(Ziva's POV)
"Ummm…." Tony stammered.
"Well," I started.
"No… I mean… It's okay if you don't want me too," Rose said slightly dejectedly, "I'd totally understand."
She ducked her head and stared at her shoes, not making eye contact with either of us.
Tony tapped her chin and pulled her head up to look at us. "Sweetheart, it's not that we don't want you to live with us, trust us, we do. It's just…. We don't exactly live together."
Surprise and confusion rushed onto Rose's face. "You don't?"
"No, we do not. Rose, we have not been together as a couple since we were teenagers," I explained to her.
"But, I just assumed…. I thought…." Rose stuttered.
I decided to change the subject back to the original question, veering away from the path this conversation was headed down.
"So, about living with us, as Tony said earlier, we would love you to. We would really like the chance to get to know you better and all. Because, sweetie, when we gave you up to adoption, it was by no means our personal choice," I told her.
"Yeah, we can do what those thousands of separated parents do, splitting you between our two homes," Tony added.
"So can we go back to Judi's old place and pick up my stuff?" Rose asked.
"Sure, we will go once we finish up a few things first. And there is someone we want you to meet," I informed her.
Tony gave me a quizzical look and I mouthed 'Abby'. He nodded in understanding and guided us to the elevator. We got inside and Tony pushed the buttons to take us down to Abby's lab.
"So, maybe this is like an obvious question, but what were you guys doing in here for so long?" Rose questioned, glancing between the two of us.
"This, my dear daughter, is Gibbs' personal conference room - all of the privacy with no chance of interruption," Tony explained.
"Yes, he finds it much easier than going to look for any empty conference room, plus it has the added bonus of trapping its occupants like a cat," I commented.
"Rat, Ziva, rat." Tony corrected.
"But would not a trapped cat be more volatile and aggressive than a pathetic rat?" I quipped back at him.
"I didn't make up the saying, Ziva," Tony answered in response.
The elevator dinged, signaling our arrival to our destination. As we strode towards Abby's lab, Tony gave Rose a quick debriefing on what Abby was like and not to be scared should Abby attack her with hugs.
As we approached, we heard Abby's voice talking to someone that sounded vaguely like McGee, only slightly scratchier.
"This better not be some belated April Fool's Day joke, McGee," Abby threatened her computer where McGee's face could be seen over Web chat.
"It's not, Abby, I swear. I learned not to attempt anything April Fool's Day related after last year's incident," McGee said.
Last year's…. Oh, yes. McGee attempted some meaningless prank on Abby but it went horribly wrong. In response, Abby threatened to boil off all his skin and skewer him over an open fire if he ever tried to prank her again.
Abby was rattling on about something, when McGee's face noticed us standing in the doorway.
"Abby, look behind you," McGee instructed.
"One more prank, McGee…" Abby started but was cut off when she spun around and noticed us.
"OH. MY. GOD!!!" Abby screamed and then let out a squeal so high-pitched I was surprised it didn't break glass.
I heard McGee mutter a 'told you so' on screen and then click off the Web Cam connection.
"So, you're they're daughter?" Abby asked enthusiastically once the squealing died down.
"Uh… yeah," Rose said, a little freaked out by Abby's over enthusiasm.
After jumping up and down, Abby hugged Rose tightly for a good five minutes. Then she maneuvered around Rose – a tight squeeze since all four of us were still in the small entryway – and promptly slapped Tony and I on the back of the head in a very Gibbsish manner.
"Ow, Abs, that hurt," Tony complained, rubbing the back of his head where Abby had slapped him.
"What was that for, Abby?" I asked, annoyed (because, though I would never admit out loud, the slap had hurt quite a bit).
"Not telling me you had a daughter!" She exclaimed.
A slightly hurt expression appeared on her face, and I wanted to hug her. A hurt Abby is like a kicked puppy; you cannot help but feel bad.
"I'm your best friend Ziva, and you didn't tell me. And Tony, we've worked together for over seven years," Abby said.
Before either Tony or I could say anything in our defense, Abby was continuing.
"Am I really that untrustworthy?" Abby asked, pouting.
"No, of course not, Abby," I answered.
"Then, I guess you forgot Abby's #1 Rule?" She asked.
"Never lie to Abby," Tony and I recite back to her.
"Rightio!" Abby exclaimed.
"Well, technically Abby, we didn't lie to you," Tony said.
"But you didn't give me the whole truth, either," Abby replied.
"Gibbs Rule #4: If you have a secret, the best thing is to keep it to yourself. The second-best is to tell one other person if you must. There is no third-best," I stated.
"Fine, tie," Abby agreed.
"You guys sure have a lot of rules," Rose commented.
"Yeah, it comes when you work with Gibbs," Tony said.
"Come on, Rose, we have to get you back to help pack," I urged and the three of us turned to leave the lab.
"Wait!" Abby called. "What's her full name, Ziva?"
"Rosabella Tateleh David-DiNozzo," Rose stated.
Satisfied, Abby turns back to her lab and we head for the elevator. We get inside and Tony selects the button that will lead us back to the squad room.
"We'll go say bye to Probie and you can lead us to your house," Tony said as the elevator raised us to the squad room and the doors opened.
Tony and I grabbed our stuff off our desks and waved by to McGee, after Tony called him McPrankster in reference to the stunt from April Fool's Day last year.
As we got back into the elevator, Tony asked Rose for her address so he could input it into his GPS.
"Why do you assume we are taking your car? What is wrong with mine?" I asked him.
"Because your drive a clown car and we wouldn't be able to fit one suitcase in their without making the entire vehicle explode," He answered.
Though that may be a bit of an exaggeration, it is partially true so I relent and let him take his car. We reach the parking lot and arrive at Tony's dark grey 2010 Mustang GT convertible, knowledge that I picked up when Tony informed the entire office building of his new car.
Tony clicks the keys and opens the driver side door as Rose climbs in the back.
"How come you get to drive?" I asked.
"My car, my driving. Plus, I'd like to keep it in one piece and keep our daughter alive," Tony answered.
"She would be alive," I said, defending my driving.
"Barely," Tony muttered, almost inaudibly.
"Oh, Tony, you get your car blown up one time and suddenly you are so fretful of something happening to it," I said sarcastically.
"Wait… hold on, you got blown up?" Rose asked, astonished.
"Uh, yeah. Long story for another time. Maybe you can get Ducky to tell it to you," Tony told her.
Tony and I share a smirk at subjecting Rose to one of Ducky's hour-long story renditions.
"Is 'Ducky' a person or do you want a species of bird to tell me a story?" Rose asked, confused.
"He's the team's Medical Examiner for crime scenes and autopsies," I clarified.
Rose doesn't say anything and I can see through the rearview mirror that she has taken out her iTouch and has the headphones placed in her ears, head bobbing along to some song.
A while later, the three of us pull up to a gorgeous and huge mansion in Georgetown. Rose gets out and click-clacks her way to the front door in her high heels. Tony and I follow course and make our way through the front door that Rose has opened up.
With one foot on the bottom step leading up the staircase, Rose said, "I just got a brilliant idea! You guys could move in here. It would be perfect, one of you could live on the East Wing and one of you could live on the West Wing. Great idea, right?"
Great idea indeed.