A/N: Firstly, I just want to say that I am no expert about what is going on in the middle east at the moment, and this while this fic does expresses views from one perspective, it is only the one that fits into my story, and is no reflection on my views or opinions on this conflict. I certain do not know enough about it to judge, and I have only used vague details that relate to my fic and the story I wish to tell.
Secondly, this is set somewhere in season eight, I thing. Certainly before the horror that is season ten's latest episode.
Thirdly, I did change the ages of Tali and Ziva to fit in with my fic. At the time of the explosion, Tali was only six and Ziva was fifteen.
She thought that Tali had died in that explosion. She had lived her life thinking that her younger sister was watching over her from above. But then, Ziva could help but blame herself in some way. She was supposed to go with Tali to the shops that day, but her father had sent her to train with Ari instead. But sometimes she thinks that it's not her fault, and that deep down that's when the rift between her and her father had started. But instead she tries to be perfect daughter; make up for all that he lost in Tali, though he never even seemed to acknowledge her efforts.
Her definition of family warped that day. Family wasn't a happy thing, it was simply an obligation. Something that simply had to be satisfied.
So when directions the file crosses their desks, with the photo of the girl inside, Ziva is stunned and confused.
"They found her smuggled on a cargo ship, in a routine inspection. She's been transfer to the Warwick Mercy Hospital, in intensive care." Gibbs reads, but Ziva is already halfway to the elevator.
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She stands outside the hospital room, gazing through the window at the small girl lying against the crisp white sheets. There is a tube down her nose and wires snaking their way around her body. Even fifteen years later, Ziva knows it's her. The olive skin, her wavy hair currently in tangles around her head.
"Found trapped in storage on a cargo ship. Currently a Jane Doe." The nurse surprises Ziva, who had been lost in her own memories.
"She's not a Jane Doe. Her name is Tali. Tali David." Ziva's voice cracks and she has to bite her lower lip to stop it quivering.
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Ziva sits quietly by the bed, studying the girl lying before her. But Tali is no longer a girl. She's a young woman now, and Ziva can see that she is beautiful. But the small hand in hers is too skinny, Ziva can feel the bones through Tali's thin skin. Her cheeks are hollowed too, and the hospital gown hangs loosely from her shoulders.
Ziva suppresses a sob, pressing Tali's hand to her cheek and kissing her palm.
How was she alive? There had been witnesses who had seen her at the shop where the Hamas bomb had gone off. And while the bomb had left no trace of bodies to be identified, there had been no doubt that Tali had been there. Until now. How had she gotten out? And where has she been all these years? Why hadn't she come back to them? It was clear to Ziva that Tali's life hadn't been an easy one. She could see a few scars marring the skin that wasn't covered by the gown. Her hair was matted, her fingernails torn to the quick.
Underneath the sorrow, anger begins to boil, directed at whoever had done this to her baby sister. She would find out who it was, and she would make them pay.
She lays her head against Tali's arm, closing her eyes against the tears.
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"How is she doing?" Gibbs asks softly, glancing into the room where Tali is still lying, unconscious.
Ziva shrugs, hugging herself tightly. "The nurses don't seem concerned. They say she should wake up soon."
He nods, noticing the bags under Ziva's own eyes. "She will be alright, Ziva. She's clearly a strong girl."
"I know, I just don't understand." Ziva shakes her head, reaching up to push a few stray hairs off her face. "Where has she been this whole time? How did we not know she was alive?" He can hear the exasperation in her voice.
"We're working on it. We'll find out what happened." He pauses. "Vance tried to contact your father. He's travelling, but said he would try and get here."
Ziva barely even blinks. It doesn't surprise her that her father has better things to do than visit his daughter who has, in essence, just returned from the grave.
"Let me know if there is anything I can do, okay?" He reaches out, giving her shoulder a squeeze. Ziva flashes him a weak smile. It is only fitting that he is here, while her father is off dealing with things he deems more important than his own daughters. Instead, Gibbs is here, the closest thing she's ever had to a true father figure, offering whatever support he can, when in all honesty he owes her nothing. It's her that owes him everything.
"Thank you, Gibbs." She murmurs, before returning her eyes to her sister.
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Ziva strokes Tali's hair softy, trying to keep the images of what might have happened to her sister from her mind. But Ziva had been through some of the worst life has to offer, and she can only hope that Tali has seen nothing of the sort.
A gentle flutter of eyelashes caught Ziva's attention. "Tali?" She breathes, clutching at her sister's hand.
Tali's blinks furiously, eyes trying to adjust to the bright hospital lights. Suddenly the girl comes alive, jerking her hand out of Ziva's and frantically starting to pull at the tubes connected to her body.
"Tali! Tali, it's okay." Ziva jumps to her feet, reaching out, trying to calm the girl. "It's me. It's Ziva. You're okay."
Tali's head whips around, fury flashing in her eyes. "Get away from me." She hisses in Arabic, the harshness of her words making Ziva take a step back.
"Tali." Ziva begs, trying again to reach out, but Tali shrinks away. "It's okay. You're safe here."
"Stay away from me." Tali screeches again in Arabic, hands moving instinctively for a weapon that isn't there. Instead she tries to pull the IV from her hand, as nurses coming running into the room. She screams at them too, and Ziva backs out of the way, heart breaking as they pin down her sister, jabbing a needle into her arm.
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Tali sits stoically in the interrogation room, eyes focused on the wall. She is cuffed to the underside of the table, as she has been for the past two hours, since she was being discharged from the hospital. The authorities are unsure what to do with her. It's clear she is the daughter of Mossad Director David. But who she is now is unclear. After all, she was caught trying to sneak into the country.
Ziva watches from the other side of the glass as Gibbs enters the room, though Tali's gaze never moves to acknowledge him.
"Tali David." He states, taking the seat opposite her. "Would you like a drink-"
"Take these off me." She demands, thrusting her cuffed wrists towards him and until the chain snaps taut. Ziva is surprised to hear her speak English so easily, with no distinctive, heavy accent.
Gibbs shakes his head calmly. "Oh, I don't think so."
"I need to pray. You would deny me my right to practice my religion?" Tali snaps, clearly already angry.
Ziva is shocked to hear her sister imply she is a Muslim. Tali had been raised a Jew, along with the rest of her family. Ziva wonders what could have happened to change that.
"Where have you been?" She whispers, pressing a hand against the cool glass.
Gibbs isn't fazed by the young woman's aggression. "No, I just need you to answer a few questions first."
"I will answer no questions." She turns her head away from Gibbs in defiance, exerting what little control she has.
"What were you doing trying to smuggle yourself in on that ship? What is your reason for coming here?" She simply ignores him, head still angled away.
"Did you come here to see your family, to see Ziva?"
"I have no family here." She growls, jaw clenched in anger.
The words break Ziva's heart. All these years she had believed her sister was dead. But here she is, alive. But she was a girl Ziva didn't recognise, a woman she couldn't understand. Tali had always been the best of them - joyful and so full of life. She bore no resemblance to the bitter, hateful young woman before her now. Ziva can only hope that the sister she remembers hasn't been lost forever.
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"It was a mistake!" Tali maintains, still refusing to give them any scrap of information.
"There is no way a person's in here for eight hours and gives us nothing, Boss." Tony states from the observation room. "She's got to be trained." He almost doesn't want to say it. This is Ziva's sister after all.
"I know." Gibbs replies, not taking his focus off the two in the interrogation room.
"It was a 'mistake' you ended up on a cargo ship destined for a US Navy port? That is a lie! What were you doing there?" Ziva slams her fists on the table, the sound echoing in the small room.
"Just tell me, Tali. I beg you." She pleads in Hebrew, trying to connect with the girl.
"Don't speak that filth at me." She snarls in Arabic, pushing to her feet, the cuffs digging into her wrists. "You, your kind and your allies will burn at our mercy. You will be cleansed and Allah will thank us for our devotion."
Ziva's jaw drops, staring up at the girl, a thousand thoughts running through her head, as she feels the panic rise in her chest, her throat clenching tightly. "You.." She stammers. "You're Hamas?"
Behind the glass, Tony's hand flies to his mouth, a 'holy shit' escaping his lips.
"Tony," Gibbs doesn't act surprised. "Go and tell Vance what we've got. He will have to decide what to do with her."
"But, Boss, she's Ziva's sister."
"Go." His voice leaves no room for argument, and Tony reluctantly slips from the room.
Okay, please, please review if you have read this, because why write if you don't know what people this, right? So please be kind and let me know what you thought, bit you did or didn't like. It's appreciated so much more than you know!
PS: I KNOW this chapter is really choppy and the scenes are really short, but I just needed to set the start up, and I really didn't know any other way to do it. Please stick with it, okay. It gets better.