Conflagration

Ziva David watched the farm house burn from her perch in an olive tree. The house where she had come into this world was engulfed in flames. The house where the circle of life had come around to see the birth of her own child less than two years ago sent flames reaching for the night sky.

Fire, a destructive and deadly force, consumed the farm house quickly. Fire, from which a new life, as the phoenix, could arise. Ziva's emotions were conflicted; on one hand, she was sad to see the house destroyed, her last link to her past no longer standing. On the other hand, watching the flames consume the last reminder of Eli gave her hope that she would be putting him in the past forever. She smiled slightly to herself at the thought that the flames of hell were consuming her father at last.

She watched the firefighters work to keep the flames from spreading beyond the frame of the house. There would be no effort to save the house at all. All that remained would be Ziva's memories. She vowed to herself that the memories she would keep alive would be those of happier times. The memories of her Ima, Tali and Ari when they were happy and a family, before Eli changed into a power-hungry monster. The memories of her time with Tony in the summer of 2013, before she sent him away. The memories of her pregnancy with their child, Tali's birth and first two years of life.

Thoughts of her daughter filled her with a longing for the child. By now, Tali should be with Orli, and soon on her way to her Abba. Tali would be safe with Tony in DC. How would he react to the news that he was a father? How would Tali react to meeting the man who she knew only from pictures and her Ima's stories?

Tony, her true soul mate; the man who she loved with all of her being. The thought of him brought more tears to her eyes. If she could turn back time, she would have never sent him back to DC alone. She would have gone with him, and fought for THEM. He was willing to fight for her. She knew he would love his child, his daughter, the child of their love. Was it too much to hope that the three of them could be a family some day? She wanted to believe it possible, and prayed that he would find her clues and act on them. 'At lo levad,' he had whispered to her when she left to bury her father. It had been her mantra for the past three years, clinging to the hope that she would one day have him in her life again.

The fire had been reduced to glowing embers that were fading into nothingness. She eased down from the tree, making no sound. She was clad all in black, to hide in the shadows. She took one last look at the house, noting the large, gaping hole in the center of what had been a house. She did not want to know any more of another of her father's secrets that had far-reaching ramifications.

She turned into the night; the beginning of her journey to freedom from her past at last. In her mind, she pictured Tony and Tali. If her plan worked, she would be reunited with them within six months. If not, well, she did not want to consider what then. Ziva choked back a sob; there would be time for emotion later. For now, she had to make sure the world thought of her as dead.