The ground provided a comforting support as the sole of her sneakers hit the pavement. Ziva loved the tightness of her stomach, her lungs expanding and contracting with air, the slight pain in her legs and arms. She ran, inhaling, exhaling, the fragrance of the trees filling her body. Ziva was never one to enjoy walks through the forest—not since her father left her there. Ever since that day, she hated forests. Hated the tall trees packed close together, blocking the sunlight. But running was different.

This time, however, she wasn't thinking about Eli. She wasn't thinking about Rivka and Talia. She wasn't even thinking about Tony.

This time, however, Ziva was thinking about what happened that day at work, or specifically what didn't happen. Last Thursday, McGee pulled her away on the sidewalk after the day's work ended. "Ziva, can you help me with something?" McGee had whispered to her. "I need help picking out a ring for Abby." Her heart jumped inside. Ziva was never one of those girls that planned their wedding before they ever had a boyfriend. But even she could appreciate what Abby and McGee had, and she was happy for them.

She tried not to be excited, and usually not being excited was easy for Ziva, but even the combination of being Eli David's daughter, her Mossad training, and working under Special Agent Gibbs couldn't prevent her from anticipating Abby's giddiness, the ring sparkling on her finger. She had gone with him Saturday morning to the local jewelry shop. He wasn't sure if the ring should be more Abby-ish, something that looked like it came from a more medieval time period. But Ziva pushed McGee to a more traditional engagement ring, wondering if Abby's Catholicism—as much as she didn't practice—would appreciate tradition that time. And she knew the morbidity of a proposal in a graveyard provided a nice contrast and was perfectly suited for Abby.

So when Ziva did not see the ring on Abby's finger, she was worried. "What happened, McGee?" she hissed at him. "Did Abby not want your proposal?"

McGee shook his head. "I didn't propose, Ziva," he had said.

"Why not?" her eyes bore into him.

Her partner and friend sighed. I'm just not sure of her feelings for me anymore."

"Nonsense, McGee!" she slapped the technical agent's arms.

"No, Ziva. I'm serious. Have you wondered about the relationship between Abby and Gibbs. Their closeness?"

Ziva nodded. Of course, she knew Abby and Gibbs were close. She was his favorite, and he was her hero. Everyone knew that. But what was the problem? "They're like father and daughter, McGee."

The other agent exhaled slowly. "Are you sure about that, Ziva?"

"What are you saying, McGee? That Abby is cheating on you with Gibbs! Are you insane? She would never. He would never."

"No, no. I'm not worried about them doing anything. It's more about her feelings."

"You think she has feelings for Gibbs?" Ziva was a trained assassin, knowledgeable in the art of fighting and covert operations. Deciphering romantic feelings and what one felt for someone else, however, wasn't her strong-suit—especially when it involved Gibbs. "Did something happen? Did you catch something?" That's how she always found answers, by keeping her ears and eyes opened.

"No. Nothing. Just years of seeing them together," He sighed. "Maybe I'm just being paranoid."

Their conversation revolved in Ziva's mind as she ran. Abby and Gibbs? Abby and Gibbs? McGee officially needed to stop spending so much time on his computers, since they were obviously frying his brain cells. But the deeper she ran into the forest, she wasn't so sure. If Eli treated her the same way Gibbs treated Abby, would she have been happy or creeped out? Unfortunately, Ziva never had a close enough relationship with her father to tell.