A/N - And we're back in action with another kick-arse chappie! Now remember, if you kill me at the end of this, you shall not find out what happens next... so please, show me mercy! :P Enjoy! :)
CHAPTER 26
Lilly stares at her godfather in consternation, her expression of injured betrayal paining him beyond his comprehension.
"Go…?" she whispers, her throat dry. With a sudden, loud, pained cry, she throws herself against him, and though surprised, Tim catches her and holds her to him tightly, his eyes burning. "I can't go by myself!" her voice is muffled by his shirt and he picks her up, rocking her like he did barely a few twenty minutes ago, when he found her. He hates that he has to abandon her but he does not have a choice... not when Tony and Ziva are still fighting for their lives.
"Lilly," he murmurs soothingly, "Lilly, baby, look at me," his voice is gentle, cajoling and with a light sniffle, the young girl looks up at him, her green eyes blazing with fear and loss – two things he never wanted her to feel.
"I don't wanna leave you alone, sweetheart," he tries to reassure her, stroking her hair tenderly. "Never."
"Then why are you?" she asks brokenly. At this point, when the ground has been snatched away from beneath her tiny feet, and nothing makes sense, he is the only thing she knows, the only familiar face, and she clings to him, not willing to let go quite yet.
"Because your parents need me," he answers her quietly, gravely. Her expression softens somewhat, though she is still trembling violently.
"Mommy and Daddy?" she murmurs, cocking her head to the side. The gesture, so familiar from her childhood, disarms him and he kisses her softly, rubbing her back reassuringly.
"Mommy and Daddy," he reaffirms. "They're with the man who took you," he does not say anymore, but Lilly's arms tighten around his neck, and she continues shaking, her eyes closing, her expression one of a kind of fear that he never, ever wanted her to understand, much less feel.
"Lea," he pleads, knowing he would stay if she asks him to. But she is her parents' daughter indeed, and her blazing eyes snap open, fear now mixed with determination.
"Okay, Uncle Tim," she acquiesces, her affirmative a quiet, anguished plea. "I'll go up myself."
She motions to the entrance to NCIS behind them, a building in an area that was once her playground. And Tim wonders if she now resents that same playground that had betrayed her, that it has become so treacherous that she could not find her way home in the dark.
"You won't be alone, love," he informs her, and gestures for Borin to come forward from where she has been watching them silently. She offers the terrified, tired girl a smile, and holds out her hand to shake. Lilly eyes her suspiciously, but at Tim's encouraging nod, accepts the proffered hand of friendship.
"This is Abigail Borin," he makes the introduction and Lilly's eyes grown wide with curiosity and surprise.
"Like Aunt Abby?" she questions, staring at the woman who shares her godmother's name. Borin grins and nods.
"Yeah," she agrees. "Just like your Aunt Abby."
That soothes her unease a little and Lilly manages a shaky smile. McGee squeezes her a minute, holding her to him, wondering if this is the last time he will ever see her. And he is so very grateful that he gets this one last chance at least, and that he has done what he promised his best friend.
"Abbs, Ducky and Jimmy are waitin for you in the squad room," he tells her, dropping a kiss on her sweat-matted hair. "And your Grandpa and I will do our best to bring your parents back to you. Okay?"
"Okay."
She leans forward to kiss his stubble-roughened cheek, and makes a face at the prickly texture. He grins, kissing her once more before handing her to Borin, who takes her hand in her own.
"Protect her," he commands her and Borin nods, for once accepting orders instead of giving them. "Of course, McGee," she replies, and though he knows nothing can harm her now, in this short distance to the squad room, he cannot help but worry, his over imaginative mind conjuring up scary scenarios.
"Uncle Tim?" Lilly's voice sounds impossibly small as he inclines his head. "Be careful." His heart wrenches at her broken request and he nods.
"I will," he answers and with one last kiss to her brow, he rushes off into the dark, Lilly standing there and watching him until even his silhouette is swallowed up the black blanket of night. Then, she turns to Borin and determinedly leads the elder female into the building that continues to be her home; despite the sacrilege this brought to her life.
Borin remains quiet as they traverse the distance between the entrance and the squad room. The elevator is painfully silent and Lilly simply swallows hard as the door dings open. Because, there, right in the middle of the bullpen are three of the most important people in her life, waiting for her anxiously. And she is unable to hold back tears at the sight of them, delighted as they look to see her.
"Lilly!" Abby's cry is loud, pained and ecstatic all at once, and Lilly gives no thought to it as she drops Borin's hand to run to her godmother. And the CGIS Agent watches with a soft smile as the friend who shares her name picks her up and swings her around before crushing her to her chest.
"Oh Lilly," she moans softly, peppering her dirty, sooty face with gentle kisses. "We thought… oh God… we thought we'd lost you… and… Lilly…"
Abby's incoherent, Lilly nearly so, as she clings to her, and words mingle with sobs, smiles with tears and fear with relief. A mere moment passes before Ducky pulls the two females close to himself, offering them solace and Jimmy joins in as well, his arm going around Abby's trembling form, and he presses a soft kiss to Lilly's wet, filthy cheek.
Closeted in the softest, gentlest, most loving embrace of her family, Lilly finally, finally feels safe, and proceeds to cry her heart out, allowing the despair, fear and pain of the past week to spill out in a gushing torrent that leaves her drained and empty.
From her vantage point, Abby Borin smiles widely and turns around to move back to the elevator. She is stopped, however, by the forensic scientist's loud call.
"Agent Abby!"
Borin turns around to see a blur of white and black, before said blur throws itself at her. surprised, she is nearly bowled over, but wraps her arms around the trembling Goth's shoulders and rubs her back soothingly.
"Thank you," Abby whispers and Abby smiles softly at her. "Thank you."
xxx
"You look good," Meyer's voice borders on leering as Ziva crosses her arms over her chest in defiance. Her entire body is tense, coiled up to strike, and from Calev's smirk, she understands that he knows this. And that he is enjoying it.
The undercurrent of tension and the silent power play within the four walks of the empty, dingy warehouse is palpable and Ziva finds that she is rather glad for the backup a few blocks and a single call away. Despite her Mossad training, her instincts are warring against leaving her partner out. It feels wrong that he is not here, that neither Gibbs nor McGee is with them, and she wonders when she became so dependant on the feeling of security the three men provide her with.
"Where is my daughter?" she demands, eyes narrowing at the man sitting but a few feet from her on the only piece of furniture occupying the rather empty warehouse. The strategic positioning of the boxes so they tower over her, and him sitting there is not offhand, she knows. It is a play for power, to show her that here, in this room, he has the upper hand, that she is at his mercy. And she wants so badly to punch him for it.
"All in good time, Ziva," his lips twist into a grotesque smirk, and she has to fight the urge to wince. No display of weakness, she tells herself firmly, falling back upon the lesson, the instincts her father drilled into her when she was but a child.
"You promised to deliver her if I came to you!" she hisses and he jumps off the elevated tower created by the boxes.
"Only," he grins, walking close to her. "And only after I make you mine."
Before she can protest, before she can cry out, his arms sneak around her waist and clamp her to him in an iron grip. His lips descend on hers in a painful bite of a kiss, and revulsion clutches at her gut. In that single moment, she is transported back to that night, and frozen as she is with the horror of déjà vu, it takes all her strength to push him away.
"Stay away from me," she hisses. He glares, raising his hand, and backhands her rather viciously. The sound echoes within the deadly silent warehouse, fading away even as he moves back, his smirk now a dark, sharp glare that has her worried for her daughter's life.
"You, Ziva," he orders, "are mine and mine alone. If you want my daughter to live."
And looking at him, the fury blazing within the same eyes that had once captivated, Ziva admits the truth. He does own her, owns her body and her strength. But her love, and her heart belongs not to him, but to her family, and her husband. To Tony…oh, Tony… her heart aches, but she feels the weirdest smile curve her lips, because in a rather strange way, she is the victor.
"Let her go, Calev," she says quietly. "Let Lillian go, and I will become yours. Forever."
"Forever," he smirks. "Such a delightful idea." He feigns thinking, dabbing at his chin with his hand, and Ziva watches calmly. "Alright," he smirks again, "I accept your offer."
"But before that… before I let your daughter go…" he moves in close again and Ziva forces herself to remain limp as he yanks her to him.
"I will give you what you want, Meyer," she mutters, "let my Lilly go."
"She is a beautiful girl, your daughter," he whispers huskily, his cigarette-breath wafting across her nostrils and Ziva wants to throw up. "But not as beautiful as you," he bends his head down, and she resists the urge to flee as she receives his harsh kiss without protest.
She breaks the kiss, but this time he accepts it, and lets her be as he walks to the other side of the room, his back to her. Ziva spits out, disgust clenching her insides, and she has to blink back sudden tears.
"Ziva, get the hell outta there!"
She blinks rather stupidly, at the voice in her ear. In these few minutes, she forgot that Tony and Gibbs are just outside, right there where she needs them. That Tony would still defend her, even when he knows it is for naught, the fact warms her, though she is also angry that he would risk discovery so easily. She does not respond, knowing it would take Meyer but a minute to figure out that they are just a few blocks away.
"Ziver, get out now."
Gibbs's command catches her attention. Tony, she can understand. Her husband is nothing if not hot headed. But Gibbs…
"What happened?" she calls out loudly, intending for both Meyer and her family to hear. "Where is Lilly?"
"I will send her…," Calev moves in close and blows on her hair, and whispers in her ear, "To you, Agent DiNozzo." Ziva's blood runs cold.
"You know," she states flatly and he nods, smirking. "Of course, Ziva," he responds in a low voice that chills her. "Did you really think you could fool me?"
Tony… Gibbs… get out, get out, now!
She betrays none of her panic, however. She is not ex-Mossad for nothing, and she holds true to her training, raising her chin and meeting his gaze defiantly.
"It doesn't matter, Ziva!" Tony's voice is exuberant in her ear. "McGee found her! She's safe!"
For a moment, Ziva doesn't comprehend the statement. Then, with the all the rage of a towering tsunami, understanding crashes into her, and her heart clenches, relief warring with panic in a manner that leaves her gasping for breath.
Meyer's face twists into a grotesque furious, terrifying expression that actually frightens Ziva. "Not possible," he growls, pushing her, throwing her to the ground. The animalistic rage, the virulent need to kill, to rip, is evident in his eyes, and is so reminiscent of that night, Ziva freezes for a moment, past and present melting together.
But this is the present, and in the present, Ziva is no longer that young, innocent girl that was taken advantage of. Neither is she alone and this is a fact that is driven home by the sudden, familiar crack of a gunshot reverberating around the small space of the warehouse.
And she twists her head from where she is lying to see Tony standing there, gun in hand, glaring maliciously at Meyer. The shot was a warning, she knows, for despite his hatred, Tony is not a murderer.
"It's over, Meyer," he roars, green eyes blazing, and Meyer simply nods.
"I think so too, DiNozzo," he replies confidently. "But I never go down without a fight."
He pulls out a knife of his own, and grabs Ziva, holding it to her throat. Tony recoils, his glare tightening, but his grip on his gun loosens and she cringes silently.
"I am not twenty anymore, Calev," she murmurs, before stamping his foot savagely. It is enough to distract him, and she crashes her head onto his chin, twirling around on a foot to grab his hand and thrash him to the ground.
"And you have no power over me," she hisses into his shocked face as she kicks him hard and fast in the groin, and Tony's shaky chuckle is an echo that she welcomes.
He holsters his gun and drops to his knees, next to her. Pulling out his cuffs, he snaps them into place, binding Calev's hands. Turning to her, he yanks her panting form to him, in a manner not unlike to Meyer's rough handling but a few moments ago. The gentle, tender kiss he bestows upon her, however, is not rough or harsh and she returns desperately, winding her arms around him, twisting around so that his back is to the fallen kidnapper on the ground. She finds the same mixture of relief and panic, love and hate glistening within the depths of his emerald irises and she smiles shakily at him.
"It's over, Ziva," he murmurs, kissing her softly. "It's over."
It's not Ziva who replies, but Calev, and the horror, so familiar and so alien, slams into her chest again, as the knife that was clenched in his hand flies toward her husband.
"Yes, DiNozzo, it is over."
The whole scene is over within the span of a few seconds, but those few seconds stretch over the vast expanse of infinity, and Tony watches, frozen in terror and shock, as Ziva throws herself in front of him, the dagger slicing through her tender flesh as easily as butter and bread. He barely even registers the sound of consecutive gunshots as Gibbs barges in and destroys Calev Meyer. He gives no thought to Gibbs's loud cry as he sinks next to him, putting pressure on Ziva's wound.
All he knows is the sudden spurt of the red, hot, sticky blood that gushes out from Ziva's abdomen, and onto his jacket. All he knows is holding her, screaming his throat raw, as he kisses her unresponsive lips again and again. All he knows is his wife, still and cold in his arms, her chocolate eyes even now glinting with victory…and love. For him.
"Ziva!"
"Lil…ly…" she gasps, clenching her teeth against the fire burning within her stomach. "To…ny…"
Her husband's moist, appalled, loving eyes blinking in assent is the last thing Ziva sees before everything becomes black.
A/N - I changed my mind... remember the WORST. CLIFFHANGER. EVER? Well... this ain't it! *evil laughter...* More to come you way, so keep an eye out!
Tiva-Babe UK - Aw... That sucks... Hope you didn't have too hard a time of it! Last week and today... And if you did, here's something to cheer you up... How'd you like this chappie? Wanna kill me yet? :P
ncis-1001 - Thanks! Lilly's back... But is the thrill over yet? I think not! More evil cliffhangers on their way, so hang on!
Up Next - In which a father comforts his mourning son...
See you guys soon!
- Chavi