Disclaimers: NCIS, the rights to the show and its characters do not belong to me.
Spoilers: none, future AU
Pairing: Ziva David/Tim McGee romance (est. relationship)
Summary: With Tim on an Agent Afloat assignment, Ziva has to take care of their son. But then something happens that turns a bad day into an exceptionally good one. *part of the Connor!verse*

"I made oopsie." four year old Connor McGee said, looking up at his mother from between the broken remains of what had previously been a vase.

"Yes, you did." Ziva sighed, picking him up and setting him down again outside the circle of destruction. She bent down to pick up the flowers Tim had sent her for their anniversary two days ago when she heard a sniffle. Turning around, she found that her son hadn't run off in search of something else to break, but was instead still sitting on the floor, rubbing his eyes furiously. She stepped to him and crouched down. "Connor?"

"'m sorry." he muttered, sniffling again.

"Hey, I know you're sorry and didn't want to break it. But Ima really liked that vase, and the flowers were a gift from Daddy."

"When Daddy comes home?" Connor asked her, taking down his hand and staring at her with those green McGee eyes. Ziva quickly bit her lip to keep herself from groaning. It wasn't that she didn't want Tim home, right now preferably. Or that she didn't understand her son, because she did. She knew what it was like, growing up without a father. With one too involved in his job to make time for her. And then with one that was living miles from her and her mother and sister. She knew she had asked her mother thousands of times when she was going to see him again, so really, having Connor do the same thing wasn't that much of a surprise. What was, however, was how much it hurt. She missed Tim, too. And seeing how lost Connor was without him, how clingy he got, how distracted and how needy just tore at her heart. She wasn't sure for how much longer she'd be able to do this. At times like this, she hated everything to do with the US military.

"Let's go see, huh?" she suggested and stood, holding out her hand for Connor to take. The boy grabbed it and let her pull him to his feet, laughing when she lifted him off the ground. Laugh #1 of the day accomplished, she congratulated herself. Together with Connor, she made her way up the stairs and into his bedroom, letting him climb on his bed and take down the calendar that they had hung there when Tim had gotten his Agent Afloat assignment.

Ziva sat down on the bed and waited until Connor had wiggled into position next to her. On top of the three calendar pages was a picture of them as a family. Abby had taken it on Tim's birthday four weeks before the assignment. She had been sitting in Tim lap on the couch when Connor had come running to them. Tim had lifted him up to hug him, when Abby had called them and Connor had looked over his shoulder. All three of them were wearing happy grins and Abby had captured the moment. Trust the one with no crime scene photographing to be the one with the best pictures after a party. Connor thrust the collage at her, watching her carefully.

"Okay, now, today is this day." Ziva said, pointing at the first day that wasn't already crossed out. "And Daddy comes home here." she continued, pointing at the day that was circled in red. "So we have to sleep again another," she gently took Connors hand and hit the days counting out loud until she reached the circled one, "one, two, three, four times. Four more nights and then Daddy will be home." she told her son, kissing his temple. Connor stared at the calendar, his face scrunched up, deep in thought.

"Promise?" he suddenly whispered, looking at her with his big, innocent eyes. Oh damn. Ziva gently took the calendar from him and hoisted him into her lap, cuddling him close.

"I cannot promise you, Connor. Daddy has an important job, and he wants to be home, really. And he will try everything he can to make it. But sometimes, things happen, and if they do, Daddy may have to stay away a little longer." she tried to explain.

"How much longer?" Connor whined.

"Well, I don't know, sweetie pie." Ziva told him, kissing his cheek.

"He missed my birthday." the boy pouted and Ziva clenched her eyes shut against the sudden onslaught of tears.

"I know. And Daddy is very, very sorry. He wanted to be here, Connor, he really did. But Daddy's boss is an a…lleged hypocrite." she tried to save her slip-up, but saw Connor scrunching up his face again.

"What's a hypertrite?"

"It does not matter, Connor. What matters is that your Daddy couldn't be here, but he still loves you very, very much." she told him, hoping to reassure her. Connor gave a soft sigh and looked away.

"He will miss my match." the boy softly said. Ziva's eyes widened. She hadn't been aware of Connor knowing that his first soccer match was going to be the day after Tim's planned return. But her son had always been smarter than should be allowed for a boy of his age.

"You know what? If Daddy misses your match, he will have to watch it with us. Uncle Tony will record it, and then we will have popcorn and watch it when Daddy comes back. And when he is very late, he will have to take us out for ice cream." she told Connor, hoping to lift his spirits.

"Can I have two sc… sko…"

"You may have two scoops." she helped him out, smiling when she saw the grin spread on her son's face. Just then, the phone rang and Connor jumped from her lap and raced down the hallway, Ziva hot on his heels.

"Daddydaddydaddy!" the boy screamed into the receiver, and Ziva flinched in sympathy for whoever was calling and their hearing. She quickly took the receiver from her son.

"McGee residence." she said, trying to ignore the child that was jumping up and down in front of her, waiting for his father to call. Time wasn't really a concept Connor understood, and it didn't help that while he tried, Tim didn't always manage to call after dinner, which lead the boy to believe that every call that came on Saturday was his father. But it wasn't her husband's voice that drifted into her ear.

"Hasn't called yet, huh?" Gibbs asked her with a chuckle in his voice, and Ziva found herself smiling despite herself.

"No, he hasn't. And even if he did, Connor would still be freaking out. He doesn't get that carriers don't let you call every time you want." she told him and ruffled Connor's hair and laughing at the toothy grin the boy gave her. She heard Gibbs sigh softly.

"How about you both come over for dinner? Might take his mind off his father." the older man suggested and Ziva found herself turning away from her son so he wouldn't catch the tears that were suddenly back in her eyes.

"He won't call, will he?" she whispered, knowing it was something Tim did. As soon as he knew he wouldn't be able to call them, he send an email to Gibbs and the man invited her and Connor over to distract the boy. And even though Ziva hated to admit it, she needed that distraction almost as much as Connor did. Missing her husband was one thing, knowing he would be calling in the evening would help her through that. But as soon as that was taken away from her, she found a sudden urge to tell Vance to stick his orders up his ass and to call Tim home, their jobs be damned.

"I'm sorry, Ziver." Gibbs voice said gently, and she quickly shook her head, drawing a shuddering breath.

"I need to clean up a mess, but we'll be over in an hour or so." she told him, waiting for him to agree before hanging up. After another deep breath, she turned back to her son, a fake smile on her face.

"Guess what?" she asked him, and Connor started jumping up and down again in anticipation. "Grumpa asked if we want to come over." she told him, and Connor stopped jumping excitedly.

"Can we? Pretty please, I wanna see doggie!" he asked her, and Ziva laughed, scooping him up into her arms.

"Yes, we can." she agreed, walking into his room and searching for a jeans and fresh shirt. She helped Connor put the things on and then took him downstairs, turning on the TV. "Ima has to clean up the kitchen, when this cartoon is over, you come to me, ok?" she asked him and Connor nodded, already gazing at the bright pictures. She hated sitting him in front of the TV, but it was the only thing she knew would keep his attention long enough for her to get rid of the mess he made with the flowers. She had barely finished when Connor came running to her.

"Over." he informed her, trying to grab an apple from the kitchen isle. Ziva shook her head and got it for him, washing it and cutting it into pieces that she put in a small lunchbox.

"Go grab your jacket. The blue one!" she yelled after him as her son took off. "And no running in the house." she mumbled to herself. She knew she should be stricter with the rules they had set, and that there would be hell to pay once Tim was back and he expected Connor to follow them. But she just couldn't damper the enthusiasm the boy had, not when it was so rare that he got excited and cheery. Oh well, Tim had always been able to tell Connor no much better than she had been.

The car ride to Gibbs' house was surprisingly uneventful, maybe because Connor was busy eating his apple and listening to the children songs on the radio station they had set as default. It made Ziva's skin crawl at times and after three songs, it got annoying, but as long as it kept Connor occupied, she wasn't going to complain.

When Gibbs opened his door, Connor jumped up in his arms and hugged him hard, causing Ziva to share a smile with her former boss. Once he had set the boy done, Gibbs gave her a firm hug and she let herself soak up his strength shortly before she let go and stepped into the house. Connor was already in the living room, hugging Bark. Jethro had died before she had gotten pregnant with Connor, and Tim hadn't wanted another dog. They had started to discuss getting a puppy for Connor before Tim's Agent Afloat Assignment, but hadn't gotten around making a final decision. Which she was grateful for now, because dealing with Connor was stressful enough, she didn't want to consider in a puppy. And it had set her mind that if they were to get a new dog, it would be a young one, but no puppy.

Gibbs had gotten the Shepherd mix from Abby, or better, one of her friends whose dog had puppies and they couldn't keep them. Where he got his name from exactly was still a mystery to Ziva, but she wasn't going to question it.

The dog let Connor hug him and pull at his tail with only a glare directed at Gibbs, as if to say 'Really? Again?'. They had been worried how Bark was going to react to Connor's enthusiasm and accidental tail-pulling and fur-ruffling in the past, but the dog was really patient and hadn't so much as growled at the boy in warning.

"Hey, Connor?" Gibbs called the boy's attention, and he begrudgingly let go of Bark who trotted away into the kitchen in search of his food, the only activity where Connor did not disturb him.

"Huh?" the boy asked, looking at his surrogate grandfather with bright eyes.

"Wanna help sand the boat?" Gibbs asked him, but to Ziva's surprise, Connor shook his head.

"I wanna play with Bark." the boy told them, getting up to follow the dog, but Ziva caught him gently.

"Bark's eating and then he will nap, just like you do after lunch." she told him, ruffling his mess of dark hair. Connor pouted slightly and stomped his foot in frustration. "Do not start that, Connor Alexander McGee." Ziva told him, her voice stern and leaving no room for arguments. She could be strict when she wanted to be, and temper tantrums were something she did not tolerate. "Now either we go help Grumpa with his boat or we draw something."

"Boat." Connor quickly decided, bouncing to the door to the basement, which was thankfully locked. Gibbs shook his head and walked over to him, picking the boy up before opening the door. Ziva wanted to ask what that was about when she heard Connor's excited scream and went after them. There, in the middle of the basement, stood her husband. As soon as Gibbs had reached the end of the stairs and set Connor down, the boy took off and ran to his father, throwing himself into Tim's embrace, who had crouched down to catch the boy.

"Daddy!" Connor squealed, burying his face in Tim's chest and suddenly starting to cry.

"Aw, hey buddy. It's okay, Daddy's home now. Sh, it's okay, Connor." Tim gently said stroking Connor's hair and holding him close as he stood. Ziva forced herself to walk over to them instead of running into his arms like she wanted to. She stroked her hand over Connor's head, unable to blink back her own tears any longer.

"Oh, I missed you, so much." she whispered, wrapping her arms around Tim's neck and pulling him down to kiss him before she hid her face against his shoulder, inhaling his scent.

"If I had known I'd make you cry, I would have brought tissues." Tim joked, but his voice was husky and when she looked up, she saw the tear running down his cheek. She wiped it away and held his face in her hands affectionately. He looked rugged and tired, his stubble rough against her skin, telling her he hadn't shaved in some time. They slowly made their way back upstairs where Ziva hugged Gibbs furiously.

"I don't know how you did it and I don't care. Thank you, so much." she whispered, holding him tight. Gibbs patted her back and kissed her hair gently.

"Pulled a few strings and called in a couple of favors." he shrugged, before letting her go and getting them all something to drink. Connor had calmed down again but refused to be separated from his Daddy, and Tim didn't think it wise to pry him away for the time being. It took some convincing, but after dinner, Connor finally let go of his father and allowed Tim to strap him into his car seat, insisting that his father ride in the back with him. Ziva wouldn't have let her husband drive, anyway, and it proved to be a wise decision as, not even three minutes after she started the car and pulled out of Gibbs' driveway, Tim fell asleep, his head lolling against the window.

Hours later, she was emerging from the bathroom when Tim entered the bedroom, rubbing a hand over his eyes.

"Finally fell sleep?" she asked him, and Tim yawned, nodding.

"Yeah. I thought he'd never let go and I'd have to sleep in his bed." he groaned as he lay down on their bed, closing his eyes from exhaustion. Ziva made her way over to him and slipped under the covers, turning so she was facing him.

"He missed you, a lot. We both did." she told him, and Tim opened his eyes again, turning his head to look at her.

"I missed you, too." he nodded, rolling onto his side and touching his nose to hers. "Hi." he muttered, brushing his lips over hers.

"Hi yourself." she returned before responding to the kiss. When she felt Tim brush the strap of her nightgown over her shoulder, she ended the kiss, looking at him. "I love you, but you must be so tired, we don't-" she started, but Tim put his finger on her lips.

"Don't care, I need you. Now shut up." he told her, his voice hoarse before he kissed her again. It took some time for them to get rid of their clothing, Ziva doing the major part of the work, though she wasn't going to complain. Once she was hovering above him and joined them slowly, she realized just how much they had both needed this. It wasn't about the sex, it was about being as close as possible to each other after being away for too long. She let herself lean down to rest on his chest, gently kissing Tim's jaw line and rocking her hips to tear a groan him his throat.

"I love you, so much." Tim whispered, kissing her gently as he rested his hands on her hips, guiding them at a slow, torturing pace. Ziva moaned into his chest, nibbling his shoulder gently. She had missed this, missed his touch, the feel of him inside her, his scent around her. Missed the feeling of love and protection and safety when she was in his arms, the feeling of simply being home, where she belonged.

"Love you to-ooooh." she mumbled, gripping his biceps when he hit her at just the right angle, drawing a sleepy chuckle from her husband. "Just so you know, you're never going away a-GAIN!" she exclaimed in surprise when his hand slipped between them and rubbed her bundle of nerves, causing her to buck against him. Tim kissed her and then flipped them over, driving into her with newfound energy.

"Not planning on it." he told her as she wrapped her legs around his waist, pulling him closer. It didn't take long for them to reach their climax, Ziva trying to muffle her scream into his shoulder so as she wouldn't wake Connor up. Tim collapsed on top of her before trying to roll off, but Ziva went with him, ending up on his chest again.

"Don't let go. Please?" she pleaded, rubbing her nose against his neck. Tim wrapped his arms around her and held her close, kissing her forehead.

"Better?" he asked her, his voice gentle, and Ziva nodded.

"Uh-huh." she muttered, shivering involuntarily as her heated skin started cooling down. Tim drew the comforter up around them, giving a content sigh, suddenly too awake to fall asleep. Instead, he contented himself with drawing random patterns on her back and running his fingers through her hair. Before long, Ziva's breathing evened out and she fell asleep, snuggled up against him. Tim watched her a while before sleep claimed him, too, neither of them aware of the welcome home present they had just given each other.

fin.

Reviews are appreciated.