A/N: Mmks. So, after the last chapter, I rethought the whole, "Twelve Week Maternity Leave." I looked it up and if you wish, you can request that much, but your position is not reserved. Well, Ziva needs that job. So, I changed it to six weeks. You'll see. It makes sense. I promise.

Disclaimer: I don't own graham crackers.

I wake up a little after midnight and look around groggily. I have only been asleep for a little over two hours, and already I'm feeling somewhat rejuvenated. Tony sits to my left, dozing with his neck bent onto a pillow. In the corner, I see the figure of my boss. He is simply watching me, and when he catches me looking at him, he nods his head slightly.

"Where is…?" I begin to ask, before trailing off.

"Carmyn? Nurse took her," he says simply. "They brought you some graham crackers." As he said, there are four packets of graham crackers sitting on my bedside table, along with a full pitcher of water.

"Oh," I murmur. "I see." I try to reach over and retrieve a packet, but am too far away. Tony jerks in his sleep and I glance at him before returning to my previous task of inching toward them. My muscles are sore. I let out a little sigh and then see Gibbs rise and make his way over. He silently picks up one of the packets and opens it before giving it to me. "Thank you…"

He just nods and takes one for himself. Crinkling the wrapper, he murmurs, "Carmyn. Nice name."

"We thought it would blend our backgrounds better than other names we had on the table," I say with a nod. "'Natania' was one of them. Tony suggested Natalia, but it reminded me of my sister." The last few words come out as a sort of sad sigh that I do not attempt to cover.

Gibbs is quiet for a moment before saying, "Y'know, Abby'd make a damn good aunt. I know you miss your sister, just like I miss Kelly and Shannon, but it's all going to work out the way it's supposed to." He bites the graham cracker. It makes little sound or crunch, and I know that it is a bit stale. My boss doesn't make a face or grumble about it, however, but continues chewing as though nothing is wrong with it.

"Abby would make a fantastic aunt, Gibbs…There is just that piece of me that wishes Talia were still alive." I play with the packet in my hands and then nibble on a graham cracker. Mine are fresher. "So, I still have my job, right?"

"Of course." Gibbs nods. "Why're you out for twelve weeks, though?"

"I was told I was only given six …"

"Tony said you'd be out for twelve weeks. Not sure I can do much if you're out that long."

I shake my head. "Perhaps he made some sort of deal. But I do not want to be out that long, Gibbs. I only need six weeks. I promise."

Gibbs says nothing for a while but chews his stale graham crackers. Finally he states, "I told Tony this and I'll tell you the same thing. If you ever need anything, just call."

"Thank you, Gibbs."

I may just take advantage of that.

I bring Ziva and Carmyn home a few days later, or at least to Ziva's house. In the time she was in the hospital, I'd managed to move some of my stuff into her guest room, and set up the nursery the way we agreed. Fifteen minutes after getting our baby settled into her crib, the monitor set up per the box directions, we are called by her wailing.

Ziva sighs. "It would not last forever. The silence." Carmyn is a quiet baby; a ton of attitude, like both of her parents, but she goes about it quietly. As Ziva stands to go check on her, she casts me a look that clearly says, "Get off your ass and help me."

"Nope," I agree, trailing her into the nursery. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.

"Sh," she coos as she hurries through the door of the nursery, "Eima hayah po. Mommy is here." Ziva crosses to stand next to the crib and picks Carmyn up, cradling the baby in her arms and then carrying her over to the rocking chair in the corner. "When you dream of Paradise, and the paradise it brings, remember: O, your heart is full of wings…" she sings softly. After a few minutes of singing, Carmyn's eyes drift closed, and Ziva just sits there, holding her.

I am in awe, leaning against the doorframe. Not wanting to wake up our daughter, I wordlessly cross to them both, press my lips to the crown of Ziva's head, and leave the room. The guest bedroom is down the hallway, and as I make my way down the hall, I hear Carmyn let out a shrill cry and Ziva shushing her.

While I slip my jeans off and pull on my pajama pants, I listen to Ziva talking to Carmyn and my heart warms.

"Shh, Tinoket. Eima hayah po, I am here, stop crying." Carmyn does stop for a moment but then starts up again. "Okay, miss Carmyn; this is how this is going to work. You have your father's stubbornness. Therefore, I am going to deal with you the way I deal with him."

I raise my eyebrows and halt in the middle of pulling my shirt over my head, eyes trained on the speaker. Deal with me?

"Now, you can scream at me all you would like, but we have been together for nine months now. I would consider that a rather long time. Your father, Tony, and I have known each other since 2005. That is a long time, too. And much has happened since then. Obviously."

That recalls a lot of memories. Undercover for the first time. Then, that one time—I chuckle remembering it—that we were investigating a woman's bedroom after she had been attacked on camera. Damn, she was hot. But, regardless, I was looking through a drawer and found a vibrating device…doesn't take too much imagination to figure out what it was, looking back on it…and I couldn't get it to turn off. Ziva did.

Oh, the images.

I tune myself back into Ziva's monologue. "Therefore, Miss Carmyn, it will fare you well to know that I do not give up. I love you, and that is all that matters. I will be firm, but know that it is in love. I will never put you through what my father put me through. Just know that, while your father is dense…he always means well." Always.

I somehow got from the rocking chair to my bed, with the covers tucked in around me, and the faint tingle of Tony's lips on my forehead. I must have fallen asleep talking to Carmyn, and Tony took pity on me and carried me into my room.

When I wake up, to the gentle whoosh of the sea against rocks, I blink once or twice to get a grasp my bearings. "Tony?" I murmur, sitting upright. Around the corner he comes into my room, carrying a tray with some food on it and a rose in a crystal vase. I can smell Jasmine tea permeating from a mug. "Tony, you shoul—"

"Shh," he whispers, resting the tray on the bed to my right. "Carmyn fell asleep just after breakfast."

"You fed her? Wait, she woke up, and I did not hear her?" Panic rises within me. "Oh, God, did I hear her but not wake up? Is she okay? She is not sick, is she? Her temperature is normal?"

Tony presses his index finger to my lips. "Ziva, calm down. She woke up, I fed her. No big deal. You're tired. You need rest, too."

"But … but I am her mother, Tony. Her mother!" I groan. "I should be able to know these things before they happen!"

He takes me by the shoulders. "Okay, first of all, you're not Super Woman. You're hot, and strong, and you've been to Hell and back and survived to tell the tale, but you're not a Super. Therefore," he says firmly, but gently, "you need to cut yourself some slack. I am her father. I have just as much responsibility over her as you do, or, I should have. Carmyn is fine. She's out like a light, and she drank her bottle just as hungrily as a baby cow. She. Is. Fine."

I let out an exaggerated sigh and pick up a piece of toast between my forefinger and thumb. A thought strikes me and I look up into his eyes. There is doubt and a little bit of fear in them.

"You called him, didn't you?" I accuse. "Why did you call him?"

"Look, okay? She wouldn't stop crying, and I didn't want to wake you up." Tony backs away with his hands out in front of him, as if to protect himself from me with an unseen force. "I didn't want to call him. Really, I swear, I didn't! I just … I didn't know what else to do! Gibbs said that whenever we needed him, to call. I felt that this warranted a call to him …"

"Anthony DiNozzo." My eyes narrow considerably, and then, noticing his terrified expression, I shoot him a small smile. "Good work."

I pause and place a forkful of scrambled egg into my mouth. Around it, I mumble, "But next time, wake me up. We will learn together."

Hello again, Education. It is I, Ziva Davíd, and I would like to welcome you back into my life. This time, we have a new partner! His name is Anthony DiNozzo and he is the father of my baby. Teach us well. Love, Me.

A/N: Note: 'Tinoket' means 'baby' in Hebrew. Well, 'female baby.' That is all.