A/N: Tadaaaaaaa! :D I'm veryyy happy to have the new chapter up today :)
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I loved writing this chapter and I reaaaaaaaally hope you like reading it :))
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"Hey", Isabelle said softly, poking her head into the room. Ziva smiled brightly. "Hello Isabelle", she greeted her. Isabelle walked over to the bed and smiled down at Tony.

"I heard he woke up", she stated and Ziva nodded enthusiastically. "I told you he just needed you", Isabelle said, nudging Ziva in the side. Ziva laughed. "And you were right", she admitted.

"Hey, listen, Ellie is waiting outside because Gibbs told her to come and speak to you. I'll stay here with Tony and you'll be right in front of the door. Is that okay?", Isabelle asked.

Ziva bit her lip, thinking about it for a second before nodding. "Okay", she agreed. She leaned forward and kissed Tony on the forehead. "At lo levad", she whispered, smiling softly.

She wasn't sure whether he'd heard her but his nose twitched adorably, making her smile even wider. Isabelle took Ziva's place next to the bed as Ziva made her way outside where Ellie was already waiting for her.

Ziva spotted Ellie immediately. She looked exactly how Isabelle had described her. Young, blonde, kinda quirky. She was nervously walking up and down the corridor and Ziva just stood there, watching her amused.

Eventually Ellie bumped into her and looked up, her eyes wide in shock. "I'm so sorry, I was just..", she started to apologize. However, she trailed off when she got a better look at Ziva's face.

"You're Ziva, right?", she asked. Ziva smiled and nodded, extending her hand for her to shake. "I'm Eleanor Bishop but everyone calls me Ellie", she introduced herself. Ziva smiled at her warmly.

There was just something about her that made her like her. "I am Ziva David, it is nice to meet you", Ziva said. Ellie eyed her for what felt like an eternity. She had no idea how to approach her.

She didn't have any idea why she was here in the first place after all. Gibbs had just told her she should go to the hospital to talk to Ziva. Well, here she was. But she still had no idea what this whole thing was about.

"How about we sit down for a second?", Ziva suggested eventually, pointing to the chairs in front of Tony's hospital room. They sat down and Ziva pulled her chair over to face Ellie. "How's Tony?", Ellie asked carefully.

"He woke up a couple of hours ago but he is now asleep. He is very exhausted", Ziva explained. Ellie bit her lip and nodded, looking everywhere but at Ziva. "I'm very sorry", she apologized quietly.

Ziva's eyebrows furrowed. "You have nothing to be sorry for", she stated, confused. "Yes, I have", Ellie mumbled. Ziva leaned forward, resting her arms on her knees. "And what would that be?", she asked gently.

She wasn't sure what this was about but telling from Ellie's body language, it was really bothering her. A lot. "It's all my fault. I'm his partner, I was supposed to have his back out there and I failed", Ellie whispered, her face buried in her hands.

Ziva sighed and rested her hand on her shoulder in a comforting manner. "It is not your fault", she assured her quietly. Isabelle had warned her about Ellie's feelings of guilt.

She hadn't understood it from the beginning but now here she was, forced to assure a girl she barely knew that she in fact didn't do anything wrong. "It is my fault! Everyone thinks so", Ellie stated bitterly.

"Nobody thinks so", Ziva tried to tell her but Ellie wasn't even listening to her. "You should have seen Tony's face when the bullet hit him. And McGee's eyes, Gibbs' stare. Abby's practically ignoring me as well", Ellie admitted, sighing.

Ziva touched Ellie's knee. "Will you look at me for a second?", she requested softly. Ellie did as she was told and slowly lifted her head, locking her eyes on Ziva's.

"Why do you think it is your fault?", she asked. "You would have had his back. This wouldn't have happened if you'd been his partner. I'm just a horrible partner", Ellie voiced her concerns.

Ziva chuckled. "Ellie, this could have happened if I was his partner as well. I was never a perfect partner either", she told her, smiling at her reassuringly. "Really?", Ellie asked, her eyes wide.

Ziva nodded, patting her knee. "Do not beat yourself up over this. It is not your fault. And he does not think it is your fault either. Nobody does", she assured her. Ellie was silent for a while, not meeting Ziva's eyes again.

Ziva sensed there was something she wanted to say but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. Before she had the chance to ask though, Ellie spoke up: "I feel like I'm not a good Agent." Ziva sighed deeply.

Now she knew why Gibbs had sent her here. She was supposed to either tell Ellie she could do it or use it to her advantage to get her job back. Looking into Ellie's eyes though she knew her answer. She couldn't use Ellie like that. She didn't deserve that.

"You are not", she said firmly. "Who do you know? You weren't here", Ellie said bitterly. Ziva smiled softly. "No, I was not. But I was the new one too at some point", she explained.

Ellie suddenly seemed to understand and nodded, signaling Ziva to go on. So, she did: "When I first joined NCIS, it was very hard for me to fit in. I was not used to working on a team. I used to work alone before I joined NCIS."

Ellie's eyes widened. "Me too!", she exclaimed, happy that someone was finally able to relate to her situation. "Abby hated me at first. She was really giving me a hard time. Everyone else was not exactly happy about me being there either. Especially when I tried to claim that desk", Ziva confessed.

"Oh God, they really have a thing for that stupid desk, don't they?", Ellie exclaimed, rolling her eyes. Ziva laughed and nodded. It was true after all. And it was funny to see that Ellie had had the same problem. The team seriously had a thing for that desk. No kidding.

"I always thought it was because the Agent before me had died but apparently they really have a thing for that desk", she joked but Ellie shook her head. "I think it was worse that you weren't dead but just gone. That was what bothered them all the most", she admitted.

Ziva took a deep breath. She knew it had been hard on everyone but she was just starting to realize how hard it had been exactly. "Anyway, you are not a bad Agent, Ellie. I am sure of it. You just need some time to adjust", Ziva eventually said.

Ellie bit her lip, obviously deep in thought. "Maybe I'm not a bad Agent. But I've had almost a year to adjust and I'm still not comfortable. I feel like..this is not the right job for me", she stated carefully.

Ziva looked at her confused. She hadn't expected her to say that. "I mean I love to analyze the crimes and come up with possible scenarios and that helps the team a lot. At least I think it does. But I'm not really the type of person to carry a gun and go out in the field or interrogate people", Ellie went on before Ziva even got the chance to reply.

Ziva was stunned to say the least. Where was this coming from? "You know, I love to work on the floor. And I eat when I work because I food-associate. Everyone is so confused by my work attitude but it works for me. I don't know, it's just..me", Ellie continued.

"And being an Agent is not you?", Ziva asked softly. Ellie shook her head. "I don't think so. I mean, I thought it was. I applied to NCIS years ago and I was so excited when Gibbs offered me the job. But I realized it's..it's not what I want. It's not who I am, you know?", she rambled.

"I know all too well what you are talking about", Ziva stated sadly. Ellie looked at her curiously, obviously waiting for an explanation. "I do not know how much they told you about me. But last year my father was killed. It was just the strawberry on top of everything", Ziva started.

"You mean cherry, right? Cherry on top?", Ellie asked, smirking. Ziva laughed. "Yes, sorry. I have lived in America for over eight years and still get confused by the idioms", she confessed.

Ellie chuckled, then signaled Ziva to continue with her story. "A lot has happened in my life and some things I am not very proud of. So, last year I went to Israel to explore my roots, try to find myself again, get a clean slate, you know?", Ziva went on.

Ellie nodded in understanding, so Ziva continued: "I made a list of things I wanted to achieve in life. The very first item on the list was 'I will let go of the badge'."

"But that's not what you want anymore, is it?", Ellie assumed. "No, it is not. I miss my job. I thought it was never my free will to become an Agent but it is who I am, what I want to do. I want to help people by catching the bad guys", Ziva told her, smiling at the phrase Tony had taught her all those years ago.

Catching the bad guys. It had somehow grown on her. Tony had grown on her. Ellie leaned forward in her chair. "You told Gibbs about this, didn't you?", she asked. Ziva nodded slowly. What was Ellie getting at?

"I kind of hinted I wasn't comfortable with my job", Ellie went on. Ziva's eyes widened. "That is why Gibbs wanted us to talk to each other", she exclaimed. Ellie nodded enthusiastically.

"Listen, I think I have an idea", she then said. Ziva leaned in and nodded, signaling her to tell her. "You wanna be back on the team, back in the field. And I wanna get outta there but still kinda help with cases", Ellie summarized and Ziva nodded.

"How about you get your desk back and take your position as a Field Agent again while I stay on the team as an Analyst? I'd work on the floor between your desks and help you with the theoretical stuff of the cases and you go catch the bad guys", Ellie proposed.

Ziva's eyes widened. That girl was genius! "That sounds amazing!", she exclaimed. Ellie leaned back in her chair and smiled triumphantly. "Well, what can I say? I'm a brilliant analyst", she said and Ziva laughed.

"You are", she agreed. "I'll go talk to Gibbs. You better stay with Tony. Tell him I say hi", Ellie then said, getting up and leaving immediately. Ziva looked after her, shaking her head while laughing. She was indeed kinda quirky. But she actually liked her a lot. She reminded her a bit of Tali.

"Isabelle?", Tony asked in a raspy voice, opening his eyes. Isabelle grinned at him. "Hey there, sleepy head", she teased. He sat up a little straighter and smiled at her.

Then he looked around and grew a little panicked. "Where's Ziva?", he asked and Isabelle noticed his heart monitor beeping. "She's just outside, talking to Ellie. Don't worry", she tried to soothe him.

He lay back down and took a deep breath. "Thank God", he mumbled. Isabelle smiled at him softly. Yeah, her trip to Israel had definitely been worth it. "You brought her home", he then whispered.

"Yes, I did", Isabelle confirmed, grinning. "I can't thank you enough, Belle. You did use your Tink Powers after all", he said and Isabelle laughed. "I got your message, yes. And you're very welcome. I told you every cloud has a silver lining", she replied.

He smiled: "And you were right. Every cloud does in fact have a silver lining."

A/N: I love Ellie okay? :D And hey, Isabelle is back :)
Please let me know what you think, what could be improved and what you wanna see in future chapters in the reviews section! :) Love to hear from you guys :) xo
I'm not sure whether I'll have a new chapter up tomorrow. I'm super busy on Mondays :/ But I'll try :)
Love y'all,
~ C.