WINTER GAMES: AN OLYMPICS SERIES
by MioneAlterEgo
CHAPTER ONE: PAIRS SKATING
RATING: K+ now, but that's subject to change in later chapters.
DISCLAIMER: They don't belong to me any more than the City of Vancouver does.
"Wow."
"What is it?" Ziva called from the kitchen, where she was fetching a popcorn refill. Abby had invited her over to watch the Olympics. Tonight was pairs' figure skating, short programs. "Did someone fall?"
"No," Abby replied. "These Canadian skaters, Dube and Davison? A couple of years ago they had an accident during a competition. Davison's skate caught Dube in the face, right in the middle of their routine. It cut straight across her cheek and her nose, pretty deep. She had to have 80 stitches and plastic surgery to fix it."
"Wow," Ziva echoed, cringing in acknowledgment as she sat back on the couch to watch the routine. The couple was attractive, very young, and appeared to skate beautifully together.
"Yeah, I saw the video on YouTube after it happened," Abby continued. "Her face was seriously torn up, and the other kid was really upset."
"Understandable. It is surprising that they now perform so well together after such a traumatic event," Ziva mused.
"I guess so. It's kind of amazing they stayed together as partners in the first place. But I guess that just shows what a huge level of trust they have in one another, you know?" She grabbed a handful of popcorn from Ziva's bag. "They had to really believe in the partnership. And it shows dedication, too. It was something they both wanted badly enough to keep pursuing it." She shoved a handful of popcorn in her mouth and watched the pair glide across the ice, talking around the mouthful.
"After something like that, it would've been the perfect time for him to quit if he wanted to," she continued. "I mean, he was probably blaming himself for what happened to her. And she probably had some issues to get past, too, learning to trust him and herself, and their being able to skate together again."
"They seem to be doing very well tonight."
"Looks like."
Ziva couldn't help but notice the grace and certainty with which the younger girl moved across the ice. The look of confidence on the skater's face as she watched her partner was unmistakable. The two seemed able to communicate without speaking a word.
"Dube has obviously managed to forgive him for the injury," she observed. Ziva was so absorbed in the performance that she didn't notice Abby's sideways glance or the weight in her next words.
"Yup. You've gotta be able to forgive for a partnership to work... and he had to forgive himself, too."
The routine finished to wild applause from the largely Canadian home-town crowd, and the skaters grinned brightly as they embraced before taking their bows. It hadn't been a perfect performance, but they seemed satisfied enough with a job well done.
Ziva stayed till all the routines were finished, listening quietly as Abby rattled off bits of trivia about each of the competing teams. (Who would have known that the very Goth, very non-sports-nut scientist was such a fan of figure skating? Ziva had always figured Abby more for the roller derby type, but apparently the laws and applications of basic physics made this sport more acceptable than some.) Ziva enjoyed watching the event, cheering with Abby for both of the American pairs, and felt a bubbling of pride in her adopted nation when one of the pairs, Evora and Ladwig, managed to finish in the top ten at the end of the night, earning themselves a career-high score in the process.
As she drove home afterward, however, she was surprised to realize which pair had stuck in her mind, out of all the ones she had seen: Dube and Davison, the young Canadians. It wasn't even their performance that stuck with her, she decided, but Abby's story of the two teammates' journey. She couldn't help but wonder if she would have made the same choices in Dube's position--putting her trust back in her partner, the partnership itself, her pursuit of a goal. The words and images and conversations of the night spun in her head as she drove, and the short commute back to her apartment seemed to pass in a blur.
Sleep found her quickly that night, and as she slept she dreamed of spinning, weightless and silent on the ice, until dizziness threatened to overwhelm her. When her spin finally came to a stop, she saw her own partner's eyes--Tony's eyes--staring back at her, closing the distance between them and pulling her closer. Her alarm clock tore through the dream just as he lifted her into the air; she woke remembering only isolated images moments, feeling a strange mixture of uncertainty and anticipation colored with the slightest shade of disappointment.
For reasons Ziva did not stop to contemplate, she was anxious to get to work that morning. She felt a new sense of resolve, eager to greet her teammates, ready to get back on her feet.
After work that day, Abby came to Ziva's apartment to watch the conclusion of the competition. They both cheered loudly for the Americans, especially Evora and Ladwig. However, as the Canadian pair took the ice for their second performance Ziva felt an odd urge to cheer for them, too. In a way, their presence in the competition already seemed like a victory in itself.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is the first installment in what is shaping up to become a series of Olympics-inspired one-shots. If the plot bunny that bit this morning is any indication, there's likely to be silliness and fluff involved in future chapters. You've been warned. Thanks, as always, go to Zaedah for the fastest beta-read in the west! Also: I am American. And yes, I will be cheering (loudly) for Evora/Ladwig and Denney/Barrett tonight! Still, I couldn't ignore certain parallels in the Dube/Davison story and a couple of our favorite NCIS agents. Hope you enjoyed this offering, and enjoy the Games, too!