"I don't even know what you expect."
"Expect from what?"
"For her. If we don't have the same picture of how we want things to be for her how are we going to make..."
He cuts her off, "I want her to have a normal childhood. One where she has to parents. One where she comes first. I want to her to be happy, and care free."
"I want that too. I want her to play with dolls, and climb trees. I want her to be whatever she wants to be. I want..."
"I think that there is a possibility we need to discuss," Tony realizes.
"Damon picked the two of us to raise her. Not the two of us, and who ever we may or may not be involved with in the future."
"What are you suggesting?"
"He wanted us to be her family. For some reason he thought that we could give her something he couldn't."
"Oh," she realizes where he is going with this.
"Tell me, if you think that I am being crazy."
"No, I don't."
"You know what I am suggesting?"
"Yes," she nods.
"You don't seem upset."
"Because it is probably the only way that it will ever work."
"You're really willing to do that?"
"Give it all up, for her?"
"You don't have to," he reminds her.
"Yes, we do."
"But you realize that..."
"I am going to be stuck with you, for the rest of my life, or at least until she is grown? Yes I understand that."
He stares into her big brown orbs, "Zi, tell me what you're thinking."
"You are my partner. When I pictured having a family of my own... this wasn't it. Then again, things don't usually end up the way that I picture them."
"We'll move in together?"
"Yes," she nods.
"To where?"
She shrugs, "Somewhere with a tree in the back yard?"
"Yeah, I think you're right."
"I am always going to want to be your partner. You are the best partner I've ever had."
"I'm the only partner you've ever had. You have nothing to compare it to."
"I do not want to have to give you up, as my partner."
"We should talk to Gibbs."
"Yes," she nods.
"Ziva?"
"I think that we should explore the possibility that..."
"That what?"
"We are agreeing that for the next eighteen years there will be no one else. That is a long time. If we spend every single hour of every day together things are going to happen. It is inevitable that we will..."
"Yes, it is," she agrees.
"You're sure about this?"
"You didn't really have to ask."
"You are far less upset about this, than I anticipated."
"You are not so bad."
"I'm not so bad? That's all you have to say?"
"The world would not end, if we became more than partners."
"Partners with benefits, and a baby? That's a new one."
"You are talking about sex, and... I am not, at least not entirely."
"Excuse me?"
"Did you mean what you said?"
"When? I say a lot of things."
"In Somalia."
"I said a lot of things, in Somalia."
"You know what I am talking about."
"Yes."
"Yes you know what I'm talking about, or yes you meant it?"
"Both."
"So why has it taken so long for either of us to talk about it?"
"The truth isn't always easy to deal with."
"No, it's not."
"We should get going," he reminds her.
"Yes," she nods, "We should."
Three hours later they find themselves in a house in Southeast D.C. about twenty minutes from the Navy Yard. Eight minutes the way Ziva drove. Tony turns to the real estate agent, "Can you give us a minute?"
She nods, and steps outside onto the porch. Tony looks at the baby, who is asleep in her car seat, on the kitchen counter. Ziva looks out the glass doors, to the tiny backyard.
"So what do you think?" he questions.
"It is close to work," she admits.
"Zi, I'm going to need more than that."
She turns, and looks at him, "It's big. What do we need so many bedrooms for? There are four bedrooms."
"You have hated every single place we've looked at so far."
"We've only seen five places."
"We don't have the time to be picky."
"I know."
"And it's been on the market for a long time. If we buy it, we're going to get a good deal."
"I know."
"If you don't want to do this we'll just go back to my apartment. I am sure that in my building, or yours there is a bigger apartment available. Of course it would be cheaper to live here, but..."
He watches her, as her eyes land on the sleeping baby. She moves away from the door, and goes over to the counter.
"I hope that you aren't expecting her to give you advice," Tony jokes.
"I..."
"If you're not ready to do this, we don't have to."
She spins around, and looks at him. "There is a tree in the backyard."
"Yeah, it takes up almost the whole thing."
"Stupid tree."
"Stupid tree? Why is it a stupid tree? Because you can see her in that stupid tree, when she's five, or six?"
Her eyes flicker, they land on him. She looks into his eyes. Finally she answers, "Yes. You should go get the Candi."
"Candi?"
"The real estate agent. Have her start the paperwork."