This is the not the fanfiction that I have written but it is the first on that I have published. It may sound strange, but I started writting the sequal to this story before I started this one. So please go easy on me, I will accept critisim but please don't be nasty. Rated T for violence and some of the themes.
Disclaimer: I Don't own the characters: Ziva David, Talia David, Ari Haswari, Eli David or any other characters that may have been mentioned in the TV show NCIS. All of the above belongs to the creators of NCIS
All other characters and ideas that have not been used by the creators of NCIS are mine.
Any careless errors in grammar, punctuation, and spelling are also mine.
I will alert in authors note of any spoilers or tags to any previous episodes that I have viewed.
Please notify me of any mistakes within the text and I will attempt to fix it.
This is based on my views of Ziva's teenage years from sixteen on wards, so it has no one else on team Gibbs in it. I have had an idea of what I think of Ziva's teenages years for a while, but i needed to write it down to make sense of it, so here it is.
_
She walked home from her school enduring the blistering heat of the Israeli desert that she was all to used to. Her sister chatted to her at full speed about her day. She wasn't really listening to her though.
Her parents had been fighting. Again. It was nothing new. She knew what was going to happen; they were going to get divorced. Then they would have shared custody of her sister and herself. Her mother would go to court to try to win full custody. But her father had people in high places, he would win.
She turned a corner to her street. She opened the door and walked in and then headed up to her room. When she opened the door she found a suitcase filled with the clothes her mother bought her that she never wore, she preferred her plain cargo pants and plain tank tops or T-shirts, no matter how much she didn't like them her mother almost forcefully insisted on dresses and skirts and more feminine clothes. There was another suit case on her bed, empty.
Her sister walked into her room, "Do you know why there are suit cases with our possessions in it on our beds?"
"No. It is a bit weird though," she told her 7 year old sister.
"Are you two Home?" they heard their mother call from out the back of the house.
"Yes," she shouted loud enough that her mother could hear.
"Good," she replied walking to her room, I want you to both pack some of your most prized possessions,"
"Where is Abba?" she asked the elder women.
"He is on a mission, again. We are leaving,"
She looked at her mother with a look of discuss, "Why are you leaving,"
"This is just not me; it is the two of you too,"
"Where are we going, Ima?" asked the youngest girl.
"We are going away for a little while,"
"Like on a holiday?" she asked.
"Yes, now go and pack sweetheart," the eldest women replied. The little girl ran to her room and started packing. She was too young to fully understand.
She was just standing at her door, looking up at her mother, "why are you going?"
"We are going to a small apartment not far out of town,"
"I am not going,"
"Yes you are, now get packing," her mother put her foot down.
She turned around and walked to her room. She unzipped the pre packed suitcase and removed the extremely feminine clothes that she loathed and repacked it with her usual clothes and shoes; she also packed photos, CDs and her laptop.
She was very angry. She knew this was coming but she would have thought that her mother would have had more guts than to take her two daughters and move them away from their father. It wasn't fair. She loved her father and would do almost anything for him. She didn't understand why her mother was doing this. She wanted to stay with her father. He might not be around a lot but they had a special bond, if you wish to call it that, he would told her that she had potential to do whatever it is that she wanted.
Her Mother packed the car with their suitcases and loaded the two younger girls in the car, he eldest of her daughters in the front staring out the window.
She was going to make her mothers life very difficult. She did not want to leave her home.
_
It was 5:00 on a Friday morning. Ziva David was lying on her back on her bed with her left arm above her head then tucked under the top of her pillow, she was staring at the ceiling of the house that never quite felt like home.
She was remembering the day that her mother had taken her and her sister Tali from their father. It was on this day eight years ago.
She was now 16, 17 in a few weeks, and had plans running through her head to be able to get her out of the house tonight to see her father and older brother.
She had been sneaking out of her house just outside of Tel Aviv to walk to her father's house and than later in the night Ari, her brother, would drive her back. She had not once been caught.
Since her Mother had taken her from her father she had moved to a new school and made new friends, she rarely talked to people from her old school.
She got up out of bed and walked to the kitchen. She put two pieces of toast into the toaster while she retrieved the butter from the fridge. When her toast was ready she walked outside onto the back veranda to eat her breakfast while the sun rose.
She walked out in her sleeping tank top and mid length shorts. She enjoyed the feel of the slight chill of the early morning temperature gave her. It wasn't cold but it was no where near as hot as it would get, it was refreshing.
She was begun to think about her schooling lately. People had begun to find out who her father was, and that he held high ranks in Mossad.
Although she knew self defence, she was told by her father not to use it outside of training unless it was against someone she didn't know or was in a life threatening situation.
_
"Hey, Ziva," one boy, Bazak, called after school one day.
Ziva rolled her eyes, "what do you want, Bazak?" she asked coldly.
"Aw, come on now do not be like that," he said as he walked up to her and laid a hand on her shoulder. This made Ziva uncomfortable, but she didn't let it show. This was one of the first things that her father taught her. She shrugged off his hand and kept walking.
She didn't get very far before Bazak's friends decide they wanted to join him. Dekel and Tamid were Bazak's main sidekicks but he had a group of friends that were scared of him and thought it was funny to hit and hurt Ziva.
Ziva put on a brave face and took it all lightly. Her father told her never to hit some one from school. She never did.
"Yeah, Ziva. Why don't you hang with us for a little?" asked Dekel.
"I would rather not," she said.
"I'm afraid that is not an option," Said Tamid.
"Yeah well, what are my options then?"
"You won't get much of a say in that, Ziva," Bazak replied this time
"Wow, you really do not have a life, do you?" she asked. She wasn't scared of them; she knew that if it came down to it, she would beat them.
She was pulled to the side of a building where one of them took her back pack, one held her still, and the other hit her. Throughout the whole encounter, she didn't make a noise. They went through her bag and found money that had been forgotten about and some school books, homework.
They took the money and zipped her bag back up, then proceeded to throw her bag on to the other side of the road.
They walked away laughing. She could feel her lip puffing up, when they hit her it split her lip, and it was bleeding. She walked over the road and collected her bag. She walked home in a silence.
When she got home she cleaned her lip and waited until it stopped bleeding.
_
By this point Ziva had finished eating and the sun was halfway up. The incidents with Bakaz, Dekel, and Tamid took place almost every day.
She was used to it. But they had started to realize that they weren't getting a reaction out of her, since they had began to notice this, but they still continued to do it. It was getting frustrating and Ziva was going to reach a breaking point fast if they kept it up.
"Ziva!" yelled a hyperactive voice from inside the house. Ziva stood up with her plate and walked back inside.
"Good morning Tali," Ziva said with a smile.
Although Tali was 15, she was still like a little girl who had just got the best news. Her mother followed her from down the hall.
"I am going to get changed," she said coolly, mainly to her mother, as she walked to her room. She grabbed a black tank top and beige cargo pants. After she was changed it was about time to go.
Tali and Ziva were walked down the street to their school. When they arrived at their school, Ziva walked to her locker to be confronted by her friends; Kalev and Adara.
"Good morning," said Kalev.
Ziva smiled as she put her books in her locker, "Good morning,"
"What are you doing on the weekend?" Adara asked her.
"Nothing,"
"Hey are you okay, Ziva?" Kalev asked.
Ziva looked between the two of them while she debated telling them what was bothering her. They were her best friends. In the past she said that she would tell them anything. But she didn't share much about her family with them.
The bell went to signify the beginning of the day. She grabbed her books and walked to homeroom.
Her day went by without any trouble; she wasn't harassed with over due work or any one picking on her for what ever reason. The only thing ruining her day was her own memories of her father and of the day that they left him while he was on mission.
She walked to her locker with Adara after the bell saying that lunch had began. She was listening to Adara and asking questions when she felt necessary.
"That is it, Ziva. What is bothering you?" she finally asked.
"Nothing is wrong, Adara. I am fine," Ziva replied as she opened her locker, only to have Adara close it again. Ziva looked at her, "What?" she asked agitated.
"Something is wrong, Ziva, you have not acted like this in a long time. Kalev and I are meant to be your friends and yet you will not talk to us. What is the matter?"
Ziva looked down then opened her locker door again. She could feel Adara staring at her. She closed her locker door after she put her books away then leant against it crossing her arms in front of her chest, "It is just family problems, nothing that you need to worry about," she said. Adara opened her locker and put her books in, then walked back to Ziva and grabbed her arm pulling her out of the corridor to the side of one of the school buildings.
On the way they ran into Kalev who stared at Adara before she continued to walk, this time with Kalev trailing behind them. When they reached the side of the building Adara grabbed both of upper arms and stood in front of her, "Ziva, please tell us," she pleaded with her.
"It is stupid," she said, "Today, six years ago, Ima, took Tali and I from our father's house. I hate her for doing that to us," she said. Kalev put a hand on Adara's shoulder.
"You don't mean that Ziva. You are just angry. And it's not stupid; you care about your father. Do you know why she left him," asked Kalev.
"No, I never asked," she said looking down.
"Maybe you should, maybe you need the closure," stated Adara.
"Maybe you are right," she looked up at her friends and offered them a friendly smile.
"Okay, let's go and eat," said Kalev. Adara and Ziva laughed at their friend's eagerness to eat.
The rest of the day was better for Ziva, after talking to her friends she began to feel happier, and started enjoying her day a little more. She was planning to ask her mother the questions that she had been wanting to ask for the past six years. Tonight before she snuck out she was going to get her answers.
Soon the end of the day arrived. She said good bye to her friends and began walking home. Like clock work Bazak and his friends rounded the corner.
"How has your day been, Ziva?" Bazak asked.
Ziva put on a realistic fake smile, "I have had a wonderful day, thank you," she said still walking. She, for some reason, had a boost of confidence.
Bazak, Tamid, and Dekel, looked slight taken back by her sudden confidence. Then Bazak said, "Hey, where are you going?" as he jogged to catch up to her.
She frowned in confusion slightly, "I am going home," she said slowly.
"No your not, not yet," he said as he grabbed he arm. She shrugged off her back pack and gave it to them. All three of them looked at her. They were very confused. Dekel grabbed her and Tamid hit her, while Bakaz went through her back pack.
Tamid was about to throw his fifth punch when they heard some one run up to them, "Hey, leave her alone, get lost," she recognized the voice, "Ziva, is that you?" the three boys got up, dropping her to the ground, and ran away throwing all of her stuff back at where her back pack was.
Ziva pulled her self off of the ground a bit and spat out blood. She heard her bother jog closer to her, "Ziva are you okay?" he asked kneeling down next to her. He put a hand on her cheek examining her face for injuries.
"Yes, I am fine. What are you doing here?" she asked.
"I'm on holidays, well that and the fact that I got half a day off of med school today. I thought that I would come and pick my sisters up from school and spoil them," he said. She smiled.
"Do they do that often?" Ari asked.
"Sometimes," she said as he helped her off of the dusty side walk.
"That doesn't answer my question, Ziva, why do they do it"
"They think that I will retaliate, because Abba is in Mossad. You two told me not to hit people from school or people I know, so I don't," she said as she spat more blood out.
Ari grabbed her lower lip and pulled it back a bit as he tried to work out where he blood was coming from, "You have cut the inside of your lip, it's not very big," he stated.
"Then why is it bleeding so much?" she said after he let her lip go.
"Wounds in your mouth, like your tongue, lip, or cheek, bleed a lot. Come on," he said pulling her gently to his car after getting her backpack and its contents from the sidewalk. Once at the car, he grabbed some tissues for her, "let's find Tali,"
"She should be..." she stopped to think, "Just over there," she said pointing to her sister.
"Wait here, I'll go and get her," Ari said. Ziva walked to the front seat and sat down, doing her seat belt up. Not two minutes later, Ari returned with Tali.
"Okay girls, where to first?" he asked as he began to drive.
"You drive to slow, Ari," Ziva told her older half brother. She saw him glare at her from the driver's seat, "I drive by the rules Ziva. Not all of us get into a car with Rivka, I hope she has not begun to teach you to drive," he said.
"Actually she has, I will not get my license for a while though," she sounded disappointed.
"If she has taught you to drive, you'll never get a license," he said under his breath.
"Hey, I heard that," she laughed. Ari and Tali laughed at their sister's easy, care free laugh.
"Ari?" Tali asked.
"Yes, Tali?" he replied still chuckling a little bit.
"Can we get ice cream?"
"Yes, Tali,"
They turned into a side street, "Where are we?" Ziva asked.
"We are at one of the places that Abba used to take me to get ice cream. This is one of Israel's best kept secrets," he said, "So you can't tell anyone,"
"What do you do, make it your self?" Ziva asked smartly.
"Well, I know another place where you can do that, Ziva, if you would like," he replied sarcastically.
Ziva turned to face him and stuck her tongue out at him, "I was being sarcastic,"
"I know," he stopped the car and Tali was the firs to jump out.
"To be honest with you, I don't think she needs anymore sugar," Ziva said.
"I think you might be right about that," he replied pulling his wallet from his pocket.
Five minutes later Tali Was walking along the Israeli beach a little in front of Ari and Ziva.
"Um, Ari?" she asked after a little while of silence.
"Yeah?" he replied.
"Why did Ima leave Abba?" she asked him.
"Ziva, I honestly don't know, that was seven years ago, I was 14 and I was living with my mother," he said, "I think it had something to do with his work,"
"What? She had a problem with him working for his country?"
"I would think there is more to it than that Ziva. I'm not really the right person to be asking, you have to ask Abba or your mother,"
"Do you know how she left him?"
"Yes, Abba and I do talk. I think they meet each other than got married pretty quickly after they found..." he stopped mid sentence than started again, "that is not the point, I don't think they were the perfect match before they got married, it was rushed," he said. He knew why they rushed to get married but he didn't want to tell her. She knew this.
"If they weren't the perfect match wouldn't they know that before hey got married?" she asked.
"I guess they were young and in love," he said, trying to deter her from the truth.
"Abba was 36 when they got married. Ima was 28. That is not young and in love," she said raising her voice, "Ima may have been younger, but Abba wasn't really. Why did they get married?" she said almost forcefully. Their father had been teaching her well.
"Ziva, you are going to have to ask Rivka or Abba. I cannot answer your questions, it is not my place," he said making him self clear. They had a staring contest for a little while.
"Are you coming tonight, when I get home I will have to tell Abba," he said more calmly.
She nodded, not speaking to him. He sighed and rolled his eyes. She was one stubborn young woman.
"Tali," Ari yell to his youngest sister. She stopped and turned around, "We're going," Ari told her, she walked quickly to him. When he turned to where Ziva was standing, he found her already half way back to his car.
"What's the matter with Ziva, Ari?" Tali asked.
"Nothing you need to worry about," he replied walking towards his car. The whole way back to their house, Ziva stared out the window. Ari was keeping something from her; he was going to pay tonight.
When they arrived at their house, Tali were the first out of the car.
"I will see you later," Ari told Ziva.
"Goodbye," she said before walking out of the car and into her mother's house.
She put her school stuff in her room and walked to the back door where she could see her mother working in the back yard. She walked out and stood in front of her mother.
"What can I do for you Ziva?" she asked her daughter.
"You can start by telling me why you left Abba,"
She sighed, "Ziva, I left him to protect you and your sister. He wanted to make you like him. He showed you a gun and a knife when you were only three years old. That scared me Ziva. He was never there for us; he was not supporting us probably. You and your sister needed a real father," she explained.
"Except now we don't have one at all. We only see him a few times a month," Ziva replied, "Why did you marry him?" she asked.
"Ziva I married him because I loved him," Rivka replied quickly.
"Liar. I spoke to Ari, he said it was rushed and something about finding something out," Ziva was quick with her re but.
Her mother hesitated, "What did you find out?" Ziva already knew the answer; she wasn't stupid and could do the math. But she still wanted to hear it, "What was it?"