Disclaimer: Do not own NCIS.
Another Thirty Years
It's silent. 5am on a Monday morning, and there is no one around. It will be at least an hour, give or take, until another person steps out of the elevators and into the bullpen. The sun shines in through the vast windows, dancing off the orange walls, and it is the only form of company she has. In moments like this, she is left alone with the calming silence and her racing thoughts. These early mornings along with her paper work are some of her favorites.
She never thought she would encounter this kind of quiet in her life. She had spent the better half of the last thirty years by herself, in a silence that often chilled her to the bone. Years of Mossad training that started in her elementary years, prepared her for the cold nights, the lack of company, and the constant change in location. At times she had been surrounded by people holding conversations and carrying out orders; but it had been nothing substantial. To her it had been an empty silence, burdened by the loneliness that tied up her thoughts. That silence was deafening; it suffocated her.
Nothing could compare to the serene stillness she feels in this moment, alone in the bullpen.
She never takes these moments for granted, because she knows she is lucky to be here, alive. From a young age, she was trained to be assassin. Sometimes she compares it to a death sentence, and rightfully so. Witnessing those people close to her lose their lives became second nature. Both her siblings had died sudden deaths, at such young ages. Talia had lost her innocence in a suicide bombing at the ripe age of sixteen. Ari died at thirty-six by a bullet from her own gun. She mourns for the lives lost, but she had also become numb inside. Not a day goes by that she doesn't wonder how she made it this far.
Thirty years have come and gone, and miraculously her heart is still beating inside her chest. Sure there have been hardships, and she has had her fair share of close calls, but she is still alive. It's almost as like she's been blessed with this second chance at life. By chance, she came to America at twenty-three, and was welcomed in hesitant arms. Seven years later, she has built some of the strongest bonds she never knew could be possible. There is a job waiting for her every morning, and a permanent roof over her head.
But most of all she has a family.
And as she stares down at the crisp, white envelope on her desk, she smiles.
Happy Birthday!
Here's to another thirty years.
