So, finally a new chapter. I had this wrote back in the summer, but I wanted to finish some other things before I posted this. So you get it now.
From now on, whenever a name from the parallel universe is mentioned, I will put a * by it so you know that it's from the other universe.
Disclaimer: I don't own NCIS, or Fringe which is where the idea came from.
She sat up on the cold, hard ground. Ground? Where was she? Certainly not in the elevator, where she last remembered being.
Where was *Jethro? She couldn't feel him next to her. Maybe he moved?
She then realised she couldn't see anything. Just... gray fuzz?
*Jennifer could hear the sound of cars in the distance. Was she near a road? She could hear one car getting steadily closer to her.
The gray fuzz evaporated. It was replaced by the brightness of the sun, though slightly shaded.
She looked around. If she reached out with one hand, she could almost touch a brick wall that looked as if it was part of a building, but the sun was too bright to look up and check. With her other hand, she could almost touch something metal; she assumed it was a dumpster.
The approaching car slowed to a halt. A door opened, feet hit the ground, the door slammed shut. The footsteps moved closer to her, stopping just outside the edge of *Jennifer's vision.
A wave of nausea rushed over her, and she leaned over to vomit on the ground next to her.
"Ma'am, are you alright?"
She tried to answer him, but her voice wouldn't cooperate.
"What are you doing back here?"
This time, her voice responded, but it was very hoarse. "I don't know."
The man entered her line of vision, kneeling down in front of her. "What is your name?"
"*Jennifer."
He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her to her feet. She stumbled, but he caught her.
"What" -she coughed, trying - and failing - to clear her throat and get rid of the hoarseness- "are you doing?"
"Helping you. By the way, I'm Stephen."
He walked *Jennifer to his car, where he helped her into the front seat. He walked around to the other side of the car. After getting in, he started the car and drove away.
Eventually, the car stopped in front of a grocery store. Inside, Stephen picked up some bottles of water and a pack of granola bars, not before asking *Jennifer if she liked that brand.
In the car, he handed her a bottle of water, telling her to drink it. She put the bottle to her lips. As soon as the first drop touched her tongue, she realised just how thirsty she was. The bottle was empty in seconds.
"I never knew a lady could drink that fast," Stephen mused.
"I've had practice," *Jennifer laughed, momentarily forgetting the situation of when they met.
"Oh really. What's his name?"
"Why do you assume there's a man in my life?"
"Practically everything about you. Name?"
"You think I'm actually going to tell you?"
"Well, yeah."
*Jennifer snorted.
"I'm gonna get it out of you."
XxxxX
It took her a few seconds to realise she was holding her breath. Without thinking, she breathed in deeply.
And sat bolt upright. Squeezing her eyes shut even tighter, she attempted to cough the water out of her lungs. Eventually, the water was out and she could open her eyes.
Why was she sitting in a fountain? How did she get there from her lab? Why didn't she remember anything between the two points in time?
*Abigail took her time climbing out of the fountain. Nobody noticed her. Nobody even glanced toward that fountain.
As soon as the air hit her, seeping through her wet clothes, she started shivering. She rubbed her arms, trying to keep them warm.
After a few steps, images of her parents flashed through her mind. They were happy and smiling, just as always. A few more steps and she saw the boat. The beautiful water the boat was on. Her happy family on the boat, on peaceful water, on a perfect day.
The images were coming faster, so fast she had to sit down. She knew where this was going.
*Abigail remembered glancing up and seeing a black cloud, which was the next image in her mind. But she put it off as nothing. A storm had come in, growing more and more violent. They couldn't get to land fast enough, and the boat tipped over. Her parents - she didn't want to see this again - had drowned.
Her brother was a fighter. He didn't know how to swim, but he managed to stay afloat. She had grabbed him and swam to shore.
The incident left the two as orphans, but they were never split up.
*Abigail was left sitting on the ground, feeling dizzy. She lay back, hoping the dizziness would pass, and gazed up at the sky. She saw a cloud that looked like a boat.
"I like looking at clouds, too," a kid's voice said from next to her.
She looked over and saw a little boy lying there, looking intently at the sky.
He pointed up. "That one looks like an elephant." He moved his hand over a bit. "And that one looks like a baby."
She couldn't help but follow his finger's motions and noticing that they did look like what he said.
"What do you see?" he asked, turning his head to look at her.
"A boat," she said, showing him where she saw it.
"Brian, lunch is ready," *Abigail heard a voice call out.
"Well, that's me." He stood up, brushing himself off. "I better go before she gets too angry. Bye!" he called as he ran off to join a group at a picnic table.
*Abigail stayed where she was for a few minutes, before standing up and walking away from the beautiful place she could not even call close to home.
XxxxX
She opened her eyes and found she was lying on pavement, behind a building. She didn't recognize the part of it she could see.
She stayed on the ground, trying to figure out where she was. But it was no use. She could not place the building, or any other part of her surroundings.
She decided to walk to the front of the building to see if she recognized anything. But when she stood up, her legs were like jelly, and she just fell over again.
She stood again, this time managing to walk a few steps before falling over.
After multiple attempts, she could actually stay on her feet, walking like a normal person.
She brushed her dress off, wishing she was wearing something more comfortable. The full-body armour would be preferable to the dress.
On the front of the building there was a sign that said 'BFF'. *Ziva didn't know what it meant, but she could smell explosives.
She decided to think of it as nothing, and started walking down the street. She soon saw a bench and felt drawn to it. She only allowed herself to sit for a minute before continuing her journey.
*Ziva walked for what felt like forever. She passed many people, people that didn't give her a second glance. In Israel she was usually the centre of attention, because of her family.
She confirmed she wasn't in Israel when she stopped a few people and asked them something in Hebrew, and they just looked at her like she was crazy.
A car drove past her, music blasting. *Ziva didn't recognize the song, but it had a good beat.
A man walking near her noticed her interest. He smiled, saying, "Lowlife by Theory of a Deadman."
She smiled and nodded. "Toda."
As *Ziva continued walking, her thoughts drifted to *Talia and *Ari and *Nona. Are they worrying about her? She hoped not. Did everything go as planned? Are *Ari and *Nona heading off for their vacation?
She wondered if she would ever see them again.
She hoped she would. She already missed *Tali's laugh. And *Nona/s smile. And *Ari's hugs.
She couldn't wait to be home to Israel.
She spotted a man with brown hair and a goofy grin on his face as he talked on a cellphone, walking towards her.
He drank from the coffee cup he held in his hand. Then he said, "Be right there," before clicking the 'end call' button and shoving the cell in his pocket.
The man happened to glance toward her. He did a double-take and stopped in his tracks. He looked down at his pocket, then up at her. Specifically, her hand.
His face distorted in confusion.
"Ziva?"
Et fini! Well, this chapter, not the entire fic. That's gonna be a while.
Please review, and I will give you a virtual cookie. I'm not afraid to bribe people.
