Disclaimer: I don't own NCIS or its characters
Tony walked into the squad room on Monday with a smile. He'd had a good weekend and couldn't wait to brag about it to his team. But McGee wasn't anywhere to be seen, and Ziva was on the phone. He sighed dramatically and sat down. Then Gibbs walked in.
"Got a dead body at Quantico. Grab your gear," he barked, taking a swig of coffee. "Where's McGee?"
"On your six, boss," McGee said, walking up, looking green. "Had Thai last night, must've been bad."
Gibbs looked concerned for a moment. "You okay to come?"
He just nodded. The worst of the nausea had passed. Gibbs nodded back and the four left for the scene. As soon as they saw the body, though, they all froze in their tracks.
It was a young woman, almost identical to Ziva. For a moment, no one spoke, all heads turned to Ziva, who had paled. Then Gibbs walked in front of her, blocking the body from view. "You know her?" he asked quietly.
Ziva nodded mutely. She couldn't even think, she was frozen.
"What's her name, Ziva?" Gibbs asked, still quiet.
"Ruth," she whispered. Then she cleared her throat and spoke louder. "Ruth Cohen. She is…was…former Mossad."
Gibbs nodded, then looked at the other two agents, who were looking at Ziva, concerned. "You two, get to work, we'll be right there." He gently guided Ziva away from the body and they sat on a bench.
"What can you tell me about her?" he asked gently, pulling out his notebook.
Ziva rubbed a hand over her face, and was shocked to find a stray tear. "I have not seen her in years. I did not even know that she was living in America. She was such a happy person. I cannot think of who would do this, Gibbs. She was so sweet to everyone!"
"You said she was former Mossad?"
"Yes. She and I were in the Metsada program together. But, we had a op go bad, were forced to kill innocents. She never forgave herself, and I never saw her after that. I assume that was when she moved here. When I asked, my father had simply told me that she retired." She covered her mouth with her shaking hand.
"You need a minute?" he asked. When she shook her head, the two of them went back to the scene and worked quicker than they had in a while, as the team could all tell that Ziva was shaken.
Finally, they finished on scene and went back to NCIS. Ziva asked if she could go down to Autopsy, and Gibbs agreed. When she got there, Ducky and Palmer hadn't started the autopsy yet.
"Would you like a moment alone, dear?" Ducky asked.
Ziva shook her head. "I just had to see her again. And I wanted to ask…" her throat closed with misery. She coughed through it. "She was a very devout Jew and I…"
"I will contact my rabbi friend. I am sure that we can still observe some traditions," he said, placing a comforting hand on her arm.
She simply nodded in thanks, speaking would make her break down, and left to go back upstairs. Walking into the squad room, she heard Tony speaking.
"…has no family in America, it seems that they are all still in Israel. Gained American citizenship four years ago. She's worked the last five years at a flower shop here in D.C. Records show that she was making a delivery to someone at Quantico"
"Go talk to her boss, DiNozzo; McGee, find out who ordered the flowers and check her phone records, bank statements, the works," Gibbs said. Ziva walked in and grabbed her bag as well.
"I am going with you," she stated. Tony looked at Gibbs, who nodded. The two left the building, both so lost in their thoughts that neither noticed the car that was following them.
A/N: So, I decided to go a different angle with this one, delve a bit more into Ziva's past with Mossad. Let me know if you think I completely missed the mark or if I'm relatively close.