A/N: Oh. My. God. It's been what? Four months? I AM SO SORRY! (I know I say this a lot, but it's true!) So, as you might have gathered from my twitter etc., I've been extremely busy with college, and I just started a new job. So, today I finally, f-i-n-a-l-l-y found the time to write a new chapter. YAAAAASSSS! I have planned the rest of this story, so it's only a matter of getting it done and putting it up. It's not too distant haha! I hope you guys still remember me - and this story. Please let me know if you're still following this story or not! (IMPORTANT!)
Please enjoy reading! :)

"No, I swear that's what happened," McGee exclaimed, trying to contain his laughter.

Tony raised his hand to wipe away tears of laughter. "You cannot be serious."

"Thing is, I am though," McGee laughed.

Suddenly, Tony's laughter faded and he stopped dead in his tracks. They had been on their way to Abby's lab and had just rounded the corner. And what he saw through the glass doors was a sight Tony had thought he'd never see again. There was Abby, and standing next to her was none other than Ziva.

"Ziva? What are you doing here?" Tony asked as they walked into the room.

Ziva turned around and flashed him a bright smile, "Visiting Abby."

Tony looked back and forth between the two. Ziva hadn't mentioned that she would come to the office to visit Abby. It wasn't like she had an obligation to tell him everything, but he just thought coming to the office was something she would mention.

"I told her she really needs to meet Ellie. Have you seen her anywhere?" Abby questioned.

McGee shrugged, "I think she went out to get coffee."

"You..you're going to meet Ellie?" Tony asked, confusion written all over his face.

Why would Ziva want to meet the person who had taken her place on the team? Wouldn't that be all kinds of awkward and weird?

"Yes. Is that a problem, Tony?" Ziva asked, smirking at him.

"What? No, no, of course not," Tony stammered.

"He's scared that she'll tell you embarrassing stuff about him," McGee suggested, unable to contain his laughter.

"Great contribution, McGee, thanks," Tony said bitterly.

Ziva took a few steps closer to Tony, then rested her hand on his chest, her eyes locked on his.

"She is a big part of all of your lives. I just want to get to know her," she said quietly.

Tony gulped, "But she took your place on the team."

Ziva tilted her head to the side, "So?"

"I just..I mean..don't you wanna come back at some point?" Tony blurted out.

Ziva could hear McGee's and Abby's sharp intakes of breath. This was a topic they had not discussed yet. Ziva had seen it coming, and she had spent a lot of time thinking about it, especially since meeting the team again three weeks ago.

"Tony," she whispered.

His face fell. "You don't want to come back?"

"You know how much I loved working with you, and you know the team is my family. But I am a different person now. This is not the life I want to live anymore," she explained, her hand gently rubbing his chest.

"But..," Tony started, but Ziva cut him off, "I will always be a member of this team. Just..in a different way."

"I totally get that," Abby exclaimed.

Ziva turned her head to shoot her a smile.

"So, you're saying that you'll come as a visitor and that you'll be at team outings, just not at work?" Tony asked.

Ziva nodded in confirmation.

"Okay," Tony said, a smile spreading across his face.

Maybe this was good. It gave them a sense of safety. One of them would not be putting their life on line on a daily basis. And if it made Ziva happy, then it made him happy too.

"Ellie! There you are!" Abby exclaimed excitedly as the young agent walked through the door.

Abby had made Tony and McGee leave after she had called Ellie down to the lab. She wanted Ziva to have the chance to meet Ellie without the two guys hanging around, watching their every move and word.

"Hi Abby," Ellie greeted, "is something up?"

"Oh, no, nothing work related at least," Abby explained. Maybe she should have mentioned that on the phone.

Ellie looked at her questioningly, obviously confused as to why Abby had called her down to the lab.

"I want you to meet someone," Abby said.

As if on cue, Ziva came in from the back room and smiled at Ellie.

"This is Ziva David, she's..," Abby started to introduce her, but Ellie cut her off, "I know who she is."

She took a step closer to Ziva and extended her hand for her to shake. "I'm Eleanor Bishop, but everyone calls me Ellie," she introduced herself.

Ziva shook her hand, smiling, "I am Ziva David."

"It's so cool to finally meet you! I've heard so much about you," Ellie exclaimed, her excitement getting the best of her.

"I have heard a lot about you, too," Ziva replied.

"I gotta go talk to Gibbs, see you guys later," Abby announced, making a quick exit.

Ellie chuckled, "That was subtle."

Ziva couldn't help but laugh as well. It was a typical Abby-move. So not subtle.

"So, I don't know what you've heard about me, but as I said I'm Ellie. I joined the team about a year ago, I used to work as an analyst for NSA, I food-associate, I like to work on the floor, and I'm married," Ellie gave a quick summary of herself.

A bright grin spread across Ziva's face. She liked Ellie. She seemed to be a really nice and fun person to be around.

"I have heard most of these things, yes," Ziva replied.

"I've heard quite the stories about you. Like, how kick-ass you are, that you used to work for Mossad – I mean if that isn't cool, I don't know what is, all the stories about the times you spent with the team, that you left, and even that you came back. Though, it's all pretty much a blur, I didn't get details," Ellie continued to ramble.

Ziva sighed and leaned with her back against the table. "It's a pretty long story," she said.

"I've gathered that much," Ellie acknowledged, leaning against the table opposite Ziva to be able to face her.

"The short version is that my father died, we tracked down his killer, and then I went to Israel to connect with my past. Tony followed me and we had a very special time together. But eventually I made him leave," Ziva started to tell her story.

She was surprised at how easily the words rolled off her tongue. She hadn't really spoken about the things that had happened, but telling Ellie was easy. Ellie didn't know her past, she only knew her present. She wouldn't judge.

"Why did you make him leave?" Ellie asked carefully.

"I thought I needed space. I thought the only way to feel whole again was to reconnect with my past and to do so alone," Ziva explained.

"But you realized you were wrong," Ellie spoke the words that had gone unspoken for far too long.

Ziva nodded, "Yes."

"So then what happened?" Ellie asked.

"After I had realized that I..that I was wrong to send him away, it took me a while to figure things out. But when I did, I booked a flight to Washington. I wanted to see him and everyone else, but I could not. I was..," Ziva continued, and Ellie finished her thought yet again, "scared?"

Again, Ziva nodded.

"I get it, it's always hard to be new somewhere," Ellie said.

"Let me guess, they made it hard for you to fit in here?" Ziva asked, the faintest of smiles tugging at the corner of her mouth.

"Yeah. That desk, I mean your old desk, they didn't want me to sit there. It was like it was sacred or something. I mean, don't get me wrong, I know they missed you and stuff, but it was just a desk, you know," Ellie told Ziva.

Ziva chuckled, "Been there, done that."

"What?" Ellie asked, clearly confused.

"When I first joined the team, they made a big deal out of that desk, too. Kate Todd, the agent who had previously been on the team, had just died and they were not ready to accept someone else sitting at her desk," Ziva recalled.

"You too?" Ellie asked, laughing.

"Maybe the desk is sacred after all," Ziva suggested, winking.

Ellie pretended to contemplate it for a while, then with her most serious possible expression said, "I haven't found the holy grail in it though. I've looked everywhere!"

The two women burst out laughing, and Ziva couldn't help but think that maybe this was the beginning of a new friendship.

A/N: Yay or nay? :D
Please let me know what you think, what could be improved and what you wanna see happen in future chapters in the review section below :) Also, please let me know whether you're still reading (IMPORTANT) as it doesn't make any sense to write a story that nobody reads haha!
Looking forward to (hopefully) hearing from you!
Again, sorry for the wait.. :(
Lots of love,
~ C.