Chapter 10 Part 2
After they had left the nurse's station, Ziva and Tony slowly walked, dazed and stunned by the recent development, down the hall passing a small chapel; McGee walked alongside them. They stopped in their tracks, then looked into the chapel, which for the moment was empty. As they turned and entered the room, a rabbi appeared and wordlessly motioned them to a pew so they could mourn in private, then retreated to the altar.
As Tony sat in the pew, McGee nodded at them and whispered, "I'll see if I can get a hold of AJ and Becky."
"Oh, please, do." Ziva looked up at McGee, and a tear started following the same path that previous tears had followed from her eyes.
McGee smiled and whispered, "I'll be back in a bit." He stood up and quietly left the chapel.
As Ziva started to sob again, Tony put his arm around Ziva, gently pulling her toward him and holding her tightly, and tilted his head on her head and shoulder. "I've got you, sweetcheeks," he whispered her, comforting her. As he held her, he rubbed her back and fought back his own tears, his throat tightening.
After a short while, he heard soft footsteps behind him. "Dad? Ima?" The soft dulcet tones reached their ears, and Tony looked up to see Becky and AJ standing beside them. "Uncle Tim told us to meet you here," Becky whispered.
Tony lifted his head higher and gulped audibly; his throat was dry, raw. He nodded and patted the seat next to him. "Please, sit."
"I'll sit next to him, you sit next to Ima." AJ's voice was barely above a whisper as he stepped around to sit next to Tony. Becky nodded and wordlessly sat next to Ziva and held her in a hug.
"Th-thanks for-" Ziva hiccuped slightly; she had been crying nonstop. "For coming." She patted Becky's lap.
"Dad, what is it?" AJ looked around at Tony, concern on his face. "It's not Ethan, is it?"
All Tony could do was shake his head, which he did very slowly, tears sprinkling down onto his lap as he shook his head.
"Oh!" A fresh bout of sobbing ensued from Ziva. She held her hands in front of her eyes and covered them, resting her elbows on the pew in front of her, and started praying in Hebrew.
Tony leaned forward with his head in one hand and the other hand rubbing Ziva's back. He too was sobbing.
AJ and Becky looked at each other, puzzled. AJ leaned forward and looked at Tony. "Dad, what is it?"
"Adam's -" He choked back tears. He abruptly got up, trying to fight back his tears but failing.
Ziva looked up. "Where are you going?" She reached out and grasped his hand.
Tony sighed and took in a deep, ragged breath. "How do I say this?" he muttered under his breath, his grip tightening slightly on Ziva's hand. Her touch was reassuring, calming to him, and his breathing slowed slightly.
Ziva gently pulled Tony back into his seat. She looked at the two teenagers, then gulped hard. "There was a bicycle accident. Adam's gone."
AJ and Becky gasped, and tears started streaming down their cheeks as they hugged their parents. "Nooo-o-o-o-o," Becky moaned.
Ziva took Becky into her arms and held her tightly as tears flowed.
"I was talking to him this morning," AJ numbly said. "He's gone? As in, not here anymore?"
"No." Tony managed to say, the single word coming out almost as if he choked on the word.
Ziva got up, pulling Becky up with her, and slowly walked toward the altar and the candles. After a beat, Tony got up and shuffled over to the altar to stand next to Ziva. AJ held Tony and steadied him as they walked toward the altar. Ziva started praying in quiet Hebrew, her voice unsteady and shaking from her grief. Tony held Ziva and AJ, as Becky held Ziva and Tony, as Ziva lit the candles in prayer.
After having said the prayers for the family and the loss they had suffered, Ziva slowly walked back to the pew and sat down, and Becky and AJ sat on either side of her. Tony knelt next to the pew and faced Ziva. "I'll be right back. Someone needs to call Tali. You'll be alright?" Tony looked intently into Ziva's eyes.
"Dad, do you need me go with you?" AJ started to get up.
Tony held up a hand. "Anthony, I'll be alright. I need you to stay here with your Ima and your sister for a bit. I will be right back." Tony reached over to pat AJ on his shoulder, before turning to walk away.
Ziva turned around toward Tony, "Tony..."
Tony turned around back to Ziva, "At lo levad. I'll check on -" The words stuck in his throat. He swallowed hard. "I'll be right back. If I'm not, then chances are I'll be in Ethan's room." Tony took another deep breath, then turned around and walked out the room.
"Alright." Ziva nodded and watched as he left. When Ziva saw Tony's figure disappear from the doorway, she looked back down at Becky and AJ, then held both close to her, singing quietly in Hebrew as she closed her eyes in meditation as Becky and AJ were sobbing gently, their heads resting on Ziva's shoulders.
Tony walked back to the nurses' station and paused, taking a deep breath. He tried to compose himself the best he could, then looked into Ethan's semi-dark room. Taking another deep breath, he slowly walked into Ethan's room, stopping at the corner of the bathroom and peeking around. He looked at Ethan's – Adam's? - peaceful face, sleeping. He blinked his eyes and looked again. No matter how hard he tried, he kept seeing Adam instead of Ethan.
"F-f-f-f..." He quickly stepped out of the room. He smacked himself in the back of his head hard, several times, as tears flowed afresh. "I can't," he muttered to himself as he paced the hallway floor.
"Man up." He mentally felt a head-slap. He gasped and looked up, and saw nobody.
"Gibbs?" Tony whispered, blinking his eyes. He rubbed the back of his head involuntarily.
"Go back in there. Tell him." Gibbs' voice resounded loudly in his head.
Tony gulped and nodded slightly. "Yes, boss," he whispered as he walked back into the room. He stood at the foot of the bed and watched as Ethan peacefully slept. He slowly walked up the side of the bed closer to Ethan. "Oh, my son," Tony whispered to Ethan.
Just then, Ethan took in a deep breath, and stirred in the bed. He opened his eyes and looked at Tony. "It's okay, Dad. I know." He then curled up and went back to sleep.
Tony's blood ran cold, and he was shaken to his core. He gasped and blinked his eyes. "Ethan?" He gently put his hand on Ethan's shoulder, then on the top of his head. As he did so, a flash went through his mind, a sudden image of a car coming up rapidly to meet a bicycle rider -
"Oof!" Tony turned and ran out of the room and stopped a short distance away. He collapsed to the floor, shaking. Suddenly, seemingly from out of nowhere, he felt McGee's hands on his back and shoulder.
"Hey, bud. I got ya." McGee's voice reached Tony's ears.
"Ethan -" Tony gasped and looked up sharply at McGee. His mind had tripped over itself a long time ago and was still trying to process what had just happened to him. He gulped. "How did he know?" Tony muttered.
McGee looked puzzled at Tony. "I don't follow?"
"H-he knows," Tony stuttered. He shakily got up, and McGee steadied him. "How he knows... beyond me."
McGee's eyebrow raised. "Ethan knows Adam's gone?"
"I didn't tell him, he showed me." Tony automatically said, as he turned to walk back toward Ethan's room.
"Oh." McGee's arms fell to his sides as he watched Tony walk into the room. He walked to the doorway and looked in.
Tony took a deep breath, then he went toward the bed, looking at Ethan, and noticed a tear falling from the side of Ethan's eye. "McGeek, look!" Tony looked toward the doorway and whispered, pointing to the tear.
McGee quietly stepped into the room and looked where Tony was pointing. He raised an eyebrow and his mouth opened in a small "o". He couldn't believe what he was seeing. "Wow, he sure does." He slowly stepped back to the doorway.
Tony reached out and gently rubbed Ethan's head. "I'm here, Ethan." Tony bent over to kiss on top of Ethan's forehead, then pulled the blanket a little further up onto him to make sure he was warm. Ethan sighed, turned over, and settled down into a quiet deep sleep, as if he was comforted by the touch of his dad. Tony then walked over to the chair and sat down heavily on the chair, then he dug out his phone and held it to his chest for a moment, looking at Ethan, deep in thought. After a moment, he looked at the phone display as he brought up the contacts list. He heard one of the machines beep and he looked up at Ethan, making sure he was there. He sighed with a relief, then hit the speed dial for Tali.
Back at the Olive Grove home, Tali had just finished nursing her 6-month-old Sarah and was placing her in her crib when she heard a phone ringing off in the distance. Ben'll get it, she thought to herself, as she walked toward the kitchen.
"Hello Pops," Ben grabbed Tali's phone off the kitchen table and answered it. He listened as he fed Brett a spoonful of his cereal. He looked up as Tali walked into the kitchen and nodded. "Oh yeah, Tali just walked in the kitchen. Hang on." Ben held the phone away from his ear, and then held it out to Tali. "Tali, it's your Dad. He says it's important."
Puzzled, Tali looked up at the clock. "But it's 6:05am, why would he be calling us this early?"
Ben raised an eyebrow and shook his head. "No idea. I've got the kids. Here." He shook the phone in the air once, offering it to Tali.
Tali took the phone from Ben. "I'll be back." She turned and walked toward the living room and looked out the big picture window out to the olive grove. She lifted the phone to her ear. "Hello Daddy, it's me. It's 6 in the morning here. Is everything alright?" Tali bit her lips as she looked out of the window, looking over at Rivka's house, noticing that a light was on in her house.
"Hi my darling." Tony's voice cracked as he spoke. "I wish I was calling under better circumstances." Tony gasped, coughed lightly as he cleared his throat. "Are you sitting down?"
Tali slowly sat down on the couch, hearing the crack and emotion in his voice. "Yeah, I'm sitting down, why?" Her anxiety started to creep up inside her, and she bit her lip as she waited to hear her dad speak.
"Tali, I'm so sorry to tell you this." Tony gulped back tears. "It's Adam... He had a bike accident, and... your brother died..." Tony dissolved into tears as he dropped his phone.
"No-o-o-o-o-o-o!" Tali dropped the phone and screamed, causing Ben to rush into the room.
"What is it?" Ben held Tali in his embrace as she started sobbing.
After a few moments of sobbing in Ben's arms, she calmed down enough that she could speak. "Adam's dead, bike accident." She shook her head. "I need space, I need to tell Savta." She got up and walked out of the house, then ran toward Rivka's house, sobbing. She knocked on the door.
It was only a moment before Rivka opened the door. "Oh, Tali. What's wrong?" She enveloped Tali in her hug, and gently guided her into the living room.
"Savta! Savta!" Tali looked at Rivka through tear-blurred eyes.
"Honey, what happened?" Rivka asked. "Is it Ima? Dad?"
Tali sniffled, wiping her tears away from her eyes. She shook her head. "Savta, my dad just called. Adam got in a bike accident, and he died!" Tali wailed. Tears started flowing down Rivka's cheeks as she held Tali close to her and started singing in Hebrew and rocking Tali.
Back at the hospital room, Tony had just walked out of the bathroom after having washed the tears off of his face from all the crying earlier. He paused at the doorway to steady himself and try to clear his head. He heard footsteps walking into the room, and he looked up just in time to see Ziva walking into the room with Becky and AJ. "Hi, Dad," AJ said as they went to sit on the day bed while Ziva went and sat by Ethan.
"You're back." Tony smiled and sighed. He slowly walked over to Ziva and sat next to her, rubbing her back, leaning toward her, kissing her on the side of her head. After a moment, he whispered into Ziva's ear. "Just called Tali. Ben's got the kids while she's with your Ima now." Tony slowly leaned back up and let out a slow breath.
Ziva swallowed and nodded. "Thanks," was all she could say at the moment.
Tony nodded, then looked at Ethan, contemplating the sudden gaping void left in his heart by the sudden loss of Adam. How his heart ached.
Suddenly, Ethan started stirring in his sleep, and muttered, "Adam...Adam...don't go...No...no!" His breathing became ragged and his voice more agitated.
Ziva jumped up from her chair and started rubbing Ethan's arm, then rubbing on his chest. "Ethan? It's me, Ima." She knew that Ethan couldn't hear her, but she said it anyway.
A nurse materialized, seemingly out of nowhere. "He might be having a nightmare. Keep doing what you're doing, it seems to be calming him down some." She pointed toward Ethan, whose movements were becoming less and less agitated at Ziva's touch.
Ziva looked up at the nurse. "Yeah." She bit her lip and tried to hold back a tear. "Adam's his -" She swallowed a lump in her throat. "His twin brother."
"Oh, I'm sorry." The nurse's voice was calm, soothing. "Ziva, keep talking to him. Let him know you're here for him."
Ziva nodded and smiled a quick smile, then looked back at Ethan. She rubbed his chest again. "Ethan? Ima's here."
Ethan slowly stirred awake and looked up at Ziva. "Ima?" He caught sight of Tony next to Ziva. "Dad?"
Tony looked at Ethan. "Hi little man, I'm here." Tony signed the word "here" and smiled at Ethan. He let out a huge internal sigh of relief that Ethan had made it through so far and sat by Ziva.
Ethan looked around the room, slightly confused, then looked at each person in the room. He took a deep breath, then looked at Tony, then Ziva. Adam's dead? His hands formed the words in the air.
Ziva and Tony looked at each other. They had an unnerving hunch that Ethan knew the moment that it had happened. Ziva reached out and held Ethan's hand, as a tear trickled down her cheek. Her hands flew through the air. Yes, Adam's dead. Bicycle accident.
"Oh," Ethan said, the word sounding very small in the still air. He turned toward the window and looked out at the evening sky, a tear falling from his eye.
A sniffle. Tony turned toward the sound. Becky and AJ already had tears from that simple exchange. Tony looked back at Ziva, who was comforting Ethan.
"How he knows, I have no idea," Tony muttered to no one in particular. A sudden itch cropped up on the back of his head and he reached up to scratch it, wincing at the itch.
Ziva shook her head slightly. How did you know?
Ethan shrugged. He whispered as he signed. "I dreamed about him. I dreamed that I got hit hard, and then was flying through the air. It hurt here." He pointed to his stomach.
Tony gulped and held back tears. He blurted out, "I was in here earlier and he was sleeping and he just opened his eyes and said 'I know, Dad' and then went back to sleep. I ran out of there, it spooked me so bad."
Ziva looked at Tony and raised an eyebrow. "You didn't tell me?"
Tony slowly shook his head. "That wasn't Ethan talking earlier. That was Adam talking." His whisper was hoarse.
Ziva let her hand fall to her lap. "What exactly are you saying, Tony?" Suddenly, Ziva's face changed. "Wait, I think I understand." She sat still for a moment, eyes closed, deep in thought.
Tony leaned over and looked into her face. "Understand what?"
Ziva held up a finger. "What time did he get sick?"
Tony scratched his head. "Had to be around 1:30 in the afternoon-"
"What time did the accident happen?" She reached over and pulled the charts out and flipped through the admission records. "Hm. Says approximately the same thing."
"Ima?" Ziva turned back toward Ethan. "Why am I here?"
"Well," Ziva spoke, then sighed. "Apparently you got sick at the same time Adam had his... accident." This she signed as well as voiced. "The doctors have no idea why, and they want to keep you here for the night to keep an eye on you."
Ethan nodded. "Oh." He looked around and saw the nurse. "Hungry."
"I'll see what I can do." The nurse smiled at Ethan, then turned to Ziva and said, more quietly, "I'll see if the doctor's okay with him eating something. He may want to start with Jello at first."
Ziva nodded. "Sounds good."
Tony nodded. "Yeah. No pizza for now." He let out a sigh.
"Pizza?" Ethan sat up a little straighter in his bed and smiled, albeit a bit weakly.
Ziva turned on Tony and raised an eyebrow. "Look what you've done now." She shook her head at Tony.
Tony sat up straighter and said, "I said -" and pantomimed "No pizza!"
"But, Dad, pizza sure sounds good." AJ's voice reached Tony's ears.
"Out. All of you. Go get your pizza elsewhere. Not here." Ziva shooed them all from the room.
"You want something, Ziva?" Tony asked as she was shooing him out the door.
Ziva shook her head. "Not right now. Save me some salad and some pizza for later." She winked her eye. "Just when he's asleep," she whispered and smiled.
AJ and Tony chuckled. Becky said, "I'll be sure the boys don't hog all the pizza for you."
Ziva chuckled. "Are you planning on stopping by home?"
Tony pointed to his clothes. "Well, of course. I'd like to come back a new man, right?"
Ziva nodded and chuckled. "Go. I'll see you later." She smiled and waved him off. "Becky, don't forget to pack some of Ethan's things for tomorrow. Get me a set of sweats, while you're at it."
Becky nodded. "Will do." She smiled and turned to walk away.
A couple of hours later, Tony and Becky came back into the room. Tony had a fresh change of clothes on and was carrying a small bag for Ziva with her change of clothes and phone chargers. Ziva looked at Tony and Becky as they entered the room. "Oh, hi. They just brought Ethan back."
"Oh, what tests did they do? CAT scan, MRI?" Tony looked at Ziva as he dropped the bag on the day bed.
Ziva nodded. "I was there almost the whole time with him. He's still a bit drowsy from his medication, so we had to wake him up a few times. The medication's starting to wear out, so he might be a little fussy for a bit." She shrugged. "At least he was responding to commands."
Tony nodded. "Ah. Got some clothes for you." He pointed to the bag.
Ziva nodded. "Thanks." She reached out for the backpack that Becky was holding. "Ethan's?"
"Yeah, at least I think so." Becky held out the backpack. "I also got his spare batteries in case he needed them for his sound processors."
Ziva smiled. "Good thinking. Thanks, this should do for now."
"I was wondering if it's alright with you, that I go visit John?" Becky asked.
Ziva sat still for just a second with a slightly puzzled look on her face. She suddenly snapped out of it. "Oh, yes, John. I completely forgot. Yes, you can go visit him. I think he'd like that." She smiled at Becky.
"Great. I'll be back in a bit," Becky said before walking out the room.
A few moments later, Ethan stirred awake when the nurse walked in carrying a meal tray. "Hi Ethan, dinner time!"
Ethan sat up further in bed and looked at the meal tray. "What do we got?"
The nurse lifted the lid off the meal tray. "Okay, we've got Jello, we've got crackers, and mashed potatoes. Wanna see how you do with soft food first." Ziva translated what the nurse said to Ethan.
Ethan watched Ziva's signing, then looked down at the tray. He batted the Jello off the meal tray. "No green Jello!" The Jello flew off the tray with enough force to travel in an arc over the side of the bed, landing face down on the floor with a wet splat inches from Tony's feet.
"Whoa little man!" Tony walked around the spilled cup of Jello on the floor, as he went toward to the bed. "Ethan, don't you like green Jello? I thought you did." Tony tried his best to use his rusty sign language along with his speech.
"No!" Ethan's hand flashed the sign. He looked up at Tony, tears in his eyes, as if he was ready to cry.
The nurse spoke up. "What color would you like instead?"
Ziva turned to the nurse, and she said/signed, "Let's try orange."
Ethan perked up as his eyes widened open, "Orange Jello, yeah!"
Ziva looked down at Ethan and smiled. "We'll see if they have any in stock," she signed to Ethan. She then looked up at Tony and whispered, "I think I know why. Anything green reminds him of... Adam."
Tony sighed and nodded. "They were talking about the color green. His sound processors."
Just then, the nurse came back in. "Looks like we got some orange in stock. Here you go, young man." She smiled as she handed him the orange Jello.
"Thanks!" Ethan smiled, and ate a few bites.
Tony leaned over to Ziva. "I'm going over to see how McGeek's doing, I'll be back in a bit."
"Don't be long." Ziva smiled and watched him leave.
A short time later, Ethan had finished eating. "All done. Feels better, some."
The nurse came in. "All done? Need anything else?"
"Can I get cleaned up? I usually have a bath before bed, helps me sleep better." Ethan pushed his meal tray away from him just a bit on the hospital table.
"Oh, sure, we can certainly do that." The nurse smiled. She turned to Ziva. "You mind helping?"
"Sure." Ziva nodded. "He's deaf without his sound processors, so I have to sign to him what he misses."
"Ah." The nurse smiled and helped Ethan out of the bed to the shower.
Eventually, Tony returned from visiting McGee and knocked on the shower room door. Ziva opened the door. "Hey Tony, did you pack Adam's clothes in the bag that you brought over?" Ziva whispered into his ear.
Tony shook his head at Ziva. "No, Becky packed that bag. She might have grabbed the wrong clothes by mistake." He winced slightly. "Why?"
The nurse looked up at Ziva and Tony. "I just checked his vitals, he is stable so far. I think the shower had helped him overall." The nurse stood up and walked out of the room to change the bed.
Ziva sighed. "A little breakdown in the shower, but we managed to help Ethan through it." She rubbed at her red-rimmed eyes, wiping away a tear.
Tony sighed. "It was those clothes, huh?" He leaned his tall frame against the wall of the shower room. "Adam's?"
Ziva guided him to the clothes and pulled out a shirt. "He's currently wearing one of Adam's pajama pants, he has no choice."
Tony sighed gently. "Like I said, Becky packed his bag -" Before Tony could say anything, Becky suddenly walked in the room, stopping by Tony.
Becky had heard what Tony had said. "What's up?"
Tony sighed. "Look at Ethan." He pointed toward Ethan. He was mentally slapping himself across the face, trying his best to remind himself that this was Ethan in the bed in front of him, not Adam. After all, he had only seen Adam in those pajamas the night before.
Becky saw the look in her father's face, and it stole the words from her mouth. She slowly turned toward Ethan. He was wearing one of Adam's pajama bottoms and had one of Adam's blankets on him. "Did you like what I packed? I thought you would like that." Becky smiled gently, rubbing Ethan's shoulder.
"These aren't my clothes, they're Adam's." A tear started forming at one corner of Ethan's eyes. He held the blanket and slowly caressed it.
Becky gasped. "Oh my gosh! I am so sorry, I wasn't sure whose was whose. I tried my best to pick out the clothes." She held her hand to her mouth.
"That's alright, you did awesome, sis." Ethan's/Adam's voice said.
Becky's head whipped around to Ziva, then back to Ethan. She gasped. That voice sounded so much like Adam! "Uhh, you're welcome!" Her eyes blinked.
Ziva blinked. "Are you sure you're fine with this?" She held out a shirt for Ethan.
Ethan nodded. "He's fine with me wearing it."
Ziva smiled and nodded. "If it's fine with... Adam... then here's your shirt." She held out the shirt for Ethan.
Ethan turned to Becky. "Thanks for bringing them over."
Becky took a deep breath, then gave Ethan a hug, kissing on top of Ethan's forehead, patting his head. "Anytime, my little brother".
Just then, the sound of raised voices coming from the hallway jangled Ziva's nerves. "Oh! Now what?" She looked at the doorway and sighed.
"Dad?" Becky looked at Tony, then at Ziva, and bit her lip for just a split-second. "Ima, I think I know that voice. The reason I came here was that I was basically kicked out of the room by that woman." Becky shrugged, then got up and walked over to Ethan's side.
Ziva glanced at Tony, then looked at Becky, eyebrow raised. "Who kicked you out?"
Becky sighed. "John's mother. Uhmm..." she grimaced her face, trying to bring up the name that went with the face, snapping her fingers in the air. "Delilah, I think? She just rolled in there in her chair and told me to get out then laid into Uncle Tim."
"Wow, what got into that woman?" Tony scoffed. "You would think that it's coming to the end of the world, the way she's carrying on out there."
Ziva looked at Ethan, who was sleeping peacefully, then she covered him up with the blanket. She then looked at Becky. "Will you sit by him?" She got a nod. "There's some snacks on the table there. I'll go see what's up." Ziva pivoted on her heels and grabbed Tony's arm just long enough to make him get up, then briskly walked out of the room down the hallway toward the argument.
"- what were you thinking about, John?! You, not paying attention to where your friend was going?" Delilah's voice reached a crescendo as Ziva stopped in the hallway and looked down toward John's room.
"OUT!" John's voice bellowed. "I don't need your drama, Mother! I'm trying to rest here, my headache's killing me."
Ziva sighed as a moment of silence ensued. She turned in the direction and took a step, but stopped again as she saw Delilah being pushed out of the room by McGee.
"No! Just – you stop right now!" Delilah grabbed the wheels of her chair trying to stop the chair, but McGee manhandled the chair further away from the door and stopped her a short distance away from the room.
"No. I've also had enough. It's been a long day. I don't care if your party night's been ruined, this is your son we're talking about here!" McGee stepped around to face Delilah and held up a finger in the air. "Enough, I said!"
Delilah locked the brakes on her chair and raised a finger in the air. "And what were you doing, not keeping an eye on your son? Sitting around in front of the computer writing your sappy stories? Writing little snippets of code?" She pantomimed typing out on a typewriter. "It's his fault his friend died in the accident!"
"Oh, no, she didn't!" Ziva muttered and started walking briskly down the hallway, fire in her eyes.
McGee saw what was about to happen and took a couple of steps back and slightly out of the way. "No, that's not true!"
Delilah jammed her brakes into the unlocked position and started wheeling toward McGee. "What, are you afraid to confront the truth? That he caused his friend to die?"
McGee flattened himself onto the hallway wall just as Ziva grabbed the handles of Delilah's wheelchair with enough force to cause Delilah to shriek and react as if she got rear-ended, and started wheeling her briskly down the hallway toward the bank of elevators.
"You'll not be saying those things if I were you!" Ziva growled at Delilah.
Delilah tried to grab onto the wheels to stop the chair, but Ziva was too strong. "But-"
Ziva rattled the chair sideways as she bulldozed down the hallway. "My son was his friend! And he died in that accident! How dare you say that?!" Her voice cracked. She turned sharply into the bank of elevators and stopped almost hard enough to unseat Delilah, then spun her around to face her. "You have no right to be saying those things to your son! To McGee!"
"But-" Delilah gulped. She had forgotten how Ziva had looked over the years. What she saw before her was a face full of fury, one that said, you say one more wrong thing and I will take your head off and hand it to you on a silver platter.
"No!" Ziva cut her off. "I will not allow some hussy to come in here and smear them all over the place when it's not even their fault?" Ziva reached behind her and pressed a button.
"That's right!" McGee stepped up beside Ziva. "That's what I was trying to tell you, but you wouldn't shut up!" Spittle flew from McGee's lips as he yelled directly into her face.
Delilah looked sharply at McGee. "You don't have to be so dramatic!"
Ziva put her face an inch away from Delilah's. "No! You have no room here! You will never step foot near my family again, not after what you've said!" Ziva reached up and jammed her fingers on the elevator call button again.
"Whoa, now!" Tony stepped up and put his hand on Ziva's back and started rubbing it. "Let's take it down a notch, okay?" Tony glared at Delilah.
Delilah scoffed. "Sorry I didn't realize it was your son. Which one was it?"
"Are you serious?!" McGee scoffed. "I told you who it was, countless times!"
"Come on!" Ziva muttered through gritted teeth, repeatedly pressing the elevator call button. She scoffed and put her face close to Delilah's again. "Do you do this on purpose, not listen to people? Are you that dumb?"
"No-"
Ziva tilted her head and fire appeared in her eyes again. "Then you'd do well to listen to him." She abruptly stood up, fixing her with daggers from her eyes. "It was my son Adam. John and Adam were out having a good bicycle ride." She suddenly zoomed her face in close to Delilah's, causing her to gasp and sit further back in her chair. "And it was none of their fault that this accident happened! Not Tony's, not McGee's, not John's, not Adam's!" Her face was taut, full of fury, as she slowly stood back up.
Tony stood there fuming at Delilah. "And for your information, it was a drunk driver that hit him."
"And almost hit John, as well." McGee added, indignant. "And you had the nerve to not even give me room to explain! What kind of woman are you, anyway?" He scoffed.
Ziva jammed her hands into her hips. "You know, it's no wonder McGee took to hanging around with us so much, him and the kids. Then eventually, just him and John, when Morgan went your way and then into the military." Ziva raised an eyebrow. "Don't look surprised at me, I have my ways of finding out."
Delilah rolled her chair but got no further than about six inches before Ziva stopped her in her tracks. "Morgan decided -"
"No, you decided! When you left that poor man and his son for whatever big wig political think tank you got drawn into!" The elevator dinged behind them. Ziva glanced up at the elevator doors opening. "Now, if you don't mind, I've got to go to my family." She shoved Delilah into the elevator. "Don't come back."
Tony stood there with a bemused look on his face. "Ouch, that's gotta hurt. You done blew it, Delilah." He held his hands up in the air and shrugged, then let his hands drop to his sides. He sighed, then turned to Ziva.
Delilah looked dejected in her chair. "But-"
McGee turned around and walked away, hand in the air. "Bye, woman. I don't know you anymore."
The elevator doors closed, and the trio walked back to their rooms.
"McGee, you all good now?" Tony patted McGee's shoulder.
McGee sighed. "Yeah, thanks. For being there."
Ziva nodded. "McGee, it is not a problem. Sorry I blew up back there, but my anxiety got out of control." She reached out and held McGee by the shoulders, then smiled and hugged him. "She is not to be near you or my family anymore, right?"
McGee sighed yet again. "All I did was call and tell her about the accident and told her that he's going to be alright. Certainly didn't expect her to come out here like God Almighty making such a big deal out of things." McGee threw his hand in the air and shrugged. He shook his head at the absurdity of it all.
Tony chuckled slightly. "Well, you've got mama bear over there on the watch. She's got your back, alright." He reached over and hugged Ziva with one arm and pointed to her with the other, then looked at Ziva and smiled.
Ziva smiled back; her smile was wan and tired. "Thanks."
McGee stopped at John's room. "I'll go see how he's doing. Hopefully the nurse has been by to give him something for his headache."
"Not from the concussion?" Tony raised an eyebrow.
McGee scoffed. "No, it's that woman causing him all that stress."
Ziva let out a short chuckle. "Right. She comes back, she's going away with her head separate from her body."
Tony laughed quietly. "Let's hope it doesn't come to that." He held out a hand for Ziva. "Ready?"
Ziva smiled and took Tony's hand. "See you in the morning, McGee." She waved night to McGee.
During doctor's rounds the next morning, the doctor was poring over the charts as the nurse was taking Ethan's vitals. He looked up from the charts. "So, he's been doing good through the night?"
Ziva nodded. "Was touch and go for a couple hours, but he seems to be doing much better now." She glanced at Tony.
"Good to hear that." The doctor turned to Ethan. "How're you feeling this morning?"
Ethan turned to Ziva. Ziva looked at Ethan, suddenly realizing that he was not wearing his sound processors. "Oh, just a second."
"Hm?" The doctor looked back at Ziva.
Ziva leaned over and grabbed his sound processors, the green ones. "You want?" She held out the processors to Ethan.
Ethan shook his head. "Not in the mood for them." His face looked very sad, withdrawn.
Ziva glanced at the sound processors, then held them to her chest for a moment, then put them on the side table. You want to hear the doctor, though? Her hands flew through the air, signing to Ethan.
"Maybe later." A tear appeared at the corner of one of Ethan's eyes. He sighed.
The doctor smiled and patted Ethan on his leg. "Well, as far as I can tell from these charts, you're doing just fine right now. As a matter of fact," he closed the charts and got up and faced Tony and Ziva more squarely, "I can't quite explain why his numbers yesterday were so off and yet today, healthy as a horse."
Ziva raised an eyebrow. "So how would you explain the seizure he had?"
"And at the same time that... Adam... died?" Tony interjected.
The doctor raised his hand up in the air. "I wish I could explain to you how it is with twins. There's studies out there that may explain that connection, but they don't fully understand it at all."
"Hm." Ziva raised an eyebrow. "So, he's good to go?"
The doctor smiled and turned to Ethan and asked him yet again, this time slowly. "How are you feeling today?"
Ethan watched doctor's lips form the words. "I'm feeling better but I'm sad. I miss my best friend, my brother." Ethan shrugged, sighing, thinking about the last conversation he had with his twin brother.
Ziva sighed and held back her tears as she sat on the bed next to Ethan and reached out to rub his shoulder. "Oh, I know you do. We all do, too. We'll get through this together." She smiled slightly, reassuringly.
Tony stepped over and put his hand on Ethan's head. "Hey, little man. We'll be there for you." His eyes were rimmed red from off-and-on crying throughout the night as he slept in fits and turns, comforting Ziva. "One day at a time," said Tony.
The doctor looked at Ethan and smiled. "Your parents are right. Take it one day at a time. You hang in there, okay?" He got up and looked at all three of them. "I think everything looks good. I'm going to let the nurses turn you loose. How's that sound?"
"Yeah, sounds good." Ethan smiled, then shrugged off the covers and sat up further. As he looked down at his PJ pants, he sighed, and looked up at Becky.
"I'm sorry, I brought you the wrong clothes by accident last night." Becky spoke as she signed.
Tony spoke up. "Yeah, I know they're Adam's. But I think he'd want you to wear them." He took the bag from Becky and took out a shirt and sweatpants and offered them to Ethan. "Look, everything that was Adam's, is yours now." The words stuck in Tony's throat, and he swallowed hard.
Ethan took the shirt and sweatpants and looked at them for a few long moments. He looked up at Ziva, then Tony. "Thanks."
Ziva held back her tears as she looked at Ethan. "Your father's right, I think Adam would not mind at all, he would love you to have them all, it will be alright." Her hands formed the words at the same time she spoke. She then wiped her tears away and reached out and held Ethan's hands.
Ethan smiled and nodded. "Alright."
As Tony, Ziva and Becky stepped out of the room to let Ethan change, they looked toward John's room, just in time to see a couple of police officers walking out of the room, followed by McGee.
McGee caught sight of Tony and Ziva. "Good morning, you two."
"Good morning!" Becky appeared from behind Ziva and walked up toward McGee. "How's John doing?"
McGee smiled. "Much better this morning. You?"
Tony walked up to McGee with a sigh. "Hanging in there. What's up with the cops?'
McGee looked at Tony and raised an eyebrow. "John's in the clear. They just wanted to ask John some questions about the, uhh, accident. He wasn't really talkative but did answer their questions." He held up a couple of sheets of papers and smiled. "Got his walking papers, though."
Tony nodded gently, patting McGee's shoulder, "Yeah. Pretty much the same with Ethan, the not talking part. Give 'em some time."
McGee nodded. "Yeah. One day at a time, now." He caught sight of Ziva walking up to them. "Hey Ziva, how is Ethan?"
McGee asked.
Ziva sighed. "Oh, he's -" She stopped as the doctor walked up to them. The look on the doctor's face caused Ziva to turn toward the doctor. "Something wrong?"
"Oh, no, nothing wrong." The doctor held up his hands. "Just wanted to stop by and say something that I didn't want to say in front of your son."
"Oh?" Tony raised an eyebrow.
The doctor nodded. "Remember this connection between twins I was talking about?"
Ziva nodded. "Yes, I've noticed certain patterns also. How is this important?" Ziva was suddenly curious. "I'd like to know."
The doctor sighed and held his hand up in the air for a moment and said, "Well, you both might want to keep an eye on Ethan for a while. I can see that he's probably wrestling with some emotions associated with survivor's guilt. He could become depressed, become withdrawn." He tilted his head and continued. "Give Ethan as much support, love, and encouragement as you can as he processes things."
Tony let out a deep sigh. "Yeah, I got to try do my best. It's just that, every time I look at Ethan, I see Adam."
Ziva glanced up at Tony, hugging him as a tear leaked from her eye. "We'll get through this. We need to be strong for our kids."
Tony nodded. "One day at a time." It was starting to be his mantra, to get him through this tough period.
Later that day, as Tony pulled up the driveway, Tony and Ziva noticed a car in the driveway, and that Jimmy was standing by his car waiting for them to arrive. Tony winced and then looked at Ziva. "Forgot to tell you. Jimmy called me while I was getting the car from the parking garage. He needed to stop by-"
"I got it, that is alright, it is good to see Jimmy, it had been a while." Ziva nodded.
Tony smiled and reached up to press the garage door opener button. As the garage door rose, Tony and Ziva looked over the SUV hood, seeing a toolbox and some of its contents in the middle of the garage floor. "Oh!" Ziva choked back tears. "Close it!"
Tony jabbed his finger on the garage door button again, reversing its travel. "Was going to."
"I'll clean it up." Ethan opened the door to get out.
"No! Leave it." Tony said, but he had forgotten that Ethan wasn't wearing his sound processors.
Ziva quickly turned around and stopped Ethan with a hand on his leg. She shook her head, then signed, "Ethan, it's alright, leave it."
Tony got out of the SUV and walked around to Jimmy, meeting him halfway. "What's up, gremlin?"
Jimmy walked toward Tony, stopping halfway and meeting Ziva and Tony and holding his hand out to Tony for a handshake. "I wish I was here under better circumstances," he sighed.
Tony took Jimmy's hand and shook it. "You and me both. All of us, actually." He looked at Ziva as she held Ethan toward her as they walked up.
"Well, the reason I stopped by is we received Adam's body. Breanna's handling the details, I just came over to pick up whatever clothes you want him to wear." Jimmy smiled. "I'm just not up to speed on your customs."
Ziva smiled. "Sure, not a problem." She turned to Ethan. "Do you want to help pick out things for Adam?"
Ethan nodded with a small smile on his face. "Sure, I'll help." He turned toward the house and walked up into it, with Ziva close behind.
Tony watched them go inside, then sighed and looked up at the sky. "Not gonna be the same now," he muttered to himself.
"What's that?" Jimmy asked.
Tony turned to Jimmy. "Gonna be a doozy for me, because every time I look at Ethan I see Adam. He even talks like Adam every so often." He reached up to scratch the sudden itch that popped up at the back of his head. "Spooks me to the core something terrible, if you ask me."
"Yeah." Jimmy shook his head. "I have to tell myself that there's an exact copy of him laying there on the table, the resemblance is so strong."
Tony guffawed. "Must make you have nightmares the day after, huh? Sort of a 'Back from the Living Dead' moment?"
Jimmy chuckled. "You know it." Suddenly he jumped at the sound of the front door opening suddenly, and he looked in that direction, to see Ethan walking toward them. Ethan was carrying a box with some of Adam's possessions.
Tony noticed that Ethan had his sound processors on. The orange ones. "Hey, little man, hear me again?" He smiled.
Ethan looked up at Tony and nodded. "I think Adam would like these." He held up the box to Jimmy.
"Thank you, Ethan." Jimmy took the box and smiled.
"Where's Ima?" Tony asked Ethan.
Ethan shrugged. "She's on Adam's bed, crying."
Tony sighed. "I better go check on her. Thanks for taking care of -" He swallowed a lump. "Of everything."
Jimmy shook his head. "It's not a problem for us. I'll let you know when all the arrangements have been made for transporting Adam to... Israel?"
Tony cleared his throat. "Uhm, yes, Israel. I'll let Tali know when you give me more details." He nodded his head numbly. "Keep in touch?"
"Always." Jimmy smiled. He turned to his car and got in and pulled away.
Tony put his arm around Ethan's shoulder. "Let's go in, shall we?"
Ethan looked up at Tony and smiled. "Sure." They started walking to the house.
Just then, the honking of a car horn reached their ears, causing them to stop in their tracks and turn toward the car, which was pulling up into the driveway.
"Well, hello!" Tony called out, holding out his arms in the air.
Ethan held out his arms, then pantomimed laying on the horn, laughing as he pointed toward AJ getting out of the car.
"Thought I'd stop by." AJ stretched his tall frame out of the car.
Becky got out of the rear of the car. "Hi, Dad. I was at McGee's house when AJ stopped by."
A shorter feminine figure got out of the passenger side of the car. "Hello, everybody."
Tony looked at her. "And who might this be?" he asked, chuckling at AJ.
AJ chuckled. "Dad, meet Channah." He spelled out the name for Ethan's benefit.
Ethan's eyes suddenly lit up. See? Girlfriend! He laughed as his hands flitted through the air, forming the words.
Tony scoffed and held out a finger in the air in front of Ethan. "Not now." But he was chuckling to himself, slightly. He then turned toward the house. "Come in, y'all." He walked with Ethan into the house, and Becky, AJ and Channah followed.
As they walked into the house, they met Ziva walking down the stairs. They noticed that her eyes were bloodshot from crying. Tony walked over to her and hugged her. "You okay?"
Ziva nodded into Tony's shoulder. She stepped back. "Yes. I'll be fine." She sighed and turned to AJ and smiled. "Welcome back. Who is this young lady?" She turned to look at Channah.
AJ stepped forward and glanced at Channah before looking at Ziva. "Ima, this is Channah, the girl I've been telling you about before."
Ziva smiled and shook Channah's hand. "Pleased to meet you."
"Well, seeing as it's getting close to dinner, you wanna stay over?" Tony smiled.
"Pizza?" Ethan piped up. "Hospital wouldn't let me."
"Oh, you must be hungry, Ethan." Ziva smiled at Ethan.
Ethan nodded. "Starving."
Ziva turned to Tony. "You know the place."
Tony chuckled as he pulled his phone out and hit the speed dial for the pizzeria delivery.
Later that evening, AJ and Channah went back to their apartment so AJ could pack for his trip, and Tony and Ziva had retreated to their bedroom as Becky and Ethan were in their respective bedrooms getting ready for the upcoming trip.
"Well." Tony sighed as he flopped onto the bed and stretched out. "What a day."
Ziva shook her head, a tear streaking down her cheek. She kneaded her hands. "Not going to be the same without him now," she sighed.
Tony sat up and hugged her from behind. "Hey now, it'll be okay." But he knew, deep down, that nothing will ever be normal again, in the way things had been before, and hated himself for saying it.
"No, Tony." She turned to him. "Now, every time I look up and see Ethan enter the room, I expect to see Adam with him, and now that's not going to happen. I'm not going to be able to hear and see their funny little inside conversations they have." More tears streaked down her cheeks.
Tony's emotions ran raw as a tear leaked out of his eyes. He sighed and hugged her closer to him. "I know, sweetcheeks. The way he talks makes it hard for me, too."
Just then, a loud banging sound jarred them and they jumped. "Oh!" Ziva listened. More banging.
The door to their bedroom opened. Becky stuck her head through the doorway. "Ima, Dad? What's that?"
Ziva swung her legs to the floor. "I think it's Ethan." She walked toward Ethan's room, and she heard him swearing in Hebrew. She rounded the corner into his bedroom and saw Ethan frustratedly trying to open a drawer on his dresser.
"What's going on?" Tony followed not far behind.
"Ethan!" Ziva rushed into the room to try to stop Ethan, but Ethan was so frustrated that he was not paying attention to who was in the room. He yanked one of the drawers out and flung it aside, then another. He tried the stuck drawer again, but it kept jamming up on him.
Ziva looked at Tony. "Tony! Do something!"
Tony stood rooted in his spot. He had never seen Ethan so angry.
Ziva sighed sharply and went up to Ethan and hugged him in a bear hug. "It's okay, Ethan! I'm here!"
"No!" Ethan screamed and struggled, but only for a moment.
Ziva held him tighter in her embrace and moved toward the bed and sat down in it, holding onto Ethan, allowing him to let out all of his emotions, let the tears flow. She looked up at Tony. Her eyes said it all: First night without Adam home. He's taking it hard.
Tony sighed and looked back. I don't know, his eyes said.
Ziva tilted her head at him and raised an eyebrow. We'll talk, her eyes said. She looked down to Ethan. "Hey, it's okay. I'm here. Can you tell me what's wrong?"
"That stupid drawer!" Great heaving sobs came from Ethan's body, shaking Ethan with each heave.
Ziva's tears flowed as she rocked Ethan and consoled him. "I've got you. Were you looking for something in there?"
Ziva felt Ethan nod under her arms. "Uh-huh." He squirmed out from her arms and went back to the dresser and started yanking on it. After a couple of unsuccessful tries, he gave the dresser a hard kick and then yanked on the drawer yet again. This time it came open with a jolt, causing Ethan to fall over backwards and his neon green sound processor that had been laying on top of the dresser to fall into the drawer. "Oof!"
Ziva got up and caught Ethan just as his rump hit the floor. "Oh! Got you."
Ethan got back up and went back to the offending drawer. He looked inside it and saw what he was looking for – and something else caught his attention. He noticed that his sound processor had landed on something that he had completely forgotten about: an unopened birthday card from Adam. He dropped what he was looking for and reached in to pick the sound processor and card up and looked closely at the card, turning it over in his hands.
"You find what you're looking for?" Tony asked.
Ethan looked up. "Yeah, I think so." He turned back to the dresser and sighed.
Tony nodded. "You know that you're cleaning this up?"
"I'll take care of it, Dad." Ethan hiccupped once, wiping tears from his eyes.
"Come here." Ziva reached out and grasped Ethan's hand and pulled him to sit on the bed between the two. "Sit here, please."
"Ima, Dad... I am sorry about the dresser. It's starting to fall apart, though." Ethan sniffled, holding the card to his chest, shielding it from his parents' view.
Ziva looked at Ethan, gently wiping his tears from his cheek. "No need to apologize. I do completely understand your frustration." She looked into Ethan's eyes. "I sometimes have a hard time with it." She sighed. "I lost my sister at around the same age as you. Your aunt Tali."
"My Aunt Tali?" Ethan paused to think about the name.
Ziva smiled and patted Ethan's shoulder. "Yes, my sister. When I lost my sister, I was also angry, sad, and frustrated." She sighed. "During that time I felt alone, because nobody was there to help me through that time. Now, I have Dad, and you kids, to keep me going." She smiled at Ethan.
Tony waved to get Ethan's attention as he walked into the room "I lost my mother – your grandmother – around the same time as your age as well."
"You did?" Ethan looked at both of them. "I mean, at my age?"
Ziva nodded. "I know it is hard, but it gets easier when you have all of us having your back. We love you so much. We will heal together, as a family." She sighed and smiled. "If you need anything from us, do not hesitate to let us know." She patted Ethan on his lap. Inside, her emotions were still raw, because the memory of her sister Tali had come to the surface.
"Anything I need?" Ethan looked up at Ziva. "Even just to talk?"
Ziva nodded and smiled. "I know I have been sad lately, because it is so hard for me to see you lose your brother and see myself in your shoes after those years of losing my sister. We have a lot in common."
Ethan sat up in his bed. "But what about AJ and Becky? Tali? Will they understand?"
Tony sighed. "Maybe not as well as you and Ima."
Ziva nodded. "Give them time. But I think your brother and sisters will understand in time."
"Okay, sounds good." Ethan nodded and brought the card up to his chest.
Tony stood up. "You gonna be okay for the night?"
Ethan looked up and nodded. "Think so."
Ziva smiled gently. "Are you going to have things packed up and ready for the trip tomorrow?"
"Yeah, that's the reason why I was beating on the dresser, I wanted this one shirt to wear for the trip. I'll clean it up, I promise." Ethan smiled at Ziva.
Ziva smiled and stood up. "Okay, good night and we'll see you in the morning." She waved as she walked out of the room, guiding Tony out of the room, flashing an ILY sign and blowing a kiss.
Tony stuck his head through the door at the last second and said, "'Night!"
Ethan smiled and said to them, "Good night."
After Ziva and Tony walked out of the room, Ethan sat down on the bed and looked at the card he had been holding. He realized that he hadn't opened the card since June, when the twins had their 14th birthday. He ripped open the top of the envelope and pulled out the card, and a note fell out of the card. He quickly read the card, then turned to the note and started reading it. As he read further in the note and turned the page, a tear started flowing from his eye, and he folded the note and looked out the window. He sat, looking out the window, thinking, a calm enveloping his being, as if Adam had been standing there next to him, reassuring him that everything would be alright. After a few long moments of contemplation, he folded the note the rest of the way and pulled a duffel bag that he was packing close to him. He put the note back in the card and then put the card into a side compartment on the duffel bag.
Meanwhile, in Tony and Ziva's bedroom, Ziva strode over to the radio and turned on the music, then turned to face Tony. She sighed. "What was that back there? Your standing there and doing nothing?"
Tony gulped. "I've never seen him that mad before."
Ziva shook her head angrily and fixed Tony with her trademark angry-stare. "Adam is not here, Ethan is! It's time for you to be his father. Be there for him!" She held out a hand in the general direction of Ethan. "He is your son, too. All these years you've gotten along better with Adam and Ethan got close to me." She scoffed. "I do understand how he feels. He's got to be wondering where his father is in all of this. Don't do the same thing that Eli did to me." There was fire in her eyes.
Tony gulped. "I... didn't realize how I was treating Ethan. All because it was 'easy' for me to talk with Adam when Ethan doesn't have his ears on." He sighed and smacked himself on the back of his head.
"Well, Adam's not here, Ethan is!" she repeated what she had said before. "And you've got to remember that. Be there for him." She looked more intently into Tony's eyes. "I can't do it all without you." Tears started flowing from her eyes.
This hit Tony to the core. He reached out and brought her into his hug. "I'll do my best to be there for him. And you, too." His voice was barely above a hoarse whisper.
Ziva sighed and looked out the window and cuddled further into Tony's embrace. "I mean it, Tony." She sighed at his touch; it calmed her.
"I got ya." Tony felt the stress leave Ziva's muscles under his hands and arms. "I love you, my sweetcheeks. At lo levad."
Ziva snuggled up closer to Tony. After a moment, she said, "I know." She turned partway to him and smiled. "Love you, too."
"Always and forever?" Tony smiled back at her.
Ziva chuckled. "Yes, always and forever."