Work Text:
Tomorrow
Paris, June 2016
With a tired sigh, he stepped into the elevator.
When the doors slide closed, there were two things he noticed; the silence that surrounded him and the fact that he was immediately faced with his own image. Which was not the most uplifting sight, he had to admit.
Funny how he never realized there were mirrors before.
To be honest, he and Ziva were pretty occupied the last time they were here to notice anything but each other.
Ziva.
Every time he thought of her everything hurt and he forcibly had to swallow back his tears. The harsh reality he would never see her again made his heart ache so painfully he tensed up.
The little girl in his arms stirred in her sleep because of it and clenched her little arm tighter around his neck.
He forced himself to relax and softly stroke Tali’s hair from her face while he shushed her.
Their daughter. His daughter.
He might not be Special Agent Tony DiNozzo anymore but he would be a Very Special Abba to her as he now was the most important person in her life.
Still barely become of the shock that he and Ziva had a child he hadn’t known about, he was amazed how good it felt to be a dad and how much he loved her already. If only Ziva was here too…
Once again his thoughts were interrupted, but this time by a soft ding, signaling the elevator had arrived on the designated floor.
Cradling his daughter a little closer he stepped out into the hall and began walking to his room. Again memories invaded his brain of all the times he secretly been here with Ziva. Their secret rendezvous place.
After some fumbling with his key card with one arm, while trying to balance his daughter in his other, the door finally clicked and he stepped into the dark room.
He immediately sensed something was off. But instead of grabbing his gun on instinct, he tried to push back the unexpected fear he felt. He needed to get his daughter to a safe place first.
He decided that the master bedroom that was closest to the hallway was the safest place for now. After a quick inspection of the room, he laid her in de middle of the big bed, surrounding her with pillows so she couldn’t roll off if she moved in her sleep.
After a quick kiss to her forehead, he went back to the hallway and draw his gun. As silent as possible, he made the track to the living room.
He took a deep breath while counting to three in his head.
In one move he swung the door open, flipped the light switch and pointed his gun at the person who was sitting with its back to him in a chair.
“Do not even think of trying to move!” His body raged with anger. How dare they threaten his family!
The person stayed perfectly still while he came closer so he could see who he was dealing with.
Just when he was almost close enough to see their face, the person looked up and whispered his name:
“Tony…”
Tony froze when he heard her voice.
It couldn’t. He was sure. There was no way. And still, here she was.
“Ziva?” was all he could say, suddenly not getting enough air.
He only noticed he was still pointing the gun at her when she stood up and started to walk towards him.
Her movements were cautious like she was approaching a skittish horse.
He lowered the gun, a breath escaped and he felt his knees buckle. He stumbled to the couch, afraid he wouldn’t be able to stand any longer.
He buried his face in his hands and couldn’t stop the tears he had pushed away the last weeks.
Within a second Ziva was with him and dropped to her knees. She cradled his head in her hand and made soft shushing sounds in his ear.
After a while, when he had no tears left, Tony lifted his head and saw Ziva was crying as well. Silent witnesses of sorrow and joy traveled from her beautiful eyes down the soft skin of her cheeks. He traced them slowly with his fingers. Ziva closed her eyes like she craved his touch and he couldn't help but wonder what hell she had been through.
“You’re alive,” he said like he needed to say out loud to believe it.
“Yes I am,” she said softly smiling while opening her eyes. She leaned into the cradle of his hands.
His mind had trouble catching up with everything. He tried to speak as he had so many questions, but only his mouth moved and no sound came out.
As always Ziva beat him to it;
“You look like a fish Tony,” she said teasing without malice.
He couldn't help the laugh that huffed out, releasing his tension.
“We’ll talk tomorrow. " she said" " I promise I will explain everything, but can we sleep for now?” she stood up barely able to conceive the yawn.
He stood up as well and took her hand.
“Yes. Tomorrow.” He whispered.
It sounded like a promise and he knew Ziva heard it as well judging by her hopeful and questioning look in eyes. This time she didn’t try to hide her insecurity by acting all tough.
Her face was soft and almost shy. And suddenly he felt he meant it. He wanted tomorrow with her. And the day after. And the day after that...
Feeling like he could breathe again he did what any normal person would do.
He cradled her head with both hands and kissed her tender but deeply, leaving no doubt about his intentions.
When they parted, they both couldn’t help but smile.
“Tomorrow it is” Ziva reaffirmed while grabbing his hand again, pulling him to the master bedroom.
“Now let’s go see our daughter”