I don't own NCIS or any of its characters!
To my readers:
Sorry! Typo on the last chapter! That last sentence, about the gauze, was from another story I was writing!Oops!
Okay, back to the story.
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Ziva's POV:
BUZZ!
I fumbled for the off button. "Aww, SHUT UP!" I grumped into the pillow. I sat up, yawning. Last night had been the first night since the shooting Tony had not spent the night at my house. I had begged him to, but he said that he believed in me, and that I would be fine.
He was right.
I stood up and stretched. I flinched a little bit, but it was not bad at all. The wounds were healing very quickly, but the scars would always be there. A permanent reminder of that terrible day on the platform.
I went into the bathroom and turned on the shower. I flinched a little as the water hit the scars, but I pushed it aside. It was my first day back at NCIS, and I was very excited to see my friends again. I missed Abby and McGee and Ducky, and, yes, I even missed Gibbs. I dried out my hair and then pulled on a black tank top. Then, out of interest, I pulled up my shirt, so that the lower part of my torso was showing. I could still see the three, eight millimeter-wide wounds, but they looked better. New skin had stretched over the scars, and they were less prominent. I smiled. I was healing. Slowly healing, but healing.
XXXX
I strode out of the elevator at NCIS. "Good morning." I said with a large smile, striding into the bullpen. "Well, look who's back." Gibbs said with a rare smile. "Nice to be back." I said. "I prefer paperwork over being confined to a couch and four types of meds for a whole damn month." I looked at Tony, who winked at me. The elevator on the far side dinged. "Welcome back!" A black haired figure said before embracing me. "Hi, Abby." I said, my voice muffled. She looked at me, tears in her eyes. "Aww, I've missed you so much!" she said. I laughed before hugging her again. "I've missed you too, Abby."
XXX
Tony caught me up to speed. We were working on a fresh case involving a dead petty officer and a missing $40,000 from his bank account. Suddenly, the news came on. The news anchor said: "Yesterday, on December 13th, a head-on collision took place on Brookley Drive, involving three people: Gordon Morro and Travis and Haylee Belling. Today, both of the Bellings passed away due to severe brain damage and internal hemorrhaging. The custody of their 10-month-old child is still to be determined."
I looked at a Tony. He was staring solemnly at the screen. How could they be dead? It had only been a month. Gibbs stood. Silence swept over the whole bullpen. A sad, solemn, reverent silence. After a while, the silence ended. I went to Tony's desk. "Did you know they had a child?" I asked him. He shook his head.
Tony's POV:
The next day, I was checking my phone messages when my phone suddenly lit up. "Hello?" I answered.
"Is Anthony DiNozzo available?" A female voice asked.
"Speaking."
"Anthony-"
"Call me Tony."
"Okay. Well, Tony, I'm Mariah Claire, executor of the Belling's estate."
"And….."
"And I am to inform you that Zoey Joyce Belling, daughter of the Belling's, is ready to come home."
"Huh?"
"Your goddaughter?"
"What?" I shouted into the phone.
"Well, since the original legal guardians, her grandparents, Sapphire and Bruce Belling, have passed away, when Haylee was dying and she was confirming her will, she named you as her legal godfather. With a witness present."
I swallowed. "When-what-"
"Please come to my office on Grale St. at three o'clock to discuss this."
"Wait-but-"
The line went dead.
I pulled up to the curb. Okay. If this was a joke, it was sooo not funny. I walked inside. A beautiful blonde was the receptionist. I leaned on the desk, and flashed her one of my patented DiNozzo smiles. "Tony DiNozzo for Mariah Claire." "You're here for Ms. Claire? Just a minute." She pressed a button on a little black box. "Ms. Claire, a Tony DiNozzo is here for you." "Send him right in, Tawny." A voice coming from a small speaker said. "Go right in." she said. "And..." She handed me a slip of paper. "Call me, cutie." she said with a wink.
I walked down the hall until I reached a wooden door with a gold plaque on it that said "Mariah Claire, Executor of Estate." I opened the door. A woman with an oddly familiar figure sat in one of the two chairs apparently facing Mariah's desk, where she was sitting. The woman's back was to me. "Good morning, Tony." "Hello, Ms. Claire." At my voice, the woman sitting in the chair with her back to me whipped around. And when I saw her, I couldn't believe my eyes.
TO BE CONTINUED…
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