A/N: Chapter 2...disclaimed as usual.
Gibbs tiptoed back into his basement, to find Ziva standing over her half brother's body, seemingly frozen.
He spoke softly, "Ziva?" She turned around, her face nearly all covered by her hair.
"Special Agent Gibbs?"
"Why don't you go upstairs?" He handed her a glass jam jar, which he had already poured bourbon into.
"But…his body…. it will need to go back to Israel," she said, carefully, steadily.
"I'll take care of it. Just go upstairs."
Gibbs made arrangements to get the body to the airport, then followed Ziva upstairs. She was sitting on his couch, shaking, shedding silent tears. Gibbs went to the other end of the hall, and made another call.
"Jen? I need you to come to my house, now….No, not that. Just come."
"Sorry, Gibbs. I'll go," came the muffled voice from his couch.
"Where?"
"Back to the hotel" Ziva tried.
"No. You're not staying alone tonight. Just hang tight a minute," he said.
"Hang tight?"
"Stay put."
"But…Ari…"
"Ziva, nothing I could say or do is going to change how you feel, or make this any easier for you..."
"You do not have to say anything," She said, swirling the bourbon around in the jam jar. So he didn't, until his door opened.
"Jen," he said, looking up at his old partner, getting up to meet her at the door.
"Ziva?"
"She's in the living room"
"I'm here; you did not have to come, Jenny."
"Of course I did. What happened?" Ziva turned away, not yet ready to face the facts.
"Ari's dead." Was all Gibbs said.
"Oh." She eyed Gibbs.
"Jen, you knew the circumstances."
"I know, I know. We'll talk later. Alright…Ziva, come on."
"I am fine, Jenny. I will go back to the hotel."
"You may have misunderstood me, but this is not up for debate." Ziva did not argue the point, deciding it would take more energy than it was worth. She followed Jenny out to the chauffeured car, climbing into the backseat next to her.
"Home, please," Jenny directed the driver.
"Yes M' am."
"It was not Gibbs's fault, Jenny." Ziva looked at her.
"Ok," Jenny said, looking at her questioningly.
"It's my fathers. It all goes back to him." That was all Ziva said, and Jenny did not know how to respond, but Ziva did not seem to expect one. The roads were quiet. They pulled up at the Georgetown townhouse, and Jenny pulled her door open. Ziva began visibly shaking; unable to respond when Jenny tried to get her out of the car. The driver helped Jenny half carry half lead Ziva into the house.
"Susan?" Jenny called.
"Yes M' am?"
"We have a guest tonight. I am going to take her up to the blue room. Will you please bring some hot chocolate and brandy?"
"Yes M' am"
Ziva mutely followed Jenny upstairs into the beautiful guest bedroom with a four-poster bed in the centre and window seat with cozy cushions. She did not speak until Jenny turned to leave, saying she would find Ziva some pyjamas.
"Jenny?"
"Yes?"
"Thank you for all you have done for me tonight… but may I ask for one more favour?"
"Yes?"
"Can you find out if Tony is available, and if he is, ask him to come here?"
"Tony?" Jenny was taken aback, thinking Tony was a friend of Ziva's at the Israeli Embassy.
"Sorry…I mean Special Agent DiNozzo."
"Oh. Ok, yes, of course. Why don't you take a shower in the meantime?" Ziva nodded. Jenny closed the door behind her, going into her own room to dig out some pyjamas and make a phone call.
"Special Agent DiNozzo?"
"Yes?"
"This is Director Shepherd"
"What can I do for you tonight, Director?" he asked.
"The Ari situation was concluded tonight. He is dead. I've got Ziva here, and she is asking for you."
"Ziva asked for me?" he asked, somewhat in shock.
"Yes. Can you come?"
"Yeah, I'll be right there. Where do you live?" Jenny gave him an address.
"Wow, nice place…ok, I'll be there soon." He ended the call, and rejoined his fraternity brother, Jacob, and Jacob's girlfriend/partner Melissa in their family room, where he was having dinner.
"Sorry, Jake, something's come up," he said, "I need to head out."
"Everything ok?" Melissa asked.
"I don't know. I need to go and find out though. Thanks for dinner, it was excellent, as usual," he kissed her on the cheek, and said goodbye to Jacob. Their house was on the edge of Georgetown and Adams Morgan, so not far from Jenny's home. He pulled into Jenny's driveway, and knocked on her front door.
"Special Agent DiNozzo?"
"Yes, that would be me."
"Follow me please," Tony followed the women upstairs. She stopped in front of the second door along the hallway and knocked.
"Come in," came Jenny's voice from inside. She was sitting on a chair next to the bed, which was empty.
"Ziva is just finishing a shower. You got here quickly, how many traffic laws did you violate?" she asked.
"None. I was eating dinner at a friends who lives in the area."
"Thank you for coming. I think it's you Ziva really wants, so I'll be in my room. If you need me, it's two doors down and on the right."
"Ok." He said, awkwardly wondering what he was supposed to do next. How do you comfort someone whose half brother, who also happened to be a murderer who you would've killed yourself, was killed?
The bathroom door swung open. Ziva stood there, looking small and even vulnerable in borrowed flannel pyjama bottoms and an oversized t-shirt. Suddenly, what he was supposed to do came naturally. He walked around to the other side of the bed, where the bathroom door was, and drew her into his arms, offering the comfort she needed. They stayed like that for an eternity, him just holding her, knowing to wait until she spoke. He may not know her well, but he knew she wouldn't like being vulnerable, and he would do better not to make it obvious that she was.
"Thank you for coming….despite everything," she said finally, her voice muffled against his chest.
"Of course," he lifted her chin, making her look into his eyes.
"It's not your fault." It felt like a lame response, but he couldn't think of any other that would help her come to terms with what had happened.
"How can you just say that, though? Do you know what happened?"
"Not all of it…but Ziva, what happened was going to happen no matter what. That I do know. There is nothing you could have done. Pretend he had lived, and you had to control a Hamas sympathiser."
"I could not have done it, even for him. I probably would have been killed first. But how do I know that would have been less painful than this?"
"It only would have dragged out the inevitable."
"Tony?"
"Yes?"
"How is that true if…I killed him?" He looked up at her. She was deadly serious, shaking slightly.
"Gibbs wanted to arrange to meet him, but Ari was just as willing to meet Gibbs, so I agreed. I told Gibbs I would have his back, stay in hiding while he met Ari in the basement. I still refused to believe Ari would actually kill Gibbs, even though Eli had given me orders to eliminate Ari earlier today. I did not want to believe it. I did not want to kill my own brother on orders, but when he aimed that gun at Gibbs…it was almost instinct to protect Gibbs, and I barely know Gibbs."
"Did Gibbs know?"
"Know what?"
"That Ari was your brother?"
"Not before I killed him, no."
"But he knows now?"
"Yes."
"And what was his reaction?'
"He was…kind. Respectful, I suppose." Ziva shuddered.
"Ziva, no one should ever have to face what you did. But you did what you had to do. Things will suck for a while, and you will feel like shit, so you'll doubt every move you make. But you'll feel better again, and you'll be stronger again, eventually, though you may not feel like it now. Give yourself time to mourn and come to terms with everything."
"Then what?"
"When you're ready to figure it out, you'll know," he held her tighter, and in response she buried her face in his shirt.
"C' mon, Ziva, let's get you into bed." She didn't even offer a sarcastic reply this time, but let him lead her to the bed and draw back the covers for her.
"Night, Ninja," he murmured.
"Aren't you sleeping too?" she asked softly.
"I'll be back in a minute. I've got to do something first," he said. He closed the door quietly behind him. He wandered down the hall until he found a small sitting room and entered, taking out his cell phone.
"Gibbs"
"Gibbs. Ari's body?" Tony asked.
"How do you know?" Gibbs responded.
"Never mind that now, just tell me please."
"The body is waiting at the Israeli Embassy. It and Ziva have a flight booked to Tel Aviv at 1400 tomorrow. Private jet leaving from Washington National Airport."
"National airport? A jet going to Israel?"
"They make exceptions when the President requests them."
"Ah." Tony decided not to ask which President Gibbs meant.
"Does Ziva know?"
"She knows she's leaving tomorrow with the body."
"I'll take her to the airport."
"Ok, DiNozzo. How deep in are you?"
"I'm not, Gibbs. I'm just helping her out."
"Take tomorrow off then."
"Thanks, Boss." He looked up after pressing the button to end the call because Director Shepherd had slipped in and sat down in the chair opposite him. She was wearing a dressing gown and fuzzy slippers.
"That was brave of you," she said.
"What?"
"Calling Gibbs, after everything."
"Gibbs has this way of knowing everything. Over the past few years I've worked out that the best way to handle him is to tell him what he thinks he already knows before he calls you out."
"Smart."
"I try."
"How is Ziva?"
"She's trying to get some sleep, I'll go back in there in a minute, make sure she's ok."
"Good. Thanks again for coming, Agent DiNozzo."
"No problem, Director Shepherd."
"When we're not in the office, it's Jenny."
"Ok then Jenny, I prefer Tony to Agent DiNozzo."
"Now that's settled, I'm going to go back to bed. Try to get some sleep yourself, Tony. There's a 2nd guest room next door to Ziva's."
"Thank you." He quietly opened the door to Ziva's room. Ziva was asleep, but tossing and turning, twisting the covers around her. Tony climbed carefully into the other side of the bed. He untwined the covers while trying to avoid Ziva's flailing arms, pulling the covers around both of them. Ziva blindly reached for him, and he flinched, but she was only trying to wrap herself around him. He almost heard her sigh, and the flailing stopped.
It was one of the longest nights Tony would remember. Ziva had nightmares, and every time the flailing resumed Tony would calm her down again. Then he would just about fall asleep, and the flailing would start. Finally, at about 3AM, he managed 5 straight hours. At 0800, he was awoken by Ziva nearly jumping out of the bed.
"Hey, easy…"
"Tony! I'm sorry…what time is it? I overslept!"
"It's 0800, and you didn't oversleep, your flight is at 1400."
"Oh." She suddenly deflated, as if the weight of the previous evening's events came down on her. He was there straightaway, drawing her close to his chest.
"What am I supposed to do?" she mumbled into his arms as they wrapped around her.
"You'll do the next thing, because that's all anyone can do," he repeated his words from last night.
"I wish I could believe I was capable of that. Right now I feel so useless."
"You are capable, and you will be more so. But for now, let's get up."
"Why?"
"You'll feel better. I'm going to go take a shower. Looks like Jenny had your stuff brought over earlier," he said, pointing to a duffel bag on a chair by the door. Ziva went obediently to her duffel bag and pulling out a clean pair of cargo pants and dark green v-neck. By the time she had changed and dealt with her hair (or tried to), Tony emerged, dressed in his jeans and button down shirt from the previous night's dinner.
"Want some breakfast?" he asked.
"I suppose,"
"Let's go and see if Jenny is still around then."
"She lets you call her Jenny, or you just do?
"She says only outside the office," he grinned.
"That I do believe," she managed a half smile.
They found Jenny in her study, reading official looking documents.
"Ziva" Jenny got up to hug the Israeli.
"Would you like some breakfast?"
"Yes, please."
"Tony?"
"Sounds good."
"I'm afraid I'm needed in MTAC at 12. Tony, have you spoken to Gibbs?"
"I've got the day. We're not on call," he explained.
"Good…maybe you and Ziva can find something to do until she goes to the airport, if that works for Ziva?"
"Sure, that's not a problem," he replied.
"Ok," was Ziva's subdued response.
"You been to Washington before Ziva?" Tony asked.
"No, never."
"Good. There is plenty to do." Ziva went upstairs to retrieve her duffel bag.
"How was she last night?" Jenny asked, concerned.
"Pretty bad. She had nightmares, but I don't think she remembered them."
"I hope Mossad gives her a break," Jenny said.
"Surely they will?"
"You don't know Mossad," Jenny replied.
"Why does she do it?" he wondered.
"That is something you will have to ask Ziva," she said.
"I suppose the question is why do any of us do it?" he asked somewhat rhetorically.
"If it wasn't us, it would only be someone else." Jenny pointed out.
"Yeah, I suppose that's true," he said, at which point Ziva reappeared in the door.
"Ready to hit the road?"
"Why would I want to hit it?" Ziva asked.
Tony and Jenny both chuckled, and Jenny responded, "It's an expression, meaning get going."
"Oh."
"And I'd better get a move on too – I need to do some paperwork before MTAC."
"Bye, Jenny, and thank you, for everything," Ziva went over to shake Jenny's hand, but found herself being pulled into a hug instead.
"If you need anything at all, get in touch, ok?"
"I will." Tony and Jenny said their goodbyes, and Ziva followed him out to his car.
"Nice car," she said appreciatively.
"Thanks." He took her duffel bag from her and opened the passenger side door for her. Closing it, he put her duffel on the back seat.
Tony pointed the car in the direction of the city centre.
"There's some CDs up there, he said, pointing to the sun visor. Choose one if you like."
"Somehow I doubt we have the same taste in music."
"Broadening your horizons isn't a bad thing," he shot her a smile.
"Your music could make my ears bleed," she quipped.
"It won't."
"Can I ask you something?" She said while flicking through the options.
"You just did, but you may ask me something else."
For better or for worse…
A/N: Next chapter will be up tomorrow, I just need to look it over as I typed out the entire thing on the plane...so editing needs to happen. Also I am at my parents/bored for the next few days so the goal is to finish this up :-D. In other news, I finished my degree. Yay!
