Thank you all. Much love because you all rule. Extra special thank you to Mecha.

Chapter 10

"'Be safe', you say.

Whatever mess you are, you're mine, ok?"

New Pornographers, Challengers.

Tony watched as Ziva punched Andrea Crane's number into the house phone with quick, angry fingers. Sophie was plopped in front of the television, still in her ladybug pajamas as the clear morning light began to filter through the windows. She still looked exhausted and withdrawn, and her hair was a frizzy mess. Ziva would need to put some of that special, nice smelling cream in it after her bath.

The social worker picked up on the third ring, and Ziva clicked it over to speakerphone.

"Hello?"

"Andrea? This is Ziva David and Tony DiNozzo. We have something pressing to discuss with you." Ziva's voice was clipped and venomous.

"Is everything alright? I'm on my way into a meeting, can I call you back-"

"No, this is urgent." Ziva interrupted. "Has Rachel Levy been released from prison? Because yesterday at the grocery store Sophie believes she saw her and it terrified her."

There was an uncomfortable silence, and the shuffling of papers on the other end. Tony could hear the excuses before they even came.

"Yes, she was, about three days ago."

Ziva's eyes got wide and she set her jaw.

"Why were we not informed of this earlier? Before she followed us and sent our daughter into a blind panic?"

Andrea hemmed a little. "I am sorry, Ziva. I was supposed to call you upon her release, but it slipped my mind. It has been a crazy week down here, and it was not on the top of my list of priorities-"

"Well it should have been!" She snapped, and Tony put a warning hand on her arm and took the receiver from her.

"Look, we just want to know what we can do to make sure it doesn't happen again."

"Well, as of now, Rachel has not actually done anything illegal. I will contact her parole officer and have them issue her a warning that she is not to come near Sophie. That being said, if it happens again, we can look into getting a restraining order."

"A restraining order will not do anything-" Ziva cried, furious and inept.

"If she breaks it, she can be arrested. Please, let me assure you, I am on your side. Let the system do its job. Call me immediately if it happens again, please. Do not engage with her if you see her- just call me."

"Okay. Thank you." Tony said, and hung up before Andrea could respond.

Ziva shook her head and pushed away from the table.

"This is bullshit and you know it." She whispered harshly. "Rachel will continue to follow Sophie, to terrorize her, to hinder her progress, and all we can do is get a piece of paper?"

He sighed heavily. "If she breaks the order-"

She glared at him and slammed the cabinet door so hard the boxes of macaroni and the canned tomatoes rattled around. Sophie squeaked from the next room, but her eyes stayed glued to the television, thumb anchored in her mouth.

Ziva glowered still, but lowered her voice. "I know how a restraining order works, Tony. I just think its ridiculous that in order to take action we have to wait for it to happen again."

Tony nodded, and stepped closer to her, so he could wrap his arms around her from behind. He rested his head on her shoulder. She was tense, brooding.

"I'm upset too, babe. I don't like it either, but I think the best thing we can do for Sophie is continue on with our normal lives. If it does happen again, we'll deal with the fallout, and more serious things will be put in place to stop it."

Ziva stared out the kitchen window above the skink for a long time, hands tight on the rim.

"Okay", she finally conceded, "okay."

…..

Ema and Daddy made Sophie go to the playground that was near their house. Dr. Stein thought she might feel better if she ran around, but she didn't really want to go. If Rachel was at the grocery store maybe she would be there too, but Daddy promised that nothing bad was going to happen, and Ema and Daddy always kept their promises, so Sophie decided it was probably okay to go play.

It felt good to swing on the swings like she was flying way up high in the sky. She liked it when Daddy caught her feet on the way down and pretended to eat them before letting go so Ema could push her again. They did that for a long time before Sophie got bored and jumped off the swing.

"Monster chase me Daddy!" She asked, and Daddy laughed his silly pretend monster laugh and she ran off around the jungle gym.

"I'm going to get ya!" Daddy called, and Sophie giggled. She was running fast like a big girl, and it felt good to forget about Rachel and the rice and Mr. Williams. It felt so good that she kept running so fast that she was only looking at the blue blue sky. She didn't realize she'd ran out of the playground until she tripped on something and fell hard on the sidewalk.

"Get up." Rachel commanded, and Sophie's blood turned to ice when she looked up and saw her standing over her, arms crossed, sharp angry eyes blazing. Suddenly she didn't feel the scrape on her chin or the weird sharp pain in her wrist like a knife. All she felt was confused and scared. Scared of going back, of lonely, of no Ema reading stories, of no Daddy putting her on his big shoulders so she could touch the clouds. She started to get up but her legs were like the Jell-O she once made with Abby, all shaky and bad. She wanted to yell "No!" but her words were stuck like that time at the grocery store. She backed away, but Rachel reached out and grabbed her arm, and then Sophie felt her wrist again and it hurt.

And then as soon as it started it was over- Ema was yelling and picking her up and it was so loud her ears hurt. She watched Daddy grab Rachel like a bad guy and put handcuffs on her like she was going to jail all over again, and it was scary because Rachel was just looking at her and saying things she couldn't understand. There were sirens and lights and bad words and the spinning sky and time was moving so fast like when Daddy pressed the button on the remote that made everything zip away. Everything was fast and loud but Sophie was still and quiet because maybe if she was still enough she would disappear and Rachel would stop finding her.

…

Ziva hugged Sophie tight to her chest while the gentle, handsome plastic surgeon stitched the deep cut on her chin. She watched as it took seven whole stitches to closer the gash that had split open after Sophie had tripped over Rachel's waiting foot and cracked her chin on the pavement. She grew angrier with each stitch.

Sophie whimpered as he finished and bandaged it lightly.

"All done, kiddo." He announced, and presented her with a lolli-pop. Sophie took it warily but made no move to open it- she was listless, disinterested.

"Apply this antibiotic ointment nightly when you change bandages. It's unlikely that it'll scar too badly. Come back in a couple weeks so I can remove them." The doctor instructed, and left abruptly with the beep of his pager.

"Do you have pain, baby?" Ziva cooed, picking up her right wrist carefully. The pink cast was still a little wet, not having fully set. Sophie didn't answer, only took a deep shuddering breath and snuggled in so her cheek rested on Ziva's chest.

"Sha, baby," She cooed, kissing the top of her head.

Tony wandered back in the room with Andrea behind him. He was furious- Ziva could tell by the tightness in his jaw and the way he adjusted his collar.

"What's the damage?" He asked, placing a hand on Sophie's back. She had fallen so deeply asleep that she didn't even flinch.

Ziva swallowed and eyed Andrea, but did not formally acknowledge her. "Cracked wrist, and seven stitches for her chin. Some minor bruises and scrapes as well."

Tony grunted and petted Sophie's hair. He planned to wait on his baby hand and foot while she recovered. Andrea stepped forward, her face drawn in remorse and discomfort.

"Rachel has been arrested for stalking and breaking a restraining order." Andrea announced softly, eyes locked on Sophie's swollen fingers poking out from the cast padding. "I've called Judge Meyers and asked him to move your court date up- Sophie needs as much stability as she can get, and there is no doubt in my mind that this is the right home for her. He should get back to me within the next day or so with an official date."

There were no real words, only some tears and a grunted thank you. Andrea nodded and patted Sophie's shoulder.

"Of course. Now take your girl home."

"Home." Ziva echoed, taking Tony's strong, warm hand in hers.