Chapter 47, Last Trip to Israel: 2066
The annual trip to Israel began with a flight from Dulles on 29 December. The flight was delayed taking off by over an hour due to high winds, kicked up by a sudden snow squall. Tony and Ziva were glad to have their business class seats. The delay in leaving Dulles caused a rush to get to the connecting flight in Miami. Since they had each packed the equivalent of a go bag, they were traveling light. Because both were still in good physical shape despite their advanced ages, they maneuvered through the terminal quickly and efficiently. Several others on the first flight came up to the boarding area for the El Al flight ten to fifteen minutes after Tony and Ziva and out of breath.
One woman who had complained about the delay stopped short when she saw Tony and Ziva waiting to board. Tony nudged Ziva, and whispered, "Guess who's here? Miss-I'm-too-important-to-wait-for-snow." Ziva looked around, "I still cannot believe she expected the ground crews to stop the snow and wind." Ziva whispered back.
The nut case in question strode over to Ziva and Tony. "How the hell did you TWO get here before me?"
Ziva smiled sweetly, "We flew on my broom." The other waiting passengers started laughing, and even the airline personnel at the gate chuckled. Tony had a huge grin on his face. He spun Ziva around and fastened his lips on hers. The crowd applauded and a few wolf whistled.
"That's my magnificent ninja!" he whispered and then kissed her again.
The rest of the trip went without a hitch. They managed to nap some on the trans-Atlantic flight, reclining their seats and clearing the divider between them. Tony wrapped his arm around Ziva's shoulder and she rested her head on his shoulder.
They were resting snuggled together when nut case woman came from coach class to use the restroom for business and first class seats. The flight attendant reminded her that unless she had an emergency situation, she should be using the lavatory at the back of the aircraft. Nut case turned and saw Tony and Ziva and sneered at them. Tony gave her one of his grins, "Have a nice day, ma'am." She shot him daggers in her look and after she retreated to coach, Ziva started giggling.
"What's so funny?" Tony was curious.
"The nutty woman. Her face when you were nice to her could have scared Eli." Tony had a visual image flash through his mind, and he too started giggling. The two snuggled again and leaned foreheads on each other's, trying not to giggle too loudly. Tony and Ziva locked gazes, and the world around them disappeared. Their lips met and they shared kisses softly until they dozed off.
As the couple was sleeping one of the flight attendants recognized them from Anthony's documentary. She went over to the other two attendants and pointed out Ziva and Tony. "That's the old couple from 'Soul Mates: A Love Like No Other.' I am positive it's them, I thought they were actors."
"It sure looks like them. On the show they said the couple was real and the producer and director were the son and grandson of the couple." One of the others explained what he remembered.
"Look at them; do they look like they are acting?" The third one asked.
Tony and Ziva had been resting with their eyes closed and had overheard most of the conversation. Ziva opened her eyes and the three flight attendants tried to hide that they had been staring at the couple.
"Yes, we are the couple, and yes, we are real." Ziva smiled at them.
"Our forty ninth anniversary is in three days." Tony added. "Sixty years and three months together."
The pair closed their eyes, shared a few kisses, and drifted back to sleep.
~TIVA~
Tony and Ziva took daily walks in the olive grove and orchard. Two or three days each week they walked the beaches in Haifa, depending on the weather. It was on one of the day excursions to Haifa that Ziva spotted the billboard for Discovery Networks International programming. She stopped in her tracks, her mouth agape. Tony stopped with her giving her a questioning look.
"Look up, Tony, at the billboard." Ziva pointed at the picture that had caught her attention. Tony did a double take. Staring down at them was their own picture promoting 'Soul Mates: A Love Like No Other.' The premiere for Israel was scheduled for the following Tuesday.
Tony took a picture of the billboard and sent it to Tali, Anthony, Beth, Rivka, LJ and Tim, with the caption, "We're famous?"
"Welcome to the club!" Tim couldn't read the Hebrew on the billboard, but the English portion gave him the info.
Tony tried to get a selfie of them with the billboard in the background, but he kept cutting off the tops of their heads in the billboard image. As they were trying to get the picture, several passersby stopped to look at what was so interesting. (The old look up and everyone else does out of curiosity trick, thought Tony.) One of the women looked from the billboard to Tony and Ziva, and back and forth again. "Hey, it's THEM; the couple on the billboard!" Heads turned and soon Tony and Ziva were posing for pictures with passersby and the billboard. One of them got the shot Tony wanted on his phone, "Toda raba." He was grateful.
Half an hour later, they finally extricated themselves from the center of attention. Tony joked, "Well, we got our fifteen minutes of fame." Ziva laughed. How ironic that the attention came in her country of birth, on the streets of a city she knew so well from her childhood, at ninety seven and eighty six years of age. "Only took us our whole lives to get it!"
~TIVA~
Most of the time in Israel was spent with just the two of them, walking, reading, watching a movie or television show, cuddling. They were nearly always touching the other somehow with few exceptions: holding hands, cuddling, snuggling in the bed, kissing, or foreheads touching and gazing into the other's eyes. The need for physical contact with the other seemed to have increased the longer they were together.
They had a Skype call with Tali each week, and it was on one of those weekly calls near the end of February that Tali shared that Levi and Jackie were adding to their family in August. The baby would be Tony and Ziva's tenth great-grandchild, and thirtieth direct descendant.
The couple stayed in Israel until 29 March. The more temperate climate in Israel was much friendlier to Tony's breathing than the cold and damp DC winters. Luckily, his medications had been finely tuned to provide the best maintenance for his body and he rarely had any difficulties breathing. In fact, neither Tony nor Ziva had been sick since Tony's hospitalization with bronchitis and the beginnings of pneumonia in February 2057.
~TIVA~
Spring became summer, and at the family Fourth of July picnic, Noah and Deanna had three big announcements. Deanna was going to be graduating with her Bachelors' Degree in Nursing in August. She and Noah planned to get married on 4 September. The biggest news was that they were going to have a baby boy in November.
Ryan Leon was born to Levi and Jackie on 6 August at 1506. Rachel and Rich were excited to have a baby brother.