A/N: This is the sequel to When the rain comes down that I promised. I'm so sorry that this sequel has been on hiatus for so long. I'm hoping to update once a week but it may be more or less depending on work and school. If you haven't read When the rain comes down you won't understand what's going on so I would suggest you read that first. Hope you enjoy it and thank you all for your support so far.

Spoilers: Everything up to Aliyah is fair game, but nothing from the new season. If this changes I will let you know.

Disclaimer: My birthday was last week and I didn't get them, so I guess sadly they're still not mine.

~ NCIS ~ NCIS ~ NCIS ~ NCIS ~ NCIS ~ NCIS ~ NCIS ~ NCIS ~ NCIS ~ NCIS ~ NCIS ~ NCIS ~ NCIS ~ NCIS ~ NCIS ~ NCIS ~

Previously on NCIS:

"Eli is many things but he isn't stupid. He knows that if I'm here his window is limited."

"Are you here to help or make trouble?"

"I always come through, especially for a friend. She's yours."

"And the price for your assistance,"

"Is expected to be paid in full… six months…I expect everything you promised."

They had the papers, and Gibbs had never been so glad to see someone leave as he was to see Amira strut out of Vance's office. Six months would come too early for all of them, but he couldn't dwell on that. His team had to make it through tomorrow first.

When Gibbs looked back at the director his eyes were narrowed at the closing door. He got some dark satisfaction from knowing the director hated Amira as much as he did, even if it was simply on principle.

"You have some phone calls to make," Vance told him with a slight nod. "Then try and get some rest."

Gibbs didn't bother dignifying his comment with a response, and quickly slipped out of Vance's office his phone already in his hand.

McGee answered his phone on the first ring, he had obviously been waiting, they probably all were.

Gibbs regretted not saying goodbye, when he snapped the phone shut, but repeated the action with both Abby and Ducky only moments later. They wouldn't sleep anymore than he would, but he told them all to rest, and let himself hope that maybe they would at least try to rest.

~ NCIS ~ NCIS ~ NCIS ~ NCIS ~ NCIS ~ NCIS ~ NCIS ~ NCIS ~ NCIS ~ NCIS ~ NCIS ~ NCIS ~ NCIS ~ NCIS ~ NCIS ~ NCIS ~

1700 In Ziva's apartment.

Abby can't just sit still, so she goes to Ziva's apartment. Ziva had given her keys not long after her return from Somalia. It was when Ziva's nightmares where still vivid, after living with her for the first two weeks after her rescue, Abby had become painfully aware of just how vivid.

Then a silent apartment had been a blessing, it meant that Ziva wasn't dreaming, but now it felt oppressive.

Abby had gone home first, but couldn't stand the quiet yet here in Ziva's trashed apartment it was worse. The Mossad agents that had searched it had left everything thrown every where.

She knew that Ziva would tell her not to worry about it, that she could clean it herself, but Ziva wasn't there to tell her, and she couldn't just sit still. Slowly and methodically Abby focused on cleaning up her best friends apartment, she wasn't going to sleep, so at least she could do something constructive while they waited.

~ NCIS ~ NCIS ~ NCIS ~ NCIS ~ NCIS ~ NCIS ~ NCIS ~ NCIS ~ NCIS ~ NCIS ~ NCIS ~ NCIS ~ NCIS ~ NCIS ~ NCIS ~ NCIS ~

2300 In Tony's apartment.

Tony was quiet, he hadn't spoken since Gibbs called to tell them they had everything they needed for tomorrows confrontation with Eli and his Mossad agents.

McGee didn't know what to say, and sitting on the couch starring at the wall across from him, he wondered if maybe silence was better. Maybe being alone with their own thoughts was for the best.

They hadn't had any warning the first time Ziva had been shipped off. It had been announced right after Jenny's funeral, and then the next day she was on a plane, Tony was on a plane, and their lives had been turned upside down.

The team had gone back to the bullpen quiet after meeting with Vance none of them knowing what to say. They had packed their desks, no jokes, no teasing, and no games.

Then almost a year later they had nearly lost her in Africa, after Mossad abandoned her there. Where would they leave her next time? Would they be able to save her if Mossad got her on the plane before they reached her tomorrow?

Looking across at Tony's hunched figure and his friend's haunted eyes; McGee knew without a doubt, it was better to leave the silence and each of them alone with their own thoughts.

~ NCIS ~ NCIS ~ NCIS ~ NCIS ~ NCIS ~ NCIS ~ NCIS ~ NCIS ~ NCIS ~ NCIS ~ NCIS ~ NCIS ~ NCIS ~ NCIS ~ NCIS ~ NCIS ~

0100 In Gibbs basement.

Gibbs lay down the sander that he had been using for the better part of an hour. A layer of dust was covering him and the floor around his boat.

He worked on his boats because it helped him focus. Helped him calm down enough to think about the situation at hand, but tonight it wasn't helping. Tonight the steady sliding of the sander moving across the wood couldn't erase the feeling of her shaking in his arms, or her fearful eyes as she pulled away.

If Mossad got her out of the country they would lose Ziva, but it wasn't her death that scared her. It was being subjected to something like Somalia again.

Her eyes had told him everything she would never have said out loud.

If Mossad got her now she would die, because she would never go through Somalia again. She would never make it to the prison her father had planned for her. Gibbs wouldn't let that happen. He would keep her safe. They would keep her safe.

Setting down his tools Gibbs sat down beside his half finished boat. Eli didn't deserve her, and he hoped one day the man would realize it, preferably before if it was too late to change it.

~ NCIS ~ NCIS ~ NCIS ~ NCIS ~ NCIS ~ NCIS ~ NCIS ~ NCIS ~ NCIS ~ NCIS ~ NCIS ~ NCIS ~ NCIS ~ NCIS ~ NCIS ~ NCIS ~

0400 Tony's apartment terrace.

The silence echoing in Tony's apartment was louder than it had any right to be. He wasn't sure how long he had been starring at the floor with a beer in his hand, only that when he came back to himself, shadows had slid through the room, and the beer in his hand was hot.

McGee was starring at the wall across from him, his face a myriad of different emotions as he watched the invisible play of images racing through his mind.

Tony let him face those images alone, not wanting to share his own.

Ziva had kept her shields tightly in place when she had turned to face him in the bullpen, knowing that he would be angry, and yet she had been unable to hide the pain in her eyes as she said goodbye, and turned into her father's arms.

It was the same pain that had been evident on her face only a few nights earlier, as she struggled to tell him about what had happened in Somalia.

His blood had felt like it was on fire that night, just as it had today. He knew that Eli had no idea what he had done to his daughter, what she had been through on account of her mission to Africa. It had taken every ounce of strength Tony had left not to knock the man flat on his back when he lead Ziva away.

Tony had kept her secrets, and he would take them to his grave, but that didn't mean he wouldn't kill Eli the moment he had a chance to.

No matter what happened tomorrow, Tony wouldn't let her go back to Israel, to Mossad. He wouldn't lose her again.

~ NCIS ~ NCIS ~ NCIS ~ NCIS ~ NCIS ~ NCIS ~ NCIS ~ NCIS ~ NCIS ~ NCIS ~ NCIS ~ NCIS ~ NCIS ~ NCIS ~ NCIS ~ NCIS ~

0700 A small hotel room not far from the Israeli embassy.

Ziva had no idea why they weren't staying at the embassy as she had expected. Not that it really mattered. Eli and Mossad had her no matter where they chose to stay the night.

The morning sunlight was dancing across the hotel room. He was waiting for her impatiently, and any moment now he was going to grab her and try to force her down stairs. When she refused he would have the others bind her with cuffs.

If she got out of it without being hit at least once she would be very lucky, he'd never minded putting her in her place before, Eli certainly wasn't about to start now.

His voice was cold when he said her name, and she fought to hide the shudder that raced through her.

At some point he would start to charm her, he would try to convince her he was doing it for her own benefit. That he loved her, and that he wanted her close to him. That she needed to be back in Israel where she was away from the American influences. He had told her as much all those months ago.

Before Africa. Before her prison in Somalia. Before Saleem.

There was a time not to long ago, but a lifetime away that she had believed him. She had let herself believe everything he told her, and tried to pretend that it wasn't just the pain and anger after losing Michael, that was keeping her away from them.

But now was different. There was nothing left to shield herself with. No denial she could use to keep the pain away. This time his charm wouldn't work. His lies wouldn't convince her. This time he had lost her for good, and he would never get her back, no matter where he forced her to go.

This time her heart was staying in America, and she would die refusing to become his again.

He was dragging her across the airport when he froze at her side. The look of anger and hate that passed over his face gave him away, and Ziva turned away from searching for the face that she knew was there.

Sure enough Tony's bright smile greeted her, and after a few cold words she found herself in his arms.

Tony insisted that all she had to do was leave with him, just walk out, as if it was that simple, but it couldn't possibly be. Yet she saw the others, all waiting, and so she took that first step expecting hands, fists, and hateful words to draw her back but they never came.

Her fathers followed her across the airport and into the arms of the only real family she had left. The heat from his gaze was almost painful as Abby lead her out of the airport with the others standing around her as body guards, and into the cars that were waiting for them.

Gibbs got in one, McGee in another, and Tony opened the back doors for Abby who was still holding onto Ziva as if she would never let go. The strange convoy drove slowly away from the airport never slipping out of sight from the others.

It wasn't until Abby opened the door to her apartment and ushered her inside with Tony, McGee, and Gibbs right behind them that Ziva really processed what had happened.

"How?" Ziva asked with a shaky voice, as she and Abby sunk into her couch.

"I cleaned it up last night." Abby said with a small guilty smile that Ziva was all too familiar with.

"You didn't have to."

Abby grinned at the unspoken joke, but simply said, "I know."

"Abs I don't think that's what she meant." Tony said softly his eyes on Ziva.

All eyes turned on Ziva and she nodded slowly. "Why did he let me go?"

Small smiles appeared on everyone's faces, and Ziva found herself smiling to.

Abby reached into her large black purse and withdrew a large orange envelope.

"It's all there," she told Ziva with a small smile. "There was nothing he could do."

Careful Ziva took the envelope from her friend's hands and opened it with shaking fingers.

"How did you …"

"Called in some favors," Gibbs said simply.

Ziva stared at the papers in front of her. One was a letter containing a pardon, for all pending charges, and an excepted resignation from Mossad no strings attached. The second set of papers was a rather large packet that was titled American Citizenship.

"You're safe." Abby promised her softly.

Ziva relaxed releasing the tension she hadn't realized she had been holding since the airport. If she hadn't been there to see Eli let her walk away she wouldn't believe the pieces of paper I, and in her hand could really make her safe, and even knowing she wasn't sure how long they would last. Yet at least for now, Ziva really was safe from Mossad and her father.

One day he might come after her, but for now she was safe, and her family was with her to insure it.