This was a prompt sent to me by Dw.618. How did the letter from Morgan's mother get ripped out of Ziva's journal? Did GIbbs know it got ripped out?
Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS.
Ziva took her passport back from the flight steward and made her way down to the plane. Finding her seat, she settled down to her eight-hour flight back to her family. It had been an intense few days. Tony had received an email from Tim, letting them know that Morgan Burke's daughter had been found. Immediately, Ziva felt a pull to go back. She needed to see it through to the end. She had been the one to hand the case over to the police. It was her mistake that she needed to rectify. Tony understood. It was him who booked the flights. He had too had struggled with rule ten over the years. Jeanne Benoit came to mind.
Once Ziva landed in DC, she went straight to her office. However, Ellie had already discovered it and all of Ziva's journals had been taken somewhere else. Ziva had no choice but to go to Gibbs. Gibbs knew that Ziva had continued investigating the case after handing it over to the police. He knew that she would be back sooner rather than later.
When Tony left with Tali, Israel did indeed hold the answers that everyone was looking for. It was not Ziva's body in the farmhouse, but that of an unclaimed Jane Doe, who received a decent funeral in exchange for helping Ziva escape.
Paris had been the setting for their reunion. Whilst in Tel Aviv, Tony had been given access to a security deposit box in a bank. It contained everything that Tony needed in order to reunite with Ziva. She was waiting for him and Tali. The reunion had taken place in one of Eli David's safe houses. This particular safe house was not on Mossad's books, and was originally owned by Eli. Ziva had inherited it along with a large fortune.
Their first week together had been tense. Everyone was so happy to be with each other, finally, but Tony had so many questions, and wanted answers. Tony and Ziva argued a lot over that first week, but eventually they were able to forgive each other, and strengthen the unbreakable trust between the two of them.
They stayed in Paris because they thrived there. As individuals and as a family. That was important to Ziva, to be somewhere where they could grow and create happy memories, as opposed to being reminded of crime scenes. However, due to her family's history with Mossad, Ziva's old life reared its ugly head. It took a lot from Tony to convince her not to run, something that was an instinct for Ziva.
Instead they created their own version of witness protection, spreading the rumour that Ziva David was dead, deeper and further into terrorist networks. Kort's explosion had proved useful in the end. It not only destroyed Kort's documents but other documents pertaining to other terrorists that Eli David was keeping hold of.
Tony and Ziva quietly got married with Senior and the photographer as witnesses. They moved into Eli's safe house, turning it from a cold safe house, into a loving home. They carved out a quiet life. Money was not an issue due to Eli's inheritance, but both Tony and Ziva felt the need to do something other than be parents. Tony started helping out as an assistant with self-defence lessons for women. He was now working towards become an instructor himself.
Ziva did not know what she wanted to do at first. She struggled with anxiety and experienced waves of PTSD. Nightmares plagued her, as well as feeling guilty for not telling Tony about Tali. However, when Abby decided to leave NCIS and set the Clayton Reeves Foundation for homeless families, Ziva offered to help Abby. Any legal issues surrounding Ziva and Tony were dealt with quickly and quietly, making sure that bank accounts, assets and all communications were untraceable.
One thing that Tony and Ziva insisted was that they told Team Gibbs. It was not fair on their friends, the people that Tony and Ziva had worked with for so long and so closely. Abby, Tim, Jimmy, Ducky, Gibbs and Vance were told that Ziva was alive, living in Paris with Tony and Tali. All of them were given strict instructions never to tell anyone.
Ellie Bishop now joined that group.
After her office had been discovered, Ziva had gone to Gibbs. It was him who gave her the journal. It had felt strange to Ziva, holding the brown leather note book. So much had changed in the last ten years. Ziva was now a wife and a mother. She tore out the letter and handed Gibbs the notebook back. He did not show it, but Gibbs was thrilled to see Ziva in person. He missed her desperately and wished almost daily that he could have helped Ziva better, in whatever way she needed or he could provide. However, despite that wish, the woman who stood in front of him that night, was a strong woman who had overcome so much to have a life that she loved, with a husband and children who she adored.
The plane landed in Paris. Ziva would soon be reunited with her family. She gathered up her belongings and deboarded the plane. She had travelled with very little, as she always did. The queue for immigration moved slowly. Finally, Ziva handed her passport over to the security guard. She flicked through it, compared photo Ziva to real life Ziva. The guard typed something on her computer, closed the passport and smiled.
'Welcome back to Paris Mrs DiNardo. I hope you had a pleasant trip.' The guard handed Ziva back her passport, who happily took it. Ziva made her way through the rest of the airport until she got to the arrivals gate. Scanning the crowd, she spotted Tony standing towards the back. A little girl of about five stood next to him, and Tony had his arms full with another little girl, who looked to be about eighteen months.
'Bonjour mama' cried Tali.
'Mama' repeated Julia. Ziva smiled and reached over for the baby, balancing Julia on her hip. Tali wrapped her arms around Ziva's waist, Ziva running her free hand through her daughter's brown curls. Tony leant in and kissed his wife.
'Welcome home.'
'It's good to be back.'
They may have only been apart for three days, but to Tony and Ziva, it felt like a lifetime.
I really enjoyed She. It was written by the same woman who wrote Berlin and Past, Present, Future. I have a feeling that Ellie and Ziva would have gotten along if they met.
Hope you like it.