Ziva's POV

"148…149, ughh…150! Awww yeah, new record! Take that!"

The high-pitched giggles of Kate, Tali and Isaiah filled the kitchen where I was making up a cake, and I could not help but to smile. It was the triplet's first birthday, and the entire team- Gibbs, Abby, Tim, Michael, Ducky, Jimmy and Breena had all joined Tony and me at our house for the celebration.

I knew that if I were to go into the living room, I would see Tony playing the triplets' new favorite game- lifting the children one at a time like weights, "bench-pressing" them as if on an actual workout regimen. Of course, the triplets though it was hilarious. A chorus of "Dabba!"s (the triplets' slurring of 'Abba' and 'Daddy') erupted, announcing the fact that Tony had stopped.

"Wow, what a party- and we haven't even gotten to the main event yet!" I turned around to see Abby standing in the kitchen entrance, grinning broadly and bouncing Michael, who was fussing. Abby nodded towards her son.

"Do you mind if I nurse Michael here? I have a blanket, but Tim gets weird if nurse him with other guys around. Plus, I thought you might like the company." I smiled at her and nodded, pulling up a chair for Abby and making sure that she was comfortable before turning back to the birthday cake. As Michael settled down to nurse, a comfortable silence settled over the room. We stayed quiet for several minutes before Abby finally broke the silence.

"They're one, Ziva, one! How can that be possible?" Turning, I saw that Abby had freed up one hand to pick up one of the three birthday candles shaped like a number "1". She turned it over in her palm, staring at it with uncharacteristic silence. After placing the cake in the oven and setting the timer, I walked over to where Abby was sitting and picked up another candle myself, feeling a lump form in my throat.

"It is even more difficult for me to believe Abby." Out of the corner of my eye I saw the black-haired woman glance up, but she said nothing. I let out a deep sigh, put the candle down, and continued. "I never thought I would have children, especially not in my old profession. Mossad agents tend not to live very long, especially those related to high-ranking officers like my fath… like Eli." Looking at Abby, I saw that a sad look had crossed it. Catching my glance, she shifted Michael, who was finished nursing, to her shoulder. "No one, not even I, expected for me to live much past 25. 30 would have been a miracle for someone in my position. I wasn't expected to survive half of the missions I was sent on, especially not… not Somalia. And I never would have thought I would start a family, and now I cannot imagine my life any other way. Tony, Isaiah, Kate, Tali, Gibbs, Ducky, Palmer, Tim, you- all of you are family, my life now." I turned away from my friend, pausing to wipe a tear away. To my surprise, I felt a pair of arms wrap around my waist and a deep voice spoke in my ear.

"None of us could imagine our lives without you Zi. Your past is behind you- you're a United States federal agent now, and more importantly, you're a wife and a mother, and a damn fine one at that." Tony's lips brushed my ear, and I turned to meet his green eyes. There was softness in them, a softness that melted my heart. I rested my hand on his cheek, and out of the corner of my eye I saw Abby get up quietly and leave. Seconds later I heard a peal of laughter from the triplets, and suddenly there was a lump in my throat that made it difficult to swallow. Quickly I brushed my arm across my eyes to wipe away tears that were threatening to spill over. Tony's hand snuck under my chin and lifted it so that I could not escape his piercing gaze- reminiscent of a certain silver-haired man in the adjoining room.

"You are the most wonderful, kind, loving, intelligent and funny woman that I know, Zi. You've been through so much- more than any person should ever have to deal with, and yet you have come out even stronger because of it." Tony leaned forward and captured my lips with his own. I closed my eyes as Tony wound his fingers into my hair, relishing in the moment. Intimate moments such as these were rare with three infants and it was easy to get lost in our passion.

"If you two lovebirds are done, there are three very impatient one-year-olds waiting for the two of ya!" We broke apart sharply, much to the clear amusement of Gibbs, who was leaning on the kitchen doorway, shaking his head and smirking. He jerked his finger out the door, and as we passed him to leave, he gave both of us a headslap.

…..

Tony's POV

As Ziva and I entered the living room where the rest of the team was waiting, our earlier conversation kept running through my head. As much as Ziva hated bringing up her past, the near two years of marriage, plus our eight-year partnership, meant that there was little Ziva could effectively hide from me, especially where her feelings were concerned. I knew that Ziva struggled with her emotions surrounding her dark Mossad days, and yet I knew that part of her wonderful mothering came from her determination to never have her children grow up with the so-called "childhood" that had been forced on her.

My musings were interrupted by a loud and sudden chorus of "Dabba!" and "Ima-ma!" (The triplets' personal slurring of Hebrew and English) and the three one-year-olds toddled happily over. On a whim, I dropped to the floor and allowed the triplets to dogpile me, laughing for the sheer joy of it all. Tali, always happy to flaunt her language skills, brought her face close to mine, her sightless grey eyes somehow looking directly into my own.

"Dabba! 'Sents! 'Sents! Gib', 'Bee, 'Gee, 'Duh-duh, 'Mee, 'Ben-ah, 'Sents!" It took me a second or two to translate One-year-old-speak into English, but then I laughed.

"That's right Tali," I said, cuddling her close. "Gibbs, Abby, McGee, Ducky, Autop- I mean Jimmy and Breena brought all of you presents."

"That's what Tali said?" Jimmy asked. "How could you even…"

"It's called livin' with 'em, Palmer. You'll find out soon enough." Gibbs said, nodding towards Breena. The blone-haired woman smiled and rubbed her stomach, still flat in her second month of pregnancy. "Now are we goin' to sit around and yab, or can my grandkids open their presents?" Gibbs cut his famous glare, but the effect was ruined when Michael, comfortably snuggled in his grandpa's arms, blew a loud raspberry. Everyone in the room burst into laughter while Engel barked happily.

Eventually, everyone calmed down and Ziva, still chuckling, reached out and took three presents from the rather large pile and distributed them to each of the triplets. Thanks to their all-too-"generous" aunt and uncle, grandpa as well as Ducky, Jimmy and Breena, all three were quite adept at opening presents and wasted no time ripping into the paper and cardboard. Brightly-colored gifts spilled out of the packages. Hand-carved and painted wooden toys from Gibbs (including a full-sized, incredibly realistic rocking horse), stuffed toys and (expensive) clothes from Abby, puzzles and motor-skill games from Tim, a plastic oversized medical play set and teething toys from Ducky, and three incredibly soft fleece blankets embroidered with the triplets' names from Jimmy and Breena (most likely Breena's doing, all things considered). Too add to the triplets' sheer delight, Ziva pulled out their large birthday cake and instructed me to get the ice cream and matches. We lit the three 1-shaped candles and sang, holding the triplets back from the dancing flames.

The team helped the triplets blow out the candles and serve the cake. It didn't take very long for us to find out that it didn't take much sugar to overload one-year-old systems, and we spent the next couple of minutes trying to keep up with the hyper infants. Fortunately the triplets couldn't keep up that amount of energy for long, and were out like lights within seconds. At this, Tim, Abby, (along with Michael) Jimmy and Breena took their cues to leave and after several "goodbye"s and "thank-you"s, the two couples were gone.

Only Gibbs remained with us, absently rocking Kate, who had fallen asleep in her grandfather's arms. He was looking towards Ziva, but his eyes had a strange and faraway look in them. Somehow, I just knew that he was thinking about Shannon and Kelly. Within the protective circle of her grandfather's arms, Kate shifted and muttered in her sleep, causing him to look down at her. He ran a calloused hand through our oldest daughter's hair, and once he looked up again, I could see that his eyes were moist.

"Never thought I'd have grandkids." He paused, freeing an arm and wiping it across his eyes. "Never thought I could ever love like I did with my girls." Gibbs sighed, stood, and then walked with us to the nursery. He kissed Kate on her forehead and then gently lowered her into the crib, laying the new fleece blanket over her. Turning back to us, he gently took Isaiah, and then Tali, kissing the both of them and laying them in their respective cribs. He then returned to us, gave Ziva a kiss on the forehead, and clapped me on the shoulder.

"Thanks for proving me wrong you two."

…..

Ziva's POV

Night had fallen, the moon had risen, and although it was late, I was unable to fall asleep. The house was quiet- only the sound of the settling house and Tony's soft breathing broke the silence. I lay in our bed, staring at the ceiling, my thoughts racing as the day's earlier conversation passed through my head.

"They're one Ziva, one! How can that be?"

"Mossad agents do not live very long…"

"All of you are my family, my life now."

My head was reeling-sleep was impossible. As carefully and quietly as possible, I extracted myself from the arm Tony had carelessly thrown around me and crept down the hall towards the nursery. I passed by the light switch without turning it on, reached down to give the sleepy Engel a pat (earning two lazy thumps from his tail) and then stood in the center of the three cribs, watching the three infants sleeping peacefully, illuminated by the moonlight. My heart jumped at sight, and I scrubbed a hand over very wet eyes. Suddenly Tony's voice sounded softly behind me.

"You can't let yourself think like this Ziva. Not anymore. You're a mother, and a damn good one at that." My husband wrapped his strong and comforting arms around me, and I leaned into his warm embrace. He led me into one of the two rocking chairs and sat himself in the other, grasping my hand in his large one. Engel, intrigued by the arrival of a new person, lazily woke and stretched, yawning before trotting over and settling himself at our feet, pushing his head under Tony's hand so that my husband would scratch behind his ears. I looked over at Tony, whose soft eyes seemed to glow in the moonlight.

"You can't let yourself get lost in your past anymore, Love. Gibbs was right- that part of you died in Africa. You are still my tough, crazy, beautiful ninja warrior, but you're part of a family now too, our family. You can't forget that, okay? I love you, the triplets love you, and that's all that matters." Tony raised my hand to his mouth and kissed it, his eyes shining with unshed tears. The moment was broken when a soft sound filled our ears, and suddenly Tali began to cry. Within seconds, Kate and Isaiah were awake and howling. Tony and I sighed in unison and with practiced ease, we started picking up the three, holding and settling them, doing our best to find out what was the matter. It soon became apparent that Tali had soiled her diaper and the other two had simply woken up to the crying.

The problem was remedied within seconds, and soon Tony and I had the three infants settled in between the both of us. Their cries quieted, then silenced as they settled back into sleep. The warm press of their bodies along with Tony's strong hand, soothed me, and suddenly I felt it. The sense of family, the sense of love overwhelmed me, strengthened me. I looked at Tali, her dirty brown hair, her father's hair, flopped over her sightless eyes, her ear pressed against my chest so that she could hear and feel my heartbeat. Kate, almost identical to her sister, lay between my arms and Tony's, fidgeting even in her sleep. And lying dwarfed in Tony's arms was Isaiah, his dark skin and hair contrasting against his father's lighter skin. A sense of peace filled me, and I leaned over to kiss Tony, my heart full to near bursting. I leaned over to kiss him, and then looked once more at the triplets.

"Happy birthday my beautiful yeladim*, my beautiful children."

*yeladim- children

Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry for the 5-month hiatus! Between "'Till Death Do Us Part" and my senior year of college (o.O), I haven't been able to write much!

But now its done! :'( Sadness at that, but happiness at the start of a new story! I plan on continuing this storyline, but first I'm going to write a short "connecting" story for NCIS:LA so that I can do a crossover.

Thanks so much for all your wonderful reviews, and keep your eyes peeled for my next "installment!"

YEAH, SURE, YOU BECHA!

-Wolfstang 14