Chapter Eighteen
"I am sorry about your father Tony." Ziva said unexpectedly.
Tony looked at her curiously as he handed her a burping cloth so she could wipe off her and the baby. They had just finished their first feeding, something Ziva had wanted him to see before they brought Tali and the rest of the family in to meet the new addition to their family. He was glad she had insisted on it because it was one of the most beautiful and intimate things he had ever seen and he knew he would cherish the memory forever.
"Why?" He questioned.
She sighed, "I just wish that you could have a better relationship with him. Before he left he asked me to tell you that he was sorry and I do not think he meant just about this morning."
Ziva handed Lina to him for burping and he stood and walked around the room patting her small form, "Sometimes Zi, I wish the exact same thing. But then I remember that if my life as a kid had been different I wouldn't be here right now holding our newborn and loving you as much as I do. My entire life would have been completely different from the one I have now."
They both heard a little burp escape Lina's lips and Tony sat back down in the chair by the bed, stroking her back tenderly.
"That might be true but that doesn't make it right." Ziva smiled sadly at him. "I love you Tony, but I will never stop wishing that your childhood had been a better one even if that means we never would have met."
He shifted Lina so he was able to securely cradle her in one arm so he could thread his fingers through Ziva's, "If you're gonna wish that then I will wish the same for you Zi, I'm not the only one with a screwed up childhood."
She squeezed his hand and wiped away a few of the tears that trickled down her cheeks, "But since neither of us can change the past I hope that both of our mothers are watching over our family and that they are proud of us."
Tony squeezed back, smiling "I'm sure they are Zi."
She smiled back and untethered her fingers from his, holding out her arms for Lina. "We should probably introduce her to her family. They must be very anxious by now."
"The nurse said two at a time, who do you want me to bring back first?" He asked after handing her back the baby.
"Tali and...Jake, he is becoming part of the family and I think she would want him to come with her." She replied as he stood to leave. "Is that alright with you?"
"Yep, it's fine with me." He said before walking out of the door.
Now alone with her baby, Ziva looked down at the warm sleeping bundle in her arms, "You are about to meet a very special person tatelah. She might be a few years older than you, but I think that you two will still be very close and she will always be looking out for you. She is smart and kind and she can teach you how to play all kinds of sports. She thought you were going to be a boy too, but I do not think she will mind having a little sister."
"Not in the least." Ziva looked over at Tali who had arrived in the doorway along with Jake and Tony.
"Come here." She beckoned with a smile.
Tali walked over to the bed and peered into the her mother's arms, "Wow I didn't expect her to be this little."
Ziva smiled, "You were this small once too ahava. Would you like to hold her?"
She took a half a step back, her eyes wide with worry "Um...I'm not so sure. What if I break her?"
"If I did fine, so will you." Tony laughed walking past Jake who was still standing in the doorway.
Ziva began handing her the baby and Tali could do nothing but carefully accept her little sister. "Shalom akhoti haktana," Hello my little sister " you are so beautiful, just like Ima. There will be lots of boys chasing after you in a few years, so you gotta promise me now that you'll be smart about them, because they'll be dumbstruck by you." Tali looked up and smiled at her parents. "What did you name her?"
"Her first name in Natalina, Lina for short, it means-"
"Born on Christmas." Jake said garnering everyone's attention. "That was my Nonna's name, she was born on Christmas Eve."
"Come here Jake." Tali said seeing that he hadn't taken one step into the room.
He walked up beside her and smiled at the sleeping infant, "Just as pretty as her big sister."
"You're too sweet." She replied kissing him on the cheek before turning back to her mom, "What's her middle name?"
"Zara, for her eyes that will hopefully turn green like your father's." Ziva answered glancing at Tony.
"I would love to stay here and hold you all day Lina but the rest of the family might get jealous." Tali walked back over to the bed and transferred Lina into her mother's arms. "Izzy texted me and said that her parents send their congratulations and that they will stop by later this evening so you didn't feel overwhelmed. I'll send Gibbs and Jenny in and then Jake is going to take me home."
At the mention of home Tony and Ziva exchanged glances, both thinking about the car that was still sitting in their driveway with a big red bow on it.
"That sounds good, but you should know that there's a surprise waiting for you at the house. We were going to give it to you this afternoon but obviously plans changed." Tony said, smiling at the confused look on his daughter's face.
"Alright." She replied warily her gaze flicking from one parent to the other.
"Do not worry, it is a good surprise." Ziva said smiling.
"Okay, well I'll probably be back tomorrow morning." She leaned down and kissed Lina on the forehead, "Goodbye baby sister, I love you."
Tali hugged each of her parents and she and Jake both waved goodbye before leaving the room. Once they had left Tony sat back down on the bed with his wife and daughter.
"A little sister and a car, I'd have to say she's having a pretty good Christmas." He joked stroking Lina's tiny fist.
She smiled at him, then looked down at their daughter, "You seem to be everyone's gift this year yakiri."
Lina's mouth opened in a yawn, forming a little 'o' that made them both coo at her.
"I'm sorry I missed this Zi." Tony whispered. "I couldn't imagine not having anyone to share these moments with."
Ziva turned back to him, adjusting Lina so she was able to lay a hand on his cheek, "No Tony, you promised a while ago that we were done with apologies. What happened, happened and though we sometimes want to change it, it is impossible. We have to forget about the past and make the most of our future."
He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and kissed her temple. "You're right, just figured it couldn't hurt to break rule six one more time."
Ziva kissed him softly on the lips just before Jenny and Gibbs walked in. She sat back against Tony and watched as they each held Lina. They stayed a little longer than Tali and Jake had, but Ziva was more of an observer of their various conversations, her mind elsewhere.
Fifteen years ago when her life had fallen apart she could never have imagined that she would eventually find her way back to her family, that she would be sitting here with a loving husband and two beautiful daughters. Life had given them a huge bucket of lemons and thrown them a few curveballs but they had made the most of it, they were a family again and this was home.
THE END
Now it's on to the next idea which right now I'm not really sure what that will be. I am still writing out ideas for the series of songfics I've been writing about T&Z titled 100 years. Once again thanks for all your support and encouragement! Happy Reading and Writing,
A/N: Well that's it folks :( I am sorry to have to say goodbye to this storyline and these characters. A huge thanks to all of you who reviewed, favorited, alerted, etc. this story or the one before it. I never imagined when I posted the first chapter of 14 Years that I would get such a huge response.
For any of you Beatles fans out there I am going to be rewriting the first two chapters of Savior(probably going to change the name on that) and then pick up from where I left off forever ago. I would love to do another long Tiva story but I don't have any ideas as of right now.
Katie