Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS

Abby sat at her desk, staring at Everett Turpin's official Navy photo. He was such a handsome man, and even when Abby knew him as Blue, he was one of the sweetest, kindest people you could find. He was going to miss him.

'Hello Abby.' Abby jumped slightly, startled. Ziva was standing in her lab.

'Ziva!' Abby hugged her friend. 'What are you doing here?'

'Tony called. Told me about Blue. He thought you could do with some cheering up.' Abby laughed, Ziva joining her. Tony knew Abby so well. They were like siblings to each other.

'I'm alright Ziva' said Abby, the cheery tone to her voice sounding fake.

'Really? I know Blue was a friend.' In the eight months of volunteering at the Hope Rises Shelter for women, Ziva had heard of Blue and Dave. Abby sat back down, Ziva sitting next to her desk.

'Yeah, he was, but he's not in pain anymore. Dave will be happy. I can't keep at mine but I'm going to find him a new home. And Emma's going back to her parents, so that'll work out.' Ziva smiled, amazed at how her friend could always see the up side, the silver lining to almost every situation.

'Hope Rises is having a 'blessings bag' packing session tomorrow. I wondered if you might be interested' suggested Ziva. Hope Rises was a homeless shelter for women and children, but only had capacity for 50 temporary beds, and even in May when the weather was warmer, they went quickly. The shelter was able to help occupants late one, with more permanent housing, but when it came to temporary, immediate and safe accommodation, the demand was in short supply.

The blessing bag packs that the shelter packed on a regular basis were nothing new. Lots of organisations and individuals did them regularly. The pack contained toiletries (toothbrush, toothpaste, face wipes, lip balm, hand cream), socks, tissues, feminine hygiene products who needed them, a basic first aid kit and an assortment of snacks. Ziva always enjoyed packing these. They reminded her of the care package that Callie made for her when Ziva returned from Somalia, and how far she had come since then.

Many of the volunteers who helped pack them had experienced homelessness in some way, whether that was sleeping rough on the streets, or hopping from bed to floor to couch. Ziva had also met female veterans from all branches of the military. Ziva sometimes felt guilty that she had received so much help after her own trauma. Working at the shelter, alongside Education Restart, an NGO that helped vulnerable adults acquire the education they had a right to, Ziva felt like she was doing some good. For many years, her main focus was finding the bad guy. Now her main focus was helping those who often got left behind.

Abby looked at the picture of Blue and back at Ziva.

'That sounds like a good idea. I'll see you tomorrow.'

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Ziva walked into her apartment to find Tony sitting on the sofa. He had been there when she left, almost two hours earlier. It had been a few days since the blessings bag packing session that she and Abby had gone to. Abby really enjoyed herself and her spirits in general seemed to be higher than the last time Ziva had seen her. Abby told her that she got a message from Emma, that she had made it safely back to her parents, and Dave had found a new home in Maryland with a large garden. Abby even signed up to volunteer at Hope Rises. Ziva wondered when on earth Abby would find time in between her job at NCIS and the other two shelters Abby already volunteered at. But that was Abby. Magic hugs and heart as big as the earth.

Tonight, however, Ziva had gone to weekly prenatal yoga class. She thought them silly at first. Yoga was not her thing, but eventually she came to enjoy them.

Ziva sat down next to Tony, discovering that he was on her laptop.

'Have you moved at all since I left?' asked Ziva. Tony jolted out of his daydream.

'Hi.' He kissed her. 'Um, no I guess not. How was yoga?' Ziva shrugged her shoulders to sat that it was alright.

'What are you looking at?' asked Ziva, peering over to see. Tony moved the laptop so she could see better. It was some photos that Ziva had been asked to take of the packing session. The shelter wanted to update their website and Carlos, the shelter's director, knew that Ziva had gotten into the habit of carrying a camera with her. He managed to persuade Ziva to take some photos.

Ziva shifted closer to Tony who draped his arm over her shoulders, as he continued to flick through the photos on the laptop.

'These are really good' he said, pride in his voice.

'Tony,' began Ziva. He could hear what she was going to say before she said it. That she was just some amateur, having a go, that she wasn't that good.

'No Zi. These are good, really good. Why did you take them?'

'Carlos asked. He knew that I've become interested in photography and that I have my camera. I did say that I would not be offered if they decided to go for a professional instead.'

'Yeah, but, ZI, I haven't just looked at these ones' said Tony. He moved his finger across the mouse pad, clicked open another folder and started flicking through new photos. 'These are from our trip to Maui. They're amazing Zi, and I've looked at other photos you've taken.' Tony interlaced his fingers with Ziva's and kissed the back of her hand. 'You, Ziva David, are a talented photographer.'

'Tony,' Ziva began again.

'Don't Ziva. You are talented. Be proud of these photos. The website is important for the shelter. Carlos would not have asked anyone to take photos for it.' He passed the laptop to Ziva and stood up. 'I'm going for a shower. Maybe you should start to think of your photography more than a hobby. You could be professional one day.'

Tony left Ziva sitting on the sofa. She thought the idea of being a professional photographer one day was preposterous. Yet, looking back at the photos she had taken over the past nine or so months, Ziva was reminded of the feeling of doing something creative, and loved what it gave her. She wasn't a complete novice. Eight years of photographing crime scenes had taught her a lot. Perhaps she just needed to focus on learning how to take photos of landscapes as opposed to dead bodies and crimes scenes.

A ding from the laptop told Ziva she had a new email. Opening it up, she found it was from Carlos.

Hi Ziva.

Thanks for the photos. They're great and will look fantastic on the new website. If I'm ever in need of a photographer, I'll know who to go to.

Carlos

Ziva blinked and read the email through several times. Were they really going to use her photos for the website?

'Tony!' Ziva called out. She heard a scramble and Tony came out, hair wet and a towel wrapped around his middle.

'What is it? Is it the baby? Are you alright?' He sounded worried. Ziva showed him Carlos' email. Tony relaxed a little, pushed his wet hair back and smiled.

'Told you so' he said happily, before getting back in the shower.

I modelled 'Hope Rises' on a homeless charity in my home town. Homeless is an important issue that needs addressing. In the US there are roughly 40,000 homeless US veterans across the country and roughly 7000 homeless people in DC. I don't live in the US but found useful information about homelessness and how to help from Shelter UK.

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