The first thing Ziva does when she is awoken is reach for her gun. It's become a reflex now, one she's finally picked up from all her father's training, and she muses that he would be proud. She was never fond of keeping a weapon so close, but he's shown her that the world is a darker place than she ever wanted to believe. Now, she barely moves around her own house without it.
She sits up slowly, trying to remember what woke her in the first place. She hears nothing except for the creaking of the house, natural noises that bring comfort rather than fright. She's able to distinguish the difference between the house moving on its foundation and someone moving within the house. Eli and Ari are away, which is become more common as of late, leaving Ziva the sole protector of her family and their home.
The sound comes again, muffled by the walls, but distinct, and it sends Ziva to her feet, gun cradled carefully in one hand. She moves silently down the hall, easily avoiding the squeaky floorboards the sound growing louder. It takes her a second to realize it's coming from Tali's room and in that moment she abandons all effort at stealth. She covers the distance in a few rushed strides, kicking the door in more so than opening it.
The scene before her is something Ziva wouldn't have even though to worry about having sneak into her nightmares. She dreams about her sister's body, charred from a bomb that was never meant for her, but does the job all the same. She dreams about her sister, riddled with bullets as she bleeds to death on the sidewalk, an innocent victim of their father's war. But this? She has not once thought to defend against, thinking their family is too high-target to worry about the little threats. But she has let this one slip through the cracks. The cracks formed by their dangerous life and driven wider by their father's distance and hardheartedness. Sometimes, he forgets that his daughters are above all else, girls. But Ziva shouldn't have though; she should have been focused on the things he missed, or chose to ignore.
Tali is pinned against her mattress by a boy who looks no more than a year older than her, at best. She is still dressed, but her shirt is skewed, clearly having been pushed up by roaming hands, hands that are now restraining her wrists as lips are shoved against hers.
"Stop it!" Tali wails, her voice an octave higher than normal, eyes clenched tightly shut as she squirms beneath the boy. With those desperate words, Ziva's instincts kick into overdrive, a deep growl escaping her throat. In a split second she's covered the ground from the door to Tali's bed, in a room that still belongs to a child. There is pink paint on the walls, nearly every inch of space covered in posters and pictures, mementos and trinkets decorating the shelves. Ziva knows that at 15, Tali is no longer a child, and that her age Ziva had been taking certain liberties with her body. But that had been sex, consensual sex. And that is a far cry from the scene playing out before her.
With a jerk of her arm and a low thud, the barrel of her gun finds itself planted against the back of the boy's skull.
"Get off her," Ziva snarls, the venom in her voice even causing Tali to open her eyes in shock. "Or die." She sees red, and for a brief moment, she wants to decorate the walls with his brains, to completely eliminate any threat he poses to her sister ever again. But Tali's quiet, frightened whimper brings her back to her senses and she knows that she can't kill him in from of her, on top of her. Ziva has a dead body sag against hers once before, and it's a weight that still haunts her in her nightmares, crushing her as she struggles to breathes, until she jerks conscious, panting and sweating. She won't be the one to put that horrific memory in Tali's head.
So instead she drives the gun a little deeper, twisting it painfully. "NOW!" She roars, the boy slowly letting go of Tali's wrists, leaning back onto his knees. She grabs him by the shirt, yanking him off the bed by is collar and spinning him to face her, replacing the gun between his eyes as she roughly steers him backwards out of the room.
"If you ever lay a hand on my sister again, if you even look at her again, I will hunt you down and make you wish you were never born, before I grant you the luxury of having a bullet in your brain." She hisses, shoving him out the front door, quickly retreating her gun long enough to get the momentum to slam the butt of it into his jaw, sending him sprawling. He swears as he hits the ground, glancing up with anger in her eyes, but he is smart enough to have a spark of fear there too, and when she smashes the door shut, dead bolting it twice, she knows he will have the smarts not to come back.
If he does though, she will take pleasure in every scream he will produce for her. One for every heartbeat her sister spent in fear of him.
Ziva sprints back to Tali's room, slowing as she enters. Tali is curled up on her bed against the wall, blanket clutched tightly to her body. Ziva knows she is not hurt though, at least not sexually, but that is a small comfort. Tali's eyes are red and swollen, the tear stains evident on her face.
"Oh, tateleh." She murmurs, heart aching for the girl. As Ziva approaches though, Tali's eyes flick warily to the gun still in her hand, and Ziva places it on the dresser, moving to crawl over to her sister. Tali only hesitates for an instant, before crumpling in Ziva's open arms, and the older girl dragging Tali into her lap, encircling her in her arms, and stroking her hair softly. Ziva lets her cry as long as she needs, not trying to goad her into settling if she is not ready. She does not want this girl to bottle up her feelings, to think that she has to hide them, and be as seemingly infallible as her siblings.
Eventually, Tali's sobs subside to the occasional sniffle, raising her head to look at Ziva with deep brown, sorrowful eyes. "I'm sorry, Ziva."
"Don't be sorry, tateleh. That was not your fault." Ziva hushes her apology. "But who was that?" She tried to keep that acid from her voice, but she knows she does not completely succeed, never the less, Tali answers her, voice wavering only a little.
"His name is Haim. We go to school together, and he's my boyfriend." At Ziva's scowl, she corrects herself. "He was my boyfriend."
"Why was he here, Tali, it's nearly midnight?"
The younger girl shrugs, casting her eyes away, around the room. "Abba never lets me have people over here, especially not a boy. I just wanted him to see my room." It's an innocent explanation, one that Ziva believes, the way Tali's head hangs in disappointment at her former boyfriend's actions conveying that she did not expect this to happen.
"Tali, if you want to have friends over while Abba is away, I do no mind that. Sometimes his rules can be excessive. But, sometimes they are not." Tali meets her sisters meaningful gaze, nodding her head slowly.
"I am sorry."
"Tali, there are people in this world who can't be trusted, you were not to know this Haim boy was one of them. Do not blame yourself. It was he who betrayed your trust. I just hope that you do not accept any apology or explanation he tries to give."
Tali shakes her head quickly, the fear of something similar happening again clearly shining in her eyes. "I won't. I promise."
"That's my girl." Ziva murmurs, moving to leave. Tali grips her a little tighter then.
"Please, Ziva. Will you stay with me?" Her lip quivers into a pout, and Ziva lets out an sigh, a soft smile playing on her lips.
"Of course, tateleh." She replies, Tali giving her room to lie down before wriggling alongside her once again, a leg strewn across Ziva's own, an arm tucked snugly around her middle. Tali wastes no time in getting settled against Ziva, seeking comfort in her sister's presence. Ziva can't help but be warmed by Tali's love, the way she unabashedly show affection towards her. It's an ability Ziva has lost with everyone except for her sister, and even then, it takes Tali's outgoing actions to bring it out in her.
She nuzzles Tali's sweet smelling hair, something akin to a purr rising in her throat as Tali's chest rises and falls against her own. She reaches up, flicking off the light, resting her hand on the small of Tali's back.
"Promise you won't tell Abba that you slept with me?" Tali whispers, words already starting to slur with sleep. Their father's aversion to his daughter wanting to sleep with her siblings like a small child is widely known, and he would not be impressed if he found out Ziva had given in to her. In fact, he would not be impressed if he ever found out any of the events of that night.
"Your secret is safe with me." Ziva promises, giving Tali a reassuring squeeze. "Sleep tight, my little darling."