This is the second to last one. :( On the bright side, thanks to AliyahNCIS, this will be the first story I've ever completed.
Night Magic
Oh! Hush thee, my baby, the night is behind us, / And black are the waters that sparkled so green. / The moon, o'er the combers, looks downward to find us, / At rest in the hollows that rustle between.
Ziva's favorite time of day was nighttime. It had not always been this way, but now it was. Night was when the house was finally quiet, and here in the nursery with her two-month old daughter in her arms, Ziva felt the most at peace.
Avigail fussed quietly, and Ziva hushed her, cradling the little girl against her shoulder, and hummed the lullaby her mother had sang to her many years ago. Avi quieted and Ziva relaxed. She ran her hand over the smooth wood of the rocking chair in which she sat. It was expertly made, just like all of the nursery furniture in the pale green and white room. Handmade, every piece, crafted by the experienced hands of one Leroy Jethro Gibbs. For all intents and purposes, he was Avi's grandfather, more than Eli or DiNozzo Sr. He had presented her with the rocking chair on the day he ordered her to go on desk duty, and each of the other gifts had been given regularly. The last gift was a hand made mobile which hung above the crib, crafted into the shape of various animals and painted with a detailed and loving hand.
Tony was asleep in the room down the hall that they shared. They had agreed to share the nighttime feedings and changings but Ziva took more of them. He needed his sleep. She was still on desk duty until she could be cleared while he was under no such restrictions. She could nap by her desk.
Ziva treasured these moments, just holding her daughter, singing softly to her, knowing that she would be this small for only so long. There had been a time when she could not have dreamt her life would be like this. A good job that kept her busy but in one place, working with people she cared about and who cared about her. A loving husband who knew about the scars and didn't care, because he had scars of his own, and the miracle who was looking up at her with eyes that were green but looked dark in the shadows of the nursery as Ziva settled her back against her chest.
Nights were magical to Ziva. The world seemed softer, somehow, at night, with the shadows softening harsh edges and the moon turning everything to could hear the chirps of crickets outside the window and the stars glittered in the inky blackness. This window faced away from the city, so her view was less obscured by D.C.'s lights. It felt a world away from her job, the painful realities she saw all too often.
She was very glad that her daughter would grow up differently than she had. There was no doubt that this father loved his daughter. He would never send her overseas to die.
She forced herself away from such morbid thoughts. This was her time, not to be soiled by old family grief.
She stroked the soft hair that graced the small head of Avigail. "Why are you not sleeping tonight, hmm? Are you trying to be like your parents and pull a whole-nighter?" She asked the child who stubbornly refused to rest, though she was quiet now.
"That's all-nighter, sweetcheeks." The voice came from the door frame, where a disheveled Tony stood.
Ziva raised an eyebrow at him. "You should be sleeping."
"It was my turn," he replied. "You should be sleeping too." He walked over to stand beside the rocking chair. Together they gazed down at their child who looked back up at them. "Give her to me, you sleep."
She didn't look at him as she spoke. "You need the sleep more than I do. You are not stuck behind a desk all day while everyone else goes off on cases."
"You hate that, don't you?" he said. "Then you should go to bed so you will be well rested and can be cleared. I set up the eval for tomorrow. It was supposed to be a surprise."
He was pouting. She could hear it in his voice. Ziva chuckled. Tony had never grown up on the inside, it seemed. "Thank you. But I still think you should go back to bed."
"I will if you will." He leaned down, kissed her on the cheek, and gently took the baby from her. He gave her his best grin and walked over to the crib. Gently he placed Avigail back inside, and then walked back to his wife. She rolled her eyes at his smirk, and got out of the chair.
"If she cries again tonight, you are getting up," she warned him as they went back to their bed.
"With pleasure."
He had agreed with her. Nights truly were magical, it seemed.
Oh! Hush thee, my baby, the night is behind us, / And black are the waters that sparkled so green. / The moon, o'er the combers, looks downward to find us, / At rest in the hollows that rustle between.
Just to let all my wonderful readers know, I'm a student IRL, and on the days when I don't want to even think about homework, your reviews can change my whole outlook for the better. So thanks for all the fantastic reviews.