Fairytale

That morning, Talia David-DiNozzo, child of Ziva David and Tony DiNozzo, was curious. She was three now, and she had to have a reason for everything. Why was the sky blue? Why was the grass green? She had posed those questions to her Aunt Abby, and had gotten entire speeches, so she decided to reserve those questions entirely for her, to the delight of her parents, and especially Aunt Abby. She had asked her parents why they didn't all just have one last name, like her new friend Samantha and her parents did. To that question, she had gotten the answer that although they were married, because they worked together, it wouldn't be proper. She, to that, just nodded, because her mommy was always going on about how chewing with your mouth open isn't proper. She didn't want to open that can of beans anymore than she had to.

She watched her parents make breakfast together, her daddy making pancakes on the griddle and her mommy pouring apple juice and coffee into their cups. Her Daddy was flipping her special pancake, the one that was shaped like a flower. They ate at the table, her parents talking about how they would go over to Gibbs's house later that day, after Mommy went for her run. Gibby was Talia's favorite person because he let her help with his boat, which would look like the ones she played with in the bathtub when it was all done. After breakfast, Mommy went for her customary four mile run and Daddy put away the syrup. She then decided to ask her question.

"Daddy, when did you and Mommy get your happily ever after?"

Her Daddy turned to her. "What, Honey Bunny? Have you been watching too many Disney movies?"

"No." They were her favorite, after all. "But everyone has their happy ending! Belle and the Beast, Prince Charming and Cinderella, Ariel and Prince Eric…"

She was about to continue, but Tony cut her off. She could talk about the plots and the characters, major and minor, of those movies for hours. Of course, he enjoyed movies, and he enjoyed conversing with his daughter, but he had watched those with her more times than he could count. And, Abby had found the sing along DVDs and bought them, which Talia played every day. He could hear "Part of that World" now.

"Okay, what do you want to know?" Tony said, knowing he would tell her a story. Not totally true, but partially.

"When was the first time you told Mommy you loved her?" Talia asked dreamily.

"Well…" Tony began, only to have Talia cut him off.

"Daddy!" She sighed, "You can't start a story with 'Well!' It has to start with 'Once upon a time!'"

"Okay, okay!" Tony resigned, because sometimes Talia was more like Ziva than they both realized. "Once upon a time, there was a beautiful princess named Ziva."

"Mommy!" Talia shrieked in happiness.

"Yes, Mommy. Now, Princess Ziva was so beautiful that her father, the King, sent her to slay a terrible dragon, because even though she was a princess, she still was awesome at dragon slaying."

"Mommy is good at everything: Making food, brushing my hair, being pretty, and kicking bad guy's behinds!" Talia said.

"Yes, Mommy is very pretty." Tony agreed.

"And, she is good at kicking bad guy's behinds, right Daddy?" Talia asked tentatively.

"Yes, she is very good at that, almost as good as Gibby." Tony added, knowing that if Gibbs ever caught him calling him "Gibby," his behind would be kicked all the way back to Italy where his ancestors originated.

"Wow." Talia whispered. "Continue!" She commanded after a moment of awe.

"Princess Ziva went to slay this dragon, but it was so far away that she had to take a boat, which sank to the bottom of the ocean!"

"Oh no! How did she make it out? Prince Eric wouldn't have made it out if not for Ariel!" Talia exclaimed.

"Well…her Dad the King had taught her how to swim at the beach when she was little. Anyway, she went to slay the Dragon. Except, when she was this close" Tony put his thumb and index very close together, as close as they could be without touching, "She was overpowered by the Dragon and his evil wizard friends, who locked her in a castle!"

Talia gasped. Tony looked over at her, seeing if this story was too much for her. Of course, it wasn't. The little girl, although she looked shocked and her eyes were wide, looked like she was on the edge of her seat. He looked at her face, and she stared back, silent. She desperately wanted him to continue.

"When the Prince, his sirs, and a lovely scientist maiden had found out about what happened to the fair princess they had once lived in the castle with, they decided they had to help her. They found out the location of the castle, and flew there on unicorns, the fastest transportation, much more so than a boat."

"Unicorns are pretty. I wish real horsies could have horns." Talia said dreamily.

"Don't you want to know what happens to Princess Ziva?" Tony asked, thinking she had lost interest in the story.

"Of course! That's like stopping Sleeping Beauty after she pricks her finger!" Talia protested.

"Okay then! The Prince and his sirs had gotten knights and white horses from their kingdom to fight the dragon and evil wizards. They stormed the castle and Sir Leroy Jethro slayed the dragon while Prince Anthony and Sir Timothy found Princess Ziva."

"Daddy! What about the evil wizards? You know the ones that were friends with the dragon?" Talia said impatiently.

"Well, the knights were taking care of those. Once Prince Anthony found Princess Ziva, she told him he shouldn't have come, because she could take care of herself. Because, if she was so good at slaying dragons, she could do anything. Prince Anthony told her he came because he couldn't live without her."

"Aw!" Talia squealed. "That is so cute! What happened in the end?"

"Well, Prince Anthony and Princess Ziva, along with Sirs Timothy and Leroy Jethro and all the knights, rode home on ponies and unicorns off into the sunset. Later, when they were all home in their own castle, Princess Ziva decided she wanted to become a permanent Princess with the Prince, the Sirs, and the forensic maiden. She even didn't mind the autopsy gremlin and the intellectual Duck, who was actually the gremlin's boss. They welcomed her with open arms, and about a year or two after that, Princess Ziva became Prince Anthony's bride. The end."