So I was slightly told off my M E Wofford for not having Jen in this series, so here she is. I was also threatened by Aly…God you guys are SO nice to me!
Set some time after Dead Man Walking
Ziva sighed quietly as she pushed open her old friend's door. Jen looked up from her desk and immediately recognized the lost look in the younger woman's eyes.
"Drink?" She offered, pushing herself up from her desk. Ziva nodded silently and drained half the glass of bourbon Jen offered her before sitting down on the couch. Jen studied her friend. The young woman who sat opposite her was different than the younger woman she had met in Cairo, the younger woman who had saved her life. She still had the deadly tendencies, she still got that glimmer in her eyes when she was allowed to use her "ninja skills", but a lot of the hard edge had gone, Jen silently blamed America for that. Growing up in Israel had to be hard, but especially hard when your father was the Deputy Director of Mossad, and joining the elite group of Special Agents was the one thing you had been bought up to do.
Ziva shifted under Jen's scrutiny. Being studied made her uneasy, and when she was uneasy, she became dangerous. Jen looked down at her shoes, took them off and tucked them under her.
"What happened, Ziva?" She asked gently, not wanting to push but sensing that Ziva needed to make sense of things in her head. Ziva frowned slightly to herself, and mirrored Jen's position, tucking her legs under her.
"He died." She said simply. She had never been one for over analyzing situations and she had never felt the need to "talk it out" with anyone. But falling…no, not falling, starting to fall for Roy had made her realized that she wanted something other than to work up through Mossad. Jen placed a hand on Ziva's arm.
"People do." She said, trying not to sound callous, but knowing that pulling Ziva into her arms wouldn't work. Ziva stared at Jen.
"I know…it just seems…unfair." Ziva hung her head, ashamed of the childish sound her voice took when she was unhappy. Jen resisted the urge, yet again, to wrap her arms around the younger woman and settled for a quick squeeze of her hand. Ziva smiled unhappily at her.
"It is." Jen replied. They lapsed into silence, Jens mind wandered to all the people she had lost, and the one who she had lost but who had come back, Jethro. He may be back in her life, but life was still unfair, keeping them apart for one reason or another.
"He was so young." Ziva finally said, "He had so much more to live for." This time Jen didn't resist. She leaned over and wrapped her arms around Ziva's shoulders. Ziva stiffened like she always did when people hugged her, but she relaxed slightly and allowed herself to be comforted by Jen.
Ziva pulled away, embarrassed at her show of weakness. Neither of them were overly affectionate, but Jen craved human contact when she was mourning, Ziva shied away from it. Jen looked at Ziva, her eyes looked sad. Jen wanted to tell her that it would be ok, that she would be ok, that she would find some on who she would spend the rest of her life with, but she couldn't. Ziva seemed to understand Jen and she nodded once and briefly hugged Jen in thanks. Before Jen could react, or offer any more words of comfort, Ziva was gone.
V!
xox
