Hello! Firstly I want to thank everybody who took their precious time to review/follow and favourite the story so far. You are all so amazing! Your support really makes me want to do my best with this story.

As promised, here is no.3! Its a bit of a filler, I apologise- but it's still some good content! I'm trying to give you all a little insight into Tony and what he's going through emotionally. I'm also trying to incorporate a few Hebrew words here and there and I'm using a translation website to help me with this. But if you find anything in the story that doesn't seem accurate or factual (including anything else relevant to the plot line), please let me know! I'm only human, I make mistakes all the time! :)

Okay thats it for me, enjoy and let me know what you think!

Tony stared down at the first picture stacked on top of the others. It was a young Orli; she was in her mid-twenties. Orli was standing with some people, laughing. Tony had never seen the director of Mossad exhibit any tone that resembled a laugh before; it seemed like a foreign concept to her. Her hair was long and curly, draped over her shoulders. Her hand was clasped around a glass of wine and she was looking up at a man, with a twinkle in her eye. Orli seemed happy in this picture, carefree almost. Tony followed her gaze until his eyes rested on the man whose arm was clasped tightly around her waist. He was looking at the other people, his mouth open as if he was mid-sentence. Everyone seemed to be unapologetically focused on this guy in the picture, like he was the centre of gravity. The man was tall and carried a head full of back curls too. This man was almost a stranger to Tony. In fact, he would have not recognised him if it wasn't for his eyes.

Tony believed that in life, there were certain memories that a man would carry with him forever. Perhaps the feeling of a former lover's embrace. Or maybe the memory of a first kiss. In Tony's world, he still remembered exactly how his mother's hair would glisten in the sunlight. He still remembered exactly what song was playing in the bar the moment he realised that Wendy was not the woman for him to marry. He could easily recall the fine lines laced on Ziva's fingertips the last time he held her hand. And right now, in this moment, he was staring at set of eyes that he could never forget in a lifetime.

Eli David was a calculated man. Tony already knew that, but from staring at this picture, it was clear to him that Eli had been like this all his life. Something about his smiling face that still held a cold look rubbed Tony the wrong way. Tony knew at some point he would have to tell Tali about her grandfather. But he was going to have to rely on Orli for stories about the man that did not involve deception, betrayal and hostility.

He placed the photo of the young Orli and Eli behind the others and examined the second one. It was a picture he had seen a thousand times. She used to pin it up behind her desk back in the squadroom. Tony looked down as a young Ziva, Tali and Ari were staring back at him. They were standing together, with ruffled hair and dusty clothes as if they had been playing in the streets. He shuffled the pictures once more, moving the second to the back and glanced at the final picture frame. The picture hit him hard in the gut. Staring at the photo intensely, he absentmindedly moved to the couch and sat down.

He was in need of some stability.

It was a picture of his daughter. She was a baby, much younger than she was now and she was cradled in Ziva's arms. Ziva and Tali were looking at each other and Tony could instantly see how much they looked alike. Ziva was smiling at her daughter who was mid-laugh. He instantly felt a spark of jealousy of whoever was standing behind the camera because this felt like an intimate moment, something he should have been a part of. He stared at Ziva. She looked happy, peaceful even. Tali must have given her a new purpose, a real reason to stay away from the badge.

Tony was hit with a wave of emotions. He felt odd for starters. Up until that moment, Tony could only wonder and imagine what Ziva was like with their daughter. He would make up imaginary scenarios, wondered how Ziva handled Tali when she cried or when she refused to eat. He would make these little movies in his head as an obscure way to console himself. But seeing them together made it all so real for him. That this really was their daughter.
He felt comforted knowing that after losing every member of her family, Tali was Ziva's answer to a new start. But he also felt bitter. He was looking down at the two women in his life that loved the most and was hit with the fact that he could only spend the rest of his life with one of them. He sighed and rubbed the top of his brow. He stood up and walked towards the cupboard again, intending to return the pictures when he spied a small table close-by that was covered in a thin layer of dust. Amongst the dust were three distinct gaps, as if something was recently removed from the table after a long time. Tony almost immediately walked over, knowing exactly where these photos should be and placed them on the table, directly covered the gaps perfectly.

"Safe house my ass," Tony muttered to himself as he thought about what Orli had previously said to him. Tony was convinced that this place was more than just a safe-house to the director. Suddenly, Tony heard small footsteps coming his way. Tali was walking over, yawning and Tony picked her up immediately, almost by habit.

"Hey little lady, you sleep okay?" He could tell she was grumpy by the way she softly groaned and dropped her head against his neck.

"Akal?"

Tony was amused every time heard that Hebrew word. For a kid who is such a fussy eater, she loved to say the word "Eat."

"Tali, you know you're going to have to learn English at some point, right?" He sat her down on the kitchen counter top and looked into the fridge, which was already stocked. Tony had begun to cook more since leaving NCIS. He had a reason too, now that Tali had moved on from baby food to more solids. In fact, he actually surprised himself with how much he enjoyed it. Sure, he wasn't the greatest cook. It was impossible to be a Gordon Ramsey when you're dedicating 9+ hours to the job every day. The only culinary-related skills Tony truly ever mastered was the ability to brew a strong-ass coffee. But damn, he could make a mean steak. And that's exactly what he whipped up once he spied the meat readily available.

"Grandpa called," He began, whilst sautéing the steak in the pan with a smile on his face. It was always amusing to call senior that. "He asked about you," He glanced at Tali who was preoccupied with eating a chopped banana. "I told him you were fine, just being a regular Dennis. You know, menacing around." He said conversationally, as if his daughter was even listening. "I think he really misses us. I could hear it in his voice. You know it's been a while since I had spent a more than a week with senior. I think it was college.." He drifted off, gathering his thoughts. "Anyway, truth is I don't really know when we're gonna go back home." He removed the steak from the pan and let it rest. He turned and leant against the counter to see Tali with a big smile on her face. Tony glanced down at her plate and saw pieces of banana squashed and smeared across her plate. Tali's hands were outstretched in front of him, covered in banana too. Tony rolled his eyes and sighed, "Honestly.."

He picked up his daughter and brought her to the sink. "I really need to teach you to not play with your food." He opened the tap and put her hands under the sink, drenching them in water before reaching for the soap and lathering them too. Once they were done, he sat her down in a chair and cut her some small pieces of steak to eat. As he began to fork the food, Tali reached up and clasped her small hand over Tony's grip. She began to direct the fork into her mouth.

"I think this is the first time you haven't reigned hell on me. You must be really hungry" Tony said amused. He was already claiming this as a win for a successful feeding and they were only one bite in. He stuck his fork into a steak piece again and she did the same thing. He raised his eyebrow as she guided his hand into her mouth once more.

"Huh. Rule #15" He said out loud. "Saba, he has a list of rules that he taught me and your mother when we worked together. Rule #15 is always work as a team." Her eyes were watching Tony intently even though he was certain that Tali had no idea what the hell he was even talking about. "When you're older, I'll teach them to you. Well, I guess the relevant ones- I doubt the 40s are ever going to useful to you in your lifetime." He joked. "I'm still building my own list and I got a few so far but- ". He instantly stopped as he noticed Tali reaching for the food on their plate with her freshly cleaned hands. "Woah, easy there little lady." He stopped her hand. "You know what, new rule #1- Don't play with your food". It was pretty redundant to be mad at his daughter. Tony was already past the point of 'denial' and was comfortably sitting in the pool of 'acceptance' when it came to being wrapped around her little finger.

Tony finished his meal quickly and brewed some coffee whilst he bathed his daughter and got her ready. It was the afternoon by now and he thought about going somewhere for a little while, maybe get some fresh air. He had never actually gotten the chance to visit Tel Aviv before. Tony remembered Ziva incessantly going on and on about some of her favourite places in Tel Aviv, particularly the old city of Jaffa. Considering he had no itinerary, nor did he actually know anyone in Israel besides Orli, Tony figured that he would start there.

After a great deal of negotiating, Tony finally exited the car with his daughter in one hand, her plush dog in the other and her 'baby backpack' over his shoulder, leaving his Mossad babysitter behind. He understood the agent's incessant need to be present at all times. He technically wouldn't be doing his job as 'protective detail' if he wasn't overreacting. But Orli's paranoia was driving Tony crazy. He did promise that he would 'keep one her agents' but Tony never said he would keep the guy with him at all times. It's all about the fine details after all. Jaffa was a bustling place. There were markets lining the streets, echos of sounds from people shouting, music playing and children laughing. Tony only knew the secretive, deceptive Tel Aviv from his previous visits. But he was pleasantly surprised to find that the city had a whole other fun, seductive side too. Tali's senses were off the charts. Her attention was stolen at any sudden movement and loud voice that invaded her space. Tony began walking through the streets with Tali in his arms. People were shouting things in broken English at him; he probably stood out as an American like a fish out of water. This made him alert, out of habit. With his new and comforting 9mm friend stashed in the back of his jeans, Tony let his attention wander slightly with his daughter's. Tali would make sounds every time something exciting grabbed her attention.

"I know" Tony would respond to her, each time.

After 40 minutes of walking around, Tony was in desperate need of some more coffee. Jetlag was beginning to sink in now and he suddenly envied his daughter's infinite bounds of energy that she constantly exerted. They stopped at a café and sat at a table outside so Tony could people watch. It was one of his favourite past-times, he loved being nosey after all.

Tali began to wriggle around in her seat.

"Kalev, kalev, kalev" Tali kept repeating, reaching out to Tony and he instinctively pulled out her plush toy from her babypack.

"Okay, now will you sit still please?" Tony said with a fake smile. "I should get you to run laps around house so you can waste your energy and just pass out" He muttered to himself as he brushed something off her shoulder. It was peaceful sitting there with his daughter as she played with her toy and he watched the passer's by. He could almost pretend that his life wasn't a mess for a moment.

10 mins of tranquillity passed before Tony felt his back pocket vibrate. He reached down and retrieved his phone, expecting to see Orli's caller ID but momentarily froze when he saw the word 'C1' pop up on the phone. He raised his eyebrow in curiosity and pressed a button, raising the phone to his ear.

"Yeah?" He said slowly.

"DiNozzo?" He paused for a second and glanced down at his daughter, as if she cared about who was speaking to him on the phone.

"Who is this?" Tony ignored the caller's question and pressed his own.

"Ahh, I was wondering when you were coming to Israel. I've been waiting for you."

Plot twist again! I was considering giving you some clues about who the caller might be but I thought it would be more fun to read your comments and see what you come up with!

Until next week! xx