there. Ziva offered to travel back to New Mexico with Abby later that week, but Jared was already in DC on Air Force business and he would be accompanying Abby home.
Abby slept through the rest of the day and night and finally woke up around 1000. She seemed to be feeling better and was almost her usual cheery self. Tony, Tim and Ziva watched her closely for the next two days until Jared came to pick her up for the flight home. As the old friends hugged goodbye, both Tony and Ziva had the feeling that these were the last hugs they would have from Abby.
They tried to talk with her on Skype at least once each week, but around mid-October, she would talk for about ten minutes and then end the call, saying she was tired. On Halloween 2057, Jared and Tori went to take Abby to a doctor's appointment and found that she had died in her sleep during the night.
Tori called her parents, who then called the DiNozzos and Tim. The five remaining Gibbs' kids flew to New Mexico for Abby's memorial services. Her ashes were placed in a vault with Leon's and the two rested side by side forever.
Sherlock and Watson's blog that week paid tribute to their "Auntie Abby." Tim found several pictures of Abby from her NCIS days and posted them on the blog, including one of her with her skeleton outfit and the skeleton in the lab wearing Christmas attire.
Tim and Jimmy celebrated their eightieth birthdays with the extended family, and all remembered Abby. They also celebrated Ziva's seventy eighth birthday. Tim and Jimmy again ribbed Tony, the next one to have a decade birthday when he turned ninety in July. And again, Tony reminded them that he was the BIG brother.
Jimmy retired from NCIS on 15 November, having spent as many years as his mentor in Autopsy. The five Gibbs' kids paid tribute to Ducky and Gibbs as the last of them retired and no longer worked for NCIS.
The whole family spent the Thanksgiving holiday and Christmas as had become the tradition; Thanksgiving at Jimmy and Breena's house and Christmas at Tony and Ziva's house. The DiNozzo house was filled with children's laughter and parents acting like kids and as always, Ziva felt blessed to have her family together. The showing of "It's a Wonderful Life" ended the evening and Tim, Tony and Ziva remembered those who were no longer alive.
Tony and Ziva left for their two months in Israel on 28 December, so that they would be spending their anniversary at the farmhouse.
For the first time in many years, New Year's Eve night was rainy in Tel Aviv and the couple could not have their anniversary dinner in the olive grove. They ate dinner in the small sitting area in their bedroom, overlooking the olive grove. On New Years' Day, the weather cleared and hand in hand, Tony and Ziva walked in the olive grove to their special place. Out of habit they counted trees and rows. At the marker, Tony took Ziva's hands in his and looked into her chocolate brown eyes, locking his gaze on hers. She dove into the emerald green eyes and time and space stopped for the two as it always had.
"Forty one years ago, I promised to love and cherish you, to be by your side forever and to be your husband," Tony leaned his forehead against Ziva's. "Today, I promise to love and cherish you and to be by your side forever. Ziva, I love you so much. My life has been a wonderful journey with you to share it with and have you as my lover, my best friend, and my wife."
Ziva felt the tears welling, "Forty one years ago, I took my vows to love you, to hold you, to cherish you, to be your wife for all of my days. Today, I promise to love you for eternity, to cherish you and to be with you for always. Tony, there are no words to tell you how much I love you. With you by my side for this beautiful journey of forty one years as husband and wife and over fifty two years together has been better than I ever dreamed possible. I am one with you."
Ziva brushed her lips on Tony's and wiped tears from his cheek. He brushed tears off her face and locked his lips on hers. To the rest of the world, they might be eighty nine and seventy eight years old, but in their world, when they were just by themselves, age did not matter. They each needed the other and the physical contact with the other just as much, if not more than, when they had been thirty seven and twenty six.
They walked back to the house; hands interlocked, and went to their bedroom. As they lay together after, the laptop computer signaled an incoming call. At first, they were planning to ignore the call and return it later, but when Ziva noticed Tali was calling, they decided to answer the call. Ziva put on a robe and Tony put on his sleep pants.
"Hi, Tali," Ziva greeted her daughter.
"Hi, Ima," Tali looked at her parents and did a quick mental time calculation. "Oh, god, I'm interrupting something…"
Tony put his arms around Ziva, "Tali, we decided to answer the call." Ziva nodded and smiled.
"But, Abba… oh, never mind. I was calling to wish you a happy anniversary before I headed to work. It's 1400 there, right?"
"Yes, so?" Ziva smiled at Tali. "Abba and I were just enjoying our anniversary."
"Happy Anniversary, Ima and Abba. Love you." Tali felt awkward, but tried not to show it.
"Thanks." Tony and Ziva both answered, "Love you more." They ended the call.
"Now where were we?" Tony pulled Ziva to him and put his lips on hers.
"Right here," Ziva locked her lips on his.