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"Ima? Abba?" Tali asks, casually strolling from her bedroom with a book tucked under her arm, which her parents recognised as the fifth installment of Deep Six – "The Spider and the Fly". From the top of the pages pokes a glittery pink bookmark.
It was Friday night and Tony and Ziva were settled on the couch, cuddled into one another, watching a movie from their ever growing collection. Tonight's choice: Singin' in the Rain.
It had become something of a tradition over the years – a date night for them. Every week, Tali would spend the night (on top of the other two she already did), staying with Senior in his two-bedroom apartment that he had rented a few streets away from their own, while Tony and Ziva went out, or stayed in, to spend some quality time as a couple. As much as they both love and adored Tali, having had an unconventional start to their relationship, they knew the importance of having alone time together – child free time – so they could be themselves and not parents for a little while.
This week, however, the McGee's were visiting Paris. McGee had suggested he pay for a babysitter so he and Delilah could have a date night in the city, but Ziva had promptly interrupted him with the idea that she and Tony would look after the twins.
"Are you sure?" he asked, looking between them.
"Absolutely," Ziva replied. "It will be no trouble at all."
"You guys do know it's two toddlers right? They're sticky, they're messy, they cry..."
"We do have a child of our own, McWorry," Tony replied. "Sticky, messy and crying is nothing new to us. Besides, we each did the single parent thing for a while. We can tag team it. I'll take one twin and Ziva will take the other."
McGee contemplated for a moment. "I feel like I'm imposing."
"Do not be ridiculous, McGee," Ziva stated. "I am sure Tali would be more than happy to keep her cousins company until they are put down to sleep. After that, she will probably spend the time in her room reading, because she will not want to be away from them."
"Are you sure?"
"We're sure, Tim. Now go – enjoy Paris with your wife!"
Tony leans forward, pausing the film, before the two of them turn to look at their daughter.
"Everything alright, T?" he asks with a worried expression on his face.
"I'm reading Uncle Tim's booK!" she exclaims happily.
"Oh?" Ziva raises her eyebrows.
"It's strange... they kind of sound like you."
Their eyes grow wide as they panic, exchanging a look. They hadn't told Tali much of how they met, or of their lives at NCIS. Of course, she had asked and they had told her the... simplified version of the story. That she was assigned as a liaison office to NCIS, and there was a spark instantly. They fell in love over the course of eight years, but because of the complexities of workplace romances, they didn't act upon their feelings, until Ziva went home to Israel. Which, was where they made her.
"Well, uh..."
"Because Lisa is from Israel," Tali interjects, "and so are you, mom."
"It's not–"
"And Tommy sounds a lot like you, Dad, with his movie references. And this whole thing about Lisa being in love with him... that's you guys, right?"
Tali peers at her parents with a curious look on her face.
"Tali," Tony asks, "what are you even doing reading Deep Six? Didn't we tell you you're too young?"
A guilty look crosses her face.
"I'm sorry, Abba... I just–" she sighs, sitting on the couch beside them and crossing her legs. "I just really wanted to read it, so I could talk to Uncle Tim about it. I thought he'd be really proud."
Tony looks to Ziva who gives him a smile. It was virtually impossible for them to be mad at their daughter, because she had the kindest, most beautiful personality. She very rarely acted out, and if she did, it was usually for a good reason.
Tony sighs. "It's alright," he says with a smile. "But we just wish you would have said something first. I mean.. Uncle Tim's book is kind of... intense."
"I have to listen to you two talk to Uncle Jimmy about dead bodies all the time. How is this any different?"
Tony looks to Ziva, who is already biting her lip. Sometimes their daughter was too smart for her own good.
"Well, honey, turns out we're not as sneaky with the autopsy talk as we thought," he mutters to Ziva.
"You two aren't sneaky at all," Tali adds. "You guys talk in code," she air quotes, "but I'm eleven, not stupid. I've had spelling tests harder than that. I mean you literally use the letters DB for the term dead bodies," Tali looks at her parents with a grin.
Tony smirks. "Alright, sassy pants. What else do you know?" He raises his eyebrow.
"I know that you make me stay with Grandpa three times a week so the two of you can have sex."
Ziva chokes on her drink. "I beg your pardon?"
"Mom, please," Tali rolls her eyes. "You really think I don't know? As I said, you two aren't sneaky."
"Tali.. how do you... how do you even know about sex?"
"Grandpa told me."
"He did what?" Tony asked, his eyes widening.
"Last year. I told him how I was sad because I felt like you'd forgotten about me with the amount of time I spend at his apartment... but he explained the importance of you needing to spend time alone together, without me. He told me how adults have sex for fun, how babies are made... the whole lot!"
Ziva turns to Tony. "I am going to kill your father."
"Not if I kill him first," he mutters back. "Tali..."
"Also, while we're on the topic of what I know... you should know that when I am here the walls are pretty thin."
Tony feels Ziva tense beside him. "Go on..."
"You don't think I can hear you talking, but I can."
"But," Tony replies, "that's all you hear... right? Your mom and I talking?" Ziva's fingers tighten around Tony's arm, nervously, while her other hand rests gently on his thigh.
"Put it this way, Dad... you think you and mom are quiet, but you might want to buy me some noise-cancelling headphones for my birthday."
A look of horror spreads across Ziva's face as she sits there, mortified. Silence engulfs them, as Tali stares at her parents, while they're rendered speechless.
"Anyway," Tali says, breaking the tension, "I'm going back in my room to read. This chapter is rather good – the two of you are in the middle of a car chase and off to rescue your daughter, Thea." A grin spreads across her face as she bounces back to her bedroom, shutting the door.
Tony and Ziva sit there in silence, processing.
"So," Tony chuckles, "she knows."
"She does."
"Well, that was not how I imagined our evening going."
"Nope," he shakes his head.
"Kind of a..."
"Mood killer?" he finishes, turning to look at her.
"Yeah," she nods. "And here you were probably hoping to get lucky tonight," she jokes, grinning. Her hands come to rest gently on his face, caressing the slight stubble. He smirks.
"I already have you," he replies. "I can't get much luckier."
She smiles, rolling her eyes. "You know what I mean." He presses a kiss to her lips.
"I do," he says, kissing her again, before he reaches for his phone on the coffee table.
"What are you doing?" she asks, her brows knitting together in curiosity.
He opens Amazon, scrolling the homepage. She peers over his shoulder. "Headphones?"
"I'll be damned if we're waiting six months!"