"Pyjama party!" Daniela yelled throwing herself over the back of Ziva's couch and landing on Tony with a heavy thud. Tony grabbed the girl and pinned her to the couch. He began tickling her with a huge grin on his face.
"Sneak attack thwartd!" He cried.
The girl's giggles filled the small apartment. Ziva rolled her eyes and helped Jacob get dressed into his Spiderman pyjamas. "Your sister and your Papa are very silly."
Me too! He screwed his face into a silly pose, wriggled into his shirt and tore off for the human dogpile.
Ziva smiled as she watched the three arguably most important people in her life roll around on the floor. The buzzer in her apartment alerted her to the pizza they had ordered. Knowing that Tony wasn't going to be able to free himself anytime soon she headed over and opened the door and brought the meal in.
"Pizza is here!"
Tony stood up and began walking towards the table. "I'd love to come over…but I think I have a couple of growths that I need removed. He trudged forward with Daniela hanging on his back and Jacob gripping to his front like a koala bear.
"Should we…chop them off?" Ziva asked with a grin.
"How about I…shake them off?" Tony said, shaking from side to side, dislodging Daniela onto the couch. Jacob held tight until Ziva came and lifted him off.
Pizza she signed.
The boy's eyes lit up and grabbed Ziva's hand, leading her to the table. Daniela rolled off the couch and followed suit.
They sat at the table, the four of them, for one more night, pretending to be the family they all desperately wanted to be.
#
Her cellphone vibrated deep in the front pocket of her light robe. She shifted slightly and pulled her phone out. The number was all too familiar. Freeing herself from Jacob's grip, Ziva closed the door to her bedroom and opened her phone.
"Hello father."
"Ziva." His voice was level, controlled and completely final. "Having a good weekend I assume?"
"Yes Father." She sat down on the edge of the bed and pulled her feet underneath her. Her heart beat wildly, echoing in her ears and her chest. "May I ask why you are calling?"
Eli David glared at his daughter through the phone. "I know Ziva."
"Know what?"
He slammed his fist on his cherry wood desk. "About EVERYTHING Zivaleh." His voice was harsh, strained from holding in the anger. "Everything. I know about the fact that you are with a gentile. With Anthony DiNozzo. I know that he now spends more time at your apartment than he does his own."
Ziva's eyes narrowed. "Father, I am in America. Did you not think that I may meet someone?"
Eli pressed his fingers to his temple. "You are Mossad."
"I am NCIS!" She countered, catching herself before she began to scream.
"No you are not. You are Mossad liaison to NCIS. Which means that you are still Mossad, and I can recall you when you are needed."
Her heart dropped to her stomach. She knew exactly what was coming.
"You will be on the next flight to Tel Aviv."
"Father…"
"Ziva, this is not a debate. You will no longer be with NCIS. As of tomorrow, you will be officially back with Mossad." With a click, Ziva stared at the phone listening to the empty ringtone. She rubbed the palms of her hands into her eyes and took a deep shuddering breath. Her own thoughts blocked the sound of her bedroom door opening.
"Zee…who was that?" Tony asked quietly.
She looked up at him, her dark eyes threatening to spill the enclosed tears.
"Oh." He sat down beside her, wrapping his arms around her tightly. "It was your Father, wasn't it?"
"Yes."
For the first time Tony noticed how young Ziva actually was, how much younger she was than him. He ran a hand through his hair, hair that now had grey around the temples. Looking back at Ziva, he gave her a kiss on her forehead. "Ziva…he wants you back doesn't he?"
"He does not want me back, he has ordered me back." She brushed her hair out of her face. "If I do not…Tony, we are all at risk."
"Damn it Ziva, we're a family."
"Tony, that is the issue. We are a family, Mossad is THE family." She pulled her knees up to her chest and hugged them tight.
"Ziva, you're…Ziva. You're a crazy Ninja. You're an Assassin. You can do anything."
She shook her head until Tony gently reached over and cupped her face in his hands. "Tony…"
"Shh…just look at me Zee." He took a deep breath. "Ziva, whether your father likes it or not, we're a family. You and I…we're…us." He closed his eyes for a second before shaking his head furiously. "You know what, screw it." Standing up he quickly left the room, but returned just as quickly. "I wanted to do this a different way…" He kneeled down in front of her. "Ziva…I wanted this to be different. Better. Not rushed. Not like this…Ziva David…will you marry me?"
Ziva blinked, her brown eyes open in shock. "Tony…are you serious?"
"Serious as a heart attack." He took her hands in his and slipped a slight gold band on her finger with a large princess cut diamond in the middle. "I love you Ziva. I'm so helplessly in love with you it makes me sick. I wake up in the morning thinking about you, I go to sleep at night thinking about you. I dream about you. You're everywhere I look. When you're not with me, I smell you. I daydream about us and OUR kids. Daniela. Jacob. And more. A house full of kids…and our house. With Abs and Tim living beside us…and Gibbs and Jenny close enough to visit. Oh and Ducky…"
With a soft smile, Ziva pressed her finger to his lips. "Tony…just shut up." She whispered slipping her arms around him. "I love you too Tony…but are you sure this is the right time?"
"Are you saying no?"
"No. I just do not want you to do anything that you do not want to do."
His face softened. "Ziva, I want this more than I want my next breath. I want us to be a real family. All four of us."
She slipped the ring on her finger and pressed a soul-burning kiss on his lips. "Yes Tony, I will marry you." Her face fell. "But that does not address my problem with Mossad. I must go back to Israel."
"WE must go back to Israel. I won't allow my fiancée to do this alone."
"I like the sound of that. Fiancée." Ziva said allowing the word to roll off her tongue. She wrapped her arms around Tony's abdomen and laid her head on her chest. "We should go back to the other room. If Daniela wakes up and we are not there…"
"Right." Tony kissed the top of her head. "Our celebration can wait. Tonight is about them."
"And us." Ziva kissed him one last time before pulling him the family room…
#
"For how long?" Daniela took another bite of her waffles.
"We're not sure." Tony gave Ziva a soft smile. "There are a few things that we have to take care of."
"But you're coming back, right?"
"Of course." Ziva looked from Gibbs, to Jenny, to Abby, to McGee, to Ducky and then back to Daniela. "Everyone will come and visit.
The girl chewed slowly. "You pinky swear?"
"Pinky swear." Tony replied, linking his little finger with hers. "We'll be back."
Ziva closed her eyes and sighed, hoping, praying, that they wouldn't let the kids down. Again.
.