It had been a long time since she had been in the states, and she felt bad for being gone for so long. She had thought it best for her to keep her Ncis family safe. But, she had no choice at the moment but to go back. Life in Tel aviv had turned from peaceful to dangerous rather quickly. And, it did not matter that she was a highly trained ex-mossad officer.
She, Ziva David, was on the run.
She wasn't sure what reasons she had to continue fighting, but she continued to struggle. She felt a pull that said she had to keep going, but it didn't occur to her who it would benefit. She was nothing now, a girl trying to refind herself. That had been a waste. Sitting still and being idle had never been her. She had to stick her nose into something, and look where it landed her?
In a deep pit of trouble.
Sometimes things were just best left alone, but sometimes they weren't. She had been no fool, she had sensed the utter nastiness of the crime being committed. She had witnessed a woman being kidnapped from her home, who was she to not try and stop it? She had failed. But, Ziva at the time was determined to save the woman.
That had required quite a lot of stealth, undercover work even. Just so she could get into the kidnapper's lair. And, what she found was that the whole operation was bigger than it seemed. She had walked onto something big.
Some kind of disaster, a terrorist plot of some kind. It was too bad that she had been found out before she could uncover anything else. She didn't have a team to help her this time. She was in real danger now, and no one would know what had ever happened.
She had been desperate to find a way out, and to avoid the states so she wouldn't have to face anyone she knew. She had to keep everyone that she loved safe. But, at some point there was time when one broke. She had telephoned Gibbs asking for a place to stay, almost getting killed in the process.
She was determined though, she would reveal nothing to silver-haired man. It was her absolute wish to keep him safe. The plot she had tapped into was bigger than she had ever seen. Even she was scared out of her mind, fearing the destruction that it would bring. And, if Gibbs found out.. He'd get involved. And, she just could not let that happen. She didn't want their help, not if it meant them being in the line of fire too.
Her thoughts about it went to the extremes as she got closer and closer to Gibbs house. She worried that he would find out somehow, that it would be inevitable that he got involved. She had been attacked over the phone. He knew something was up.
But, it wasn't something she could tell him. And, that wasn't an answer he would want, and he would keep poking and prodding until he found out. Why should he care? She could handle herself. She had brought down the man who had attacked her easily. But, she knew better. He'd care because he loved her, in a strictly fatherly matter.
He was all she had left after her biological father had died.
She was not going to lose another.
Not to mention, Tony.
Her stomach churned with nerves when Gibbs house finally came into view, wondering how he would react to her presence. She smiled nervously at the cab driver and paid him his money. She dragged her to the front door, wondering if he was even home. She had told him though that she her plane had arrived. He would be home waiting for her.
She rung the door bell, and relaxed her shoulders and stood in place. The sound of footsteps within the house could be heard, and Ziva then find a small twinge of excitement. She had not seen the man for two years now.
The door finally opened, revealing the silver-haired man that had once been her boss, and was and is a father figure to her. "Gibbs!" She finally managed to cry out with excitement, pulling him into a hug. It had been an unplanned hug, something she did not do often. She was usually so controlled.
He ushered her into the house, a look of concern on his face. It was then that she remembered the black eye she had. She winced slightly, wondering what kind of lie she was going to have to come up with. It was for his own good, after all.
"Ziva, now might you explain?"
"I'm tired Gibbs, how about later?"
She expected him to protest, but he just led her to the guest bedroom, opening it so she could go unpack.
She knew that she would have to say something at some point, but she needed time to come up with a reasonable lie. Little did she know that Gibbs had done his research. After all, not everything would remain a secret. She would have to become even smarter about lying.
She reopened the bedroom door, deciding that she needed to get this over with whether she liked it or not.
"Gibbs."
He turned towards her, a questioning look in his eyes. "I lied, I'm not really all that tired. I just don't know what to say." He nodded his head before saying anything. "Just start with the beginning?" She winced, wishing she could have been prepared for that. "No, what I'm saying is... I can't say anything. I want to tell you. But, I can't. I already lost one father, not about to lose another." She choked on her words, before running back to her room, knowing she had already said far too much.
What the hell had she just done?