Rifiuto: Non Miriena

A/N: Written 2008.- Licia

She poked her head out of the water, but they were gone. She knew they would be, but still-

A sigh escaped her throat, and she reached up to grasp at her neck. They are no' there. She took them, jus' like she took yer babes. Slowly, she lowered her hand, looking about the beach sprawled out before her before ducking back beneath the water.

How did she even begin to explain to them exactly what they were, what she was? How did she make them understand that she wasn't out to hurt them, she just wanted them back, because they were her children? That she had begged the gods for one final wish before being dragged beneath the sea by the sirens, all those centuries ago?

How could she even begin to weave a tale as strange as hers, and make it not sound like such a... such a... myth? They would never believe it. She herself had barely believed, and she had lived it.

As she returned, she could feel her skin returning; it slid over her human form like the softest of silk. She could sense the others' eyes on her, but she ignored them. They knew better than to question where she'd been. They knew how it had affected her, and so left her alone, as she wished. The pain had gotten more tolerable over the years, especially since she'd been able to watch them from afar, after they arrived at... well, she wasn't sure who the couple were, but she knew they loved them. Knew they'd taken care of them; because she'd seen the woman walking along the beach that day-

And ye were able t' get them away from her.

She swallowed, anger rising in her veins; if she ever saw the woman who stole her children from her again, she'd kill her.

Ziva looked up as Tim entered the bullpen on Monday morning; Tony opened his mouth to make some smart remark, but the look on the other agent's face stopped him and he snapped his mouth shut; Sarah followed behind her brother, backpack slung over her shoulder. "Morning, McGee- what is Sarah doing here? Doesn't she have school?" But the siblings ignored her. Tim set his bag behind his desk, Sarah doing the same. He then pulled her around the partition beside his desk.

Tony and Ziva shared a glance, as the siblings appeared to be arguing, though in what language, they couldn't tell. Ziva could make out Arabic, but she was unsure of the other languages, and occasionally, one of them would wave their hands in the air as though unable to contain their excitement or anger. A moment passed, before Sarah said something, and Tim made a quick motion with his hands- sign language, Ziva realized, but not American.

Sarah scoffed, pushing past her brother and making her way to his desk to grab her bag, when Tim grabbed her wrist. He said something quickly in another language, and Sarah yanked her arm away, temper rising. She snapped at him in a mixture of Arabic and another language, and then both siblings jumped as the plasma between Tony and Tim's desk short circuited and then exploded. Tony's eyes widened, and Ziva rose from her seat, concerned not so much about the TV, but that Sarah had gotten hurt; she'd been standing so close to it after all.

But before either agent could do anything, Tim rolled his eyes and grabbed his sister's arm. He muttered something beneath his breath and yanked her out of the bullpen towards the elevator. As the siblings stepped inside- not even glancing at Gibbs as the Team Leader exited- Tony turned back to Ziva. "What the hell was that? Did you see the TV? It just exploded! Like something out of a Bond movie!"

But Ziva wasn't listening; her attention was on the elevator and the siblings inside.

"It's not a good idea, Timmy!"

Her brother slammed the side of his hand against the button, sending the doors closing, before flicking the switch. "And why not, Sarah? You want to know just as badly as I do, where we come from!"

"I know where we come from, Timmy! We come from Richmond, Virginia. Kathleen and John McGee are our parents. Penny is our grandmother. Isn't that enough?"

He shook his head. "No. Not that. That's what our records say, but not where we really come from. God, Sarah, we're from somewhere in Ireland! We may not even be human, for God's sake! And your little stunt with the plasma nearly gave us away!"

She leaned back against the door, tears in her eyes, and he knew he'd struck a chord. Unlike Tim, who was so laid back it was scary, Sarah had a more difficult time suppressing her temper. Oftentimes, it had been her that had caused something to blow up or burst in the McGee household, because she couldn't control her temper, and the fact that her brother inadvertently flaunted his ability to control his, that made the fights between them look like world war three.

He sighed, seeing her begin to cry. "Sarah, I'm sorry, I just-"

"I don't want to leave."

"What?"

"I don't want to leave Mama and Daddy, Timmy."

"What? Where in hell did you get that-"

Sarah sniffled, reaching up to wipe at her nose. "If we get that DNA test done, and it proves we're the Phillips kids, we'll have to leave Mama and Daddy. I don't want to leave them." Her brother sighed, finally understanding. After a moment, he went to her, pulling her into a hug.

"Nobody's leaving anybody, Sarah. I promise." He kissed her head and then pulled away to look at her. "How 'bout this? We get the test done, but we don't look at the results; like a modern day Schroedinger's Cat. That sound better?" She nodded, and he pressed a kiss to her forehead before flicking the switch. "Let's go get it done by another lab." He stepped out, taking her hand. Gibbs and the others looked up. "Sorry Boss, I won't be staying today. Family emergency."

And before anyone could object, the siblings had grabbed their bags and raced back to the elevator.

Kathleen breathed in the salt of the sea, sandals in hand. Having swapped shifts with Louisa, because the latter had to have surgery in two days, meant that she had the day off. Instead of sleeping in, she went to the beach. As a child growing up in the system, Kathleen had always dreamed of living near the beach. When she'd aged out of the system, she moved to San Francisco and attended college, eventually becoming a paramedic and moving to Manchester, New Hampshire, where she'd met John.

A soft sigh escaped her lips, and she reached down to rest a hand against her abdomen. All she had ever wanted was to be married and have children... and one stupid college party had taken it away. Her friends had told her Nick was trouble, warned her to stay far away, but she hadn't listened. Her naivete had been rewarded with a social disease that had robbed her of the chance of ever having children.

She looked up, dragged from her thoughts as her gaze went out into the waves. She couldn't help but feel as though she were being watched. Minutes passed, before she found herself staring into a pair of green eyes. Slowly, the person lifted their head, moving closer. They stopped, watching as she slowly set her sandals down and stepped into the water, kneeling down and crawling forward slowly. Once only a couple feet apart- for they had moved closer to avoid her possibly being swept out to sea- the two locked eyes.

"Who-" Kathleen watched the person lift their head out of the water. Recognition flitted through their features,

"Ye're the one 'ho's taken care o' me chil'ren."

Slowly, Kathleen nodded. "And you must be-" She stopped, unable to say the words. No, she's not their mother, you are.

The other understood what she couldn't say, and said it for her, softly, seeing the breaking of her heart reflected in Kathleen's eyes. "Their mother."