Pay Back
by channelD
written for: the NFA Weekly Writing Game
rating: Kplus
prompt: Compensation
pairing: Ziva and Sarah McGee, non-slash
genre: Gen
setting: early season 3
author's note: Yes, I invented where the McGees have lived. This is not canon.
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Disclaimer: I own nothing of NCIS. Nada.
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Ziva, driving too fast (as usual), slammed the brakes so hard that she rocked in her seat; the cars behind her honking in protest. She was glad to not feel a horrible thud in the front, and when her eyes stopped bouncing, looked around for the teenage girl who had run out in front of her car.
There she was. The girl stood just two feet in front of the vehicle, staring at her; jaw ajar, clutching several shopping bags. She'd clearly had a busy Saturday here in Georgetown.
"Are you all right?" Ziva asked, getting out of her car. It was one of those unnecessary things people said when clearly the other party was all right; just shaken up.
For a moment, the girl, appearing to be about 17, didn't answer. Then she gulped and nodded. "I—I, yes, I'm fine. I just didn't—I've never been that close to death before!"
Cars were honking all around. "Hold on; let me pull over and park. Wait on the sidewalk," Ziva directed. There was no earthly reason why the girl should obey her, but she did. When Ziva got out of her car again, the girl was still looking at her, somewhat shell shocked, somewhat looking for guidance.
"Can I buy you a—a Coke? To help steady your nerves? You have had a scare." The girl nodded, and Ziva steered her into a little upscale sandwich shop/bakery, where the Coke became a Coke float, to Ziva's simple coffee.
"I am Ziva. Ziva David." Ziva extended a hand.
The girl shook it. "That's not a Washington accent, is it? I've heard a lot of accents here, and I'm not sure what the standard accent is."
Ziva laughed. "No, I am from Israel. I am working here in Washington. I just started a few months ago."
"Oh. That must be a change for you. I was born in Oklahoma but I've only lived there and in North Dakota. My name is Sarah McGee."
The last name clicked in Ziva's mind, but she had no idea how common a name McGee might be. "And are you new to Washington as well, Sarah?"
"I just got here yesterday!" Sarah smiled broadly, and threw her long wavy hair back. Like a restless filly, Ziva thought.
"Your family has moved here? You are in high school?"
"No, and yes. I'm a senior. I'm here for the weekend to check out a college. I've seen it, and I love it. I've got to get in!!"
"And you have found the shops, and liked them, too," Ziva laughed.
"Oh, man, yes!! There aren't stores like these back in Fargo. I have presents for Mom and Dad and all my BFFs, and some things for me, too. Just three or five or eight of those."
The waiter brought the sandwiches they'd ordered, and Sarah dug in like a child who hadn't eaten in two days. She may not have, Ziva thought, watching her in amusement. Too excited.
"Why do you want to come to Washington?" Ziva asked. "I have heard that your part of the country is quite pretty. Surely there are universities there."
"My big brother works here," Sarah said, the adjective surely unnecessary in fact, but showing her devotion. "I—it would be nice to have him close by."
"And what does he do?"
"He's a cop, of sorts. Works for the federal government. For an organization called NCIS."
"Tim McGee." Ziva sat back in her chair and smiled. She should have known; there was the same sun-washed wholesomeness in the girl as in Tim; a trait that was said to be a characteristic of those in the central U.S.
"Why—yes! That's his name! Do you know my brother?"
"I, too, work for NCIS. Tim is on my team."
"Can you do that? Being Israeli and all?...I'm sorry; that sounded pretty rude of me. I don't always think before I open my big mouth."
"It is all right. I am on an exchange program. So you want to have some family nearby? I can understand that. The first time you are away from home, you want something, someone, familiar around."
"That's not it. I'll be 18 when I start college next fall. In fact, I'll be 18 in January. A mature woman when I come back here. I'm pretty smart, I think, but Tim is an out-and-out genius. He was barely 16 when he started MIT, did you know that? He never really said anything to me about it, and I was pretty young and full of myself back then, but I think he was really lonely.
"He'd come home on holidays and vacations, but I was too busy with my friends to spend much time with him." Sarah took a deep breath and looked at Ziva before continuing, as if not sure she should proceed. "I've always been the outgoing, social type. The polar opposite of Tim. I heard my parents talking about how lonely and unhappy he was in those first few years. I could have been a nicer sister to him when he came home, but I wasn't." Tears came then.
Ziva handed her a tissue. "You would have been 9 or so? That is too young to be expected to understand grown-up emotions and needs. I am certain your family does not hold you responsible."
"They don't have to. I now have standards that I hold myself up to. I'm going to be an English major, you see, and I really dig reading classic literature and philosophy. Ethics, and all that."
"So…that is why you want to go to university in Washington. To be near your brother…for his sake. You know that that is not necessary," she said gently.
"Not in so many words," Sarah said. "But Tim loves me, and he seemed thrilled that I was considering college here. He's still lonely, a bit. Our family is very close. I don't mind at all doing this. It's like a form of compensation, for those years when I was a brat."
Ziva puzzled over that. When Sarah was a sausage? But she let it go, and set out money to pay the bill. "Can I drop you off somewhere, Sarah? You have a lot to carry."
"Thanks, but I'm meeting Tim just two Metro stops away. Maybe it's better that he didn't know I was almost road kill because I'm not used to the big city yet." She grinned and rose. "Thanks for the grub, and for listening to a silly teenager babble on, Ziva. I appreciate it. Oh, and will you, ah…be nice to Tim? He doesn't have many friends out here yet."
"I will," Ziva agreed, while thinking, but he has a friend in you.
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