Thanks for the reviews on the last chapter. :) I love getting reviews on this story, and they make me smile. I looked at them on my iTouch when I woke up and I was smiling from ear to ear at 7:35 in the morning. Great day. Great day.
Oh the other hand, this chapter is starting to get closer to you guys finding out what happened to Ziva. I think a couple of you have some ideas, or I told you, but you are honestly NOT going to believe what I did here. :D
Disclaimer: I don't own NCIS, or anything to do with it. Nor do I own the songs that are the titles of these chapters. Which, btw, are some great songs. They are on my 'Tiva playlist' which just got about 13 songs bigger. 83 songs....
Annie and Ziva did many of the same things, solidifying Annie as her mother's child. Tony knew that drinking orange juice calmed them both down. He knew that rubbing the back of their necks also calmed them down. He knew that they made a puckered face after eating something too cold. McGee knew that they each were fighters, and wouldn't back down unless given a reason that they couldn't deny. Abby noticed that when eating popcorn, they would eat the whiter pieces first, and then the pieces that were covered in butter. They sat the same way on the couch, made the same faces, and at times, had the same laugh.
It always made Tony feel better.
Seeing as I wasn't going to get Annie to go to school now, she held the door open for me as I carried Ziva into the gym. Her face was buried in my shirt, and her fists had the fabric in a death grip. When the door shut behind me, McGee looked around the corner. His eyes fell on Ziva, and I could see his brain processing what he was seeing.
"Hi Tim." Annie said, and McGee looked at Annie.
"Hey Annie. Why aren't you at school?" He asked, looking back up at me. I glared at him, moving away from the entry way and closer to his office.
"Daddy drove here after mommy got scared." She said, and McGee disappeared. He came back out with a bottle of orange juice and his phone. Annie took the orange juice, and followed me to my office. When I got there, I put Ziva down on the mattress behind my chair. She clung to my neck, but I gently undid her hands.
"It's okay." I said softly, and she squeezed her eyes shut tighter. She felt around and when she found the blanket, she curled up underneath it. I watched her shake for a second before she let her face relax and she opened her eyes. I smiled at her, and handed her the bottle of orange juice McGee had handed Annie.
"Drink some." I whispered, and she nodded.
I gave Annie a look before slipping out of the room, and I saw Annie slip below the window. I was about to walk into Gibbs' office when he walked out.
"DiNozzo." He said, looking at his watch. "You actually made it in on time, and with time to spare." He said, and I smiled.
"Well, I didn't exactly drop Annie off at school today." I said, and he raised his eyebrow.
"Something happened with Ziva." He stated, and I wasn't the least bit surprised. I nodded, and he made his way around me. I followed him into my office, where I saw him crouched down in front of Ziva.
"Ziver." He said quietly, and Ziva looked up from her orange juice. She was still shaking, her hands gripping the bottle tightly. She reached up and wrapped her arms around Gibbs' neck, almost pulling him over in the process. Nevertheless, he kept his ground, and ended up pulling Ziva into sitting position. She hid her face in his neck, and he gently held the back of her head.
Ziva whimpered again, and I saw Gibbs flinch.
"What's wrong Ziver?" He asked her quietly, the fatherly side of him coming out. She started to whimper some more, and I felt an overwhelming urge to hold her close. Gibbs grabbed the bottle of orange juice and held it in front of her. I was glad we had discovered it calmed her down, or we would have been helpless.
"I do not wish to talk about it." She whispered back, sipping on her orange juice. She sat back on the bed and Gibbs stood up next to me. He gave me a look, and I didn't need his explanation. I sat down on the bed next to Ziva and wrapped my arms around her. She curled up on my lap, her fists once again holding my shirt.
"Drink your juice." I said quietly, and she obliged. I was surprised she was still upset, as it had been over twenty minutes since she had started to whimper.
"Tony, what happened?" Gibbs asked, sitting down next to us. He was watching Ziva closely with his eyes squinted.
"We were driving here, and she saw this man I guess. She hid under the window and started to whimper." I said, wincing as Ziva's hands grabbed some chest hair. Gibbs looked at Ziva again, his face completely blank.
"I am fine." Ziva said, trying to sound strong. But I could hear the wavering in her voice, and I shook my head.
"No, you aren't. Ziva, please tell me what's wrong?" I asked quietly. She shook her head, tears now rolling down her cheeks. I pulled her head back against my chest, smoothing her hair over her head. She stopped shaking momentarily, and then she nuzzled her nose into my shirt.
"I do not want to talk about it!" She said, sounding distressed. I shook my head at Gibbs, trying to get Ziva's breathing back to normal. He stood up, walking swiftly out of the office. Annie took his spot, reaching out and touching Ziva's face. Ziva was finally calming down, drinking the rest of her orange juice. I kissed her temple, resting my cheek on her head.
"You're okay." I whispered, and she nodded.
"I want to go home." She said quietly, choking as a sob escaped her. I shut my eyes, kissing her forehead. I was about to speak when Gibbs spoke behind me.
"Take her home DiNozzo."
--
When Ziva had finally fallen asleep, curled up on my side of the bed again, I sat down on the couch. Annie sat down next to me, hiding her face in my side.
"Daddy, what is wrong with mommy?" She asked, wiping her nose off on my shirt. I scrunched my nose, and she giggled.
"I don't know honey." I said, wrapping my arm around her waist. She twisted her mouth, obviously thinking.
"Well, someone has been hitting her." She stated, and I nodded.
"Yeah, someone has." I said bitterly, and Annie looked up at me.
"That is just wrong! Abby told me to never hit anyone, even though I have seen her hit McGee. But she said, Annie you never hit anyone. It's not nice."
"Rallentare Annie. It's okay. I know that." I said, and Annie sighed.
"I know," She said, "But I want mom to be alright." I nodded at her words, kissing her forehead.
"We all do. Remember we all haven't seen her in years." I said. Annie sighed, getting up and grabbing her cat.
"We should try to cheer her up daddy." Annie said, and I chuckled. She was holding her cat to her chest, her chin resting on its head. She looked impossibly cute, and her eyes were bright.
"Annie, she's not feeling good. We should just-"
"Daddy! I know you want to make her happy again. Like in the stories you tell me." She said, bounding over to me. She put her hands on my knees and pushed herself up so she was looking into my eyes.
"It's more complicated than that." I said, and she puffed air in my face. I shut my eyes, and she grinned. I grinned back.
"Well, we can try." She said, trying to prove me wrong. I rolled my eyes. I lifted her up, carrying her down the hall and to my room. When I opened my door, I pointed to Ziva.
She was curled up under the blankets, her hands gripping the comforter I had thrown over her. My pillow held her head, and she was wincing as she dreamed.
"It's going to take a lot to cheer her up Annie. And if she goes back to… wherever she goes to, we are going to be back to where we started." I said. Annie shrugged.
"We keep her here." She said simply, and I laughed. I shut the door again, walking down the hall and looking out the window. Annie put her hands on the glass, fogging it up with her breath.
"That's not possible Annie. Whoever is hurting your mother will find her." I said, and Annie scoffed. I looked at her, watching as she spoke.
"Gibbs can protect her." She said with complete confidence, and I smirked at her.
"Gibbs can't do everything sweetie." I said, and she sighed.
"Well, he should be able to. Gibbs is magic." She said.
"Abby always says that. You've been spending too much time with her." I teased and she hid her face in my neck.
"I like spending time with Aunt Abby. But not her music. I don't like it; it is too loud." She said, and I smiled.
"Not many people can take her music." I stated, and she looked at me.
"Can you?" She asked, and I shrugged.
"It depends." I said, tickling her sides. She laughed, and I was glad I had distracted her. She pushed my hand away, trying to get me to stop. I grinned at her and continued to tickle her. We were in the middle of a tickle fight when I felt a hand on my shoulder.
"Mom!" Annie said, reaching out and wrapping her arms around Ziva's neck. I let go of Annie, and Ziva smiled.
"Hi Annie." She said, locking her arms under Annie. She moved her nose into Annie's hair, shutting her eyes. I wrapped my arm around her waist, pulling her closer to the window. She stepped right up next to me, resting her weight against me. I smiled, kissing her head.
"I'm sorry we woke you." I said, and she shrugged.
"You guys sounded like you were having fun. I wanted to come see." She said, resting her cheek on Annie's head.
"Annie here was trying to convince me Gibbs can do anything." I said, and Ziva laughed.
"Even I know he can't do everything." She said, and Annie glared at me.
"Abby said he can." She said indignantly. I smiled at her. I didn't bother to argue with her, knowing that she wasn't going to budge.
"You should go back to sleep Ziva." I said, and she shook her head.
"I want to stay here, with you and Annie." She said, turning out of my arm and walking down the hall. I watched her walk for a second, and then caught up with her in the living room. Annie was showing Ziva the pictures on the table under the window.
"Dad told me this one was taken at the beach." Annie said, referring to the picture of Annie sitting in my lap on a towel. Abby had taken the picture one summer when she convinced me to take Annie to the beach. Annie had taken my sunglasses, and they hung lopsided on her head. I was grinning in the picture, laughing at Annie's silliness.
"It is a cute picture." Ziva said, running her finger over it. She let her finger travel to another picture, this one taken long before Annie had been born. It was the only picture I kept up that had Ziva in it.
"I remember this picture." Ziva said, picking it up. I put my hand over hers, and she smiled up at me.
"We were at the park for Abby's birthday party. McGee had a camera, and Gibbs made a joke about getting a picture of the new couple, because he had just discovered we had been dating for eight months." Ziva said, and I smiled.
"Yeah, and we were sitting on the bench, fighting over a piece of cake. McGee was trying to sneak up on us, and you knew he was coming. So you threw cake at him, and it hit his forehead. We started laughing as he took the picture with a huge frown on his face. It was priceless, the look on his face as he wiped the cake out of his hair." I said, and Ziva laughed along with me.
"Yeah, and he gave us the picture three days later with a frown on his face too." Ziva laughed, and I smiled. Annie looked at each of us, and then grinned.
"It's a very pretty picture." Annie said, and I smiled at Ziva. She looked down at the picture, and gently put it back on the table. I watched Ziva walk over to the couch and sit down, holding Annie to her chest.
"I'm sorry Annie." Ziva whispered, and I stopped. Annie looked up at Ziva with a questioning look.
"Why are you sorry mom?" She asked, reaching up and touching a scar on Ziva's arm.
"I was not here to see you grow up." Ziva said softly, touching Annie's hair. She ran her fingers through it, looking at the curls.
"It's okay mom." Annie said, tilting her head as she spoke. She was trying to catch her mother's eye.
"It is not. I missed out on everything." Ziva said, shutting her eyes and dropping her head. Annie grabbed Ziva's face, making her look at her.
"Mom, it doesn't matter." Annie insisted. She kissed her moms cheek, and I saw Ziva smile. Annie grinned.
"You still have tomorrow." Annie said, and Ziva wrapped her arms around Annie. I moved over to the couch, sitting down next to them. Ziva let herself fall into my arms, and I held her tightly.
"Are you feeling better now?" I asked her, and she nodded. I smiled, moving my arms so they were around her waist. I watched as Annie curled closer to Ziva, shutting her eyes and preparing to fall asleep. It wasn't even 12 o'clock yet. I lay back on the couch, and Ziva followed. We ended up laying parallel on the couch, my back against the couch and Ziva and Annie lying in front of me. I smiled widely, burying my nose in Ziva's hair.
"You are safe here Ziva. I promise nothing will happen to you." I whispered, shutting my eyes. I felt Ziva's hand cover mine.
"I know." She whispered back.
--
I woke up at seven to the sound of someone knocking at the door. I opened my eyes to see Ziva's hair covering my face, and a huge smile covered my face. Her head was on my chest, and her legs were wrapped around mine. I sighed as I detangled myself from her, trying not to wake her. Nevertheless, she did anyway. I was trying to walk to the door when she caught my hand.
"Where are you going?" She asked sheepishly. I reached down and touched her cheek.
"Someone is at the door." I said, and she nodded. She reached down and grabbed Annie off the floor, pulling her back into her arms. I walked over to the door, looking through the peephole to see who was there. But I didn't see anyone. Carefully, I opened the door. There was nothing outside, and I looked around. When I looked at the door, my stomach dropped.
Pinned to the door were three pictures; three pictures that I knew meant trouble.
Any errors I'm sorry. I happen to be very warm and my body is quite lazy. I have to go load songs onto my old iPod for my mommy now.
But, I get to watch Star Wars Episode III: Revenge Of The Sith. :D I love LOVE Star Wars. An R2D2. Gotta love that little droid.
Reviews please? Those beautiful little things are what got you this chapter so quickly.
-Izzzay.
P.S: Zatl, fyi, I promise that you will find out what happened to our little Ziva soon. I PWOMISE!!! :)
