Ziva's now limp body fell to the floor and Eli tried to stand up "What did-"
"We asked a question! Who has the money, and who killed my men?!"
Eli looked at Ziva laying there on the floor "You just killed my daughter! You will not get any information out of us! Kill us now, but we will not tell you anything!" He yelled.
The man laughed "Tell us and we will tell you something"
"No! Not a hope in hell!" Mike spat.
The leader rolled his eyes "She isn't dead. We wouldn't kill her, but we want the information"
Eli was about to speak up when Mike decided to interrupt "We'll tell you if you do something for us"
"If it is wake her, then we can't, she will wake in fifteen minutes."
"No. We'll give your money back if you help us get a baby, you men sold, back"
The four masked men looked at each other and conversed before looking back at Mike. "Fine. But we want the money first"
Mike nodded and stood up "I'll go get it" He said with narrowed eyes.
Mike stood up and was gone for a while and Ziva was just starting to rouse when he walked back in "Don't Mike" she muttered.
"They're going to help us get Grace back"
The men looked at Ziva and frowned "The baby we sold…you know her?" they spoke to Ziva.
"Yes…" she said slowly sitting up. "She's mine"
The men shook their heads and stood them all up "You are all coming with me to get this child…where is she?"
"We don't know their exact address"
"I do" Ziva said standing slowly and going to get her note pad. She showed the men and they nodded. "Why are you helping us?" She asked.
"We want our money and our drugs"
Ziva rolled her eyes "I'm coming too"
"Ziva it is-"
"Shut up, I am coming, she is my daughter and I want to make sure she is safe…last time I left her alone this happened"
Eli sighed "Yes…okay…come, but be careful"
Ziva rolled her eyes and looked at the men "One wrong move from you, and you're dead"
They simply responded by walking out the door. Ziva, Mike, Rochelle and Eli followed. They all walked quickly in a formation. The men had allowed Ziva to walk at the front. Eli and Rochelle were at the back. It took them half an hour to get there and when they did Ziva knocked loudly on the door. Alonso answered with Grace in his arms. "Give her to me now" Ziva said sternly.
Grace once again recognised Ziva and struggled to get to her. Alonso kept a firm hold however calling to Francisca. She ran to the door and hate immediately filled her face as soon as she saw Ziva. "We will not give you her"
Ziva's face hardened and she stepped up closer to them both "Give. Her. To. Me. Now!" She snapped.
"No! She is ours, not yours! Back away!"
The leader of the group of men stepped forward "Give me the child now"
"No…she is not yours" They said again.
Mike stepped forward and whispered in Ziva's ear. She turned and nodded and then Mike turned to Francisca and Alonso. "Let's try something. She'd know who her real Mom was…she'd know who has and will always be there for her and keep her safe and do everything in her power to make sure she was okay…she'd know her voice and she'd know after eight months of being with her, that she was who her Mom was. Put Grace down…she can walk…both Ziva and you…what's your name…the woman…will say Grace and see who Grace goes to…if it's Ziva…you have to let her take her daughter back…if its…you" he pointed to Francisca and continued "Then we'll continue to do everything in our power to get her back…"
They all stood around or a long while before Alonso nodded "Okay. But she'll come to us. We are her parents"
Mike nodded and stepped forward and took Grace from him. They stepped out into the street and Ziva stood at one end while Francisca and Alonso stood at the other end. Mike stood in the middle and then put Grace down. She stood unsteadily for a minute before looking at her surroundings. She stared confused for a while and then Mike nodded to Francisca and Alonso who said "Adelina" They each said.
She stood and stared at them and went to walk towards them but Mike quickly nodded towards Ziva "Grace" Said.
Grace immediately stopped and turned to Ziva. She stood between the two for a while before starting to walk towards Francisca and Alonso again. Ziva shook her head and whispered "No…"
Francisca and Alonso looked at Ziva smugly "See. We told you she is ours!"
Grace continued towards them for a few more steps before she turned around and started to make her way to Ziva. This time when Francisca and Alonso called her she didn't stop or even hesitate. She just carried on towards Ziva. As soon as she reached her Ziva bent down and picked her up and held her close. Francisca and Alonso walked over and tried to take Grace from Ziva, but now she had her, she wasn't letting go.
Grace had now snuggled into Ziva and went to sleep. Francisca and Alonso stopped "You got her to sleep…straight away…how?"
"Because she's mine" Ziva snarled.
Francisca and Alonso went to protest and get Grace again but this time everyone who had come with Ziva stepped in front of her. They turned and walked away leaving Francisca and Alonso stood there watching after them. Ziva stopped and turned back around to face them. "Oh…I'm sorry did you want to say goodbye?"
They nodded and started towards Ziva but she laughed and turned around "Not going to happen" she said walking away again. When they got to the barn, Ziva handed Grace to Mike who took her outside and waited. The other dead men were still there as Ziva faced the four that escorted her, Mike, Rochelle and Eli. "You were stupid to think that you were going to walk away from this."
The men frowned and looked at Ziva "Meaning?"
Ziva pulled out two weapons she had been carrying and in seconds the knife was buried in one's head and a bullet in the other. She looked at the leader and raised a single eyebrow. He lifted his real gun to put a bullet in her head but he was stopped by Eli who used his own weapon on the two remaining men. He looked at Ziva as she walked out without a word. As soon as she was out, she took Grace back from Mike and they walked back to the house. As soon as they got their Mike grabbed a computer from his campervan and handed it to Ziva. "Call DiNozzo…he's probably going outta his mind"
Ziva frowned "Why?"
"The last thing he saw was them shooting you in the head…it looked goddamned real and I was right next to you"
Ziva frowned again and looked at her computer with the bullet hole in it. "Oh…" She took the computer from Mike and opened skype up to call Tony.
Mike sat next to her just out of sight of the camera and took Grace from Ziva. She opened skype and Mike grabbed the mouse and Ziva frowned at him and Mike just clicked on M-TAC rather than Tony's name. "They'll probably be doing work right now, to find out who they are."
Ziva nodded and clicked the call button.
*DC* {Going back about an hour}
Tony looked at McGee as he gave him the thumbs up confirming he'd got the warrant. Tony nodded and looked back at Ziva on his screen "Warrant is on its way over…"
Ziva nodded and looked up as someone Tony couldn't see walked in. "You shot them…" The person said to Ziva. Tony cocked his head, confused at what was going on the screen with Ziva and the person he couldn't see.
Ziva frowned "It was this morning…"
"You shot them in front of me…." The woman said
Ziva shrugged "So?"
"I…you…you took their lives like it was nothing…like it was just like…buying candy"
Tony spoke up again "Who did you shoot?"
Ziva turned back to him "The men who sold Grace off to someone else"
Tony nodded "Good"
Rochelle bent down so Tony could see her "It is not 'good' Mr DiNozzo! It is bad! Very, very bad!"
"So you must be the chic who sold our daughter for drugs then?"
"I had no choice!"
Ziva stood up facing her "YOU HAD A CHOICE! YOU COULD EITHER GIVE THEM THE MONEY STRAIGHT UP OR GIVE THEM GRACE!"
Tony snorted at the argument that just erupted on his screen and then turned the volume on his computer down when he was given weird looks from other Agents in the Squadroom, including McGee and Gibbs.
"BUT I DID NOT HAVE THE MONEY!"
"YOU SHOULD HAVE ASKED SOMEONE! NOT JUST GONE AND SOLD SOMEONE ELES' CHILD!"
"YOU DO NOT UNDERSTAND, ZIVA!"
Ziva lowered voice so it was low and angry "What don't I understand? You pretend my daughter is your own then you sell her for drugs when you have not even had her for a day?"
"You don't understand what it is like to be threatened to be killed…they said I could die, give them the money or give them the child"
"I put my life into the hands of another person every day of my life. I have been threatened to be killed more than once. But if I was in this situation, I have people I can go to. People I trust. I would NEVER give someone else's child up. Never."
Tony heard the woman start crying and walked out of the room and Ziva sat to face Tony again and he smiled at her. Not long after Ziva looked back up and her face turned to a shocked expression. Tony was about to ask what was going on but he was stopped by Ziva who held a finger to her lip. He frowned and stayed silent at her request. Not long after a man with a mask grabbed hold of Ziva and pulled her to where the others were now kneeling with guns to their heads. When they spoke it was in English and Tony did his best to stay quiet when he listened. "One of you have got my drug money, and one of you killed my friends. Tell me who or someone will die"
Tony was staring wide eyed at his screen but still stayed silent as they shoved Ziva to the floor as well and also put a gun to her head. "You think you'll find out this way?" Ziva spat out.
Tony shook his head and muttered "Don't talk to them like that!" worried they'd do something to her.
"Yes this is exactly the way we'll find out!" The man said.
"No one is telling you anything you brain dead idiot!" Ziva snarled. Tony sat staring at screen and the silence that now filled the room in Tel-Aviv sent shivers down his spine. It lasted a while until the leader of the four men nodded once and a gun fire went off.
Tony watched as Ziva's eyes slid shut and her body fell to the floor, limp. His eyes widened and this time he didn't bother staying quiet. "No!" He said loudly. Not long after the screen went fuzzy and then black. Now Gibbs and McGee were staring at him with looks of concern on their faces.
"DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked.
"They shot her" Tony blurted out.
"Who, DiNozzo?"
"Ziva…they….they….put a goddamned bullet in her head!"
"Who?"
"The people who were behind Grace being sold. They….they went to…"
Gibbs cut him off "Stop…stop…McGee…you can get the previous footage right?"
"Yeah boss" He stood up and moved to Tony's computer "Tony can I…"
Tony hadn't moved and was staring at the black screen "I…she…they killed her boss…"
"DiNozzo, move out of McGee's way…he needs your computer"
Tony stood up slowly and stepped out of McGee's way, who sat down. Gibbs lent on the desk so he could see the screen. Tony watched over their shoulders as McGee backed the video up then played it again. They watched Ziva fall to the ground three times before Tony pulled the plug out. "Can you stop? I think you've enough times" He snapped.
They looked up at him and McGee nodded "Yeah." He looked up at Tony who was stood there, a look of shock still on his face"
Abby, Jimmy and Ducky came up and looked at them "Do we got something on the case?" Abby asked at their faces, gathered around Tony's computer.
Gibbs shook his head "No"
"Well…what's…all this?" She said waving her hand at them.
Tony looked at her "They shot Ziva"
"What? Who and where did they shoot her?"
"I don't know who they are but they shot her in the head…"
Abby shook her head "No…no, no, no, no"
"No what, Abby. She's still dead. Saying no won't change that."
Abby walked over to Tony and hugged him tightly. "I'm so sorry…" She said. She pulled back and sniffed, wiping her tear filled eyes.
Jenny walked down from her office and faced the team, who all had depressed looks on their faces; including Gibbs. "What's going on?"
"Ziva was killed" Gibbs said.
Tony stood up "She said they couldn't hurt her…she said that she'd be fine…she kept me here so I didn't get hurt but now she's dead…if I had just went anyway then she wouldn't be…she would be alive…"
Gibbs shook his head "I doubt that, DiNozzo. You'd probably be dead instead"
Tony shook his head "Better than her"
"You think so? You think she'd be able to cope with losing another person she loves?"
Tony shrugged but stayed silent. Gibbs shook his head "No. She wouldn't."
"Well there is nothing we can do so what' the point?" He said and slumped down into his chair again. He sat and stared at the photo of Grace and Ziva he now had on his pin-board. When Abby went to comfort him Gibbs shook his head. "I've lost them both, Gibbs…"
Gibbs shook his head "We can still get Grace back."
Tony shook his head "I don't know if I want her back"
They all looked at him shocked "What?"
"Firstly, she'll always be reminding me of Ziva and secondly, it's her fault"
Abby jumped in snapping at Tony "Firstly, since when was that a bad thing? She is your daughter! Ziva was your fiancée. Being reminded of her everyday….is that such a bad thing? And secondly, you're blaming all this on a tiny baby who doesn't even know how to speak? It isn't her fault! How dare you?!"
Tony looked at her angry face and then at Gibbs who nodded and stepped forward and Gibbs slapped him. "Thank you boss." He looked at the photo again "I…I want them back…Grace and Ziva…" He shook his head "And I only get one"
Gibbs looked at Tony and sighed. He knew exactly what Tony was going through, but there was nothing he could or would be able to do to make him feel better. Jenny looked at the team and turned around "I need to inform Sec-Nav" She said walking out briskly.
They all sat in silence for a long while before Jenny yelled over the banister "There is a call coming into M-TAC from Mike Franks"
They all jumped up and ran up the stairs to M-TAC and walked in. Jenny nodded to the operator and he pressed the answer button. Each and every one of them took a sharp intake of breath when they saw Ziva on the screen. Tony was the first to speak "You're alive…you're okay…"
Ziva nodded "They used a stun gun to make it look like I was killed."
Tony nodded and smiled "Thank God…thank God…I thought you were dead"
Ziva nodded "I know."
"What happened to the men?" Gibbs asked.
"My father and I killed them"
Tony nodded "And…um…how did you get on with…Grace?"
Ziva smiled and turned slightly reaching forward. Everyone in M-TAC frowned, confused by what she's doing until she turned back, but with Grace in her arms. Sighs of relief went round M-TAC and Tony stepped forward and looked at them both "How?"
"We used our resources then Mike had an idea."
"You coming home then?"
Ziva nodded and looked at Grace was tugging her hair. She moved it out of Grace's hands because it had started to hurt. She nodded facing Grace who smiled at her and snuggled into her, hiding her face. "Yes…I've booked a flight."
Tony nodded and breathed another sigh of relief. "Next time, I'm coming with you."
Ziva shook her head "There won't be a next time"
Tony smiled. "When's your flight?"
"This evening…seven pm"
Tony nodded "That would be the morning here…so I'll see you in about fifteen hours"
Ziva nodded and looked to her left then back at the screen "Mike would like to talk to you, Gibbs." She said standing up. Mike moved so they could all see him but Tony didn't take his eyes off Ziva and Grace. She went and sat of the sofa and was joined not long after by Rochelle, who tried to take Grace from her but Ziva didn't let her. Tony blanked out what everyone else was saying so he could hear the conversation between Ziva and Rochelle.
"May I hold her?" Rochelle asked.
"No. You were the one who sold her. I'm never going to trust you again Rochelle"
"Ziva, we all make mistakes"
"It wasn't a mistake. You purposefully lied to Mike before you went a sold her for drugs"
"Ziva…"
Ziva cut her off "No…when I leave this house tomorrow, you're never going to hear from me…or my family again"
Eli walked over and Ziva turned to him "It is also going to take me a very long time to forgive you"
"Ziva…"
"You all keep saying my name but it will not change anything. Rochelle you sold her for drugs. You think me or him…" She gestured at the screen with Tony in the back ground "…will ever forgive you?" Rochelle shook her head. Ziva then looked at Eli "And you…you promised me you'd look after her…you promised you'd not dump her on a nanny…but you did"
"Technally it wasn't a nanny"
"What is the difference? You made a promise you could have kept but you didn't…I trusted you to look after her…I thought, for once in my life, you were going to do something I wanted. I thought you cared. But just like every other time, you let me down. But this time, it wasn't just me. You let Tony and Grace down as well" She said. She stood up despite her father's protests and walked out the room. Tony walked out of M-TAC as soon as Ziva left that room and walked back down to the office where McGee Abby and McGee were sat. "So…she's alive then"
Tony nodded "Obviously"
"If Ziva finds out you said-"
Tony cut Abby off "She isn't going to find out."
"You mean you're not going to tell her?" McGee asked.
"No, and neither are you"
They nodded and stayed silent until Gibbs ran down from M-TAC. "When's she coming home DiNozzo?"
"Her flights at like ten am our time. She'll be here in fifteen or so hours."
"She'll get back at one am?"
"Yeah, so?"
Gibbs shot him a warning look, at his attitude but said nothing "So, I was wondering how she'd get home to your apartment at that time. No public transport, no cabs"
"I'm obviously gonna pick her up…" He said as if Gibbs was stupid.
Gibbs gave him another warning stare but again said nothing about it "You're gonna stay awake until one am?"
"Maybe. Or I'll set an alarm for half twelve. Whatever that case, I don't care"
Gibbs nodded and they worked for the rest of the day until Gibbs sent them home. Tony sat in the half built living room watching films until twelve thirty. He was exhausted and almost asleep but he knew he had to go pick Ziva, Mike and Grace up. He got to the airport and walked through the doors and waited in the lobby for Ziva. He didn't know how long he was stood there but he was startled by a woman who walked up to him. "Hello" She said.
He looked at her "Hi…"
"So…late…you got a flight somewhere?"
"No…I'm picking someone up"
"Oh, really…who?"
"My bosses friend, my fiancée and my daughter"
"Oh…well stay safe"
Tony frowned as she walked away and shook his head. People were getting weirder and weirder. He looked at the flight board and frowned…their flight was supposed to land fifteen minutes ago. The board didn't say there were any delays. He sighed and sat down in the waiting area and then lay on the chair. He didn't realise he'd fallen asleep but he was woken by security. "Sir…are you okay?"
Tony sat up "Yeah, I'm waiting for the one am flight from Tel-Aviv"
The security guard raised his eye brows "That landed half an hour ago, in terminal three…you're at four"
Tony jumped up and looked at the board and swore. The security guard smiled don't panic. I can get you to three in five minutes." He gestured to the buggy that was sat there.
Tony nodded and jumped in. Just like the security guard said they were at terminal three in five minutes. Tony jumped out then turned and quickly said to the guard "Can you give me ten minutes…I'm picking my friend, my fiancée and my nine month old daughter up and my cars at terminal four…"
The guard nodded "No worries"
Tony nodded thanks and went in search of Ziva. He saw her stood out front with Mike and Grace, her phone out and pressed to her ear. When he started to walk over he heard part of her convocation. "On your card it says you're a twenty four hour cab company, yet you cannot pick us up from the airport? What kind of joke is this?"
Tony walked over to her and she turned and saw him, walking towards her. She hung up the phone and smiled at him "I wasn't expecting you to come and get us" She said as he reached them. In reply he just wrapped his arms tightly round her and Grace, who was in her arms, staying silent. Ziva wrapped the arm that wasn't holding Grace around him and breathed in his smell. "Now do you understand why I didn't want you to come along?" She asked.
He just nodded. They stayed like that until Mike cleared his throat. "Hate to interrupt but its gettin late and I was hoping to get some sleep."
Tony pulled away from Ziva and nodded. "Sorry" He said. Mike just shook his head and picked up his bags. Tony took Grace from Ziva and supported her in one arm and then took Ziva's hand interlocking their fingers before walking back in. Tony didn't let go of Ziva once on the journey home, even when he was driving. It was almost as if he was afraid if he did, then she would disappear and she would be dead and this was all a dream. They set up the couch for Mike and walked into their room settling Grace down before going to bed themselves. Tony wrapped his arms around Ziva, and ran his finger over the spot on her head where she would have been shot.
"What are you doing?" She whispered.
"Making sure you're all here"
"I am, Tony…stop worrying"
"Can't help it…can't lose you"
"You're not going to, Tony, okay?"
Tony nodded before kissing her head and falling asleep, with her wrapped tightly in his embrace.
Didn't post before becuase I had a maths exam so I had to study...got anther one on Monday so gonna study for that too... :)
