"Sometimes when you're in a dark place you think you've been buried, but you've actually been planted." -Anonymous

It was now close to midnight. Liya was standing in the doorway of her daughter's room, watching the little girl sleep. Ziva had gone home almost three hours ago. Liya was startled by a sudden knock on her front door.

Walking over to answer it, she peeked through the hole and saw that it was Rossi. She opened the door, greeting him with a smile.

"Rossi? What are you doing here?"

"I came to check on you." Dave said as he stepped inside the house, "Heard you were in Israel, and I know about your father."

Liya let out a breath as she hung her head a little, closing the door behind Dave.

"It's understandable why you wouldn't want to talk about him." Dave added, "But what about your sister?"

"I suppose I was protecting her." Liya uttered, "I was twelve when she was born. I remember how little and helpless she was. I vowed to protect her that day, and I have always done my best too." She pursed her lips as she shook her head, "But my father is not a man that you can say no to."

Dave gave a nod, "I understand."

Liya sat down on her couch, placing her head in her hands. Dave strode over and sat down beside her.

"Everything alright?" He asked

Liya picked up her head, but didn't make eye contact. She just stared at the wall in front of her.

"You're the closest thing I have to a true father. To Eli, I'm nothing more than an asset. He broke me down when I was just a child, but despite all the he has done, I still love him." She paused briefly, turning her head to look at Dave. Her voice sounded like a little kid as she asked, "What's wrong with me?"

"Whether good or bad, our parents have a mystical hold on us. The power to affect our thoughts and emotions, the way only they can."

Liya huffed out a breath, "Yeah. I wish he didn't. I would make hating him a whole lot easier."

- 2002 -

Thirty-two year old Liya's being loaned to Interpol as the Mossad liaison with one of their units. She'll be working with them to take down a man who calls himself Valhalla.

While she is in her room packing, thinking about how she doesn't want to go, she hears her bedroom door swing open fast. The door bangs into the wall, making a loud crash, and she's sure that there will be a dent in the wall.

Liya turns around to see a very distraught looking Ziva. The tears on her cheeks making her appear younger than her twenty years as she runs right into her older sister, hugging her tightly.

"Z? Z, what's wrong?" Liya asks as she hugged her little sister back.

"She's dead." Ziva sobs, "Tali's dead."

Liya grows silent as she feels a lump forming in her throat. She tightens her hug, gripping tightly to her sister.

"Li?" Ziva utters after a very long silence.

"Yeah. I'm still here." Liya reassures, "How did it happen?"

Ziva sniffles, "It was a suicide bomber."

All Liya can think about is her poor baby. She wonders if Tali was scared or if she felt any pain before the end came.

"Are you okay?" Ziva speaks again, pulling out of the hug

"I wanna see her." Liya says, "I wanna see Tali."

Ziva nods, "Abba will take you to her."

Liya looks back at the open suitcase on her bed, wondering how she can leave now. She couldn't possibly leave Ziva alone. Ari's been awol for the past six years.

Ziva just now notices the suitcase. She stares at it before turning her head back to her sister, "Are you going on a mission?"

"Something like that." She replies before ushering her younger sister out of the room, "Come on. Let's go say goodbye to Tali."

- End of flashback -

"Emily. Emily!" Dave called, yelling to get her attention.

Liya blinked, "What?"

"Where'd you go?"

"Long time ago...it was the day I was packing. I was leaving to be the Mossad liaison with Interpol. The Ian Doyle case." She let out a breath, trying to maintain her composure so she didn't cry, but she felt a tear escape her eye, "I...Ziva came into my room and told me Tali was dead. Killed in a bomb explosion."

Dave stared at her, "Tali?"

Liya nodded, "Yeah. As far as Ziva knew, and still knows, Tali was our sister. The truth is Tali was my daughter. I got pregnant at fifteen. My mom found out after I refused to have an abortion. I'd already spent most of my childhood with my father, so I moved to Israel permanently." She smiled, "Tali was the best part of me. Giving her life was the best thing I ever did, but I let Abba and Ima raise her, while I worked for Mossad in an agreement that Ziva and Tali would not be trained like me and my brother."

"I'm sorry, kiddo."

Liya shook her head, "I'm not. I used to think about everything Tali was robbed off when she was killed. She was just sixteen. She didn't get to grow up, but now I think about every moment. Every memory. Everything that she did get to experience because of my decision. I gave her life, but she..." She trailed off, "She never knew. She never she was my daughter. I didn't want her to. Didn't want her to doubt how much I loved her. Tali died without knowing that she was everything to me."

"She knew. Maybe now consciously, but on a subconscious level she felt that connection. The connection only a mother and daughter can feel from the nine months that she grew inside of you."

Liya sat there, silently as she let Dave's words sink in. She contemplated on whether or not he was right, as she hoped that he was.

"Those we have held in our arms for a short while we hold in our hearts forever." -Unknown author

Hope you enjoy. Comments are greatly appreciated. In fact, they keep me going.

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