Elisa gave me the prompt, "crumble." I don't own NCIS.

Her life was crumbling around her. Everybody she loved was leaving her. She was alone; she was always going to be alone. There wasn't really anything that she could do about it. She just had to learn to deal with the fact that she would never have something permanent.

After admitting that she wanted something permanent, everything changed. She and Ray went their separate ways and Ziva realized that he was never a part of the permanent plan.

That was when she lost it. Ziva was never the one breakdown and cry, but she did. She would go home to her apartment after work and just let everything go. She let her world crumble underneath her and she didn't care that it was happening. She let the depression consume her and she became like a robot.

She could remember the feeling of being lost. Ziva could remember being alone. Even though she had basically been alone her whole life, Ziva couldn't stand being alone anymore. Nobody would love her though. So, she just kept everything built up inside of her as the rest of the world crumbled away.

There was a baby. Crying. The cries were soft, but Ziva knew that she had to do something. She slowly opened her eyes and stretched before walking towards the cries.

It was dark but Ziva was able to maneuver herself down the hallway and into the next bedroom. She reached over on the wall and turned on the light, squinting for a moment. Then she moved into the bedroom and walked over to the crib. Ziva looked down and reached for the baby, scooping him into her arms.

"Shh, Eli, shh," she murmured, standing in front of the crib rocking him back and forth. Ziva stood there, rocking her son, for a few minutes before she heard footsteps coming down the hallway and into the room.

Ziva glanced behind her when the footsteps stopped and smiled slightly when she saw him.

"Everything okay, Ziva?"

She nodded and fought back the tears. She didn't know why she was on the verge of crying. Maybe it was because he was there. Ziva looked down at her son and smiled again.

He stood behind her, a hand sliding around her waist, pulling her close. He looked down at his son, watching the young boy watching him.

"I remembered everything. I lived through it all again, Tony," she whispered softly, brushing some hair our of the baby's eyes.

Tony sighed and kissed Ziva's cheek. "Oh, Ziva," he murmured, closing his eyes.

Eli slowly fell asleep and after he did, Ziva placed him back in the crib. Then she turned to walk out of the bedroom, but Tony stopped her by grabbing her arm.

"Ziva, look at me," he whispered, placing a hand under her chin. DiNozzo made her look up at him and he studied her eyes. "Ziva, you don't have to worry anymore, okay? You wanted something permanent, right? Well, I am permanent. You don't have to worry."

Ziva studied his eyes as he talked and relief washed over her. She smiled and then stroked his cheek gently. "Thank you, Tony," she whispered.

Tony nodded and held her closer, kissing her lips gently. Ziva kissed him back and then stayed close.

"I will always be here. I will never leave you, Ziva."