A/N – Here's the next chapter. There will be one more short chapter to this story. I am then taking a small hiatus from this series to work on some of my other stories that are going right now, since there are a few of them. But, keep your eyes out for the next story in this series. I haven't thought of a title yet, but I will try to think of one before I post the final chapter of this story.

Disclaimer – I don't own NCIS or the characters

Saturday, November 23, 2013

Tony and Ziva had worked hard already that day and throughout their whole holiday weekend. Things were going smoothly so far. Wednesday night dinner had gone wonderfully and they had managed to avoid any odd-looks or questions about not drinking any wine, something that they had been a little afraid of. Liat had joined them at Ducky's house and Gibbs house, but had flown out on Friday to go home again with Malachi.

Dinner on Thursday was oddly alcohol-free. At Gibbs' house there was hardly such a thing as alcohol-free, but he had chosen to do that saying that his daughter was living there and he needed to keep the amount of alcohol down with a pregnant person living in the house. However, he had kept Tony and Ziva in-mind when making this decision and they both appreciated it, because they knew that he had kept them in mind, and Jen seemed to realize that something was up with that as well.

Dinner at McGee's apartment was wonderful as well, though he and Abby seemed a little strained at that time. Something was off about them and no one was sure what. They were struggling at the moment and none of them could focus on them right then, because they all had something else going on in their minds.

Tony had cleaned out the living room early that morning. He had put away as many of the baby items as he could. They were far from done, but they were definitely making progress on what they had. While Tony had done this, Ziva had cleaned the dining room and the kitchen, preparing for their guests.

They were currently taking a break. Everything was set-up and ready to go. Ziva needed to start dinner in a couple of hours, but she was already exhausted. They were sitting on the couch and resting.

"Why don't you go take a nap?" Tony asked her. "I can do the prep and have you up in two and a half hours, if that's okay?"

Ziva nodded sleepily, but she didn't want to go to bed without Tony. She gave him a look. He smiled a little in understanding and stood up with her.

He led her to the bedroom and laid down with her in his arms. He turned and set an alarm on his phone. He held Ziva as she drifted off into sleep and he closed his eyes, holding his ninja, wife, mother of his child. He smiled into her and allowed her the time to rest.

Tony's alarm went off and Ziva stirred. Tony had fallen asleep too, which he hadn't planned on doing, though he knew it was a possibility these days. He comforted her and whispered in her ear.

"Rest for a little while. I'll get you up when it's your turn in the kitchen," he whispered.

She nodded to him, still mostly sleeping. He carefully left the bed, not disturbing her on his way out of the bed. He got all the prep-work done for dinner and tiptoed carefully back to the bedroom. He sat on the bed and put his arm on Ziva's shoulder.

"Zi! Babe, time to get up," he whispered gently.

Her eyes fluttered open and she smiled up at him. "Did you just call me babe?" she asked, sleepily, rubbing her eyes a little.

He smiled. "I did," he said quietly.

She giggled. It was a glorious sound to him. He loved to hear her laughs, giggles, and anything happy. He loved seeing her smile. He loved her so much that it almost hurt to love her.

"I love you, Tony," she said as she sat up and wrapped her arms around him, pressing a kiss to his lips and losing herself in him for a moment.

When they pulled apart they were both smiling. She chuckled. "We do not have time to get lost in each other, do we?" she asked. "Did you think to grab some wine for the others?"

Tony's face fell and he shook his head. "No. Didn't think of it. They'll have to make-due without," he said quietly.

"They will be fine," Ziva said. "Besides, they will know by the end of the night why there is no wine anyway."

He smiled at her. On Thursday, after dinner at Gibbs they had talked about it. Tony was leaving the decision up to her on exactly when to tell the team that they were expecting. They had gotten some curious questions that night, but not as many as the following night when they didn't drink at McGee's place. It was unlike them to pass-up the opportunity to drink and they knew that they had to answer the others soon. It was a good thing that they were close to the end of the first trimester and were ready to tell the others.

They left the bedroom and Ziva began cooking. When dinner was almost done the others started to arrive. Gibbs was first with Jen and Jenny. They made themselves comfortable as Ziva finished up cooking and entered the living area.

Gibbs eyes were trained on Ziva's middle. She was wearing a form-fitting dress that showed off the small bump in her middle and he up at her, knowing that they were going to share if Ziva was showing this off. She was so small that she was already showing and it made Gibbs smile to see his other girl showing with another grandchild that he was expecting.

"Ziva, guess what?" Jen said.

"What?" she asked, turning to the girl she had grown up with.

"Isaac is going to be here tonight!" she nearly squealed in joy. "Liat sent me a message sometime yesterday that he was coming home. Email only. Have you checked your email? I believe she sent one to you, also."

Ziva smiled. "That is great news! I'm glad he will be home," Ziva said happily, tears forming in her eyes.

Everything was working out. Everything was going to be perfect tonight.

"He'll be here in a little while!" Jen said. "He just sent me a message saying he was on his way."

The door opened, revealing Abby and McGee, both of them looked serious this evening. Tony got up and answered the door, not making Ziva get up and down more than she needed to yet. They were going to wait to share this until Isaac was there, too, as well as Ducky, Palmer and Breena.

Abby and McGee came in and sat down. Abby noticed that Jenny's eyes were glued to something. Ziva noticed it too. There was a small car-seat in the hallway that led toward the bedrooms. Ziva blushed a little and looked at Tony, who was sitting next to her again.

"I will be right back," she said.

She stood up and took the car seat with her to the baby's bedroom and placed it just inside the door. She smiled to herself as she made her way back toward the living room. None of their guests had been over to their new house yet and this was the first time they were seeing it. When Ziva arrived back in the living room, everyone was there.

Isaac was standing in the doorway, after just having arrived. Jen was next to him and holding him. Ziva's eyes lit up and she walked over to him. He wrapped his arms around his sister and gave her a squeeze. Then, he looked up and down her. She shook her head at him, hoping he would not mention it yet. His eyes lit up and he smiled at her.

"Of course," he said quietly as he continued to smile. He let out a chuckle. "It's great to see you Ziva. I'm glad to be home."

"I am glad you are home, too," she said just as quietly, then she lowered her voice. "Not a word yet. They will know by the end of the night."

He smiled knowingly at her and they made their way into the dining room. Tony brought dinner in and served everyone. Tony and Ziva then offered drinks.

"No wine?" Abby asked after they went through the list. "No wine, beer, nothing?"

Ziva smiled at Tony before turning back toward Abby. She shook her head. "No. No wine or beer this year."

"You've got to be kidding me!" Abby said with her eyes wide with shock. "This is all just so crazy! You two haven't touched alcohol in, well, I don't know how long!"

Tony chuckled and sat down finally. He took Ziva's hand over the top of the table and looked into her eyes. She nodded to him. They would do it together and they both knew that.

"Why?" Abby finally demanded, making them break their glance.

"Oh, there's a good reason, Abby," Ziva said quietly, smiling to herself and glancing over at Gibbs, who gave a nod of approval.

"Ziva's pregnant," Tony said, unable to contain the wide smile that was spread across his face. He couldn't contain the pure joy that was coursing through him right then.

"You're joking!" Abby said, standing up in shock.

"Wow!" McGee said.

"I could see it," Ducky whispered quietly.

"I knew it!" Jen said quietly. "I knew it!"

"Never thought I would see the day," Jenny responded.

"You have got to be joking!" Abby said, reiterating her point. "There's just no way!"

Ziva stood up and smiled, placing her hands on her stomach, emphasizing the small bump that was there. Tony stood up next to her and placed his hand there as well, smiling at her and pressing a kiss to her temple.

"We're not joking, Abby," Ziva said quietly. "Three months now."

She turned to Tony and got lost in his eyes. "Congratulations, kids," Gibbs said.

"Never thought I would live to see the day!" Jenny said honestly. "Ziva, you were always a warrior and I knew you had secret wants. But even before, when I was at NCIS as the Director and you two were avoiding each other like the plague. I knew there was something special between you, though I was choosing to ignore it then, as your Director. Wow! Just wow! I can't believe everything that's happened in my absence from NCIS. You're American. You're married. You're going to be a mother. Your mother would be proud of you!"

Ziva's eyes turned to Jenny and she smiled widely, though there were tears pooling in her eyes. Jenny had not known her mother, but she had heard stories.

"Oh, Ima definitely would have been proud of Ziva!" Jen said quietly, referring to the woman who had raised her. "More than proud. She would have said that Ziva was a great woman! Because, Ziva's done everything!"

They all smiled at this and a tear spilled from Ziva's eyes as she continued to smile at Jen and Jenny. She turned to Tony and he pulled her into a kiss. They were really doing this. They were really having a baby together and living together. They really were having the life together they never thought they could have.

There were cheers and claps coming from all-around the table. The others hadn't seen this passionate side to Tony and Ziva often and they were a little taken aback as they seemed to get lost in a kiss. Gibbs chuckled and McGee cleared his throat.

Tony and Ziva pulled apart. "Congratulations," everyone said at once.

Everyone sat back down to enjoy dinner. When it was over they sat talking for about an hour, then everyone started to leave. Jen stayed behind with Isaac and Tony and Ziva were sitting on the couch, holding onto each other happily.

"I honestly thought this whole thing was because of Parsons investigation when I first heard about it," Isaac said quietly. "I can see that the thought was wrong. Congratulations, Ziva. I knew when I hugged you though."

"Sorry, Tony," Ziva said blushing a little. "I could not miss hugging my brother when he was home. I did not mean to tell him ahead of the others."

"I know," Tony said kindly. "I also know you've been avoiding hugs at all costs, which is another reason Abby was a little upset with you. She's been trying to hug you for how long?"

"Speaking of Abby… what are her troubles with McGee?" Ziva asked.

"I don't know. But, perhaps they need some counseling," Tony suggested.

"We are not the people to do that Tony," Ziva said laughing. "It took us nine years to fully realize that we belonged together. For nine years we avoided it. So, I would say that we are the worse people to give advice to another on these things!"

Tony laughed and held Ziva tighter.

"Well, we're going to leave you two," Jen said. "You look like you have some things you want to do and I know there is some catching up to do on our end."

Tony and Ziva just smiled at her and laughed lightly at the comment that was made. They were all going to be okay.