Author's Note:

Thanks so much for all of the response! I really appreciate it and hope you enjoy this next one- which I cannot even begin to express how hard this was to write!

-C

Prompt from bookdiva: The phone call between Ziva and Gibbs.

"Hi Ziver," Gibbs began with a long exasperation of breath. Even with many years of facing combat, both emotional and physical, two words of a conversation that had the potential of going nowhere was making his heart pound painfully in his chest.

He heard the shaky breath that preceded the response, "Gibbs."

"You gonna return my agent anytime soon?" He half-joked, flicking at the beer bottle on the table.

Ziva managed a weak laugh, "I should have known you would have figured it out."

"Tends to happen when you're a parent."

He could practically hear the sad smile on the other end of the line. It was no secret that Gibbs treated all of his agents like they were his children, but hearing him admit it aloud was a whole nother matter.

"I am sorry. You once told me that sometimes people do the wrong things for the right reasons. I cannot help but feel as if I am not doing the right thing for the right reasons. Whether it is the wrong thing or the right thing…Gibbs…I need to do this."

"Do you want this?"

"I want to change. I need to change. We were told as children that our dreams would come true if we thought about them every night and that is something my father ripped away. He chose this life for me, Gibbs. I cannot live the life he laid out for me anymore. I do not want to leave this part of my life behind, but it is what needs to happen."

Gibbs swallowed, "Understood."

"Eli might have been my father but he was not the man I would like to call 'Dad'. I am doing this for you Gibbs. You told me to listen to my heart, and I am."

"You don't have to justify yourself with me, Ziver," he told her gently.

"That is not entirely true," she whispered as her voice cracked.

"Then why are you calling?"

There was silence, almost as if the line had went dead. Each could hear the other's breathing but no words were said. Tony hadn't been right. Gibbs was talking to her.

"I cannot leave without saying good-bye."

A small, melancholy smile swept across Gibbs's face. "When Kelly was young she used to hang pictures of different cities all up on her wall, right above her bed. She would say that she was going to visit all of these places but never once said that she wouldn't be coming back. Shannon asked her if she planned on visiting us on her travels, and Kelly just looked at her with these huge eyes. She said, 'Daddy always comes back, because this is home.'"

An audible sound came from the other end of the line, and Gibbs found himself at the brink of losing control. He couldn't lose another daughter.

"You always have a family and a home here, Ziva. At the end of the day, just remember that."

"And you will be waiting after all I have done?"

"Always."

A void of silence filled the air, although much shorter this time before Ziva spoke, "Shalom Gibbs. For now."

"Night, kid. For now."

"