Disclaimer: These characters belong to Donald P. Bellisario, Bellisarius Productions, CBS, Paramount, etc. No copyright infringement intended.
A/N: I am not Jewish, so please forgive me any small mistakes I may make regarding the customs, etc. I'm trying my best to be accurate. It was just too fun an idea to pass up!
December 21, 2008
Ziva smiled to herself as she settled into her chair and soaked in the quiet familiarity of the squadroom. She looked around the still empty room and remembered her initial surprise as the 7 am start of business. Three years later she still rose with or before the sun; using the time to run through her personal workout, meditate, eat, and prepare for the day ahead. Even with all that, she was nearly always the first agent to arrive in the morning.
'Guess I better tackle that paperwork before Vance tries to confine me to desk duty again.' Ziva grimaced at the ever-growing stack of forms and reports. As her computer hummed to life she went through the routine of checking the chamber and safety of her handgun before stowing it and her badge away in the desk drawer. The moment she slid the drawer open, well-trained eyes spotted something amiss.
"What's this?" she wondered aloud as she lifted the small toy that had definitely not been there when she left the night before. She carefully studied the simple wooden dreidel with the blue ribbon bow tied around it. Her eyes narrowed instantly as she considered the possibility that it could be dangerous, a bug or some kind of tracking device. Reminding herself that the NCIS Headquarters was well and heavily guarded against intruders, she calmed and twirled the toy between her thumb and forefinger thoughtfully.
The little blue bow was a delicate, hand-tied gift bow. A soft smile rose unbidden on Ziva's face as she realized that someone had left her the little trinket to celebrate the start of Chanukah. But who? Whomever it was, they had certainly done their homework. Ziva traced the Pei character and thought of her home land. This dreidel had almost certainly come directly from Israel before finding its way to her desk. With a quick glance to ensure the squadroom was still empty, she gave in to the childish impulse and gave it her best spin. When it finally toppled over to show Gimel, Ziva's face lit up. "Ha!