Disclaimer: I don't own them.
A/N: Ever since watching "Honor Code" with Gibbs and the little boy I wanted to write another fic that had a little kid in it. Also, there's a scene where Ziva's leading Zach back to the chair and she's holding his hand – she looks so natural with a child that I wanted to see if I could write a fic with a little lost kid that needs NCIS's help, that instantly bonds with Ziva, to show another side to her.
BTW, the title, "Allegiance" means Loyalty…
Also, sorry to my "With Grace" readers, but that's going to be on hiatus indefinitely, as I was getting bored with it and needed a change. Also, I've been trying to load another chapter to that and won't let me, I click on Stories but it just comes up blank with an "error" sign, so I don't know why it won't let me. Grrr…! But the good news is I've finished school (yay!) so now I can spend time working on my stories when I'm not working, and hopefully add to this one and Grace. Anyway, hope you like this new one, it promised just as many twists and turns as Grace, which has gotta be a good thing! R&R
"Allegiance"
Chapter One
The wind blew violently as Ziva pulled out from the highway and into the car park, flicking her indicator as she swerved to the left. She parked her car next to the line of other agents' cars and turned off ignition.
Ziva closed the car door and stood for a moment, taking in her surroundings. The wind continued to blow a gale as Ziva collected up her thick, dark hair and wrapped a hair tie around it in a hurried low ponytail. She wrapped her black tapered trench coat around her waist in a losing battle to protect herself from the winter chill.
She headed towards the entrance to NCIS, bowing her head into the wind. She passed a dark tinted window of the building, catching her reflection in it. Her hair stuck up in all directions and her cheeks glowed a mahogany red colour from the force of the wind that whipped at her. The sky was darkening as storm clouds swept in, threatening to spill at any moment. She began to walk faster, passing a navy blue dumpster on the corner of the alley, the yellow lid was propped open, doing nothing to stop the vile garbage from spilling out. She turned her face away from it, frowning at the smell that covered the area.
Ziva stopped suddenly, the wind opposing her sudden halting, threatening to knock her over where she stood. She tensed, straining her ears for the sound she thought she heard. The wind roared again, the sound of it echoing through the small alley. Ziva took a step forward, straining her eyes for the source of the sound. Something told her that the sound was not an animal, it sounded human. There were soggy cardboard boxes sitting in one corner, obviously victim to the last downpour. Ziva took a few more steps, lifting her hand to her waist where her Sig Sauer rested in her holster. She pulled it out silently, pointing it in the direction of the sound. She stepped forward once more, pushing a box out of the way with her foot. The sound stopped suddenly, the eerie silence engulfing the dimly lit area. Ziva froze, her muscles tensing as her senses stood on edge. She turned to the left, pointing her Sig in the direction of the dumpster.
She stepped to the side, pulling back the safety trigger on her pistol. The hairs on the back of her neck stood on edge as the wind blew once more, the chill seeping through her coat. She kicked a box out of the way, the sudden movement startling whoever was behind the dumpster, causing a flurry of movement.
"Don't move!" Ziva commanded, the occupant suddenly stopped scurrying back and sat still, "Come out, slowly."
The occupant slid forward on the wet concrete, scurrying on their hands and knees. Ziva relaxed, lowering her Sig and replacing it in its holster. "Are you okay?" she asked.
A child scurried out, her blonde hair hanging limply to the side. She was wearing a knee-length denim skirt and a pair of rainbow-colored tights, a hole in the left knee and a red graze showing. She had on a white t-shirt and a thin red jacket with a hood at the back. The sleeves were rolled up on her jacket, showing her pale skin covered in goosebumps from the icy winter air.
Ziva knelt down to her level, noticing how the child tensed, looking up at Ziva with her vibrant blue eyes. Her eyes were filled with tears and her cheeks were red from crying, which Ziva now knew was the sound she had heard against the wind. The little girl pressed her back against the wall, burying her head in her hands, trying to block it all out. Ziva sighed, she wasn't very good with children, and she didn't want to make the situation worse. She figured the little girl must have been separated from her parents and gotten lost, the noises of the big city scaring her so she took refuge in the alley.
"Are you okay?" she repeated, the little girl looked up, her eyes filling with tears once more and her lip quivering, threatening to release a new flood of tears. "It's okay, I'm here to help you." She said quietly, trying to sound reassuring.
Ziva reached for her NCIS badge secured on her belt and showed it to the girl. She looked at the gold NCIS badge for a moment, screwing up her face in a "So what?" expression. Ziva replaced the badge on her belt, sighing once more. "What's your name?" Ziva asked the little girl.
"What's yours?" she asked Ziva. She pulled her legs out from underneath her and stretched them out in front of her, wincing slightly. "My name's Ziva David, are you hurt?"
The blonde-haired girl wiped her damp eyes on her sleeve, sniffing slightly as she pulled both her sleeves down. "Ziva?" she repeated.
Ziva frowned then nodded. She hesitated for a moment before reaching her hand out towards the girl, "How about you come with me?" The little girl turned away from Ziva, shifting backwards into the darkness once more.
"My mom said I wasn't to go with strangers."
Ziva nodded, "That's very good advice, your mother must be a very smart person." The little girl nodded, "Yeah…"
"Where is your mom?" Ziva asked quietly. The blonde-haired girl shrugged, muttering something under her breath. She then looked up, pushing her straight blonde hair out of her face once more, "My mom said she'd be back, but…" she trailed off, sniffing again. Ziva pulled a tissue out of her pocket and handed it to the girl. She accepted it and blew her nose quietly, "Thanks."
Ziva smiled slightly, "You feel like telling me your name now?"
The little girl looked up, her blue eyes shining with tears. "Lou." She said quietly, casting her eyes downwards again.
"Lou." Ziva repeated, looking up at the sky. "You know what Lou, I think it's going to rain again soon, and I bet this garbage gets pretty stinky in no time." Lou looked up, a smile crossing her face. "I bet." She said as Ziva held her hand out once more. Lou accepted it, Ziva pulling the little girl up, brushing her knees off then looking at the girl once more.
Lou smiled at Ziva, she was about to step forward when she stopped and looked down at her bare feet. She had been sitting on her feet before and Ziva hadn't noticed that she wasn't wearing any shoes. She knelt down in front of Lou, "where are your shoes?" she asked her.
Lou shrugged, "Dunno." She said simply. Ziva sighed, holding out her arms as the girl jumped up into her arms. She head her around the waist, luckily she was very light so Ziva was able to hold her easily. Lou smiled, "Are you going to look after me now?" she asked.
Ziva looked at her, hesitating slightly before answering. "Well, I'm going to take you to the place where I work and see if I can find your mom and dad."
Lou's face dropped, "Oh," she held onto the collar of Ziva's coat, staring intently at the stitching, "My dad's dead."
Ziva stopped walking, "Oh, I'm so sorry," she said quietly, "And your mom…?" she asked Lou, the little girl looking at Ziva intently. She shrugged, "I dunno, she's probably working again. She only works at night though, with men. And she always tells me to stay in the apartment until she's back from work. Sometimes she stays back at their houses until the morning."
"Well, I'm going to look after you now, clean up that knee and find your mom for you. Okay?" Ziva asked as she headed towards the entrance to NCIS, flashing her badge to the security guards. She carried Lou towards the elevator, watching the numbers until they got to the bullpen.
The doors pinged open and Ziva stepped out, almost colliding with Gibbs. "Hey! Watch it, okay?" he stepped back, flashing Ziva a questioning look regarding the little blonde child in her arms. He held a Starbucks coffee cup in one hand, pointing in the direction of his and Ziva's desks, "I gotta go down to Ducky, so you'll have to explain it to DiNozzo."
He was gone before Ziva could protest. She carried Lou towards the desks, looking across at Tony. He was leaning back in his chair, his dark sun glasses over his eyes. He was smiling to himself as he talked with someone on the phone, twirling the phone cord around his finger.
"Honey, I didn't stand you up last night, I swear!"
Ziva rolled her eyes, "That's nice to know Tony, I was wondering where you got to last night."
Tony went silent, pushing his sun glasses down a bit so he could see Ziva properly. He lent forward in his seat, talking into the phone, "What? No, no, don't worry about it. It was no one, I swear…" he clenched his jaw, replacing the phone on the receiver as the line went dead. He glared at Ziva, "Thanks a lot."
Ziva grinned, "Anytime." She shifted Lou on her hip; the little girl smiled as she stared intently at Tony.
He placed his sun glasses on the table, adjusting his black suit jacket as he stepped out from behind his desk. "Hi there," he said to Lou, holding out his hand to shake hers. Ziva scoffed, "Tony, she's three years old, she doesn't want to shake your hand."
"Four."
Ziva looked at Lou, "What was that?"
"I'm four, not three." She corrected Ziva, holding up four fingers. Ziva lowered her to the ground, brushing her blonde hair out of her eyes.
Tony perched on the side of his desk watching Ziva and Lou, "What's your name?" he asked.
"Lou." The fair-haired little girl answered, looking up at Tony.
"That's a pretty name." Tony replied, "Is that short for Louise?" he asked her. Lou shook her head, "Louisa" she replied, stressing the "a" at the end. She crossed her arms over her chest, "Duh."
Tony chucked, turning around to sit back down at his desk. Ziva led Lou over to her own desk, the little girl sitting down in the seat. She went back to Tony, "So, what's the story?"
"It looks like she's lost, but she won't tell me anything, and I didn't think it would be a good idea to push it." Ziva replied. Tony nodded, "Good, but we still need to find out where her parents are. Where'd you find her?"
Ziva lent in towards Tony, "Hiding behind a dumpster, just behind this building. She was crying and she's grazed her knee." He frowned, "Why…" he trailed off, Ziva shrugged and glanced across at Lou, she was fiddling with the levers on the chair until it lent back. She propped her bare feet up on the desk and laced her fingers together over her chest. "She's lost her shows too, can't remember where though."
Ziva paused, looking back at Tony, "Tony… I'm thinking some sort of abuse…"
Tony frowned, looking at Lou then back to Ziva, "Hang on, you don't have any proof, right?" Ziva shook her head, "No, but she said her mom only works at night, and only with men. She stays back at their houses until the morning occasionally."
"You're not thinking…"
"No," Ziva said firmly as she cut Tony off, "I think that her mom leaves her four year old daughter alone in the house while she goes off… entertaining men."
Ziva looked back at Lou; the little girl was still sitting on the chair, spinning slowly round and round. "Lou," she called quietly, "What's your last name?" Ziva asked Lou, the little girl lent back in her seat once more, imitating Tony.
"Delgado" she replied quietly. Ziva looked across at Tony; he started typing and pulled up the results. "I've got one hit for a Carlos Delgado. He was convicted for drug trafficking in 1999, got two years. He's wanted in Virginia for skipping bail last year; police haven't been able to track him down since. He's…" Tony paused, lowering his voice, "He's deceased. Could this be your man?"
Ziva nodded, "Maybe. She said he passed away." She looked across at Lou, "Lou, your mother…" she trailed off, Lou was leaning forward in the seat, clutching the front of her white t-shirt.
"Lou? Are you alright?" Ziva asked. Lou looked up at Ziva, a pained expression on her face. She started wheezing and coughing, her face going deathly white. Ziva rushed over to the four-year-old, placing her hand on her shoulder and sitting her back on the seat. Lou wheezed once more, struggling to breath.
Suddenly Lou fell forward, her small frame going limp. "Oh my God." Tony picked up the phone and dialed for help, Ziva holding the little girl as she lay limp in her arms.
"Tony, she's not breathing."
A/N: Review!