Chapter 1
First Meeting
~~In Tel Aviv, Israel, January 1990~~
The taxi that twenty-one-year-old Tony was riding in pulled up in front of Tel-Aviv Elementary School. As he looked at the building, he noticed the occasional pock mark in the walls of the building. He gulped, reminded that this area had seen some rough times, that gunfights had occurred in the past. Still, he was excited, if a bit nervous, to do the exchange courses to earn more credits for Ohio State University, where he had been attending the last few years. Stepping out of the taxi, he looked around at his surroundings. A short distance away, he noticed a school bus letting the children off to go into the school. In the onrush of students running off to the building, he noticed a girl being pushed down by an older boy.
Tony quickly walked toward to the young boy that was standing in front of the girl on the ground and said, "Hey dude, what'd you do that for? She didn't do anything toward you, so why push her?"
The young boy quickly looked up at Tony. "I'm Ari. What's it to you?" His speech had a heavy Israeli accent to it, but he was fluent in English, which surprised Tony.
"Why should you be treating girls like that? You're supposed to be nice to her." He smiled at the boy as he held out his hand to the young girl.
Ari scoffed. "I'll do what I want with her! She's my sister." After a split second, the boy turned around and ran off into the school building, leaving Ziva still on the ground.
"Alright, if that's the way you're gonna be..." Tony muttered to himself after the boy's retreating figure. He sighed, then turned to look down at the young girl, stretching his hand out to her. "You doing alright?"
The girl looked up at Tony, and took his hand and stood up, then dusted herself off. She looked up at Tony and said, "Yeah, I'm fine." She looked toward the school building. "That was my brother. He likes to test how strong I can be strong. Not to cry." She looked back at Tony.
"Ahh I see. What's your name? My name's Tony." Tony reached out his hand for a handshake and bowed toward her.
The girl smiled and said, "I'm Ziva, and I'm seven years old." She curtsied to Tony. "Nice to meet you, Tony." Ziva turned to pick up her ladybug-themed backpack, then as the school bell sounded, turned to walk to the school entrance way, leaving Tony pondering for a moment.
After a moment, Tony quickly walked into the school building. As he walked through the hallway, he saw the children going into their classrooms as the second bell sounded. He looked up and down the hallway, before finding the offices he needed to go to. He went in there and checked in with the secretary, who told him he was assigned to be assistant coach for the basketball team. He smiled to himself; he knew he would be there for at least a month before heading back to the States. As Tony listened to the general office-related hubbub, he realized that his Hebrew paled in comparison with what he heard the moment he got off the plane. His Hebrew language skills were still pretty rusty. Still, he was relieved to know that the staff also spoke fluent English. The principal came out to meet with Tony and guided him to the gym. He pointed to the office in the gym. "Head coach's in there. You'll find him."
"Thanks," Tony said. He looked at the door and gulped, then walked up to the door and opened it and stepped inside. He glanced at the name plate on the desk. It said Coach Jack Irishman. He quickly looked back at the head coach.
The head coach sat behind his desk, doing some paperwork. He looked up and smiled at Tony. He said, "Hello there, you must be Anthony Dinozzo?" Jack stood up, giving him the handshake.
"Yeah." He smiled at the coach, sighing internally with relief that he could speak fluent English. "Call me Tony. Anthony's my dad's name." Tony reached out to shake the coach's hand.
"Alright, no problem. Name's Jack Irishman. I'm the head coach around here." Jack paused for a moment, looking back at the paperwork on his desk. "OSU, eh? You're taking exchange courses from there?"
Tony nodded and smiled. "Yeah. Very interesting country here. My first time out of the States," he said.
Jack chuckled. "I remember when I came out here for the first time. Boy, I was green just like you. You'll do just fine here." Jack patted Tony on his shoulder. "Lot of students here speak English; you got both Israeli kids and American kids coming here. You saw the military base coming in here, didn't you?"
Tony nodded, breathing out a sigh of relief. "Yeah. That's good to know. I did my best to learn Hebrew, but man, talk about challenging! I know Italian a lot better, though. I guess you can see where my family came from, with my last name." Tony let out a small chuckle as he adjusted his backpack.
Jack chuckled. "Yeah. Italian." He tapped the paperwork on the desk. "You'll be coaching basketball here, alongside me. Let's get you going for the day. We get the kids after school for some tryouts for both the girls' and boys' teams. Now these kids're young uns. You get the seven-to-nine age group, while I have the older ones, ten-to-twelve age group." He looked at Tony and smiled. "That sound good to you?"
"Alright, sure thing." Tony nodded with a smile, reaching up to scratch the back of his head.
"That's the spirit. You'll do just fine," Jack said, clapping Tony on his shoulder, causing him to take a small step forward.
Later that afternoon, Tony was sitting on the bleachers, doing some schoolwork, scribbling some notes in his notebook. He heard the sounds of children coming into the gym. He looked up at the children entering the gym, as he quickly packed up his schoolwork in his backpack. As he placed his bag beside him, Jack walked up to Tony. "Hey, come on up. The kids are here. Basketball time!" Jack waved his hand in the air, beckoning Tony toward him.
Moments later, the children were warming up for the tryouts, shooting hoops in turn. As Tony was encouraging the children to do their best, helping catch the occasional ball that had bounced straight back at them off the backboard, he couldn't help, but notice that Ari was taunting Ziva, occasionally throwing his ball at her just when she was setting up to shoot her hoop, calling toward her in Hebrew. He stepped over to Jack's side and whispered in Jack's ear, "Hey, does that boy pick on girls all the time, or does he just do it to her?" Tony grimaced as he saw Ari shove Ziva to the floor. "Should we do something about it?"
Jack looked at Tony and sighed, shrugging his shoulder, his eyebrows jumping momentarily. "Yeah, no." He nodded his head toward the boy. "That's Ari. He's twelve. He's good with basketball, but man, he is one hard-headed kid. Rumor is that this year's his last here. Something about going to a youth training camp for the Mossad, I guess." Jack clicked his tongue and shook his head. "Comes from a rich family. The girl he pushed down? His sister. He thinks he can do whatever he wants with her."
"Yeah, but can't you do something about it?" Tony repeated the question.
"You don't know their father. He's not someone you wanna mess with." Jack held up a finger. "He's some sort of high-ranking diplomat here."
Tony looked at Ari and Ziva and gulped. "Wow. So, nothing?"
"Oh, we try to admonish him. But we can't really do much. Detention doesn't seem to faze him." Jack sighed. "Keep an eye on that one."
"Hmph." Tony shook his head gently as he turned to walk to Ziva, who had since gotten up and was sitting on the bleachers, tying her shoes. He looked down at her and softly said, "Hey Ziva. Are you alright?"
Ziva looked up at Tony and smiled. "Yeah, I'm okay. Ari's trying to teach me to toughen up. I hate it, but I got to make my Abba proud. But my Ima likes to see me happy, so she lets me play here."
"Ah I see. Well, I'm the assistant coach here. I'll be keeping an eye on you kids while you play ball, alright?" Tony smiled and nodded.
Ziva's face brightened into a smile. "Oh, really? Cool! Watch me play!" She ran off to grab a ball and shoot the hoops.
Once the children were playing the hoop to shoot, Tony helped out with the children, encouraging them on, giving them little tips on how to aim and shoot the hoops better. As Ziva played with the ball, trying to shoot, she almost made it in, and so on the next go around, just when she jumped, Tony grabbed ahold of Ziva and lifted her up just enough for her to make the shot.
"Look! I made it!" Ziva laughed and cheered.
Tony laughed. "Yes, you did!" He caught another errant ball midair and tossed it to another waiting child.
Ziva grabbed another ball and ran up court, bouncing the ball the whole way, then stopped in front of the hoop, setting herself up for the shot. "Aim for the square," she whispered to herself as she held the ball up in the air getting ready to shoot.
Suddenly, she was distracted by Ari shouting at her. "Don't be a wimp! Put all your strength into it! You can do it!" Ari shouted in Hebrew to Ziva. He tossed the ball at Ziva. "Try to make it when I'm hitting you with more balls!"
"Huh?" Tony's face crinkled up slightly in puzzlement as he tried his best to understand what was being said, but he could only pick out a word here and there. He got the sense that Ari was just picking on Ziva out of spite, to whip her into shape, to toughen her up.
Ziva glared at Ari. "Shut up, or I'll tell Abba that you're bothering me!" Ziva fired back in Hebrew.
Tony rushed over to Ziva's side. "Hey, hey, Ziva. Ignore him. Just focus on that hoop. You can do it," Tony patted Ziva's shoulder with a smile. He turned to Ari. "You knock it off!"
"You're not my boss!" Ari scoffed at Tony, then started rushing Tony.
"Hey, whoa!" Tony quickly stepped aside, causing Ari to miss Tony and stumbling slightly.
"Hey!" A strident voice cut across the gym floor. Everybody looked up at the sound. Jack marched straight to Ari. "You behave, or you're going to the principal!"
Ari shrugged and scoffed at Jack. "Fine, whatever!" Ari turned and walked past Ziva, and just as he passed, her, he slapped the ball out of Ziva's hands, then ran his shoulder into hers, causing her to trip and fall.
"Ow!" Ziva let out a groan as she sat down hard on the ground.
"Ari, what are you doing?!" The gym doors slammed shut, causing everyone to look toward the door. There Eli stood, flanked by his two bodyguards.
Jack quickly stepped up to Tony's side. "Tony, that's Eli, their father. Usually has bodyguards with him."
Ziva ran to her Abba. "Abba! Ari was picking on me all day long! I want to play basketball, but he won't leave me alone!" Ziva chattered away in Hebrew.
Eli looked at Ziva and sighed. He reached down and gave her a hug. "Is that so? Okay, I will talk with Ari." He smiled at her. "You go on play." Eli turned to Ari and grabbed his shoulder. "You, come with me."
"I wasn't doing anything! Honest!" Ari looked up at Eli, a dirty look on his face, as if he had been accused of murdering someone.
Eli shook his heavy head. "No, I saw what you did." He looked up at Jack and Tony, whose faces were white. "Was he this way the whole time?"
"More or less nonstop." Tony was quick to reply, which drew a small gasp from Jack.
"You saw it, too?" Jack looked at Tony.
"Yup." Tony nodded. "Came here by taxi in the morning, saw him pushing her down when they got off the bus."
Eli looked back at Ari and shook his head. "Come with me." He grabbed Ari by the scruff of his neck and marched him to the gym doors and stepped out with him.
Moments later, the sound of Eli's screaming at Ari echoed throughout the gym as it traveled through the doors. Ziva gulped at the sound, then ran back to her spot, taking a deep breath, trying to tune out her Abba screaming at Ari. She took a shot, and almost made it, but failed because she was rattled by the sound of Eli stomping in the hallway in sync with his screaming and emphasizing certain words in Hebrew.
Tony stepped up to Ziva and patted her shoulder. He handed the ball to her and said, "It's alright. You can do it. Remember how I showed you?"
Off to the side, the twin doors of the gym quietly opened, and Eli stepped inside halfway and watched Tony comfort and coach Ziva. He briefly glared at Ari, who was slumping on the wall outside the gym. "Go to the car – now!" he whispered angrily to Ari, then turned to one of the bodyguards. "Go with him. Make sure he stays put," he whispered to the bodyguard in Hebrew. He turned back to watch Ziva.
"Yep. Like this," Ziva nodded, swallowing back her fears, brushing her hair out of her eyes. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of Eli standing quietly by the doors but didn't turn to face him. Instead, she stood square to the basketball hoop, mentally preparing herself, going over the shots in her head. She took a shot, and the ball hit the front of the rim and bounced straight back at her and she caught it. "Oof!" she said to herself, then mustered a little stronger shot. Swish. The ball went in, nothing but net.
"Yes! You did it!" Tony clapped his hands.
"I made it! Yes!" Ziva jumped up and down in joy.
Eli ran up to Ziva and looked down at her. "I saw that! I am so proud of you, my darling!" Eli broke out in a huge, toothy smile, as he exclaimed in Hebrew.
~~At the apartment complex, Ziva's house~~
Eventually, after dinner, Ziva sat at her desk in her bedroom, doing some schoolwork, she heard a gentle knock on her door. She looked up at the door and saw Rivka's head through the door. "Can I come in?" Rivka asked.
"Sure, Ima." Ziva turned and smiled at Rivka.
Rivka walked into the bedroom and went to sit on Ziva's bed. She said in Hebrew, "Hi Ziva." She pointed toward Ziva's homework. "You look like you're doing good with your schoolwork. How was your day, my darling?" Rivka asked as she stroked Ziva's hair back, smiling at her.
Ziva tilted her head to Rivka and smiled. "Yeah, Ima, I had an alright day at school today. I went to the library, read some books."
Rivka smiled at Ziva. "Sounds good. So, your Abba tells me you made a shot in basketball, right?"
"Yeah! The new coach, Tony, helped a me few times until I could do it myself. I made it without Ari bothering me, finally. Abba took him out of the gym and so I made the shot without Ari bothering me." Ziva smiled up at Rivka.
"Good job!" Rivka held up a hand. "High-five!"
Ziva smiled and clapped a high-five on Rivka's hand. "Yes!"
Rivka tilted her head at Ziva. "So, Tony? A new coach?"
Before Ziva could say something in Hebrew, Eli walked in the room, "My darling, did you hear what Ziva did?" he asked Rivka.
Ziva nodded. "Abba saw it, too!"
Rivka gasped and smiled. "Oh, that's great! She made the basket!"
Eli smiled and nodded. "Yes, she did. But Ari was picking on her, though." Anger built up in his face. "And I find out from Jack and the new coach that he's been at it all day long!"
Rivka stood up quickly, glaring at Eli. "Oh, Eli!" She exclaimed in in Hebrew, being furious at Eli. "Eli! Look at what he's doing! He's been awful to Tali and Ziva! I do not want him in this house anymore." This latest piece of news about Ari had gotten Rivka fed up with her stepson, who was being a bully on his sisters on a more or less daily basis. Yes, she understood that Ari was reaching a point in his life where he was entering the teenage years, and so he had it in his head that he was to become the man of the house over his sisters, because his father had always been gone on business trips all the time.
Eli stood up, looking at Rivka, his face changing from anger to a different form of anger mixed with frustration. "Are you saying that I should do something about Ari?"
"Yes!" Rivka shot back.
"What am I supposed to do, send him off to some boarding school and be the solider?" Eli said Hebrew.
Rivka shrugged. "He's your son. I can't have Ari bullying our daughters. Don't you see how he's affecting the girls?" She reached out and grabbed Eli's hands. "The girls need you the most right now. I know you want their loyalty, but please show them your love too. Protect our daughters, allow them to grow up. They don't need Ari's behavior. Please?"
Eli sighed and sat heavily on the bed beside Rivka. "Alright! I got to think!" Eli sighed again putting his head into his hands, deep in thought.
Ziva looked at her Abba for a moment or two. "Abba?" Ziva moved closer and patted Eli on his back. "Abba? Ari can go and do big boy stuff. He keeps saying he's old enough." Ziva leaned over on Eli's shoulder.
Eli felt a lump forming in his throat, realizing that in her naivete, she did have a valid point. He looked down at her and his mouth moved for a moment, trying to form words, before his brain managed to work again. He sighed at himself, then said in Hebrew to Ziva, "Oh come here, sit on my lap." Eli lifted Ziva up to sit on lap. "I am sorry about how Ari behaved toward you. I'm also sorry that I failed to notice until now. I was so busy with work, making sure that this family had everything: food, a house to live in, clothes, a car or two. Even loyalty, and love. I want you to understand that." Eli sighed as he made up his mind as to what to do about the Ari situation. He turned to Rivka. "I'll see about what we can do with Ari, Rivka."
"Thank you," Rivka mouthed the words as she smiled at him.
Ziva looked up at Eli. "Abba, what will happen to him when he goes away? Will he-"
Eli held up a finger as he looked at Ziva. "You leave that to me. I'll see what I can do about Ari. But I want to tell you that I am so proud of you doing good in school. And enjoying basketball with your friends." He shifted his position to face Ziva a bit more squarely on. "Oh, and I also saw Miss Donna today. She says you sure love books. She says you always enjoy spelling words, and you always do well with those spelling tests." Eli smiled at Ziva.
"Oh yeah Abba. I love books. Ari doesn't like to read, so I go to the library, and he doesn't come in there and pick on me." Ziva let out a small giggle.
Rivka chuckled at how Ziva perked up in excitement when it came to talking about books. Rivka knew how much she enjoyed reading; she would give a book to Ziva, and she would be done with it within a couple days' time. She turned to Eli. "Eli, we sure raised a bright girl here."
Eli laughed out loud. "That we did. She found a way to find her own little peaceful world, away from her source of frustrations."
~~Miss Donna, the Librarian's home~~
Later that evening, after dinner, Tony was sitting at the den at side of the house, doing his schoolwork. He had been invited to stay at the school librarian's house as he finished out his exchange coursework. A middle-aged lady walked into the room and sat in the chair next to Tony. "Hi Tony. Mind if I sit here?"
Tony looked up at the lady of the house. "No, go ahead, Miss Donna. Thanks for the dinner." Tony smiled and glanced at his notebooks and loose papers as he closed the notebook up, making sure that he didn't lose any of the papers. He looked back up at Donna.
Donna smiled and nodded at Tony. "Alright, I just thought I come by to see if you need anything. How's your homework coming along?"
"Oh, it's going." Tony smiled. He tilted his head to Donna. "You know, today's been very interesting. I think I made a friend already."
Donna chuckled. "Oh? Who?"
Tony smiled. "Ziva. I didn't catch her last name. But I think I made that little girl so happy when she made her first basket, and made it on the team. Her older brother... Ari?"
"Yeah, Ari." Donna nodded. "What about him?" She didn't care too much for Ari. She had had her own experiences with him, trying to rein in a rebellious preteen boy.
"Well," Tony let out a sigh as he started reeling off his day's story. "Soon as I get off that taxi, I see him pushing Ziva over and over again. More or less all day long he was picking on her every chance he got. Good thing his father caught him in the gym when we were playing basketball." He looked at Donna.
Donna took a deep breath. "That is good that their father caught Ari in the act, finally." She put her hands in her lap and smiled at Tony. "Ziva's a very bright girl. Loves to go to school. What's more, she loves to talk and hang out with me at the library. She would ask me for books to read, and when she struggled with words, she would ask me for help in pronouncing them. She's like a sponge."
Tony chuckled gently. "She comes to the library every day?" His eyebrows raised.
Donna nodded. "Yes, Ziva likes to hide in library, so she can study and read quietly, with no distractions."
"Ahh I see. So she's a bookworm, then." Tony raised his eyebrow, some ideas forming in his head as to what books Ziva might like to have.
Donna smiled, "oh yes"
"So, what's the deal with Ari?" Tony shrugged and held his hands out. "Why can't the school do much else than call him out on his behavior?"
"Eli." Donna shrugged. "He's someone you don't want to get on the wrong side of. But good thing that Eli saw how his son was, finally."
"Ah. So, Eli's pretty much the bigwig in this area? That why Ari feels like he's entitled to do just about anything he pleases?" Tony scoffed slightly.
Donna let out a short chuckle. "Pretty much. Hopefully something good will come out of what Eli had to see in his son."
"So, the men here, that's how they treat women?" Tony's face had a puzzled look on it.
"Not all of them, but you see it a lot here. It's their culture, I think," Donna said.
"So, what brings you here in this place? You're a little far away from home, huh?" Tony looked at Donna, smiling.
"I'm a military brat. My dad works at the base, has been here as long as I can remember. Born in America, grew up here." Donna flicked her head sideways, causing her hair to flip away from her eyes.
"Ahh." Tony smiled. "Interesting country, this. I came out here for my exchange coursework from OSU. Bit of a culture shock for me if you ask me."
Donna looked at Tony and chuckled. "I know what you mean. My parents met through the exchange schooling that my mother did, then we moved back out to Israel when she finished her schooling."
Tony looked up at Donna. "Ah, so that's why you teach the kids how to speak English?"
Donna nodded, "Yep, I tutor the children in English every Tuesdays and Thursdays. Ziva is one of those kids. She looks forward to those days, and she loves learning new words."
"Makes sense why her English is better than her brother's," Tony muttered to himself.
Donna chuckled lightly. "Here, the boys tend to go off and serve in the military. Yes, there are women in the military also, but most choose to stay home and work."
"Oh, so that makes sense why Ziva's so into books and stuff. She puts her best effort forth, I can see that." Tony smiled. He looked down at his course work. "A little bit of international studies in here. It's an eye-opener, being in this country. Some things are similar to in the States, but a lot of it is so different."
"That's right." Donna nodded. "The history of this country is a very interesting one. Full of conflict for many years, but also many years of peace. Both shapes this country into what it is now. The Jewish community strives to call this country their own."
"I think I'm beginning to understand more about this country and how the people live here. I noticed that their belief system permeates even the educational system." Tony sat back and rubbed his chin, deep in thought.
Donna smiled. "Has been for generations, ever since Biblical times. A lot of their teachings, they pass down through the family, but they also get some from school."
"Hmph." Tony slumped in his chair. "Not like in the States. I mean -"
"I know what you mean. The educational system over there is so different. I went over one year to look at their system, and I was shocked. Some schools had different systems than others, I could never keep things straight over there." Donna sighed. "At least, over here, things are pretty standard, but you have to take into account their family teachings also."
~~One month later~~
Ever since Ari had been pulled out of school and sent away to boarding school, there had been a lot less stress for Ziva, and she blossomed in school, being her bubbly self, and her friendship with Tony grew. She enjoyed playing basketball every chance she got with him and the other children, and when they went to the library, read every book she could get her hands on.
On his final full day there, the staff at the school threw a farewell party for Tony in the gym, with the children. Jack and Donna had arranged for pizza to be delivered to the gym for the children to enjoy. Everybody had taken a liking to Tony and his easygoing personality that exuded a calm sense of confidence, a "you can do it" sort of being around him.
As everyone sat on the bleachers, looking up at the stage, Jack stood up at the podium. "Okay, everybody, as you all know, Coach Tony's leaving this weekend. He's going back to the United States, and so we just wanted to say goodbye to you, Tony." He turned to Tony and beckoned him up to the podium. "Why don't you come on up here and give a little speech?"
"Speech! Speech!" Donna called out from the bleachers.
A scattering of "Speech! Speech!" arose from the bleachers, Ziva's voice loudest of all the children.
Tony chuckled as he got up off his chair and made his way to the podium. He cleared his throat slightly, then said, "Uh, while we wait for the pizza and food to arrive," he paused as sudden laughter broke out from the bleachers, then continued on, "I just wanted to say how much I've enjoyed my time here. I learned a lot from all of you. Up until now I've always taken things for granted. How wrong I have been to think that people were just one way, like back in the States. You've opened my eyes to different ways of seeing things."
Applause arose from the bleachers. Jack clapped him on his shoulders. "You got it, bud," he whispered into Tony's ear.
Tony glanced at Jack and quickly nodded. He looked back out at the bleachers. "Now, I just wanted to thank you everyone for making me feel like at home out here. I want to give a very special 'thank you' to Miss Donna for her hospitality and teaching me a lot of things about this country. And for allowing me to read all the books she had about here." Tony chuckled gently as he looked at Miss Donna sitting on the bleachers as she wiped her tears away. Deep down, he knew he would miss her sweetness and kind friendship.
Everyone clapped, then after a moment, Tony raised his hand in the air. "There is one more person to thank, and that is Coach Jack." He turned to Jack and looked him square in his eyes and smiled. "I wanted to say thank you for having me here to help you coach the team. It sure was so much fun learning from you, and the kids." Tony looked at Jack with a smile as he shook his hand.
Shortly after the food came, everyone got their share of pizza, fruits, and drinks. As soon as the children got their food and sat down to eat, Tony slipped out of the gym, walking a short distance away from the doorway, trying to not let his emotions show, trying to relax. He sat on the steps leading up to the gym a short distance away and took a deep breath, clearing his mind, remembering the days past.
"Coach Tony!" Ziva's voice snapped Tony out of his thoughts. He looked up quickly and saw Ziva standing in front of him, a plate of pizza in her hands. "You can't leave without pizza! Here." She smiled as she offered the plate to him.
Tony chuckled. "Why, thank you, Ziva." He took the plate from her and smiled.
Ziva quickly sat down next to him and smiled. "Where are you going after this?"
"New York City," Tony said, smiling. He picked up a slice of pizza and took a bite. "The city that never sleeps."
Ziva laughed. "Really? Why doesn't it ever sleep?"
Tony chuckled. "Everybody's on the go, all the time. Night or day, there's always something happening."
"Oh, wow! I'd like to go there, one day." Ziva smiled.
Just then, Donna walked out of the gym. "Oh, there you are, Tony. Everything okay?"
Tony turned to look at Donna. "Yeah. Just realized that I'm gonna miss you guys. Can't believe that the time went by so fast."
"I made sure Coach Tony didn't leave without pizza!" Ziva piped up.
Donna laughed. "That's very kind of you, Ziva."
"I'll be back," Ziva said, smiling.
"Okay. We'll be here," Donna said, smiling to Ziva.
Ziva giggled and ran back into the gym.
Tony chuckled as he watched her go into the gym. "She has a kind heart. Glad to see she's doing so much better lately. Especially since her brother stopped showing up around here," Tony said.
Miss Donna smiled at Tony. "Since Eli pulled him out, yes." She tilted her head to Tony. "I have noticed that the children really enjoyed you a lot, and really appreciated your helping them learn new things." Donna paused, looking at Tony, reading the worry in Tony's eyes. She put her hand on Tony's. "Ziva will be fine here. You have my word," she said, smiling.
Tony smiled. "You'll be there for her, right? She just needs the right kind of people to keep her going."
Miss Donna reached out to hug Tony at her side. "Tony, you're such a good young man. You got a lot of life ahead of you. Don't ever forget those good times you had out here. Maybe one day, you'll come back here and meet your friends again. I think Ziva will be just fine. I'm sure she will remember you for a long time."
Tony nodded, standing up and letting out a grunt as he stretched his back. "Yeah. You really taught me a lot. I won't be taking things for granted back in the States, I know that much." Tony paused to look at his bag, then back up to Donna. "Got a couple things for Ziva. Just wanted to give 'em to her before I left."
Miss Donna stood up with Tony, and looked at the bag, then back at Tony, smiling. "That is really nice of you to do that. I'm sure Ziva will like that. I don't think she will ever forget you," Donna said, chuckling.
Tony chuckled, but before he could say something, he heard the quiet sound of a door opening. He looked up to the door, and he noticed Ziva standing by the door, smiling at Tony.
"Are you really leaving, Coach Tony?" Ziva walked toward Tony, a slightly sad look on her face.
"Come on over here, Ziva." Tony reached out his hand, beckoning Ziva to come up to him. He kneeled down as Ziva walked up to him. As Ziva reached him, he said, "Yes, I'm leaving, but not right now." Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw two heavyset men slip out of the gym doors and standing a discreet distance away, watching Ziva intently. His eyes flicked to them, then back to Ziva. "These your friends, too?"
Ziva looked back at the bodyguards briefly, then back to Tony. "Abba sent them to go wherever I go, so he can go to work and know I am okay."
Tony looked back up to the bodyguards, who were scanning the area, keeping an eye on anything and everything. "Ah, I see." He reached into his bag and pulled out another smaller bag. He smiled at Ziva. "I just wanted to give you a little surprise. You can open them if you want." Tony held the bag out toward Ziva.
Ziva perked up and grabbed the bag. "You got me presents?" Ziva looked up at Tony, her face beaming in happiness. She then looked down at her bag.
'Go ahead open it up and see what I got you," Tony said, chuckling, as he looked on.
Ziva peeked in the bag and reached in and took a small round object out of the bag. "Oh these basketball beanie! That's so cool!" Ziva squealed in delight.
"There you go, I thought you would like that." Tony smiled in delight. He said, "Certainly nothing wrong for a girl to love basketball. You also got a little hoop in there that you can stick on the wall and shoot hoops all you want." Tony pointed to the bag.
"I like them!" Ziva looked at Tony, holding up the basketball hoop and basketball beanie.
"There's more in there. Keep looking," Tony said, smiling at Ziva, mirroring her bubbly happiness. He glanced over at Miss Donna, who was also smiling.
"Oh, there's more? Let's see," Ziva said, grinning as she rummaged in the bag and pulled out a couple of books.
"What'd you get?" Donna asked.
"Books!" Ziva perked up, holding up the books. "One's about New York City!" Her smile was radiant, lighting up the whole hallway, causing everyone to giggle with delight.
"There you go with these books. I got them from the bookstore nearby. Miss Donna helped me pick those out. That book's all about the city that I live in. See? That's the Statue of Liberty," Tony said, pointing at the picture of the Statue of Liberty on the front of the book.
"Wow, that's awesome," Ziva breathed out in amazement as she opened the book and thumbed through the first few pages. "I like those lights everywhere on all the buildings, they look so cool," Ziva said as she looked around at the pictures.
Tony looked at Ziva for a moment, watching Ziva enjoy her brand new book, then turned to Donna and whispered, "I think she likes it."
"She sure does, and I think you made her night," Miss Donna said, smiling at Tony.
Ziva looked up at Tony. "That's the Empire State Building!" She held her book up and pointed at the building. "Have you been up it before?"
Tony looked down at the picture and nodded. "Yeah, once, when I was real young. My dad took me up there to look out at the city skyscrapers." Tony smiled. "You can see a long way away on a good day up there."
Ziva pulled Tony down as if to whisper something in his ear. Tony bent down and put his ear down to Ziva's level. Ziva whispered to him, "Thank you for being my friend," and quickly hugged him. "I'll miss you," she said.
Tony was surprised at Ziva's hug, but he hugged her back anyway. "Aw, I'll miss you too. Maybe one day I will come back and visit you all again."
Ziva turned her face to give a quick small peck on Tony's cheek and hugged him again. "You're my best friend," Ziva said as she perked up with a smile.
Tony was stunned with a quick kiss on his cheek. He never expected a child like Ziva would do that, and it brought a warm feeling to his heart, because it was then that he realized the impact that he has had on Ziva. He stood up and looked down at Ziva, smiling. He said, "Hey, Ziva, do you want to do something fun before we need to go?"
Ziva stood up front of him and her smile widened. "Fly me through the air!" She held up her hands in the air. "Pick me up please"
Tony chuckled. "Alright, here we go!" Tony scooped Ziva up into the air, zooming through the air, as she held her arms out like she was flying. Tony held her tightly so to make sure she didn't fall out of his hands, as he spun around a couple of times, before setting her down on her feet again.
A couple of hours after the pizza party and trip to the ice cream parlor, Tony and Donna eventually made their way to Ziva's house, with the bodyguards following close behind. Tony and Donna pulled up in front of Ziva's house. Tony looked into the rear seat at Ziva, who had fallen asleep. He looked back at Donna and said quietly, "I can take her in, if that's okay with you?"
"That'll be great. We'll go in together," Donna smiled and nodded as she opened her door.
"You got it," Tony said as he opened his door. He stepped out and quickly went around to the back door, opening it. He looked at Ziva for a second, then reached out and gently shook her awake. "Ziva, come on, you're home, now."
Ziva sat up, rubbed her eyes, then held out her arms. "Carry me?" Ziva scooted over and clutched onto Tony.
"Aw, let me carry you. It's alright," Tony gathered Ziva up into his arms and patted her back gently as Ziva adjusted herself in Tony's arms and leaned her head on Tony's shoulder and fell back asleep. Tony stood back up and closed the door, then turned to walk toward the house.
As Tony reached the door, Donna was already at the door steps, waiting for Tony. The bodyguards quickly stepped up to the door and opened it to let Tony go into the house carrying Ziva in his arms.
Rivka got up from the couch as the door opened. She saw Tony carrying Ziva, followed closely by Donna walking behind him. "Oh, hello there! You must be Tony. Ziva's been telling me about you."
Tony chuckled gently, so as not to wake Ziva up. "Hi, good to meet you at last. We had a pizza party and we played games and just had a good time. She just conked out while we were driving over here."
"Allow me to show you to her bedroom," Rivka said in halting English, then walked to Ziva's bedroom, and Tony followed her to her bedroom.
At the bedroom, Rivka stood at the doorway, while Tony carried Ziva to the bed, and tried to set her down in her bed. Ziva tightened her grip on Tony as he leaned over to lay her down. "I don't want you to leave," Ziva whispered, her voice full of sadness.
Tony looked down at Ziva's face, and said, "Hey, it's okay. It was an honor being your friend." He put a finger under Ziva's chin and pulled it up gently to where she was looking at him. "Thank you for making me feel welcome here. You be a good girl, alright?"
Ziva nodded. "You're my best friend, ever. I'll miss you a lot when you leave," she said.
"Hey," Tony said, softly. "If you miss me, look at the New York City book and think about me. Look at the pictures, and remember the good times we had together, okay?" Tony bent his head down and smooched on Ziva's forehead, then gently laid Ziva down on the bed. Tony held back his tears as he gently pulled the blanket over Ziva. He turned around and quietly walked out of the room.
Tony walked back to the living room with Rivka. Rivka looked at Tony, then at Donna. She said, in Hebrew, "Thank you so much for bringing her home." Rivka paused as Donna translated for Tony.
Tony nodded. "Not a problem. It was a pleasure working with her, and the other children. But she - Ziva – will always hold a special place in my heart."
Rivka smiled. "She has grown since you came into the picture," she said. "Shalom, and go in peace." She held up a hand and waved to Tony.
Tony smiled. "Thanks. I will." He turned to walk out of the residence, followed by Donna.
Moments later, as Tony reached the car and opened his door, he had a sudden feeling, as if someone was watching him from behind. He quickly turned around and looked back at the house. He noticed a figure standing in the upstairs bedroom window and took a closer look. There Ziva was, standing at her window, waving at Tony goodbye. He noticed that tears were streaming down her face, a small smile on her face. He could see her mouthing, "Bye, Tony. You are my best friend."
Tony swallowed hard, waving goodbye to Ziva. "Bye my little friend," he said to himself as he got in the car and Donna started driving away.
Later that evening, as the plane banked over Israel after taking off from Tel-Aviv Airport, Tony looked out the window at the lights below. As the lights faded into darkness when the plane went over the Mediterranean Sea, he leaned back in his seat and pondered the events that happened over the last few weeks. Absentmindedly, he jammed his hand into one of his jacket pockets and felt something that wasn't there before. Puzzled, he looked down as he pulled out whatever it was in his pocket. He opened his hand and there was a Star of David necklace and a note, with Ziva's scrawling on a piece of paper. He smiled and read the note. It said: "Thank you for being my best friend. I hope to see you again one day. Your best friend, Ziva." He put the note and Star of David necklace up to his chest and a happy tear fell from his eye. He chuckled to himself as the plane roared through the sky. He looked back out the window at the moon, and said to himself, "Thank you, my little friend, for coming into my life."
A/N: Dear Readers, This is the beginning of a new Tiva AU story series. Much more to come after this. Hope you enjoy the new journey of Tiva World. Thank you for all your Reviews, Tweets, Messages and Kudos.