While Abby analyzed the blood sample, Ziva sat in a rolling chair hugging Burt to her chest. She had tried not to think about her life in America after she watched Tony get on that plane. She kept in touch with everyone through infrequent emails, but overall she tried to focus on the new life she was trying to build for herself in Israel.
"He's doing well," Abby said absently.
"I know, I can tell," Ziva answered in a guilt-laced tone. "I did not come back to stir things up."
"You could have gone anywhere, but showed up at his house. You came back for something," Abby said, though it came without accusation. Ziva chewed her lip. She wished she could explain it, to herself even, but the decision to stay at Tony's place had been one of instinct not thought.
"I… I should not have," she sighed.
"Shouldn't have what?" Gibbs asked as he walked into the lab. Abby's computer dinged with results and Ziva stood immediately moving to Gibbs side.
"Girl talk," Abby answered trying to snatch the caf-pow from his hands.
Gibbs smiled at her affectionately. "You know the rules."
Abby rolled her eyes. "Looks like the blood is a match for Mira's. Her DNA was on file with the bone marrow registry. As for her husband, after his body guards run in with Ziva, it seems he has been running clean up. He is closing accounts, selling stocks and booked a flight for two to Argentina."
Gibbs handed her the cup with a firm nod. "Have you found any information on the missing money?"
"I am tracing several suspicious deposits, but nothing solid yet," Abby frowned, chewing her straw.
"You keep at it, Abbs. In the meantime, what do you say you and I take a drive?" He asked turning his attention to the woman he had thought he would never see again.
Ziva nodded and followed him without question. They took the elevator directly to the parking garage. Ziva walked toward the familiar sedan. Everywhere she turned there were memories waiting for her. Gibbs drove to his favorite coffee shop, waiting patiently for Ziva to gather her thoughts.
"Do you regret giving your life to the job?" she asked finally.
"It was the only life for me, Ziver," he shrugged.
"But you have been through so much, and you don't have anyone to share it with…"
"Shannon was the love of my life. If I could have had more time with her, maybe things would have been different, but life doesn't work like that. You have to play the hand you're dealt. If I regret anything, it was not making it work with Jenny when I had the chance. I saw that she was struggling, but I didn't look deeper. I wish that I could have been there for her, but I know she made the choices she made because she thought it was the only way," he said sadly, then shrugged it off. "Besides, I've told you before, you're never alone when you have kids."
She considered his answer as they waited in line. He ordered her a blended chai latte, and she grinned. These people she had left hadn't forgotten her. They may have moved on, but they were still willing to drop everything to help her.
"Do you think we will find her?" she asked as they returned to the car.
"I think you will solve the case," he answered. She appreciated his honestly. The odds were not in Mira's favor.
"Would you mind dropping me off somewhere? I have some other leads I would like to check into."
"Of course, just don't hesitate to call if you need a hand, and don't go disappearing on us again," Gibbs said sternly.
"I will not," she promised as they pulled up to the Temple of Cun Yum.
"I mean it, Ziva. We've missed you."
She nodded again, blinking back tears as she turned toward the synagogue.
It was well after dark when she knocked on Tony's door.
"Hey," he said calmly, stepping back so she could come in.
"Hey, yourself," she sighed, not moving.
"You didn't leave a phone number or anything. I thought you might…Well, you know…"
"I am sorry to have worried you. I didn't notice how much time had passed. Did Abby have any luck tracking the money?"
"Do you want to come in, instead of discussing a case in a public hallway?"
"I do not know if it would be wise. Abby has pointed out that my presence may be detrimental to you," she explained, avoiding eye contact.
"Abby worries to much. Come in Zee, I made ziti."
He smiled when her eyes lit up at the mention of her favorite dish. Once they both had a plate, he brought up what Abby had found.
"It looks like Aaron Jones was under investigation by the FBI for misuse of funds from government contract. They got a tip, which we think came from Mira, though of course they can't confirm that. It looks like that is what set this whole thing in have put him on the no fly list for now, but we are going to have to get some hard evidence soon, because he already has his team of lawyers filing appeals."
"I think I can help," Ziva smiled, her plate already empty. "I spent the after noon talking to some contacts and it looks like Mira may have gone underground. I talked to some people who said that she was working on creating a network of safe-houses for women in crisis. A man I spoke to said she left this note at a safe house two days ago." Ziva handed the scrap of paper to Tony.
Had to get out of the storm.
Headed to the kingdom of the rising sun.
Hope to see you when the clouds clear up.
At the bottom was a small drawing of of a cat sunning itself.
"The man said that it is her handwriting, but he doesn't have any idea about what the Kingdom of the rising sun could mean," she explained when he was done reading.
"At least it's something. We know she must have escaped from that cabin. We can take this to the team tomorrow and have it analyzed. Maybe there is some trace on it that could tell us where she has been and where she is headed."
"I hope so," Ziva said, fighting back a yawn as she picked up their plates and headed for the kitchen.
"You don't have to do that," Tony said, following her.
"It is the least I can do."
Not knowing what else to say, be wondered back into the living room and turned on some music.
"Do you mind if I take a shower?" Ziva asked when she joined him.
"Of course not, help yourself."
When she got out, there was another pair of sweats and a t shirt waiting for her by the sink. It was almost painful to have him be so sweet and thoughtful. The more she thought about it, the more she understood the reason she had turned up at his door. She needed closure. She wanted him to hate her so that she would stop wondering about what could have been. If things were not as she had remembered them, if these people were not the kind generous people she remembered them to be, than she had made the right choice. But it was just the opposite.
In trying to find herself, she had lost so much. In trying to be the person she thought she should be, she had lost the people who accepted her for who she was. She walked out of the bathroom with a new determination. She would make this right, starting him the man she had hurt the most.
"Tony, we have to talk," she said as she walked out into the living room.