A/N I know that Ziva was a bit out of character during the last chapter. Hopefully this will make up for it. Reviews are appreciated and loved. Remember, I own nothing except the children in this story...

Please know, I don't hate Tony or Ziva. They are two of my favorite characters. I don't blame either one of them more than the other. My muse is being stubborn with writing the story this way. It's important that the healing process start and this chapter starts that process.

I will be on vacation for two weeks so this is the last update for awhile. I will continue it when I return home. Thanks for reading...

Tony found Gibbs under one of the shade trees in his backyard. They both stared straight ahead and Tony asked, "Why didn't you tell me about Gracie before I left to go see Ziva?"

Gibbs shrugged and said, "Wasn't my story to tell."

"You could have warned me about it."

"I could have, but again, it wasn't my place to tell you. Ziva needed to be the one to tell you about her. Not me, not Abby and not McGee."

Tony sighed heavily, "I wish I had known about her. It would have changed so many things."

Gibbs turned to look at his former Special Agent, "Would it? Would you have left Jeanne and came back here?"

"I don't know. I would like to think that I would have done the right thing."

"I guess we will never know."

Tony knew that he was right. He also knew that he'd made some bad choices in the past. He whispered, "I can't regret every part of the past eight years. I wouldn't have my children. I can't imagine my life without them in it."

"Children have a way of changing you. Usually it's for the better."

Tony nodded and asked, "What's she like?"

Gibbs didn't have to ask who he was talking about. He knew that he meant Gracie. He smiled and said, "She's a lot like you. She has your smile. She loves to play practical jokes on McGee. Ziva is constantly having to go to parent teacher conferences because she's constantly getting into trouble at school."

Tony laughed and said, "She sounds like Sara. I can't tell you how many times Jeanne and I found because of her antics."

Gibbs smiled and said, "She also has the biggest heart around. She's constantly bringing home stray puppies and kittens."

"I think she might be better off without me in her life."

Gibbs shook his head, "She needs a father Tony. Ziva did try to look for you, but it was like you disappeared."

Tony nodded, "We moved around a lot that first year. Jeanne was constantly afraid that people were following her. So, we moved five times that first year. We finally found a place we felt safe and that we could call home."

Gibbs nodded, "I'm not sure why, but it's like she just gave up. Like all the fight in her was gone. Abby would know better. They are really good friends now.

Abby came over and smiled at Tony, "She didn't want you to come home just because she was having a baby. So, she decided to have the baby on her own. I tried to convince her to keep trying to find you, but you know how stubborn she is."

Tony laughed and said, "I do."

"You guys have forgiven me."

"Because we love you Tony. Besides, we didn't have the same kind of relationship that you had with Ziva. Something happened to her after you left. She closed down for the longest time. Give her time Tony. You both have a lot of issues to resolve. It can't happen overnight."

Tony smiled, "When did you get so smart?"

Abby laughed, "It happened when I married McGee. Although, I do like to think that I've always been pretty smart!"

Tony laughed as he walked into the house and picked up the phone. He was going to do everything he could to start earning Ziva's trust back. He smiled as he made the first of many phone calls.

Ziva woke to the sound of someone knocking on her door. She sighed and got up to answer it. She opened the door and was surprised to see a deliveryman standing there with a huge bouquet of roses. There were roses of every color in it.

"Can you sign for these please?"

Wordlessly, she signed on the clip board and took the flowers from him. She shut the door and carried them over to her kitchen table. She looked for and soon found a card. She opened it and couldn't help but smile when she read,

Ninja,

"I'm sorry for being an ass. I want a chance to talk to you and to get to know more about our daughter."

Signed,

Your little hairy butt.

It was a simple gesture, but somehow, it seemed to melt Ziva's heart. She held it close to her and walked over to the phone. She picked it up and made her first gesture in the start of the healing process. She called Tony to invite him to dinner the following night. He was right, there were many things that they needed to talk about.

For the first time in years, she was able to smile when she thought of the future. She smiled when Tony answered, "You are right. We do need to talk."

It was the first step in their healing...