Hi guys sorry about the delay. Family drama and university work kept me busy. Anyway hope you enjoy this.

Chapter 53

When they arrived at the location Tony looked sceptically at the abandoned building "are you sure this is the right address McGoo" he asked

"This is the one written down" McGee said checking his phone.

Tony grunted "well I guess if you are looking to hide then this is the perfect place" he said "because I doubt anyone would come here willingly"

They began to walk round the building checking the locks before they found a small hole in the wall covered with an old wooden board.

"After you" Tony said sweetly and McGee scowled at him "you are Senior Field Agent as you love to remind me... doesn't that mean you should go in first"

"I spent the night sleeping on an air mattress on the floor of a forensics lab with my wife, my five year old and a baby" Tony said "don't mess with me Timmy"

McGee scowled muttering a few distasteful words that Tony pretended not to hear before he bent and squeezed through the small hole and Tony waited a minute before he followed after checking the perimeter for any signs that they were being watched.

Inside the warehouse it was dark and cold and Tony shivered at the thought of the rats and other critters that no doubt lived in here. Slowly he turned on his flashlight and looked around.

There were tons of abandoned crates and boxes around the room and all the windows were boarded up with only small shafts of light slipping through. There was a thick layer of dust over the floor and every move he made stirred up small clouds of dust.

Slowly Tony moved forward moving his light around the room groaning as he watched McGee moving round the other side hunting for clues.

After searching half the warehouse, Tony was just considering calling their call unfounded when he spotted footprints in the dust and he frowned as he followed them to a pile of crates peering at it curiously before he moved the light almost jumping when he saw a pair of wide frightened brown eyes staring back at him before suddenly the crates were crashing down on top of him and he let out a yelp as he leapt clear seeing a small figure dashing away.

"McGee heading your way" he shouted as he scrambled to his feet and leapt after her seeing McGee to the same.

"Hey stop" he shouted seeing her sprinting towards the exit ducking out of the hole and Tony scrambled out taking after her desperately shouting as she shot away.

That was when McGee suddenly appeared grabbing hold of her ignoring her struggles as she squirmed and kicked frantically before Tony appeared grabbing her arm.

"Ava stop" he said "stop"

"No let me go" she shrieked squirming but Tony and McGee kept hold of her.

"Ava stop we're the good guys" he said but she didn't seem to believe him.

"We have Thomas" he shouted.

Instantly that had the desired effect and she froze staring at him and Tony instantly knew this was the right woman. Ava looked just like her son.

"You have Thomas" she whispered staring at him and he nodded "we are with NCIS, Naval Criminal Investigative Service… we picked up the case and we found your son in the wardrobe. We have been taking care of him since then at NCIS."

Ava stared at him before she let out a sob "is he ok" she asked "please god tell me he is ok"

Tony nodded "he's fine" he said "I promise you he is ok and we can take you to see him."

"No I need to hide" she said "he's after me and I need to hide… to protect my son."

"No Ava you need to come with us" McGee said and Tony nodded "If you don't then Senator Powell will get custody of your son."

"No" she gasped "he cannot get custody of him, he's my son… mine"

"Then come with us and tell us what you know" McGee said.

Ava considered them both before she shakily nodded "take me to my son" she whispered.

Tony nodded and guided her back to the car "call Gibbs" he said to McGee as he shut the door behind her "tell him we found her."

McGee nodded as he pulled out his phone clambering into the passenger seat as Tony clambered into the driver's.

Once McGee had informed Gibbs that they were on their way back with Ava he looked into the back of the car.

"Tell us what happened" he said "when Petty Officer Hale and his wife were killed."

Ava shifted uncertainly in the back of the car. She looked so tired and worn.

"After I gave birth to Thomas my parents kicked me out" she said "I was fine at first before Senator Powell located where I was staying and began to demand that I give him his son. He wanted his son because he and his wife had been trying for years for a boy. I didn't want to lose Thomas… I love him with all my heart and I didn't want him to grow up in that kind of environment. Powell looks nice but he can be abusive… and he has a temper that can flare up so fast… I didn't want to subject my son to that.

When he said that he was going to terminate my parental rights I panicked. I knew that I needed to hide my son so I packed up our things and ran to the only place I hoped we could stay safe. Sam and Lara Hale used to live next door to me and my family. They were always kind to me and they were more my parents than my own ones"

"Yeah we meet your parents" McGee said dryly making her give them a small smile.

"For a couple of days they kept us safe and I thought that we might be ok. Then one day I heard shouting and screaming from downstairs whilst I was putting Thomas down for a nap. I heard whoever it was demanding to know where we were. I knew that the only thing I could do would be to hide my son and flee, luring him away from Thomas. So I hid him in the wardrobe and climbed out the window. He saw me and took off after me but I managed to lose him.

I stayed away for a day before coming back. When I did the house was covered in crime scene tape and the place was covered in blood and my baby was gone so I decided to hide."

Tony and McGee looked at each other "we found your drug possession record" Tony said.

"That was bogus" Ava protested "You have to believe me… please… Powell had those drugs planted in my apartment in an attempt to terminate my parental rights of Thomas."

"Listen you need to tell our bosses everything" Tony said looking in the rear view mirror "we can help you keep your son but you need to tell us everything."

"If it will keep me and my son safe I will tell you anything that you need to hear" Ava said.

Tony nodded glancing at the clock before he put his foot down knowing that time was running out.

XO

"Ziva" Gibbs shouted and Ziva looked up as he ran over to the swings where she and Abby were entertaining Tali and Thomas. "What's wrong" she asked.

"Tony and McGee found Ava" he said "they are on their way back with her now… get the kids back inside… I need to go tell Vance so that he can start stalling the lawyers."

"Ok" Ziva said instantly "we'll be right up"

She watched as he took off across the road sprinting back to NCIS.

She turned back to see Abby lifting Thomas out of the swing seat before she looked back at her daughter "come on my love we need to go back in" she said holding out her hand.

"But mommy" Tali complained "we haven't been here very long"

"I know my love but this is really important" Ziva said "come on"

Tali slowly nodded still looking slightly disappointed before she jumped off the swing and caught hold of Ziva's hand.

"They found Ava" Abby said "that is good right."

Ziva nodded knowing that Thomas had a mother was a good thing. But there was an ache in her chest at the thought of saying goodbye to the adorable little boy who had captured her heart.

She felt on edge but looking around she realised that she couldn't see anything out of the ordinary.

"What's wrong mommy" Tali asked looking confused.

Ziva continued to look around keenly for any sign of danger before she looked back down at Tali who was looking up at her innocently. "I don't know baby" she murmured "probably nothing though… let's get back into NCIS shall we… and then maybe this evening we can get some ice cream yes"

"oooo ice cream" Tali giggled suddenly looking a lot perkier and she ran ahead to join Abby who grinned at her.

Ziva cast one last look around wondering why all her instincts told her there was danger when she could see nothing before she turned to follow Tali and Abby back into the building.

That was when she saw him. Right behind Abby and Tali a man had appeared and was stalking after the two of them. As she watched he produced a gun as he stalked towards Abby and her daughter lifting it up.

"Abby" she screamed leaping forward yanking her own gun out "get down"

With extremely fast reflexes thanks to the many years she had worked at NCIS the forensic scientist ducked sideways clutching Thomas close as Ziva ran forward shouting "Federal Agent… drop the gun."

But the man was already moving and he dove forward grabbing hold of Tali who let out a startled shriek as she was grabbed from behind and he whirled round pointing the gun at her head as he lifted her up to block his body.

"No" Ziva gasped skidding to a stop a few meters away staring at her daughter being held at gun point in horror.

Tali was squirming and pushing to get away kicking her tiny legs frantically "mommy" she cried looking over at her mother "mommy help."

"It's ok" Ziva managed struggling to push a comforting smile onto her face "it's ok baby everything is going to be ok."

She glanced over at Abby who was standing a few feet away clutching Thomas staring at Tali in horror. "Abby call Gibbs" she breathed and was relieved when she saw Abby grab her phone and she turned her attention back to the man holding her daughter at gun point.

"Let her go and drop the gun" she demanded.

"Drop your weapon or I shoot her" the man snarled shoving the gun into Tali's side.

"Oww" Tali whimpered squirming "Mommy."

Ziva shifted keeping the gun aimed at what little of the man she could see trying to fight down the overwhelming terror at the sight of her daughter being held at gunpoint.

"Give me the boy" the man said "give me the boy and I'll let the girl go."

Ziva felt her breath catch in her throat as she realised that the only way to save her daughter was to hand the child she had sworn to protect over to the gunman.

"Ziva" she heard and suddenly Gibbs was beside her pulling out his gun "let her go" he warned.

"Give me the boy" he shouted twisting the gun making Tali cry out again. "Mommy" she cried still squirming. Ziva hated the sight of her eyes wide with terror.

"Calm her down" Gibbs murmured and Ziva swallowed wondering how she was supposed to calm her scared daughter down when she was fighting not to panic.

"Tali listen to me" she called holding out one hand as Tali squirmed too frightened to be listening. "Tali look at me" she shouted and her daughter looked at her as she kicked to get free.

"Tali everything is going to be ok" she soothed "listen to me baby… everything will be alright… stay calm aheva… stay calm… trust me tateleh… trust me and keep your eyes on me ok."

Tali stared at her before she slowly nodded and stopped kicking as she stared at her mother waiting for her to rescue her.

"Let the girl go and drop your weapon" Gibbs shouted.

"Not till I get the boy" he shouted and Ziva glanced over at Abby who was still standing there clinging to Thomas who had started to howl sensing the tension in the air.

"Not going to happen" Gibbs growled and as the gunman backed away from them he and Ziva paced forward maintaining the distance between them.

"You aren't getting your hands on that boy so your only chance of getting out of this alive is if you let her go right now" Gibbs barked

"Unless you hand me that boy right now I will kill her... do not test me" he shouted and Tali visibly flinched frightened by all the shouting.

Ziva sensed movement and suddenly McGee was beside her lifting his weapon up "I sent Ava up with Dorneget when we heard what was happening" he said.

"Where's Tony" Ziva breathed looking round for her husband.

"Trust him" McGee murmured back

That was when Ziva saw Tony just out of the man's line of sight creeping towards him, eyes blazing at the sight of his daughter being held at gun point. Ziva instantly knew what he was planning and knew she had to keep him from being seen or the gunman might kill both him and her daughter. Whilst Gibbs was doing a great job of keeping the gunman's attention away from Tony by shouting and threatening him, Ziva knew she had to keep her daughter from spotting her father as she feared Tali might call out to him.

"Tali" she called and her daughter looked up at her "you are doing so well baby so well" she whispered pushing a smile onto her face lifting her hand in a calming motion to her daughter "you are being so brave aheva... just a little longer ok... just a little longer."

Tali squirmed to get free and the gunman shook her angrily making her whimper and Ziva felt the fear turn to rage as she saw her daughter in pain and clearly terrified.

Her eyes flashed briefly to Tony who was getting closer and close. His chest was heaving as he took in the enormity of the challenge he was faced with; rescue his daughter from a mad gunman who had a gun jammed against her ribs. One wrong move and Tali might be killed.

The gunman seemed to be realising that there wasn't really a way out of this for him now so he began to back up glancing over his shoulder which nearly made Ziva's heart stop. Thankfully he didn't spot Tony who had dove behind a tree and they quickly began to pace after him as Tali stared between them with wide eyes begging for one of her family members to save her from this scary man.

"Let her go" Gibbs growled furious at the sight of his granddaughter in danger "you hurt her and it will be the last thing you ever do"

"She'll still be dead" the gunman growled continuing to back up as McGee, Gibbs and Ziva all paced forward with their guns raised.

"I'll release her when I have the boy" he snapped backing towards the gates "you have 24 hours or I'll kill her"

"Let her go" Ziva shouted frantically leaping forward as he twisted the gun in Tali's side making her squeal in pain.

At the sight of her moving forward the gunman swung the gun up to point at Ziva. She heard Gibbs shout out her name and then suddenly he was shoving her aside as the gun went off before groaning in pain grabbing his arm.

And in that brief few seconds where the gun was not aimed at Tali, Tony acted. He stepped out from behind the tree with his gun already up and a murderous look on his face.

The gunman saw him coming and half turned but Tony had already pressed the gun into his shoulder and fired.

As the gunman let out a howl of pain and fell to the floor Tony reached out and snatched Tali out of his arms before she had fallen more than a few centimetres.

He backed up clutching his daughter close as the gunman looked up at him before lifting his gun up to point at him with a roar of anger.

Ziva instantly swung her gun up and fired a single shot straight through his head killing him instantly.

"Gibbs" she gasped spinning round to face her boss who was bent over holding his arm.

"I'm fine" he growled "Tali… check on Tali"

Instantly Ziva spun round and ran over to her husband and daughter.

"Tony" she gasped "is she ok… is she hurt."

Tony turned to look at her with such relief in his eyes that Ziva knew the answer.

Tali was curled up against Tony's chest with her arms wrapped tightly around his neck as Tony clung to her tightly.

"Tali" Ziva whispered reaching out to touch her daughter's back and slowly Tali turned to look at her. "Mommy" she whispered and Ziva sighed in relief as Tali wrapped one arm around her neck and she reached up to hug both her husband and daughter.

She heard Gibbs calling out to her and she turned to look at her boss "are you ok" she asked looking at the blood staining his arm.

"It just grazed me" he said gruffly "is Tali alright."

Ziva nodded "yeah" she said looking up at her daughter still cuddled up in Tony's arms "she seems to be."

"Thank god" Gibbs murmured instantly relaxing.

"You should get Ducky to take a look at that boss" McGee said looking worried.

"I'm fine" Gibbs protested but Ziva grabbed him by his uninjured arm and dragged her towards the NCIS building. "Tony go with him… let him check Tali out too" she instructed and her husband nodded.

"Let's go fill in Vance" Ziva added spotting their director running towards them. She took the howling Thomas from Abby bouncing and rocking him reassuringly as she spoke to Vance, until he settled in her arms.

"Ava is in the conference room" Vance said "she is pretty panicked and very desperate to see her son."

Ziva smiled weakly looking down at the little boy realising it was soon time to say goodbye to him.

They headed back up to the bullpen where they waited for Tony and Gibbs to return. Abby settled herself behind Gibbs desk cooing at Thomas as he giggled and gabbled away to her again whilst McGee went through the killer's phone.

They hadn't been there long when the elevators opened with a ding. McGee automatically looked up and blanched "uh oh" he said and Ziva looked over her shoulder and tensed as she saw Senator Powell coming out of the elevator with his usual army of lawyers and bodyguards behind him.

"Err Ziva" McGee said as she rose to her feet "Ziva… don't do anything stupid"

But Ziva was already marching round from behind her desk with a furious look in her eyes.

"Agent David" Senator Powell said not quite catching her angry expression "I am here with a court order for you to hand over my son… I trust that you and your team will not fight me on this."

Ziva flew at him, striking him so hard he staggered back a few paces as his bodyguards grabbed Ziva wrestling her back as she fought screaming angrily in Hebrew. McGee leapt forward grabbing her wrestling her back as she fought him.

"You son of a bitch" she shrieked "you put my daughter in danger, you had her being held at gunpoint, you almost had her killed."

"Ziva" she heard and then suddenly Tony and Gibbs were assisting McGee to drag her back and she felt Tali's small hands grabbing at her jacket calling out to her. Instantly she turned to scoop her daughter up hugging her tight as Vance appeared and the two side squared each other up.

"What the hell kid of agency do you think you are running here Director Vance" Powell growled "do you have any control over your Agents? I want her badge taken away."

"That won't be happening" Vance said sharply "Special Agent David should not have slapped you granted… but given how the man you hired to get your son just held her daughter at gunpoint, you can understand why she lost her temper."

"What are you talking about" Powell snapped "what happened to my son… you said he was safe here… clearly he is not if you have a gunman running around"

"You know exactly what we are talking about" Tony snapped "the man you hired to kill the Petty Officer and his wife, break into our apartment and kidnap your own son just made his final attempt to do your bidding… we killed him."

Powell's expression tightened briefly at his words before he covered up his surprise "I don't know what you are talking about"

"Yes you do" Gibbs said sharply "you feared you wouldn't get custody of your son so you arranged to have him kidnapped. And if you didn't win custody you would gain sympathy and support from your followers and you would be able to make NCIS look bad for not protecting your son. Win win for you. Apart from the fact that your guy failed."

"That is a wild and ridiculous theory Agent Gibbs" Powell said shifting "one that has no basis or proof… now if you don't mind I'll be taking my son home now."

"I'm afraid you won't be" Gibbs said "we found Ava"

"Powell froze "You what" he said.

"We found Ava" Tony repeated "and she is very eager to testify against you… that should provide us with all the proof we need to terminate your parental rights and end your career."

It was pretty enjoyable to see Powell's face lose all remaining colour and Ziva smirked from where she stood beside Tony and Abby with Tali in her arms.

"You can't prove that I had anything to do with your Petty Officer's death or the attempted kidnappings" Powell argued "the only thing I am guilty of is wanting to provide a good life for my son" his gaze fell on Thomas who was playing with Abby's dog collar oblivious to what was going on around him.

"Actually we can" McGee said "I was just going through our dead killer's phone. He has many calls to an unknown number"

"So what… you can't link that to me" Powell snapped.

"Maybe not… but we can link you to the payments from his bank account" McGee said "I traced the money and linked into one of your slush funds with the money coming from your campaign accounts… that's embezzlement Senator... also our killer was smart enough to record all the conversations he had with his employer… does this sound familiar"

He pressed a button on his keyboard and a conversation sprung up:

"Yes"

"Do you have eyes on the child"

"Affirmative"

"The lawyers are fighting… they are winning… I want that child."

"Yes Sir"

"Get the boy no matter what… I don't care what you have to do… or who you have to hurt… get the child."

"Yes sir… the baby will be with you this afternoon without fail."

Powell remained silent as he listened to the recording and he glowered at them all.

"Agent Gibbs place Formal Senator Powell under arrest for embezzlement, conspiracy to commit a crime, child endangerment and attempted kidnapping" Vance ordered.

"With pleasure Director" Gibbs said moving forward with McGee and Ziva felt a small surge of relief as she realised that they had done it. Thomas was going to be safe. She turned to look up at Tony who smiled at her as he reached up to stroke Tali's hair.

They waited until Powell and his followers had been led away before Tony looked at Ziva "are you ready to reunite Thomas with his mother" he asked gently.

Ziva hesitated lowering Tali to the ground before she turned and took Thomas from Abby hugging the small boy tightly. She held him close before she realised that Thomas was going to be ok, he was going to be with his mother who had risked her life to protect her son. He would be fine.

She looked back up at Tony and nodded and slowly their little group moved round to the conference room with Tali trotting along behind them.

Slowly Tony opened the door to reveal Ava pacing frantically back and forth.

"Hi Ava" he said gently and she spun round to face him "where's my son" she demanded "wheres Thomas… is he ok."

"Just relax" Tony said with a smile before he stepped aside to allow Ziva to step into the room with Thomas.

As soon as she saw her son, Ava's eyes filled with tears and she choked over a sob as she stumbled forward staring at Thomas as he stared at her still clinging to Ziva's jacket.

"Thomas" Ava breathed "Hi baby boy"

Slowly a small smile slid onto Thomas' face as he recognised her and he let out a squeal and held out his arms to his mother.

With another sob Ava moved forward and with a smile Ziva held Thomas out carefully transferring him into his mother's arms.

Ava instantly backed up hugging her son close as the baby rested his head against her chest gabbling away excitedly.

Ziva looked up and smiled at Tony as he moved over to wrap his arms around her bending to lift Tali up as she squeezed through the others who had made their way into the room and clamoured to be lifted up still clearly clingy after her ordeal earlier.

"Mommy daddy" she whispered and they both looked at her "is that Tommy's mommy" she asked and Ziva nodded "yeah that's Tommy's mommy" she whispered.

"That's good" Tali whispered and Ziva smiled looking back at Thomas and Ava.

Slowly Ava looked up at them. "You have been looking after him" she asked.

Tony nodded "this is my wife Ziva" he said "and our daughter Tali… you've been helping look after Tommy haven't you ninja" Tali nodded grinning at everyone.

Slowly Ava sank into one of the chairs kissing the top of her son's head "thank you" she whispered as everyone else settled down in chairs and Tony set Tali on his lap wrapping his arms tight around her "thank you so much… I cannot thank you enough for all that you have done for my son… all of you."

"It was our pleasure" Ziva said smiling at her "he is a sweet little man… we are all going to miss him."

Ava smiled looking at her son as he tried to climb onto the table reaching out to Tali who grinning holding out her hand and Thomas smacked his hand against hers in a high five making her giggle.

"What are you going to do now" Gibbs asked Ava and she sighed "I don't know… I lost my apartment thanks to Powell and his attempts to take Thomas from me… I honestly don't know what I am going to do"

Tony looked at Ziva who looked back at him.

Something passed between the before they both looked at Ava. "You and Thomas can stay with us for a couple of days till you figure something out" Tony said.

Ava looked surprised "really" she said and Tony nodded "really" he said "we want to know that Thomas is ok"

"Thank you" Ava said gratefully "I'll make it up to you in any way I can"

Ziva smiled "I am sure we will figure something out" she said.

"We need to get your statement about everything that happened with Powell" Vance said and Ava nodded "whatever you need" she said.

Ziva relaxed as she leaned back. She took Tali from Tony as he made to take notes and she settled her daughter on her lap hugging her tightly. "You ok" she whispered to her daughter and Tali nodded "bad men gone" she asked quietly and Ziva nodded stroking her hair gently as Tali rested her head against her chest.

For the first time since this whole thing begun she allowed herself to breathe believing that finally things for themselves and for Thomas and Ava too.

Hi guys hope you enjoyed that. Sorry that it took so long again.

Please Review

Thanks

Mysticgirl