Ziva David was in the kitchen preparing dessert when the doorbell rang. Tony was coming over for dinner and a long lost conversation. Ziva had told Tony that she had asked Rina about what she had said to him, telling him that they really needed to talk things out. After a case was over Ziva had asked if he would come over for dinner on Saturday, which he had, obviously, agreed to.

"I will get it" Rina said as she opened the door "Hello Tony, welcome to my mother's humble abode" gesturing with her hands for added effect.

He laughed "I've been here before you know…believe it or not Ziva and I do socialise outside of work" he said entering the house

"Really…define 'socialise'" Rina said she said as she stared at him intently, as Ziva came out of the kitchen.

"Do not give her any ideas Tony"

Tony looked to where Ziva was and smiled "Hi" he said as he walked towards handing her a bottle of whine.

She smiled a shy smile before answering "Hello" as she took the bottle form him. They were now staring at each other, okay that was an understatement. Rina cleared her throat as she moved towards the awkward couple standing near the threshold of the kitchen.

"Tension much" she mumbled, barely audible for the audience, as she made her way to the fridge and pulled out a bottle of water. "Abby is going to be here in a while to pick me up, she invited me to go bowling with the nuns" It was just luck that Abby had talked Rina into go with her, just when Ziva was cooking dinner for Tony.

"When did you plan that?" Ziva asked suspicion heavily evident in her voice.

"Oh…the time you came raging in, scaring Abby" that was actually lie, it had been the day after Ziva had invited Tony for dinner, besides she was looking for a way out. She had no intention of staying with two people who had so much, too much, sexual tension.

"Were you going to tell me sooner Rina?" Ziva asked looking pointedly at her daughter. Aah! Mama Ziva in action Tony thought

"With so much…"she looked between Tony and Ziva"…conundrum, it must have slipped my mind. Sorry Ima" Ziva was about o say something when her doorbell rang. "That must be Abby" She went to open the door.

Ziva turned to Tony, shaking her head "Unbelievable". Tony just stood their smirking.

"Hello Ziva…" Abby said and her eyebrows shot up when she realised they weren't alone "and Tony"

There was a chorus 'Hey Abby'. "Excuse us for a moment" Ziva said with a smile as she dragged her daughter into her bedroom. "Rina you cannot just dump me" Rina just giggled.

"Ditch me Ima, ditch me…beside you will be fine. Just along as you kiss and make-up" Rina all but ran out the door, not wanting to hear her mother's outrage that was sure to come, dragging an irritated Abby along with her.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Dinner went by with conversations about the latest case, the weather and the McGee's weight loss, Tony was proud of little time, he had said. Now Tony Dinozzo sat on the couch with a glass of wine in his hands, knowing what was to come next, as he waited for Ziva to join him. Which she did after a few minutes, she sat as far away as possible form Tony.

"So…" Ziva started

"We are not gonna avoid it forever Ziva, it's out there n…"

"I know Tony… I just do not understand how it's going to work. You and I are very similar and very different. We are similar that we cannot commit and we are different that…Tony…I was brought up to kill, to have no emotions, no morality. You on the other hand, are very different. You are very…funny, you do not advertise your emotions…you hide behind your jokes. That is who you are, and much, much more. I did not think since I started training that I will have a daughter…"

"But you have Ziva…and you right we are different, but you are wrong about one thing…you have emotions and you have morality. You love your daughter; I'd say that's an emotion. You work at NCIS now, you have morality. Where's the fun in life if everyone was the same Ziva? It would be boring if everyone decided they wanted to be like me or you…if they choose McGee we are dead." Ziva laughed "There's that laugh that I love so much…" Tony bit his lip before continuing "the person I love is sitting right in front of me…I think I can commit…if you let me Ziva. I'm done hiding, it's doing more harm than good really" They were looking into each other's eyes. Ziva looked away before speaking.

"When I was in Israel, when director Vance separated us, I met a high ranking Mossad Officer, Caleb Abran." She smiled "After a few weeks, I completely gave myself to him, but I did not see the act he was putting on. He was sleeping with other women when he was still with me, I was blinded by my 'love' for him that I ignored the signs" her emotions were becoming evident in her eyes and voice as it cracked "I really thought he loved me, then I realised Mossad does not teach love nor hate. I confronted him, he attacked me, he was built; bigger than me, and I could not take him. He beat me, left me unconscious on the ground. Later that day Rina found me." She laughed a bitter laugh "My father wanted to kill him, but I did not let him, and coincidently he died a week later on a 'mission', and working for Gibbs taught me that there is no such thing as a coincidence " she air quoted the word mission. "I knew it was my father's doing, but he meant well…I could not question him" now her tears her pouring freely.

Tony moved forward, using his thumb to wipe away her tears. "I'm sorry Ziva" Tony said. She took his hands in hers. "You afraid to go there again because you don't wanna get hurt…or hurt Rina" he concluded.

"I know there will be no physical hurt with you Tony…I'm not so strong to take another emotional blow…I love you…but I am not ready to act on that…I'm sorry" Ziva said squeezing Tony's hand.

He leaned forward kissing her softly; Ziva responded as she cupped his face in her hands; he pulled away. Biting his lips he said "Do me a favour? Call me when you change your mind" with that he stood up from the couch and walked towards the door. He turned around and smile at her. "Hey! Things are not gonna be awkward between us right?"

"It will never be awkward Tony" she smiled in return.

"Well then…I'll see you on Monday" with that he walked out the door.

Ziva sat there tears streaming down her face, not only was she hurting, she was hurting him too. It wasn't fair on him and she knew it, but Caleb had left a scar that was too deep.

Somewhere in a bowling alley, it was Rina's third strike in a row. She was having too much fun.

"Girl…you rock" Abby said as she gave Rina well earned hi-5.

"My mother taught me precision and aim…and I aim to please" Rina said with a laugh. The nuns were off to get something to eat.

Abby laughed before asking "So…what's the story with your mom and Tony?"

"Oh…They are trying to talk things out between themselves…so I wanted to give them some privacy and was really glad that you asked for me to join you. Thank you"

"You're welcome…what do you mean by 'things'?" Abby asked as curiosity came over her.

Rina smiled before speaking "Careful Abby. Curiosity killed the cat", Abby was about to argue when the nuns returned. And they got back to playing.

What Rina did not know was that her mother was sitting on the couch, alone, as she added one more scar to her growing list.

Please Review for next update…

I'm not sure how to continue this…next chapter is going to be Rina's birthday….

"What do you guys think should be next after that…I'd love your input"

Thanks