Gibbs had finally showed up, handing Tony a bottle of very good bourbon. "Thanks, Boss. I got you a paper napkin."
Gibbs smirked. "It's not a gift exchange, DiNozzo. Anyone can drink it."
They had all decided that they were not going to exchange gifts, even gag gifts. Everyone brought something to add to the table, or the bar; and that was enough.
Besides, Christmas would not be for another three days, so they would all see each other again before the actual holiday.
Usual denials: Hi, I'm darstar and I am in denial. I do not own CBS, NCIS or its Characters.
Vignette Ten- "You Better Watch Out" – Part Three
"Hey, Tony? Where's Magnum?" Tim asked.
Tony smiled. "Next door. Too many people for the little thing; would give him a heart attack." Ziva snorted next to him.
"Hey, Magnum is very sensitive."
"Well, then I am assuming he is not with…the screamers?" Ziva asked this question. Tony tried to not look shocked at Ziva's remark.
"Tony, sensitive is not the first word that comes to mind when I think of him. The last time I was here, he tried to eat my shoe." Tim countered.
Tony look insulted. "Well, maybe he didn't like that it smelled like your dog. Jethro is bigger than him after all."
The team had been shocked when they found out that Tony actually had a pet. When they found out it was a little dog; that was too much. He was a mutt, so they weren't quite sure what Magnum was.
A little bit Terrier, a little bit beagle, and perhaps cocker spaniel. Altogether, Magnum was hard to describe, multi-colored and adorable and a total opposite of the stud he was named after.
But he did get skittish with loud noises like fireworks and thunder and lightning. And he howled when Tony played the piano.
Tony explained that he was singing with him, but everyone else guessed that Magnum didn't like what he was hearing. But Tony refused to consider that. "Magnum is a bigger Beatles fan than I am, if that is possible."
It was strange to see Tony all googly over this little mutt, but Ziva found it endearing. She couldn't have pets in her apartment, and Magnum really liked her, much to her delight.
And of'course, Abby was his biggest fan. "Well, if you ever decide that Magnum needs a brother or sister, you know where to go." Abby took every opportunity to promote Kyle's work with homeless animals.
Tony shook his head. "With our schedule? I'm surprised any of us have pets."
"I love this picture!" Jimmy was holding up a framed photo. Tony grabbed it before the others could really get a good look at it.
"Glad you like it. It's a good picture of you, Palmer."
The picture was actually of Palmer, Tony and Ziva. They were all sitting on the piano bench, all playing the piano at the same time.
Tony couldn't remember who took the photo and from his expression in the picture, it was clear he didn't know he was being photographed.
Palmer was looking up at the picture-taker, smiling wide, his fingers on the piano keys.
Ziva was sitting between them. Tony had snaked his arm around her waist. Their arms were all intertwined with each other as their fingers were also on the keys.
The difference was that they were looking at each other, not the photographer and the expression on Tony's face; Ziva's face was only showing three-quarters as she was turned away from the camera, though you could see that she was smiling.
Tony was looking at Ziva like she was the love of his life. Tony was stunned when he saw the photo, not realizing they were being photographed and had not shown it to anyone.
After a while, he got over the content and appreciated that it really was a nice photo and went ahead and framed it. He kind of hid it around some books, and no one had ever noticed it, until now.
Ziva noticed he put the picture in his desk drawer and made a mental note to ask about it later.
Tony was relieved no one asked about it. He was also relieved his father appeared to be behaving himself. Oh, he attached himself to Abby and/or Ziva, depending on who was available at the moment.
He was nervous when he saw him and Gibbs in deep conversation over by the Christmas tree, each with a high ball in hand.
"I do not think you need to worry about what they are talking about, Tony." Ziva whispered from behind him. He had felt her presence before she spoke, something he had never been able to do…before.
"I hope you're right. I'm having a pretty good time and I don't want anything to ruin it."
Ziva patted his arm. "It is a wonderful party, Tony." He turned to her and smiled. "Thanks to you. Making all of that wonderful food."
He wanted so badly to kiss her right then, but not with the entire team all within three feet of them.
"Mistletoe!" Abby squealed.
Tony looked horrified, and then shot daggers at his Dad. Sr. gave his son his biggest DiNozzo grin and raised his glass.
"Ok! I'm first!" Abby stood under the mistletoe, waiting. Tim jumped up like he was shot out of a cannon. Abby gave him a knowing smile.
"Keep it G-rated, McGee." Tony called out. Tim momentarily blushed, but continued his walk toward Abby. He barely reached her when Abby opened up her arms and pulled him into an embrace.
She gave him a big kiss, which he had no trouble returning. Tony started clapping and that broke up the kiss. Tony peered over to glance at Gibbs reaction, but he was only shaking his head, and slightly smiling.
So apparently, mistletoe kisses were not considered off limits. Ducky kissed Abby next, a chaste peck on the cheek. Jimmy gave her a big hug and kissed her on the cheek.
Tony was shocked to see Gibbs lined up next. He pulled Abby into a fatherly hug and kissed the side of her head and whispered something in her ear, which made her smile.
Next was Tony's dad. Tony tried to give Abby hand signals: no lips, no lips…too late. Tony's Dad gave Abby a kiss full on the lips.
Tony winced and covered his eyes, barely peeking through his open fingers. Abby's eyes were wide open with shock and amusement, Tim looked shocked and somewhat pissed.
Ziva was chuckling next to Tony. "I am telling you. Do not let him anywhere near your mouth!" Tony hissed at her.
"Ok, Ziva your turn." Abby grabbed Ziva's hand and pulled her under the mistletoe. She looked up at the small hanging bunch of spiky dark green leaves and white berries.
When she looked back down, Tim was there first. He gave her a big hug and kissed her on the cheek. This continued through Jimmy and Ducky.
Gibbs walked up to Ziva and repeated the same process with Abby. Whatever he whispered in her ear made her chuckle. That left Anthony DiNozzo, Sr. and Jr.
Tony held out his hand, indicating his father should go first. He caught his father's eyes and glared at him. Sr. just smiled. "Ziva…" He walked toward her with his arms stretched out to embrace her.
"I can't watch." Tony thought to himself. "I have to watch."
Ziva accepted his hug. When he leaned in to kiss her, she placed her hands on his face, as if caressing him. She then kissed him on both cheeks and looked at him. He smiled, recognizing she was calling the shots on this.
He chuckled and placed his hands on her face and kissed her on both cheeks. "Let him in, Ziva. He is crazy about you." He whispered in her ear.
Ziva's eyes widened in surprise, that Tony's Dad would think she was the one who was preventing them from getting together.
She wasn't sure that was the case. She had given Tony signals for years that he was either too thick to get, or chose to ignore.
But now, after all they had been through, they were making an effort, and maybe they would be together. It would not certainly be through lack of trying. By the time her musings had finished, Tony was standing in front of her.
Her eyes were large, and Tony thought they looked emotional. "What in the hell did Dad say to her?" Tony silently cursed his Dad.
Ziva recognized Tony was confused and she shook her head. She put on a beautiful smile. Tony slid his hand around her waist, with the ease that showed of practice.
Gibbs watched his two agents. He knew things had changed between them, since the bombing. He thought Tony was starting to have feelings for Ziva, but she did not seem to be returning them.
The whole "Big Three" thing a few weeks back. Tony acting all excited and interested if Ziva was in a full-fledged romance, but Gibbs knew he was just pretending to be happy about it
That worried him; that was why he had Rule #12. But even so, neither had shown any difference in their work ethic or their ability to do their job. So he didn't interfere. He was interested to see how this "staged" kiss was going to play out.
Ziva allowed Tony to pull her close to him, so that their bodies were almost molded together. McGee frowned and looked at Abby, whose eyes were almost as wide as when Tony's father had kissed her, but she also had a huge grin on her face.
McGee thought about Tony and Ziva in the bullpen, during that missing girl case. He had made reference to "the post elevator us." Was he saying more than McGee had thought?
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a wide smile on Tony's father's face, so whatever was playing out in front of them had his full approval.
Half afraid, he looked around nonchalantly to see if he could see Gibbs. His expression was more perplexing than what Tony and Ziva were doing.
He didn't look upset or mad; he looked…apprehensive? Expectant? Hopeful? Nah…that made no sense. Tim turned back to the couple, who were taking their time.
They were looking at each other, clearing saying something that no one else in the room was privy to. Finally, Gibbs couldn't stand it anymore.
"Are you going to stare at each other all night? Kiss the woman, DiNozzo before I die of old age."
Tony didn't even flinch, even though the others in the room chuckled, glad that Gibbs had broken the tension. Tony leaned in and Ziva met him halfway.
It was one of the sweetest kisses yet. Not overly passionate, but not chaste. It was long enough to show that it was more than a mistletoe kiss, but not indecently long.
They finally broke apart. "That wasn't too hard, now was it?" Ziva whispered. Tony grinned at Ziva.
They turned around and saw everyone staring at them, all of them with big grins on their faces. Tony looked at Gibbs. Gibbs looked at Tony, and then gave one of his "what are you going to do?" looks.
Tony didn't realize their arms were still around each other's waists. Sr. just started chuckling and poured himself another scotch. "Gibbs, can I refresh your drink?"
Gibbs looked at his agents, standing together as one and totally oblivious to the fact that everyone could see it. "You know, I think that would be a good idea."
The party finally thinned out and McGee was able to get Abby to leave around midnight. Tony flopped on the sofa.
"Tired?" Ziva smiled, sitting next to him. "I never realized how exhausting it was to be an entertaining host all night. Remind me to never run for public office." Tony mumbled.
Ziva laughed at that. "Well, I think you did an excellent job. It was a lovely party, Tony."
"Again, thanks to you. You were, you know, the official hostess tonight." Tony looked at her. Ziva looked into his eyes.
"What did my father say to you?" Tony asked.
Ziva looked surprised. "When?"
"When? When he was about to tongue you and you put the kibosh on that. He whispered something to you."
"Oh."
"Yeah, oh. It wasn't anything bad, was it?"
"Some other time, Tony." Ziva said.
Tony took her hand. "No, now. If you make me wait, I will stress and fester and then explode and it will not be a pretty sight. You wouldn't want to be responsible for that, would you?"
Ziva looked at Tony in shock. She then lied back against the sofa chuckling. "Surely that would never happen." She looked at Tony.
"Perhaps not, but are you willing to take that risk?" Tony was serious.
"Ok, he said something to me that…surprised me. That is all."
"Oh, God he didn't say he was in love with you, did he?"
"Tony, no! God, no…where do you come up with these ideas of yours?" She took a deep breath. "I know you have discussed our relationship, or lack of relationship; with your father. Did you indicate to him that I was the one who was not interested or was afraid to make the commitment?"
Tony sat up straight at that. "What exactly did he say?" It was not a request.
Ziva was uncomfortable. "He said 'Let him in, Ziva. He is crazy about you.' It was…unexpected."
"And unnecessary. I never said anything like that to him, I mean about you being the one holding back."
"I think if anyone is guilty of holding back, it's been me. You've let me know several times that you were interested in more than…friendship. I was afraid, Ziva. That I would screw it up, like every other relationship I had."
"I thought we would be better as just friends. But I don't think that anymore, Ziva. I already told you this. Don't you believe me?"
"Of'course I believe you. I just did not want your father to be upset with me for keeping happiness from his son."
"I'm going to kill him. Listen. My father thinks he is being helpful, like we need his help. Just smile at him, thank him and totally ignore what he has to say."
Ziva smiled wide at that and leaned her head on his shoulder. "I need to head home."
"I don't want you to leave." Tony said.
"I don't want to leave, Tony. But I also do not want our first night together in this new phase of our relationship to be two doors from where your father is sleeping."
"It is kind of creepy, isn't it?" Tony admitted. "Ok, I am going to let you drive yourself home. You are going to drive the speed limit…" He held up his hand. "First of all, ours was not the only party tonight and there are a lot of drunks on the road. On second thought, you're staying here."
"Tony…"
"No, you can have my bed and I will sleep in the other bedroom. I am not going to let you out on the streets with those crazies."
"And are you also going to also keep me from crime scenes and stakeouts because I could get injured?" Ziva asked reasonably.
Tony winced. "That's different. For one thing, you usually have a gun or knife in your hand and we are talking about you and being one on one with a person; not a one ton piece of metal speeding at you at eighty miles an hour."
"Point taken. Alright, because you give a convincing argument I will stay."
Tony sighed in relief. He kept to his word and slept in the second bedroom, although he occasionally got up to look in on her to make sure she was sleeping ok.
He checked on his Dad as well. Satisfied, he finally fell asleep.
Ziva woke him up Sunday morning. "Huh, wha…hi Ziva." Tony smiled.
"Good morning, Tony." She smiled back. "I am leaving now before your father wakes up so we do not have to explain why I am here."
Tony sighed. "Ok, let me walk you to the door." Ziva put her hand on his chest and kissed him. "No, go back to sleep, my Tony. I will talk to you later."
Tony smiled and closed his eyes. "Ok…my Ziva."
The next two days were hectic for Tony. He not only had to deal with his father, who everyday added to the Christmas decorations in Tony's apartment, but they were working a case that included having to work with the Secret Service, a dead Navy Lt. Commander and a corporate bigwig.
He and Ziva did not have much alone time except when they were driving to talk to a witness, or when they had a chance to grab a bite but they did decide that Ziva would come to his place Christmas Eve and spend the night and share Christmas day with him and his Dad.
They had a "no gifts" rule, but Tony was breaking it this year and he knew his father got her something, so he shared that part at least with Ziva so she wouldn't be taken by surprise.
Abby had tried to talk Ziva into going to midnight Mass with her Christmas Eve, but she declined, without saying why. She did ask Abby for advice for a gift for Tony's Dad.
Abby got right to the point. "Why are you getting Tony's Dad a Christmas gift?"
Ziva smiled. "Because Tony let me know that he got me one. It is polite yes, to reciprocate?"
"So…what are you getting Tony?" Abby asked.
Ziva just looked at Abby. "What am I getting…Tony?"
"Come on, Ziva! You can't possibly believe you two are fooling anyone, can you? Tony even admitted in front of McGee that there was a new 'post elevator' you. And that mistletoe kiss…"
"Ok, Abby! You have made your…point. Tony and I are trying to see if we can make a relationship work. We have only just decided this, so do not go all crazy and excited. It is not like we have been together for years and about to get married or anything."
Abby beamed and put her hands on Ziva's shoulders. "Ziva, you and Tony have been a couple for years; you two were the only ones who couldn't see it.
"So what are you getting Tony?"
Ziva sighed. "It is very hard to buy for Tony, now that our relationship is undefined. We are more than friends, but we have not acted on it yet. So do I get him a boring tie that I would buy for the mailman? He owns every DVD he wants. He buys them the minute they are available."
Ziva paused. "But I did find some gifts for him that I hope he will like, as something special between us. I will know Christmas morning."
Abby's eyes sparkled. "Are you spending Christmas with Tony, then?"
Ziva nodded and accepted Abby's hug. "It is strange for me, to not be alone on Christmas. It was…normal and I did not mind. But I am happy to share this with Tony, and his father."
"Oh, yeah. His father will be there. Good move, by the way, deflecting the lip kiss. Other than it being Tony's Dad, it was ok, but it was like kissing Gibbs' Dad." Abby shuddered.
Ziva chuckled. "Tony made it quite clear that Anthony was to get nowhere near my mouth. I am sorry I did not think to warn you, but you got the mistletoe thing going before I even realized it was there."
Abby ruefully admitted to her misjudgment. They talked some more and Abby gave Ziva some ideas for Tony's Dad.
Christmas Eve- 2012
Tony was putting more presents under the tree. "Dad? Why are you buying all these gifts? And how are you affording this?" Tony's face was red, the heat was turned up too high and he still had his jacket on from walking in the door.
He gently pulled a small gift out of his pocket and looked at it. It was wrapped in silver paper and was tied with a red bow.
He thought about the gift and what it meant. He hoped Ziva liked it. He had bought it before they finally got their act together, but in a way it was more appropriate now than when he got it.
He gently put it under the tree and sighed. Just then the doorbell rang. Tony smiled and walked over to let Ziva in.
"Whoa, you have too much stuff here. You should have texted me to come downstairs and help you." Tony grabbed her overnight bag and took a tray of something from her.
"I am fine." She said. She caught his look and smiled, knowing the double meaning of that answer. "Really, Tony. I got everything I needed up here, but thank you for taking those from me."
Tony dropped the tray off on the table and took her bag into his bedroom.
When he came out, she was putting gifts under the tree. He rushed over to help her, because he didn't want her to find her gift from him.
"Somebody did some Christmas shopping. You didn't have to do all this, Ziva. Other than for my Dad, you are gift enough for me."
Ziva placed her hand on Tony's cheek. "That's sweet, and don't ever say that you are gift enough for me. I like presents!"
Tony laughed at that. "Got it!" Tony's Dad came out just then.
"Ziva!" He held out his arms like he hadn't seen her in years. "When Jr. told me you would be spending Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with us, I was absolutely delighted."
Ziva accepted his cheek kisses. "Thank you, Anthony. I am very happy to be sharing this with you and Tony."
In comparison to the party, the evening was quiet. Ziva had made a delicious casserole, and they had plenty of munch food. As usual, they watch a DVD. Tonight it was "It's a Charlie Brown Christmas."
Ziva had never seen it before, and was confused as to who these characters were, but thought it was quite humorous and loved Snoopy. Magnum was curled up on her lap, snoring.
Sr. came out and handed champagne glasses to Tony and Ziva. He raised his glass. "To family and friends and to the people I love." Tony raised his glass. "Here's to the end of our 'annus horribilus.'" He said in the Queen's voice, and then changed back to his normal voice, "And to wonderful changes that will lead to an equally wonderful future."
Ziva looked at Tony and his father. She had never made a Christmas toast before, and didn't know what would be appropriate, so she just spoke from the heart.
"Here's to two dear people who are sharing this day with me; to forgetting the not so nice things of the past and looking to the much nicer things of the future, a future I have been hoping for, for a long time."
As the clock struck twelve midnight, they all touched their glasses together and drank the champagne. "Hey, look!" Tony exclaimed. "It's snowing!" He turned back to his Dad and Ziva with the excitement of a seven year old.
"This is where I say my goodnights and turn in for the evening. Have fun, you two." Anthony kissed Ziva on the cheek and gave Tony a hug. "Merry Christmas."
Tony looked at Ziva, the challenge in his eyes. "You are so on, DiNozzo." Ziva replied. Grinning, Tony went to get his coat and gloves. While Ziva went back into the bedroom, Tony quickly ducked under the tree and pulled out the small gift. He got it in his pocket before she returned.
He held out his hand. Ziva smiled and took his hand in hers and then they headed outside to play in the snow. Surprisingly, there was already quite a bit of snow on the ground, as it had been falling long before Tony noticed it.
Ziva got the first snowball hit in. "Oh, no fair. I didn't say start."
"Who wrote those rules?" Ziva asked, throwing another snowball.
Tony had several in his hand by then, and let them fly, one after the other. "Triple Play!" He brought his arms down, pumping his fist.
Suddenly, he was tackled and sprawled on his back in the snow. He wiped the snow from Ziva's hair. "I see you are on top of me again."
"Seems to be a habit, yes?" She smiled.
Tony pulled her down to him and kissed her the way he had been wanting to for days. Finally, the cold snow on the ground got too uncomfortable, and Tony and Ziva struggled to their feet.
"Uh, I have something for you. I hope you like it." Ziva looked up to see Tony's hand stretched out, a small box wrapped in silver with a red ribbon. "I couldn't wait until morning."
Ziva looked into Tony's eyes, not sure what he was doing. As if he could read her thoughts, he tried to reassure her. "It's ok, Ziva. I'm not so silly to give an engagement ring to a woman who has never told me she loved me."
Ziva sucked in her breath. "Of'course I have. You just never paid attention." Her gaze on him intensified. "And I would never be so silly as to accept an engagement ring from a man who has never told me that he loved me."
Tony put his arms around her. "Oh, but I have. I guess you weren't paying attention." Their eyes locked. "It's ok, take it. Please." Tony handed her the gift.
With shaking fingers, Ziva managed to take off the wrapping and open the small box. Inside was another box, which clearly contained some sort of jewelry, and if the name of the Jeweler etched in gold was where Tony actually got this gift, it was an expensive piece of jewelry.
Ziva knew it wasn't an engagement ring, but she was still nervous. Taking one last reassuring look at Tony, she opened the box. When she saw the contents, she gasped.
It was a golden ring, almost shaped like a wedding band but the top was flat. Clearly engraved in the flat part of the ring were three letters, separated by yellow-colored stones: T~L~C.
"TLC? Tony loves chocolate? Tony likes coffee?" Ziva smiled as she playfully tried to understand this gift. She remembered something. "Tender Loving Care?"
Tony still had his arms around her and laughed at her guesses. "No, Ziva. Trust. Loyalty. Commitment. Those are the things that matter to me and to us right now, don't you think?" Tony suddenly looked sheepish.
"If you try real hard, you can find another meaning in those letters, but you have to speak French."
Ziva looked at him, surprised and looked at the ring again.
"Well, 'T' can be many different words." Ziva said.
"Ok, in my mangled French, 'Rely on the Heart' is what I came up with, although I doubt the letter arrangement matches how it is said in French. I just picked the words from each of the letters to get as close to that as I could."
Ziva looked again. "Rely on: 'Tabler?' Rely on also means 'Trust', yes?" Seeing Tony's nod, she quickly figured out the remaining letters. "Le Coeur." She smiled.
"Look inside the ring."
Ziva looked startled. She turned the ring so she could see inside, but the light was poor. Tony brought out his flashlight and shone it inside the ring: "I will always have your back. Love, Tony" The engraving took up most of the inside of the band, as Ziva's ring size was only a 5 ½.
"It is absolutely beautiful, Tony. I will cherish it always." Ziva murmured. Tony took the ring and placed it on her left hand ring finger.
"I guess if we were in High School or College, this might be considered a "Promise" ring. The stones by the way are your birthstone, so it is also a birthstone ring."
"I am overwhelmed, Tony with the amount of thought you took into this gift."
Tony smiled wide, that big DiNozzo grin, knowing he did it right this time. The snow was still gently falling. A sudden thought came into his head. "Dance with me." He said.
"Here? Now? In the snow?" Tony got in position and Ziva automatically started dancing with him. "Remember the 'Big Three'? The Opera; a picnic on the beach; and an impromptu dance in the rain?"
Ziva chuckled. "How could I forget? Gibbs even chastised me over it, told me to cut you some slack."
"Did he? I didn't know that. Anyway, what is snow but frozen water? I just thought we'd have our 'impromptu dance in the rain, or this case, snow. I think it will serve its purpose as marking off one of the Big Three as completed."
Ziva laid her head on Tony's shoulder as they danced, silently in the snow, with only the beating of their hearts providing their rhythm.
Anthony DiNozzo, Sr. got up from bed to get a glass on water and looked out his window. There he saw his son and the love of his life dancing in the snow. "Great move, son! Using the snow to mark off one of the Big Three!"
Tony and Ziva finally got back upstairs, cold and wet. "Go ahead and take a shower. I'll take mine after yours." Tony magnanimously offered.
"Tony you are freezing and will catch pneumonia. You cannot afford that. You go first." They stared each other down, and then smiled, having come to a mutual decision.
It was the quietest shower Tony had ever taken. The shower was on full steam so that it was very loud, but he didn't do his usual singing. Instead, he was too busy kissing Ziva and soaping her body and she soaped him up.
There was so much pent up passion between them that Tony couldn't help it. "I think Tony, Jr. wants to come out to play." He whispered into Ziva's ear. Her eyes got huge and she chuckled that Tony had a nickname for his…it was ridiculous to even think about.
"I think we can be quiet in here." Ziva said softly. Tony looked at her, to make sure he heard her correctly. "Are you sure? It's not exactly tender in the shower, although it certainly is erotic and passionate."
Ziva answered by crushing her lips against his. Tony responded according until he was at he was point of no return. "Last chance." He said roughly.
Ziva braced her back against the shower wall then wrapped one leg around Tony's waist. She then lifted herself onto him and they came together as one.
It was sheer bliss, and the release they both felt was exhilarating and liberating. There was no turning back now.
And there was no question that Tony would be sharing his bed with Ziva tonight, the heck with his father. Ziva snuggled into Tony's arms, content.
"Ziva?"
"Yes, Tony?"
"I love you."
"I love you, too, Tony."
In the morning, they awoke, wrapped up in each other's arms. Tony woke first, seeing Ziva's serene face next to his. He kissed her lips and she responded, even in her sleep.
"Damn, maybe I should have gotten her that engagement ring." Tony mused. He shook his head. He had made the right choice. That day would come, he knew it now.
Ziva opened her eyes and looked at Tony. "Good morning." She said.
"Good morning. Did you sleep ok?"
Ziva smiled that mysterious smile of hers. "Oh, yes…" She kissed him again.
"Let's get up before Dad starts playing Santa Claus." Tony got up and put on his clothes.
He padded out to the kitchen in his bare feet. He backed up and saw his father sitting at the table, drinking coffee.
"Sleep well, Jr.?" His Dad asked with a twinkle in his eye. Tony just shook his head and went and poured himself a cup of coffee. He made sure he had plenty of tea for Ziva.
She came out about ten minutes later. Tony handed her a cup of tea. "Thank you, Tony. And good morning and Merry Christmas, Anthony."
"Oh, Ziva, the same to you." Once again, he got up and embraced her and kissed her on the cheek. "How about you? Did you sleep well? Tony had the best sleep he's had in months."
Ziva almost choked on her tea. "Yes, thank you; I was quite…comfortable." She looked at Tony, who was rolling his eyes.
"Hey! Looks like Santa came!" Ziva looked confused because the same presents that were under the tree last night were still there and no more had been added. Well, one was missing.
"Just go with it." Tony murmured in her ear.
Sr. played Santa, as predicted, and delighted in doling out the gifts. Ziva was confused by the number of presents that kept going into her pile.
"I thought you bought one gift for each person?" She was worried she did something wrong.
"There are no rules, Ziva. It's more like a family tradition. Tony used to get tons of gifts for Christmas."
"The operative word being 'used to'." Tony looked at his father.
"Well, hard times called for hard measures."
"Are you saying it is no longer 'hard times', Dad?" Tony looked perplexed.
"That's exactly what I am saying. I made my biggest deal yet, son. It was legally binding and it is done. I mean, I am done. I can relax and retire and enjoy whatever life brings me. Hopefully grandchildren." He looked at Ziva with a grin. Ziva blushed.
Tony was stunned. "That's great, Dad. I'm really proud of you." They hugged. Ziva hugged him next. "I am also very happy for you, Anthony. You deserve some good things to come your way."
Christmas is like a wedding: you plan months on the gifts and it's over in three minutes. Anyway, it seemed that way to Ziva.
Tony's Dad had given her a beautiful Hermes scarf, plus some perfume that she knew was very expensive. He also got her some other items that she could not identify immediately, but thanked him nonetheless.
She had heard Tony say that his Dad had complained about the condition of his golf club covers, so she had gotten him a new set that she was also able to get monogrammed on such short notice. She also gave him two sets of golf balls.
Tony had always told Ziva that if she wore that orange and brown striped sweater into work again he would rip it off of her and burn it. He hadn't seen it in a while, but to be safe, he got her a beautiful cashmere multi-colored sweater. The v-neck was low enough for her necklace to be seen, but not indecent.
He also got her a book she had been talking about getting but hadn't gotten around to it yet. There were some other gifts in the bedroom, but she would find out about those later.
Ziva got Tony a new watch. He was stunned and almost refused it. "Ziva, it's too much." She gave him a beautiful stainless steel Movado watch. She had noticed his was missing and she heard from McGee that it had come off his wrist and he ran over it with his car.
"No, it is not. Besides, I bought it from a street vendor." That got a laugh out of Tony. She had one more gift for him and wondered if he should open it here or in the privacy of his bedroom.
Too late, he grabbed the gift and was ripping the paper off. He stared at the present, his eyes huge. He looked at Ziva, who had tears in her eyes, hoping she hadn't dampened the happy spirit of the morning.
Tony pulled her into an embrace. "Thank you." He whispered in her hair. "You are the only person who truly understands me." He held her face and kissed her tenderly, then wiped away a tear from her cheek.
"There's no crying at Christmas!" He smiled.
"Can I see, or is it a private gift?" Sr. asked. Tony hesitated.
"Uh, actually Dad, it is kind of private between Ziva and me if you don't mind."
"Not at all!" Sr. grinned, happy they had secrets to share and be happy about. Tony got up. "I'll just go put this away for now." He pulled Ziva up with him and holding her hand, took her into his bedroom.
He placed the book upright, on his dresser. "There is an inscription inside, but you should read it later." Ziva whispered, her lips close to his face.
As they left the room, their movement caused the first page of The Little Prince to open, revealing the inscription:
"It is only with the heart that one can see rightly. What is essential is invisible to the eye." My love always, Ziva
There it is; one big huge last chapter to this vignette. I didn't want to drag it out and split it into two chapters in case someone else came up with my ideas and published before I did, haha. There are spoilers for Tony having a pet. I doubt it really is a dog, but I like dogs. Obviously, some things happened that didn't end up on the page, such as what Tony got from his father. Oh well: use your own imagination. Regarding the French, I did what Tony did, looked up French word that matched the letters and came up with something that sounded good. I have no idea if those words together make any sense. Poetic License. Thanks for the great reviews.