Hey. This is my take on what could have happened after Ziva and Palmer left NCIS. It's a TIVALI reunion that includes both Palmer and Ducky. I hope you all enjoy it. Please read AND review. Thanks!

Palmer pulled into a parking space at the airport and stopped the car. He and Ziva got out and he got her bags for her. Once they reached the security check point Ziva turned and pulled her friend into a big hug.

"Thank you for the ride to the airport, Jimmy."

"Ziva? When...When will we see you again? Will we see you again?" Ziva gave her friend a sad smile. She hated that he even felt the need to ask that.

Putting a hand to his cheek, she said softly," Jimmy. You will see me again. I will stay in contact. I promise you this is not goodbye forever."

"Good. Because we can't lose you again. It crushed us enough the first time."

"I am sorry I had to leave, Jimmy. I did what I did because of the unspoken rule.

"You do what you have to for family." Palmer replied with a small smile."

Ziva nodded. "I needed to protect my family. My whole family."

"But that's all over now, right?"

"There is no one else after me or my family that I am aware of. So yes. It is all over. Right now, all I want is to return to Tony and my daughter and quickly as possible."

At that moment, a little voice spoke out from behind Ziva. "Daddy, It's Ima with Uncle Jimmy!"

Ziva's eyes widened as she felt a small force slam into her legs.

Jimmy smiled and said, "Looks like that's gonna happen sooner than you expected."

Ziva's eyes filled with tears as she looked down and saw her precious little girl looking up at her. She scooped the child up into her arms and held her as tightly as she dared.

"Ahuva. I have missed you so much!" she whispered

"Missed you, Ima!" Tali replied. Tony came up to his girls and Ziva looked up into his eyes.

"What are you doing here?"

"We came to get you and bring you home." Ziva started to cry even more.

"Y-you came all this way to bring me back to Paris?" she managed to ask.

Tony nodded. "We couldn't wait anymore. Besides, you've traveled alone...been on your own long enough."

"Ima? Why are you crying? Are you upset that daddy and I came?" Tali asked, anxiously.

Ziva sniffled and wiped her eyes, " No, sweet girl. Ima is very happy you came. These are happy tears." Tali shrugged before laying her head on Ziva's shoulder.

"Hey Tali-gator, why don't you go over there and see Uncle Jimmy for a minute so I can talk to Ima." Tony requested of his daughter. Tali looked uncertain.

"I am not going anywhere, Love. I will stay right where you can see me the whole time." Ziva assured the little girl. After a little more hesitation, Tali did as she was asked. As soon as Tali was occupied, Ziva started to sob as Tony pulled her into an embrace.

"When you didn't respond to my texts immediately, I didn't know what to believe. I was so scared. Scared that you were too angry. That It was too late." Ziva choked out.

"Shhh. It's ok, Zi. I'm here now. I'm sorry I couldn't answer you right away. I was in the middle of making the arrangements for our flight here. The second text, I was on the phone making arrangements for our flight home." Tony explained.

"But, how did you get seats for you and Tali? I was told that the last ticket was mine." Ziva wondered. She received a DiNozzo grin in response.

"Well, Sweetcheeks, that was McGeek's doing He canceled your flight and blocked any confirmation emails coming to your phone. We are booked on a private charter flight to Paris." Tony said.

Ziva's eyes widened?"

"Tony, those flights are astronomically expensive! How can you afford that?

"Well, I had a little help, there. That's what that phone call was for."

"Who, Tony?"

"Ah. That would be me, my dear." said a voice with a British accent from behind the couple.

"Ducky!" Ziva exclaimed, giving the old gentleman a hug.

"This is the reason I was not around to bid you farewell at NCIS."

"I do not know what to say, Ducky. There are not enough words to thank you properly."

"It is thanks enough to see you reunited with your family. All any of us want is for you to be happy, Ziva. You deserve happiness and you have been running from it for far too long now. We love you and Tony and Tali. It makes us happy to know you are all together again as a family."

"I love all of you, too, Ducky. Very much."

"Thanks for everything, Duckman." Tony said, hugging the former ME.

"It was my pleasure, dear boy." Ducky replied. Then Tony turned to Palmer.

"Thanks for getting Ziva here, my friend." he said.

Palmer smiled at his friend. "I was glad to do it, Tony. Just don't take too long to get back to the States for a longer visit."

"Well, Ziva and Tali and I need family time to get acclimated to living as a family, but trust me. We'll be back to visit the rest of our family before you know it. Maybe in March for Tali's spring break." Tony assured the younger man.

"We'd love that." was Palmer's response.

There was another round of hugs, then Tony picked up Tali and the DiNozzo/David family headed out to board the plane.

It was really late, so Tali quickly fell asleep. Tony laid her on the couch and Ziva covered her with a blanket. Kelev was tightly clutched under her arm and Ziva thought she'd had never seen anything sweeter in her life.

After watching Tali sleep for several moments, Ziva turned to Tony. "Tony, we need to talk. I do not know when we will have another chance. Tali is sleeping, so we are virtually alone."

"You're right, Ziva. Are you sure you're up to it? It's been a long several days for you." Tony replied gently.

"I am up for it if you are. This is important." Ziva insisted.

"Ok. I'm ready."

"I first want to say again that I am sorry. I never should have kept Tali from you. My anxiety is no excuse. You deserved to know."

"I forgave you for that a long time ago, Zi. And you explained why you made that choice in Cairo. I understand that you weren't in a good place emotionally. Do I still hate that I missed so much of her life? Of course. Do I wish things had gone differently? That I had insisted on staying with you in Israel or dragged you back to DC with me? Hell yeah! But you were in a really bad place mentally. You needed to find yourself, learn to believe in your own abilities. You needed to learn to see your own worth."

"But I had no right to make that decision for you. You had the right to know you were a father."

"But I'm here now, Zi, and so are you. You are finally home. We are a family, as it was always meant to be. We aren't letting you go ever again, sweetcheeks."

"Never? Tony how can you promise that? Things do not always go as planned."

"This will. I won't let it go any other way. I know your anxiety issues will never just go away, but I can promise that I will love you through it. I will do everything I can to make you feel safe and know how much you are loved and that you always deserve to be loved and safe and happy. Nothing you could say or do will EVER change how I feel about you. Tali and I aren't going anywhere. If you get scared and run, I'll come after you and bring you back the way I should have six years ago. You're stuck with us, Zi."

Ziva smiled. It felt good to know that Tony loved her enough to not let her run. That he loved her so much that he would do anything it took to save her even from herself.

She sighed and laid her head on Tony's shoulder. "I love you ,my little hairy-butt. I know that I have been running from myself and my own happiness long enough. You are stuck with me, now. I am finally ready to be a family. You, me, Tali, and any other children we might have."

"Sounds great to me. I love you, too, Sweetcheeks." was the soft reply. Then, snuggled up in each other's arms, the couple fell into a deep contented sleep, which lasted for most of the rest of the flight.

Well, That's it. They are now a family forever. Tony will never let Ziva fall victim to herself again. Hope you all enjoyed this story. Next chapter of Do You Believe in Magic will be up tomorrow! Catch ya later!