Ziva stopped and turned as she reached a secluded area of the beach, wiping tears from her eyes, pretending they were not there.
"I am sorry Tony, you did not have to follow me here and see me like this" she said attempting, and failing a smile.
The case had been a tough one; the parents of two young Israeli girls had paid a corrupt captain for their safe passage on a naval boat. The eldest, aged 13,had stumbled across evidence of a past crime committed by a sailor, who had murdered her brutally and hidden her body in the cargo container. One of their witnesses had hidden the remaining sister, a 7 year old, for the rest of the journey. It had been tough, to say the least.
"Shhh, its fine, it's gonna be ok" He tried to sooth her as she fell into his hug. He pulled his arms around her body, enveloping her. His arms were her castle, stopping it all from spilling out, unable to be taken back in.
"They were trying to better themselves, if I had had that chance growing up, for Tali and me, I would have taken it. This reminds me of her." She sniffed and looked across the beach, the youngest girl sat playing in the sand while her parents watched sadly, thinking about what could have been.
"It is not fair" She said, still not looking at him.
"That's why we are here, Ziva to make sure the people that do bad things get what they deserve, and the families of those who got what they didn't deserve, get what they deserve too."
She turned to him and he felt something in the air between them change.
I thought the earth moved.
And she held his hand; together they watched the girl play.
That night they had stumbled blindly into bed, in a feeble attempt to numb the pain. A night of passion which they both agreed had meant something but neither had been sure what. They were friends,
Colleagues,
Partners...