Title: United
Fandom: NCIS
Author: Alidiabin
Words: 1,170
Disclaimer: I own nothing
Warnings/ Spoilers: none
Parings: hints to Ray/Ziva and Tony/Ziva
Summary: They represent the United Nations. Ziva's other friends outside of the office.
United
It was a quiet Sunday afternoon in suburbia and all the houses in the modest street were quiet except for one owned by a Fijian Indian couple in their forties. The small kitchen table was full. The people around the dining table represented the United Nations. A Palestinian student named Samir, a Ghanaian middle aged man named Kofi, a Polish matriarch named Irina, the Indian couple; Raj and Neha, and Ziva sat around the scrabble board on the table. On the neighbouring couch sat a Lithuanian computer technician Aras and a heavily pregnant Vietnamese woman in her late twenties named Mai, a Colombian woman named Maria and a Sri Lankan couple called Thisara and Iruni. Iruni bounced their American born daughter on her knee.
"Is that even a word?" Irina asked.
Ziva grabbed the dictionary. While Ziva checked, Irina checked her phone to see if her husband needed picking up from work. Her eight year old son sat with his Gameboy in the corner.
"No, it's not a word," Ziva declared. A smile crossed competitive Neha's face. She was going to win a game at her house.
The group had met at citizenship classes over two years ago. They held regular scrabble games, with hosting and food alternating between them. Initially, the games had been part study group and part English improvement but once they all became official citizens they had continued the games and they had developed into gossip particular game had been hosted by Raj and Neha but the food had been provided by Ziva.
"What if you change the suffix?" Samir asked as he examined the word.
"To what?" Kofi asked. He rubbed his temple; he was a taxi driver and had not had enough sleep. He mind was not refreshed enough to attempt the game.
"I don't know," Samir asked, "I study biomedical science not language."
"I do not have the letters anyway," Irina declared with a sigh. "Whose turn is it next?"
"Ziva's," Raj declared as he stifled a yawn. He worked far too many hours across two minimum wage jobs. It was the first Sunday he had off in a while. He had intended to spend it with his Americanised daughter while his wife played scrabble. But twelve year old Shanti had plans involving his money and her friends.
"Shall I just write triple word score," Samir declared. Ziva poked her tongue out at him. Despite their opposing places of origins any conflict had been left in their homelands.
During their first citizenship class, which had been held by a high school teacher doing community service, they had been asked to disclose their place of origin and their reason for choosing to make America their home. Ziva stood up.
"My name is Ziva, I am from Israel," Ziva reported, "I came to America years ago for work but I found some people that I could not leave behind." Ziva sat down and the boy behind her stood up.
"My name is Samir, and I am from Palestine," Samir said. The teacher and a few of the people in the class looked at Ziva to gage her reaction. She did not react. "And came to America because I wanted to live in a proper country,"
The whole class gasped. Ziva let a smile cross her face.
"I guess the more the merrier," Ziva uttered. Samir burst out laughing.
"No, I really came here to study," Samir said with a smile on his face.
Ziva and Samir later became good friends. Ziva had helped Samir study by explaining things in Arabic. The pair of them had left the Israel/Palestine conflict in Israel/Palestine. Ziva had even been the first person Samir told he was gay.
"I don't always win," Ziva declared,
"It's always either you or Mai but Mai had pregnancy brain," Maria declared. Mai rubbed her swollen belly.
"This falafel is good," Mai replied proving Maria's point.
The group did not only represent the United Nations but they were the American dream personified. Maria, Kofi, Samir and Ziva had lost almost everything in their homelands but America had saved them. Raj, Irina and Thisara wanted better lives for their children. Aras had come to America looking for an adventure but had found love with Mai who was in his English class at college. Now they were expecting a baby who would be more than bilingual.
"So," Irina began, "Ziva how is that boyfriend of yours,"
"Ray?" Ziva asked as she laid down her tiles. She did not recall telling her friends much about Ray, though he had come up when hers and Ray's trips had meant Ziva had missed scrabble.
"Ray," Neha replied as her face mirrored confusion, "I thought his name was Tony,"
"Tony is her partner," Mai interrupted. Irina and Neha looked confused they believed that partner and boyfriend were interchangeable.
"Partner isn't that the same as a person you are screwing," Aras asked. Mai shot him a look that told him that told him to shut up.
"It seems that look is the same in every language," Thisara declared.
"I am not screwing Tony," Ziva declared. "He is my work partner,"
"Lots of people meet their spouses at work," Maria declared, "That's how I met husband numero tres,"
"I thought that was husband number two," Iruni uttered.
"No," Maria replied with a giggle indicating otherwise. The female members of the table laughed. "Besides it's her boss that is the how you say hot stuff,"
"Maria," Ziva cried screwing up her face. "When have you even met Gibbs?"
"At that market two winters ago," Maria declared. "When he was in a sling. I wanted to nurse him back to health," Ziva remembered when Gibbs had met Maria.
She had insisted that she take Gibbs food shopping after McGee had reported that Gibbs cupboards were empty. They had bumped into Maria in the frozen food aisle.
"Ziva," the middle age Columbian called as she hugged Ziva.
"Shalom Maria," Ziva replied as the Columbian let go of her.
"And who is this?" Maria uttered turning to Gibbs who gave her a quick smirk.
"My boss. His name is Gibbs. Gibbs this is Maria, she is in my citizenship studies class." Ziva said as Gibbs nodded.
"I don't wanna hear," Ziva replied. "Besides why do you all want to hear about my friends?"
"Because theirs are boring," Samir declared. "And I don't think Aras has any friends outside of Mai and our little group,"
"I have friends from work," Aras declared, offended at Samir's comment.
"Boring friends who are picky eaters," Mai replied. Aras kissed his wife and whispered something in his wife's ear.
The group continued to talk for much longer leaving the scrabble board unattended. They enquiries continued about Aras and Mai's baby, about Samir's schooling and about Ziva's love life. The group discussed their homelands with nostalgia, sadness and joy. Discussions about homelands turned into conversations about their new lives. Happiness and joy flowed from their lips and hope echoed from their hearts.
A/N: My mind is vast place full strange things. This fic was born after a discussion with someone about the team not having friends. My brain also went to the emotional/sentimental place, so deepest apologies.
So, reviews/comments etc.