Director Vance ended up flying with Tony out to Israel. Tony was in such a dark place there was no way he could fly on his own. He was in no way good enough shape to meet his daughter at the hospital. He was not even sure if he could break the news to his little girl. How did you tell your child that her mother was dead? How did you move on from such an event?
The plane touched down in Tel Aviv. Tony and Vance immediately headed to the hospital. They knew that Tali was injured but going to survive. Still Tony feared what he would see. He wished that it was the other way around that he was dead and Ziva was alive. She would be so much stronger than him. She would not have these fears. She would just tell Tali the truth. She would not need somebody to fly with her. She would not have needed to be sedated.
"Tali is in room 235B. She is doing well and can be released now that you are here. They are sending paperwork." Vance announced.
"I am not ready for this." Tony argued.
"She needs to know the truth sooner rather than later and she has been in that hospital bed for nearly twenty four hours. She needs you." Vance insisted.
"How do I tell her?" Tony asked.
"All you can do is tell the truth." Vance replied.
"How do I do that?" Tony asked.
"I will come with you." Vance offered.
Tali was propped up in her bed. She was coloring and watching cartoons. She had a small bandage on her arm where she had been burned. The doctors assured it was no worse than a burn from a stove or a really bad sunburn. There would be a scar but she would require no surgeries or major intervention. She was off oxygen but a tank was pushed to the back corner of her room. The physical injuries would heal in a matter of days or weeks. The mental scars were far deeper and would only fade. She sat there so happy, so young, so innocent. She did not deserve the pain that was about to come.
"Aba!" Tali cried.
"Hey baby girl." Tony greeted.
"Where Ima?" Tali asked.
"Tali your Ima. She is not going to come." Tony replied.
"Why not?" Tony asked.
"Tali she is gone." Tony replied.
"Where? Why?" Tali asked.
"Tali your Ima is dead." Tony blurted out instantly regretting his bluntness.
The look of pain on Tali's face was forever burned into Tony's memory. He wished he could take back his words and be more delicate. He had tried but Tali was not understanding delicate and he could not play the game much longer. Then again Vance was right he had to be honest. He had to just rip the band-aide off. No matter how hard it was for him, for Tali.
Tony signed the forms and was given cream for Tali's burns. Now began the painful process of starting over. Of trying to figure out this new role of single father. The house was a total loss but Tony still wanted to go through the rubble, see if anything survived. There was so much of Ziva's and Tali's that was lost. So much he wanted to save but knew without searching was gone. Maybe it would be futile but if he could at least find Ziva's Star of David and save it for Tali. He would be beyond happy.
Tony, Vance, and Tali checked into a hotel for the night. One room with two double beds. Vance had one, Tony and Tali shared the other. It was late now. Tony held Tali close to him, never wanting to let go. Wanting only to protect her forever. Tali had cried for hours but was now in a deep sleep. He envied her. It would be some time before sleep was even a possibility for him. He hated to admit it but it was the truth. The terrible, terrible truth.
Tony looked over at Vance. The director was on his phone talking with Jared and Kayla. The Vance children were teenagers now and staying alone more but Leon kept the nanny on hand for when he had to be gone overnight or if one of the children was sick. Jared and Kayla were older when Jackie died. Kayla was twelve and Jared was ten. They understood more of the world and it had been easier to break the news. Their pain however was was no different than Tali's. For years Tony had thought that he would never trade places with the director. Now he was in the same place and he had no idea how he was even going to begin to cope with the loss.
Nobody got much sleep that night. Everybody was devastated. Tali had nightmares and Tony did not blame her. Tony had downed a pot of coffee wanting to hide from the nightmares himself. Even Vance was tossing and turning, crying out for Ziva. Tony regretted his decision to stay awake but the very idea of his nightmares was too much to bear. Besides somebody had to be awake for Tali. Somebody had to comfort the girl when she woke up crying and begging for her Ima. With everybody else gone. Than task fell onto Tony.
The next morning Tony was given the opportunity to see the house and go through what he could. He took one look and was instantly grateful that he had left Tali with Vance. The farmhouse was hard to look at. Tony remembered how special this place was to Ziva and it broke his heart to see it gone. In that sense he was glad she was gone. Ziva's heart would have broken and so would Tali's. Tears fell as he studied the remains. The walls had all collapsed, only rubble remained. That was all that was left of an entire life time. Where was the justice?
A/N: More on the case in the next chapter. New chapter will be up soon. Thanks for reading and please review.