The other Ziva
Ziva walked into the bull pen stiffly like a zombie made of sawdust rather than a human made of flesh. She was wearing jeans and a vest top, the straps hanging off her shoulders and a jacket sat wonkily on her shoulders. Her normally shiny hair was scraggly, seemingly unbrushed, and her eyes were swollen and red.
'Ziva?' Gibbs asked, putting his coffee down and peering at her. ''You alright?' Both Tony and McGee got up at his tone.
'I got a phone call' she croaked, her accent sticking out and handed her phone to McGee, who scuttled to Ziva and back to his desk, tapping away before he pulled up a sound file as Abby rounded the corner silently. He clicked on the small triangle.
'Hello?' Ziva's voice resounded; its normal, only slightly accented self.
'Z-ziva' a girl's voice whispered, on the other end of the phone line.
'Tali?!'
'I'm, I'm in trouble, Ziva' the voice wavered between a croak and a whisper.
'You're dead!'
'I-I got out of my mission Ziva, b-but-' there was an audible swallow. 'D-dad found me and I'm currently on the run from Mossad'
There was silence for a long moment; the gears in Ziva's brain were almost audible in the bullpen.
'Tali, I'm on the other side of the world, working liaison with NCIS, what do you want me to do?' There was another break as the girl, Tali, burst into tears.
'I-I don't know. I was hoping. . . I was hoping, maybe, save me? I-I'm nearby . . .' she sobbed.
'Tali, I have to go. Get to NCIS . . . I'll think of something . . .' the phone line went dead and everyone looked at Ziva.
'Ziva!' The director called, hurrying down the stairs and hugging Ziva tightly, stroking her hair as tears began to flow down Ziva's cheeks.
'I just got a phone call from the Director of Mossad . . . He asked me to pass on a message to you' Jenny said, her eyes downcast. Ziva nodded, stepping back slightly, and let her finish. 'He said "I want one of you back, or I will come and get both of you''' Jenny whispered. Ziva staggered backward into Gibbs, who gripped her waist as her knees buckled.
Ziva recovered quickly and stood, only leaning slightly on Gibbs. There was a tense silence, before she stumbled to her desk. She picked up her bag and began stuffing things into it. Only a second later did she stumble back to the others.
'I want to say goodbye before she gets here' Ziva said 'Jenny, I think you make a fantastic director, and you were a stunning agent' She nodded her head in the Directors direction and turned to McGee.
'Timothy, you're a good agent, thank you for taking care of me.' Ziva stood straight and hugged McGee tenderly.
'Abigail, I am glad we got to be friends before I left' She again hugged Abby closely before turning to Tony. He opened his mouth to speak but Ziva pressed one finger against his lips, before stretching up and planting one small kiss on his cheek.
'Gibbs' Ziva said and turned around. 'I protected you, now will you protect my sister?' Gibbs managed to nod once before the elevator dinged.
From inside the metal box, a slim, pixie figure emerged; even for a small girl of fourteen she was tiny, and looking very fragile. She looked almost identical to her sister, barring the short spiky hair and the difference in stature. She looked around with wide, black eyes before spying her sister.
'Ziva!' the girl sobbed and ran across the room into her sister's embrace. Ziva murmured into her hair before pulling back.
'Talia, this is Special Agent Gibbs, he's going to look after you while I sort his out, alright?' Ziva small smile was reassuring as she placed her sister's hand in Gibbs' outstretched one.
With this small gesture, Ziva turned and walked into the elevator. It took only a fraction of a second for Tali to realise what was happening. Gibbs wrapped his arms around her waist.
'Ziva? Ziva, where are you going?! Ziva!' she yelled, struggling against his grip. The Elevator doors slid shut as Tali escaped. She ran and leant heavily on the cool metal door, banging her fist on it heavily and she slid into a sobbing pile on the floor, still calling for her sister.