A/N: First I would like to say thank you to all that have reviewed, they are very much appreciated. I would also like to apologize for the mix up in the last chapter with me posting the wrong chapter.

Second I would like to give a huge thanks to Diamond&Stars for betaing this chapter, it is much longer then my others, but she got it back to me like the others with good ideas. Thanks D&S.

I hope you enjoy reading this chapter as much as I did writing it. Enjoy^.^

Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS or any of its characters. I do own Alvah, Ahriman, and Ara, but all others I am just borrowing.

Ziva woke up in the early morning in a very awkward and uncomfortable position. She knew that she was supposed to be up early this morning because of the plane that she had to catch to Israel. She looked around the room she was currently in and sighed. At least she had gotten most of her packing done before she had her breakdown. She got up slowly and went to the bathroom to clean herself up; hating the fact that she allowed herself to have a breakdown.

Zivahad just finished fixing her hair when a knock on her door put her senses into overdrive. She was not expecting anyone today so a knock in the early hours of the morning had her in full agent mode. From the table,she grabbed her gun that was still in its holster from the previous night and cautiously made her way towards the door.

She looked out of the window adjacent the door and was shocked toseewho was standing there. She knew the man, but for the life of her could not find a reason why he was suddenly in Virginia rather than back in Israel.

"Ahriman" she said with venom dripping from her voice.

"Shalom Ziva" he nodded and offered his hand to her to shake. She looked down at the offered hand, and pointedly ignored the gesture. She hated the man for many reasons, and did not trust him one bit. In fact the last time she had seen him she shot him. From the first day Ziva had met the man and learned his name she had been weary of him. Knowing the meaning of his name, not only unnerved her but made her a lot more cautious around him, not wanting to take any chances. Before she was sent to Virginia she was assigned with Ahrimanon a mission. Ever since then she hated him, but still she wanted to know what the hell he was doing on her porch after three years and coincidently on the day that she was due to go back to Israel.

"What the hell are you doing here Ahriman?" Ziva asked, her eyes narrowing. "And I want the truth!" she asked obviously not in the mood for games.

The man took in her tone and realized that she was already upset. He knew that when he told her the reason why he was here she would get very pissed off, very quickly.

"I have been asked by Director David to escort you back to Israel to Mossad." He said bracing himself for whatever Ziva was going to do. Heknew that she was dangerous when she wasn't angry but when she was angry, oh god did you want to stand clear unless you wanted more bodily harm. He wasn't concerned that she would be able to hurt him of course, becausehewasher only competition in Mossad. Hewas the only one there that was able to defeat her in sparring matches almost every time. She was good, but so was he and he was positive that she wouldn't be able to do too much damage to him, but still he didn't want to take the risk at this moment.

Ziva stared at him not really comprehending what he was saying. Her father had sent the one person she hated; the one person that he knew would make sure that she returned to Mossad; the only person that would physically be able to make her return. She knew what this man could do and what he would do for her father; it was sickening to think about really. She could not believe that her father would do this to her, not after what Ahriman had done to her before she was sent away.

She shut the door on him, leaving himoutside, saying she would be out in a moment. She knew that there was no use in fighting it or him.

She got her belongings and opened the door and carried them out. She set them down next to the car, and went back to her house to get the last two thingsstill in her house. When she bentdownto pick them up, she felt a hand grab her ass. Her fury was sparked.

She turnedand grabbed his hand so hard that his head slammed into the side of the building.

"If you wan to keep your hand, I suggest that you never try that again you understand me?!" she hissed at his ear. "Next time you try something like that with me, I will shoot you without hesitation. Understand?!" she threatened and he nodded. She let his wrist go and finished packing the rental car. When they were almost ready to go she realized that she forgot her purse, which held all of her information and a very important picture to her, it was of her and a young girl that was very close to her.

She went back to the house to get it and whenshecame back outside, she saw Ahriman walking back to her. She glared at him before getting in the car and heading to the airport.

They arrived at the airport just in time to board the plane. Both of them were flying first class. After boarding the plane she promptly fell asleep and slept through the whole flight, making sure there would be no conversation between them. She woke up to the pilot telling them they were getting ready to land. She grabbed her purse and got ready to exit.

Apparently Ahriman had left his car at the airport, so she loaded her belongings into his trunk and got in; not wanting to say a word to him. He got in the car, started it up, and started to drive. Ziva knew that he was not one to have wondering eyes when he was driving so she knewthat now was an okay time to take out the picture she had looked at almost everyday for the last three years.

She opened her purse and took out her wallet and opened it up to the picture. The young girl in the picture was one that Ziva thought of as a daughter.

Ziva had Ara in her arms and they were both laughing. She missed seeing the young girl laugh and missed holding her. A wave of tears almost came on when the memory of the week before Ziva was sent to Virginia started to play out in her mind. Even though she didn't want to relive it, she knew that she couldn't stop it. It was a reoccurring memory that haunted her in her sleep for the past three years. As soon as it started to play out in her mind she was lost.

Flashback

Ziva and Ahriman were on a mission to find the Mossad mole that was currently giving information to Hamas about their unit. They were sent to kill a man called Alvah, no questions asked, just in and out.

They were still three miles out but theywere being extremely careful knowing that Hamas could have people all over the place. Ziva looked to her right and saw that Ahriman was there. She nodded her head in silent communication letting him know that they were approaching the first cabin on the map. This particular one was thought to be vacant so they approached it cautiously and entered.

There was no one in the first room or the second, but when Ziva came to the third room she heard something coming from the closet. Upon opening the door she found a young girl she recognized.

"Ara, what are you doing here?" Ziva asked trying to hide her confusion "You should be at home. Oh no; does Ahriman know you are here?" She asked; hoping the answer was no. "You should not be here in the first place, you are four years old. Did someone send you here?" Ziva finished, thinking that her father might have sent Alvah's younger sisterto let them know something about the mission.

'That bastard would do something like it too; sending a fouryear old sibling to give news to help eliminate her brother knowing it willcause more pain.

"Ziva" Ara greeted; jumping up from her position on the floor to give her a hug. "I've missed you so much!" She exclaimed after she let go of Ziva, who looked down at her with a genuine smile. "Ahriman doesn't know yet. I came all by myself. Sissy…" she hesitated "Are you really gonna kill my big brother, Alvah?" she asked tearing up slightly.

"Look Ara, I know that you love him, but he is a very bad man and if we do not deal with him he will wind up hurting a lot of people. I don't want to hurt you, you know that, but I have to do this to protect you and countless others. Do you understand?" Ziva explained. Ever since her sister Tali, and Ara's mother and father were killed, Ziva had been raising Ara as her own. She always thought of Ara as her own daughter, and although she would never make the young girls think of her like her mother, she truly yearned for her to think the same, and perhaps one day actually call her mother. But she didn't think that Ara really thought of her as anything more then the sister she never had.

While Ziva thought that Ara only saw her as a sister, she actually her as the mother she never got to know, to be honest Ziva was the only thing she had as a mother figure. Even though Ara only called Ziva her sissy, she really wanted to call her mommy, but thought that she might get mad at her. She may be young, but she was very smart for her age.

Ziva honestly did not want to see her in pain, but knowing that she was causing the pain made it that much worse.

Ara looked at her with tears falling down her cheeks. "I understand." she said as she hugged Ziva and cried into her shoulder.

"I love you Ara, you know that right?" Ziva asked, feeling the little girl nod she continued to sit there and gently rub her back and letting her cry on her shoulder. They never heard Ahriman's footsteps enter the room.

"Ara? What the hell are you doing here?!" Ahriman shouted.

"Big brother" she said and went to give her real brother a hug, but he pushed her away before she couldreach him, causing her to fall to the floor. Ziva got up and stoodin front of Ahriman's faceready to protect Ara, knowing that he never really felt anything for either of his siblings.

"You leave her alone you hear me?! I am to watch over her for the duration of the mission, nothing is to come of her!" Ziva threatened. She knew that they were equally matched, but would do everything in her power to protect the little girl she thought of as a daughter.

Ahriman looked Ziva in the eyes before responding. "She gets in the way what so ever, and I will shoot her."He replied coldly. "Director David gave specific instructions to eliminate the target and I do not plan to have a child get in my way. So if you want her to live then I suggest you make sure that she stays out of my way." He threatened and he left the room.

Ziva knew that this wasn't an empty threat. He always followed through with them, which was why her father liked him so much. Ziva looked down to see that Ara was once again crying, and she couldn't blame her. Being threatened to be killed by your older brother is extremely sad. She bent down once again and picked up the young girl and carried her to the bed in her room.

"Here honey, you can stay with me, everything will be alright don't you worry. I won't let anything happen to you I promise." She spoke before starting to sing the low melody that always calmed her down. Ara slowly drifted off to sleep and Ziva was soon to follow.

Ziva woke to Ahriman's alarm and knew that if she and Ara wanted to avoid any conflict with him; they had to get moving. He would be extremely upset if they made him get going later then he had planned.

She turned to her left and gently woke up the sleeping four year old.

"Ara, sweetie, you got to get up now, we have to get going okay?" the little girl nodded and started to get ready.

Fifteen minutes later, the threeof them were on their way. Ziva was extremely surprised to see that Ara was able to keep up with them with no problem. She kept quiet and hid as well as a full grown agent. 'I know that I have been working with her for the past year, and that she is a fast learner and remarkably smart, but this is just amazing' she thought to herself.

They were approaching the place that was to be holding Alvah. Ziva turned to Ara and told her to hide and to wait for her to come and get her. She nodded her head and Ziva turned back to the building and started to approach with Ahriman. There were two guards outside, and they were dealt with swiftly and quietly.

They came to the door and kicked it open. They were shocked that no one had sent any shots off when they entered the building. They quickly scanned it.

"Ziva!" Ahriman shouted from outside. She quickly ran thinking that something must have happened. She ran out and noticed that he had Alvah outside and had a gun pointed towards his temple.

"Goodbye Alvah" he said before firing the gun and abruptly killing his older brother.

"No!" Ziva heard Ara shout and turned to see the little girl running towards her oldest brother. Fear wracked her body as she turned to see Ahriman pointing his gun at Ara.

"No, don't!" Ziva shouted as she heard another shot ring into the suddenly silent woods. She turned one last time to see a look of pain cross Ara's face before she started to fall to the ground, obviously having been shot. Ziva pointed her gun at Ahriman and shot him, wounding him so she would hopefully be able to gain time and escape with Ara and save her. She walked towards Ahriman and quickly disarmed him and ran towards the little girl's body.

"Ara? Ara? Are you okay honey? Come on honey, just hold in there okay. I'm going to get you to a hospital; you just have to hang in there alright? Can you do that for me?" she pleaded.

She was normally not one to cry, but she was now. All of her emotions from when Tali had been killed came flooding back to her with the revelation that she might lose another family member, even if she was blood related, Ara was really the last person she really cared about anymore.

"It hurts so much!" Ara said through her tears.

"I know honey, but you have to stay with me, I can't lose you, and I won't!" Ziva said and when she heard an extremely faint whimper from Ara that she couldn't quite make out she looked down at the young girls face and made eye contact.

Ara blinked through the pain and opening them again she looked at the women she though of as a mother and said the thing she had always wanted to say. "Mommy, I love you so much." The weak reply came from Ara before she lost consciousness.

Even though it was quite, Ziva was able to make out what the little girl had said, and it squeezed at her heart hearing what she's wanted to hear since the day she first started raising Ara as her own, but also knowing that she was in so much pain, and that she had just lost consciousness made an overwhelming sadness rock through her body.

Through her tears, Ziva took off at a sprint, trying not to jostle Ara's body too much.

They arrived at the hospital that evening and Ara was taken directly into surgery, leaving Ziva behind to pace in the waiting room.

She needed to call her father and inform him of the mission and everything that happened. Since she was doing nothing other than worry; she thought now was as good a time as any. She took out her phone and dialed the familiar number.

"Director David" he answered.

"Director it is Ziva." She started only to be interrupted by him.

"Ziva? Why is it that I have heard that you have shot your partner?" Ziva internally cringed. He already found out. "You better have a damn good reason." He said with obvious anger.

"Director first I would like to say that we have eliminated the mole successfully. Second…" but once again she was interrupted.

"I know damn well that Alvah has been eliminated. My best agent has already explained that to me. What I want to know is why the hell you shot said agent!" he yelled.

"I shot him because he shot Ara! He shot her for no reason. Thanks god I was able to get her to the hospital, but as of right now I am still not sure if she is going to make it. That bastard tried to kill her. I was not going to sit by and watch him kill my baby!" she yelled thoroughly pissed at him. Then her words registered to herself. "My baby.' oh god no, he is going to kill me.

"You're what?!" The Director yelled confusion and anger evident in his voice.

"My child!"Ziva yelled back."I am the one who cares for her, and has raised her since her mother and father died. She is my baby girl and I was not going to sit there and watch her die, I couldn't handle it, not again, not after Tali. Forgive me Abba, but she means too much to me." She said realizing that she didn't care anymore who knew that she thought of Ara as her sister, but like her little girl, she was also very happy that said girl thought of her like a mother. When Ziva heard her call her 'mommy' she was so happy, and she was not ready to loose her, not now, not ever.

"I am sorry about this Ziva. I know this timing his horrible, but effective immediately you are being sent back to NCIS as a liaison position. You leave in two days. I suggest you pack your things." He said his voice softening somewhat.

Ziva couldn't believe it, Ara was in surgery and the doctors were not sure if she was going to make it and on top of everything, her father was sending her away. She would not be able to protect Ara while in Virginia. "Abba, please. Atleastlet me stay until I know that she is going to make it. Right now she is in surgery and they are not sure if she is going to make it or not, and even if she does make it through surgery, she slipped into a coma before we arrived. Please Abba." She said knowing that he would think less of her than he already did by the way she was acting, but she didn't care.

"No, I will make sure she is cared for, but you leave in two days." Hepaused. "Oh and Ziva? I trulyam sorry," he said with more compassion than she ever remembered hearing from him.

"Yes sir" she said and heard the click of his phone.

It was the morning she was due to leave, and she was sitting in Ara's room. Ara had made it through surgery, but becauseshewasso young, her body had shut it self down to deal with the trauma and heal itself.

"I am so sorry I can't stay Ara. I love you so much, but I have to leave and I am not sure when I will return, but I promise you that if you fight I will be back as soon as I can. You have to fight! I wish I could stay with you sweetie, but I have to leave now to catch the plane. Good bye my love, I will see you as soon as possible." She said as the tears threatened to escape again. She bent down and kissed her forehead before turning to exit the room. "I love you and will miss you." was the last thing she had said toAra before closing the door behind her and telling the nurses that they better take damn good care of her.

She barelymade it to the car that was taking her to the plane before the tears fell. She didn't know when she would be back to see Ara, but she prayed that Ara would fight and that she would be reunited with her in the near future.

End Flashback

A/N: Well there it is. I know some people may think that Ara is a little young, but it was the age that I wanted her to be, it wouldn't really work for the rest of the story if she were older. I have started the next chapter, but am not sure when it will be done. Along with Diamond&Stars ideas, this chapter changed a lot from what it originally was, but I like it much better. I would like at least seven reviews before I post the next chapter. Thanks again^.^