Rifiuto: Non Miriena

Tali looked up, accepting the coffee Gibbs held out to her. "Thanks." The older man nodded, taking a seat beside her in the small lounge on the second floor of the hospital. The two sat in silence for several minutes, before Tali took a deep breath. "Agent Gibbs, can I ask you something?" He took a sip of his coffee, as the younger woman looked up at him.

"What's on your mind, Talia?" She sighed.

"Is..." The young midwife licked her lips, thinking. "If my father is behind this..." She turned fully to face him. "Why are you doing this? Protecting us? Michael and the kids and I? You barely know us. All you know is that I'm Ziva's sister and-"

"And Ziva is one of mine." Gibbs stated, cutting her off. She furrowed her brow.

"What?" Gibbs sipped his coffee, watching her silently for a moment. Clearly, she didn't understand the tight bond the Team Leader shared with his agents.

"Ziva belongs to me, just like Tim and Tony do. Just like Kate did before her. She's mine." When the confused look didn't leave the young woman's face, Gibbs chuckled. "After Kate died-"

"Agent Todd, the... the secret service agent? The... the one my brother shot, after targeting my brother-in-law." Tali whispered; Gibbs nodded.

"Yes. After Kate died, Ziva showed up; she had Asher with her, and she'd... she'd just revealed to Tim that he was a father... and... she was there to... to find Ari and stop him from killing me."

"And ended up killing our own brother in the process." Tali whispered. Ziva had told her the truth behind Ari's death, expecting Tali to turn her back on her, but the sisters' bond was stronger than that.

"After Ari's death, Ziva was assigned to my team as a liaison for Mossad. Tim accepted her faster than the rest of us, maybe it was because he's Asher's father, but for us, Kate's death was still too raw, to fresh, and any reminder of who had taken her from us was too much to handle." He sighed.

"And now?" Tali asked, biting her lip. Gibbs shrugged.

"Somewhere, along the line, Ziva became one of mine. After my wife and daughter died... I never thought I would recover; their deaths were too raw, too painful, but over time, my training as an agent and my team began to fill the void. And, at some point," He sighed. "I think... it was right after Ziva showed up with Asher, after she'd told Tim he was a father, that I began to realize that Tim was getting the family he needed. He only had Sarah to count among his biological family, and I think... when Ziva and Asher showed up, it gave him a chance to realize that he wasn't alone. Finding his son gave him a chance to have the family he's always wanted and longed for."

"And?"

"And... I think, from the moment your sister stepped into the bullpen with her son at her side, that I had decided Ziva was mine. She was another daughter to me. She and Kate, no one could ever replace Kelly, but... but I think... I think I noticed the damage your father had done to your sister, even if I didn't know the extent of it. All I knew was that she needed someone there, someone she could look on as a..."

"A father-figure." He nodded. After a moment, Tali bit her lip, asking, "Are you lonely, Agent Gibbs?" The silver-haired man thought a moment, before meeting Tali's gaze.

"You're never alone when you have kids." Gently, he reached up, brushing a tear off her cheek. She gave him a soft smile, even as he leaned over and brushed a soft kiss to her head. "Get some rest, kid." Then, without another word, he was gone, going to check on his agents, leaving Tali alone, his words ringing in her head.

Sarah looked up as Gibbs joined her. "How're they doing?" The two watched through the window as the doctor examined her brother, checking his vitals and gently testing his reflexes before asking him to lay back to take the x-rays of his ribs. She sighed.

"My sister-in-law's a mess, and my brother's a wreck, but other than that, they seem to be fine. Something's got Ziva spooked, bad, Gibbs." She met his gaze. "I've never seen her like this. She's scaring me." Gibbs sighed.

"Eli set the bomb that tried to destroy NCIS."

"Her father?" Sarah asked, eyebrow rising. He nodded. "Why?"

"I think he was trying to take out his oldest daughter. Take Ziva out and the team she works with-"

"And Tali is vulnerable." Sarah finished, finally understanding. "So what do we do?" Gibbs raised an eyebrow.

"You don't do anything. Vance and I will take care of it." He replied, pressing a kiss to her forehead.

Tim winced, regretting it as his ribs shifted. They'd been released from the hospital two days later, and had tried to fall into as normal a routine as they could with NCIS HQ in shambles, but it was hard, especially with the threat of Ziva and Tali's father now clearly in the forefront of everyone's mind. Ziva lifted her head from his chest, worry in her dark eyes. "I did not mean to hurt you, Tim-"

He shook his head. "Not you, Zi. Just hurts to breathe." He wrapped his arm around her, holding her close and pressing a kiss to her head as she settled back down. She sighed, tracing patterns on his skin.

"I am worried, Tim. My father tried to kill us so that Tali would be alone, so that she would be out in the open and vulnerable. What if he goes after her next?" Tim swallowed, squeezing her waist.

"It won't happen, Zi. I won't let it happen, and neither will Michael, or Gibbs. Or Tony or anyone else. I promise."