Ziva sat at her desk, her pen in her hand as she stared at the paper in front of her and she sighed softly to herself. Her mind was occupied with the thoughts of the young girl she had seen in the park the night before and her hand went to the golden star that hung around her neck.
Who was she? She said Thalia raised her so that means she isn't Thalia's… could she be? Could she be my Sarah? The Israeli woman thought to herself before she shook her head, Of course not… my baby… my Sarah is… gone. She bit her lip and looked upwards to stop herself from crying.
Her mind replayed the events of the night; the voice of the young girl, the love the child clearly had for Thalia and the way that the moonlight gave a soft glow to the park.
The Israeli woman hadn't managed to see the young girl's face properly due to the lack of sufficient lighting in the park at night, the only light being the moon and the girl never turned to fully face her.
Once she had been told that the Director needed her immediately in her office, the tanned woman stood up slowly before running her hand through her mass of dark hair. She wore her boots, black combat style trousers and a white tank top along with her usual weapons and badge. Jethro nodded briefly to Ziva to acknowledge her departure from the bullpen before the young female agent walked up the curved staircase to the Director's office.
"The Director said to go straight in", Cynthia said from her place behind her wooden desk, and indicating towards the large door to her right. Her desk was carefully organised despite the fact there were piles of paperwork to complete, the pens were neatly in their pot and the only personal item on the desk was that of a small wooden frame.
Ziva nodded to the woman, "Thank you", she said softly to the Director's assistant. Briefly she hit her knuckles lightly on the door a couple of times despite the invitation to enter, it was simply a sign of respect and curtesy. She didn't listen out to a reply and instead she pushed open the door in order to step inside.
The red headed woman looked up and smiled softly at the other woman, she opened her mouth to speak and to ask her to close the door but Ziva did it straight away without the need to ask.
Ziva stepped closer to the desk, "Jen?", she said softly, referring to her by her name rather than by her title. They both preferred to be alone without other agents around because it meant they could be Ziva and Jen rather than Officer David and Director Shepard. They had been friends for many years and the titled just didn't seem necessary when speaking to one another.
The Director motioned towards the chair, "Ziva", she said softly, "I just had a phone call….". She took a breath as the Israeli Mossad Officer sat down in the chair opposite her, "... it was Bethesda hospital", she said softly.
The Israeli woman nodded as she listened to the woman in front of her, she remained silent and sat with her hands resting in her lap.
Jen continued to speak softly as she watched the body language and facial expressions of the other woman, "The phone call was from a Doctor Isles who called me to notify NCIS that a young girl was brought into the hospital and that she had a letter with her…", she said before taking a breath. She noted the slightly widened brown eyes of the Israeli along with the slightly worried expression on her face as the words filtered through her mind. "... the letter was addressed to you, Ziva", she said softly to the worried woman in front of her.
Ziva nodded to what she had said, "She is okay? Yes?", she asked gently, glancing down at her hands and biting her lip slightly with worry.
The red headed Director nodded, "She was bleeding heavily but surgery went well and once she is out of the recovery room then she will be transferred to the Intensive Care Unit for observation", she said gently as she watched the reaction of her friend, wondering what was going on and what link this child had to the woman in front of her, "Grab your gear Ziva and I will meet you in five".
Ziva nodded, she didn't need any explanation as to why they would have to meet in five, she knew what the woman was saying and what she was asking of her. Ziva knew that she had to see the young girl, she had to see she was okay and to find out exactly who she was.
The Israeli woman left the office to retrace her route back down the curved stairwell and into the open plan bullpen. She was too distracted to notice the curious looks she was getting from her team members, and instead she went straight to her desk and began to collect her items.
"Where are you off to Ziva?", her co-worker; Anthony DiNozzo asked in his usual boyish manner whilst leaning back in his office chair.
McGee and DiNozzo looked a little confused at the woman when she failed to answer his question and didn't seem to acknowledge it at all. They exchanged befuddled looks between each other before back at her.
The silver haired, blue eyed man also referred to as 'Boss' or 'Gibbs' or by the select few 'Jethro', got up from his desk and walked towards her. His body blocked her exit from behind her desk where she now stood ready to leave with her bag and jacket. "What's going on Zee?", he asked softly and quietly so that only she could hear him. His voice was laced with obvious worry and concern.
The brown eyed woman glanced around the room before back at him, "I will explain later Jet...Gibbs", she said softly, catching herself before she finished calling him by his preferred name. Her sad eyes dipped down, and that was all it took for him to step back from her with a nod.
She hadn't called him Jethro in so long but he couldn't help smiling softly at the name that almost slipped across his ex-lover's lips.
The heat was bearing down on them from above, the sky was a bright blue and the people filled the streets behind them. Jethro was sat on a wall near the water beside Ziva, their hands clutching to each other and her head resting upon his shoulder.
"I wish you didn't have to leave", she whispered softly to him with a sigh as they looked out over the water and listened to the waves.
He sighed heavily and pulled his hand out of hers in order to wrap it around her body and pull her close, "Me too Zee, but you know why I have to leave".
She nodded, "I know", she said softly, "But that does not mean that I have to like it". He had to return to America, and his time in Yisrael was up.
The twenty odd year old woman leant further into the American Marine, and he held her closer to him as his hand went to her hair. He pressed a gentle and loving kiss to the woman's head.
He gently cupped her cheek and tugged her to look at him, "I love you", he whispered to the younger woman before pressing his lips to hers.
"I love you too", she replied with a smile, as her brown eyes twinkled slightly in the sunlight and glistened from unshed tears.
It was his last tour as a Marine, and the promise of keeping in touch was impossible to keep when her father began throwing an increasing number of missions at her.
Director Shepard stood in the elevator, her hand on the metal door as she held it for the younger woman and smiled softly to the woman as she stepped inside the metal box.
After a couple of seconds of watching the Mossad Officer, she bit her lip and asked softly, "Who is she Zee?". She said using the woman's nickname rather than her full given name.
Ziva looked away from the metal doors where her eyes had been focused, and looked instead at her friend who stood beside her, "I am not sure", she answered quietly, "I think … I think I met her in the park last night".
The red headed woman nodded, and gave Ziva's hand a comforting squeeze before stepping out and going towards the town car with the Israeli woman in tow.
