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The little girl let out a thrilled squeal as she runs into the arms of her mother, bouncing on her heels as her excitement increases when she saw the older man walk through the door. “I love my surprise! I love my surprise!” Tali shrieks before running into the waiting arms of her Pop-Pop who scoops her up into his arms. The little girl grabs both of his cheeks in her hands, the eyes of her Pop-Pop lighten up, and they exchange a kiss to each cheek.
Ziva steps to her daughter and father-in-law, her hand resting on her slightly swollen belly. Senior holds his granddaughter close, taking Ziva’s hand in his and raising it to his lips for a kiss. “My dear, how have you been?”
“Mr. DiNozzo,” She smiles, leaning in to give him a kiss.
Senior waves his hand at her. “Oh Ziva,” He chuckles. “I told you that you don’t need to call me that, just call me Dad.”
Her heart picks up and her eyes widen. “No no, I cannot call you that! I-I mean, I already have a father.” She stutters, barely able to make eye contact with him. “Two actually, but really, I don’t need another one.”
His eyes soften, taking her hand into his. “Ziva, as your father-in-law, I insist. Legally we are family.” And he winks at her, and shifts his granddaughter in his arms to look at her. “Well Talia, are you ready for a weekend you’ll never forget?” Her eyes sparkle and Ziva wonders if she’s going to hurt a face muscle from smiling.
She steps to the side, pulling out a small backpack of her daughter’s belongings. “Here you go, I have everything she needs in here.” She holds the bag up to the man, and holding on for a second too long when he grabs a hold of the strap. Her heart learches.
“It’s ok, dear. She’ll be safe. I promise.”
She holds on for a second longer, taking a deep breath, and then finally lets go. Senior will protect Tali. He is not Eli. He would never do what that man did.
“Goodbye Ima! See you tomorrow!”
Her smile returns. “Yes, my Tali, tomorrow I will see you.” She steps towards the two, she gives them each a kiss on the cheek, and returns to her spot. “Goodbye.” She waves, a smile on her lips, and watches the two leave the house. The door latches shut. “Goodbye.” She whispers one last time.
She rests her hand on her bump again, rubbing it anxiously as she holds down her thoughts of worry. She can’t bring herself to leave the spot in front of the door, wondering if Tali will come running back into the house, refusing to leave her side as she had done the month before. But no, minutes have passed, the car engine had faded, and she was alone in her house. Alone once again.
She pulls out her phone from her pocket, clicking the button to see if her beloved had messaged her, or even called her, since he had left after breakfast that morning.
Nothing.
She puts her phone away twice before she ventures to the living room only to text him.
‘Where are you.’
Nothing.
Minutes went by, he usually texts back quickly, especially now. But still, nothing. She itches to move, her leg starts to bounce, and her fingers can’t seem to stop reaching for her phone, as if they can make him reply sooner. But nothing. Instead, she gets up and starts to clean anything and everything.
Blasting the music from the mini speaker, she gets to work, clearing her thoughts. If he wanted to disappear for god knows how long, that was his fault. All he asked was to have Tali go to his father’s, so she did. And now he was missing. She lets a deep breath leave her nostrils and rolls the vacuum over the carpet. She was so lost in thought, she doesn’t hear her phone start to ring until the second phone call.
“Hello?” She asks, hoping her fears didn’t radiate in her voice.
“Hey sweet cheeks,” her husband says, she can hear the smirk in his voice, “I’m on my way to pick you up. Can you put on your best dress for me?”
She narrows her eyes. When was the last time he had asked her to specifically wear her best dress? The last date they had went on together, she was in jeans and a sweater. “O-okay…” she trails off, her mind buzzing with questions. “Tony, what’s happening? What are you planning?”
But she never got an answer. “15 minutes my love.” And he hangs up.
She stares at the phone in her hand, at her reflection in the screen. What is he doing? She wonders, standing, rooted in her spot in the middle of the room before panic works its way into her system and rushes to get ready.
The time passes quickly, and she is struggling to get her heels on when there’s a knock on the door. Her brows furrow, since when does he knock? Doing up the last strap, she straightens herself and her dress, preparing for the worst.
Opening the door, she is greeted with a single red rose held in front of her face, behind it, the familiar smirk on his lips. It was as if he didn’t know. He doesn’t know. But he should, after all this long. He’s Tony after all, he knows everything.
She opens the door further and takes the rose in her hand, not daring to look him in the face.
“Ziva?” She closes her eyes for a second before making eye contact. “Are you ready?” She can feel his eyes as they scan her body and holds out a hand for her.
Ready for what? She asks herself, shifting her feet in her heels. Nodding, she hesitantly takes it. She can trust her husband. Right? With the door locked behind them, he leads her to the car and helps her in. Motionlessly she looks around the car, taking in all the We information she can get. But it was clean, what was he doing? He’s dressed up, like he was when they worked with Gibbs. A motion of his hands, she looks up at him.
In his hand was a blindfold.
Her hand grips the other, her back stiffens, and her eyes shift from the black sash in her husband’s grip. “Tony?” She asks, doing her best to hold down her fear, hoping he doesn’t hear it.
“It’s a surprise.” He whispers, raising the blindfold to her face, his fingers brushing against her cheek. He ties the fold over her eyes, covering her sight completely.
Her husband places a kiss to her forehead, and closes the door. In her lap, she can feel her fingers becoming numb, but she can’t seem to let go even as Tony slides into the driver’s seat. As she hears the car engine turn on, and the quiet “alright” from her husband, she wills herself to push her negative thoughts away. She can trust him.
She rests her eyes shut under the sash, taking all her energy on what she was taught in Mossad and the Army; finding a way home. The pit of her stomach becomes uneasy as she notices in her mental map, that her husband was taking extra turns, going on a different route that she was having trouble trying to keep track of everything.
Her map no longer makes sense.
Swallowing the extra saliva in her mouth, she focuses on not alarming her husband of her rapidly beating heart. Where could he possibly be taking her? The noise on the streets are hard to make out from the music on the stereo, there is no one yelling at each other, no one honking at one another. She doesn’t know how she feels, her mind is doing it’s best to reassure her, but the beating in her heart was making her doubt it.
Where would he take her? Why is he being so secretive about it?
What could he possibly have to hide?
The car makes a hard right and the echo of the engine bounces off the walls around her. She can only guess that she was in underground parking. But where?
Tony parks the car and turns off the engine, she feels him looking at her, so she looks back, not a smile nor a frown on her face. She hears the movement of his suit as he reaches out for her, and she does her best to not flinch at his touch, but it doesn’t stop the knot to form in her stomach. His hand folds over hers, gripping her fingers in his, and his smile radiates through her blindfold and closed eyes. She swallows.
“Nearly there.”
He exits the car, and the echo of his steps is the only thing she hears over her beating heart as he gets closer. She rubs her hand over her swollen belly, hoping the slight curve would help ease the tension building in her shoulders. The sound of his footsteps comes from outside the car door and with the click of the door, she looks over to face her partner. She opens her mouth to say something, but she can’t seem to get anything out.
He grabs her hand again, she squeezes it, wondering why he has brought her here. They haven’t left the city, that’s something she knew for sure, but this can be any parking garage in DC. Anyone one could have done anything. They could be in the next building. Is there a gun on her? On him? Is he being forced to take her here? Was this planned ?
She slides out of the car, her foot almost slipping with the distractions on her mind, but Tony notices and grabs her quickly, pulling her body to his side. “I got ya.” He whispers, pressing a kiss to her head. She wills her body to relax into his hold, but her body refuses, teaming up with her overactive mind.
They stand in the parking lot for a moment before Tony closes and locks the door behind her and guides her to the building. The echo of their feet bouncing around her ears, deafeningly so. Instinctively, she keeps her hands to her side, touching nothing, not even the man beside her. She will not take the risk of having them cuffed or dismembered. Not like the others.
The ding from the elevator sends a shiver up her spine, her fingers flex at her side and they step into the lift, her a step behind him. He grabs her hand with his, then speaks and she tries to listen, but she can’t make out what he is saying. No, her thoughts are focused on his finger wrapped around hers, memories of the first time they had held hands and the amazing night that followed. None of her other captures had ever held her hand. Her arm, her back, even her neck, but never her hand. But she’s sure it’s just a ploy, he’s going to say sweet things to her, comfort her, do all these things that would make any girl gush over him. He knows how to do it with the experience he’s had in his lifetime.
The doors shut tight and the motion of the elevator unsettle her stomach, ever so slightly can she make out the movement of the small room rising. What building are we in? She asks herself, trying to map out the city to find parking lots connected to high rises. But there are too many for her to narrow it out. She can tell that he’s switching his eyes back and forth from the floor number to her face, that he is watching for any kind of sign that she knows where they are going. There is no smile, no smirk, no nothing. She’ll be and will stay passive until she knows that her unborn child is safe, with or without it’s father.
She feels her stomach jump as the elevator comes to a hault.
“Twenty-Third floor.” The voice says.
She gulps. They were too far up, no way out.
He squeezes her hand before placing his own back on her lower spine and guides her down the hall, she can’t place how long the halls would be, but the longer it takes them to stop in front of a door, the more her stomach twists in her belly. She can get out of this, she will get out of this. Tony will not hurt them.
“Ok.” He whispers under his breath, and her breath hitches. He pulls out a keycard and opens the door, her heart pounds rapidly in her chest when the brush of paper on the door handle reaches her ears.
‘Do Not Disturb.’
“Oh God. Oh God. Oh God.” She holds her breath, trying her best to not increase her breathing. She has to keep it steady. She has to survive this, whatever he throws at her. She’s a fighter. A survivor.
The door clicks behind them along with the deadbolt and clasp. Her shoulders pinch, the ache traveling up her spine to her neck. This is it. She’s done for it.
“Are you ready, Ziva?” He asks her, the honey detectable in his voice.
‘Yes, just get this over with.’ She gulps, slowly nodding her head. He pulls her to the middle of the room before standing behind her, his hands resting first on her swollen belly, then to her hips and up her arms to her blindfold. ‘This is it.’ She squeezes her eyes shut and with that, the fabric is gone. She opens her eyes slowly.
The light pours in, squinting as her eyes adjust to the room around her, her heart in her throat.
Before her, a bouquet of roses sit on a prepared table with two menus ready to be read. The room looks familiar too, but where? Was it…?
“Tony, is this…?” She turns to him, a goofy grin on his face.
He nods.
“...The Embassara?” His smile widens.
“Happy anniversary, my love.” She raises an eyebrow to him. “This day, 15 years ago, we met for the very first time, the beginning of a bond that could never be broken, and the start of a new era.” The pinching in her throat and the wells of her tears in her eyes could not be stopped as he lifts her hand to his lips. “It may have started of the lost of a great friend, but it was also the start of meeting my soulmate… even if I didn’t know it at the time.” He winks.
She steps forward, her slightly swollen belly resting against his abdomen. “Oh Tony.” She whispers, her other hand meeting his cheek, gently resting on. “You did all this for me?” He nods and places a kiss on her forehead.
“Anything for you. Always for you.”
Then she broke.
Tears run down her cheeks and a sob escapes her lips. Tony barely has time to catch her when her knees give out and the two of them end up on the floor together. He holds her to his chest, a soft shushing from his lips to help calm her down as he does with their daughter, and rocks her back and forth. It is then that he notices the shaking from her body and then tension in her neck. Then it clicks in him.
“Oh Ziva.” He holds her. “I didn’t think. I am so very sorry. I should have known.” Her sobs echo around the suite. “I should have known.”
Together on the floor they stay like that, losing track of time.
Ziva’s relieved sigh gives her the moment she needs to pull herself together. Her husband isn’t here to sell her off, nor here to kill her himself.
No. He is Anthony DiNozzo Jr. and he is here to show her what a devoted husband he is. She looks up at him, a make-up stained smile on her face. He is here to protect her from anyone and everyone who would do such that to their family.
“Thank you, Tony.”
“You’re welcome, Ziva.”
She raises herself up to meet his lips in for a kiss, pushing him to the ground, and laying her body over his. What an anniversary.