A/N: SPOILERS FOR S8 !
Okay... First of all.. This started as collaboration between mollygibbs101 and I... But then molly went to bed and my muse hogged the whole thing...
Disclaimer: Don't own anything... :(
~ The Mysterious Email Friend ~
From: Ziva. David. NCIS. navy .mil
To: Sunset2457 (at) zedmail. com
Subject:
Dearest R -
This week was unusually though bec(cause I found my)self thinking of you often. Now before your
thoughts go to THAT place, understand (keeping) you a secret has not been easy.
There are people here I care dee(ply for. Their) curiosity comes from a desire to protect
me.
Imagine anyone wanting to protect me from you. :).
I hope you are safe and your assignment was successful. Write me when yo(u have tim)e, Z.
xo
Ziva smiled widely as she discovered the new email in her mailbox. She had been waiting for a reply for several days now. She briefly checked her surroundings to make sure not to have an unwelcome observer, before she clicked on it.
From: Sunset2457 (at) zedmail. com
To: Ziva. David. NCIS. navy .mil
Subject: RE:
My darling Z,
It is nice to know that the feeling is mutual. Sometimes secrets do not have to stay so secret, there is always a right time to share them and that time may be soon, Z.
I've booked a flight. I am still undercover so just know that I will be with you soon. That, I promise. Be happy and stay safe. Soon, R. xo
While reading the email, Ziva had to suppress her tears of joy. Her smile however she couldn't hide from her team which had just returned to their respective desks.
"McGee, call Ducky!"
Ziva gave the Senior Field Agent a confused look. "What?"
"Boss, she's grinning like an... an.. insane girl. That's so unZivaish! We gotta do something." Tony joked theatrically as he approached Ziva's desk, completely ignoring the newly Naturalized American thereby.
Gibbs only rolled his eyes and walked swiftly to the elevator, delivering a not so soft whack to Tony's head in the process.
"Work, DiNozzo!"
Tony barely repressed a yelp. He looked scowling after the retreating form of his boss before he turned his attention to Ziva, who looked way too amused for his liking.
"I'll find out your secret, little Probette." He playfully promised before taking a seat behind his desk again.
Ziva laughed quietly and turned back to her computer, planning to compose a quick reply. "If you knew..." she thought with a smile.
Once she was sure her nosy colleagues were deep into their work, or at least pretending to be in Tony's case, Ziva began to type a reply to the recently received email.
From: Ziva. David. NCIS. navy .mil
To: Sunset2457 (at) zedmail. com
Subject: RE: RE:
Dearest R,
I cannot wait to see you, I am very excited and am so glad that my secret will be revealed.
I will see you soon and please, take care. Z.
xo
Happy with her reply, Ziva checked it over for errors and hit the send button with a smile on her face. She leaned back in her chair in satisfaction, before she remembered where she was and that Gibbs had ordered them to do their work.
A few days later the team was standing in front of the big plasma screen, concentrating on solving the puzzle of their current case, when the elevator brought the Director of NCIS and a special guest to the level of the bullpen.
"I trust you to keep this quiet, Leon."
Director Vance nodded, smiling at the beautiful woman next to him, who wore a knee length black coat and whose eyes were the same shade of mocha as her hair.
"Eli knows nothing, and you have my word it'll remain that way, Rivka."
The Israeli looked at Vance and rested her hand on his forearm. "Toda." she softly replied, her gaze sweeping over the NCIS office. She smiled as she saw Ziva among a group of three men.
"If you excuse me now..."
"Of course." He made a hand gesture for her to go forward. "Remember the pass will give you access to the building, whenever you want to visit."
Rivka watched the Director walking past her and up the stairs before her eyes rested upon Ziva again. Her heart skip a beat. It had been too long since she saw her last. While her hair was as wild and curly as ever, her style of clothing had definitely changed. Gone were the army boots and casual looking shirts, replaced by classic looking ones. Rivka chuckled as she regarded the cargo pants. Maybe the only piece of clothing which accompanied Ziva since a very young age.
Back at the group, Gibbs' gut made him turn around. He frowned slightly at the sight of a woman who stood only a few feet away from his team. Something told him that she wasn't just a simple onlooker. She had something familiar about her, which he couldn't pinpoint yet.
"Can I help you?"
His question made the rest of the group look into the same direction as him. Ziva gasped as she noticed who exactly was standing there.
Gibbs heard her gasp and looked first questionably at his Probationary Agent and then back at Rivka, whose eyes were fixed on Ziva.
It was only then when he noticed the similarities between the two women. Both shared the same olive toned skin, hair and eyes, but also nearly the same facial features, only altered by the obvious age difference between them.
He was pretty sure that if they stood side by side, Ziva would be the perfect younger clone of the unknown woman.
The team leader smirked knowingly now and gently gave Ziva, who stood frozen beside him, a push in direction of Rivka.
The motion brought Tony and McGee out of their trance and made them look at their boss.
Meanwhile Ziva had finally reached Rivka and now stood really close to her,. "Ima?" Her voice was only above a whisper and held a hint of disbelieve in it.
Gently, Rivka enveloped her daughter, "Why are you so shocked, my little one?" she whispered into her hair as Ziva clung to her.
"I... I... Do not know," stuttered the younger woman. For the first time in months she was to overwhelmed by what was happening to form a coherent sentence.
Rivka broke their embrace after a few more minutes and held Ziva at arm's length. She smiled, "You look beautiful, Zivaleh."
The younger woman blushed slightly. After all these years in America she was still not used to be entitled as such. While here she may looked exotic to people, she wasn't exactly considered special looking in Mossad.
Ziva was about to open her mouth when Gibbs' not so subtle cough reached her ears. She quickly looked behind her, catching the inquiring eyes of her team members.
"Care to introduce us?" Gibbs asked with a smirk, while Tony and Tim held back. Obviously they had been told to stay back and keep quiet by their boss.
"Uhm.. yes..." Ziva took a deep breath and put a small smile on. "Gibbs, Tony, McGee... This is Rivka David.. My mother."
While Gibbs face and posture didn't show any surprise, McGee was all the more stunned by this revelation. Tony on the other hand got a sparkle in his eyes, which kind of unnerved Ziva.
With his patented DiNozzo smile he strode over to Ziva's mother, "Hello, I'm Tony DiNozzo. Ziva's partner," he grinned at Ziva, who shot him a warning look.
His attitude was exactly the same with which he had approached Jackson Gibbs. Not a good sign.
"So you are Tony," Rivka's eyes darted up and down his body, "I've heard a lot about you."
Now it was Tony's turn to frown at his partner. "I hope nothing bad," he asked while still holding Ziva's, now smirking, gaze.
The older woman laughed and patted his shoulder, walking past him without giving him a real rely.
"You've got a mother, Zee?" Tony smirked mischievously at his smaller partner.
"Well Ton-eey," Ziva grinned at him, poking him in the chest with her index finger, "I'm sure everyone on this world had one at some point."
The Senior Field Agent looked at her finger which still hadn't moved from his chest, before letting his eyes wander back to her's, "Haha," he smiled, "What I meant, Ziv-ah, you never talked about her."
"So you assumed I did not have a mother anymore, yes?" She grinned knowingly at him, taking a step closer to him, "Looks like you were wrong," she playfully tapped his cheek a few times.
In the meantime Rivka approached McGee, smiling friendly at him as she sensed how nervous her presence seemed to make him. "And you must be Timothy McGee then?"
"That's right," the younger agent nervously shook her hand.
"It's nice to finally meet you, Timothy."
"Likewise," he stuttered. The older woman's attitude reminded him a lot of Ziva when she first came to NCIS. Self-assertive and bold, along with other streaks he wasn't used to encounter often.
With a slight smirk Rivka directed her attention to the last man. There was no doubt in her mind who stood in front of her. Instead of verbally greeting him, she just nodded at him, receiving a curt nod in return.
There were no words needed. Both knew who the other was and what part the person played in Ziva's life.
Although Gibbs hadn't heard from Ziva's mother before, he knew just by having watched the exchange between mother and daughter, that there wasn't any hate or danger lurking in the dark. Therefore no need for him to interfere or stop their interaction.
Though, he thought silently, the older Israeli certainly sparked his interest. Where had she been? What was she doing for a living? Was she Mossad? Why did she suddenly came to D.C. to visit Ziva?
"Want to go, grab a coffee?" Gibbs inclined his head to Ziva and Tony, who seemed to have a lot of fun with teasing each other, "They won't miss us for a while."
Rivka shook her head in amusement, "I would like that." With a grin Gibbs held his arm out for her to link arms with.
As they made their way to the back elevator, McGee was left standing in the middle of the team's area. The banter between his partners still going on loud and steadily, completely unperturbed by the departure of the elders.
"Abby needs to know," he silently thought and hurried into the same direction which Gibbs and Rivka had taken only moments before.
Fin? Continue? Trash? = Leave a review!
A/N2: Obviously we don't believe that: 1.) That mail friend is MALE. 2.) A love interest.
I'm one of those (in)sane people who stops episodes to read whatever is displayed on the computer, paper, etc. (I blame S7 and the application paper..)
After "Dead Air" and reading Ziva's profiles the mysterious "R." friend finally got an identity...
For those who are interested in the screenshots of the emails and profiles.. Go to my profile, I linked them there.
Don't forget the reviews :)