The sky was beginning to fade from a gorgeous, bright blue to a warm orange as the evening drew closer and the sun began its descent beneath the horizon, casting out the few last rays of the day. The soft breeze which blew across the country carried a comforting coolness, a nice difference to the usual stifling heat of the day. It really was quite beautiful, especially from where Tony was sitting, just in a rather secluded slot of land just a stone's throw away from where they were staying.
Both he and Ziva had spent nearly the entire day questioning different officers who had been there whilst Ben-Zvi had also been stationed at the same place, but unfortunately nothing of any use had come up. Most had told the same old story, that Noam Ben-Zvi was a good officer but cocky and more than over confident in himself and that it wasn't surprising that he had turned against the organisation. For the past hour or so, he had taken a short walk to get away from all the hustle and bustle of the camp, having taken the paperwork and notes with him just so he was able to continue working for a little while longer. The day had been long, but he knew if he worked until his eyes were drooping, at least then he would be in chance with a decent night's sleep.
His soft emerald eyes scanned the printed words in front of him, most of them becoming so monotonous that they alone could send him to sleep. Tony had lost track of time a long time ago, probably only half an hour after he had left Ziva in their room for a light sleep. It was quiet, peaceful at the least and it seemed like it had been the only time on their whole trip so far where he could have some time to himself without the worry that anyone would come and interrupt his train of thought. Tony knew that the amount of thoughts in his mind was going to hinder him slightly, but he was starting to wonder whether or not he'd made the right choices. It was times like these, where everything could be ruined in one moment, where he reconsidered the past.
He nearly jumped out of his skin when he felt a hand on his shoulder, quickly turning round to see who it was. His frightened expression softened instantly as he saw Ziva standing behind him, a tired smile on her lips, "Hey you,"
Ziva gave a light chuckle, sitting down beside him, "I did not mean to scare you," Her head casually fell onto his shoulder as Ziva's soft brown eyes silently surveyed the view before them, "Beautiful, isn't it?"
Tony nodded softly in agreement, "Certainly is," As he spoke, his eyes flicked to his side, focusing on Ziva's slender body beside him, "As are you,"
Looking up to him, Ziva's cheeks visibly took a slight shade of pink at the compliment but she simply nuzzled closer to him, sighing in content. "What have you been doing out here all this time?"
"Working," Tony replied simply, glancing back down to the papers surrounding him, "Well, trying to work,"
"Something on your mind?" Ziva questioned curiously.
Tony lightly shook his head, pushing those thoughts out of his mind for now, "Just…it's been a busy day, and we still have lots to do. Not just on this case, but also for you and I," He gave a small shrug of his shoulders, "I guess I just needed some time to think,"
"Well, I actually wanted to ask you something. Maybe it will take your mind off things for a little while," Ziva suggested, huddling closer to Tony's warm body as a cool breeze swept through the air. Although the climate was usually unbearably hot, when the nights drew in, the temperature dropped dramatically. Perhaps wearing only a baggy t-shirt and shorts wasn't such a good idea, Ziva thought to herself.
Tony looked to Ziva, resting his arm around her shoulders in order to keep her warm, "Oh yeah? What's that then?"
The Israeli's eyes dropped for a moment as a warm smile pulled at her lips, a gentle hand resting over her stomach which was concealed by thin t-shirt material. Slowly, her eyes returned up to meet Tony's, "Have you thought of any names yet? I know it is early, but I was just wondering,"
A small yet happy chuckle slipped past Tony's lips as he titled his head to the side in thought, "Well, I hadn't really thought about it too much. Only a few little ideas,"
"And?" Ziva asked eagerly, her smile easily broadening.
"I guess…I like Daniel for a boy, obviously, but then when it came to a girl's name, I just can't think." Tony suggested.
Ziva smiled gently, feeling quite emotional hearing Tony talk so happily about their child, "Daniel DiNozzo…perfect. It's Hebrew too," She added.
"See, I totally knew that!" Tony said, pretending that that had been his intention all along. It only lasted seconds before he burst out laughing, knowing that pretention had been blown, "Well, we gotta keep with our heritage, right?"
Ziva chuckled, nodding, "It would be nice to. And, if that is what you would like, then the girl's name should be Italian, yes? So what about…Arianna?"
"Si, si! Bella!" Tony said in his best Italian accent, grinning his infamous DiNozzo smile. It was still hard to believe that he, Anthony DiNozzo, was sat in the middle of Israel with his partner discussing baby names for their baby. It was unreal and yet he savoured every single minute, every thought, ever appointment; he was simply the most excited expectant father ever.
"And by tomorrow evening, we will know if it's Daniel or Arianna," Ziva said softly, letting out a content breath. She shivered lightly, shifting slightly from where she was sitting, "It's freezing out here, so I'm going to head back. You coming?"
Tony nodded slightly, swiftly moving to his feet as he collected the files into his right hand. He hadn't brought many out, so it was easy to carry in just one hand. He offered his left to Ziva, a warm smile gracing his lips.
Ziva reached up her hand, slipping it softly into Tony's as she used his body to pull herself up. Suddenly, Ziva stopped herself when she was only half way up, her hand going quickly to her stomach. Her eyes closed briefly as she attempted to figure out what this new feeling was.
Tony, of course, flew to his knee, offering his body weight as support, "You okay, Ziva?"
"I…I don't know. Something just felt weird,"
"Good weird or bad weird?" Tony asked, clearly concerned. His eyes watched her carefully, scanning her expression.
A small yet nervous smile tugged at Ziva's lips as she slowly stood up straight, her hand still covering a part of her bump, "Good weird," She said confidently, "I think our baby decided to say hello,"
Tony's brow knitted together in confusion as he looked up at Ziva from where he still knelt, "What do you mean?"
With the brightest smile possible, Ziva took Tony's hand, placing it over her stomach, waiting just a few seconds. She lightly pulled her lower lip between her teeth as she felt the same sensation again, one she now knew was a kick.
Tony's eyes shone with surprise as he felt that tiny little kick beneath his palm, his bright green eyes instantly looking up to meet Ziva's, "Oh my God…" He whispered in awe, "Our baby's moving already?"
"Since when have DiNozzo's ever been able to keep still?" Ziva joked, laughing softly in a way which made her chocolate brown eyes sparkle.
The smile dancing across Tony's lips grew even further as he stood, keeping his hand over her bump, "Only five more months, and we'll finally be able to meet this little one," He leaned down, softly pressing a kiss to her lips, "I love you,"
"I love you too," Ziva said, barely above the level of a whisper. Her free hand slipped into Tony's entwining their fingers together. With a small spring in their step, both Ziva and Tony walked hand-in-hand back towards where they were staying, navigating the various corridors, passing a few officers who were still up and about despite the late hour, but the couple didn't care who saw them.
Unbeknownst to the happy couple was that Michael, the very person they least wanted to see, was one of those officers who enjoyed a late night wander. He had seen everything, nothing slipped past his sharp observation. His earlier attempt at shaking the couple's relationship had worked for a few hours, but this new development had just set back everything he had done earlier. As Michael sauntered through the corridors, he could feel the frustration building, that feeling of failure becoming far too prominent. There was only one thing left he could do.
His pace picked up slightly as he walked the all too familiar path towards the Director's office. Knocking once, he waited until the Director called him in. Twisting the door handle, Michael pushed open the door and stepped inside, "Director. There is something you should know,"