A/N: Oops, sorry for the mixup in the last chapter. Originally the baby was a girl named Hannah but I changed my mind and decided on a boy named Zachary. I thought I caught all the Hannahs in my proofing but obviously I didn't. Thanks to two sharp-eyed reviewers for catching it and asking about it.

Bad Luck Turns to Good

Chapter 11

Ziva and Director Vance met on the following Monday. He had been thinking about other positions for her because he had an idea Gibbs wouldn't want her in the line of fire anymore; he was just enough of a chauvinist to not want the mother of his child being shot at on a semi-regular basis. Leon agreed with that sentiment so had taken it upon himself to look for other ways to use Ziva's skills. While Jethro showed off his son to anyone who hadn't met him yet, Ziva went upstairs to talk to Director Vance about her future at NCIS. She was prepared to look for work somewhere else if necessary but she hoped that wouldn't be the case.

When Ziva hadn't returned after almost an hour Jethro was beginning to get nervous. Much to Abby's displeasure, Zachary would only let either his father or Tony hold him. He seemed to have what everyone thought was a strange attachment to DiNozzo and right now as sitting on Tony's lap while the senior agent talked to him about movies.

"Don't talk to him about any crazy movie stuff, DiNozzo."

"Right Boss. John Wayne only. I got it."

Jethro just smirked at him and at the same time marveled at the way his son was captivated by the person most unlikely of them all to be able to entertain a three month old. Secretly Jethro was pleased because besides himself and Ziva he knew Tony was going to be the most protective of Zach. And, Tony was the person Jethro most trusted with his son; besides Ziva of course.

Abby and McGee left to work on some problem in the lab so it was just Jethro and Tony in the bullpen waiting on Ziva.

"So, Boss, is Ziva coming back or not?"

"Not to the team."

"That her choice?"

Jethro looked at him for a minute trying to sort out exactly what he meant.

"You mean did I kick her off the team? No I did not."

"Not what I meant. I figured you didn't want her in the field anymore since you two have this little guy to worry about. I know I wouldn't want my wife getting into the stuff we do. Especially since Ziva isn't exactly the shrinking violet type. She won't know how to avoid the good stuff."

"You're right about that. We decided together. We're hoping Vance can find her something to do that doesn't require her to get shot at on a regular basis."

Tony held Zachary up and looked at him intently. He still couldn't believe his hard-nosed, obstinate boss had married Ziva and then produced this adorable little kid.

"Sure looks like you Boss. Doesn't look a thing like his mom. Too bad."

"Yeah, thanks DiNozzo. Maybe the next one will be a girl and she'll look like her mom."

"Next one? You already planning number two?"

"Not planning but I imagine it will happen."

Tony just shook his head and gave Zach a kiss on the cheek. He stood up and handed the boy over to his dad.

"I gotta hit the head. Don't let Ziva leave before I see her, okay?"

"Okay."

Jethro paced around the room talking softly to Zach while they waited for Ziva to reappear. Any agent who knew Gibbs as the leader of the MCRT was surprised to see him nuzzling a baby and talking to him about the pictures on the wall and the trees outside the window. Several stopped to congratulate him and comment about how cute Zachary was. Tony came back and was surprised to see Ziva had still not come downstairs. He went over to Jethro and Zach at the window and indicated he would take the baby.

"You want to go up there and see what's taking so long, Boss?"

"I want to but I don't think I should."

"Why not? Ziva's on your team and the director is talking to her about a new assignment. I'd say that's your business. Not to mention she's your wife. Let me have this handsome lad and you go find out if I'm going to have to get a new partner."

"Okay but don't go takin' him around to get the women to talk to you. He's not chick bait."

"Geez, Boss give me some credit. I wouldn't use your son like that."

"I know you won't. 'Cos if you do I'll kick your ass."

"Right."

Tony took Zach and as soon as Jethro was out of sight he headed to the breakroom where he happened to know a couple of female agents were having lunch. Tony knew his boss knew exactly what he was going to do and the threat to kick his ass was just that; a threat that would come to nothing. Probably very few of the agents who knew Gibbs would have said he was a changed man since he got married but Tony knew differently. His boss was definitely very different than the man who left for North Carolina all those months ago. Not only had Ziva convinced him to let his hair grow a bit longer, she had softened his rough edges and she kept in an almost constant good mood. They still solved the toughest cases and the bad guys still had the fear of God put in them by Gibbs but his team recognized the differences Ziva had made in him every day.

Jethro stopped in the outer office and asked Shirley, the Director's assistant, if he could go in.

"Sure. I thought they were waiting for you."

Jethro wondered about that, knocked once on the office door then walked in. Ziva and Vance were sitting at the conference table and the both looked at him when he walked in. Then they looked at the clock on the wall and Ziva held out her hand to Vance.

"I win. You owe me five dollars."

"Should have known."

Jethro looked at them and smirked. "How much longer should I have waited Leon?"

"I figured you'd be here fifteen minutes ago."

Ziva smiled at him and indicated he should sit down next to her.

"Director Vance has offered me a new job in the intelligence and threat assessment division. No field work to speak of and fairly regular hours. What do you think?"

"It's up to you. You know how I feel about you being in the field but I sure hate to lose you on my team."

"I think this is the best thing for me now. It sounds like I will be busy and will be useful as well. I will take the new assignment, Director."

"Great. When is your maternity leave up?"

"I have six weeks left. I really need to take it all unless that will pose a problem."

"No, that will be perfect. Now, where is that little one?"

"He's with DiNozzo. Probably being used to help Tony chat up the women in the breakroom."

"Really, Jethro! Why do you let him do that?"

"Ah, he loves Zach and for some reason Zach seems to like Tony. It won't hurt for him to get some extra attention."

"You mean Tony or Zach?"

"Actually I meant Zach but I'm sure Tony's getting some too."

When he went home that night Jethro felt better about the idea of Ziva going back to work than he had since Zachary was born. He was relieved but also sorry she wouldn't be on his team, next to him all day, every day. Maybe, he thought, this will be better; too much togetherness can be a problem.

The next month seemed to fly by and before they knew it Ziva had only two weeks of leave left and they hadn't decided what to do about childcare.

"This should have been decided weeks ago, Jethro. What if we can't find a place we like?"

"I thought you wanted to hire someone to stay with Zach at home."

"I do but that will be very expensive and we haven't even started interviewing."

Ziva was near tears and Jethro realized this was really stressing her. He hadn't given it much thought because he had been so busy at work especially since he was short one person on his team.

"Ziva we can afford a nanny don't worry about that. Why don't you talk to Jackie and see if she has any suggestions. Are you worried about something else because you seem pretty upset."

They were getting ready for bed and it was late; Zach had not gone to sleep until almost eleven o'clock and now they were both tired and knew he would probably be awake again by three or four.

"I am just very tired tonight. And, I am dreading going back to work since I do not know who will be caring for our sweet baby. I cannot believe we put this off so long."

"Hey, come here." Jethro pulled her into his arms and held her close. "Everything will work out fine. We'll find someone and if we don't then we'll just deal with it. But, we can't do anything about it tonight so let's get some sleep. You know your son will be up in a few hours."

"Ah, so now he is my son! I seem to recall he looks an awful lot like you, my love."

"That's what everyone says. I'll get up with him this time so you just relax. Talk to Jackie tomorrow, okay?"

"I will. Jethro, I love you."

"Love you more."

As luck would have it Jackie Vance did know someone who she thought would be perfect for Ziva and Jethro. The young woman, Natalie, had done some babysitting for the Vances and both Jackie and Leon recommended her highly. She was going to Georgetown at night and working as a waitress but not making enough money so was thinking of dropping out. Jackie invited her to lunch one day and introduced her to Ziva and Zachary. At just under five months old Zachary was already a charmer. He had a cute smile, curly light brown hair, and of course his daddy's blue eyes. Natalie was taken with him right away.

The next weekend Ziva invited Natalie to the house to meet Jethro and have a more formal interview. The idea of choosing a person to care for their child all day every day was daunting for both Ziva and Jethro. Neither of them had ever had to make a decision quite like this one. They asked Natalie dozens of questions about her experience with babies, her ideas about childcare and her knowledge of child development. Natalie assured them she knew what babies needed most; love and security. She told them she had three younger siblings and had been babysitting since she was fourteen. She explained she was studying pre-med in hopes of one day being a pediatrician. She knew about feeding and bathing, tummy time and cuddling. Leon had already assured Jethro that he had fully vetted Natalie before he let her babysit for Jared and Kayla. After the two hour "interview" the nervous parents were agreed that Natalie would be a wonderful caregiver for Zachary.

The week before she went back to work Ziva had Natalie come over a couple of times for just a few hours so she could get to know Zach and vice versa. Ziva took the opportunity to get her hair trimmed and her nails done one afternoon and the other day she went to lunch with Jethro and Ducky. When she returned home those days Zachary was fine of course and Natalie assured her they had gotten along fine.

When the big day came for Ziva to go back to work she had to manage the morning by herself because Jethro had been called out on a case in the middle of the night. She hated that aspect of his job especially now that she wasn't going with him. She worried about him constantly. Luckily for Ziva, Natalie arrived fifteen minutes early and was able to take Zach off her hands so she could finish getting ready.

"He has eaten already and should be ready for a nap about ten. He has been up much too long already!"

"Please don't worry about us Mrs. Gibbs, we'll be fine. Call me as many times as you need to. Is there anything I can do for you in the house?"

"Oh Natalie, just concentrate on Zach and your studies if you have them. Do not worry about the house at all. Thank you for being here early, Jethro had to go out in the middle of the night so I was not quite ready on time myself."

"No problem. I'll see you this evening."

Ziva kissed Zach on the head and forced herself out the door. She knew in her brain that Natalie was completely trustworthy and more than capable of taking care of Zachary but she hated the idea of being away from him all day. As she drove to the Navy Yard she called Jethro to see how the case was going.

"Hey, Ziver. Everything alright this morning?"

"Yes, thank goodness Natalie was early. I hated leaving him, Jethro. I miss him."

"I understand. You know you don't have to work, you can stay home if you want."

"No. Not yet. Maybe after the next one. How is the case?"

"Not sure yet. Looks like a fairly routine murder if there is such a thing. Gotta go. Love you."

And he was gone. Ziva was sure she would never get used to him hanging up before she could respond. She reminded herself he did it to everyone and if that was the worst habit he had she could surely live with it. Especially considering all the good habits he had!

Going back to work proved to be a good thing for Ziva. She enjoyed the new job and managed to "run into" her husband at least twice a day. She missed the field work and the team but took solace in the fact that she was doing some critical work in her new position. Ziva was always home by six o'clock and had a couple of hours with Zachary in the evenings. Jethro made it a point to be home most evenings as well. Natalie was proving to be a wonderful nanny; she even did some light cleaning and laundry. After the first month Jethro quietly gave her a raise and thanked her for all the extra things she did for them. He knew Ziva liked the house to be neat and clean but she didn't want to take away time with Zach to do housework so Natalie helping out was worth its weight in gold to Jethro. Anything that made Ziva happy was priceless to him.

Zachary was thriving with Natalie. He was always happy and clean when Ziva or Jethro arrived home. As the months passed he was meeting all his milestones right on time and his well baby checkups were always perfect. Zach's six month birthday happened to fall on his parents' wedding anniversary so the three of them celebrated with cake and ice cream. Jethro let Abby babysit Zach the next Friday night and he took Ziva out for dinner and then dancing. It was the best night out they had ever had together as far as Ziva was concerned. On the way home she looked over at Jethro and thanked her lucky stars for him. And Zach.

Before they knew it Zach was coming up on his first birthday. He was on the verge of walking, babbled all the time and was a happy, healthy little boy. His parents adored him and Ziva tried her best not to spoil him but it was hard. Jethro assured her he was fine and told her over and over again that loving him so much was not spoiling him. Zach's grandfather came from Pennsylvania for the birthday and they had a fun celebration with Jethro's team. Ziva's father had seen Zach only by Skype but he promised to visit within the year. Ziva told Jethro she would believe that when he walked in the door. That day would come sooner than she thought and not under the circumstances she would have chosen.

TBC