AN: Now this has been mentally written for ages. Was just waiting on Sebby to finish up that last mini chapter. Thanks again to all of you for riding along on this journey, and for all your wonderful comments.
MN: I second all of what she said and add a thanks for dealing with the gaps in chapters on this. Real life is so ignorant getting in the way of our more noble pursuits right? Also, this flufftastic epilogue is all of AJ's doing. When it's done we have to figure out what we're doing with Seams. Then we already know what we want to do for a next NCIS fic but it should be a shortie so please, send ideas or requests freely!
Tony closed the front door behind himself as quietly as he could then slipped off his shoes. It was late and he was tired. The last thing he wanted to do was wake anyone up. He set his keys in the dish rather than dropping them and tread lightly as he crossed he house.
As he passed it, the couch creaked and a head appeared over the back. "Junior?"
Tony bit back a sigh. "Yeah, Dad. Why are you sleeping on the couch? I made up the guest room for you."
His father rubbed his face with one hand and yawned widely. "I must have nodded off reading." He glanced on the clock and yawned again. "What are you doing getting in so late?"
Tony scrubbed his own face with his hand. "Had an incident late in the day. Wanted to get the paperwork settled before I left so I could spend the weekend at home." He nodded down the hall. "How was she?"
His father smiled as he shoved himself up off the couch. "She was fine. Got a little grumpy around bedtime but after I talked her into drinking her milk she was out like a light." He chuckled lightly. "Your daughter was even more well behaved."
Tony couldn't help the small laugh that escaped. "Don't let Ziva hear you talk about her like that. She would break her bedrest orders to kick your ass. But, speaking of my daughter, no problems getting Jenny to fall asleep? She's been having problems lately." The three year old was usually the bright spot in his day, but lately she had been the cause of several sleepless nights.
Anthony Senior shook his head. "Nope. I'm telling you, doesn't matter the age: give a girl a cup of milk and rub her back and she'll fall right to sleep for you."
"I'll keep that in mind. Get some rest, Dad. I'll see you in the morning. And thanks again for coming to help out." He moved up the stairs as quietly as he could. The first door at the top of the stairs was ajar so he used the opportunity to peer in and check on his daughter. She was fast asleep, stuffed hippo in one arm. He closed the door silently and continued down the hallway to the master bedroom.
Ziva was stretched out on his side of the bed. The blanket had been kicked off and he could see that she was wearing the same t-shirt she'd taken from the bathroom the day they had first moved in together and he hadn't been allowed to wear since. He shucked his clothes, stripping down to his boxers and undershirt then moved to her side of the bed. He probably wouldn't sleep as well but he didn't want to risk waking his wife. He climbed in beside her carefully and pulled the blanket up gingerly to cover them both. He had barely laid his head on the pillow when she stirred.
"Tony?"
He reached over to rest his hand on her hip. "Yeah, Zi."
"What time is it?" Her voice was low and sleepy.
"Late. Go back to sleep."
She turned to face him, trying to focus on his face in the dim light filtering through the curtains. "You're on my side of the bed."
He chuckled and slid his arms around her. "That's because when I came in you were asleep on mine. How are you and the little guy feeling?" Ziva had soared through her first pregnancy with no complications but the second was proving far more troublesome. She'd spent most of her first trimester so violently nauseous that she'd been hospitalized twice for dehydration and malnutrition, and now would be spending the last two months on bedrest.
"He's definitely your son. He's been a pain today. My back is killing me." He knew for her to be admitting to pain it had to be excruciating.
Tony slid closer, allowing his hand access to gently knead her back. "Remind me to have a talk with him about not picking on Mommy." Laying down had made him realize exactly how exhausted he was and he tried to hide his yawn.
"Please do. Do you want your side back?"
He shook his head. "Not tonight." He snuggled in even closer and she brought her head to rest on his shoulder. "Just get some sleep." He dropped a gentle kiss to her lips then laid his head back on her pillow.
"I love you, Tony."
He smiled contently, eyes closed, knowing that at that moment there was nowhere he'd rather be then on the wrong side of the bed. "I love you too, Zi."
AN: And that's a wrap. Thanks again for reading!
