"Please, call me Mark." Dr. Smith smiled, holding out his hand to greet her.
"Okay…" Ziva smiled back, taking his hand to shake it while gulping to rid of the uneasy feeling at the pit of her stomach.
"Goodness, it seems like it's been ages since I saw you last. Obviously time has passed," He chuckled, pointing towards Ty and Isabella.
"Oh, yes." She tried out her best fake laugh, shaking her head in the process. "This is Ty and Isabella."
"Hello Ty, Isabella." He nodded at them, high fiving Isabella who softly tapped his hand while watching him intently. Ty examined Mark up and down, giving him a weird look before turning his head and ignoring him. "Not in the mood to talk, huh?" Mark laughed, glancing back at Ziva.
"Ty…" Ziva warned, fully understanding what her son's problem was. "I am sorry, he is very shy."
"It's fine! Kids will be kids! So, how have you been? You look beautiful as ever!" He smirked, quickly looking up her body.
Ziva couldn't help the faint blush that painted over her cheeks. It had been so long since she felt admired by a man and her body betrayed her in the moment. "Thank you." She beamed, "I am…alright. Life is complicated, yes?"
"I hear you. Are you sure everything is okay, though? Alright doesn't sound too appealing for a beautiful woman with two gorgeous children." He placed his palm on her forehand, staring into her eyes as if he was trying to find the secret that lay in her mind.
"I – I am fine, really. Life has its up and downs, the kids and I are just enjoying the ride." She tried to move her arm away from him and he grabbed it.
"If you ever need to talk, Ziva… feel free to call me and we can do lunch again? I was your doctor once, I'm still available to talk whenever you need me. Hey, even if they need me." He looked towards Ty and Isabella.
Ty continuing to glare at him and listen to their conversation, "Mommy, can we call Daddy?" He interrupted, a smirk on his face when he saw the man next to his mom flinch.
Ziva pressed her lips together, making a face. "Maybe later, tataleh."
"He looks awfully like that man who used to come to the hospital with you. What was his name? Trey? Tim? T-" Mark listed off before being interrupted by Ziva.
"Tony." She acknowledged, staring at Ty who quickly looked away from her stern gaze. She knew what he was up to. "Yes, he is their father."
"Oh, wow." Mark's shocked expression bothered Ziva and she didn't understand why, but she was still concentrating on Ty who she knew was listening. "That's great that you two ended up together."
"Mmm, yes." She replied curtly, biting her lip to excuse herself from saying anything negative with her little ones within ear length.
Mark tilted his head, "That didn't sound good." He joked, realizing she was now glaring at him.
"I do not want to talk about it." She shrugged, pushing the car ahead as a signal she wanted to leave this conversation.
Reaching into his pocket, Mark pulled out one of his business cards along with his phone. "Hey, I'd really like you to take my number if you ever need me. My specialty is listening and it seems like you need to get something off your chest." He handed her one of the small cards in his hand then passed his phone. "And if you wouldn't mind, putting your number into my phone as well. Just in case I miss your call and don't realize who it is."
Ziva pondered whether or not she should give this man her phone number again. After everything that happened with him and the bait of jealous Tony, it didn't seem like a good idea.
But Tony's not here. She thought to herself. And he is a trained medical professional? God forbid anything ever happen… She reached for his phone, noticing Ty watch her in the corner of her eye. She silently tapped her number into his contacts, typing her name along and passed the phone back to him.
"Great. I hope to hear from you? Tell Tony I said hello." He smiled, patting her on the arm before leaving with a smirk on his face when she heard Ty scowl at him.
"But Daddy's not here…" Ty commented, turning around in the pretend fire truck.
Ziva took a deep, shaky breath before replying. "Ty, there is no need for you to listen in on all of Mommy's conversations. Mommy can take care of herself." She tried to give him a small smile, but he wasn't convinced.
Somewhere, far within the four year old's head, he knew that things weren't right between his parents. Also, the fact that his mother seemed to have red eyes every morning seemed to tell him that she cried a lot at night, just like when they went to the hotel to visit Daddy. He may be young, but he still was acquiring his paren'ts investigative skills as time went on. And that man they just met in the store? He smiled a bit too much at Mommy… something Daddy hadn't done in a while. He didn't like this man.