Ziva was in the kitchen putting the final touches on the Father's Day breakfast she was preparing for her still sleeping husband, while Ben was in the family room, still dressed in his pajamas watching cartoons. Ziva stood with her hands on her hips looking at the kitchen table, making sure she had not forgotten anything.
She scanned the table looking at each item; Pancakes, eggs, hash browns, bacon, sausage and "Something is missing", she said aloud. She took another step closer to the table and saw what was missing. "Orange juice", she said as she walked over to the refrigerator and pulled out the carton of pulp free orange juice and poured herself and Tony a glass full and also a small amount into Ben's sippy cup. Now satisfied that breakfast was just about ready she called to her son, "Ben I need your help". The three year old quickly scampered into the kitchen, he loved to help his mommy and Ziva always saved him a special job to do. Sometimes it was pushing the button on the coffee machine or placing the napkins on the table; today she had something new for Ben to try.
"Come here sweetie", Ziva said as she picked her son up and sat him on the kitchen counter. "Would you like to help mommy make toast"?
Ben's smile lit up the room as he nodded yes then he reached for the loaf of bread sitting beside him on the sink. "Wait a minute baby, you're squishing the bread", Ziva said as she took the loaf and removed four slices and handed them to Ben, reminding him to be gentle. "Now put one slice in each slot", she said while pointing to the toaster. Ben did what Ziva showed him and clapped his hands after the last piece was in the toaster. "Now push this handle all the way down", Ziva said as she once again showed Ben what she wanted him to do.
Ben did as instructed and said, "I making toast all by myself, right mommy"? Ziva gave the three year old a big hug and said, "You sure are Ben". A minute later the toast popped up and Ben cheered waving his arms wildly above his head once he saw that he did indeed make toast.
Ziva reminded Ben that the toaster was very hot and that he was not allowed to do this by himself. Once she was sure he understood she handed him a plate to hold while she buttered the toast then placed each slice on the plate and brought it over to the table. "You can go upstairs and wake up daddy now", Ziva said to Ben as she helped him down from the counter. "Okay mommy, I be right back", Ben said as he ran as fast as he could out of the kitchen and upstairs to his daddy's bedroom.
Tony was still fast asleep lying on his stomach, his face buried deep in his pillow. Ziva had given him one heck of a Father's Day present the night before; it had been the kind of night that reminded him how good it felt to be a man. He did not hear Ben enter the bedroom until he felt something tugging at his arm that was dangling over the side of the bed.
"Wake up daddy, breakfast time, I made toast all by myself, mommy says I come get you now so you get up now daddy", Ben said as he pulled on Tony's arm trying to pull him out of bed.
Tony was still caught in that place lying between sleep and almost awake, he heard the word breakfast and something about toast and he thought, "What the heck is pulling on my arm"? He then could make out the sound of his son's voice and that finally woke him from his sleep.
"Hey Ben, good morning", Tony said as he rolled over wiping the sleep from his eyes. He pulled Ben up on top of him and asked. "What is this I hear about toast"? Ben bounced up and down on Tony's stomach and went on to tell him about how he helped in the kitchen. "I make toast all by myself daddy".
"You did, well we better get down there so I can try some", Tony said as he lifted Ben off of him and placed him on the floor. He then got out of bed and went into the bathroom and came out a few seconds later feeling better after splashing water on his face and combing his hair. He and Ben made their way downstairs into the kitchen where Ziva stood at the table just finishing pouring the coffee.
"Happy Father's Day Tony", Ziva said as she made her way over to her husband and placed a light kiss on his lips before taking him by the hand and leading him to the table. "I made all of your favorites", she said as she waved her hand in the direction of the table. Ben climbed up into his booster seat reminding everyone that he was the one that made the toast. Tony and Ziva both smiled and took their seats at the table. Tony looked at all the wonderful food in front of him while Ziva busied herself making a plate for Ben. "Everything looks so good, but I think I would like to try this toast first", Tony said winking at Ziva who smiled back at her husband.
After breakfast Tony received his Father's Day gifts. Ben had made him a card at school covered in glitter and inside was a picture that Ben had drawn of the two of them, or at least that's what Tony thought because one of the stick people was big and the other was small. Ben went on to tell Tony that it indeed was the two of them working together in the backyard. After Ben's interpretation of his drawing, Tony could see it clearly now and he studied it like an art lover would study a Picasso. He placed the card near the side of his plate as Ziva handed him her gift.
"I thought I already got my gift last night", he said raising his eyebrows seductively at Ziva. She was about to say something when Ben suddenly asked, "What did mommy give you daddy"? Ziva laughed at the shocked look on her husband's face, he clearly had not been expecting their son to ask that.
He said the first thing that crossed his mind, "Movie tickets Ben, maybe we can all go see a movie tomorrow". Luckily the little boy was satisfied with his father's answer and began eating his breakfast much to the relief of both parents.
Tony opened the box Ziva handed him; inside was a beautiful watch that Tony knew without asking had to be very expensive. He remembered looking at a watch like this a few months ago as he accompanied Ziva to the jewelry store to have a few items cleaned. She must have seen how he was admiring the fine piece and went back and purchased it for him.
"Thank you Ziva, I love it", Tony said as he continued to admire his gift. Ziva had wanted to get Tony something she knew he would not purchase for himself. Ever since Ben was born, Tony had refrained from buying expensive clothes and accessories that he used to purchase quite often. Tony told Ziva that it was because they needed to put money away for Ben's college education and that they needed to have more in savings and continue to add to their nest egg. However, Ziva felt that it also had a little bit to do with how secure Tony now was in his life and the old things that used to bring him security and comfort have been replaced by a wife and son that absolutely adore him.
After breakfast the family spent the rest of the day in the backyard. Ben was beginning to show an interest in sports so Tony naturally bought a small basketball hoop for Ben to play with. He had set up the plastic basketball set that stood three feet tall on the patio next to the deck and showed Ben how to dribble and shoot. Ben had definitely inherited some of his father's athletic ability and could get the little ball into the net quite regularly.
Tony and Ziva sat and watched Ben play and like all father's Tony wondered if he had the next Lebron James shooting hoops in his backyard. "You know Ziva, when I was Ben's age I couldn't do that", he said pointing to his son who just sank a one foot shot. "I think he has real talent, don't you?" Ziva looked at her son as he tried to dribble the ball having it bounce off his foot and roll into her flower bed. "I don't think the basketball scouts will be coming by anytime soon". Tony not seeing what she was seeing continued, "I mean look at me, I didn't start to play ball until I was almost eight and then I went on to play in high school and later got a scholarship to play college ball, I could have gone pro had I not messed up my knee playing football".
Ziva looked amusingly at her husband, "Don't you think you are rushing things a bit"? Tony smirked and let out a quiet laugh, "Maybe just a little, I'm just saying I could not do that when I was his age". Ben then proceeded to miss his next three shots and was becoming bored with the game so he decided to try something different. He sat the ball on the ground and kicked it as hard as he could sending the ball flying right over Tony and Ziva's heads causing both parents to drop for cover as the ball slammed into the barbecue grill knocking it over with a loud thud.
Ziva slowly got up and was about to give a startled Ben a lecture on safe playing near the house when she was interrupted by her husband, still lying on his back where he fell. "Did you see that kick? I think we have ourselves a soccer player, I could never kick a ball like that when I was his age.
A/N Sorry for the long delay in between chapters. I was on vacation and drove from Seattle back to Ohio, almost 2500 miles in four days. I was so tired I could not motivate myself to write until now. Please send a review if you like and let me know if you want the story continued.