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Vance opened the letter, as soon as Gibbs left his office, closing the door on his way out. He noted, she had typed it out and signed it with her signature in blue pen. He also noted the there was two letters, one a standard resignation letter - a form letter downloaded straight from the net, filling in the appropriate blanks. The other he decided was much more personal, since she'd addressed it as Leon and not Director Vance.
'Dear Leon,
Please do not be too mad at me for abandoning my post and my family. But Abba was right about me, I am not a mother, after all I had no female role model growing up. I have no idea what I was thinking when I decided to have the baby. I should have terminated it. I guess, I got caught up in the dream.
I know you and my father mended fences and I am very happy for you both. I look forward to working with you as a full-fledged member of Mossad again soon. My father was right. I can not turn my back on my own homeland. Becoming a US citizen was a knee jerk reaction to a bad situation. I still have a chance to rectify my life, now. No one in Israel, with the exception of my father knows I have a child and he promises to keep it that way. I would appreciate it if you could keep it to yourself, also. I am trying to start a new life now, one that doesn't consist of the baby or Timothy.
While being in the US was a wonderful experience overall and I met some fantastic people, I was also greatly hurt by a few of them. Especially hurt by Jenny, she was the first female role model I had ever had in my life, she bought me to the US and then left me to flounder, alone. Hurt by Gibbs, Abby, Tony ...
Hurt by everyone I met.
Timothy, well he never hurt me as such. But he did lie to me. He has so much more potential than Gibbs and the others give him credit for and Gibbs knows that too. But between Gibbs, Abby and Tony they've effectively destroyed his confidence with every breath. Please take care of him, watch his back. Help him be his best self.
Tony - there's someone I wish I had never laid eyes on. I don't know if you are aware, I wrote in Timothy's letter that I had slept with Tony. I had not. Not when I wrote the letter. I have now and I hate myself for it. Timothy is definitely the father, let me be crystal clear in that.
Do not give Timothy false hope that I shall return to him. While loving him and being loved by him was the best time of my life because I was free, I also felt smothered and caged in by it. I am not that type of person and definitely not the wife and mothering type. We both know that, that is what he wants and I can not give it to him.
I hope you can continue to be my friend, perhaps even keep me updated. I am not asking you for photos or anything, just a few words every now and again. However, I request that you do not betray his trust. He trusts easily, but if abused, he will never trust again.
Hopefully, still your friend
Ziva David'
Vance was floored, all that was in the letter was blame and skirting around the issue. She didn't take any responsibility for her actions, nor did she get too personal. She didn't even explain herself well, except to admit that she cheated on Tim with someone, who was his friend.
"Director, Agent DiNozzo is here to see you." His personal assistant buzzed in, disrupting his work. He quickly copied the two letters and locked the original copies into the safe before calling Tony in to explain himself and his action regarding his missing thirty-six hour window. He thanked his PA and set about his business before he called him in.
"Agent DiNozzo?" Vance called out, garnering his attention. Tony stood taller than usual, he recognised Vance's tone of voice. "Please account for your missing hours."
"I was helping a sick friend." He said flippantly. "I don't need permission from NCIS for that."
"True, however disappearing whilst on duty, without calling in and missing the following day without any contact is suspicious." Vance explained. "Your team was in the middle of an active case. Rodriquez covered for you, he shouldn't have to. What do you have to say for that?"
"I was helping a sick friend." Tony reiterated, defiantly.
"Look what you do on your personal time is your business, but your actions were unacceptable. You left your Probationary Field Agent on the side of the road, in Anacostia, he had to walk back to the navy yard." Vance let out the breath he'd been holding. "Was it Ziva? Your sick friend?" He asked, lowering his voice, looking him directly in the eyes.
"Yes, Tim left her to flounder. The baby died and he left her at the hospital by herself. Gibbs didn't even check in with her, he simply came and ushered Tim away." Leon Vance bit his tongue, hard. It was now clear that they had all been played, including him. "I took her to my apartment and got her settled. She said McGeek broke up with her right there in the hospital room."
"I see, what happened next?" Vance asked, he wanted to scream at DiNozzo, but it wasn't his fault.
"I took her to their apartment, McLoser wasn't there, but his car was. She had a light duffle bag, she told me she was going to see a friend in New York and had me drop her at airport."
"Can I give you some advice?" Vance asked, seething. He couldn't believe the elaborate lies that Ziva had told him. "You should double check Ziva's story. I had Rodriquez check the airports for you and Ziva. She boarded a flight to Israel. As for Tim, the reason he wasn't home was because he was at the hospital with his daughter, Jethro and Ducky. She is very much alive. Ziva was the one who abandoned them, checked herself out AMA. Have you ever known Jethro Gibbs to abandon anyone like that? Especially one of his own people!" Vance's voice now boomed, echoing through his office.
Tony stood there in shock, quickly the shock wore off and it turned to anger. "She played me." He whispered quietly, finally catching up. "She played me against McGee!"
"We're still piecing it all together still, but it seems she played us all." Vance sighed sadly. "She was and always will be Mossad, they're trained to be master manipulators."
"She told me what Tim had done. I believed her." Tony admitted, realising what he'd done, too.
"Yes, I'd also watch out for Gibbs and Ducky. I also wouldn't be surprised if your friendship with Timothy Gibbs is over." Vance surmised. "Haven't spoken to Tim yet, but it's pretty safe to say he's going to be pretty angry you slept with his partner, the mother of his child."
"Yeah, I'm pretty screwed either way, right now." Tony added. "What's my punishment?"
"I have dismantled your team and redeployed them. Agent Balboa's team has been recalled to our building." Vance pursed his lips. "I'll have your next assignment by the end of the day. Cold cases and clean out your desk in the meantime. You should see if you can catch Gibbs, start your amends there. He's been flitting in and out between supporting Tim at the hospital and being here."
Being dismissed by Vance, Tony felt the relief flood through his entire body. He couldn't believe he'd jeopardised his job for her and that she'd played them all. He returned to the bullpen, spying Rodriquez sitting at Ziva's old desk. He nodded a thank you to him. He didn't see Gibbs sitting anywhere. But his computer was on and there were empty coffee cups in his trash bin. "I'm so mad at you." Ellie hissed at him. He took in her rigid posture.
"I'm mad at me too, Bishop." He whispered harshly at himself. "Where is he?" Tony asked, nodding to Gibbs' desk.
"Right here. Where the hell have you been?" Gibbs asked, coming down from MTAC.
"You know, around." DiNozzo retorted jovially, trying to make a joke out of it. Gibbs wasn't buying it.
"You think it's funny?" Gibbs raised his eyebrows. "It's a slap in the face to the agency, to me, but most of all to Tim. He was our Probie and you threw him under the bus."
"She played us all." DiNozzo stated as a matter of fact. "Her story well, let's just say it was convincing."
"Yeah, well you did played with fire. You're gonna get burned." Gibbs surmised, seething with red hot anger.
"Did she really just leave her child there?" He asked after a minute.
"Yep, she threw Tim out of the room. Refused to hold the baby and discharged herself AMA. You provided the get away car."
"That's harsh, McGeek didn't deserve that." Tony agreed.
"Ya think?!" Gibbs exclaimed angrily. "Cut the nicknames already, call Tim by his name, either one of them is fine. But stop calling him McGee. His name is Timothy Jackson Gibbs. It's disrespectful to him, I get your angry or jealous, maybe both. But if you have any respect for me, you'd call my son by his correct name. If I were you, I'd steer clear of him too. You slept with her, he knows about it, Ziva kindly informed him for you. You're lucky, having a daughter makes him happy right now and he's choosing to focus on her."
Tony sulked off, returning to his own desk before finishing up his paperwork and emptying his desk. Vance hadn't directly said it, but he'd implied it. Whatever Tony's punishment will be, he wouldn't be stationed at the navy yard. Sometimes, he wished he never met Ziva David. Today, was one of those days.
Tim had gone into the hospital early this morning, an early morning check in at the hospital had revealed that they'd taken her breathing support a step down again. He couldn't wait to see her. Before he left the apartment this morning, he listed Ziva's car for sale, as she'd requested by a post it note on the refrigerator. So far, he wasn't too concerned with the medical bills, his insurance had excellent coverage. Annabelle would be covered for a three month stay before he started getting an out of pocket bill. Dr Nash had assured him, unless something went drastically wrong, she wouldn't need anywhere near that long in the NICU. "Good morning," he said as he entered Annabelle's cubicle. "How are you this morning?" He asked Jo. Jo had been her day-shift nurse for the last two days.
"Morning Dad, you're just in time. It's feeding time. Strip off your tee and get settled. She can snuggle into Daddy for a feed." Jo, had her ready in a few minutes and Tim was more than ready. She suckled away at the tiny nipple on the small bottle, occasionally stopping to breathe. He looked up and Jo had been snapping photos away on the camera he kept with Annabelle's belongings. "You're a natural, Tim." Jo said as she observed Tim hold her upright to burn her mid feed, after she let out a belch, he happily fed her the remainder of the bottle.
Ducky signed himself into the nursery, it was still very early. He had called Palmer and told him he'd be late this morning, instructing the young man to start the inventory count. He scrubbed up thoroughly and wandered over to where Annabelle's cubicle was. He smiled a full blown smile at the sight of Tim holding her and cuddling into her as he fed her the last of her bottle. "Good morning, Timothy. I see I'm just in time to witness feeding time." Ducky said as he also snapped some photos off his cell phone and emailed them to Jethro's work email. "She definitely has a healthy appetite."
"She's gained ninety grams in the last forty-eight hours." Jo added, proudly. "She was weighed, right before you walked in. Doctor Nash has been around today already too, if she's still stable tonight on four litres of high flow, he'd like to reduce her to low flow at two litres and see how she goes."
"I'd like to be here when that happens." Tim replied firmly to that. He remembered what his father had advised him in the car on the way to see the lawyer, yesterday. That "Annabelle is your child, not the medical staff's and you shouldn't be afraid to speak up and advocate for her."
"Too easy. I'll see if Doctor Nash can do it at 1600. I'm going to be Annabelle's day nurse for the next four days and I'd like to be here too."
Gibbs returned from the break room, before looking at his computer, noticing he has new mail in his inbox. Ducky sent through some pictures of Tim feeding her and it made him smile as he hit print on them and headed to the printer. As soon as they were printed, he headed up to Vance's office, leaving the photos on the screen.
Tony was coming back from the men's room and noticed Gibbs' screen. Vance had been too angry to deal with him and had ordered him on cold cases today until close of business. There, he spied a photo of Tim holding a tiny baby girl, wrapped in a pink bunny rug with a pink knitted hat on her head. Tim was shirtless and he was feeding the little girl a bottle. Tony noticed how beautiful the baby was, not really a fan of babies, but he noted she had Ziva's colouring and a light strawberry blonde hair, almost an auburn colour. He saw some wires attached to her chest and to her side flank, he saw the nasal prongs that he assumed, was helping her breathing.
All of a sudden, he felt the anger build up inside him tenfold. He was angry all over again at Ziva and angry at himself and his actions too. He pushed down the jealousy he felt bubbling up at the thought that Tim was the one who fathered Ziva's child, then remembered the mess she'd left him in. Tony felt awful about it all, but couldn't bring himself to apologise to Tim yet.
"Leroy!" Jackson called out as soon as he spotted his son in the terminal waiting for him. Jethro opened his mouth to say hello and Jackson shoved a wrapped cigar in his mouth that had printed on it, 'It's a girl'. "That's from Ed Gantry and Chuck Winslow. They pass on their congratulations."
"Thanks Dad, you know I hate cigars." Jethro said, taking it from his mouth and examining it carefully. "Let's go, I have the car waiting."
"Ah son, I have to go baggage claim." Jackson explained, before laughing at his son's facial expressions. Jackson never had baggage as well, his small carry on case always carried everything he needed.
"Dad, I thought you were only here for a couple of days?" Jethro asked, thoroughly confused.
"I am, but I have gifts from half the townsfolk. Plus my own gifts." The older Gibbs laughed and the younger one just rolled his eyes, 'that was typical Jackson' he thought to himself.
Before long, they had Jackson's two large suitcases and were on their way to the hospital. They met up with Tim in the cafeteria, just in time to eat a quick lunch before the trio made their way to the nursery. Tim let the men in and Tim showed Jackson how to scrub up and rub his hands down with alcohol, he waited while the two older men put their plastic yellow gowns on and gloves before following Tim into Annabelle's cubicle. "Hey" Jo greeted them. "She needs her cares done and then she's going to want a bottle and Daddy time. Want to start on the cares, while I find a chair for your other visitor?"
Tim quietly set himself up, taking care of her cares very quickly and efficiently. It had surprised both Gibbs men, but it had been a pleasant one. While Tim was completing that task, Jethro quickly explained everything they'd learnt so far, about the kangaroo care, touching the baby and how only Tim was allowed to hold her at the moment and right down to Ziva's actions.
Jo returned with a comfortable chair for Jackson and Gibbs declined the chair, explaining he'd be leaving again shortly and he'd be back later on for a longer visit.
Jo removed Annabelle from her isolette and placed her in Tim's arms, handing him the bottle as soon as he was comfortable. "Grandpa, meet your Great-Granddaughter, Annabelle Nicole Gibbs." Tim said softly. "Annabelle, this is Grandpa." He told her as she guzzled her bottle down.
"Annabelle - as in, named after my Annie-bel? He asked in amazement. "Your Grandma would be tickled pink Timothy." He gushed taking her in.
"Smile!" Jo said cheerfully and the flash of the camera went on. There, three generations of Gibbs men and the newest generation, a little lady Gibbs were all happy. "Hope you don't mind Tim. I remember Jethro saying yesterday that you wanted a photo of the four of you."
Jo set herself to work, she stripped off the isolette, unplugging it before moving it into the corridor and returning with a bassinet. "This is a heated, open aired cot." Jo explained. "Annabelle had been maintaining her body temperature so she graduates up to the next stage."
"Poppy's clever little girl." Jethro cooed, kissing her head. "I have to leave. Tobias asked if he could visit when I come back tonight, Is that ok?"
"Sure." Tim smiled at his dad. "I'm pretty sure Vance won't be too far off. Ducky hinted that he's having trouble resisting the urge to come visit now. He wanted to wait until after Jackson had met her."
"How about, with the exception of Duck. We hold off on all NCIS visitors. We don't know what germs they'll bring in and Nash seems to think she might be home, end of next week." Gibbs offered.
"You just don't want anything or anyone derailing your chance of holding her when we get the all clear." Tim teased.
"Damn straight!" Gibbs quipped. "Annabelle is Poppy's little girl."
"Now, now Leroy. Great-Grandfather outranks Poppy any day of the week and twice on Sundays." Jackson argued playfully with his son.
"Annabelle, we should head slap them both." Tim joked to her. "What do you think? Or do we send them to their rooms without supper?" Annabelle let out a small grunt and Tim laughed. "I agree baby-girl."
Jethro laughed at Tim's antics before ruffling his sons hair, kissing his temple and Annabelle's head and promptly left for the navy yard.
Tim and Jackson, left Annabelle and went to the cafeteria to get some coffee late in the afternoon, when Tobias and Jethro joined them. "Congratulations Tim." Tobias said shaking his friends son's hand. "Your father tells me she's perfect." The two older Gibbs men waited in the waiting room, by the reception desk. As at this time of the day, it's quite busy in there and they strictly enforce the visitor ratio. Tim shows Tobias how to scrub in and rub down with alcohol, before instructing him to put on the yellow plastic gown and nitrile gloves on.
In Annabelle's cubicle, he introduced her to Tobias. "She's perfect, Tim." Fornell said as he peered into the open crib. She whimpered lightly and Tim put his hand on her belly gently, she snuggled into it and Fornell smiled. "I remember when Emily was born, she was never this little, but it was the best day of my life."
"It was great, despite Ziva." Tim agreed and Fornell winced. He'd forgotten that Ziva had kicked him out of the delivery room and he hadn't got to see her be born or cut the umbilical cord.
"Thomas Bath is a shark. He's so pedantic about family law. He's worth every penny. She won't get custody if she re-emerges." Fornell reminded him, patting him on his back.
"Thanks Tobias." Tim Gibbs whispered softly, trying to keep Annabelle sleeping through the cacophony of noise.
"That's Uncle Toby to you, kiddo." He whispered to Annabelle, holding her tiny hand gently. "You've always got a big cousin and protector in Emily. Although, fair warning. She will probably want to be Aunty Em!"
"She can be Aunty Em if she wants. My sister Sarah hasn't even returned my message when I called her to tell her I was going to be a father." Tim recalled, sadly.
Tobias left the nursery when the doctor came and sat with the older two Gibbs men in the waiting room. "Congratulations boys, she is perfect. Uncle Toby loves her already." Fornell said proudly as he took a seat beside them. "I snapped off a photo and sent it to Emily. Tim said she can be an Aunt if she likes."
"Yeah, he and Sarah aren't speaking. It's been an ongoing feud since Tim found out he wasn't a McGee." Jethro explained, it pained his heart to see his son, missing his step-sister like that. But he couldn't force Sarah to call Tim. Sarah always had bought drama with her and right now, Ziva had caused enough drama to last a lifetime.
"Tim's holding it together, but his tired." Fornell added. The FBI Agent had immediately recognised the signs.
"Steak, bourbon and bed for that boy, Leroy." Jackson ordered his son. "Three Gibbs men under one roof tonight."
"Sounds good to me, Dad." Jethro confirmed.
Tobias' phone pinged, breaking the silence. It had been fifteen minutes since anyone had said anything. "Oh no," he exclaimed out loud. "Jethro, we should be worried. Emily just said Diane bought stuff for the baby. Apparently, she drove Em to the mall and Em bought a dress for Annabelle. When she explained it was for Tim's new daughter, Diane dragged Emily back in there and bought 'half the store' to quote Em."
"Nah, it's all good Tobias. Diane likes Tim now, now she knows he's not just an agent but my son." Jethro explained, chuckling.
"Hey, Diane's his ex-stepmother. Guess that does kind of make Emily a step sister for Tim of sorts." Jackson realised, laughing at the expression on both Tobias and Leroy's faces.
"Wouldn't it be an ex-stepsister?" Tobias asked, seriously.
"You divorce wives, not children, Fornell." Jethro lectured his friend gently.
"Is that how you became Uncle Gibbs and the reason you've always spoiled Em?" The FBI agent asked and the middle Gibbs man just grinned, just like a Cheshire Cat.
"Agent DiNozzo, how can I help you?" Vance asked, seeing Tony just barge in.
"I need to man up and take my punishment. What is it?" He asked directly, straight to the point. "I need to know, so when I apologise to Tim, I can explain myself better."
"I see." The Director paused, mostly for effect. "I'd have liked to suspend you, but it was a misdemeanour action compared to a full breach in our conduct code. Legal has advised me against it. I am re-assigning you to Agent afloat for three months on the USS Roosevelt again, but with it comes a demotion to SFA. You are entitled to apply for any team leader position, after a period of two years." Vance explained. "Actions have consequences. You left a crime scene unattended, abandoned your probationary field agent and your post and left your team with no team leader. You had your SFA lie for you and you helped a former team mate abandon her own child. You're lucky we didn't bring you up on charges for that. You can thank Tim Gibbs for that, he is the one that thought your sorry ass was worth saving."
"I think I owe him more than just a thanks, I owe him an apology too." Tony said sincerely. "But I do have a favour to ask."
"I should warn you, depending upon what you ask, my refusal may offend you." Vance stated, seriously.
"Suspend me too, sir. I need to learn to treat people better. I think a therapist can help me with that." Tony admitted. "Gibbs always knew I needed boundaries and discipline. He provided that. I know that I've been backsliding and I need to straighten up, again. A suspension will help drive that point home."
"Consider it done, six weeks unpaid - suspended sentence, contingent on a completion of ten fortnightly counselling sessions with a therapist of your choice. Written reports of your progress is to be submitted to me after every session. They will be held in the highest of confidence and would be held in your file for the duration of one year. Do you agree to the terms and conditions set before you?" Vance asked.
"I agree." Tony agreed wholeheartedly. "Thank you."
