Balloons filled the small room, excitement and chatter echoing off the light green walls. On the couch sat McGee, Delilah and Ducky, majority of the other adults on the team standing. A baseball game play on the television screen in the background while Palmer cheered on the Los Angeles Dodgers, gloating with his foam finger from a game he attended in college.

Senior Agent Tony Dinozzo walked in through the front door, handing a wrapped birthday present to Breena.

"So glad to see you," Breena smiled, hugging the Italian "We weren't sure if you were going to make it today."

"Nah, I wouldn't miss out on my favorite little one's birthday." Tony warmly smiled back, patting Palmer on the back.

"Uh-oh, trouble in paradise?" McGee chirped from the couch, his arm around Delilah.

Tony shook his head, "None of your business, McSherlock." His tone was bitter.

"Yup, that means there's something going on." The younger probie stated matter of factly.

"It doesn't matter. I just – things were going too fast and she knows that now." Tony rubbed the back of his head with his palm.

"Hey, if you're not ready, you're not ready It's understandable," Delilah tried to comfort Tony, but he shook his head once more, the bitterness growing in his voice.

"It's not that I wasn't ready, I just- I don't know I pictured a lot of things differently." He sighed, rocking back and forth on his heels before looking around the room, "Where is the birthday girl anyways? She's the one I came to see."

"She just woke up from her nap a few minutes ago. She's getting her diaper changed. You can go surprise her in her room if you would like…" Breena offered excitedly.

Palmer nudged Breena and the action didn't go unseen by Tony.

"Okay…I will." Tony stared at them, the confusion setting in once he saw McGee through Delilah a smile. He headed up the stairs of their small house and down the hall. Gibbs, Bishop and Palmer were standing by the TV. Breena was moving in and out of the kitchen. McGee, Delilah and Ducky were on the couch… His feet made hardly any noise as he padded across the oak flooring towards Palmer and Breena's baby room. Who the hell is with the bab-

His thought process was stopped dead short when he arrived at the door frame of the baby's room. Inside, he heard a faint singing voice…one that he had heard many times before. Cluttering to the ground, his heart shattered into a million pieces at the sight in front of him. Whether it just be pure luck or a fool's coincidence, she was there. She was here, standing right in front of him a few feet away, changing the baby's diaper while singing to her. He could make out the song she was singing, a special one indeed. Memories flooded his mind of the soft whispering of her voice, singing the melody against his flesh and planting small kisses on his throat. She had told reminisced of her, Tali and her mother that night during a thunderstorm in Israel. Rivka would sing to her two girls to comfort them in the storm, a Hebrew song about finding love and all the fortunes in the world, a mother's desire for her little girls. The memory faded quickly as a voice broke Tony's flashback.

"We are now done, Emmalynn." Ziva giggled, tickling the baby after folding together the sticky straps of the new diaper. The baby cooed and giggled, staring idly at Ziva. "Oh, you are so precious." Ziva ran her hand through the locks of curls Emmalynn had, "I am so glad I got to experience a diaper change… I do not think I will ever get that chance again." The Israeli woman sighed, blowing a raspberry kiss on the bare stomach of Emmalynn. The baby squealed in delight, hitting Ziva's head playfully and clapping her hands together. "Alright my darling, time to go find your Ima and Abba," She mused, carefully lifting the lying little girl up from the diaper changing station.

"Don't sell yourself short," Tony interrupted, walking into Emmalynn's room slowly.

Ziva froze, turning around with Emmalynn tightly in her arms, "Tony, I-"

"Your ninja senses are down, I'm shocked you didn't hear me coming down the hall. But don't ever think you don't have the chance to be a mom because you do, Ziva." He stared at her directly, his stern features taking over the usual goofy look on his face.

"I did not intend for you to hear that, but it is very unlikely at this moment. Now if you will excuse us-" She rearranged Emmalynn so that she was resting on her hip before being interrupted.

"Really? That's how this is going to go down?" Tony scoffed.

Ziva's eyebrows furrowed together, "How what is going to go where?"

"Oh, come on, Ziva. How all this, us seeing each other for the first time is going to be all weird and awkward!" The rage in Tony's voice surprised her.

"I do not want to get in the way of you and your girlfriend," Ziva sighed, hugging Emmalynn tighter, "and I do not want us to argue in front of the little girl, whom you did not even bother to say hi to." Her voice was more serious now and she began to walk by Tony.

Tony sighed, frustrated before putting on his fakest smile and grabbing Ziva's elbow to pull her back. He bent over, grinning and poked Emmalynn in her belly button causing her to form a toothless smile. "Uncle Tony is sorry for yelling. Happy Birthday, kiddo! Did you have fun with Aunt Ziva singing to you?!" He poked at her again, giggles ceasing over the tension of the room.

Ziva's eyes grew largely at the new name she had just received. She had figured Tony's new girlfriend was considered the Aunt in the picture, especially since the others had told her they had been spending so much time together.

Tony kissed Emmalynn's check, the little girl responding by placing her palm on his own cheek and slapping it a few times. Tony and Ziva both chuckled in response.

"Somebody was taught early how to Gibbs slap," Ziva smirked, looking at Tony.

"Don't let her fool, you. She loves her Uncle Tony, don't cha kid?" He playfully pretended to be a monster and raised his hands in the air like claws.

Ziva beamed watching the interaction between the two, admitting "It is not hard to do."

Tony stopped pretending to be his best monster impersonation and turned to look at the Israeli. She gave him a nod, insisting she was serious. "Touché, David." He grabbed Emmalynn out of Ziva's arms, "Let's go take you down to your parents so Uncle Tony and Aunt Ziva can talk up here." He looked at Ziva and she nodded once again, watching him walk out with the little girl in his arms.

Moments later he returned into Emmalynn's room. Ziva was leaned against the wall, looking at a photo album of everything she had missed.

"You missed quite a lot," Tony spoke first to break the silence.

"I see that," She mumbled quietly, flipping a page of the album.

"It won't take long to catch up…" He reassured, keeping his distance. "That is, if you plan on staying this time?"

"Well, this is home and I am a citizen, Tony. Although, I did doubt you would remember that since you did not attend that ceremony," She spit out, the bitterness in her voice stabbing at Tony's chest in the exact way she implied it to.

"How am I supposed to know that? Two years ago you didn't even want to come back home, with me. And you know damn well I would have been there if it wasn't for the job so, don't give me that bullshit now." He stepped closer to her, his chest puffing out in defense.

"I do remember we made an agreement that I would come home and I did give you my necklace to steal the seal if I remember correctly?" Adrenaline rushed through darkened veins, flight or fight response taking over causing her body to step forward, aligning their bodies together.

"Seal the deal because who the hell wants to steal a seal?!" He questioned her idiom gone wrong before continuing "You got rid of your number and any way to contact you, Ziva! How the hell is that supposed to make me think you still wanted this, that you still wanted to come home?" His anger rose.

"Because you know me! You know I needed to change, to become a new woman. You knew I needed to cleanse myself of all the evil that I had ever done. We talked about it over and over again in Israel, Tony. We planned a life for ourselves! I finally come home to surprise you and start this new life and I found out that you have already started a new one," She raised her chin, a move she learned in Mossad to make herself more appealing to her challenger.

"She doesn't mean anything in the moment! I-"

"Did I mean anything in the moment, Tony? Did anything we discuss in Israel about our future together actually mean anything or was it just some beautiful dream that we both had?" She crosses her arms over her chest, backing down from fight in order to wait for the next blow that she believed was coming.

"You mean everything, Ziva. You know that," He placed his palms on the side of her arms, rubbing up and down slowly.

Her chocolate brown eyes poured into his. Her vulnerability coming out in rare times like this, "No I do not, Tony."

His right palm moved up her arm, swiftly over the bronzed skin of her neck and cupped her cheek "You are my future, that's why I said don't sell yourself shortly about having kids earlier. You know damn well that I would pick you over any woman, any day so don't even think that just because I started seeing someone that it would ever take over or change anything I have with you.. I want to be with you for the rest of my life. I still love you Ziva David and I always will. Nothing and no one will ever change that," He brought his lips down onto hers, kissing her lightly before her hands wrapped around his neck.

Ziva pulled away from the kiss abruptly, licking her lips "Dinozzo, did you seriously get into the birthday cake when you took Emmalynn down?"

Tony smirked, "In my defense, she squished it onto my face!"

The laughter out of her mouth made her eyes sparkle, her pupils glistening with tears before she pulled Tony back down to her lips to kiss him again.