A/N: Made it to chapter 10! So, that idea I mentioned, I am going through with it and I can't wait to see what you guys will think when it comes into play.

Thank you DS2010, Sue Dooley, Guest and Debbie for reviewing. And thanks to Sue Dooley for pointing out that I kind of forgot about Tali at the end of chapter 9. So I went in and added that Tony took her to Bethany's place while he was going to get Ziva. :)

Chapter 10: Into the Past

It had been a couple days since Ziva's and Abby's day of fun. As a thank you to Bethany for looking after Tali that night when Tony had to pick up Ziva, Ziva had suggested that they could invite her and Mary over for dinner. Tony agreed and Tali, naturally did as well. Tony beckoned Ziva into their room and she followed.

"Tony, is something wrong?" she asked sensing that something was bothering him.

"Ziva, that day you and Abby went out and I was talking to Bethany while the girls were playing, some things she said concerned me slightly. Or maybe its things she didn't say," Tony explained.

Ziva looked at him curiously, "What do you mean?"

"Well, I just initiated conversation with her and well, did you know that she only just graduated high school?"

Ziva looked at him surprised, "Really? I know that she looks young, but I did not think she was that young…" After a slight pause, she added, "But is it not common in this country that girls get pregnant that young?"

"Well, I wouldn't say it happens all the time, but yes it definitely happens quite a bit… But that's not what concerns me, it sounded like there was something more to it. I didn't want to pry, but it sounded like she was going to talk about it. And since Mary is the same age as Tali, then she would have been about thirteen or fourteen when she gave birth to her…"

Ziva looks at Tony with wide eyes and grasps one of his hands. "Tony… You don't think she was..."

"Ziva, I don't want to think she was, but I'm not ruling it out as a possibility—"

"Ima! Aba! Someone knocked the door," Tali shouted from their bedroom's doorway.

"Alright, thanks for letting us know sweetie," Tony replied as he and Ziva walked out of the room and over to the door to answer it. They smiled when they saw it was Mary and Bethany.

"Welcome, please come in and make yourselves at home," Ziva greeted them.

"Thank you very much for having us over," Bethany said respectfully.

"We are glad to have you here."

"Mary!" Tali exclaimed.

"Tali!" the two girls hugged.

The three adults smiled at the girls.

"Um, I love to cook, can I help you?" Bethany asked Ziva.

Ziva nodded. "Sure, the kitchen is this way," she said leading her.

Tony stayed with the girls while the two women went to the kitchen.

As they were preparing the meal, Ziva tried to start some small talk. "So Bethany, do your parents live around here?" she asked innocently.

"Well, um…"

"Sorry, I did not mean to be nosy, I was just curious."

"No it's totally fine Ms. David. Well I don't know who my birth parents are and my adoptive parents died in a car crash about three years ago… I was sophomore in high school when it happened."

Ziva nodded sympathetically. "I see..."

"It was hard for both Mary and myself. Even though I wasn't their child by blood, they treated me like I was their own and they loved Mary very much… Ms. David—"

"Please, call me Ziva," she interrupted.

"Um, okay… Ziva is it alright if tell you something?"

Ziva nodded. "Of course."

5 years ago

It was the last day of school before Christmas break. The sky was already dimming and snowflakes slowly fell. Thirteen year old Bethany was walking home, accompanied by her boyfriend Aiden.

The two adolescents had grown up together, and were next door neighbors. They had been close friends since preschool and when they got older they started to fall for each other. Their parents had trusted them enough to allow them to be in a relationship. They were both very responsible.

"I really love the snow," Bethany said as she looked closely at the flakes falling onto her glove. "There are so many pretty patterns of snowflakes.

Aiden smiled. "Yes there are." As they walked, Aiden subtly gazed at Bethany's beauty, the pure white snowflakes stuck to her long red hair. He slowly took hold of her hand and she smiled lacing her fingers with his. They were approaching the small coffee shop that was not too far from their houses.

"Hey do you want to stop here for some hot chocolate?" Aiden asked.

Bethany nodded. "Yeah that'll be nice! It is quite cold."

Aiden and Bethany walked hand in hand into the coffee shop and ordered some hot chocolates. After receiving their drinks, they sat at one of the tables that was by the window.

"I can't believe we're halfway through eighth grade," Bethany said before taking a sip.

Aiden nodded. "Yup, that means we'll be in high school soon."

The young couple enjoyed their hot chocolate in the tranquil atmosphere of the coffee shop.

Present

"What a sweet story," Ziva commented. "If I may ask, where is Aiden now?"

Bethany tried to stop her eyes from tearing up. Ziva looked at the girl concerned. She closed the kitchen door and placed a hand on Bethany's shoulder. "…Bethany?"

After leaving the coffee shop, Aiden and Bethany continued on towards home. The sky was now the color of ebony. There was no one else around. They were about a block away from their houses when a silver van was slowly driving behind them.

Aiden instinctively grasped Bethany's hand. He sensed that something wasn't right. Bethany walked closer to Aiden and they picked up the pace, but so did the vehicle.

They started to run faster, but there was a slippery patch on the sidewalk causing them to slip. Loud footsteps were approaching them and were rapidly getting closer.

"Ahhh!" Bethany screamed as their pursuer grabbed the back of her jacket and pulled her towards them. Aiden tried to keep his grip on her hand, but the man was very strong thus yanking Bethany away causing Aiden to fall backwards on the ground.

"Aiden!" Bethany shouted before she was muzzled by the stranger's hand.

Aiden was not going to give up so easily. He stood up. "Let her go!" he shouted confidently trying to hide the fact that he was afraid.

The assailant simply laughed at him which just angered Aiden further. Aiden knew that even if he tried the man could easily take him out. But if he didn't try then he wouldn't be able to forgive himself if something happened to Bethany.

Aiden took a quick breath before he ran at the man with all his strength. The man had Bethany on his right side, so Aiden aimed for his left side and punched at his face as hard as he could.

Aiden threw the punch, and suddenly everything went black. He was now unconscious.

"A-Aiden…" Bethany cried before she was muzzled again.

"You better keep quiet if you want your friend to be alive," the man threatened.

Bethany cried silently, her eyes welled up with tears.

"That's a good girl."

The man took them and threw them into the backseat of the van. After he slammed the door shut, Bethany noticed something on the ground. She got a better look at it and noticed it was an ID holder. She managed to read the name on the ID before the van light turned off. Her eyes widened. 'Jayce Anderson'.

She had seen that name in the news. He was some anti-military psychopath that had been on the run after being discovered that he was the reason for the disappearances of children of military personnel throughout the country. But that rose the question, why did he want her? Her parents were not in the military, neither were Aiden's. He had committed many kidnappings, but none of them were children of civilians.

Bethany had no idea where the van was going. Hours passed and it finally came to a stop. The man stepped out of the van and grabbed her again. He smirked at her.

"You look so much like your mother."

"What are you talking about?!" Bethany asked completely confused.

"That beautiful red hair. You have your father's eyes though."

"You know my birth parents?"

"Yes, but that's not important. You're all mine now," he stroked her cheek.

"D-Don't touch me!" she shouted using all her strength to try escaping his grip.

"H-His grip was so tight on me… I tried to fight, but I soon lost the energy to do so… He ripped my shirt off and…" Bethany's face was now drenched with tears.

Ziva pulled the young woman into her arms and let her cry on her shoulder. "Y-You... You do not need to say anymore, alright?" she patted her back. Ziva couldn't believe what this girl had gone through. She was still curious about Aiden, but she didn't want to press any further right now. This girl had been through a lot and Ziva decided that she would do her best to watch out for her and she knew that Tony would do the same.

A/N: Please review! Thanks for reading!