Author's Note: Time to reintroduce the families. Up first will be Tony's and I'll have Ziva's arrive within the next three chapters.
They'll be interacting with Gibbs later in this chapter.
Also, I incorporated a writing technique from English class.
It's called foreshadowing and anyone that can spot it gets one of those really awesome big cookies.
They sell them at my school and they're kind of expensive but they're worth every penny.
Basically, it's the emergence of band director!Alex, DiNozzo family verbal tennis, and TIVA.
Enjoy.
Disclaimer: NOT MINE. IF IT WAS, I WOULDN'T BE IN SCHOOL FIGHTING WITH JERKS WHO WANT THE WINDOW OPEN IN BARELY ABOVE 20 DERGEE WEATHER. I WON BUT I HURT MY FINGER ):
"Where's Alex in all of this mayhem?!"
"I don't know! She said that she would be here by noon! It's only 11:45! Ziva, look out!"
Ziva ducked as a kid barely missed her with his tuba and kept striving forward. The place was packed. One band from each major city on the East Coast plus their entourages equaled a human gridlock. Ava's stroller was serving as a crowd divider. Tony was right next to her, pushing J.T. in his stroller. To her amusement, he was using the diaper bag as a shield.
When they made it to a semi clear area, she looked down to check on them.
Both of them had on jeans, white sneakers, and Ohio Sate sweatshirts.
Both were very much asleep, shocking and amusing her.
Then, when she thought about who their father was, the shock was replaced with tenderness.
DiNozzos can sleep through everything except for potentially deadly situations and morning sneak attacks...
She looked at Tony and he gave her a goofy grin.
Chuckling, she continued pushing towards the doors, thankful that she had her little hairy butt. She couldn't believe how much time had passed. It seemed like only yesterday that she was pouring feelings of unrequited love into her journal. Yet, it had been over a year ago, almost two.
His arms went around her and she bared her throat to him, letting him press tender kisses to the skin.
"What are you thinking about?"
"Us."
"Good things?"
"Yes. I can't believe how much time has passed."
"Me neither. It seems like only yesterday that you were outside that bar calling me a fucking bastard."
"You were going to go off and screw that blonde."
Ziva was still angry at that little whore and if she ever ran into her again, she'd tear her hair out by the roots.
And not just the ones on her upper lip., she thought with an evil smirk.
"Luckily I didn't or I wouldn't be here with you and our babies."
She shook her head and turned to look him dead in his eyes.
"That's not necessarily true. You and I were an accident that needed to happen. I fully believe that if I hadn't gone postal that night, we would've ended up together eventually. There probably would've been a lot more screaming, though and not the good kind."
He laughed and nodded in agreement.
Turning around, she saw a bus from Baltimore pull up.
Immediately, Phil jumped down the stairs, giving them a jaunty two fingered salute.
He had on a black button down and black jeans, along with black sandals.
His silver hair was partially covered by a white cap.
Alex came down the stairs and took Phil's offered hand.
"Milady.", he murmured softly as he kissed her hand.
She blushed but smiled.
"Milord. Go forth and fetch yonder devil worshipers from our chariot. I must speak with my counterpart and his woman. Hi, guys!"
She ran over and nearly broke Tony in two in a hug.
"Hey, Alex. Where are the emo twins?"
"Matt and Mel are holding down the fort back home. They send their love. How are you, Zee?"
"I'm well. When do you guys go on?" she asked.
"1:30. How these people expect me to get 100 kids on stage, ready to go, in 90 minutes is beyond me... Are they actually sleeping?"
Ziva looked at the twins and nodded, making Alex laugh softly.
"Jeez. DiNozzos can sleep through anything. Listen, when we get in stay near me so security doesn't give you shit. Andy and Jenna are in the auditorium so you guys can get seats."
"Okay."
"Let me get my band so we can do this."
Turning around, Ziva could see her shift from upbeat sister in law to serious band director. Fishing a silver whistle out of her top, she blew it in a strong, high tone, making anyone nearby wince.
The twins slept on. Nap time meant nap time to them, banshee whistles be damned.
To Ziva's fascination, the students abruptly ended their side conversations and stood at attention. Alex blew the whistle again, a shorter blast, and they marched over, separating into single file lines. Each line had 20 kids in it.
"It's like the army." Tony observed.
"Or MOSSAD."
When the instructor came up, you had to be quiet that instant and line up or sit down, depending on the situation.
All of them had on a uniform of a black turtleneck, black cargo pants, and black and white sneakers.
Blue and orange winter caps rested on their heads.
Alex had on a slightly different version of the uniform.
She had on a long black overcoat over her clothes and black heels.
She wore no cap and she had a large purple binder in her hands.
Ziva could see a bright yellow baton in her hair, securing the black waves into a bun.
Her silver eyes looked at each one of them like an inspecting drill sergeant.
Ziva could fully see them prepared in 90 minutes.
They looked professional and competent.
Nearby bands looked at them nervously and one red clad trumpet player summed it up.
"I hope they don't play as good as they look or we're fucked."
Satisfied with what she saw, she began to speak in a firm yet soft voice.
"Okay, most of you were in marching band so you recognize the people I'm with.
If you weren't, this is my twin brother Anthony and his fiancée Ziva. The babies are Ava and Jethro. Say hi."
A chorus of hi nearly knocked them over.
"Good. Now for the standard performance warning. We are here because we were invited. We are here because we are one the best fucking bands on this coast. This is a privilege, not a right. This is the first and only time I will say this so listen up.
Any bullshit will not be tolerated. Leave at the door and don't pick it up when it's time to go. You are young adults so act like it. If you step out of line, not only will you be immediately sent home, you will receive a failing grade for the semester. If you do something particularly fucked up, you will be thrown out of band and not asked to return next year. Clear?"
Tony broke the solemn silence with a spot on Forrest Gump imitation.
"Yes, Drill Sergeant!" he crowed in a Southern drawl, moving his head like the actor did.
The band cracked up and Ziva smiled at him.
Sometimes, he had really good timing with the movie quotes.
Alex shook with giggles and said, "Thank you, A.J. I needed that. Don't be nervous, you guys. You really do not suck. Let's get in there and kick some ass, shall we?!"
They cheered and headed inside, Alex in the front with Phil.
Turning, Ziva kissed his cheek in reward.
"Idiot.", she said fondly.
"Your idiot. Let's go."
////////////
"Ziva! Tony! Over here!"
"Get down, woman!"
"Don't tell me what to do!"
Tony smiled as Ziva rolled Ava over and hugged Jenna.
They looked like sisters in their matching green dresses.
"Were you in my head this morning?" Ziva asked her playfully.
"Look, we're twinsies!"
She laughed and nodded in agreement, giving a fussing Ava a bottle.
Tony put J.T. next to her and made sure he was swaddled, much to his displeasure.
He glared at him with his mother's big pretty eyes.
"Yeah, buddy. It sucks to be confined but it's really cold in here. I don't want you to get sick. You want me to wipe your nose again?"
He hissed in pain as J.T. clunked him on the head with his rattle.
Just like his grandpa. Jeez, that hurt!
Ziva kneeled down next to him and cooed," Poor baby." before kissing him on the wounded spot.
Mmm... I should let him hit me more often. J.T., that is. Not his grandpa...I mean, Gibbs.
Gibbs was more of a grandfather than his dad, anyway.
Since the disastrous dinner, nobody had heard from him.
Tony liked to think that Ziva had scared him off but he knew deep down it wasn't true. The old bastard was like a zit. Annoying, painful, and with bad timing.
He had a feeling that he would resurface soon with more hell to raise.
"You have the pregnant glow, Jenna." Ziva suddenly said.
Looking away from his son, Tony stood and focused on his sister in law.
She did have the pregnant glow.
She was rocking the pregnant glow.
The blonde blushed pink but smiled, resting a hand on her abdomen.
Ziva grinned and said, "Mazel tov! How far along are you?"
"5 ½ weeks. Andrew's my GYN."
Tony laughed and quipped, "Nice.", looking at his brother with amusement.
"Hey, why not? That way I can answer my own questions and nobody else gets to see her..."
"Andrew Michael DiNozzo, there are little children here!" Jenna scolded.
"I wasn't gonna say it!" Andy protested.
"You so were. Bloody pervert." she grumbled.
The lights on stage turned on and they quickly sat down as the auditorium lights dimmed.
Seconds later, Alex and her band trooped out, swiftly getting into position.
Phil came in sitting next to Jenna and he was smiling softly at his wife.
Slowly, Alex slid out of her heels, showing loud electric blue socks.
Her baton was removed from her hair and she shook it out before putting a big white clip in it.
Climbing up onto the podium, she gestured for the teenagers to sit.
After they did, she turned, smiling at them before nodding to the emcee.
"Ladies and gentlemen, the band on stage is the Symphonic Winds ensemble from the Baltimore Polytechnic Institute. They will be playing Into the Storm by Robert W. Smith, followed by The Tempest also by Robert W. Smith and ending with Galop Fr. "Moscow, Cheremushky" . This band is directed by Mrs. Alexandria DiNozzo- Campbell and we hope you enjoy their performance.
She turned and the students raised their instruments.
After her hands began to move, Tony smiled at the good music coming from the students.
He could already hear the judges reviewing and the crowds impressed murmurs.
His big sister could teach and now everyone knew it.
/////////////
Gibbs walked out of the elevator and heard someone spinning in their chair.
He rolled his eyes and said, "Knock it off, DiNozzo. You're going to..."
Instead of Tony, he was looking at a young black woman with big silver eyes peering at him curiously.
"Sorry, I thought you were..."
"A.J. You must be Gibbs. I'm Alex. Tony's big sister and might I say that I look much better than my evil twin. I don't look like a shaved gorilla."
"Shut up, Alexandria!"
"Make me, Anthony!"
Gibbs watched as Tony and the young woman playfully wrestled before he grabbed her and put her on David's desk.
"I am bigger and stronger than you." he declared matter of factly as he sat back down.
"You are dumber and hairier than me.", she deadpanned with a roll of her eyes.
He threw a paper ball at her and she responded with a 3 inch pump.
Yes, they were definitely siblings, even with the polar opposite looks.
She must look like their mother.
"Hey! There's a lot of expensive shit in here! Unless you want to fix it, you two knock it off!" a firm voice called from the elevator.
A slightly older man came in and they shrunk a bit in his presence.
"She started it!"
"I did not!"
"Did too!"
"Did not!"
The man stepped forward and shook his hand firmly.
"I'm sorry. When they get together, they regress. I'm Andrew DiNozzo. I'm their older and sexier brother."
"Bullshit!" they chorused.
Gibbs chuckled. It was good to see DiNozzo happy and his family seemed to be quite interesting.
"So, how'd the band thing go?"
"We won! My students are like on Cloud Nine."
The elevator's opened again, admitting David with two other people.
"Oh, and here's my better half. Come here, Phil. This is Gibbs."
The Asian man came forward and shook his hand in a very firm grip.
"Ah, so you are the one who's been knocking sense into Tony. You've done the world a great service."
"Et tu, Brute?"
"Oh, come on, Tony! You were a dumbass back at the precinct! You needed to get hit!"
"Shut up."
"The truth isn't slander, Tony. I'm Jenna."
The blonde woman shook his hand and leaned against Andrew.
She looked tired but was glowing in a distinctive way.
"How far along are you?"
"How did you know that I was...?"
"He's knows stuff even before you do. He's good for that." Tony cut off nonchalantly, checking his email.
"Apparently. 5 ½ weeks."
"Good luck with the morning sickness."
"I need it. Cheers, mate."
Gibbs withdrew to let them catch up.
He wanted to see his own better half.
She should be done with that SecNav meeting by now and even if she wasn't, he didn't care.