Author's note:

Hello, everyone!

And welcome to another chapter. :) First of all, let me thank to all of you who keep reading what I write and are still so enthusiastic. Thank you really much.

Dear and always loyal Debbie, thank you very much for another of your amazing reviews. :) No need to thank me, this is all my pleasure. The team reaction on Ziva's homecoming is already in my head and I can't wait to write it.

Thank you, J09tiva, I hope you will enjoy more of the tour!

I know the chapter is long and I apologize beforehand for this. It was supposed to be shorter, but I caught up in the second half of the chapter quite much and just couldn't stop. And I feel if I broke up the chapter into two halves, it would have been about nothing.

This chapter is dedicated to no one else but my surrogate sister Athina. Darling, you know very well why. :*

Disclaimer:

I do not own NCIS or its characters. Neither do I own Franz Kafka's works. All the places and history bits are real.


Christmas Meeting – Chapter 11

Warning: This chapter is not edited, neither checked for errors by Beta. All mistakes are mine. So, please take this into account, thank you. As you know, English is not my first language, so I apologize beforehand for all errors and mistakes.

Although Tony thought that Klementinum wouldn't have interested him at all, he had to admit that he was impressed in the end. The current National Library of the Czech Republic had a great historic significance for development of liberal and natural arts, mainly mathematics and Tony's favorite astronomy. Moreover, it was also associated with weather recording that started in 1775 and continues up to this day.

He couldn't resist Ziva's excited face and explanation that she had just needed to see the famous Baroque Hall, including all the books stored inside. When she'd said that the building was a book heaven for bookworms and had tried to describe it to him, that it was like a dream video store, but for books, he couldn't have denied her anything. And he really wasn't disappointed since the visit had picked up the threads of her telling from earlier.

The former Jesuit college that used to include also library, printing room, pharmacy with laboratory, hospital and two chapels, offers three main spots of interest. Astronomical Tower with a height of 68 meters became the main spot for astronomical measurements in 18th century. The top of the tower is decorated by a statue of Atlas carrying a celestial sphere. Inside, Tony couldn't take his eyes of various astronomical, geophysical and meteorological instruments. Also, the view from the tower was majestic.

On the second floor of the tower, there is a Meridian Hall, previously used for determining noon. Ray of sunlight coming through a small hole up in the wall turned the room into a camera obscura*. High noon was determined by the light falling on a string stretched on the floor. From 1842 the noon determination was accompanied by waving of a flag from the tower, and from 1891 even by a shot from cannon. These signals were cancelled in 20th century. Two wall quadrants from early 18th century used for measuring of the angular distance between celestial objects and their height above the horizon, are firmly set into the walls.

Ziva, however, was mainly fascinated by the Baroque library hall. First opened in 1722, the library houses over 20,000 volumes of mostly foreign theological literature from 17th century until the recent times. Ceiling frescoes by Jan Hiebl depicting allegorical motifs of education, portraits of Jesuit Saints, patrons of the university and prominent representatives of Jesuit order are breathtaking. The portrait of Joseph II.** dominates the head of the hall. There is also a remarkable collection of geographical and astronomical globes in the centre of the library. In 1781 the collection of literature written in Czech language was established, giving the basis for the national library. Since then, Klementinum has been gathering copies of each book issued in Czech language.

She looked smitten when they left the premises. It was obvious that one of her long-time dreams had just been fulfilled. She took him by the hand and they started their way through the streets again, following the Royal Route. They fell in comfortable silence, just enjoying the beautiful sunny weather with occasional traces of snows from the last night. It was a perfect sightseeing tour.

She pointed out the memorial plague on one of the houses they passed by, knowing he would be interested in it. One of the astronomers they had heard about on their Klementinum tour was honored by the plaque – Johannes Kepler***. He awarded her with a kiss on her cheek, making her giggle. She was like a different person, yet the same one in the same time. And he enjoyed it, he had to admit that.

On the Charles Bridge, she began to hum the song one of the artists played there. The bridge was crowded again but they went slowly across, avoiding any possible crash. Internally, he was delighted for her and her good mood. Once in a while, he stopped her to kiss her passionately on her lips, never getting enough. The love for each other had completely seized them.

"Do you know that, according to the legends, eggs were added into the mortar while they were building this bridge?" She asked him.

"Eggs?" He replied incredulously with a question.

"Yes, eggs. It was believed that they would improve the firmness of the building material." She confirmed. "But the recent researches found out that it's not actually true. However, the mortar was mixed with milk and wine."

"Well, it seems to be working." He observed, appreciating the old stones they were walking on.

She nestled against him, holding his hand firmly. "Another legend claims that the construction began at 5:31 AM on July 9th 1357." She went on excitedly. "The first stone was laid by the Charles IV. himself. Since he was a strong believer in numerology, this specific time forming a numerical bridge**** was very important to him. It should imbue Charles Bridge with additional strength." Considering how many floods and other damaging events the bridge had survived, it had probably been really beneficial.

He looked over at her appreciatively, catching her smile widely at the whole world. His heart skipped a beat to see her like this. She was light-hearted, her wild curls glittering at the winter sun as her feet danced across the bridge, taking him with her. He couldn't help but smile at her vibrant behavior. It was such an exceptional and magical moment. He loved her even more for this.

"What?" She asked him with a grin when she caught him staring at her with nothing but love in his eyes.

"I don't think I've ever seen you so happy." He confessed. She was infecting him with the cheerful mood. Thanks to her, he felt better than he could even remember.

She stopped in her tracks, squeezing his hand to make him to turn to her. "It's thanks to you." She told him with a smile. "You caused it."

Wrapping her arms around his neck, she joined their lips together in a savory kiss. His chest swelled with pride as he was exploring the delicious corners of her mouth. She was hell of a woman to kiss, always moaning in the right moment to urge him to speed up or to slow down. The world seized to exist for a brief moment, devoid any meaning but love of two people who had lost what was dear to them, but managed to find it again.

She didn't keep the chuckle inside her throat when she heard his stomach grumble. "Oh my little cub, you're hungry." She noted as she caressed his face, feeling smugly about his swollen lips.

"In more ways than just one." He answered a bit hoarsely, since she took his breath away with the kiss, literally. His eyes drifted to the staircase where he'd hidden during their snowballing the previous night. All they had to do was to walk it down and they would be in a bed in no time.

She snickered at his words as he leaned against the bridge wall, making her to melt into his body and lay her body on his. "Well, considering that you will have whole night to sate the other hunger, I'm proposing to have a lunch in a nearby restaurant."

He rose them both up on their feet, intertwining their fingers. "You know the way to a man's heart, Miss David." He said with a smile, leaving the rest of the idiom 'through his stomach' in the air.

She returned him the smile, winking at him teasingly. "It's not that hard to guess in your case, Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo. Your infamous appetite is known all over the world."

He refrained from saying that she would have to know Bishop to tease someone about their appetite, but he knew that he would have the chance to use this joke later. Instead, he took off for the restaurant she mentioned, because his stomach was really calling for some food. Sightseeing was nice and all, but he couldn't neglect his daily supply of dainties. This country's cuisine was too delicious to pass up.

They left the Charles Bridge behind them, walking through the street straight to another square. She didn't let him to go to McDonalds, although he was whining that he wanted to. Despite his protests, she dragged him on the other side of the street, forcing him to admire another memorial plague dedicated to Ema Destinnová*****. His interest was raised after she'd showed him that the woman was depicted on a Czech banknote in the value of 2,000 CZK.

Just a few steps away, there was a restaurant she led him into. Malostranská beseda was a cozy pub in brown and beige colors, brimming over with life and beer. They were seated in one of the corners by a window. The waiter immediately offered them a draft beer which they accepted with pleasure. There was no point in drinking something else, after all.

Tony let her to choose the meal for both of them, knowing that she wanted to indulge him with her cultural choices, and knew what was best for his stomach. He watched as she quickly flipped through the menu, smiling at the waiter as he brought the two glass mugs of Pilsner Urquell beer. Her decision was made, that was clear. He could only wait what would be brought to him on the plate.

She ordered a traditional Czech dish called svíčková******, which he understood was a roast beef in cream sauce, with cranberries and dumplings. Awesome, he couldn't wait to dig his fork into it. To silence his growling stomach, she took the slice of homemade bread and spread it with a herb butter, handing it over to him. He accepted gratefully and watched as she did the same to her own slice of bread.

Humming in pleasure over the combination of herb butter with the delicious bread, he saw as she reached into her bag and pulled out a little notebook. It made him wonder how many notebooks she actually had with herself at the moment, but knowing for a long time that secrets of women handbags were sacred, he didn't make any further inquiry.

She looked at him expectantly, though, as she found a blank page in the notebook and put her pen on it. "You're going to interrogate me?" He asked innocently, taking a mouthful gulp of his beer.

"No." She rolled her eyes at him. "I think that we should start planning my moving, so I want to draft some schedule." Then, she pursed her lips in a lascivious smirk. "Besides, the interrogation techniques I'd use in your case aren't practicable in public. They'd need more... private and intimate place."

She let the words hung in the air as she innocently took another slice of bread. He was so easy to tease sometimes. The only thing she needed was to throw him a decoy that was giving enough space for his fantasy to unleash. Then, she just watched as his eyes flared up with lustful darkness, infusing his mind with very nasty thoughts. It was obvious that he didn't care about what she would interrogate him about. The main thing was what ways she would use to make him talk.

"First of all, I should write an email to my student department to find out the way to transfer my courses." She began thoughtfully, pretending as if she'd never said those words before.

A bit grim mood dawned on her as she realized that most likely, she would have to ask for a favored help from an old friend of her father. The current Chairman of the Executive Committee of University of Haifa*******, the school she was studying, used to be a director of Shin Bet in the latter half of 1990s. He'd already done a few favored decisions to help her to study at the university out of the mutual acquaintance.

It wasn't his style and it wasn't likeable for her, either. But he stood security for her and she repaid his favor by being a studious student. She was sure that if she told him about her little problem, he would be open to help her. Especially if it was the last favor he would do for her. She didn't want to be regarded as a privileged child, but this seemed as a necessary action.

"And once I have the answers, we can schedule the rest." She continued after a short pause. "When we'll go to Israel, for example, because I have tons of things to arrange there. I need three days at least."

She felt the shift of the mood and his confused silence. "What?" She asked him, not quite comprehending why he was looking at her with such a bewildered expression.

"We?" He repeated the pronoun she had used in connection with a trip to Israel. "You want me to go to Israel with you?"

He wasn't scared, angry or negative about visiting her native country. He was just surprised that she willingly wanted him to go with her and help her arrange her moving back to the US. He'd been actually afraid that she would be opposed to such an idea. That was why he hadn't rushed any conversation about the near future, waiting for her move.

She snapped her notebook shut after she neatly wrote the first of her tasks down and looked at him with a sigh. "Based on your past experience, I guess you're not going to let me to go there on my own, are you?" His doubts stung in her heart, even though she knew that he had every right to have them.

He registered her slight annoyance and realized, that she only wanted to assure him that any second thoughts hadn't even crossed her mind. Although his statement had been the one of surprise, she felt aggrieved that he had thought she might want to exclude him out of the whole moving thing. "I-I'm sorry, I just..." He stuttered clumsily.

"You don't trust me." She stated emotionlessly, clasping her hands together as she put them on the table.

He blinked furiously, wondering how a simple remark of surprise could lead to this kind of conversation. Although, she was right – he didn't trust her. Not entirely. What was happening between them was just too good to be true and he waited for some obstacle to come to break her. It was the typical pattern of their relationship. No wonder he expected things to go downhill.

He opened his mouth in protest, though, but she cut him off. "It's okay, Tony." She assured him. "I actually wanted to suggest that we should also start working on trusting each other again."

Their mutual trust had been broken and she'd been to blame. He'd given her now a fantastic chance to start patching it up. She knew that it would be a long run and she should brace herself against his potential mistrust. But she was sure that their love was strong enough to establish the highest level of trust they both were capable of. Because their love was the cornerstone of their relationship.

"I agree." He agreed after a moment of hesitation. He'd pondered what to answer, but then he'd chosen to admit that he had trust issues when it came to her.

"Good." She smiled at him and squeezed his hand. "I know that I haven't given you many reasons to completely trust me. But I want to fix that."

Warmth spread through her body when he gratefully rubbed his thumb over her palm, looking amorously right into her eyes. "And I know it's not going to be easy." She continued bravely. "Because if I'm supposed to gain the trust of the others again, I need to gain yours first. So, I hope that the fact I already unconditionally trust you will help."

The mixture of confusion and surprise returned into his face once more. "What do you mean?" He didn't know that she trusted him unconditionally and more importantly, since when.

At first, she answered with a chuckle, shaking her head at him. Looking at him closely, she realized that he really didn't have any idea about the level of her trust. "Tony, you're not the only one risking here." She told him in all seriousness. "Right now, I'm risking everything I've gained over the last two years. And I do it for you."

He blinked as the ice cold feeling settled in his stomach, occasionally sending signals through his veins across his body. He felt ashamed that he hadn't considered what she would be losing by moving back to DC. He'd only thought about what she would gain. He hadn't considered that she might be traumatized and rely fully on him. Now, he saw the extent of responsibility he had. And he certainly wasn't going to disappoint her.

"You don't have to be scared of any second thoughts I might have." She carried on calmly. "Because I trust you. I believe that you will break up with her once we get back. I believe that I will manage to rekindle my relationship with others. I believe that we will make our relationship work."

He took her by her hands across the table, holding them firmly in his. Silently, he appreciated the faith she had in him. Her openness was taking his breath away. Whatever she'd been doing since her departure, she'd done it damn well. He knew that he would need a while to process the change in her, considering she'd always done the exact opposite, closing herself up in front of the whole world. But he was unimaginably happy that this change had happened.

"I don't want to be without you anymore. That's why I'm taking this risk." She said, her voice firmer than ever before. The confidence in her posture, the love in her eyes, the ever-so-soft smile gracing her features were undeniably proving her trust in him.

His self-control had always been very strong, especially when it came to her. He'd been in countless situations when he'd have to suppress his desires and feelings, not giving in to what his heart had wanted. At the moment, though, it dissipated with each second he was looking into her eyes. Leaning in, he captured her lips in an ardent kiss that made the other diners in their close surroundings blush.

He breathed out deeply as he released her lips, sitting back down from the uncomfortable position of half-sitting and half-standing, since he'd had to lean over the table to press that kiss of gratitude on her face. "That's an excellent base." He uttered, smiling as she fanned her reddened face due to the heat in her head and some other place she wouldn't like to mention in public.

"But I feel I have to apologize beforehand for any displays of mistrust towards you because..." He didn't finish his sentence as her finger on his lips shushed him effectively.

"Apologize accepted." She assured him. She was aware that it would be a long process and certainly not an easy one. She could allow him to have some weak moments and let him doubt her, while she would convince him about her loyalty.

He smiled against her finger and accepted with pleasure the food the waiter brought them. More pleasure settled in his stomach once he tasted the delicious meal and washed it down with the foamy beer. The rest of the lunch passed with a light talk about the moving without going deeper with certain stuff to avoid any possible clash about trust. Neither of them wanted to disrupt the good mood they were in.

Fully sated, they left the restaurant in a good spirit. The weather changed a bit though, with clouds looming over them, hiding the rays of the sun. Ziva didn't revise her plan to finish the Royal Route, however, and so they crossed the street and continued walking. They still had plenty of time before the concert in Spanish Synagogue was supposed to begin, and she wanted to utilize all the time they had.

Zealously, she leafed through her tour guide book, looking for information so she would be ready to inform him about interesting things. And so she didn't omit to inform him that right now, they were walking through an arcade that belonged to the buildings of Chamber of Deputies of Czech Parliament. And that even generally, they were entering a very significant part of Prague due to the location of executive bodies and several embassies.

When they entered the upper half of the Malostranské náměstí, that was separated from the lower half by a complex of buildings that were part of Charles University, she turned left and led him to a church on the end of the square. The Baroque Church of Saint Nicholas is regarded as the most impressive example of Prague Baroque. Its architecture isn't the only reason to admire this Baroque gem, but also the decoration inside is breathtaking. Frescos, accompanied with sculptures, could compete with the famous ones all over the word. Also, the organ with over 4,000 pipes up to six meters in length was played by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart during his visit in Prague.

From there, they walked around the square until they reached the Holy Trinity Column in the middle. It was built as a form of gratitude after plague epidemic, which was brought to Prague due to the Great Northern War********, ended. Made out of sandstone, it reaches the height of twenty meters with Eye of Providence symbol on the top. The depiction of Holy Trinity follows – dove of Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ, and God the Father. Under them, there is a statute of Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus, accompanied by statues of Czech patrons – Saint Adalbert of Prague, Saint John of Nepomuk, Saint Procopius of Sázava, Saint Ludmila of Bohemia and her grandson Saint Wenceslaus I., Duke of Bohemia.

Then, she pointed out the road bollards on the right that lined the pavement. They have a shape of a man's head and their number is 27. It didn't take long to Tony to understand the reference. He remembered those 27 crosses on the Old Town Square, considering the effect the story of those executed noblemen had had on him. These bollards were another way to honor those men.

Eventually, they continued through the street up they had gone earlier. There was still something to admire. The reliefs and decorations on the houses in the street were beautiful. Two buildings stood out in the street due to their architectonic styles – Morzin Palace, currently a location of Embassy of Romania, which façade features two columns in the shape of chained Moors, a pun on the name of the building and the dynasty who owned it. The second one was Thun-Hohenstein Palace with another gorgeous façade, featuring a doorway guarded by two carved eagles. The palace is occupied by Embassy of Italy.

They stopped again when they reached the settlement around the castle. She showed him a yellow house that is called "U dvou slunců", which could be translated as "At two suns". And really, the relief on the façade depicted two suns. The house was dominated by a large memorial plaque of Jan Neruda*********, Czech writer and poet, who used to live in that house in his teenage years.

Tony was able to recall some poet named Pablo Neruda and wondered if they were related, but she disabused him of that immediately. She told him that Pablo Neruda was a pen name of the Chilean poet, who had chosen this name to cover his publications from his father, who didn't agree with his son's interest in writing. Supposedly, Pablo Neruda read some short story written by Jan Neruda and knew about the existence of his most famous work Povídky Malostranské (Tales of Lesser Quarter), and that was probably the reason why he had chosen the surname Neruda, thus to honor this Czech writer.

The narrow street led them still uphill, until the houses were on just right side, while the left side was bordered with a stone low wall and tree alley. It opened a majestic view on a large garden below. Considering it was winter, there wasn't much to see, only the ground covered with snow, rows of vineyards, bare trees and bushes. The view also included a wonderful sightseeing spot to observe The Lesser Quarter.

Around half-way through, they stopped to enjoy the view in the company of the other. Ziva was a bit concerned, though. The first half of their sightseeing tour had been without any problems and the enthusiasm had literally glowed from him. However, the second half seemed to bore him. He had responded to her observations and information, but weakly. She didn't want to fail in her tour-guiding role. And most of all, she didn't want to fail him.

His disjointed breath made her realize that something plagued him. At first, she had attributed it to the fact they were going uphill, but now she could also see that he was deeply lost in thoughts. The pensive wrinkle between his eyebrows was unmistakable. Which meant that the conversation during their lunch had brought something into his mind and he couldn't get rid of it.

"You're awfully quiet since we've left the restaurant." She noted calmly. She wanted to let him know that she knew when something was wrong with her Tony.

He let out a ragged sigh, his knuckles whitening as he clenched his fists. He should have known that she would notice his agitation. During the lunch, it had finally dawned on him that she really was coming back with him. However, he'd become aware that he'd kept certain things from her. Things he wanted to hide so she wouldn't know about them and suffer because of them. Because she didn't deserve to struggle with her past anymore. Her decision to return to DC was changing everything, though.

"Will you tell me what's wrong?" She asked him, keeping her voice still calm. Despite that, her increasing uncertainty was making her fidgety.

He closed his eyes and gulped loudly. He'd made the decision already. He was just gathering the courage at the moment. It might cost him this beautiful dream he'd been living, but she deserved to know. "Are you really sure you want to come back?" He turned to her, taking her by her hands. His voice trembled with fear that spread unpleasant ice-cold feeling through his body. Even the winter on the outside was more bearable than this paralyzing feeling.

She raised an eyebrow on him, unsuccessfully fighting with a disgusted expression. The deal about building the mutual trust didn't last very long, if he was worried that she might betray him already. "Look, I know that I accepted your apologize considering any future displays of mistrust, Tony." She began disgruntled, yanking her hands out of his. "But to start doubting me practically right after we agreed on building the trust between us again is too much. Even for me."

"No, no, no! This isn't about me doubting you, Ziva." He buried his head into his hands, hating how his words could come out so wrong sometimes. "This is about something you should know about. Because sooner or later, you would find out anyway."

She watched him for a second, trying to digest the reason of his distressed behavior. "Are you engaged to her?" She asked him bluntly. She realized that he'd been hiding something from her, but the fact that she wanted to return with him was changing the situation. He had to tell her the truth.

"No! I would never..." He exclaimed in horror as her eyes narrowed at him suspiciously. "I-I mean, I would. But not with her. With you..."

"What is it about?" She cut him off before he could get snared into his own commitment issues. It didn't pass unnoticed to her that he'd almost said he would never get engaged to anyone.

"Work." He replied with evident relief on his face, only to be replaced with a grim expression. "And you."

He could wait until they would be back on the US soil, chain her in his apartment and then reveal everything. To secure that she wouldn't run away from him immediately, plagued by her own guilt. But he really wanted to start his relationship with her with a clean shield. And that could be accomplished only through honesty. So, no matter she might change her mind about the whole moving thing, he felt it was his duty to tell her.

She leisurely leaned against the stone low wall, finally getting the answer as to why he'd refused to talk about work-related stuff yesterday. "Okay then, talk." She said, ready for everything. "Is it about Parsa?"

"No." He denied in a tone that hinted he wished he could have given a positive answer, instead of a negative one. "It's about an enemy that appeared after we took down Parsa."

She only nodded, remaining silent. She could see that he had problems with speaking clearly, putting the words together in his head in advance, so she wouldn't misunderstand anything. She had to show her patience, to give him the chance to express himself and not to jump to conclusions. Her curiosity was strong enough to successfully do so.

"It took us some time to discover what he was after and why he really went after us." He continued pensively after a moment of silence. "It turned out that he wanted a personal revenge on Gibbs because he thought that Gibbs killed someone close to him. And he chose quite a way to demonstrate his hate."

He shuddered as the memories shot through him, welcoming her surprising, warm touch. The way she squeezed his hand gave him a new surge of energy. "He psychologically tortured him and us first, copycatting the infamous deaths from Gibbs' life – Jenny's, Franks'..." he gulped the invisible lump in his throat before he continued shakily, "and I bet the bastard enjoyed the Kate's one the most."

It came out as a growling mutter, since he'd said that more to himself than to her. She blinked furiously, trying to get rid of the unpleasant feeling in her stomach that threatened to seize her. Now, she understood his uneasiness. Jenny's death had had quite an impact on both, and Frank's had been hard one to deal with, too. Being a witness of copycatting those deaths had had to be very disturbing. And the way Kate had died was just an awful reminder by whose hand she had been killed.

"Who were the casualties?" She asked carefully, wondering if her connection to this enemy might be through the victims. After all, she'd been bound to these deaths, in one way or the other.

His eyes found hers, and he saw that she genuinely felt sorry for all of them that they'd had to witness such a thing. "Mostly innocent people." He stated and it didn't make it any easier. Every life was sacred and didn't deserve to be taken for some revenge, in which those people had no direct share in. "And he killed Diane to recreate Kate's death."

His throat constricted at the end of the sentence, struggling with words. Watching her eyes widen in horror, he touched her shoulder comfortingly. Her mouth opened and then closed as she struggled to find words, too. The realization that he meant Diane Sterling, Gibbs' and Fornell's ex-wife, pierced through her body like a thunderbolt. Her heart was breaking at the cruel fate. It was never easy when it concerned the family and she considered Fornell as such.

"It was really hard for Fornell." He continued after he composed himself. "Not only because they have a daughter. But also because they were getting back together."

She desperately tried to hold the sobs inside her, not wanting to break down. A few silent tears found their way through the corner of her eyes, though, wetting her face. She sensed that he hesitated whether to give her a hug, and she was grateful for that he didn't. Because once he would embrace her, she would lose her composure immediately. He opted on wiping away the tears, a soothing gesture she loved him for even more.

Her mind was racing, though. Victims of this personal revenge weren't apparently the reason why she was connected to it. And Tony had stated that this case had something to do with her personally. Sure, she had known Diane and she was familiar with the copycatted deaths. But it didn't seem that they were the direct connection to her person.

"OK, this is terrible and all." She said shakily, after she'd gotten her emotions under the control again. "But I still don't understand what any of it has to do with me? Who did this?" She added, since the only connection she could think of was only through the perpetrator.

His face turned pale, knowing that the moment he feared the most had just arrived. There was no step back, because once he had started this conversation, he felt the duty to finish it. "It was a Russian mercenary named Sergei Mishnev." The words came out surprisingly steadily, although on the inside, he was trembling with dread.

She stared at him motionlessly for a while and then she blinked several times in confusion. "That name doesn't ring a bell at all to me." She confessed. She had expected some big name, someone she had known in the past. But this name was completely unfamiliar to her.

He couldn't help but chuckle in relief. "I suspected as much." He admitted, glad that it was proven that she hadn't known about the existence of this person. His relief waned, however, when he realized that she wasn't prepared for what she was about to find out. "However, there is some connection between you two."

"I-I don't understand. I don't have any Russians connections." She assumed a defensive posture. She knew, though, that the burden of her past was quite broad. "Sure, my father did, but that was all business, nothing harmful."

She couldn't imagine what might connect her to this Mishnev person. And despite the fact her father had kept some ties with Russia, it wasn't something NCIS would have to pay for. She couldn't find anything that would link her in such a way. Her quizzical gaze into Tony's face to find it out wasn't helping, either. He was looking at her with compassionate expression as if he waited when she would come to the knowledge he expected.

"And I know that Ari had some secret cont..." She suddenly remembered, but the words died on her lips as the realization hit her with a full force. No, it couldn't be...

It all fit together, though. The personal revenge was connected to her. The man had thought that Gibbs killed someone close to him. Tony had mentioned that Mishnev had probably enjoyed killing Diane the most, because it was the way Ari had killed Kate. And Ari was her half-brother who had died by her hand, although the whole world thought that it had been Gibbs who had ended Ari's terror. It would mean that Mishnev had been trying to avenge Ari's death. But on the wrong people because they hadn't been responsible for it.

She looked into Tony's tormented eyes and saw that her silent contemplations were the truth. The hunted look, the fear of her reaction – they were all there. She had hit the bull's eye. Her subconscious mind was refusing to accept it, though. She just didn't understand what Ari might have in common with the Russian mercenary. Why would he have any interest in avenging his death?

"Wait. Does it have anything to do with Ari?" The trembling sound that came out of her mouth, weaved with disbelief, didn't sound like her voice at all. She didn't even know why she'd asked for confirmation, when she'd seen from his reactions that whatever connection there had been, it had been about Ari.

If his complexion could turn even paler, it would. His heart was bleeding for her, hating it had to be him to reveal the painful truth to her. But he'd already shown his bravery by starting this conversation and he needed to finish it. For the sake of both. "Mishnev's relation to Ari is the same one as yours. He was his half-brother."

The deathly silence that settled in was deafening. He could hear her heart beating wildly as she tried to process the information, but without any single sign of breathing. Her stony expression was still plastered on her face, but he knew it would soon crumble. And he was ready to catch her and tell her all those necessary things she had to hear. Because she wasn't responsible for this mess.

"He was born in Israel." He continued to fill her in completely, before she would break. He couldn't stand the awkward silence. "His father took him back to Russia, leaving his mother behind. Apparently, he contacted Ari later and they became close."

She licked her lips to wet them, so she would be able to speak. "So, you want to tell me that those innocent people were killed because Mishnev thought that Gibbs killed Ari?" Again, it sounded as if it wasn't her voice at all. As if another person spoke through her.

"Yes." He confirmed grimly. He knew how it looked and that she would start immediately blaming herself. But he was determined to force her to hear his reasoning, even if she didn't want to listen.

The horror spread all over her face and with intensity he didn't expect. It was clear that she had been locking it inside her and now, it had scrambled up to surface. He had never seen such a look on her face. That terrified look of realization that some man had tried to seek revenge for a death of a close one, but on a wrong person. Because Gibbs hadn't killed her half-brother. She had.

"No." She whispered breathlessly, tears streaming down her face unstoppably. "Will. This. Ever. End?" She asked into the air, not expecting any answer as a few sobs started to rage through her.

It pained him to see her like this, so he closed the distance between them, without caring about her reaction. The shock she was experiencing was paralyzing, so she let him to embrace her and let her to feel the soothing warmth of his body. "I don't know." He confessed in all honesty. "But I swear I will do anything to prevent it from happening ever again."

"Stay away from me!" She pushed him away angrily, though the anger wasn't aimed at him. "Don't you see it's not enough? My past always comes back and haunts me. Always."

"Believing in progress does not mean believing that any progress has yet been made."

The seed of pain she had planted years ago still kept spreading. She'd been naïve to think that by cutting herself off from her job, from people she loved, would stop the suffering. People still were hurting and dying because of her past actions. She could change her life, change her job and change the place she lived. She could believe that what she'd done was the best for everyone. But it really didn't mean that everything would solve on its own.

"Ziva..." He took a few steps to her, trying to reach for her and calm her down. But she stopped him by raising her hands in a defensive gesture, forbidding him to come any closer.

"And don't you try to tell me it's otherwise!" She hissed dangerously, lowering her voice a bit. He'd known well what kind of moment to choose to break this news to her. She couldn't yell like she wanted since they were in public place. Most of the tourists were down the street, but it didn't mean that, from time to time, some of them didn't pass by.

"Those people were killed because of me." She continued, completely agitated, her eyes wide as the guilt controlled her body and mind. "Gibbs didn't kill Ari, I did! His blood is on my hands."

He tried to reach for her again and wipe away her tears that were starting to freeze on the winter cold, but she avoided his attempt. So, he just stood there, letting her to express whatever she felt. It was good that she wasn't trying to suppress it. He wanted her to let it out because like that, he could reason with her and convince her to stop blaming herself for everything.

"As well as the blood of those innocents..." She whispered after a moment of silence, looking at her hands as if she expected all the blood to flow through her fingers. "I should be the one dead..."

That was the moment his patience with her ran out. He couldn't stand her to stop fighting and just give in to her fate, ready to die. That wasn't the Ziva he knew and loved. He took her by her arms, resisting her attempts to slip out of his firm grip. "Fine, now you'll listen to me."

She stopped trying to free herself, being too weak due to the shock that was paralyzing her. Instead, she looked up into his gentle, yet determined and stern eyes. It was clear that she would have to listen to anything he was about to say, and for some reason, she was willing to do so. She yearned for his warm words, for his assurances. She knew that she didn't deserve any of it, but her desires were too strong.

"First of all, you did the right thing. The man you killed was a monster." He said, because for him her half-brother was a malicious monster. "I don't care you loved him. He wasn't the Ari you knew anymore, and you know it. You wouldn't kill him if you didn't see by your own eyes what kind of monster he became."

Set of fresh, unpleasantly hot tears escaped through the corners of her eyes. As always, Tony was right. She hadn't believed, or hadn't wanted to believe, those rumors about Ari. However, hearing the truth had shaken her belief. And she had gone to NCIS with certain orders from her father. But nothing of those had stood behind her final decision to end the terror Ari had sown. All she had wanted was to save an innocent life and she had done so.

"If you didn't pull the trigger, Gibbs would be dead." He went on sternly, trying to control his own emotions. He wasn't too far away from kneeling down and begging her to forget about this conversation and continue in their trip. "And who knows – maybe we all would be. And with us dozens of others."

She had to use all her willpower to force the image out of her mind. She understood his point, but still, it didn't make her any less responsible for those innocent lives. "That doesn't lessen my guilt." She protested hoarsely and weakly. The fire that flared up in his eyes told her, that he thought she'd been utterly wrong.

"Second of all," he spat, the suppressed anger getting better of him, "it was Gibbs' choice to let everyone believe that he killed Ari. He did it to protect you."

She grimaced hurtfully since he tightened his grip on her arms. She knew, though, that his anger was aimed at her half-brother and not her. "And my mistake was that I let him to do it." She raised another objection, knowing that she might piss him off even more. He couldn't deny it, though. It had been the truth.

"I don't think he gave you much choice." He retorted immediately. "He knew very well what kind of burden he was putting on his shoulders, Ziva. And he's never regretted it."

Ari's death was justified. Just because some madman had decided to avenge it years after, didn't mean that she had to blame herself for it. Gibbs knew about those risks that had gone with his decision. Yet, he'd never doubted if it had been right or wrong one. What had been done couldn't have been reversed. There was no option for her but to accept all the facts, and come to terms with them.

She ran out of arguments for the time being. Her head was spinning as the shock kept pulsating in her veins. Her mind was clouded with feelings of guilt, surprise, sadness and pain. She needed let it all sink. "I just..." she closed her eyes and took a deep breath, "I just need a moment."

She sank down on a bench next to them, feeling her knees betraying her. As in the afterthought, she lifted her body a bit, sweeping away the snow from behind her but then again sitting down. Silently, he walked around the bench and sat down on the further corner next to her. Clasping his hands in front of him, he waited patiently for her to gather her thoughts and absorb the information.

There was a chaos in Ziva's head. Migraine took over with her temples pounding wildly. She couldn't believe that Ari had been in contact with his half-brother, about whose existence she had had no idea. She wondered whether her father knew, or if Ari had managed to hide it from him, too. Either way, the fact that no one had thought about this threat was appalling. If she had known, she would have done everything to eliminate it.

Her mind kept drifting off to the victims for whom she felt responsible the most, though. And especially certain FBI agent who'd been affected greatly. "How's Fornell doing?" She asked absent-mindedly, staring blankly in front of her.

"A lot better now." He answered truthfully. "I guess that taking down Mishnev with Gibbs helped him come to terms with Diane's death."

Her lips formed into a little, but grim smile. It was a cold comfort that Fornell had taken his own revenge, considering that he had lost a loved one. But she was still glad that it had ended this way. "He's started 'dating' again." Tony interrupted her train of thoughts, putting emphasis with the quotation marks with his fingers. She didn't know what it meant, but she guessed that the dating wasn't probably real or something. Important was the meaning that the FBI agent apparently had let it go and moved on.

"And as morbid as it may sound, every cloud has a silver lining. His relationship with Emily has never been better. They're closer than ever." He said, snuggling into his coat. As all the emotions dissipated from his body, the cold had ventured into his bones to show him what winter was capable of.

Her smile was a lot warmer this time. She was glad that both Fornell and his daughter had been able to let it go and develop a deeper bond as the mutual tragedy struck upon them. In her case, it had been the other way around. When her mother died, Eli had closed into himself even more and so had Ziva. No bonding, no grieving together. After all, Tali's death was no exception, either.

However, there was one thing she couldn't wrap her head around. Tony had been hesitant to reveal the name of the perpetrator, as if he expected that she might know his name. She'd also seen evident relief in his eyes when she'd told him that she'd had no idea who Mishnev had been. If NCIS wasn't sure about her acquaintance with the Russian mercenary, did they try to reach her to obtain some information? Although she didn't know about his existence, she would have done everything that was in her powers to help them to stop him, once she had known about his desire to avenge Ari's death.

"Did you..." She cleared her throat since her voice was croaky. "Did you try to contact me?"

From the slightly accusatory tone, he digested that she was asking because they hadn't known if she'd had any important information by chance. And if they had contacted her, she would have helped despite not having any. Things weren't as they seemed, though. There were still details he yet had to reveal. With a deep sigh, he ran his hand through his hair and wet his lips to speak.

"No. I was strictly forbidden to do so." He admitted, although he'd been the advocate of contacting her. Not for information, but to warn her about the danger and ensure her safety.

She looked at him with a stern expression, demanding an explanation. "Gibbs and Vance thought that if we tried to reach you, it might draw Mishnev's attention to you." He gave her one. "It could have put you in danger, because he might wonder what we want from you and get to you before us."

With a slight nod of understanding, she turned her gaze back to the invisible spot in front of her. It didn't have any point to say that she would welcome more if they had let her know. She could have done something to help, instead of finding about this dreadful and unhappy incident months later. When it had been all too late to stop this nonsensical revenge and save the lives of innocent people.

"Besides, we found out about his relation to Ari when it was almost over." He added another clarification. "Russians didn't want share much information, so we had to use different channels."

She uttered a deep sigh as the realization hit her. All those innocent victims of this bloodshed had been dead before the motive had been even known. She suddenly remembered that Tony had mentioned that this discovery had taken them some time. Even if they had involved her in stopping Mishnev, there would have been nothing she could do to prevent the murders from happening.

"But as far as I know, Vance alerted Orli to keep a closer eye on you just in case." He stated, playing with his hands nervously.

He'd been terrified to death when he'd learnt about the motive, though he hadn't showed it. Both Gibbs and Vance had anticipated his urge to assure himself about Ziva's safety, though. So, Vance had taken measures to stop him from doing something stupid with Gibbs' advice and approval, together with arranging an appropriate supervision. Since NCIS couldn't have managed to do that due to protect her, Mossad had been the only choice.

He sighed deeply, too, trying to expel those grim thoughts out of his mind. "You don't even know how many nightmares it gave me..." He whispered shyly. Even weeks after Mishnev's death he'd woken up all in sweat with bloody visions in front of his eyes, full of what could have happened if the bastard had gone after Ziva.

She chuckled in irony because she knew. Every single mention of NCIS, or any criminal activity in NCIS jurisdiction in the news had awaked unpleasant fear that was embedded deep inside her, and that projected into her dreams. It wasn't just her sense for protection of her colleagues, but also the great love she felt for every single member of the team. And particularly for a certain man.

Her gaze was still hollow as she was trying to come with terms with the information she'd been given. The emotions inside her had started a little war to fight over which one would prevail and seize her. She didn't know whether to scream in agony, cry in pain, do both in anger or just stay silent. She would love to do to everything at once but it was humanly impossible.

He observed her for a few seconds, seeing that she was just an unstable mess, ready to blow up. "You couldn't have known, Ziva. No one could." He tried to find some calming words. He had no doubts that to deal with it wasn't easy. But she had no other choice.

That was when she lost it. Her sobs were quiet at first. But when she sniffed loudly and hunched up into tiny ball, he couldn't do anything else but to draw himself closer to her and envelop her into his arms. She snuggled against him, finding the much needed support in his body. Gluing to his chest, she hid her face in the crook of his neck, letting the tears fall down without any embarrassment.

He kept whispering soothing words right into her ear, being the firm rock she needed. He was proud of her so much. Once again, she'd showed she was a human and let the emotions out, instead of locking them up. A few passersby had offered him help, wondering what was with the crying woman. He thanked them with a wave of his hand, assuring them this way that he had the situation under control.

He didn't know for how long they sat in the embrace as the emotions raged through her. He just softly lulled her, rocking her body gently in slow and repetitive motions, while he caressed her hair. And she seemed to be fond of it. Although the crying had stopped, she stayed in their position, breathing in his comforting smell. After all, he'd been her home and his hug was like a safe house. With white picket fence, adorable dog and couple of kids running around the garden.

After a while, she lifted her teary face to him. "Would you tell me if I didn't choose to come back with you?" She asked him hoarsely. She had her suspicions about him telling her the truth if she returned to Israel, instead of being with him.

"No. I wanted to spare you this." He confirmed with a nod as he wiped away the wetness from her face. He wanted to kiss her so much right now, but knew that she had no mood for it.

She blinked in acknowledgment, hiding her face back into the crook of his neck to think about her next words. "I really appreciate your bravery." She then said, looking at him again. "It had to take you a lot of convincing to tell me." The unspoken words between the lines of this statement showed that they both knew what meaning those words had. They both remembered the two-year old past between them.

"I won't lie, it did." He agreed, tracing his fingers across her face. "I still remember the cost of our last conversation about Ari."

She closed her eyes for a moment to hide the regret in her eyes. He'd lost her that day, because she had decided to cut off her past and with it all the people that belonged to it. The cost was even greater since he hadn't been losing only his colleague, partner and friend. He had lost a woman he loved. And she's suffered the same loss. The more she appreciated that he'd been honest with her and hadn't hesitated to risk it again.

"But it must have been done." He explained matter-of-factly, despite the fear that had seized his heart. He knew what kind of risk he'd been taking, including her refusal to return to DC with him. And he yet had to wait for her decision in this matter. It could change due to new facts, after all.

She opened her eyes, and looked into his green ones that shone with an undying love. "Thank you." She said, her hands leaving his waist where they were clasped since he'd hugged her, as she shifted them on his chest.

He understood her silent demand and leaned in to capture her lips. The kiss was sweet and passionate as she poured her gratitude into it, while he couldn't stop the nagging feeling that this might be one of the last kisses he would ever give her. He didn't want to accuse her of trying to run away, once again. Although that was his premonition. He rather savored what he had now.

"Can I ask for something?" She asked when they parted. The kiss had made her feel a lot better, filling her body with a new confidence and peace.

A hint of fear flickered across his eyes, but he was able to suppress it. "Sure." He agreed instead, forcing a smile into his face. He expected some disastrous request, to be honest. But he wanted to take it bravely.

"When we return to D.C., could you arrange a meeting with Fornell and Emily for me?" She requested, apparently taking his breath away. His next reaction was surprising for her.

He grabbed her by her head, searching her eyes for something. But for what, she didn't know. Then his pupils finally focused on her, looking into her quizzical face. "So, you didn't change your mind? You still want to come back with me?" He asked her almost incredulously. He couldn't believe that his risk had paid off. He'd told her what was necessary and yet, she didn't want to abandon him.

She wrapped her hands around his neck with a mild chuckle. "Of course I still want to." She replied, playing with the hair on the nape of his neck. "None of that changed my love for you, Tony. And I still can't imagine being without you."

He smiled at her with his thousand-watt grin. Not only for that he didn't lose the love of his life once more. But mostly because she wasn't afraid anymore to admit her feelings aloud. He slipped his hands out of her face, winding her hair around his fingers lovingly. He felt strange and unfamiliar wave of pride washing over him. He anticipated her reasons for wanting to meet with the FBI agent and his daughter.

When he remained silent, she started to explain her request. "I just want to do the right thing. To claim the responsibility for what happened." She said thoughtfully. "Apparently, I chose a wrong way to deal with my past, although it's been beneficial in certain points."

Her gaze focused on some invisible point in the distance behind his head. "But running away isn't going to solve anything." She continued after a moment of silence. "I'm ready to face Fornells and the families of those victims. I'm ready to accept my punishment."

She was now certain that her deeds might be forgiven only if she stopped avoiding her responsibility. She knew that there would be a lot of pain, sadness, anger and even hate involved. But she was willing to go through this hell to come out clean, and be finally free of the burden on her shoulders. After all, she had her firm rock beside her. Man who loved her unconditionally, and who was capable of doing anything in the world to support her.

He gently squeezed her hands, making her to look at him. "If that's what you want, I'll gladly do what you asked." He told her. She needed to do it to find the inner strength to forgive herself. He knew that it wouldn't backfire at her, since Fornell had been acquainted with all the history. And not even once he blamed it on Ziva.

"Thank you." She expressed her thanks gratefully with a smile. Her lips on his in the next second only underlined the amount of her gratitude for that she could have him.

The End of Chapter 11


* Camera obscura (dark room) – an optical device, the predecessor of today's photographic camera.

** Joseph II., Holy Roman Emperor (1741 – 1790) – as well as King of Bohemia, Germany, Hungary and Croatia and Archduke of Austria, simply the ruler of Habsburg lands, the eldest son of Empress Maria Theresia, and brother of Marie Antoinette. He is known for issuing the Patent of Tolerance in 1781 (it provided limited religious freedom) and abolishing serfdom in 1781.

*** Johannes Kepler (1571 – 1630) – German mathematician, astronomer and astrologer, the assistant of previously mentioned Tycho Brahe. He served in Prague at the court of the Emperor Rudolf II. He is most known for his laws of planetary motion that provided one of the foundations of Isaac Newton's theory of universal gravitation.

**** July 9th 1357, 5:31 AM – numerical bridge is created by 1357/9/7 5:31 – sequence of odd numbers from 1 to 9 and back to 1

***** Ema Destinnová (1878 – 1930) – also known as Emmy Destinn, Czech opera singer (soprano). Her career was connected mainly to Berlin Court Opera (Cavalleria rusticana, Salome) and Metropolitan Opera in New York (Aida, The Bartered Bride, La fanciulla del West).

****** Svíčková na smetaně – Beef sirloin in cream sauce. It's sirloin prepared with vegetables (carrots, parsley root, celeriac and onion), spiced with black pepper, allspice and bay leaf, boiled with double cream. It's served with bread dumplings and sauce made out of this marinade and sour cream, usually with a cranberry sauce.

******* Ami Ayalon (1945) – former commander-in-chief Navy, former Minister without Portfolio (2007 – 2008), recipient of the Medal of Valour (highest Israeli military decoration)

******** Great Northern War (1700 – 1721) – conflict between coalitions of Tsardom of Russia, Denmark, Norway and Saxony-Poland against Swedish Empire, initially supported by Ottoman Empire. When Charles XXII., King of Sweden claimed the throne, the coalition attacked Sweden, sensing that it was led by young and inexperienced king. Despite Sweden's loss in the war, Charles proved that he was, in fact, skilled military leader and tactician. During the war, a plague spread most probably through Constantinople (today's Istanbul, largest city in Turkey) to the Baltic and Eastern/Central Europe. It affected also areas that weren't involved in the war, such as Bohemia, including Prague.

********* Jan Neruda (1834 – 1891) – one of the most appreciated Czech writers. He promoted the idea of rebirth of Czech patriotism, participating in all central cultural and political struggles of his generation. He was known for his satirical depiction of petty bourgeois of Prague, but also his unabashed anti-Semite opinions. His most popular work is Povídky malostranské (Tales of Lesser Quarter) that has been translated to English. Neruda takes the reader to the Lesser Quarter and shows the everyday life of its streets and yards, inhabitants, shops, churches, houses and restaurants.


Well, this needed to be addressed, right? And there are still some "surprises" to uncover and reveal. Just wait. ;)

For those interested in the route our couple went through: Klementinum on Karlova street, Charles Bridge, Mostecká street and Malostranské náměstí. After the lunch in Malostranská Beseda, they went up through Nerudova street with a little stop at the upper half of Malostranské náměstí, and finished up their journey for now at Úvoz.

Thank you very much for reading, still sticking with me and always havening an opening mind for what is in store for us. Love you all!