A/N Addendum 11/1/12: FYI, I changed the timeline of this story somewhat after the fact. Aside from some tweaks in the dialogue, the story has not otherwise changed significantly.
A/N: I had the idea of this story after listening to the commentary for "Housekeeping" on the Season 9 DVD. Even Michael and Cote seem to be very warm to Tiva ;)
Also, this story follows up my previous short "If Something Should Happen," which is posted here on the Fanfiction website. If you haven't read it, it wouldn't hurt to do so before reading this story...
Standard "fan fiction" disclaimer. If I can't make any money off of this, the least I could expect is a little feedback.
Officers Malachi Ben-Gidon and Liat Tuvia had arrived in Dubai to meet with a contact, who indicated that they had important information. They had arranged a 'dead drop' in the Main lobby of the Burj al Arab hotel. While Liat sought out the dead drop, Malachi checked in at the front desk. "Reservation for Thomas Spencer." He showed the clerk a British Passport with his alias.
"Yes, Mr. Spencer, here is your key," the clerk responded as he showed 'Thomas Spencer' the floor and location on his suite. "We hope you enjoy your stay."
As Malachi headed toward the lift, his partner caught up to him. "Did you find the package."
"Yes," Liat answered.
As they entered their suite, they opened the package. Inside was a flash drive. They took out their laptop computer and connected the device. The flash drive contained numerous pictures, nearly all of them of fellow members of Mossad, and many of them have been shown to be killed.
After looking through the pictures and identifying everyone that had been depicted, the Israeli partners opened the enclosed document. The same message had been written in Arabic, Farsi, Hebrew, French, Spanish, and English. Upon reading the message, Malachi used his encrypted satellite phone to make a call. "Director," he stated as the person on the other line answered. "We have a problem."
For some time, DC's number one NCIS Major Case Response Team, led by Leroy Jethro Gibbs, had a familial bond. In the past two months, that bond has grown stronger and has expanded. During a murder/robbery investigation, Gibbs found out that the adopted daughter of the victim, Catherine "C. J." McCoy, was his biological daughter. C. J.'s father willed custody of his girl to his friends Jacob and Allison White. After the team discovered the connection, the White family encouraged the team to keep in touch. While murders, mysteries, and other cases still took a lot of the team's time, they did find time to come together. For Thanksgiving and Christmas, the members of this ragtag family visited their other friends and relatives. They all had decided to get together on December 9th. For the party, the Whites insisted on hosting.
Allison prepared a crock pot full of dip for Sunday football, along with plenty of tortilla chips. During the night game, Tony, C. J., Ziva, and Tessa gathered at the pool table for a round of eight-ball. Tony had just finished setting up the object balls and had pulled the rack. "Your turn to break," he called out to his partner. C. J. smiled knowingly and placed the white cue ball in position for her break shot. The young redhead's shot hit cleanly, scattering the balls, and placing the 1 and 7 in opposite corner pockets. "Excellent, C. J," Tony stated as he gave her a high five.
"Thanks," C. J. replied, "my dad taught me."
"He wouldn't have picked up the nickname 'Slim' anywhere," DiNozzo replied as he prepared to follow up his teammate's shot.
"No, but I do get the Jim Croce reference." C. J.'s adopted father's name was William, but like the character in the song, he was from the southern part of Alabama. "Everyone called him 'Bill,' but he was someone who you didn't want to mess around with."
"Neither is you other father," Tony stated. "I've seen suspects tremble upon the simple gaze of the steely blue eyes of Leroy Jethro Gibbs," he continued as he took his shot. The cue ball steered to the right of his target, going into the side pocket.
Ziva chuckled when Tony scratched. "I think you need to work on your pool skills." She turned to her partner, "Tessa, you're up." While Tessa White was not as experienced as her best friend and foster sister in Pool, she was a decent casual player herself. She immediately targeted and pocketed the 10 ball. "Nice Shot!" Ziva noted.
Tessa high-fived her partner. Tessa had given Ziva a clean shot of the 9 ball, and Ziva was able to pocket the 9, and give Tessa a clean shot of the 11. "Boo, yah!" Tessa exclaimed.
While the kids continued their round of eight-Ball, their mother was cleaning up dinner in the kitchen with help from Abby. "The only thing I was worried about," Allison commented, "with Gibbs being part of his daughter's life was that Tessa would be left out."
"Trust me," Abby answered, "There's no way either girl would be unloved by this family. C. J. actually favors Tony, and it looks like Tessa has formed a bond with Ziva."
"I've noticed that, too," Mrs. White noted. "I also noticed that your friends have this sort of personal chemistry between them. Do you know if they're in a relationship outside of work."
"Not that I know of," Abby remarked, "but no one on the team would be surprised if it did happen."
Monday morning came quickly for NCIS Director Leon Vance. He was going over some paperwork when his personal cell phone rang. "This is Vance," he stated.
"Leon," a familiar voice on the other end of the line replied, "I need a favor from you."
Meanwhile, in the bullpen, Ziva and Tony traded barbs about the previous night's pool game. "Come on, Ziva, even the best pool players scratch sometimes, it's part of the game."
"Last night, you looked like an amateur instead of a pool bear."
"It's 'pool shark' David. Besides, we were all there to have a good time. You did enjoy yourself with your mini-ninja, right?"
"Of course," Ziva answered, giving a coy grin, "especially since we defeated you in both games."
Before Tony could say another word, his desk phone rang. "DiNozzo," he answered. He listened to the person on the other end before continuing, "sure thing, Director, we'll be right up."
"What did Director Vance want?" Ziva inquired.
"Us," DiNozzo answered.
*foof*
I think you can guess who's asking Vance for a favor. What does he need, and what is Tony and Ziva's role in this? What was the message in the Dubai package? What will they tell their "little sisters?"