AN: The timeline of this story is very rough, and doesn't fit rigidly to the of the NCIS series. I also speak no Hebrew, so am relying on the internet for translations, I apologise in advance for any mistakes. Thank you to the guest review for pointing out my mistake. Jenny is Eliana's mother not father! oops :) I've updated it now so it's correct!
Laazazel = Damnit
Shalom, shmee Ziva = Hello, my name is Ziva
The next morning, Gibbs waited until Eliana was awake before saying goodbye and heading to the Navy yard. Gibbs arrived to work early in the hopes of catching Ziva before everyone else arrived at work, he was planning to tell Ziva about Eliana this morning.
Gibbs had no idea what Ziva's reaction was going to be, she viewed Jenny as a second mother, he didn't want to ruin Jenny's memory. At least Gibbs didn't have to worry about ruining Ziva's relationship with her father, whilst Eli and Ziva were on speaking terms, there was no trust or emotion between them anymore, there had been too many lies and too much deceit.
The elevator doors opening alerted Gibbs to Ziva's arrival but before she got to her desk, Gibbs diverted her to the director's office. She obliged and sat at the table in the director's office, Ziva did not like the serious looks on their faces. Vance put down a folder in front of Ziva, she looked at Vance who nodded for her to open the file and read it.
Ziva's face showed nothing, but both men had expected this, she looked up at Vance.
"Are these results reliable, my father did not forge them?" Asked Ziva.
"Abby and I went to the hospital to collect a DNA sample from Lia, Abby tested it herself in her lab." Answered Gibbs.
"You have known about Eliana for a long time, yes? You have a nickname for her." Said Ziva, there was tension in her voice, but not enough for either man to worry.
"Ziva, Jenny got pregnant with Eliana whilst in Israel on a liaison post similar to yours was before Somalia. I was Jenny's partner before and after she was in Israel, so we were close and I knew about Eliana. Jenny stayed in Israel on her liaison post, she told me it was so that Lia would have her father around and understand her culture, they regularly visited DC. Lia failed to meet several developmental milestones and was subsequently diagnosed with autism. That's when Jenny decided to bring Lia back from Israel in the hope of being able to navigate the health care system more effectively." Explained Gibbs.
"So my father had a secret love child that he failed to explain to me despite the fact I was still living at home with him! Laazazel!" Exclaimed Ziva
"Agent David, I'm sorry no one told you but I need to ask a favour. Eliana has so far shown no indication of understanding what anyone is saying to her and the hospital has asked that we use our resources to find out what language she understands. Is that okay with you?" Asked Vance
"Yes of the course director, anything to help my sister, I shall head there now." Answered Ziva.
Ziva and Gibbs headed out of the office and to the hospital, passing DiNozzo and McGee on the way, Gibbs told the two of them to head to Vance's office for a briefing. The car ride to the hospital was spent with Gibbs trying to catch Ziva up to speed with Eliana's mental state.
Ziva took a big breath before entering the room, now being guarded by NCIS agents rather than FBI agents. She walked in accompanied by Gibbs and was also shocked at Eliana's state, her facial swelling had gone down considerably since Gibbs first saw her.
"Shalom, shmee Ziva." Said Ziva in her natural tongue. Eliana's eyes snapped open at this, and whilst her face did not change, her chocolate eyes were scared and she recoiled into the bed. Her eyes fluttered and body tensed before rigorously beginning to shake, Gibbs immediately began timing the seizure and Ziva pressed the nurse call button. The nurses rushed in and took over.
"I am sorry Gibbs, I only introduced myself, maybe I should leave." Said Ziva, she began to feel guilty having deduced she was the probable cause of this seizure.
"Ziva, don't worry about it if anything this is a sign that she understood what you were saying." Explained Gibbs. His words did little to comfort Ziva
Ziva began to rack her brain for reasons that would explain Eliana's reaction, the only logical one involved Mossad. She suspected that either her father or one of Eliana's captors had told Eliana about Ziva. It made sense that if Eliana had been held and tortured by Mossad that she would be scared of Ziva. Ziva promised there and then to get to the bottom of this and look after Eliana like she deserved to be.
Ziva was beyond angry but put on a brave face for Eliana and headed back to Eliana's room. Eliana once again looked peaceful and had stopped shaking, Ziva entered the hospital room and sat next to the bed in the chair that Gibbs had previously occupied. Ziva began explaining who she was and how she had come to be in Washington DC, leaving out the details of how she had shot her own brother. Ziva then began singing Laylah Tov and Numi, Numi, to Eliana, Ziva's own mother used to soothe her with them when she was sick as a child.
Eliana sighed and a small smile graced her face, she opened her eyes and saw Ziva again only this time, Lia's eyes did not look scared but more confused and conflicted. Ziva proceeded to ask Eliana if she spoke Hebrew, before getting a response, Eliana's eyes darted around the roomapparently looking for something before making some purposeful hand movements that looked something akin to sign language.
Ziva stepped outside and called to Gibbs "I think she is using sign language, can you come and help please?"
Ziva asked Eliana to repeat the answer. "She understands but she can't speak." Gibbs tried to sign back to Eliana but she looked questionably as him and signed "I know little sign" Gibbs nodded in response and explained to Ziva, he also asked if Ziva could ask whether her mother had taught her.
She made a fist and moved it up and down, signing yes. Eliana's hands tensed and her eyes rolled back, she was having an absence seizure, Gibbs and Ziva called the nurses once again but headed back to the office as it was likely that Eliana was tired and thats why she kept having seizures.
