Chapter Text
Tony ended up driving straight from work to the airport. He'd booked the afternoon off but the flight from DC had apparently gathered some unexpected speed, and McGee and the gang were landing earlier than planned.
He hadn't actually seen McGee in three years, which seemed absurd but was something Tony had done on purpose given the Ziva of it all. He barely trusted himself not to spill the truth when McGee checked in after her "death", let alone if he saw him face-to-face. And that was without considering the Tali of it all, a girl who would happily tell complete strangers that her mom was working all over the world and would be home soon.
Tony was glad to have finally made plans to see them, a long weekend in the city where they could do their own things as well as spending time as a group, but now as he stood in the airport pick-up zone watching the sheer volume of luggage heading in his direction he wondered if the word ‘weekend’ had changed meaning since he left the States.
McGee was pushing a double stroller, and the twins were both fast asleep. He'd never met them, which he felt guilty about. But he'd seen pictures, and videos, and hell they were conceived in his apartment.
He got their attention with a wave, and McGee began to push with more purpose. When they got within feet of the car he almost dropped a bag, and Tony jogged a couple of steps to grab it.
“Did you pack the whole of D.C. in your hand luggage?”
“Feels like it.” Delilah answered with a tone that suggested this was something that had already been discussed. “How are you?”
Tony kissed her on the cheek and gave McGee a longer hug than he had intended, a moment that Tony firmly decided he wouldn’t make emotional.
“They’re gonna have to wake up.” He gestured apologetically at the twins, and Delilah and McGee both bent their heads to softly wake them. Unlike Tali, who would scream blue-murder at that age, they woke up slowly and quietly. McGee stood back up and looked at Tony and then back at the twins, proudly.
“8 hours wide awake crying and they fell asleep when we were waiting to collect our bags. Are you gonna say hi to your Uncle Tony?"
They looked up at him, tired and bemused. Tony held up his hands.
"How about a high five?"
After a few seconds Morgan patted her hand against his, and Johnny did the same.
"I think they're wondering how I got out of the phone screen."
Tony and McGee busied themselves securing wheelchairs and strollers and bags in the trunk and then Tony had to trap McGee in the middle seat in the back, securing car seats either side of him. Morgan dropped the stuffed octopus she had been holding to her face somewhere in the mess of bags in the footwell, and Tony bent down to pick it up and put on a voice to talk as though he was the octopus when he lifted back up, seeing the tears welling in her eyes. He moved its legs, poking her in the knee, and Morgan smiled, grabbing the toy back from him.
It ended up feeling like a tight squeeze when Tony finally got into the front seat next to Delilah.
"Full house, huh?"
"You need a big trunk when you're travelling with us. How's things?"
"Oh, y'know how it is."
"No, we don't." McGee interjected. "Apparently there's a lot you haven't been telling us."
"C'mon, you can't throw that in my face. You think I was happy keeping a secret like that? Sitting on my hands not doing a thing to help?"
“Eh, I guess you’re right. How's she doing?"
"A lot better."
"I'm glad, Tony. I was worried about her when I saw her in the States, it's like she was a different person."
"Well, she's never going to be exactly the same as she used to be back then. But that's OK. She's a lot healthier than she was, and happier. That's what matters. Anyway, she should be the one to talk to you about all that."
McGee didn't reply, so Tony looked up at him in the rear-view mirror. He was smiling thoughtfully.
"You're right. I can't wait to see her. And Tali, she's grown up so much."
“She’ll have the twins running wild. Just you wait. How's my old apartment? Had any other special visitors?" Tony asked tactfully, one eye on the kids in the backseat. Delilah turned to him with a sigh.
"Let's not talk about that. We're actually thinking of looking for a house now the twins are getting bigger. It'll be a shame, though. We got married there."
"Y'know, all the things that happened there over the years, I never expected it to be a wedding venue."
"What kind of things?"
"Tim.." Delilah turned back to him, where he was sat squashed between the two cat seats.
"I just mean it can't have been that adventurous. Ziva told me once you had a twin bed."
“And I’m sure I told both of you about talking about me behind my back.”
“Oh, I think that deal ended a long time ago, DiNozzo.”
The drive to Tony and Ziva’s apartment was mainly quiet after that, discussions of travel acting as place-holders for the conversations they were saving for when they saw Ziva. Emptying the car when they arrived at the apartment was a little easier than it had been loading it, though not by much. Tony was beginning to feel like a carthorse.
The elevator was a tight squeeze, supposedly big enough for 8 people but not feeling very sturdy with the twins both in a stroller plus Delilah’s chair and Tony and McGee laden with bags.
Tony had to fumble around with his full hands to get his apartment key out of his pocket, and when they entered he could see that Ziva had deep-cleaned while he’d been at work. In spite of what she liked people to believe, she wasn’t a clean-as-you-go kind of woman.
"Honey, I'm home!” What started out as a joke had soon become a habit for Tony, and the joy he got out of the exasperated looks it earned him made it all the more worth it. "I come bearing government agents."
Ziva emerged from the kitchen, her hair tied in a bun and a smile on her face.
She hugged McGee warmly, placing a hand on his cheek when she pulled away.
“Good flight?”
“The twins cried the entire time.”
Ziva made a noise of sympathy as she turned to Delilah, who it occurred to Tony now she had somehow never met before.
“Delilah, it is so nice to meet you.” She bent down to kiss the woman on either cheek.
“You too. I’ve heard so much about you, you wouldn’t believe.
“And you! You must be Johnny and Morgan. It is very nice to meet you.” Tony watched as Ziva bent down towards the twins, who though seemed unsure were willing to allow themselves to be kissed on the forehead. Ziva stood up again and smiled welcomingly. “Come through, I will make you all a drink.”
Ziva walked back into the kitchen as McGee and Delilah busied themselves taking off the twins’ jackets and shoes. Tony followed Ziva, falling into step behind her, and when she got into the kitchen he put a hand on her hip and spun her around to face him.
"I'm here too, y'know." Tony crowed, and Ziva rolled her eyes and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him in for a long kiss. His back bent a little towards her and he pulled back, wincing. Her face etched with concern. “I’m the McGee pack mule. Missed you today."
"We missed you. We've been making cookies."
"Cookies, huh?" Delilah answered in Tony's place, making her way into the kitchen flanked by two giddy toddlers. "Where's Tali?"
"Speak of the devil," Tony heard a light careless thumping of socks on floorboards as Tali careered around the corner, launching herself at him first. He picked her up and kissed her cheek. "Hey, sweetie. Good day?"
"We made cookies."
"Uh-huh, I heard. Are you going to say hello?"
Tony put Tali back on the ground and she surveyed the room, looking at Delilah, the twins, and McGee in turn. She approached McGee first, recognising him from photos and Skype calls even if she couldn't remember the time they'd spent together in her earlier life. She stopped in front of him and hesitated as though she wasn't sure what to do, until McGee held out a hand to her. She shook it, giggling, and turned to where Delilah was holding something in her hands. She called the twins towards her and placed it between them, each clutching a handle of a carrier bag.
"Hey Tali, Johnny and Morgan wanted to bring you a special present to say thanks for letting us come see you."
Tali approached the twins without hesitation, taking the bag from them and pulling out a painting set which she then held up to Tony and Ziva excitedly. Tony couldn’t remember if he’d told them how much Tali loved painting, though his messages had been long and sporadic over the last year or so since everything with Ziva had heated up.
“What do you say, Tali?”
“Merci.”
“You’re welcome, sweetheart.”
"Can we go and play in my bedroom?"
"OK, not for too long though."
“I’ll just go through and make sure they’re OK. Long flight.” Delilah dismissed herself with a smile, following the kids through the apartment towards Tali’s bedroom. Tony, Ziva, and McGee were left standing looking at each other in the kitchen.
“Drink?” Ziva eventually asked, breaking the strangely surreal atmosphere.
“Uh, coffee. Please. Delilah will have one too.”
Ziva turned around to start making them and Tony fought the urge to physically turn her back towards them, suddenly having found themselves with nothing to talk about after so long separated. She went into what Tony called the ‘mystery cupboard’ above the sink and pulled something down. When she did eventually turn around of her own volition, there was a smile on her face. She took Tony’s hand and placed a pill into his palm.
“For your back.”
Tony mouthed a ‘thank you’ which was soon covered by a faint touch of lips against his own. Ziva put a hand on the side of his face, rubbed her thumb along his hairline, and then handed him his drink so he could swallow the pill. He remembered a couple of months ago when he had thrown it out helping Tali on a climbing frame, and things had still been tentative and earnest between them but Ziva had told Tony she’d fetch him a painkiller and then put it on the tip of her own tongue for him to kiss off her. It had been so unexpected, so playful, that if he hadn’t already thrown his back out he might have done it again laughing.
Still, now probably wasn’t the time for a repeat. Not with McGee already looking at them like they’d grown a third head.
“Look at this, hm? All of us in the same room. Six years?”
“Six years. Can you believe it, Ziva? Our little McGee, all grown up.”
“I’ve always been the grown-up.”
“Weeeell, debatable. But look at you now. Wife, kids. Coming to Europe for a long weekend.”
“I think what Tony means is, it is nice to see you doing well, Tim.”
“Don’t start calling me Tim, that would just make this weird.”
“Weirder than it already is?”
McGee conceded a smile. “It’s not weird, it’s just different. I mean, you guys are living here. Together. With your daughter. Who saw that coming?”
“Pretty much everyone who ever met us.” Tony’s words made Ziva turn to direct an affectionate eyeroll in his direction. “You literally wrote the book about it.”
“Can we please not talk Deep Six?”
The conversation began to flow easier once the strangeness of the situation had been acknowledged, and when Delilah re-entered the kitchen she found the three of them laughing into their drinks.
“Like old times, huh? The kids definitely don’t want a nap, I left them emptying Tali’s entire dressing up collection onto the floor.”
“Fantastic.”
“Let’s all sit down so you can finish your drinks before you have to check into your apartment. I want to hear what is going on with you both. Especially you, Delilah.”
“Oh yeah, prepare yourself. Ziva’s very protective of our young probie.”
“Pretty sure Ziva’s younger than I am, Tony. And I’ve been senior field agent for several years now.”
“Job positions come and go, but your role in our little group sticks for life.”
“Bring it on, I have a lot of questions to ask myself. How do you superglue someone’s face to their desk?”
They ended up sat around the kitchen table, swapping stories and cracking light jokes at each other’s expense. They mainly talked about the States, and NCIS. Ziva asked a lot of questions about Delilah and the twins, and Tony watched as she laughed and engaged with McGee in a way he hadn’t realised he had missed.
When the kids re-emerged, Tali leading a charge looking for drinks, Delilah looked at the time on her phone.
“We should probably be heading back to unpack before tonight. Come on kids, coats and shoes.”
Tony pulled Tali up onto his lap as they watched the commotion, McGee faffing around with bags and placing some on Delilah’s lap and then changing his mind, trying to organise the best way to carry which bags where.
“Sure I can’t give you a ride?” Tony questioned as he watched them, Ziva now helping Johnny put on his shoes.
“Fresh air is good for jetlag, I’ll fall asleep in the car.” McGee eventually responded. Ziva placed a duffel bag over each of his shoulders with an affectionate smile at his grimace.
“See you later.”
With their guests packed off to their Airbnb, only a few minutes away, they had an afternoon free before meeting back up for dinner tonight.
It was rare to have an afternoon completely free of work or school or activities or plans, and almost instinctively the three of them had found themselves on the couch with a movie. Tali had wanted to watch The Goonies (again) and Tony was more than happy to oblige.
Some way into the movie, Tali had shrugged herself off the couch and onto the floor. She'd kept one eye on the movie while playing with the felt tips she'd had out during the day but after a couple of minutes she’d began to fidget. Tali was an absent comfort-seeker, using touch to relax, and from her position on the floor she was alternating between colouring and playing with Ziva's fingers and the hem at the bottom of her trousers until Tony leaned down to see what she was doing and found her, inexplicably, asleep on her side on the carpet.
Ziva hadn’t seemed to notice, lying with her head against the armrest and her legs curled up against Tony's. When he noticed Tali was asleep, he manoeuvred until he was leaning over Ziva and pressed a finger to his lips and pointed downwards. Ziva leaned over to look down at Tali and smiled, and when she turned her head back up Tony's face was above her. She wasted no time in lifting her hand to the back of his head and pulling his lips down onto hers, turning to lie flatter on her back and opening her legs a little to allow him a more comfortable position.
Tony opened his mouth and Ziva's tongue wasted no time making its way inside as he lifted his hand to her face, brushing her hair out of her eye.
Tali made a humming noise in her sleep on the floor and Tony guiltily removed his lips from Ziva's, eyes closed and forehead pressed against hers.
"You're a bad influence." He whispered quietly, giving her a peck and then rolling until he lay behind her between her back and the back of the couch. Ziva turned back so she was properly facing the television.
"I apologise for you climbing on top of me." Ziva's words were sarcastic and her foot moved to kick his leg behind her. He captured it, pulling it sharply between his knees and Ziva must have decided to humour him because she didn't pull it away. "Now be quiet, I am trying to watch."
Tony chuckled, and lifted his head to kiss her cheek. "I knew you liked it."
"I never said I did not like it, I said Tali was too young to be watching it."
"It's a classic, you're never too young for the classics."
"I will remind you of that when she picks out The Shining then, yes?"
"Do you always have to be right?"
Ziva smirked but didn’t reply, and they watched the movie in a comfortable silence until they got 10 minutes from the end and Tali suddenly woke up and sprang up like she’d been electrocuted, apparently recharged and ready for the evening. She launched herself on top of her parents’ bodies and Tony seemed to take the brunt of her weight directly into his hip, and he groaned as she laughed.
“You’re gonna kill me, kid.”
“Is it time to go now?”
Ziva managed to free her arm under Tali’s legs to check her watch. “I think it is shower time for you. Daddy can wash your hair so I can get ready.”
The word still sounded strange and electrifying on Ziva’s tongue even after a few months, and Tony couldn’t help but look at her when he heard it.
Tali was boisterous in the shower and Tony ended up soaked in water, apparently her floor nap having been just what she needed for an evening’s worth of playing with toddlers. Ziva was already dressed when they emerged from the bathroom and they traded places so Tony could get ready.
He could hear loud laughter and conversation coming from Tali’s bedroom as he looked for something to change into, Ziva playfully reasoning with Tali to try and talk her out of combining more than 1 dressing up costume into an outfit. He loved listening to them like this, carefree and connected as though no time had passed. There were still moments where one or both of them were hesitant, or upset, but they were becoming less and less frequent.
Tali’s room got suspiciously and suddenly the bedroom door opened, and Ziva brushed past him towards the dressing table.
"’Daddy is best at deciding outfits’." Ziva said with a performative glare and raised eyebrows.
"Oh well, who am I to deny a willing audience?"
He buttoned his shirt as he left the room again, going back into Tali's to find the floor covered in outfits.
He eventually got her into something (her best party dress, but beggars can't be choosers), and the two of them came back into the bedroom to show Ziva they were done.
Her mouth was open a little as she applied mascara. She spotted him through the reflection in the mirror, and Tony felt a warm rush at the unabashed grin that appeared on her face when she saw him.
"You ready?"
"Almost."
"We got something together in the end, didn't we, Tali?"
Ziva put her mascara down and turned around, her eyes widening playfully when she saw how Tali was dressed.
"You look like a princess, Tali."
She swished her dress a little from side to side, clearly it having had the desired effect.
"And is this your handsome price?"
"No, he's yours." She responded with a roll of her eyes, somehow one foot in adolescence.
"Of course he is, silly me." Ziva approached him and wrapped her arms around his neck, tilting her head a little as he kissed her cheek.
"As beautiful as her mom." Tony whispered in her ear, and he could've sworn he saw a pinkish tint to her cheeks.
She really did look gorgeous, and Tony wondered if she really did look better the older she got or if it was the impact of how he had fallen more and more in love with her the longer he'd known her.
The walk to the Italian restaurant where they’d booked a table was buoyant and light-hearted; Tali’s good moods had a habit of catching on. When they turned the corner towards their destination, Tali pointed out the McGee’s waiting under the canopy to the side of the glass doors. When they were within shouting distance they allowed her to run on ahead, and McGee ruffled her hair as she began to talk ten-to-the-dozen to the twins. Best friends already.
“Long time no see.” Tony called out as they approached. He saw McGee look and then purposefully-try-not-to-look at his and Ziva's intertwined hands. “Shall we go in?”
They didn’t have to wait long to be seated, and the waiter blissfully came by with colouring books for the kids. McGee asked in broken French if he had one for Tony too, but just got a bemused look in response.
They spaced the kids out between them, except for Tony and Ziva who were sat next to each other (Tali had insisted on sitting next to Delilah rather than Tony). On Tony’s other side was Morgan, who was stopping after every move of her pencil to talk about anything and everything. She seemed to have taken a shining to him in the same way Tali had Delilah.
"So how are you doing, Ziva? Are you feeling better?"
"A lot better, thank you. I am sure McGee spoke to you about when I reappeared - how I was. It is still something I have to work on every day, and speak to professionals about, but I really am feeling in a good place for the first time in a long time."
"The adjustment must've been difficult."
There was a non-condescending empathy in Delilah's voice and Tony could see that she was being tactful, whether for the kids or for Ziva, and he was grateful though his and Ziva's new vow of honesty extended partially to Tali too. She didn't understand the specifics of what had happened with Sahar, of course, but they’d tried to give her the best age-appropriate understanding they could of Ziva's anxiety and mental illness.
"It took me a while to get used to the feeling of being back, and to come to terms with the reality of what had happened, but it was always my end goal. Having something to fight for was what helped me through. And now that I have it, I.." Ziva stopped and looked at Tony. She put her hand over his in his lap. "I am trying to enjoy each day as much as I can. If there is one thing I know for certain in all of this, I know I will never take anything for granted."
"I think that deserves a toast."
They all raised their glasses, including Tali who didn't seem to have listened to a word they'd said up to that point.
"How about you Tali, huh? Is it fun having your mom back?"
Tali nodded quickly, taking a gulp of her drink. "I liked it with daddy but it's funnest now because he's happy."
"I'm always happy when I'm with you, honey."
Tony smiled across the table, but Tali dismissed him.
"I love ima and you love ima so you're happy."
Tali seemed confused when the adults laughed, and Tony saw Ziva stroke her hair.
"I think that's exactly right, Tali." McGee eventually responded, but Tali was already losing interest in a conversation she thought was going over her head and bent back down to her colouring. "Must've been a relief, knowing they were together." He addressed at Ziva, signalling between Tony and Tali. Tony could feel a bashful discomfort rising; still a little uncomfortable being the centre of attention in a way that made him feel vulnerable.
"It was. I never had any doubts over Tali being with him. And now I am back.. I will not embarrass you by going into detail," she turned to look at Tony as she spoke, "but I am forever going to be indebted for the things he has done for me. Tali and I both struck cold."
".. Gold? Struck gold?" Delilah asked with a frown.
"That too."
Conversation diverged then, McGee asking Tony about work after they'd already spoken about NCIS back at the apartment.
“And what about you, Ziva? What are you doing right now?”
“I volunteer at a non-profit working with female asylum seekers and refugees. I’m starting college in the fall.”
There was a strange hint of self-consciousness in Ziva’s voice as she spoke, and Tony looked over at her to smile. The idea of work had been daunting for her at first after so long away, a source of anxiety, (and truth be told they weren’t exactly desperate for money thanks to the secret diamond trail of the late Eli David that Ziva had tracked down not long before faking her death) but she’d spoken about her desire to do advocacy work, or translation work, or to find a way to help women who’d suffered trauma or had newly arrived in the country. She got into contact with an older woman who worked with asylum-seeking women and it was through her that she began volunteering and the idea of college first arrived.
She had been genuinely excited about the prospect from the first day Tony had arrived home and found her sat at the kitchen table with a pile of prospectus’ open in front of her, and it had delighted him to see her so passionate and driven towards something after how long she’d told him she’d felt lost. She’d decided to study via distance learning in the end, only one day on campus a week, but the commitment was still a big step.
“Here, I thought Tony’s days of dating co-eds were long behind him.”
Tony gave a sarcastic guffaw but allowed Ziva and McGee to get their laughs at his expense. He wouldn’t dare tell them he missed when they used to do it, though. He’d never hear the end of it.
Their pizzas soon arrived and they began to eat, plates clattering and slices being swapped across the table.
McGee took Johnny to the bathroom. Morgan immediately began to fidget, ignoring her food and trying to hop down from her seat. Tony glanced across at Delilah but she hadn’t seemed to notice, already simultaneously trying to eat while Tali talked her ear off.
“Hey, Morgan. Wanna eat up here with me?”
Morgan appraised him for a moment and then nodded sharply, lifting her arms so that Tony would pick her up and place her on his lap. He turned her around so she was facing the table and she immediately grabbed for her pizza, suddenly now much more enthusiastic. Tony continued to eat his own over her head, but every time he took a bite she would look up and follow the slice as it made its way into his mouth.
He began to multi-task, picking up Morgan’s pizza in his opposite hand and placing it directly into her mouth as he ate his own, and she took bites inbetween laughter.
Tony could feel Ziva’s eyes on him, and when he looked up to meet them her expression was warm.
“What?”
“I like watching you with children.”
They’d spoken a few times about having another. The consensus had been that they would start trying in the new year, once Tali had had them to herself for a while. She had needed time to be with both of her parents before their attentions were split. Still, though, now Tali was much more settled and with the way Ziva was looking at him and Morgan, he wondered if another conversation was on the horizon.
As Ziva bent down and began to talk to Morgan and used a finger to wipe something off her cheek, McGee and Johnny got back to the table. The sight of Tony, Ziva and Morgan together caused the man to give a double-take.
“What’s up?”
“Nothing. Just.. who are you and what’ve you done with Tony and Ziva?”
“Yeah, he’s right. I didn’t know you were so good with children, Tony.” Delilah looked at them now.
“Are you kidding, Tony?” McGee interrupted before Tony could answer for himself. “He isn’t. Or, he wasn’t.”
“I remember not long before I got pregnant, Tony and I had to babysit for Director Vance. It was a challenge even getting him in the door.”
Tony noticed how Ziva referred to that period as ‘before I got pregnant’ rather than ‘after my dad died’ or ‘before I stayed in Israel’. He wondered if it was for her benefit, for his, or simply to avoid the conversation taking a turn.
“This is Tali’s influence then, huh?”
“Yeah, I guess so. I don’t know, kids always kinda freaked me out. I think they could smell fear.”
"Well, hey, you figured it out when it mattered."
It took a while for everyone to finish eating amidst the conversation and distractions. Tony, Tali, and McGee had wanted dessert, and Ziva had denied she did and then got the waiter to fetch another spoon to share Tony's. She didn't ask, of course, and it reminded him of a forgotten memory from the first time they met, when she'd eaten his burrito straight from his hands and been confused when he got offended.
After six years of wishing for nothing more than her to magically appear to steal his food, he thought he'd probably never complain again.
They paid what had turned into an extortionate bill and piled out onto the street much too late, McGee and Delilah immediately departing to get the twins to bed before they met for brunch in the morning.
Tony and Ziva walked home in the opposite direction, overly-tired Tali holding one each of their hands.
"Good to see him again." Tony pondered during a lull in the conversation. Ziva turned to him with an expression that suggested she'd been thinking the same.
"Yes, it is. It's funny. I did not expect it to feel so familiar, even where we are now."
He understood exactly what she meant. It was strange how spending time the three of them again could feel so comfortable, even with the addition of Delilah and several kids. Tony would be lying if he said it wasn't nice, a reminder of old times. A fresh start didn't have to mean leaving everything from your old life behind.
It was especially poignant for him and Ziva, who toed the line between the unbreakable bond of a relationship built across decades and the new unexplored path they had found themselves on since being reunited. The combination had likely been the reason they had been so solid as they tried to work through what had at times felt like endless uncertainty and difficulty, a reassurance from each other's presence that they would figure it out, together.
They'd spent a period in surrealism, before falling back to rely heavily and rigidly to routine, to finally now finding a happy medium where Tony could book afternoons off work to pick up their friends from the airport and go out for late dinners and they all went to therapy and they could worry less about Tali and Ziva could worry less in general. It was far from perfect, and a little chaotic at times, but it felt natural. A new type of normal that suited them perfectly.
Now, just the small matter of the ring box burning a hole in his jacket pocket…