All the support I am getting is amazing, I absolutely love it, thank you all so much, as a thank you, here is another chapter.
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"Who are the agents?" she asked with fear in her voice, her heart felt like it was going to leap out of her chest it was pounding so hard.
He opened his mouth to answer when the familiar ding of the elevator doors opening rang throughout the bullpen, they all turned to watch as Ziva David stepped out of the elevator with Eli David directly behind her.
"What have you done?" Abby whispered as her eyes locked on her daughter's mother and grandfather.
"Abby," Tony said grabbing her arm lightly and leading her to the back of the group, then he stood in front of her with his arms crossed.
Abby started to pull her hair out of its high pigtails so that she could hide her daughter the best she could even though she couldn't be seen around Tony.
Tali seemed to sense her mother's fear and she wrapped her tiny arms around her mother's neck and hid her face in Abby's hair.
Abby rubbed her daughter's back comfortingly and watched over Tony's shoulder as Ziva and Eli made their way to the front of the group. As she watched, her thoughts flew to the dream that had suddenly become all to real.
Abby tightened her grip on her daughter as if Ziva would walk straight through the group and wretch Tali out of her arms before handing her to her father.
"Shalom Leon," Eli David said walking up to the director and shaking his hand.
Ziva stood back as her father greeted the director, as she waited she looked at each member of her old teams face. When she met Tony's gaze he slightly nodded to her, then Ziva's eyes moved down a bit to meet Abby's eyes, Abby immediately looked away and Tony tensed. Suddenly the team seemed to shift from uncomfortable to protective, that's when Abby knew that no matter what, Tali would be safe, each and everyone of them had fallen in love with her daughter, they would die to protect the little girl.
Abby still didn't look up, she couldn't meet those eyes that had once sparkled with laughter when they looked at her. Abby knew that if she was to look into those eyes now, she would see only hard and guarded eyes, the eyes that belonged to the shell of the old Ziva.
"Shalom Eli," Vance said shaking his hand in return and breaking Abby from her thoughts.
Tali hugged her mother tighter and let out a barley audible whimper that luckily only Abby could hear.
Abby put her mouth next to her daughter's ear and made cooing noises that only she, Tali, and Tony would be able to hear.
Abby made the mistake of looking up and over Tony's shoulder once more, there she met Ziva's eyes. Ziva was looking at her with a slightly confused and curious. Abby knew that Ziva was trying to figure out what she was doing when she had been busy comforting her frightened daughter.
Ziva was investigating, she was investigating Abby like the Mossad assassin she had become once more.
Abby met her gaze with fire in her eyes, daring her to do something, she had to stop being afraid, she had to be brave for their daughter.
"What is the case?" McGee asked with no emotion.
Abby looked at the group the best she could, from what she could see, they all had emotionless expressions on their face.
"A woman was murdered, she was a retired from the Navy after serving for a year, she has two children who have not been found," Eli said looking at McGee.
"Then why is Mossad investigating?" Tony asked in a harsh voice.
"Because we believe that the man who murdered her is a rouge agent that we have been tracking down, we also believe that he has kidnapped her children," Eli said with a slightly smug smile.
The smile made Abby feel sick and dizzy, it reminded her of her dream once more, it reminded her of the extremely large secret that rested on her and Tony's shoulders.
"Tony," she whispered as she tried not to sway.
Tony turned around while managing to still hide Tali from sight. He grabbed Abby's for arms and looked down at her.
"You alright?" he whispered with concern in his voice.
When Tony turned around it caused the rest of the team to look back slightly, they knew Tony was standing in front of Abby and Tali, he was their last shield, the one that would fight if all of them were unable to, so when he turned to Abby it caused them all to know that something was wrong.
"I need to go down to the lab," Abby whispered closing her eyes to help make the dizziness go away.
"She alright?" Gibbs asked Tony with slight concern in his voice.
Tony looked over his shoulder with a blank expression still he hid both Abby and her daughter with his body.
"Yeah, that bug is getting to her again," he lied hoping that everyone would play along.
"How about we take her down to autopsy and see if she is fit to work yet, come along Mr. Palmer," Ducky said walking over to the three with Palmer right on his heels.
"Okay," he said as he kicked the baby bag behind his desk so that Ziva and Eli couldn't see it.
Abby turned around and luckily Tali's arms were hidden by Abby's hair. Tony wrapped his arm around Abby's waist to steady her as the walked to the elevator that was down the hall from the bullpen, all the while they managed to hide Tali from sight.
"Here drink some water," Ducky said handing Abby the water, which Abby took gratefully as she started to sip at it.
"Mommy," Tali said from Tony's arms.
"Mommy's alright," Abby said to her daughter.
"See, Mommy's going to be okay, I told you," Tony said to the toddler in a soothing voice.
"Are you feeling better?" Ducky asked noticing that Abby was getting her color back slightly, but only slightly.
"A little, I'm sorry, I just got a little overwhelmed," Abby said shaking her head before hopping off the autopsy table.
She walked over to Tony and took her shivering daughter from him.
"Everything that I have for her is under your desk," Abby sighed with a sad look on her face.
"Sorry, I was trying to hide it from Ziva and Director David," Tony said in an apologetic voice.
"No, don't be sorry. You did the right thing by me, can I go to my lab now, its warmer in there?" Abby said rubbing her back with slight pressure to try and warm her the best she could.
"Yes, call me if you need something," Ducky said with sympathy plain on his face.
"I will," Abby said as she and Tony walked to the elevator.
"Tali don't play with that," Abby said frustratingly as she pulled her daughter away from the electrical cords that hung down from her computer.
Abby had locked the glass doors just as she had when she was protecting Jethro the German Sheppard.
"Do you want me to go and try to get some of her toys?" he asked walking toward the glass doors.
"No!" Abby shouted whipping her head around.
Tali jumped in her mother's arms at the sound of her mother's shout, but soon realized that her mother was not shouting at her, so she got distracted by the small pocket over her mother's left breast.
"Don't leave me here alone," Abby said in an urgent voice, as if she was trying to stop Tony from jumping in front of a train.
"I'm not going anywhere," Tony said holding both of his hands up as if trying to show an animal that he met no harm.
"Alright," Abby whispered walking over to the futon and sitting down with her daughter in her lap.
For a moment they sit in silence as Tali crawls onto the futon and off her mother's lap.
"That woman upstairs, she is not the woman I fell in love with, she is the shell of the woman I loved. She is the same shell that was here a month before she left," Abby said looking down at her feet.
Tali was now playing with Bert over on the other end of the futon.
"I know, I can't understand how you feel right now, but I am here for you. How did you know she was no longer Ziva before she left, when no one else saw the signs?" he asked walking over and sitting between the two dark haired girls.
"Ziva, are you alright?" Abby asked as Ziva stood staring at the evidence on the large screen in Abby's lab.
"Of course I am, I am fine," Ziva said coldly.
"Sorry, for asking," Abby mumbled with hurt in her eyes.
Ziva didn't say a thing she only let out a loud sigh.
"That is all I have for you, you can go now," Abby said turning back to her computer.
"Oh Abby, come on," Ziva said turning around and walking over to Abby.
She placed her left hand on the desk and leaned over to try and look at Abby's face.
Abby didn't say anything and she refused to look at Ziva.
"Oh grow up," Ziva said walking away and heading for the elevator.
"What did you just say to me?" Abby asked turning around quickly with tears in her eyes.
"I said to grow the fuck up!" Ziva shouted turning around, she met Abby's hurt eyes with her own eyes that burned with anger.
"What is your problem?" Abby asked with hurt in her voice.
"What is my problem? Oh I do not know, maybe it is the fact that the man who proposed to me, lied to me about murdering an innocent woman, maybe, it is the fact that I had to brake off the relationship because I could no longer love him, maybe, it is the fact that my sister was blown up by a suicide bomber, maybe, I can not deal with the fact that I shot my own brother and killed him, maybe its because my father no longer wishes to talk to me or have anything to do with me for that matter!" Ziva screeched, with each maybe she stepped toward Abby until the metal desk was digging into Abby's back painfully and Abby was looking straight into the eyes of a very pissed Ziva David, Ziva was practically standing on top of Abby and at the angle that Abby was at it made it so that she was looking down at the forensic scientist.
"I have all of this going on and you have the audacity to ask me, what my problem is!" Ziva shouted in Abby's face.
Abby looked up at the woman with fear and confusion in her face, she knew she was looking at Ziva's body, but the look in Ziva's eyes was not Ziva, that was the old assassin who had ran around killing people in Ziva's body.
"I have enough going on, so how about you grow the fuck up and stay out of my life," Ziva growled before stalking off back toward the elevator.
When the elevator doors opened, Ziva stomped inside, turned around and punched the button.
Abby stayed frozen in her position until the elevator doors shut.
"What have you become?" Abby whispered in fear.
"I'm sorry you had to go through that," Tony said wrapping his arms around Abby's shoulder and holding her close.
"Me too," Abby said bitterly.
"That isn't what hurts the most though," Abby sighed.
"What hurts the most?" Tony whispered looking over at the now sleeping Tali who was holding Burt tightly to her chest.
"What hurts the most, is that I have nothing that reminds me of the old Ziva, I have no evidence that she even existed. I have Tali, but that is not the same, all I want, is to see the old Ziva just once more and I want to show Tali the old Ziva, I want her to know the amazing person that her mother once was," Abby said with tears in her eyes.
Tony looked up for a moment with a thoughtful face, then he started to dig around in his pocket searching for something.
"What are you doing?" Abby asked sitting up straight.
"I have something that might help you," he said pulling out his wallet.
"What?" Abby asked clearly confused.
Tony pulled out a small square piece of paper, he looked at it for a moment before handing it to Abby.
Abby gasped and smiled as she took the picture in both hands, tears filled her eyes once more.
Abby studied the picture of Ziva, she was in a white jacket, her hair was straight, she was holding a postcard as she stood next to the stand it came from, there was a slight smile on her face, and Ziva's brown eyes were caught by something off camera.
"Where was this taken, when was it taken," Abby asked with a bright smile on her face.
"When we had to go to France to protect that woman who was in danger, I told Ziva it was my favorite picture, but I know it means much more to you than it will ever mean to me," Tony said smiling at the smile on Abby's face.
"She was so beautiful," Abby whispered stroking the picture lightly with her index finger.
"Tali looks a lot like her," Tony said studying Ziva's face then turning to Abby's face to Tali's.
"She does doesn't she?" Abby asked without taking her eyes off of the picture.
"She is the perfect mixture of you two, she has your color eyes, but the softness in them, its all Ziva's," he said with a slight smile as he looked at Ziva's picture.
They were both interrupted by a knock on the glass door.
Abby placed the picture in her breast pocket and wiped her eyes quickly before looking up along with Tony.
On the other side of the glass doors stood Ziva David. She looked so much like the old Ziva that Abby was almost fooled. Tony got up and opened the doors.
"What is it?" he asked without emotion.
"I wanted to come and say hello," Ziva said cautiously.
"Well now you've said it, you can go now," he said coldly.
"I have not said hello to Abby," she said giving him a challenging look.
"You won't say a thing to Abby," Tony said with a dangerous growl.
"She told you," Ziva said with a sad look.
"Yes she did and I'll be damned if I let you anywhere near her!" he shouted.
Suddenly a wail came from Tali, Abby quickly scooped her daughter up into her arms, she held Tali close as her daughter cried.
"Shhhh, its okay," Abby said patting her daughter's back.
Tony had turned around at Tali's screamed unknowingly allowing Ziva to see Abby and her daughter.
Ziva walked past Tony and over to Abby, Abby refused to look at the woman, instead she continued to coo to her daughter.
Ziva reached out to touch Abby's shoulder and Abby finally looked up at Ziva with the same fire in her eyes that Ziva had looked at her with the last time she had seen her.
Ziva pulled her hand back. Instead she sat down on the ground in front of Abby and her child.
Tony walked over and tried to force Ziva to stand up, but Ziva quickly swatted at his hand and pulled her arm back to her side.
Abby didn't look at either of them as she tried to stop her daughter from sobbing.
Finally after a while of Tony trying to get Ziva out of the room and Ziva fighting back, Tali stopped crying, she pulled back and looked at her mother before turning to the two fighting adults, she watched as Ziva swatted at Tony once more and she let out a loud laugh causing Abby to smile down at her daughter.
Ziva and Tony both stopped and looked at the mother and daughter.
Ziva gasped when she looked at Tali's face, she had never seen such a beautiful baby.
Abby looked to Ziva's face silently then back at her daughters.
Ziva smiled at Tali and Tali smiled back, Tali had Abby's bright smile and it made Ziva smile even wider.
Tony and Abby watched as the unknowing mother and daughter interacted.
Tali seemed to notice that everyone's attention was on her she quickly retreated and hid under her mother's hair.
"Since when are you shy?" Abby laughed pulling her hair away from her daughter so that she could not hide.
Tali crossed her arms and turned her back on Tony and Ziva.
"You little bugger," Abby laughed before she started tickling her daughter's sides.
Her daughter squealed with joy and started to squirm to get away from her mother's insistent tickling hands all the while laughing loudly.
Ziva laughed at the beautiful sound of the little girl's laughter.
Finally, Abby stopped tickling her daughter and allowed her daughter to breathe.
Tali calmed down and started to play with her mother's hair.
"Who is the father? Are you the…" Ziva's voice trailed off as she looked up at Tony.
"No," Tony and Abby said in union.
"Tony is not her father, she doesn't have one," Abby said looking to Ziva.
The face she saw there was the old Ziva, the one she had fallen in love with, it made Abby smile slightly.
The picture that I described was the picture Tony took on episode Jet Lag season seven.