How?

Chapter 1

How?

Chapter 1 Present

Ziva laughed as she watched her husband Tony play with their daughter from her seat at the kitchen table. "Come here Tali!" Tony said motioning his arms towards himself as he tried to coax his young daughter to toddle towards him. Tali started to toddle towards her father in her mint green booties reaching her arms out to him. As soon as she got to Tony he picked her up from the ground and twirled her above his head while he laid on the gray stone floor. "Tali are you having fun?" Ziva asked her two year old. She started to get up from the wooden green chair that she was sitting in to join them on the floor when she heard a knock on the door. "Ziver!" They heard someone say from behind the door. "Grandpa Gibbs is here!" Ziva said looking over at Tony and Tali on the floor and smiling. Tony's mouth opened happily looking up at Tali. "You hear that Tals? Grandpa Gibbs is here!" Tony said raising Tali above his head again and smiling as he watched Tali giggle her little person laugh. Ziva smiled at them again before turning around to open the door. "Gibbs!" She exclaimed happily reaching forward to give him a hug. "Come in! Come in!" Ziva said excitedly. She noticed Gibbs had his hand behind his back and knowing what it was she looked over at Tali and smiled before looking back at Gibbs. "What do you have behind your back Gibbs?" She asked. Gibbs smiled "I don't know I guess Tali is going to have to open it!" He said walking towards Tali. "Wait! Don't give her the present yet!" Tony said loudly getting up from the ground and passing Tali off to Ziva before he ran out of the room.

Tony ran back into the room a few minutes with the video camera. "You didn't give her the present yet right?" He asked hurriedly. "No..." Gibbs said slowly. Ziva laughed knowing what Tony was doing. "Do you always have to videotape everything?" She said laughing. "Ziver you married Mr. Movie what did you expect?" Gibbs told her chuckling. Gibbs looked around the room. "Where's Aaron?" Gibbs asked. "He is with McGee and Abby they took him shopping. They should be back in a few minutes or so." Ziva said. "Well that should be fun. I bet-" Tali cut him off "Gampa!" Tali shouted. "Yes Tali?" Gibbs said turning around and kneeling in front of Tali so he would be eye level with the toddler. "Present!" She said clapping her small hands together and bouncing on her mother's leg excitedly. Ziva looked down and smiled at her daughter. "Can I give her the present now DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked looking over to Tony for approval. "Hold on." Tony said turning on the camera and pointing it at Tali. "Okay. Go." Tony said nodding his head.

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The door banged open slamming into the wall behind it and a little boy with curly brown hair and emerald green eyes

raced into the room followed by McGee and a pigtailed Abby. "Ima Ima Ima Ima!" Aaron shouted running over to his mother. "Guess what I got! Guess what I got! Guess what I got!" Aaron said excitedly jumping up and down next to his mother. "What? What? What?" Ziva asked her son trying to mimic his level of enthusiasm. He took the item out of the bag to show his mother. "Movies!" She exclaimed. "Yeah classics and new ones!" Aaron said jumping up and down again. "Why don't you show your father?" Ziva said to him. Aaron ran towards Tony who was sitting on the ground and climbed onto his lap. Ziva looked around the room at her family and her friends, just inhaling all the happiness in the room. She couldn't even imagine how she ever coped without any of these people in her life for two years.