Washington, DC

Tears. That's what was happening over the course of the next two months. A lot of tears. The first time it happened, they all thought it was a fluke; some strange coincidence that just never happened and wouldn't ever happen again. That is, everyone thought it was a coincidence, except for Tony and Gibbs, who knew for a fact that it was not a coincidence and didn't believe in coincidences. Gibbs didn't even bother to correct the others when they talked about it after the fact, when they said it was a coincidence.

"Do I ever have a story, although it's not my story really, it's my father's story," Ducky said as he began examining the body at a crime scene (it was a potential suicide victim, but they weren't ruling out homicide just yet).

"What's the story, Ducky?" Tony asked, knowing that they were going to hear it anyway.

"It is a story that my father always told me about his mother. Very sad, you know. This was before they really knew about cancer, but my thought is that is what she had. They could see that she had some kind of tumor on her ovaries that just kept getting bigger and bigger, invading the spaces of her other organs. They didn't try to remove it, because she declined the surgery. But, my poor grandmother, was diagnosed as terminal," Ducky began his story and got completely lost on telling it. "She was young; only fifty, when she was diagnosed and her poor doctor had never seen anything like this before.

"She became very depressed and immersed herself in alcohol for a while, but that didn't help her feel better or happier. So, she went and did some strange and risky things, that scared both my grandfather and my father half to death. She realized that, not only was she scaring her family with her actions, they were afraid of her suffering, which she definitely was. She then decided that jumping from a five story building was quite the lovely idea.

"She went for a walk one day, with my father, who was merely fifteen at the time and trying his hardest to see his mother happy again. She climbed up a monument with him and just jumped without so much as a goodbye or a last longing look. My poor father was so broken as he watched her helpless body fall to the ground and break upon the cobble-stones below. She took her life, and in turn devastated the people who loved her more."

Ducky finally looked. There were not only tears in Ziva's eyes, but she was sobbing with the story and the mental images that he had placed in her head. Every sobbing breath she took wracked her small frame with such force that it looked like she was going to knock herself over and the tears were pouring down her face so quickly that she didn't know what to do with them.

"Are you alright, dear?" Ducky asked, suddenly looking worried.

"That's… that's the saddest… a very sad… sad story," she managed to get out, through her sobs.

Tony's eyes were wide with panic as he looked at his ninja crumbling to pieces in front of everyone. He stepped over to her and wrapped an arm around her shoulder, leading her away from the puzzled looks of the others. She would thank him for it later, even though he wasn't entirely sure what his hormonal ninja might do to him now.

She did nothing. She just allowed him to lead her away, knowing that a part of him was simply protecting her from the questions that were going to come sooner or later. He preferred that they didn't come while she was in this state. She continued to cry. As Tony led her back toward the van, he caught Gibbs eyes and Gibbs nodded quietly to him, going back over to the crime scene and effectively stopping both McGee and Ducky from coming over to see what was bothering Ziva so much.

No one had dared to ask a question later that day, because Ziva had gotten horribly angry at the suspect. She had gotten so angry in fact that even her ninja skills shut down and she broke down and nearly cried again. They were all confused. They were also terrified of how she was going to react, since today seemed to be a bad day. They attributed it to something from her past that must have happened on this day.

"It was nothing more than a coincidence, McGee," Abby argued as Tony walked into the lab. "Something snapped in her and she cried. It's not a big deal. I'm sure it won't happen again anytime soon."

Tony walked back out, not wanting to get into the middle of this conversation. He had been avoiding that conversation all day, just as she had been avoiding that conversation all day and Gibbs had been avoiding that conversation all day. That was why they kept speculating though. They really just wanted a solid reason why Ziva had broken down and lost it. He heard McGee's argument as he waited for the elevator to come back down.

"Something had to cause her to break like that," McGee argued. "Maybe something in her past has someone committing suicide because of terminal illness. You know, we don't know much about her family or her past."

The elevator dinged open and Gibbs was standing there and seeing Tony's face he invited him into the elevator.

"You don't want to go in there right now, they're speculating again," Tony said quietly to his boss as he stepped in.

"I'm sure the evidence can wait. Abby will call if she gets impatient enough," Gibbs said with a shrug.

Well, after the second round of tears they were all wondering what the hell was going on with Ziva. This had been different. It wasn't because of a story or even a case in particular. He knew they were all watching, because they had seen the look of frustration and the sound that went with it.

"It froze," she sighed, sounding just as frustrated as ever.

Tony expected her to hit it, as she usually did. What he didn't expect was what he was seeing now. Ziva's eyes filled with tears as she tried desperately to fix the problem without violence. Then, they spilled right over the edge as she continued to struggle to fix the computer, feeling the need to remain independent at work, which was something they had already talked about, with one of her breakdowns at home. She put her head down and cried into her arms.

"Ziva?" McGee asked.

Tony glanced over at the Junior Field Agent, afraid of what he was going to see. McGee looked afraid. Ziva never acted like this and Tony knew it. Ziva wasn't emotional ever and this was the second time in the same week that she was crying over something. He looked like he was concerned. Tony was worried about what his coworkers were going to take away from all of this, since they weren't sharing with anyone until they were sure they were all set and free from their own fears. Tony also knew that their fears were another reason for her emotions being so wild lately.

"Ziva, do you want help with that?" McGee asked again, his voice sounding fearful.

"Does it look like I am doing it just fine, McGee?" Ziva snapped dangerously, indicating her computer. "Of course I want help. I do not know what happened. It just stopped!"

"It froze," McGee said quietly as he stood up, looking terrified as Ziva went into a rage at him.

"Zi," Tony said and nodded his head toward the break-room on the other side of the office.

She shot him a quick glare before her face turned guilty. She hadn't meant to glare at him and he only nodded accepting her apology before she could feel too sorry for it. They walked into the break-room without a backward glance at the other two left in their area of the squad room.

Tony pulled Ziva into his arms. "Shh," he said quietly. "It's alright. It's just a computer problem. It'll be alright."

"I know, Tony," she said. "I do not know what has gotten into me lately."

Tony pushed her back a little and smirked, but tried not to allow it to form a whole smile until he spoke, because he didn't want her to take it the wrong way with her emotions out of check.

"I think I got into you," he said quietly.

She chuckled at him and leaned up against him, wrapping her arms around him, too. "Yes, I would say that you have, many times, Tony," Ziva agreed quietly, still chuckling.

She loved that he could always make her laugh, no matter what or how many hormones were running through her system. And, the alternative was not so happy and caused far more tears than these hormones did. So, she was okay with it and just had to keep reminding herself that everything was going to be okay and these small breakdowns were her reminder that everything was okay.

With that thought, they returned to the squad room and McGee was just returning to his desk.

"Thank you," Ziva said, offering him a shy smile. "I am sorry I snapped at you, McGee. I did not mean it."

Ziva apologizing was another new thing that none of them had quite gotten used to, especially McGee.

"Um… sure… it's okay, Ziva," he said awkwardly as he continued his work, without meeting her eyes.

From then on, Ziva was more careful about how she handled an oncoming breakdown. She would get up and make her way toward the break-room or the conference room or the bathroom in order to escape the questions. Because, after the second time in the same week, there were a lot of questions for her and Tony and a lot of speculation going on that she knew about and she assumed there was more going on behind her back.

She didn't lose it in front of the team again, until they were all commiserating in the squad room after failing to save someone, but catching the person who had killed the girl.

Everyone stood in silence as Gibbs talked on the phone. They all knew it was the hospital that the victim had been sent to. His face turned dark and they all knew what was happening. Tony was already holding Ziva, knowing that she had to face this news along with the rest of them.

He could feel her trembling in his arms, holding on to herself for dear life, afraid of letting those emotions go again in front of the team. Gibbs finally said goodbye and hung up the phone.

He turned to those who were facing them. They had all been involved in her rescue in someway or another so they all wanted to know the outcome of her trip to the hospital, although they could all tell by the look on his face what he was going to say. He could also see them fighting that realization, so he had to say it and confirm their fears, just as he would have to confirm the fears of the mother of the victim, as well as her fiancée.

"She didn't make it," he whispered.

That was all it took. A sob ran through Ziva's body and it made quite some noise as she turned her face into Tony's chest. Tony wrapped his arms tightly around her. They were getting a handle on dealing with her emotions and her not snapping at him when he tried to comfort her. It was definitely a learning process, and it was good they had gone through this learning process and already trusted each other so much, because Ziva just really wanted to punch someone and Tony was the closest thing to her.

Instead, she just clung to him and grabbed at his shirt, hoping for some comfort to come to her. She didn't want to feel this emotional over a victim or a case. She didn't want to feel this vulnerable in front of the team when they weren't sharing the news. Yet, she did. And they were all seeing that Ziva definitely had emotions and they were stronger than anyone thought possible.

Tony held onto her and held her as tightly to him as he dared without crushing her or cutting off her air supply.

"Boss?" Tony said, as Gibbs looked at him curiously.

"Take her home, DiNozzo," Gibbs said quietly. "Take her home."

Tony only nodded and grabbed his bag, which was already on his desk and he also grabbed Ziva's bag and led them to the door, noticing that Ziva was hiding from the rest of the team and using him as her shield so they wouldn't see what they all knew was happening at that very second. She was crying again. But, they would all know soon enough. They would all know what was going on with Ziva, because today was the mark of the end of the first trimester and they were going to tell them over dinner over the weekend.

Today was the day of the dinner. The dinner was cooked, the guests were sitting at the table, and Tony and Ziva were in the kitchen as Ziva nearly had a panic attack at what was facing her in the other room. She couldn't think straight. She could only know that she was about to tell the others that she was pregnant with Tony's child before they ever got married. She was about to tell them this and she was worried about how they would react.

Tony was quietly comforting her. Finally, she found her confidence again and brought the food out to the table. Their guest list included Palmer and his fiancée, Breena, Ducky, McGee, Abby, Vance, and Gibbs. Tony had never had people over to his apartment before, but he had changed since he had made up his mind about never doing a "family" dinner at his place. He was with Ziva now and it was her place too. If he could open his sanctuary up to her, then he could open it up to the other people he trusted so much, too.

They all ate in silence, many of them watching Ziva, since she seemed very on edge and they were wondering what kind of emotional break she was going to have this time.

Ziva, however, was feeling very calm. It was the first time, as she at dinner, that she had felt the baby kick and suddenly it seemed that everything was going to be okay. That small nudge in her abdomen had reassured her instantly. She was even smiling and Tony could see the changes in her. When he locked eyes with her, he was wondering what made her smile. She looked down and put her hand gently on her stomach, which if you looked hard enough was just starting to bulge out a little beyond her hips.

He smiled too. He knew what she meant. She had felt the baby kick for the first time. But, he knew that it would be a few weeks before he could feel the baby kicking too. But, just the thought that she had felt it and she was okay, was more than enough to place a smile on his face too.

Slowly the rest of them caught onto the change in their hosts moods from nervous to excited and they began to chatter away happily. Finally, dinner was finished and Tony stood up, taking Ziva into his arms. He looked around at his make-shift family and smiled widely, before allowing his eyes to land on Ziva's.

"We have an announcement to make," Tony said, looking only at Ziva for another moment. She was going to tell them.

Everyone was still and silent as they watched the two have a silent, pleasant conversation, much the way they did at the office, but entirely more exposed now that they were away from a workplace. Ziva then pulled her eyes away from Tony's to find her guests staring at her and her face flushed with color.

"We're having a baby," she announced, smiling widely around at her guests and her family.

There was a moment of stunned silence and then everyone smiled and even cheered a little. There was a soft ringing out of congratulations from everyone. Gibbs was smiling at the reactions they were getting, realizing that was what they were hoping for. Even Vance, who knew how much this complicated their situation from the boss-angle of this, was smiling and applauding with the others. He knew that Ziva had been through far too much to not deserve this kind of happiness, no matter what trouble it caused him as far as paperwork and other work. Getting around having a baby was not easy when you were on the same team as the father of that child. He smiled all the same, feeling genuinely happy for them.

Abby stood up and held up her glass, which was water and not champagne or wine, something she had complained about in the beginning, but was now understanding why they had chosen this.

"To baby DiNozzo!" she said with a broad smile on her face.

"To baby DiNozzo!" the others repeated, rising to their feet and clinking glasses.

"Congratulations," Abby said nearly squealing in delight as she looked at the engaged couple in front of her and knowing that it must have been a struggle to keep this a secret for as long as they did and knowing that they had a very good reason for it, even if they weren't sharing that reason at the moment.

Abby, along with the rest of the team (thanks to Ziva's tighter shirt, unlike what she had been wearing around the office the last couple of weeks) could now identify the tiny bump that was to one day become their new child and that made them all smile a little wider.