Name: Azalea DiNozzo

Date: 10/8

Class: 5th hour English

Write about an event from your family's past and elaborate on how it affects you today.

Record your response on the lines below.

Something happened between my parents years ago that fascinates me, because it's completely taboo in our house. They know I'm aware of it, but there's this unspoken understanding that I won't ask and they won't tell. What I know comes from years of compiling snippets of information, and I still don't have many details, but I know it's important.

The first I heard of it, I was five years old. I woke up in the middle of the night and decided to go sleep in my parents' bed. When I got to their room, they were awake and my mom was crying- that's the reason I remember it so well; it was the first time I ever saw her cry. They didn't notice me, and I stood there and watched as she apologized and my dad said, "You don't have to say sorry because it comes back to you sometimes."

I was completely freaked out and confused, so I turned around and ran back to my room. In the morning, my parents were acting normal. I shrugged off whatever it was I had seen, but- okay, I guess now is the time for some background.

My mom and dad were partners at NCIS (that's Naval Criminal Investigative Service, in case you didn't know- a lot of people don't, even here in D.C.) for a long time. That's how they met. Several of the people I call my family aren't actually blood-related to me; they're from my parents' original team. There's Ducky (who is gone now), Aunt Abby, Uncle Tim, and Gramps. All of them were there for this big deal between my parents, and that's why I know what I do.

A couple years after that first incident, I was at Aunt Abby and Uncle Tim's house. I was coloring at the dining room table and they were talking in the kitchen. Their voices were background noise to me, until they dropped suddenly, and then I was straining to hear. I made out just a few phrases: "…after Ziva stayed in Israel… Tony's face… she came home."

I recognized my parents' first names; that was the only thing I was comprehending. That night I had seen my mom crying came back to me suddenly, and even though I had absolutely nothing to base it on, I was certain that it was connected to whatever my aunt and uncle were talking about.

There have been several occasions since then on which I would walk into a room and the conversation would end abruptly; I quickly learned that if the adults were speaking in hushed tones, I should stand where I couldn't be seen and listen intently. Yes, I am a bad, eavesdropping daughter, but back then, I wanted to know. I wanted to know badly.

Now, I have managed to construct an idea of what happened. On one hand, it inspires even more burning questions- most beginning with the word why- and on the other, I'm not entirely sure I want to know any more.

Here's what I know: my mom had a boyfriend who was not my dad; I think his name was Michael. There was some sort of falling out between Mom, Dad and this Michael person, and in the end, my mom went back to Israel. (Right, another important piece of information I should have mentioned: that's where she's from. She's an American citizen and everything now, but she didn't live here until she came to NCIS.) So Mom was in Israel and Dad was here; it was bad. Not sure what was up with Mom during that time (something bad- she was crying about it, after all), but Dad was really depressed. And then… I don't know how much time elapsed or what the circumstances were, but something else happened and Mom came home (without Michael, I guess) and was partners with Dad again and apparently whatever had gone wrong was corrected.

You know those middle-aged couples with kids who manage to keep some semblance of romance in their lives? That's my parents, and sometimes it's really annoying (and disgusting), but I can also tell how much they love each other. It's hard for me to imagine something driving my mom to put entire continents between herself and my dad. Then again, I didn't know them back then. According to Gramps, they had "issues" but "once they worked them out, they were worked out." Mom and Dad were partners for seven years or something before they started dating. Once that happened, it all happened: six months dating, six months engaged, pregnant eight months after the wedding. Maybe all of this drama was just a necessary hurdle for them to jump over on their way to being together.

Another thing Gramps likes to say is that there is no such thing as a coincidence, and I kind of agree. My mom is Jewish and my dad is Catholic; all three of us go to Temple at Hanukkah and midnight Mass on Christmas Eve, and I love both. I have yet to decide which of the religions I will follow- or if I'll choose a different one- but there is no doubt in my mind that I believe in God. I believe in God, and I believe that there are plenty of coincidences in the world, but I also believe that sometimes, He intervenes.

I believe that my parents were brought back together because it's supposed to be that way.

How does this affect me, then?

I don't have a whole lot of details or a terribly accurate timeline, but I don't really need them. I know the bottom line: continents and oceans couldn't keep my mom and dad apart, and that's the reason I'm here today.

So. This is a new one for me.

And harder than I thought it would be! Trying to make it good AND sound like a fifteen year old girl's school paper.

Let me know if it worked… or not. Reviews are love! :D