The sun was up. Tony has been awake for more than an hour. He was looking at Ziva. Her body, her hair, her skin. All those things that he thought he would never see again. Those scars... what has she been through ? He did not know and maybe it was better that way. Ziva moved her arm and opened her eyes. Her head was resting on Tony's chest. She looked at him. That sad look was back on her face. The only thing she could think of was the fact that she was about to lose them again. She will be alone again, fighting the world on her own again. He was caressing her face. He smiled to her and whispered:
-"we will be fine... I promise"
He kissed her but he had no time to make it last. A little voice raised from the living room:
-"aba ?"
Tony smiled, his lips still on ziva's lips.
-"someone's hungry..."
Ziva smiled:
-"no doubt she is your daughter..."
Tony stood up, put on his pants and walked to the living room.
Ziva joined them a few minutes later.
Tony was looking at the fridge. It was empty.
-"what about we go out grab some breakfast ?"
Tali raised her hands in the air to show her approval. Ziva sighed:
-"Tony... this is not a good idea..."
He took Tali into his arms to get her to the bathroom.
-"I think this is actually the best idea AND two to one... you lose"
-"this is not a game Tony..."
He kissed her and said:
-"trust me..."
In less than 30 minutes, they were all ready to leave. Tony was helping Tali to get her shoes on. Ziva was standing next to the window. She was looking down the street worried about the idea of getting out in the crowd with her family.
Tony was looking at her. He felt bad that he was the reason she was now feeling so nervous but he needed this. So does Tali. So does Ziva even though she could not see it yet. He walked to her:
-"come on, let's go..."
They were sitting inside a cafe. Ziva had her headscarf on. She was looking at every person who was entering the cafe. Tony placed his hand on Ziva's. She looked at him with a nervous look. She was fighting the panic attack inside her mind. He looked deeply into her eyes. He was trying to calm her through his eye. It was working. She felt her anxiety slowly going away.
On their way back they crossed a playground. Tali begged her dad to let her go. He agreed. Tony and Ziva were sitting on a bench. They could not take their eyes off their daughter. At this moment she was the happiest kid in the world.
Tony asked:
-"what are you going to do next ?"
She looked at him. Her eyes were begging him not to go down this road:
-"I know... it's too dangerous... I should not have asked.... how do I contact you ?"
-"you don't .... until this is over... the less you know the safer you are... we have already crossed to many boundaries..."
Ziva heard a cry. She jump on her feet and looked for her daughter. The little girl was walking to them. She was holding her bleeding knee. Tony grabbed the little girl into his arm. They were both trying to calm her. They walked into a drugstore to get some band-aids. Ziva knew there was no way her daughter would have agreed to get a band-aid. She was as stubborn as her mother. She knew that Tony was not ready for what was to come with the band-aid. And she was right as soon as Tony took the band-aid out from the box Tali started to struggle. She was putting his hands away every time he was trying to put the band-aid on. Tony decided to find another way. He asked for some scissors to the drugstore's owner and shaped the band-aid into a tiny heart shaped one. He showed it to the little girl who instantly stopped to fight. When they got out from the drugstore she was looking so proud with her little heart on her knee. Ziva was overwhelmed with love for both of them. She knew they would be fine together. She looked at Tony from a distance. He was looking for her but he knew it would be in vain. She was gone.
The end
