"Hey sweetcheeks, I'm home!" Tony exclaims as he walks through the door of their apartment only to find no one answer
He puts down his bag, takes his coat off, throws it on a table near the door, and walks into the living room to see if she had maybe fallen asleep on the couch. She gets tired a lot more easily these days and he had often come home to her sleeping. She wasn't there though. He looks to the hallway and sees a light coming from their bedroom. He gets to the door and walks in to see the connecting bathroom door shut.
"Zi, you okay?"
"I will be right out Tony" She answers calmly
He walks over to go over to sit on the bed so he can take his shoes off.
The door opens a minute later and out walks a very pregnant Ziva with one hand on her swollen belly and the other on her lower back. She proceeds to slowly walk over to him.
"Hey. Didn't you hear me come home?" He asks kissing her on the cheek
"Sorry, I did not." She answers quickly without picking her head up
Just then he notices her eyes are puffy and red and her cheeks are stained with tears and stands up concerned.
"Hey, what's wrong?" He asks while taking her hands in his
"Nothing Tony. I am fine" She manages to get out in between sniffles
"Zi, come on. You're not fine. What's wrong?" He moves his hands to under her chin so that she was looking at him
"It is nothing. It is silly. Forget it" She returns to looking away from him again
"It mustn't be silly if you're crying about it. Please talk to me."
She pauses for a few seconds before finally looking up and crying out,
"I am huge Tony, look at me! I cannot even walk right. I waddle like a henguin!"
"She means penguin" He thinks to himself, but he doesn't have the heart to correct her at the moment
"Zi, hunny, you're 8 months pregnant. You're not huge. You're beautiful" He leans in to kiss her on the forehead
"No I am not. I do not feel beautiful. You are just saying that" She answers pouting
He pulls her in for a hug that he knows she desperately needs at the moment.
"No, I mean it. You're always beautiful"
He can feel her smile slightly against his chest and as her crying slows down and her breathing evens out, she pulls away to look at him.
"Thank you Tony" She says giving him a small but sure smile which he returns.
"Anytime my ninja. And how is my little ninja doing today?" He asks putting a hand on Ziva's swollen belly.
"She has been kicking nonstop." She answers sighing which quickly turns into a sudden giggle
"She just did it again. Here..." She takes his hand and moves it to where the baby's foot is and whispers, "Wait for it…"
The baby then kicks at Tony's hand which makes him smile. He pulls Ziva into him and then sits on the bed so he is at eye level with her stomach.
He puts a hand on both sides of her belly and starts talking to it like he frequently does when he gets home from a long day at work.
"Hey there my honeybear baby. Daddy missed you today. Try not to be too hard on your mommy these next few weeks"
Looking down at her husband talk to their baby girl draws tears to her eyes.
"Damn hormones" She thinks
He hears her sniffle quietly again and stands back up to face her. He uses his thumb to wipe a slipped tear from her cheek.
"What's wrong now sweetie?" He asks a little worriedly
"Just hormones" She tiredly giggles a little in reply to him
"Not much longer" He reassures her
"I know. I love you, Tony…and our baby girl" She smiles at him and puts a hand to her stomach
"I love you too. Both of you. So much." He reciprocates, putting his hand over hers
It had been a long past 8 months for both of them. Ziva with her mood swings and late night cravings and Tony trying to deal calmly with all of it. It was not easy, but nights like this and knowing what the near future will bring makes it all worth it.