It was late that night at NCIS. Palmer had long since left autopsy. Ducky grabbed his coat and hat, prepared to leave himself. The door opened, and someone stepped in. Ducky glanced behind him. The body was put away. Vault 2 if his memory did not betray him, which sometimes it did in his advancing years.
"Where?" a female voice asked softly.
"Vault 2," Ducky replied. "I must get going. Take all the time you need." With that, he was gone. The door was opened, and Ray's body was revealed for the first time in hours.
"I'm sorry," Ziva sobbed over his body. Tears streamed down her cheeks, and her cries alerted a certain agent already on his way over.
"Shh, it's okay," Tony murmured, wrapping his arms around her. "It's not your fault. If anything, it's mine for not getting you out sooner." She continued sobbing into his shirt, unable to respond to anything at the moment.
"You can trust me," Tony whispered.
"I'll…I'll try," Ziva choked, attempting to ignore the thoughts swirling in her head at the moment. After a time, she calmed down somewhat and let herself be led away by him.
"I'll take you back to your place…Ariel's already fast asleep in her own bed," Ziva said nothing, still trying to get her bearings.
"I'd ask if you are okay, but that answer is obvious," Tony continued, starting the car. When had they gotten in? Ziva tried to remember. But there was nothing but the crushing grief of realizing she had nothing to hang onto anymore. She didn't have anything to be sure of anymore. It could all very well be a trick, but it was also more real than anything else she'd ever experienced. She sat there in complete confusion, wondering who she should believe. Next thing she knew, she was back in her own apartment laying on the couch.
"I can sleep in my own bed," Ziva protested, but she already felt so tired she was unsure if Tony had heard her.
"Shh, just sleep," Tony said softly. As if on command, Ziva drifted off into unconsciousness. For some time there was nothing but a relaxing heavy blackness that was simple to deal with. Ignorable. But then…she opened her eyes to find herself in that crypt again. It was all a horrible dream. She still had Ray.
"Hey, honey, was Tony lying to you again?" he asked in a sickly sweet voice filled with more danger than his most angry tone.
"No, of course not!" Ziva found herself saying. "He truly wanted to know if I was alright, which I-"
"No!" Ray shouted. "Stop right there! He's already gotten to you!" He lashed out at her, and she went flying to the hard stone floor already stained with blood from…Ariel. Oh God. Her broken body lay there, limbs bent in unnatural angles and bones nearly poking out of the skin. Her eyes were rolled back in her head. Ziva was so shocked she barely felt the resulting throb of a resulting bruise.
"Ariel," she choked out, reaching out toward her only daughter.
"Hey, I'm talking to you!" Ray practically screamed in her face. "Listen to me!" But Ziva already stopped listening to him. Ziva crawled to Ariel and found she was still breathing. But barely. She had to save her. Ray pounced, dragging her away.
"Ariel isn't important right now! Only I am! She's just a…mistake! She's just going to die anyway, look," Ziva shook her head. No way this was real. Ray was dead. She had to get out of this nightmare. She had to wake up…wake up…wake up…wake up…
"Wake up!" Tony said desperately. Ziva was shrieking and trying to squirm away from him, but still she did not wake. Finally, her eyes snapped open and she looked at him blankly.
"What was your nightmare about?" Tony asked.
"Ray killed Ariel," Ziva sobbed. Normally she wouldn't show this much emotion but it was clear the nightmare had been traumatic.
"Ariel's perfectly fine…you were just dreaming. Why don't you go back to sleep?" She nodded and sank against his chest. Ziva was asleep at once. With Tony there, she didn't have another nightmare. Sleeping was a little easier despite her fears. His scent created a sort of protection off all those little demons threatening to take over. Very soon, Tony fell asleep as well in his awkward position on top of her. Seconds later, it seemed, he was woken up by a call from Gibbs. He checked the time. 0700…why did this always happen to him?
"Dinozzo, report," Gibbs barked.
"Uhh, got Ziva back, boss," he said sleepily.
"No, on the case," Gibbs sighed in frustration.
"Going to interview Mike now-probie gave me the name when I got here. By the way, what am I going to do about Ziva? After all this stuff with Ray, she's a mess…I don't think she should be left alone for too long."
"Abby can go over. McGee will be waiting for you." The line disconnected. Ziva was still asleep, so Tony had to carefully untangle himself from her and go to his apartment to change. After a hot shower, fresh clothes, and a brief conversation with Abby, he was all set to go.
"Where's Tony?" Ziva mumbled, finding Abby in the apartment instead.
"He had to go," Abby replied. "How are you doing?" Ziva said nothing.
"I'll go make breakfast, then," she said, searching for the kitchen. It was over to the side right by the living room. Unusually enough, it was actually combined with the dining room to make one large room.
"Abby!" Ariel shouted, running up to her to give her a big hug around the knees. "When did you get here?"
"A few minutes ago. Tony had to leave for something work related,"
"Do you know if my mommy is sick or not?" Ariel asked innocently.
"I sure hope not," Abby replied vaguely, wondering what answer she would have to give this child when the truth came out.
"Mommy! You left me in the car seat again!" Gabriel cried out, running into the apartment. The front door slammed shut, startling Ziva.
"Sorry," Abby called, searching the cabinets for the pancake mix. Empty, empty, empty…well, Ziva hadn't spent much time here lately. She'd have to go to the store later.
"Alright, who wants to go to Walmart?" Abby asked brightly, looking at the two children. Ziva stumbled into the kitchen, rubbing sleep out of her eyes.
"I don't see why not," the ex-Mossad agent muttered in reply. "I'll go get ready,"
"And I will supervise the children!" Abby smiled at her. Ziva did not smile back, but just left the kitchen without another word.
"We're going to Walmart! We're going to Walmart!" Gabriel sang, dancing around the kitchen with Ariel right next to him. It was going to be a long day, Abby realized, as the morning sickness started to set in. She ran off for the bathroom. The door slammed shut before Ziva could enter.
"Abby?" In her haze of conflicted thoughts, the concern was there somewhere. But Ray's voice was still in her head, dominating everything else. So, she just turned away and went off into her room to find some clothes to wear for today. The only time she had ever gotten anywhere near to understanding who actually cared about her was when Tony happened to be around. Should she trust him, then, since he knew the truth? Her father's words echoed back at her now. Trust no one. They'll just end up betraying you in the end.
At Walmart, Gabriel and Ariel continually fought over which breakfast cereal to buy in the breakfast aisle.
"I want Froot Loops!" Ariel said, shoving the box at Gabriel.
"I don't like them! Frosted Flakes are grrreat!" Gabreil argued.
"Why don't we get both?" Abby suggested. They had been going at this for fifteen minutes already. Seriously this reminded her of Tony and-Ziva! Where was she? Abby looked wildly around, but saw her nowhere. Muttering cuss words under her breath, she went off in search of Ziva, cart and children in tow.
Ziva stared and stared at the object in her hand. Was this where the truth lied now? She shook the mysterious black ball. Sorry, Try Again.
Did Tony really care about me? Ziva gently shook the Magic Eight Ball. Outlook is Good. What was the purpose of this object? Did it really know all, as the commercial said?
"Ziva! There you are!" Abby exclaimed breathlessly. "Quit playing with that and help me get the shopping done...you do remember we're in Walmart, right?" Ziva sadly followed her friend to the produce aisle. She thought she was so close to learning the truth. She put the Magic Eight Ball in a random cart and kept walking.
"What were you doing with that, by the way?" she asked while they were checking out half an hour later.
"Trying to find out the truth," Ziva said.
"About what?" But she wouldn't say anything more.
"Alright, Mike, why'd you erase your own name out of the employee logs?" Tony asked. They were now in interrogation, with McGee observing from behind the glass. Mike was young, about eighteen or nineteen.
"I-I don't know what you're talking about," Mike stammered, brushing his hair back nervously. He was sweating and very pale.
"Look, we can do this the easy way or the hard way. Just tell me what you know and you won't get hurt." He glanced at Gibbs then refocused on Mike's jittery form.
"Alright, I did it! I erased it!" Mike blurted. He looked paler than ever. "It was a mistake, I'm sorry!"
"Relax, kid, it's okay," Tony chuckled. "Why'd you do it?"
"I meant to change my hours, 'cause they were all screwed up because of the stupid power surge."
"There…wasn't a power surge," Tony said.
"But…my boss…oh crap!" Mike leapt to his feet. In the bright lights, the clammy sheen of sweat on his face seemed to shine.
"You okay?" Mike shook his head and stumbled toward the door.
"Just need a soda," he muttered. "I'll be f-fine," He took out some object. It looked electronic. It pricked his finger, and after a moment, the mysterious object beeped and showed a number.
"You're diabetic!" Tony blurted without thinking. Mike nodded, his shaggy hair bouncing a little with the motion.
"You mind if I step out for a minute? My blood sugar's a little low and I'd hate to pass out in this place."
"I'll take you to Abby's lab. She usually has something,"
"The forensic specialist?" Mike questioned. "I've heard some things about her,"
"Yeah, well she's married so don't bother trying anything on her," Tony said, leading him out of interrogation.
"I have a girlfriend," Mike replied, as if this would solve everything.
"Never stopped me sometimes," Tony muttered. Upon waking into Abby's lab, he discovered it to be empty. Tony sighed and called her, hoping she was on the way here. Mike looked about ready to throw up.
"Abby here," a familiar voice said happily.
"Hey, need you over here ASAP with a soda and some snacks for this guy…his blood sugar doesn't look so good and I need him healthy for the interrogation,"
"Since when did we treat the bad guys like our friends?" Abby asked. "You know I'm trying to make breakfast for the kids, right?"
"He's not a bad guy…Mike here just made a mistake," A brief pause. Abby sighed. There was a crash, then a scream in the background.
"I have to go, Tony. Just get a Caf-Pow! out of the fridge. I won't be drinking them for a while anyway."
"Why? Are you on a no caffeine thing again?"
"Something like that…I will explain later. See you,"
"What's a Caf-Pow?" Mike asked when Tony had hung up.
"Look in the mini fridge and you'll find out," Mike obeyed at once.
"When did you find out?" Tony inquired politely.
"I was about six, and at the doctor's office when I was told about my condition," Mike replied, taking a slurp of Caf-Pow! just the way Abby used to all the time. Ever since Ziva disappeared she did not drink them as often. Well, actually, nothing had ever been the same for the past five years or so.
"Must be rough," Tony commented. Mike shrugged and looked around the lab. Without Abby here, the place looked sort of lifeless and empty. Tony was tempted to turn on the stereo as loud as it could go.
"Are you going to be alright all alone?" Abby asked anxiously. Ziva didn't respond, but just looked at her. She had been way too quiet ever since breakfast was over.
"Where are you going?" Ziva asked dully.
"Gabriel has a doctor's appointment and he needs to get his shots," Abby explained.
"I will be fine," Ziva said. Ariel turned on the TV to Nickelodeon and started watching iCarly in complete silence. Abby left, with Gabriel asking if they would be back soon. Ziva went off into her room and lay on her bed. Finally, she was alone. But was it really as satisfying as she'd thought it would be? The thoughts went round and round, refusing to leave her alone. Of course they lied to me, that's what they're best at, but then again when I was captured in Somalia they did everything to find me, especially Tony. Ray is dead now, he was my everything, the only person I was certain of. Now I'm on my own for figuring all of this out. So, they lied, didn't they? Abby, Gibbs, Vance, McGee, Tony…oh, God, Tony…this was beginning to exhaust her. The problem was, a part of her knew the truth, but a dark part of the mind that didn't belong to her caused all of this madness. It was…it was…a dark demon. Of course. She remembered thinking of such a thing, lifetimes ago. A sigh, so soft it was barely heard, escaped her lips now and then. But that was not what held her full attention. Ray, Tony, then Ray again. One is gone. One is here. One is truth, and one was a lie. But who? Why should she have to choose like this? Especially since she had no idea how to tell dark from light, wrong from right? Tony's eyes, kind and honest and green, peered at her now.
You can trust me…
"Can I?" Ziva murmured. Nothing but silence answered her.